Meet Millie

For those of you who thought I was kidding when I said we would probably be getting a new cat after Christmas, well, now you know better.

Meet Millie.

Looking for a good relaxing spot.

Clearly the computer can't compete with this level of cuteness.

Now annoyed at the camera.

We adopted Millie (formerly known as Mama, but we felt that would be too confusing with a toddler running around the house) on Monday. I had initially thought we would get a kitten, but sometimes it is really hard to resist those older animals who are still looking for their forever homes. Millie is four years old and of a very sweet disposition. She gets along with other cats pretty well, a crucial requirement for our new family member, though the volunteers (we adopted her from the Humane Society of North Texas, a wonderful organization) did warn us she is likely to take over pretty quickly. I actually kind of expected that, since my research on the topic had told me that male cats are more likely to submit to a female cat in group dynamics.

As of yet, we haven't really let her interact with Tony and Wally too very much. We take Millie in to the vet today to make sure she is healthy enough to let mingle. She was in perfect health as of her last checkup in August, but with shelter cats you want to be sure they haven't picked anything up before letting them run around with other kitties. This week we've been alternating between having Tony and Wally confined in the bedroom while letting Millie explore the rest of the house and keeping her in the big bathroom while letting them go about their normal activities. Obviously, they know something is up. They have seen Millie, and there has been some of the usual hissing and growling, as to be expected. There's also been some sniffing and pawing through doors. Right now Wally seems mostly curious about the new arrival while Tony seems a bit miffed that he is going to have yet another source of competition for our attention. My fingers are crossed that they will all get along pretty well once we can let them run around together, or at least be able to tolerate/ignore each other (business as usual between Wally and Tony already).

She is very loving, and definitely seems to be a lap kitty, which Tony and Wally are not, so that's kind of nice. She also seems most fond of my husband right now. All in all, it seems to be going pretty well. It will be interesting to see how things progress.