Hey Cat-Savvy Du'ers -- For the Love of a Cat named Nikita -- a continuation (Part 3) UPDATE

[Samantha]

72. What do you mean butt in -- you have helped me to make it to this point

and I would like to tell you, to borrow a few words from Eminen,

YEAH, I'M HAPPY, I GOT MY BABY BACK!

Nikita came home today around 2:00 pm. She started "talking" to me, to use your phrase, when she heard my voice in the doctor's office. I kept saying her name and telling her everything was all right. She didn't seem upset, just kept "talking" to me. I was so happy to have her back, I can't begin to express it. I drove carefully home and after thinking things over right before I left, I knew I had to bring her inside instead of releasing her in the heat. Sitting here now with her behind me in the cage eating the food and drinking the water I gave her, I am pondering something that was suggested to me right before I left.

Perhaps I should try to get a bigger cage, borrow one, and begin the process of making Nikita an indoor cat? I will be thinking that over the rest of the evening and tomorrow morning. I believe our heat wave will continue tomorrow, so I probably have one day to make up my mind before I can no longer use that for an excuse!

In the meantime, the kids are in the other room. I did my first litter box scooping and refilling this morning. I learned from the experience.

I am wondering if I should do this twice a day, and how many times I should feed them. The room is still clean and odor free, but perhaps I need to go in soon and scoop and refill again.

They are extremely relaxed, and happy. They each have found a spot they prefer but in the interims of naps, they wrestle and play with each other. Four of them have been huddling together during the naps on the sofa. Sunny found the brand-new bed and seems to always be in it.

I am going to order that litter you suggested tomorrow.

I am calling each one by their names and entering the room. Everyone is comfortable with my being in there. They know I bring their food, water and clean the litter, so it is very relaxed. I am talking to them and making soothing words to them all the time. But, in reference to your above post, none of them talks to me.

Elise is starting to stare at me with love looks in her eyes. She is very shy. I am thinking if I decide to keep one, and I am starting to lean that way so Nikita can have a companion, she will be the one.

In a perfect world, if I could place together in one home and two together in another home, that would be the best of all arrangements. They guys really love each other and play well together. It would be so perfect if they were placed by two's. Nikita and Elise here, Dane and Bo in another home and Monet and Sunny in a third home. I am going to try for that but keep in mind I probably won't get it.

Now that the really, really hard part is over is the status of things:

The kids are very happy
Nikita is calm and relaxed
I am a basket case!

So tomorrow we start to look at what remains: socializing the kiddies more and trying to find a way to GET FIVE MORE FIXED. I only paid $65.00 today, but that was a struggle for me. I sure got a lot for the money: Nikita got spayed, all her shots, her ears cleaned, a flea solution and I don't remember everything else on that sheet. Someone gave a suggestion as to perhaps looking for some grant money for the 5 kids and she is going to do that. It will cost $350 to have them all done, less a $25.00 discount if I take them in a trap (which I did today and received $5.00 off). But this place does excellent work at the lowest prices around.

Eventually, we will all get there.

The vet guesses her age to be two and logged her birthday as 7/17/2011. So when I first met her, Nikita had no name and her history was unknown. I mentioned that to someone, can you imagine living all your life without as much as a name. That is part of the reason I gave the kids names. It was the least I could do. So now, Nikita has a name, is spayed, has her shots, has 5 kids, an address where she lives and most of all:

a gazillion friends at DU who helped push her new owner to this wonderful point. You and other posters did just that -- pushed and pushed until I did everything you suggested.

YOU AND EVERYONE ELSE DESERVE A LOT OF CREDIT FOR HELPING US TO MAKE IT TO THIS MARK. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR STANDING BY NIKITA AND I AND THE REST OF HER KIDS. YOU HAVE A LOT TO BE PROUD OF.