Meet the newest member of the family...

This is Maggie.

She has a little bit of an infection in one eye, but once that clears up she will be a gorgeous girl.  She's a cuddler, and I'm enjoying this.  She's also very smart - she knows her name already, uses the scratching posts, and hasn't had a litter box accident at all.

Maggie is quite the energetic and rambunctious young thing.  She is absolutely fearless, and doesn't always have the best judgment about her abilities.  Fortunately, she's also a sturdy girl.  So far, the bumps and falls and swats on the nose from her older brother haven't phased her a bit.

She is quite fascinated by Bodie.  He isn't sure the feeling is mutual yet.  He finds her interesting when she's feeling mellow, but that doesn't happen all that frequently.  He's quickly reached the stage where he tolerates her very well as long as she doesn't insist on touching him.  Which she insists on doing.  When Bodie starts getting agitated, he swishes his tail back and forth.  Maggie believes this to be an invitation to play, specifically to chase his tail.  I don't have any pictures of this, because I have to toss the camera aside and rescue one or the other when this happens.

All in all, she's been quite the addition to the family.

Sadly, Maggie has joined us because sweet little Aubrey vanished.  I haven't completely given up hope that she's OK somewhere and will find her way home, but she's never wandered away before.  I still have a bit of hope that springs up when I'm waiting to turn onto my street - maybe Aubrey will be waiting on the porch - but there's nowhere else to look for her, and none of the neighbors have seen her either.

I actually met Maggie while at the shelter checking to see if someone had turned Aubrey in; I'd been thinking about getting a 3rd cat even before Aubrey went missing (other people get baby hungry, and I get kitten hungry), so it wasn't much of a mental or emotional leap to adopt her.  I couldn't resist picking her up and cuddling her "for just a second" - and then I was a total goner.  She really is the sweetest little thing.  And Bodie doesn't like to be an only cat, even if he's a little slow to warm up to newbies.  And I like having "a very, very, very fine house, with two cats in the yard"...even if one isn't allowed outside yet.