Introducing...

Ben! Isn't he gorgeous? Some people say he looks an awful lot like another beloved cat.

For years we have had to endure conversations with the kids about why we don't have a pet. We had lots of excuses, oops, I mean valid reasons not to have one which go along the lines of: responsibility; what to do with them when we're away; responsibility; life-time commitment; responsibility...

When we bought our house [which was actually a while ago despite only recently moving in], the girls asked again, "Can we get a cat when we move into our new house?" And to this Steve replied, "Absolutely!". Needless to say, everyone's jaw hit the floor at this response, including mine.

But when the girls wanted to go to the SPCA the other day for a "look", they really weren't expecting to come home with a kitten. Steve is many things, but he is not a push-over, but I think he'd decided that the time had come... and now we have Ben. He's a bit bouncy at times which can be a bit freaky, and he tried climbing up my leg the other day [ouch!] [must have thought it was a tree trunk or something?], but he is already a member of the family.