Keep those happy purrs coming! I got to hold my Odessa today, but she
made me fight for it. She got me going in a game of Chase the Kitty that
had me running all over the computer room. She's very graceful and ran
and jumped with a gymnast's ease of movement. It was a pleasure just to
watch her.

She ran under the computer I use, not under the big desk where she's
frequently hidden, and after all the running decided to let me pick her
up. No hissing or foul language. She let me hold her for several minutes
without any struggle, and even started purring after getting her ears
and chin scratched. When she did want down, she went to her closet, gave
me a short hiss as if to say "That was nice but leave me alone now, I
must meditate" and lay down. She let me reach into the closet and give
her a quick pet, without any cussing. And when Louie came up to feed
her, she didn't completely run and hide, just ran but peeked out of her
closet.

I have to say that the other kids have been really nice about having
Odessa here. Roxie has taken a guardpost upstairs and has been keeping
the Juvies from coming up and trying to butt the door open or generally
cause trouble. She seems to know that Odessa will take a little longer
to integrate than the outgoing Brandy. Stosh is acting more secure with
himself. When we brought in first Roxie, then our fosterling Brian, he
was insecure and needed a lot of reassurance. I figured it was related
to his background of abuse. When Brandy came, he was nuts to meet her,
and they became fast buddies. I have a feeling that Odessa will be more
Roxie's speed; Odessa certainly likes to meditate, I've seen that
already. And Brandy? She seems completely OK with everything, but she
came out of a busy foster home where there was a turnover of animals,
and a lot of animals at any given time. She is the only one who doesn't
camp out at the door. She's too busy playing and wrestling with Stosh,
which has become one of my favorite sporting events.

Blessed be,
Baha