I discovered a great thing about masks this weekend: if you’re allergic to cats, but hold one while wearing a mask, your chances of having an allergic reaction are greatly reduced! Or at least I held a kitten without winding up miserable. Three kittens, in fact!

So Suzanne’s co-worker’s wife rescued a cat in need of a home. Said cat turned out to be seven cats, actually. I only heard the story second hand, but it sounded like the co-worker was feeling sorta gloomy about that when he said to Suzanne, “Want a kitten?”

She laughed at him and then said… “Wait. Yes. Yes, I do.”

This weekend we went to meet them. Properly socially distanced and masked, of course. Suzanne’s pick came down to one of the two in the above picture, currently known as Explorer Girl and Boots.

I thought Boots (the more solid gray) was the cutest, but I think my opinion was probably affected by the fact that Explorer Girl was already known for being the most interested in food. My favorite of Suzanne’s current cats, Gina, is also highly interested in food (when Suzanne is at work, I feed her a few times a day most days), and I wasn’t sure how she’d feel about having competition. But one of the kitten goals — if such a thing is possible? — is to give Moe, the current youngest pet on the Mighty Small Farm, someone to play with, and Explorer Girl might be the best bet for that. Plus, Suzanne is hoping to bring her home for Thanksgiving, when she’ll have plenty of time to supervise introductions, and Explorer Girl is going to be the most ready to leave home by then. She’ll be a little young, but she’s already eating cat food.

Honestly, though, I don’t think it matters which one joins us. A kitten is a kitten! I’m probably going to be wandering around in an allergy drug stupor for a while, but it’s going to be so much fun! Totally worth it.