Every. Single. Year.

I am unlike most Orthodox women in a number of ways. Most don't own spinning wheels or looms, for one. Most don't have purple living room walls. And hardly any have cats.

I have a cat--adopted from the animal shelter nine years ago, early in grad school. I'd wanted a cat more or less my whole life. My mother, when I campaigned relentlessly for a cat, always said the same thing: "When you grow up and you have your own apartment, and your own furniture, you can have as many cats as you want." So the week after I moved from a co-op into an apartment, I made a beeline for the SPCA, and took home a small furry bundle of neuroses that I named Emese. (Oh, and I called my mother and said, "Hey Mom, remember what you told me I could do as soon as I was a grownup with my own apartment? Well, I did it." She didn't remember, and was very relieved to find out it was only "get a cat.")

Anyway, I like Emese a lot. She is more neurotic than I am, which is saying something. She's very soft and cuddly, likes to sleep on my bed, and is quite well behaved--no jumping up on tables or anything like that. She tolerates Barak and occasionally even allows him to pet her. She is, in short, a good cat.

But even the best cat has to eat. And almost all cat foods contain chometz (leaven). And it's going to be Pesach next week. And we don't have any kosher l'pesach cat food.

Bedrest doesn't enter into it. We do this EVERY YEAR. Every year, we remember about a week before Pesach that she needs kosher l'pesach cat food. Every year, we discover, as if for the first time, that the only kosher l'pesach dry cat food is Science Diet. And every year, we discover, as if for the first time, that Science Diet is really hard to find and is NEVER available in walking distance. I've been known to spend six hours on the subway to get it. That was when we lived in New York and had trekking to Brooklyn available as an option. Right now, well, it's not happening.

So what did I just do? I just went online and found a kosher l'pesach dry food, found a place that delivered it, and spent more money than I am willing to admit to get it delivered here by (I hope) next week. Yes, I know that Friskies wet food is okay for Pesach, but after a few days of eating just that she starts to throw up. Dry food is necessary.

And if you're reading this and are a certain honorary grandmother of Barak who isn't too fond of cats, and are thinking that they really aren't worth all this trouble, well... you may be right. But she's sitting on the bed next to me looking cute, so I won't tell her I said so.