Adopter's Remorse.

I've heard the term "buyer's remorse", but I've never really understood it. Personally, I'm always thrilled with my purchases, I'm just a good shopper like that. My husband, however, is probably a "buyer's remorse by proxy" expert. Well, after Sunday, I understand the feeling all too well. Here's my story, but have no fear, it has a happy ending for all:

As you have probably gathered from my posts, I'm an avid (aka obsessed) volunteer at the local Humane Society. One day in late July, I went into the volunteer room to sign in and saw this:

The picture doesn't show it well, but it was a kennel with a mama cat and her kittens that had been born at the shelter. They arrived at HSSC as a result of this: http://qctimes.com/news/local/cats-seized-from-q-c-home-humane-society-looks-for/article_c7e8b74e-caff-11e1-a168-0019bb2963f4.html  I had never seen such tiny kittens so close up, so of course I had to photograph them...much like I do every animal I come into contact with at the shelter. (I imagine it goes a little something like this when I walk into the adoption room: "Yipeeee, she's here to walk and pet me! Ughhh, she's taking my picture again!") But anyway, I adored these three from the minute I saw them and I continued to photograph them every time I signed in and out.

(Just a few snapshots of their precious faces)

I usually sent these photos back home to my husband because they were too cute not to share, well, that and I'm a big fan of annoying my husband with animal picture texts ;)  I would tell him how sorry I felt for these cats stuck all alone in the volunteer room, so he suggested I bring "the really cute one" home. Who was I to tell my Master no?! ;) Unfortunately, they weren't old enough yet to receive their first round of shots, so in the volunteer room cage they stayed. After many weeks gone by and inquires by me (aka badgering), the vet tech finally gave these babies their shots and they would be ready to go to a fur-ever home in a few days! I was leaving town for a wedding a few days after the shots were given, so I figured they'd be ready upon my return. After our 5-hour journey home and a 3-hour Bills game, I hopped in the car and headed to HSSC to adopt our new baby. This is where my train derailed. The person working the desk wasn't sure if they were in fact ready to be adopted out and the person who would know was on break. While I waited to find out, I was taken into one of the cat adoption rooms by another volunteer who wanted to show me her foster kittens that were now up for adoption. I never should've walked through that door!! But, I did. And I found this guy:

He was tiny, adorable and playing like crazy and I fell in love. DILEMMA. I had to make a choice between him and the one in the volunteer room and I chose him, Napoleon.

I was all smiles, Berta was OBSESSED (No idea where she gets that trait.)

But in the back of my mind, I kept picturing this face and the promise I'd made each day I saw her that I'd bring her to our happy home:

I had adopter's remorse and I had it bad. So, like any crazy cat lady would do, I called the Humane Society and told them of my epic error in judgment and asked if I could do a kitten exchange. Nothing against little Napoleon, but I just knew he wasn't the one I was meant to have. (I picked him because he was a male to go with the two males I already have...plus I had just held and played with him, but I'd never even touched little "volunteer room kitty"--as tempting as it was to disobey the "DO NOT STICK FINGERS IN THE CAGE" sign, I never did.) Luckily, they understood my craziness (or just figured it'd be easier to tell me yes than have me cry every time I came into the shelter), the exchange occurred and I now present to you Princess Isabella Belby:

This poor little girl was so scared when I got her home that she didn't want to come out of her carrier. She's really never been held in her short life, so she isn't a huge fan of that (yet)....and Izzy is really not a huge fan of Berta (yet) despite Berta's efforts to make Izzy her new BFF. (Much like with Napoleon, she doesn't want to let the kitten out of her sight...and there is a legitimate concern that she will lick Izzy to death.)

This cat needed someone special to show her how fun life as a kitten is supposed to be, and we're going to be those special someones, I just know it! And it turns out that she was born at the shelter the very day Ian and I were there adopting Berta and Kip, so it's meant to be. :) While it broke my heart to take Napoleon (aka Major, the name he was given at the shelter) back, I knew he would be adopted (again) in no time with that cute face and outgoing personality. Turns out, it was in about as close to no time as it could get...just as I was walking out the door with Izzy, a girl came to the desk and said she'd chosen the cat she wanted to adopt, little Major!

The moral of this very long story:  Just follow your heart. That's what I do.

(It just took me a day to figure it out!)

The conclusion: I'm a terrible on-the-spot decision maker. Normally when I can't decide between two things, I buy both! Unfortunately, that wasn't an option here because doing so would turn me from "the crazy cat lady, haha" to "the crazy cat lady, straight face."

(FYI, the mama cat and the other baby are still up for adoption if anyone is interested!)