Ayumi Oshii

KaliC714 says: In February of 2009, my husband (then fiance) and I received a phone call from my mother, whose good friend's outdoor cat had just given birth. She was wondering if we would be interested. Initially, we both said no; we already had one adult cat and were moving three hours away in June. By the next day, my husband and I had spent hours debating the subject before finally deciding to at least visit the newborn kittens. My husband spent equal time playing with all the kittens and their mother. I spent the entire two hour visit with one kitten wrapped in my arms. When I realized how much trouble I was having just parting with her for a few moments (and she with me), we both decided she would have to come home with us. The next three weeks waiting for her to hit her eight week mark were miserable for me. We spent the time picking out a name for her. Her first name, Ayumi (or Yumi for short), is Japanese for "beauty," or "wonderful." It can also mean "walking beauty." Her middle name, Oshii, is also Japanese for "precious." Since the day we picked her up, Ayumi and I have become quite attached to each other; she follows me everywhere, we sleep together (much to the dismay of my husband!), and she occasionally still attempts to tunnel under the door when I'm in a different room (like she is doing in the picture below). As attached as she sounds to me, she is even more so to our six year old male cat--the two get along better than we could ever have hoped, and oddly enough, Yumi has taken on the role of mothering him. She can frequently be seen bathing him, and when he scratches at the walls or doors, she is the first to scold him by batting him on the head. She has brought an immeasurable amount of joy to all our lives, and it's incredible looking back that we even hesitated to adopt her!