Scarlett's arrival into our lives was far from calm. I knew that I really needed to confirm her health for many reasons, so I made an appointment with out vet to take her the next day as I was picking up my other cat, Miss Kitty.
The first day with her was an adventure in itself. This was one of the most confident cats I had ever encountered, even though she was very young. She explored every inch of out apartment, making sure to mark the box every time she went past it. She decided that her home was to be the foot of my bed, at least for the moment. This was good as Miss Kitty was slavishly devoted to our daughter and that room was her safe haven.
My daughter had left for school when the events of the day had started so she was unaware of all that had gone on. She came home to discover several things. Her little Miss Kitty was at the vet and there would be no kittens from her, also, Kitty was going to be spayed the next day, which was not a happy thing for my 9 year old. She REALLY wanted to raise kittens at least once from Miss Kitty, after she knew the possibility existed. Also she discovered that there was a young kitten sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor evaluating her like one would expect a warrior to examine the enemy for weaknesses.
Scarlett had decided that our home was a fine place for her, but she was not sure about the people. My husband had gone back to work after having come home to rescue Miss Kitty and I, so he was out of the evaluation process for now. Our day had started early so by this time she had several hours in our house and was sort of warming to me. She had followed me for a bit until I got the broom out and then had run under a kitchen chair to watch. When I got fresh food and water out for her, she came and ate right away but I was still not allowed to touch her. No growling or hissing, she would simply turn and walk away when she saw me reach for her. I can not say she had relaxed because she was relaxed the moment her feet hit the kitchen floor and had showed no signs of being otherwise. It was more of a "learning your environment" process with her.
My daughters jaw dropped. "Where did that come from!" she demanded. I told her the tale of the grocery store and why I had brought this little one home, which pacified her for a bit, but she was really not happy at the moment. Welcoming a new family member was not her top priority. After a peaceful standoff, both the cat and the Kid went off in different directions. The cat to the food bowl and the Kid to her room without a word to me. Knowing that I had to give my daughter time to process, I left her be and shortly she came back down, hungry and wanting to see the new kitten.
"What have you named her?" she asked. I thought about it and told her I had not really come up with a name but was wanting to use something that indicated one that was strong and courageous as this kitten was both. We had watched "Gone With The Wind" in the past days, so the name was the first one we thought of. It fit, for sure.
By this time Scarlett was sitting in front of my daughter looking up. "Hi Scarlett!" she said and reached for the kitten. To my great surprise, Scarlett was happy to be picked up. She even purred!
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