It Started at Work, But Didn’t Stay There
Angie was at a conference for PetSmart Charities when she walked into a cattery her team was sponsoring.
She was the first one in line.
Inside, there was a group of orange kittens. Small, active, hard to ignore.
Two stood out.
One was fully orange. The other, white and orange, a little softer in how he moved. She picked him up. He stayed still, settled in, and let himself be held.
“I just really loved them,” recalls Angie.
The Decision Was Already Made
There wasn’t a long back-and-forth.
Her kids had been asking for kittens for months. The timing lined up. The connection was immediate.
By the time she left, she knew.
The next day, she had a plan.
The Surprise
It was her daughter’s preschool graduation.
Angie didn’t say anything about the kittens.
They got home, and she asked her kids to sit on the couch and close their eyes. Then she brought the kittens out.
“All right. Open your eyes.”
“Real kitty?”
“Yeah.”
What Sticks Isn’t the Moment—It’s What Happens After
The surprise lasted a few minutes.
What stayed was everything that followed.
Every day, her kids come back to it—talking about the kittens, thanking her, noticing them in small ways.
“Every day, week, month, my kids are like, ‘Thanks so much for getting us these kittens.’”
Watching Kids Learn It in Real Time
There’s something specific that happens when kids grow up with animals.
Angie sees it in small moments.
Her son lying on the floor, face close to theirs, talking to them like they understand every word. Telling them they’re sweet. That they’re cute.
They say goodnight to them every night.
Bringing Work Home, In the Best Way
Angie works at PetSmart Charities. She spends her days around stories like this.
Now she gets to point to her own.
She talks to her kids about the animals PetSmart Charities helps. They ask questions. They connect the dots.
“They get to be like, ‘My mom works at PetSmart Charities,’ and I think that’s so cool.”
Why Moments Like This Matter
Not every adoption starts with a plan.
Sometimes it starts with walking into a room and noticing the one you can’t put down.
Sometimes it looks like two kittens and a couch and a simple surprise.
And then it settles into something steady—part of the house, part of the routine, part of how a family relates to each other.
Considering Adoption?
If you’ve been thinking about it, you don’t have to map out everything in advance.
Pay attention to what feels right. Think about what your home can support. Be ready for what comes after the first moment.
And if there are kids involved, pay attention to what happens next.
They’re watching. And learning.
What They Named Them
Two kittens came home that day.
Kolby and Banana.
And now, they’re part of everything.
