Uh oh, I made a mess... time to be cute so they don't eat me!

So... I mentioned that we have a kitten now, right?

Did I mention that our apartment complex is unaware since there is a $500 pet deposit?

The complex left a note on our door saying that they would be coming in to do some preventative maintenance...

We decided to go with the "cat sitting" excuse, but also to try and hide all traces of the cat as well as possible.

To fully understand the story, we must travel back in time-- about 2 years ago.

My Husband decided to join the Air Force and I moved in with my parents while he was in Basic Training. Part of this decision involved saving money, and part of it was because I didn't want to live by myself in our neighborhood (especially after my car got broken into, twice, while we were sitting in the living room, right next to our parking spot).

We ran out of time and space during the moving process and ended up filling 3 dumpsters full of crap that we couldn't/didn't want to take. Since we had been sleeping on a waterbed, we threw away our regular mattress. Then I remembered that a) waterbed sometimes leak, b) it's a pain to fill and drain a queen sized waterbed, c) we usually have a bedroom on the second floor.

I decided that we needed a regular mattress since it would be much easier to move, so I went on a quest to find the perfect sleep time friend. I talked to several sales people, each with a different idea of what the perfect mattress should be, and found myself going back to the same one over and over, bringing different friends and family members to get their opinion.

I got an amazing deal.

A $3,000 king size designer mattress ended up being a little over $700 for the mattress, foundation, and bed frame.

She is named after her designer, Vera.

Rather than being able to sleep on her immediately, she was shoved into storage where she would wait to be transported to our new home.

My Mom is one of the most amazing people in the world, and she helped us get moved into our new place. Since My Husband was going to be at work, Mom came to help me get everything cleaned up and situated so that we could get off to a good start. We had a hotel room on base, since the apartment wasn't going to be ready right away. Once the place was ready for us to move, Mom decided to stay there so that My Husband and I could... get reacquainted after the months he had been away.

Since she was staying in the apartment, my mom was the first to sleep on Vera. She immediately told me of the horrible, crippling pain she had after sleeping on our new friend. I was mortified-- Had I made a critical error in choosing design, squishyness, and price over stability and support?

My Husband had to live in the dorm rooms on base for a little while, so I stayed in the apartment with Mom.

The first night on Vera was hell. Every muscle in my body, including those that had been forgotten long ago, was screaming at me. I felt terrible because not only were we outside the return time frame, but we were in a completely different state. As most members of the military, we did not have the money to spend on another new mattress. I just knew that I was going to have to sell her and buy something different

Before we went to bed, Mom told me that the second night wasn't as bad... I didn't believe her.

I woke up, and all of the pain was gone. It was like I had been sleeping on soft, fluffy marshmallows. My dreams were filled with unicorns and upbeat guitar melodies; butterflies danced across fields full of rainbows... It was that awesome.

Since then, Vera and I have been the best of friends.

She lays there, all soft and squishy, calling me to her when she feels lonely. Every night I lay on her and think about how wonderful she is. Even now, I can hear her whispering softly.

If anything were to happen to her, I'm not quite sure what I would do.

Fast forward to last night.

The kitten has not been allowed in our bedroom for many reasons, but mostly because I didn't want anything to happen to Vera.

I know how kittens like to claw things, and I didn't think it would be right to ask my friend to put up with that. She may be a mattress, but she has feelings.

So... we decided to keep the kitten in our room so that we wouldn't have to explain it's existence when the people came to work on the HVAC.

The kitten was a little hyper from being exposed to a new area and started pinging around the room. After about an hour, we grabbed the cat and started petting him so that he would calm down and go to sleep.

He bounced around the bed for a few moments before settling on the comforter between My Husband's legs. He sat there, watching X Files. I reached over to pet him, and My Husband let out a terrible cross between a scream and a groan.

"Paper towels. Now."

He flung the cat from the bed so that he could move away from the giant wet spot. I tossed him a roll of paper towels and turned on the light... I don't know how much the cat had to drink, but I really think he had been saving it up for just the right moment.

I threw the comforter into the washing machine and pulled the sheet off the bed. There, on the glorious white surface of my beloved Vera, was a lake of cat urine.

We grabbed the cleaning spray.

After 30 heartbreaking minutes, I finally got everything cleaned up. After everything had been washed and dried, we dressed her up and tried to let her know that everything was going to be alright; that we still loved her.

Even though the spot is gone, the memory will last forever. I let her down... and she will never be the same.

I hope, in time, she will forgive me.