played

DD will be ten years old soon and wants her very own pet.

DH is not thrilled with this idea, and swears he will not be involved in the care or feeding of this creature. I advocated for DD because she is responsible and has put up with an insane amount of face-altering orthodontia without complaint.

The girl has played me like a fish on a line, I tell you.

This has been going on for weeks if not months, starting with a (1) hedgehog, then segueing into a (2)turtle.

Lots and lots of turtle research, but no one sells box turtles here, so then it was on to (3)tortoises.

Even more tortoise research. But tortoises (and turtles) are 1) really expensive and 2) a life-long commitment, and DD will only be 10. I don't want to be taking care of her tortoises while she's in Med School (that's her plan), so we shifted gears yet again to a (4)small furry creature like a gerbil or a fancy mouse, that she could take with us when we go away for the summer.

Small furry creatures are disposable pets with price tags to match, so that's good. They're also prey for our two cats, not so good. The very small ones, the ones that would travel most easily with us, are not very tame, though. DD sets her heart therefore on a (5)guinea pig.

Guinea pigs are social and do best with a companion. How the heck are we going to fly cross-country with two guinea pigs? Where will we put them in the car, when there is barely room for the five of us? I don't know. We go to the pet store and look at carriers, and guinea pigs. They are adorable, but large-ish, certainly larger than what I was thinking. At the end of the guinea pig stuff aisle?


The pet adoption center.

What DD really wants is a (6)kitten. I stood there looking at the kittens. They are all completely adorable. I think about how Alice and Cooper are already socialized to having another cat around. I think how Alice and Cooper will not try to eat the kitten. I think that adding a litter box will be fairly easy.

I realize that DD is perfectly capable of cleaning out the litter boxes herself, and say to her, "If you get a kitten, you'll have to take over cleaning out the litter boxes." (That's DH's job, now.)

She says she'll do it. We'll see.

Do you see how that worked? She wanted a kitten all along, but DH had long ago said no. This isn't exactly bait and switch, it's me realizing that adding a cat will be a lot easier and cheaper than adding any other animal to this household.

Of course DS2 now thinks he can get a kitten when he turns 10, but I'm pretty sure that three's the limit. Maybe he'll settle for something small and manageable? No way -- what he'll really want is a puppy.