Bonjour mes amis!

It’s been a while. There has been a big change in my family this summer that I haven’t gotten to share with all of you yet.

No, it’s not my new job in New York City, which I have been loving.

No, it’s not one cousin getting engaged, and another having a baby (which are still major life changes that deserve celebration!)

It’s the newest addition to our family, baby Magnolia, aka Maggie.

After years of begging, my sister and I finally convinced my mom to get another cat. Our first cat, Sylvester, died when I was in Nantes, and we miss him to this day. But my mom and I fell in love with Magnolia, a six-month-old tabby with big yellow eyes, at our local animal shelter. The nice folks at the shelter gave her the name, and we decided to keep it because of the beautiful magnolia tree in our front yard.

Side rant: Adopt, don’t buy. You save so much money and an animal’s life in the process.

Bringing a kitten into our family has been a challenging, wonderful, and very entertaining experience. We’ve started calling her “the toddler” because she acts like a two-year-old in a lot of ways. Granted, I have never been the mother of a toddler, and I’m not trying to diminish the struggle and hard work parents of young children face every day. I’m just sharing this list as a fun way to introduce my new cat to the blogosphere.

So without further ado, here are 10 ways in which having a kitten seems a lot like raising a toddler.

1. You have to restrain yourself from spamming your friends’ news feeds with cute pictures/videos.

“Don’t say I didn’t, say I didn’t warn ya.” – Taylor Swift, a fellow cat lady

2. Everything is a toy.

Your sheets. Your headphones. The drawstring of your pajama pants. All fair game. And you will most likely trip over one of her toys as soon as you walk in the door.

3. You have to baby-proof the entire house.

You know those safety gates your parents used to keep you from falling down the stairs as a child? My parents now use it to keep Maggie out of their bedroom.

4. She demands constant attention.

If you sit down, she’s in your lap in a matter of minutes, demanding to be petted. You’re not going to send that email or finish that book or eat your lunch. You’re going to sit there and give the cat love for the next 10 minutes.

5. She gets distracted by the simplest things.

My mom still maintains that she spent the best $3 of her life on a rattling ball for Maggie. She plays fetch with it like a puppy, providing hours of free entertainment. For video footage of this, see my Instagram.

6. She makes big messes.

Knock over a plant? Check. Get claws caught in the curtains? Check. Leave bits of torn paper all over the house? Check. And no, she’s not cleaning any of that up.

7. She follows you into the bathroom …

… and then loudly protests when you shut the door.

8. She cries when you leave to go to the supermarket.

Separation anxiety is real.

9. You’re at least an extra 30 minutes late to everything.

A few weeks ago, I was going to meet my very punctual best friend for coffee. I was trying to lock up the house and pack up my stuff, and in all the kerfluffle, Maggie escaped into the garage and wouldn’t come out. I spent 20 minutes looking for the rattling ball that I knew she would chase back into the house. I was almost an hour late to coffee. When I told my friend what happened, she laughed and said, “I knew it!” (Shout out to said bestie for putting up with my chronic lateness for the past 12 years.)

10. You worry about leaving her alone for an extended period of time.

You would think we were leaving a toddler at Grandma’s house for the first time with the way we acted when we left Maggie home for a family reunion, even though we left her in the hands of a most excellent cat-sitter (aforementioned best friend.)

11. She drives you crazy, but one adorable look and you just melt with love.

I’d like to end this post with a thank-you to all parents, especially mine, who love their kids on their best and worst days.

A bientot!

– Vicky

Question: Feel free to leave me pictures of your pets in the comments. And if you don’t have a pet, post a picture of the mythical animal you would most like to have as a pet.