My cat plays fetch.

Seriously. If you throw a toy or a piece of crumpled up paper across the room, she'll chase it and bring it back so you can throw it again. She's doing it right now, and while it's one of the cutest things I've ever seen, it makes it hard to type a complete sentence. She's fast and loves to interrupt me. If I don't see that she's brought it back, she'll chirp to let me know. All together now, everyone: "Awww!"

Of course, she's a bitey monster most of the time, and we have the scars to prove it. She gnaws on the wooden laundry drying rack like a starving beaver. She chews cardboard boxes. She demolishes catnip toys in a matter of minutes. (She has stopped chewing the dishwasher, though, which is an improvement.) But her favorite things to chew on are us.

But she also sleeps with me, either on my chest or curled up in the crook of my arm. She comes running when we come home from work (or wherever). And she lets us pick her up and hug her once in a while. So she is improving.

We still contemplate getting her a kitty companion. Our friends seem to think it's a good idea, both for her sake and for ours. But I have my doubts. To be honest, I had misgivings about getting Jinxie in the first place. I didn't really want the responsibility of taking care of a pet. I didn't want the worry that comes with caring for something. I didn't want the guilt of not being home enough for it. And I really didn't want to get attached to another cat. Our other cat had died in 2002, and although it was so long ago, it still made me very reluctant to get a replacement.

But, when we went to look at kittens for our first wedding anniversary last May, I fell in love. Against all my better judgement, all my reluctance, and all my admonishments that I shouldn't, I did. I mean, kittens, for gods' sakes! How do you not fall in love with them??

So now, I'm going through the same emotional rigamarole about getting a second one. Plus, with more worry about how the two cats will get along. Will Jinxie feel replaced? Will she be bitter? Will she hate the new cat? Will she stop playing fetch with us? Will the new cat become another Jinx and start biting?

But, I know that as soon as we all go pick one out (Jinxie will come, too), all those fears will disappear and I'll fall in love again.

Damn kittens and their cuteness.