Meet Oscar

Ok, so I get home last night, not feeling well, and mom asks me if I saw a little orange kitten outside. I said no, but then I barely made it up the sidewalk with my eyes open (I'd promised myself that I could immediately climb into bed if I stayed awake long enough to get home without killing either myself or someone else.)  Anywho, we trotted outside and there, ambling up the sidewalk is this adorable little orange fluff ball… sneezing and snorting, and its eyes looked sort of mucky, but ADORABLE.    Mom had been concerned that Merle was lonely now that Blackie was gone.  I told her I didn't think Merle missed him all that much, but… we left it up to God – told Him that if He felt Merle needed a companion, then He needed to provide one for him.  Lo and behold, here comes Aunt Marilee, yesterday afternoon, with this kitten.  It had been hanging out and driving Buddy up a wall – I gather it was hanging just outside of Buddy's invisible fence… sort of like the way Boots (our cat from the 80's) would lie just outside the perimeter of Brandy's (our dog from the 80's) chain.   This thing is so small, he sits in Merle's food bowl and eats.  Too cute – not sure Merle is overly excited about him.    I say "him", but he could easily be a SHE – we'll find out this morning, since mom took him/her to the vet to be checked out for THE TEST that Blackie failed, and fleas, and worms, and ear mites, and for whatever is making him sneeze and snort, and his rheumy eyes.  Either way, his name is Oscar.  Mom asked what if she's a girl and I looked at her and said, "asks the woman who named a girl cat Butch!"  She said she saw my point.    I think he'll grow into a good sized cat, too.  His legs are incredibly long and his paws are huge!  And I'm happy to say that his head looks normal sized too.  This is reassuring, since Merle has an unusually small sized head and gets ridiculed frequently (usually by me) for it.