Surprise! New for 2026—Josh and I are cat parents! Let’s stress cat in that sentence, folks. We’ve talked on and off about getting a cat, but I was the one really holding us back. I was just worried about being fully responsible for a little creature. However, I’ve grown up with cats my entire life, and for the most part, I would know what I’m doing. Josh never grew up with a cat—only a dog—but was open to getting a cat.
I honestly forget how the topic came up, but two weeks ago we decided, hey, let’s get a cat! Last year, we went to a cat cafe about a half hour away, and we agreed that whenever we got a cat, we would adopt from there. I follow them on Instagram, and they actively post the cats they have; we knew we wanted a 1-2 year old kitty and a single kitty (not a bonded pair), and a few current residents fit that description. After signing up for a 50-minute session that Saturday morning (where you can go in and visit/play with the cats), I spent the rest of the week researching what we would need and need to do in order to adopt a cat. I also called my mom and asked, “So how would you feel about a grand-cat?” and she got all excited.
Then we fell in love with a girly named Whitney, who hated all of the other cats in the cafe. She was up on a perch on the wall to get away from the others, and we spent most of the 50 minutes with her. She was sweet and did open up to us to pet her. We also spent some time talking with one of the staff members who was supervising the room, and she told us more about Whitney and the adoption process.
We put in an application immediately after getting home, and I reached out to a vet in town about the process of becoming a new patient. Then it was just the waiting game. On Sunday, we went to Petco to get supplies (litter box, bed, toys, dishes, etc.), and then ordered the rest on Amazon (scratching post, carrier, litter scoop, etc.) so that we were prepared if we got Whitney or if we had to wait a bit to get another cat.
I was so worried we wouldn’t get her because I didn’t know if anyone else put in an application specifically for her. She was just so cute, and we wanted to give her a home where she wouldn’t be stressed around other cats or become overstimulated. Monday morning, I heard back from the vet and got my information in their system, and just as I was going into a Zoom meeting with my department, I got an email saying we were approved to adopt from the cafe but would have to wait to hear from the adoption coordinator if we would be getting Whitney.
About an hour later, I got a text from the coordinator saying we were approved and could pick up Whitney on Wednesday! I ran into the other room where Josh was, shoving my phone in his face and jumping up and down. We waited through two sleeps before we could get her.
The coordinator told us that Whitney was named as such because it was the name of the street where she and her two babies were trapped; her babies were also in the cafe and are up for adoption together (they’re little orange cuties; I think they’ll get adopted out next month when they’re a bit older). Whitney is just over a year old and was known as the queen; the coordinator and cafe owner were happy that she could now rule her own castle.
We decided to rename Whitney to Cannoli, and she’s already acquired multiple nicknames, like Noli and Queen Noli (most of the time, I just call her “girly”). And once she arrived at her new castle (aka our condo), she spent a couple of hours exploring, and I spent a couple of hours following her around to make sure she didn’t get into anything. I didn’t sleep well the first few nights she was here because I was worried about where she was going at night; we propped our bedroom door open so she could come and go as she pleased.
(The purple collar she has on in a few photos is a calming collar that she was wearing in the cafe to help with her stress/anxiety. We took it off over the weekend once she was mostly settled in and didn’t seem stressed anymore.)
Tomorrow will be one week since we brought her home, and Cannoli is such a love bug. She loves to rub against our legs, and she loves to sit on our laps. I was shocked last week when she first jumped up on my lap and curled up to sleep. Josh works nights now (3:00–11:00 p.m.), so Cannoli is my nighttime buddy while he’s gone, but also when he gets home, he’ll play with her and she’ll often sit on his lap while he’s gaming at his computer. The three of us have gotten into a daily routine of feeding, playing, and napping; it also helps that I work from home so she’s not really alone during the week.
We just can’t get over how sweet she is and how happy she seems now that she’s on her own. We don’t plan on getting another cat, but in the future, we want to get a dog once we get a house with a backyard.
But for now, we’ll let the queen rule her own castle.
Strikeouts + Sprinkles 