For the past several months, I’d thought about getting a cat. I really like cats and they are relatively easy to take care of if you don’t have a temperamental one. So when I ended up at the local animal shelter and left with a 17 pound gentle giant — well, things didn’t go as planned. It certainly wasn’t a happy start.

I paid only $45 for the cat, but when you adopt from a shelter, you are playing a game of chance by embracing a pet with an unknown history. Although my kitty has the sweetest temperament, he’s expensive. Dental work and tooth extractions along with pet deposit and rents for him to live with me in my apartment were the start of expenses I’ve encountered within a month of ownership.

I’ll be honest. I had buyers remorse the day after I brought him home and needed to reach out to my pet-owning friends for support. After lots of talking and contemplation those negative, nagging feelings were gone. He snuggled his way into my heart, and I will not be returning him. Life with a cat still has its ups and downs, of course. From the 4 a.m. wake up calls to the need for attention at odd hours of the day, straight nonstop sleep is the past. On certain days, I’ll make it through the night without being interrupted; at other times, especially if he’s hungry, he’ll let me know it with rubs against my face. There’s been only one time when he swatted me in the eye with his paw. I don’t think it was intentional though. I like to think that, anyway. Like I said, he’s got a sweet temperament, and he’s never tried to bite or scratch me even when I annoy him. I can even rub his belly. I’m a lucky girl.

Now, I’ve owned a cat before but I was much younger and less wiser to the responsibilities of a cat. I was also in a different place. As someone focused on make career goal changes and focusing on the future, factoring in a cat wasn’t part of the goal. I’m sure that’s what caused some of the anxiety I felt even though I had been considering getting a pet. When I saw him at the shelter for the first time I was more amazed with his body size than much of anything else. I’d never seen a cat of that size and wondered if he needed to lose some weight. He was so full of charm, too; so much so that I ignored his hair even as dozens of strands released themselves from his coat and into the air as I petted him. I was charmed by his good looks and temperament. His hair is all over my clothes and bed spread. I try to brush him each day. I’m still charmed by him.

In hindsight, I should have named this current kitty, Simba. He has the face of a lion (without the mane), and he’s very curious about things. But I called him Lysander. Lysander Bear is his full name. I included “Bear” because my four-year-old niece has trouble saying his name. I had a list of names for potential cats — all based on historical figures. I chose Lysander after Lysander Spooner, the guy who wrote “No Treason” and “The Constitution of No Authority.”

Lysander the cat is more interested in pets than political philosophy, but I think the name suits him just fine.

The added expense of a cat, along with the daily life interruptions, take getting used to; but when he looks at me with those bright yellow eyes and gives me one of his cute “meows,” I’m grateful to have him. I’m sure that the impulse to take him out of the shelter and provide him a lovely life stemmed from that. I wanted no one else to have him.

Just don’t call me a fur mom. As much as I love animals, and as much as he acts like a toddler, I don’t consider him my child. He’s more like a friend. I let Lysander mooch off me because he brings me happiness and reminds me to enjoy life. He’s cute, furry, and sheds a lot. He talks too much sometimes, and I have to be careful of any plastic lying around because he’ll eat it. He’s also lazy, and I’m not sure if he’ll catch a spider if he sees one (although that is my hope). He’d rather play with pens than cat toys and will nibble at my cords to let me know he’s hungry. Lysander doesn’t understand why he can’t eat the receipt that’s on the floor and why it’s not okay to knead at my bare skin with his claws. He’s got a lot of flaws.

At the moment, he is resting after having three teeth pulled. Though expensive, and a charge I wouldn’t have thought to prepare for over four weeks ago, I’m glad to have him home. I check up on him every five minutes and don’t mind it when he demands I pet him. I give him what he wants, and we’re both happy. I wouldn’t have it any other way.