Confessions of A (Non) Cat Mom

About cats, dogs, and t-shirts

At least one feline…

In early spring this year, I went shopping for t-shirts to wear at home. My old tees were getting too ratty even for me.

I was wearing one of my new tees when my daughter, N, came over.

“Since when did you become a cat mom?” she asked.

“What?”

“As far as I know, you don’t have any cats.”

“So…?” I was confused.

“It says, ‘Cat Mom’ on your t-shirt,’” she said. “So, technically, you should be a doting pet-parent to at least one feline.”

I looked down at “CAT MOM” written on my shirt in black letters five inches high. How had I missed that?

“No worries.” I waved off the technicality. “I don’t read stuff written on t-shirts. I only get tees if they fit.”

She rolled her eyes. “Mom, when you wear a tee with a tagline, you’re making a statement.”

“Okay,” I said.

Me too…

But Cat Mom or not, I wasn’t about to give up wearing my comfy, pleasantly pink-and-white t-shirt.

I wore it at home. Or when I was picking up the mail. And sometimes, when I went shopping for groceries.

Strangers smiled at me and commented, “Cat mom? Me too.”

I gave them a wide smile and a thumbs-up, “That’s great!”

(Not) Dressed for prime time…

A week later, I was loading dishes when hubby called down from the study. We had to hop on an audio meeting with our retirement advisor right away.

I arrived at the study just as the phone rang.

“Can we make this a video call?” *Jay, our advisor, asked.

It was the first time he had requested a video call.

I panicked.

I had random, rebellious little curls standing up all over my head. There was no time to run downstairs and restore order with a brush and anti-frizz serum. Hubby had to jump on a call with his boss right after this one.

In the few seconds it took for the camera to switch on, I sank into a chair and attempted to quash the curls with both hands. At least my t-shirt was new and — as yet — free of turmeric or tamarind stains.

“How many dogs d’you have — “

The video came on.

We had our half-hour chat. As we wound down, Jay asked, “So, how many dogs d’you have?”

“How many dogs?” I echoed. Where had that come from?

“Yeah, your t-shirt — “ he broke off. “It’s obvious you guys are dog lovers.”

My eyes flew to my image on one half of the screen. There, written across the front of my tee in stark black lettering was the slogan: Dogs > People.

“Hahaha.” I laughed brightly. “We don’t have any dogs, but I still think dogs are greater than people.”

For a nanosecond, Jay looked blank. But he is a professional, used to dealing with all sorts of peculiar clients.

“Haha.” He laughed right back. Then he said, “Actually, we’re getting a dog next week.”

I wasn’t sure if this was true or if he was trying to save the situation.

“Oh, what breed is it?” hubby chimed in, interestedly.

“Mix of Golden Labradoodle and German Shepherd,” Jay replied.

Sounded complicated. “How nice,” I said.

The conversation for the next couple of minutes was divided equally between 401Ks, risk tolerance, and the awesomeness of dogs.

When we logged off the call, all I could think of was: Thank God N didn’t see this t-shirt.

Although… N does have a dog. So she would strongly agree that Dogs > People.

Would you?

Thanks for reading! 🌻

Thank you Hollie Petit, Ph.D. for your fun pub. And for publishing my story!

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