Her name is Coco, and she came into my life on June 16.
Still a kitten, she appears to be a Maine coon mix. She has big feet, black and grey fur with a mackerel pattern, a bushy tail and an assertive personality.
My black and white tuxedo cat, Ariel, died Aug. 31, 2021.
We adjusted to having one cat, a 5-year-old calico named Peanut. We developed a routine of extensive morning pets, and then Peanut spent most of her days in her bed on the couch. It was nice, easy.
But when my daughter Zoë came home for the summer — she is a junior at N.C. State — we decided that maybe we were ready for a new member of the family.
Zoë happened to be getting a coffee one day at Bold Coffee in Asheboro, and she noticed some pictures posted by a barista of kittens that would soon be available for adoption.
People are also reading…
Zoë got the barista’s information, and we popped over to her apartment and were greeted by several kittens running wild.
We wanted a female cat with short or medium length hair, and Coco met our requirements.
Peanut has not been enthused by Coco’s arrival. We were surprised. I had envisioned Peanut embracing Coco, grooming her, snuggling together during naps.
Coco wants to play with Peanut. Peanut just wants to be left alone.
They have found a kind of peace with one another, and they often sleep on Zoë’s bed.
Unlike Peanut, I adore my little Coco. I love seeing her play, holding her to my chest under my chin when she is naughty and watching her sleep in my lap. She is so happy to see me in the morning and makes a chittering sound that I have never heard a cat make before. She’s just good company.
The staff at the local veterinarian’s office called her feisty several times — I did hear a great commotion in the back when they administered her vaccinations. The veterinarian warned me that when Coco is grown, she will rule the house and that we need to provide a safe place for Peanut to rest undisturbed. A technician observed that we should have named her Elvira.
I guess we should have expected a bold kitty spotted at the Bold Coffee shop.
