miintikwa | The good stuff

We have a kitten.

So, there will be woo in this. I can't talk about cats without talking about woo, and that's entirely the late, much-missed bottle baby Ginee's fault. But hopefully, it won't be too off-putting.

So, there was a tiny baby we kept catching on our ring cam. It looked a mess, and appeared to live in the foresty area across the street. We put food out for some of the neighborhood cats, so it kept sneaking over to eat. It was clearly starving, and husbeast declared one day that he was going to catch it. I sorta shrugged, because I'd been saying I wanted another cat since about two months after we lost Willow, but C said no. I didn't want to fight about it, but I prayed like mad-- most recently basically telling Willow I missed her energy and could she PLEASE send me some?

I hadn't thought "send me a cat," but...

A week or two ago, husbeast was able to get the little shy baby to eat some treats tossed near her. He called me to come out and talk to her and... well. I fell in love from the beginning, but I wasn't willing to hope. He wasn't kidding, though. He kept working on her. And I joined him, because she was the sweetest little lost soul. She was so dirty and matted we weren't 100% positive she was a girl at first.

About a week ago, she was consistently coming around for food and cuddles. Husbeast caught her and took her to the vet for a chip scan. No chip, so he made an appointment for a full exam and shots. That happened Monday. She is now free of fleas and ticks, has been brushed and her fur is SO SOFT!

Her name is Namaki.

She has Willow energy. C said it first! We were talking about how she likes to hide under things-- like Willow did when we first brought her home-- and C says "it feels like Willow sent her."

He's not wrong, but I was not expecting it.

After being grabbed and stuffed into a crate and dragged to the vet and being manhandled and poked and prodded, she spent Monday night hiding, and most of yesterday sleeping. She's still sleepy today. I visited a couple times-- she forgave me after a churu-- but mostly left her alone to rest.

She is a brave little thing. I can see how scared she is of everything, but she tries. She tries SO hard. It's adorable. I can't wait to bring her in and get her integrated with everyone. Soon! We're going to put a litterbox in my closet and the bedroom will be her home until she gets acclimated. Hopefully, it won't take that long.

I am so happy we found her.