Coincidance or Reincarnation?

Hi! I'm back with my exciting news! I've been turning this over in my brain today. I'm having trouble organizing everything I want to share. I'm going to throw caution to the wind and trust that my readers out in blogland can keep up with my thoughts! I'm going to start at the beginning but you know me...I have a tendency to jump around a little so hang on! Ready? Here we go!

Curtis and Allison have been wanting another cat for a while now. My answer has always been a firm "NO!" I do not want more fur around here. I do not want the added vet bills. I do not want the added expense. I do not want to clean up after another one. Basically I do NOT want another cat! Period!

Fast forward to three nights ago. Our neighbor brought over an ad she saw in the newspaper for the Butler County Humane Society. It was a half page ad and had 6 cats and 6 dogs featured. In the ad, there were two "torties" which is short for tortiseshell cats. If I haven't mentioned it before, Princess is a tortie. Princess also displays all the quirkiness of a tortie which is known as "tortitude." Anyway, Curtis brought the shelter's website up on the computer in hopes to see the two torties in color. As he was flipping through the pictures he came across a picture of a gray and white cat that startled him. He emailed it to me (I was still at work) and called me immediately because he wanted to be on the phone with me when I clicked on the link and saw this gray and white cat. I did as he asked and as soon as the picture came up on the screen, my reply was "OH MY GOSH!" The picture that I saw on the screen was that of a cat that could have been my old cat's twin. I was stunned. I had Pooki for 13 1/2 years. He was my best friend for most of my single adult life. He was the best little guy EVER! When I moved back home after living in Virginia, I moved in with Mom and Dad. Mom wasn't too thrilled with having a cat in the house. I grew up on a small farm. Mom felt animals belonged outside. She reluctantly agreed to let him move in with me. It wasn't long after that I came home and Mom was sitting on the couch and Pooki was laying up against her! And she was PETTING him! How could she resist? Anyway, he got seriously ill when I was 3 months pregnant with Allison. He had gotten so bad that we took him to an all night clinic. They grabbed him from my arms when we arrived. We were told he was within 15 minutes of the end of his life. We were told he had to stay there all night. We picked him up the next morning with his IV bag still attached. He was transferred to Crago Veterinary Clinic, a very well known animal hospital, in Youngstown, Ohio. There he underwent a major surgery with a 50/50 chance of working. If you are thinking that must of been expensive, you are right. We really didn't have a choice, he was my buddy for over 10 years and I couldn't lose him now. Not while I was pregnant. The surgery didn't work as we all had planned but he was a trooper for the next couple of years. I'll spare you of the details but we ended up having to put him down. It was the single most hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life. I would rather have gone through childbirth again. Enough of this! I'm balling right now! It'll be almost 5 years and I still miss him so.

Let's get back to the picture. It was so strange how much this cat looked like Pooki. This cat's name is Simba. Curtis asked if we could go see him and I said "No, we are not getting another cat!" Later that night when I called home to see how bedtime for Allison went, he asked me what the lion cub's name is in The Lion King. I replied, Simba. Ugh! He thinks he's so cute. I didn't get home until late that night. I went to get on the computer to check my email and the wallpaper was the picture of this cat, Simba. Ugh! Again, he thinks he's so cute. We got up the next morning and he mentioned it again. Again, I said "No, I don't want another cat!" A couple hours later I'm driving Allison to school and she starts to chant "Simba! Simba! Simba!" over and over again. What is this?!? A conspiracy? I know a snow job when I see one! Finally I'm by myself in the van on the way to work and I can't get the picture out of my head! It was just too weird how close he looks like my Pooki. I got to work and shared it with a couple of friends at work. The one who has two cats encouraged me and the other said that Princess will not like it at all. I don't know. I just don't know. Later in the day, I talked to Curtis on the phone. He asked what time I was getting done because the Humane Society had late hours on Tuesday. They were open until 7:00. Again, I said "No, I don't want anther cat!" But yet again, I couldn't get this cat out of my head! I decided I had to see him for myself. I rushed to get out of work so I could get there in time. When I was 10 minutes away from the shelter, I called Curtis and asked him and Allison to meet me there in 15 minutes. I wanted to be there first. I knew I would just know immediately. I walked into the first cat room. A very large black cat came to the end of his/her cage very aggressively and meowing very loudly. I pointed at him/her and said "You'll never get adopted if you act like that." I moved to the second cat room. As I walked in, mine and Simba's eyes met. He came to the door of his cage and I touched him through the door. He felt so soft. They opened the cage and I took him out. He nuzzled his head between my jaw bone and my shoulder and left his head there on my shoulder to cuddle. I knew I would just know...and I did. He was going home with me. Curtis and Allison walked in and it was minutes before Curtis pulled out his debit card. I put up a little fuss about not wanting another cat and not knowing about this. I had to. I couldn't give in that easily. I couldn't show him that I had fallen in love with this cat already. That we had formed a bond the instant our eyes met. That I knew he belong no where else in the world but with me. He was my new little guy. I've always said that I had my pets, it's now Allison's turn. This little guy has changed all that. Even though Allison calls him ours. He is mine but let's keep this our secret. Simba will always be his name but I'm calling him "Pretty Boy."

We brought him home and Princess was not too happy. She'll adjust. She has already. She's not hissing at him anymore. That I guess is a good thing. Even though he is a year older, Princess is a third larger than him. They've started this game of chasing each other around the hall. It's too cute. Simba has better traction on the ceramic tile. Princess spins out on it.

Anyway, more about Simba. When we brought him home, we compared him to the picture of Pooki on the wall. It's uncanny how much they are alike. Allison said "Hey Mom. Maybe Pooki is like Jesus and he came back in Simba." How cute was that? But now that we have lived with Simba for two days, she may just be right about that. I think Pooki's soul is in Simba. He has so many of the odd characteristics/habits that Pooki had. I know you are thinking that the men in the little white coats will be here to get me soon, but just hear me out. Here are just some of the similarities. Pooki did them all.

• He has to pull his food bowl out into the middle of the floor.
• He leaves little bits of food on the floor around the bowl.
• When he's done doing his business in the litter box, he has to scrape all of the litter in the box into a big pile. I used to ask Pooki "Are you building the pyramids of Egypt?"
• He also does his business as close to the side of the box as he can get.
• When his lays down, he turns his front paws inward.
• He licks my hands and jawline.
• He "answers" me when I talk to him.
• He puts his head on my shoulder.
• He lays on me.
• He kneads me. (I know a lot of cats do these last two but Princess does not)

I don't know friends, but I think Pooki's soul may just have come back to me. Below are two pictures of Pooki. What do you think? Coincidence or Reincarnation?

Have Fun!

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