Clarks: Minor Cat'astrophe (read Romans 12:12)

First, let me get this out of the way: we still haven't a cat.
I think we are being taught some kind of lesson about patience and waiting, although I'd really rather go ahead and "just get a cat already," if you know what I mean.
You see, Sunday we went out and bought all the stuff to host a cat: litter box, litter, cat food, etc. Then, we contacted our aforementioned cat-supplier: the guy at the music store who has this cute little cat that we had played with in the store and who had told us a week or so earlier that we could get a cat the same way he did by contacting this friend of his who would give us a cat for free and who lives really close by so we don't have to go out of our way to get one.
But the supply person was "out."
So, not wanting to wait until the two days later when she would be at home and ready to see us, we decided to travel waaay over to the east side of town to look for a pet at the HuaNiao ShiChang [lit., Flower & Bird Market]. Now mind you, some pet shops in China are, to put it delicately, not up to international standards. And in general, dogs get better treatment around here than cats, anyway. It's hard, then, to find a cat that's been treated well and is healthy.
Let me just say, we decided that none of the cats on display that morning were quite what we were hoping for - poor things.
Anyway, the next day we found out that all along there has been - in the very neighborhood where we live, no less - another, much nicer HNSC that has quite a good stock of pets, including no less than two very well-kept, cats-only, indoor pet stores. The only thing is, the prices are somewhat higher than we expected. [To get the idea of just how much higher, you should re-read that last sentence, swallowing hard at the end. As in, "gulp!"]
So... we went back to thinking we should just wait to see the free cats. And wait we did. Until this morning, when, after Cec was to get out of class, we would meet with the cat-lady.
Except that Cec never made it to class; she has been home sick. Sick through the night and into the morning and on up until the present - just before supper time.
It wouldn't have mattered anyway, though, because the cat-lady, when she showed up this morning out of the blue, came bearing the unfortunate news that her cats were sick and/or missing (!) and that she, regrettably, would not be able to show them to us today. Hmmm... okay. The cats, however, should be back home/feeling better soon, so if we still want to come get one later this week... And how is it that the one cat went missing? we stood wondering, And do we really want a cat who is getting over a case of diarrhea? [Yes, she really said the cat had diarrhea!] It was hard to convince her, though, that we might just rather buy a cat from the shop. "They're not healthy," she warned us - just before Cecely had to run up to our sixth-floor apartment and throw up once again. "And besides that," she noted, "those cat-sellers are just after your money - you being a foreigner and all."
I nodded and agreed as well as I could, but at the same time, I was starting to feel somewhat uncomfortable. You see, this lady and I had spoken by telephone a number of times the previous couple of days. I could sense, even then, that she was somewhat peculiar. I mean, the way she spoke, the way she repeated herself, the way she had called multiple times to repeat the same, ultimately pointless, information (ex: "I'm still not free anytime today.") To meet her in person and spend some time with her only served to confirm the slight awkwardness that seemed to mark her personality. For instance, as we stood outside just below our apartment talking, another lady was nearby, sort of pacing back and forth, probably waiting for someone to come down. The cat-lady eyed her suspiciously and then quietly insisted that we move away from this potential eavesdropper. Are these cats invovled in some sort of conspiracy? Could that be why she is so nervous? So there I stood, Cec upstairs sick, me trying to politely back out of an obviously ill-fated feline transaction.
Long-story-short, as they say, we have decided that we will probably end up getting one of the high-bred cats. But since Cec is sick today, and - assuming she feels weel enough to teach - has six hours tomorrow (then I start getting busy Thursdasy and Friday), we are looking at something like this weekend before we are both able to go pick out our newest bundle of joy.
By the way, Cec says she had a dream last night: she was trying to force a flower to bloom before it was ready, and [I know this is like something from a bad paperback novel, but no kidding...] when she forced it to open, it tore apart and was ruined in her hands.
Could this be a sign?
Geez, I hope we get a cat soon!