My son begged for a cat.

He cried for a cat.

He told me I was pretty….he got a cat.

Why a cat? Why a pet at all???

I remember back to my childhood when I was surrounded by animals. I was not surrounded by siblings, as my kids are, but there is something special about a child and his/her pet. I told my cat things I would have never told my mother.

I want my kids to have that kind of a bond with a living thing.

I also feel that having a pet builds empathy and responsibility, and it takes some of the burden of constantly entertaining them off of my shoulders.

The triplets terrorize the cat, but the cat has learned to stay out of the triplets’ room. Problem solved. Though one look at my crazy little one-year old girl is enough to send the cat cowering under the bed for an hour.

How have you incorporated pets into your already full house?