My wife and I had agreed we would never ever have more than 4 pets. Living with 2 dogs and 2 cats can already make you feel like you have an indoor zoo. But then last night, this little thing walked out of the bushes near our home.

It was actually my wife who had heard something whining when she got out of the car.  She asked me to come and check it out with her. “God, I hope it’s not a kitten!” she said. 30 minutes later, we were on our way to the vet with a kitten.

“Are you going to keep her?” was the first thing the vet asked. I kept my face straight and my wife just rolled her eyes. Luckily, our vet is a smart and intuitive woman. She got to work.

She asked my wife to hold the baby cat while she probed and tested. “This really is a sweetie!” she mumbled several times. 5 minutes later, my wife sighed and gave in. “Fiiiine, we’ll keep her.” High five, my dear vet.

The kitten is fine and looks healthy, by the way. The vet thinks she was dumped and had already spent at least a couple of days outside. Lice treatment and a big needle were required to get her ready to go home with us.

Since our cats live inside and aren’t used to viruses from other cats, the kitten has to stay in a separate room for two weeks. That’s how she became my studio kitty ^^ I thought she could sit with me while I work in my home office.

What I did not think of, of course, was the constant noise kittens make. It’ll be a challenge to make her shut up while recording. Guess I’ll just have to play with her until she falls asleep. Ah well, it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make!

As soon as my wife gave in, I thought ‘I’m naming this one Milly’. My wife didn’t agree at first. “Nah, don’t like it.” I bet she was considering composer names or some scary opera character.

I managed to convince her by promising all coffee contributions in the coming weeks will be used to buy cat milk for Milly instead. That’s right. I have no problem bribing the Mrs. to get my way at times 😉

So, hooray, I now really have my Milly. She still has lots to learn before she can become a professional studio companion, though. Like: no, these headphones are not a toy, Milly! And no, you cannot sit in front of the screen while I edit…

UPDATE: Apparently, all she needed to fall asleep was a panda.

UPDATE 2: Showing some real professional studio cat potential now. Sleeping next to my desk on a fluffy pillow. Good girl.

UPDATE 3: Diva potential too.

UPDATE 4: Milly is not allowed to be with other cats for now, but dogs are fine. So she has decided Ginger, our 12 year old lab beagle mix, is her new best friend. Or toy. Or Mommy. Or all of the above. (Ginger likes her too, except when Milly goes looking for a meal…)

Some more pics.