And now there are three.

Reporter Kitteh haz no comment.

Anything worth doing is worth overdoing.

Meet Natasha, manic seal-point Siamese, 12-week old skinny, spidery kitty with a voice that cuts through wood and concrete, and an insatiable need to be in your lap right now. And April, 1-year old shelter kitty, thrown by some heartless bastard from a moving car and rescued by a nearby animal hospital. She’s scarred by both the injuries she suffered from her abandonment and from God only knows what kind of abuse. This longhaired beauty desperately craves affection, but is wary and afraid. She dislikes being held, and won’t sit in anyone’s lap; if I try to hold her front paws (a necessity as I clip all my cats’ claws every two weeks), or groom and brush her luxuriant tail, she whirls and sinks her teeth into my hand as a warning. It’s going to take a lot of love and patience to get her to trust us to the point where I can handle her as easily as I can Isabel the Mellow and Natasha the Needy, but she’s already come far—I was able to comb enough tangled hair from her coat to build another complete cat, she’s stopped vomiting at the slightest stress, she loves having her belly rubbed and chin scratched, and she and Natasha get along just fine.

As do Natasha and Isabel. Isabel regards Natasha with amusement, even when Natasha attacks her tail; while April treats her with a “you’ve gotta be kidding me—THAT’s a cat?” look whenever they’re together.

The hard part is going to be getting April to tolerate Isabel’s company. Isabel got loose while Natasha and April were getting introduced and the results were near-disastrous. Isabel, shocked at the unexpected sight of this frightened and suddenly aggressive stranger in HER house, ran for safety straight into the room we were using as April’s sanctuary room. April, her territorial instincts kicking into high gear, pursued and then cornered her, snarling and spitting. We were able to separate them long enough for Isabel to escape, but it’s clear it will be a long time before April feels secure enough to coexist with this huge roomate, five pounds heavier and three years her senior, who really means her no harm.