Introducing Momoko, my new kitten 🙂

I actually met her on the streets near Uken Beach over a month ago. She was one of 3 irresistible kittens who – though they were among the posse I visit regularly – appeared motherless. I promptly named them Gilbert Blythe, Diana Barry, and Anne Shirley after the lovable characters in one of my favorite books, Anne of Green Gables. 

I couldn’t take them all home of course, so I contented myself with visiting daily and making sure their little bellies were full. They seemed happy enough, and the other cats watched over them. Over the course of time, however, both Gilbert and Diana disappeared. I can only hope some kind Japanese family thought they were adorable and took them into their homes, and that they didn’t meet some tragic fate…

By that time, I had developed quite the attachment to little Anne Shirley in particular. She was spritely. Clean. Bright-eyed. She would eat her tuna and then we would play hide-and-seek and peekaboo among the shrines (creepy, I know.) Our bond grew stronger once her siblings vanished, and I started to fret about what may befall her if I left her down there.

I spoke with Chuck about the possibility of taking her in, if the vet determined her reasonably healthy. My Annie Bean’s health is #1 priority of course, so I wasn’t willing to jeopardize that, even if it was for an adorable homeless kitten. Anyway, Chuck agreed, and later that week I went to go scoop her up. She was nowhere to be found. For two days, I worried about what had happened, and convinced myself I was jinxed when it comes to Japanese kittens.

One morning, I decided to drive down to the beach on a whim, just to check and see who was there. Frolicking with a new kitten (a Gilbert look-a-like, in fact) was my darling Anne Shirley!! I scooped her up and whisked her away, and scheduled a vet exam for that evening.

The rest is history! Of course, we couldn’t have an Annie and an Anne, so she became Momoko, which is a Japanese name meaning “little peach” (check out her cute peachy little head!) Momo was deemed completely healthy at the vet, where they determined she is about 8 weeks old and just 1.1 kilogram, but she does have some ringworm on her ear and her foot. While this isn’t a serious health issue, it is contagious – especially from cat to cat – so we have to keep her isolated in one room for a whole month!!

She’s doing okay with it for now, but all I want to do is snuggle her and take her to bed. As she gets healthier and stronger, she is increasingly anxious to explore and get out of that room, so I feel like isolation is only going to get harder.

Besides… I can’t wait to truly get her introduced to Annie, and take her from second class citizen to official member of the family 🙂 In the meantime, she loves playing soccer with her bright yellow yarn balls, watching with bewildered amusement when I scoop her litterbox, attacking her own tail, and playing peekaboo… This time without the shrines.

 And for anyone who is wondering… I still go visit the rest in the posse, to include Gilbert 2.0. I so wish I could take him in, too!