When Katie was about 8 and Nick 9, we had been in a small neighborhood shopping center (Corinth Square) in Prairie Village, KS having a late lunch. It was a beautiful Spring day, and both kids were so happy – we had been giggling and listening to Nick’s jokes and stories and as we were walking to the car, we walked by a pet store (it’s no longer there, replaced now by www.thelandofpaws.com, a stylish-type pet boutique!).
"How much is that kitty in the window?"
The kids quickly went to the window to look in, and pleaded, “can we please go in and look at the puppies and kitties?” (Which were in plain view from the window of course). What’s an aunt to do?
We are sort of a family of cats. I’ve always loved them since I was little and we’d go to my Uncle Mac’s farm in Eskridge, KS for Thanksgiving. He would tell me that I could have all the kittens I could catch in the barn, but of course they were wild, and if and when I would get my hands on one, it would squirm and hiss at me and start scratching, so I’d have to drop it real fast, but I always tried every year.
We always had at least one cat growing up – with the exception of the years we had an adorable Peke-A-Poo named Luigi Cappuccino (He was black, tan, with white markings as frothy as a fresh steamed cappuccino.) He also understood commands in Italian (I had just come home from living in Italy when Mom and my little brother gave him to me for my birthday). But I digress.
My other brother (Nick and Katie’s dad) always had a cat, usually one that he would find, he’d feed it, and it would stay around. And my sister-in-law also liked cats, and she had grown up with them as well. So Nick and Katie had two cute cats in their household, one named D.C. (from the movie “That Darn Cat”) and another named Bandit.
And at the time, my beloved cat Ashley was alive and well. However, when Nick and Katie came over, he would give them disdainful glares, and was especially contemptuous when my sister-in-law would drop them off. He was basically a one-person cat, despite Katie and Nick petting him and trying to pick him up. He came to KC with me from Chicago, and lived for 23 years!
I also had an outdoor cat named Watson, who I named after the golfer Tom Watson, as he was found on my brother’s golf-course (he’s the Master PGA Club Pro at Sunflower Hills). My sister-in-law rescued Watson along with his three tabby sisters. I took them home to my house and found homes for the three little tabby cats (who I named Birdie, Bogey and Putt-Putt) and decided to keep the all-gray cat as company for Ashley, but I could never get Watson to stay inside. He would come and go a couple of days at a time.
Maggie curls up in a little ball to sleep
Many years later, Maggie, who is the daughter of Ian and Elyse’s cat Sadie, joined my household after Watson had departed. She overlapped with Ashley by a year before he died. So Maggie took over the chore of being disdainful and contemptuous to the nieces and nephews. (Oh by the way, you can follow Maggie on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TheCatMaggie)
So we had lots of cats around, plenty of cats! Many cats! But as soon as Katie saw all the cute kittens, one in particular gravitated towards her. It was a little yellow striped cat, who was all furry and sweet, and just adorable. “Please Aunt Sheree, can we get this kitty? Mom said I could have a kitty, ’cause I want one that will be all my own.”
“Are you sure your Mom wants another cat?” I said, “You already have D.C. and Bandit, you don’t need another cat.”
“But it needs us, it needs me, and Mom will just love this cat, she really, really does want another cat. She’ll be soooo happy to have this cat. We’ve talked about it.” Katie was just emphatic that my sister-in-law would want a third cat.
“Nick, what do you think?” I naïvely asked my 9-year old nephew for his blessing in purchasing something that I knew probably wasn’t going to be received well by my brother and sister-in-law.
“Well Mom loves cats, and why wouldn’t she love this one,” he replied, giving me the green light to go over the edge with the decision.
I guess I could have called my sister-in-law, but at the time (1993) it was before the broad spread use of cell phones, and I had a feeling she would have said no on the phone. In my mind I rationalized if she got upset, I would just keep the cat at my house for Katie.
We never did get a picture of "Sunny," but she looked identical to this kitten.
So despite the nervous knot in my stomach, I nodded yes to the sales clerk and received the biggest hug of my life at the time from my adorable little niece. “I’m going to call him ‘Sunny’ because he looks all yellow and orange, bright and happy like sunshine,” Katie said.
In addition to purchasing Sunny, we also bought Sunny a bed, matching food and water bowls, a collar and a few toys. I also bought a new litter box and some litter, as I didn’t want my sister-in-law to not be ready for it when she picked up the kids later. How thoughtful of me!!
We went back to my house and the kids fed Sunny and then played with him for several hours. Ashley gave me a panicked look, like why was I bringing another cat into the house, and quickly scampered upstairs.
Finally the door bell rang. My sister-in-law came in and before I could say a word, Katie said with delight, “Mom, look at what Aunt Sheree got me, I’ve named him Sunny, and I’m going to take care of him and love him for the rest of my life.”
Oops! Wrong decision! The blood drained from my sister-in-law’s face. “Is that so?” she said. “We already have two cats Katie, we really don’t need a third one.”
“But you said I could have my very own cat.” Katie replied.
My sister-in-law countered, “I said we’d talk about it and would do that one day.”
I stepped in and said, “I’m sorry, the kids said you were looking to get another cat, and he was so sweet, we have everything ready for him – a bed, a box… if you don’t want him, I’ll keep him here for Katie.”
Katie said, “Oh no, I want him to live with me.”
Noonan
My sister-in-law was such a good Mother at that moment (as she always is) and was such a good sport. I knew she was mad at me, but she didn’t say a word. But if looks could kill! I had put her in a tough place – if she said no to Katie, then she would be the bad guy and cause her daughter heartbreak.
“Okay,” she sighed, “but Katie, this will be your cat, and you have to take care of it.”
Sunny went home and Katie enjoyed about a week’s time with him before he accidentally got out and ran off. They searched for him for days, and my sister-in-law dutifully wiped Katie’s tears and my niece eventually got over her first loss of a pet.
Lacey
I truly felt bad about buying the kitten. I had crossed the invisible line of what’s acceptable for an aunt to do/buy versus a parent. I vowed to myself to never do that again. I vowed to at least have a conversation with their parents on something as significant as purchasing a live animal!
Katie of course survived her heartbreak. Now married, she and her husband Randy have two fun cats, Noonan and Lacey. My brother and sister-in-law still have two cats, now Jake and Sassy (as D.C. and Bandit passed away). I still have Maggie of course, who right now is giving me a scornful look – as she’s thinking it’s her turn to be blogging, and wants to post a Tweet.
Maggie likes to be near the laptop, wherever it is, and she has a Twitter following of 850+!
The Do's & Don'ts of Aunting 
Great Story!