Well, we’re far from unpacked, having moved into our own house in August, but while we were packing and sweating and cleaning and bitching and losing a transmission and having a van catch on fire because of a squirrel’s nest in the engine, a good thing was happening - the little girl we’ll be bringing home from the shelter today was born!
After several disappointing visits to the shelter last week, we tried again yesterday. They had brought several new cats out of wherever they had been holding them, and one of them was a five-month-old light orange tabby with the lovliest caramel eyes, and she curled up in my arms and purred her way into my heart. The only reason she’s not here now is they had to spay her this morning (poor baby), so we’re picking her up at 5:00. She’ll have her own room for a few days while Otto (our 2½-year-old Lab) and Jake (our 16-year-old tabby) get used to her scent and she recouperates, and then we’ll have something I haven’t experienced in 22 years - Kitten Proofing! We adopted Otto at a year old, and that’s about how old Jake was when we bought the house he came with, so it’ll be an adventure, to say the least!
I can’t wait to see who she turns out to be! I’m sure she’ll change as she gets more comfortable with us and the other animals and begins to explore her new surroundings. She was a stray, but I’m planning to keep her as an indoor-only cat. Her predecessor, my beloved Oops, was an indoor cat and lived with us for 20 years. It took about three weeks before Oops told us her name, but I’m open to any suggestions - adopting a New Year’s Eve cat seems momentous enough to be part of her name. Would Eve be too obvious? I already have an Otto - it’d be bizarre to have two SDMB pets! I burning my cat!
Pictures to come soon!
You could name her Busta Chee Chee.
Yay! Congratulations to you and your new kitty!
Since you say she has such lovely caramel eyes, how about naming her Cara?
Thanks for getting a rescue/shelter kitty – they’re the bestest!
Huh?
Well, that was quick.
We just got a call from the shelter - “Brandy” is throwing up and has diarhea, so no surgery. Could be a cold, could be worse. They’re doing tests.
No test results until Saturday. We were getting her now, since I have a week off and we have time to get to know each other. So much for planning.
Nothing done right in 2008.
Mods, please close this thread. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.
Don’t be too sad or worried. Kitties get diarrhea and throw up a lot. It’s almost always nothing so serious that some antibiotics won’t cure. I’ll say a little kitty prayer for “Brandy” and for you.
Provisional congratulations, and I hope you’ll be showing us tons of photos soon of your new little girl.
I like Eve. I wasn’t even thinking of our Eve, but Eve and Otto are both palindromes.
You damn near win the thread, if only by the fact that you own a stuffed amadillo, which is my own personal familiar (have a stuffed one of my own, as well as an unfortunate one that was emptied out, only to have his nose attached to his tail to form a basket - when your friends know that you identify with armadillos, you get a lot of unusual gifts).
Thank you all for the good thoughts - I’m a pessimist, so any hitch in the getalong of the adoption sends me spiraling into negativity. I want her so much, I so desperately miss a sweet little girl in my arms. I hope the optomists among you are right, and I swear you will be inundateded with photos if she ever makes it to my arms. The double palindrome factor is a good omen.
But I seriously doubt Busta Chee Chee is gonna fly…;)
Mariana?
So it’s Saturday, do we have good news? ::fingers crossed::
Good kitten vibes sent your way.
Did you get the kitty?
Sorry for taking so long – it’s been some kind of hectic!
Saturday night we did get to pick her up! She was still pretty groggy, but fortunately this made her more than happy to be put in our big carrier with a nice warm fluffy towel in it. This will prove to be very handy in upcoming days.
We brought her home and took her into her room without letting Otto or Jake see her. I set up camp in the room and spent the night with her, while Mr. singular spent the night with the boys. She pretty much just slept through the night, waking only to catch a bite or visit the box. She purrs like a Peterbuilt when you pick her up at this point.
Sunday was the first exposure, with decent results. I held her while Otto excitedly sniffed and licked her, and she just reached out and touched his snout – so far, so good. Jake threw a course of pretty vehement hisses her way before leaving in a huff – not so bad. She’s getting curious about wanting to get out into the hall and explore, but we’re holding off on that, since the dog is still pretty excitable. She cried at bedtime, so, being a softie, I spent the night with her again, which wasn’t such a great idea, since I was going back to work after two weeks off the next day, and a night on the floor is a bad way to prepare for the return.
So we’re easing her into the family. It’s still only in short increments, and we take a few steps back every time Otto can’t control himself and bolts after her, but we’ll keep trying to lengthen exposures a little bit each day. I’ll be desperately grateful for any advice I can get from anybody about this process – I feel like we’re really stumbling, in spite of all the stuff I read online and in the propaganda from the shelter. She’s reached a cautious stage now, so we’re trying not to force ourselves on her and let her come to us. I hope to have pictures up this weekend, if I can find the box that has the camera-to-computer cord. 
Oh, singular1, I’m so glad everything worked out! I’ve been watching this thread hoping for a good news update. Yay, Lily!
I’m so happy you got her!
I’ve introduced new kittehs to our multi-pet household (dogs & cats) and it takes time. It sounds like you’re going about it in the right way. I find it is mostly knowing/anticipating what your other animals will do when faced with an interloper.
I usually set the new kitteh up in a separate room and let everyone sniff under the door. Sometimes it takes a few weeks, sometimes it only takes a few days. But, if she is showing any signs of still being ill, keep her away from your other cat for a few weeks.
I can’t wait to see pictures!
You know, there are only two main “rules” here on SDMB. Don’t be a jerk. Provide pet pictures in pet-related threads. It’s pretty simple… 
YAY! I knew it would turn out ok, and I’m so glad it did!
Silly you – let her cuddle in bed with you!
You know, I desperately wanted to, but the boys always sleep with us, and there lies disaster at this point in time.
I’m beginning to think this may be more of a “few weeks” situation than a “few days” one. Since Otto is a 2½ year old yellow lab, that means he is still a puppy. Every time he sees her, he starts quivering and whining and blowing air out of his cheeks - he is so excited about her he can hardly sit still, but we’re really worried about him just bowling her over and hurting her. I know he wouldn’t mean it, but we’re erring on the side of caution and letting her get used to us and him. I know Jake won’t ever be happy about her, but he’ll just ignore her (as long as she’ll let him!;)).