CD9 - I'm A (cat) Mom Again

So I was driving to my in-laws' house on Friday around 8pm, it's a straight shot from our house about 6 miles down the road. I then saw what looked like a little black kitty in the middle of the highway and whipped the car around to see what it was.

Sure enough, this teeny tiny little black kitty with blue eyes looks up at me, a little fluffball in the road. I immediately thought she'd been hit by a car or was injured....cue watery eyes and panic. (if you haven't figured out by now, I'm a huge animal lover and advocate and living with/being married to hunters and farmers, that's a difficult lifestyle).

I scooped her up and drove the 1/2 mile to the vet's office where he and his new assistant vet were performing surgery on a little doggy but his assistant came out to help me make sure the kitty was okay. She said that the kitten was a girl, about 4-5 weeks old and seemed fine but to bring her in if I wanted to on Saturday; she said to get some milk replacement and the kitty should be okay. So I ran over to Theisen's (like a Farm and Fleet for you city-folk; and I am city-folk and I barely speak "farm" so I try to fit in here) which was closed at 8 but after pounding on the door they let me in with the kitty so I could buy some KMR (milk) and soft kitten food.

I took her home and she seemed to perk up a bit. We have a tiny (I MEAN TINY) bathroom downstairs so I set it up for her with water and food and I fed her using one of my thousands of sterile syringes (no needle of course) and she was pretty hungry. So friggin' cute too. I never hand-fed a kitten before. Just my cockatiel about 16 years ago.

By Saturday morning, I'd fed her every 4 hours and spent all my available time with her. It was hard too because DH's brothers and kids were in town and that's rare so I couldn't just not be there. But with all the TTC drama the past 3 years, I was desperate for something that would make me happy and there she was! DH and I discussed taking her to the Humane Society on Saturday, but by the time he saw her he was hooked too. We decided to take it day by day at that point. I continued to feed her and clean that bathroom constantly - she is quite messy. She's so small I had to use a cookie sheet/pan with edges for a litter box (I know, ew. But I'm the queen of sanitary so don't worry about me; I have stock in Clorox). She started using it right away and when she went #2 in it for the first time I clapped like a proud parent (that I wish I was for a human baby/child) and hollered to DH that "...she pooped in the potty!"

I feel like a little girl with a new doll, you know? I'm not playing house or anything, but it's been so wonderful to have something to look forward to other than the impending meetings with Wandy or this cycle's injection schedule that starts today.

We are taking her to the vet this afternoon for a full work-up. Our other 2 kitties (we have a huge house and this will for sure be our last pet, if we actually keep her for sure) were indifferent after a couple of days. Milo (our 3 year old "baby") started licking her last night, so that was unexpected. Jack, our 5 year old "gay queen" cat (who is a boy), was quite dramatic about her right away but as of yesterday was sleeping about 5 feet away from her, which is strange because when we brought Milo home, Jack screamed for 2 weeks and hid on top of our cabinets.

I've been all about TTC and POAS-ing and everything for so long that I needed this. I needed her. I needed something to keep me from going over the emotional edge.

It took till yesterday to even begin to start discussing a possible name. DH is a huge L.A. Dodgers fan and I thought of calling her Dodger but she's a girl. She did "dodge" a bullet by not being hit before I found her. I was holding her yesterday morning and cuddling and all of a sudden the name "Bella" came into my mind. Sure, I'm a Twilight fan. Whatever. But I'll probably never call my hypothetical daughter Bella because it's such a popular name. So, DH and I decided on Bella "Dodger" O.

For now.

But I'm in love.... :)

Pictures to come soon - my camera phone, while it is a Droid, sucks.