Last Sunday a cat got us. The cat appeared on the sidewalk outside our building, attracted the neighbors and requested a meeting with Sam and me. Friends brought her to our apartment. "Sam, the doorbell's going to ring and there will be 2 women with a cat." Ding Dong.

They wouldn't leave until we said yes. I couldn't put the cat down until Dani brought over the cat litter box. Now the cat owns most of the apartment and rents out the bedroom. Only when we're there.

Her name is Stella. Not "STEEELLLLAAAA." Just Stella. Because she is our little star.

She is very gentle and social. Her meowing has increased a lot since that first afternoon. She's about 6 months old. She's been to the Vets To The Stars for her flea bath (eh-hem) and tests and shots. Then back to the Vets in a week-and-a-half to take care of her femininity.

In the meantime, I'm toilet training her. Not litter training; she handled that beautifully the first day. This will be toilet-seat-poised with, eventually, no sand involved. A lot of sites on the internet about this, but this one is the most interesting, by far:

Charles Mingus on Toilet Training

Not exactly my approach, but similar.