Happy Easter, Everyone!

It has been quite the weekend here at the Barkevich household. First, my mom and I got up very, very, VERY early on Saturday morning and drove 6.5 hours to Waterloo, Ontario to pick up an 11 month-old American Curl kitten. Hmmmm…maybe I should back up a bit.

After much cajoling and planting of seeds and, yes, I finally broke down and said please, I convinced my husband to get a cat. We had been avoiding the responsibility of a pet since having to put our dog to sleep shortly after Amelia was born. It was very hard on us. Ok, so Keith agrees to a kitten a couple of weeks ago, and I start looking at places like petfinder.com and the local humane societies. But, on a whim, I also take a peek at actual breeds. As in purebreds. One in particular stood out from all the rest.

The American Curl. Oh! They are cute! And, they have the most amazing temperaments and, holy cow, their ears CURL BACKWARDS! Did I mention they are cute? They keep their kitten-like qualities through adulthood, and they stay relatively small, the female averaging only 5-7 pounds at full maturity. I fell in love! And, of course, I had to show Keith the info on this amazing breed. And, of course, he fell in love with them too.

So, I figured, how much can they be? I mean, they’re cats. Right? Try upwards of $900.00 for a pet-quality kitten. ALMOST A GRAND FOR A CAT!? I practically fell off my chair. It was so disheartening. I really, really, really wanted an American Curl at this point. I mean REALLY, REALLY, REALLY! But, $900.00? I just can’t make that work at this point in my life.

Now, have I mentioned how much I loved and related to “The Secret”? Well, since watching it, I’ve taken to saying out loud. “I’m throwing it out to the universe.” And then, I’ll state what I want/need/wish etc. In this case, I looked at my husband and said, “I’m throwing it out there, honey. I really want an American Curl. And I’m throwing it out to the universe. I want an American Curl.” He just laughed at me and nodded. ;-)

A couple of days later, I received a reply to some questions I’d emailed to a breeder in California. She answered them and told me the price of her available kittens. Much more reasonable than the ones I’d found here, but with shipping, the price was still way out of my league. I thanked her and told her it just wasn’t going to work out right now. Shortly after that, the breeder replied, saying she might have another way.

It turned out; this breeder had sold a male and female breed pair to a breeder in Ontario. However, the little boy became ill a couple of weeks after delivery and the Canadian vet said the little girl had an enlarged heart. The Canadian breeder did not want to keep her. I’m not sure why the breeder was unable to send the kitten back to California last October or November, but the California breeder told me I could have this little girl for free if I was willing to drive out to Canada to pick her up…

Ok, fast-forward to Saturday the day before Easter. My mom agrees to go with me on a marathon 13 hour round trip to Canada to pick up a cat. We get on the road by 5:15am and things are smooth sailing…umm, until my mom starts to feel a little ill. But, hey, we’re having a great time and the conversation is great and she wasn’t feeling all that bad. We roll into the woman’s driveway at noon as predicted and my little curl is waiting at the door for me. When I sit down, she jumps right into my lap and is purring up a storm. I am totally enamored. This is my kitty!

After some small talk and a transfer of information and my payment of the rabies and international health certificate so I can get my little blue girl over the border, we head out. That’s when my poor mom’s I-don’t-feel-so-well turns into full-blown-stomach-flu. The trip back wasn’t so smooth. We had to literally stop at EVERY single rest area from Canada to my house. And my mom, what a trooper she was. It broke my heart to see how very sick she was and still she smiled and joked. I think my love and admiration for her jumped ten-fold on that trip. I don’t know that I could have held up as well.

We made it home and our little American Curl, Sasha Katherine HepCurl Barkevich, is fitting in nicely. I put it out to the universe. I couldn’t afford to buy a curl, but I was open to other options and there she was. Just waiting for me and my mom to pick her up.

Tomorrow, I’ll tell you all about our Easter and how Keith found out he’s got pneumonia, strep throat, AND an ear infection. I told you it’s been quite a weekend here, right?

Sandy :-)

*April 28, 2007 at Sandra's Goings On - Guest Blogger, Leslie Dicken ~ Secret Intentions