Some women catch baby fever, which causes them to coo over every infant and tiny onesie in sight. It can also have more permanent side effects, like reproduction. I can completely relate to this desire to have a cute, loving being enter one’s life, for I have been struck with a similar ailment: cat fever.

I have a Petco Pals card. I do not own a pet. My roommates are allergic to cats, which makes me genuinely morose at times (thankfully they are nice ladies, so the trade-off is worth it). But sometimes I like to buy food for the feral cats living under the shed behind my house. Not that I hope to gradually earn their trust and unconditional love or anything. And I certainly don’t dream of having my own backyard nest of cats to play with. Actually, since I just used the term “nest of cats,” you probably realize that both those statements are untrue.

Many nights I drift off to sleep imagining that a Seal Point Siamese is curled up with me. My Internet history is filled with window shopping trips to the pages of local animal shelters. I no longer visit Craigslist to see if anyone has posted a Missed Connection for me; that sucker is a feline finder now. It’s all very emotionally masochistic.

I am basing my future housing plans primarily around getting a cat. Stay in this amazing house that I just moved into six months ago, or go through the tedious process of moving into a feline-friendly place in August? We all know my answer. It’s a strange, obsessive and perhaps just a little bit pathetic one, but once I have Mochi (of course there’s already a name picked out) in my care, perhaps my sanity will return to normal levels.

What do you think of cats? Do you have an animal you go crazy for?