A couple of months after Shannon's passing, I tentatively broached the subject of "getting another marmelade kitty." Asa's response was the same as it has been for almost 14 years to suggestions of that sort: "I could't do that to Bubba." You'd have to know the situation here; Bubba and Asa are bonded more closely than any two individuals I have ever known, and the fact that one is man and the other is cat doesn't matter an iota. Asa lives in fear that any feline resident changes in the household would upset Bubba to the extent that he'd cool toward Asa. Now, I'll be the first to admit that Bubba has sulking honed to a fine art. He demonstrates it every time Asa is away for any length of time, although he always eventually concedes to flattery, pampering, and endless attention. Who rules this relationship? Guess.

But what about a kitten? I reasoned that while Bubba might indeed be permanently resistant to another adult cat in his home, he might be more receptive to a youngster, whom he could lord over as alpha cat. On the other hand, would it be fair to a kitten to be singled out as a punching bag for The Hulk?

How About TWO Kittens?
Ahhhh... two kittens, especially if they were littermates, would have each other for little buddies and leave Bubba in peace to continue his schmoozing with Asa. Two kittens would not only be wonderful companions for me, but would also help in refreshing my knowledge about how kittens should be raised, and to put into practice all those things I've learned and passed on about raising a cat the "natural" way. (After all, it has been 14 years since I last had "hands-on" experience with a kitten, and there have been many advancements since then.)

I could see that this was not going to be an easy mission, so I carefully plotted my plan: brainwashing. For the next couple of months, I clipped out all the cute photos of kittens I could find and casually showed them to Asa. Aren't they cute, I'd say, and he'd nod and smile. It wasn't long before he started bringing home kitten photos from his 365 day calendar at work. Finally, in December, I broached the subject again. I told him how important it was to me to have another marmelade kitty, and that while I loved Bubba enormously, Bubba was not bonded with me the way he was with "Dad," and that my arms were aching to hold my own cat. I brought out all the ammunition about kittens and how I knew all the tricks for introducing new cats, and anyway, kittens might bring back some youthful feelings in Bubba. For every argument I had a reply.

He knew when he had been whipped.