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lackadaisy
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Orphan Baby - Derpin'

I promise not to spam any more of this kitten stuff here this month - just posting an update for those who were interested.  

Earlier this week, she ended up at the emergency vet multiple times.  The plague of digestive unrest she's had since the beginning escalated eventually into respiratory distress and lethargy.  The vet thought she had developed aspiration pneumonia and came very close to convincing me to euthanize, as that would surely be a death sentence for her.  I'm so very glad I couldn't muster the willpower (or presence of mind) to agree. Around 4am, after the 8th vet visit in 7 days and very little sleep, I just stood in the exam room for an hour and sobbed all over the top of her instead.  So the clinic staff relented and we agreed to try for a long shot - an  oxygen chamber, sub-q fluids and antibiotics.  I left her there,  went home and began packing up all of her blankets and bottles, thinking I'd never see her again.  However, when I called to check on her a few hazy hours later, they said she was okay.  Later, they said she seemed pretty good, actually.  Then they said she was doing great.  A little more than a day later, they told me "We're not sure this little stinker is even sick.  You can come pick her up."  We're all still mystified as to why her breathing became so ragged, but she's back home now.  She's on yet more meds, but generally acting like a mini-kitten ought to.  Even the digestive issues seem to be in check...for the moment.  Here's hoping for some smoother sailing ahead.  The poor little bean has been through a lot.

After all that, it's time to name her.  She's certainly earned it.  She was checked into the hospital under Mina, but that was just something that came to mind when filling out the paperwork.  Others have suggested Penelope or Arya.  I'm not decided yet, though.  If you guys have any ideas, throw some names at me!

Orphan Baby - Derpin'

Comments

Since she's just a bean, you should name her Goya!!

Rival Art Designs

Oooh my goodness! How is your little muffin doing? She's so sweet! And does she have a name yet? If not she looks like an Artemis to me.

Sarah Pacetti

To me, she looks like a something-Dora. Maybe a Theodora? Or an Isadora? Something old-timey and classic. Some other ideas: Theodocia/Theodosia Fairlight Posey Josephine (or Josie) Phoebe Beatrix/Beatrice Cora/Coralie Cornelia (Neilly or Nelly for short) Edith Ruth/Ruthie Wilhelmina Hazel Calliope (Callie for short) I also love Penelope! Penny is a cute nickname. Also, like... how much have those vet bills got to be running you? Personally, I'd love it if you set up a GoFundMe or something where people could donate to help you out. You're doing an amazing thing.

Britta Fogerty

Also you could name her something like Kytala (Kit-ah-lah). My favorite

Shelby

Arya!!!!! <3

Shelby

Talk to her, ask her names. She'll let you know which one she likes. My cat Rosemoon kinda muffled meows at Rose and Moon (Luna). I said them together and she replied with a big Mrrryaeh.

Tsar'Lena

Probably. I'd have a hard time parting with her at this point. If I did adopt her out, it would have to be to someone I know and trust.

Tracy Butler

I generally name my cats after your characters so I don't really have any name ideas for your cats you haven't heard before lol. Good to hear she's toughin' it out though.

SmGFL

Well she's pretty tough so I'd name her Arya :) Thinking about Game of Thrones here. It's wonderful what you are doing for her. Cats, sadly, are treated far more poorly than dogs in general. A lot of small kittens are never given the chance to get the life that they deserve. I assume you are going to keep her?

Minna Mäkinen

it takes some time for them to start mewing, and longer to recognize their own name .. i am also pro kitty news btw, obviously.. the traditional naming ceremony for cats in our family , they have to be half to a year old ... making sure the cat is looking in another direction/away from you call to the cat using various names until the cat turns around .. to be honest i don't always use it ..(i am overwhelmed with cats)... and they all seem happy enough to answer to "dummy"... which makes it easy to beacon an army of felines with one word (two if you count "ta3"- lebanese for come) incidentally two finger snaps (sharp recurring sounds will be easy to associate to) means let's eat .. they run to the bowls when they hear it . mitzy and rocky chose their name .. brucey though didn't .. a cat that looks like batman shall be named bruce .. it's de-nerdifyable

marwan abou jaoudeh

Haha! That is some fabulous food for thought. Thank you!

Tracy Butler

Oh oh oh! I've been accruing a list of cat names for several years now for whenever I end up with another furball in my life. Try these on for size: Missey Diva Naomi Mrs. Funnybottom Madam Mim Morgana Leia, Queen of the Ice People Xena Warrior Princess Tootsie, Princess of the 3rd Ring Athena Aunt Jemima Princess Sprinkle Paws Hera Isis Cleopatra Savannah, Queen of Wales Anastasia, Divine Keeper of the Final Gateway Gypsy Luna, Queen of the Moon People Barbarella, Queen of the Space Elves Baroness von Tootie Her Royal Highness, Naomi, Queen of the Land Squids

MrJingles

Yay! Healthy kitteh is healthy! =D (I'd say you could make a voting post and have everyone upvote names, but you'd be the one yelling at her for pulling some shenanigans)

Minzoku Bokumetsu

Great news. Kittens that young can be, as you say, very fragile, but the lil' scudder clearly has a will to live. I would therefore suggest a name of a fighter, and Calamity Jane seems to fit the bill in all regards. (8 visits, day-um.) Also, bless your very kind and selfless heart, ma'am. It takes a good heart to treat the little creatures in the world with us so well; St. Francis would certainly approve. Hope you get some rest after all the craziness.

Joshua Edwards

It's an anime joke to start with: "All cats are named Tama, all dogs are Alexander" (Gintama). Depending on the kanji, it means Spirit, Ball, or Pearl, and since he was rather pearly white before he went full on siamese pattern, full of spirit and basically a little ball of trouble, it happened.

Jean DeWolfe

How about Hope

Zolvira

Fantastic news! Thank you so much for keeping us all in the loop throughout Ms. Butler- as an "Internet Dweller" you can spam kittens at me anytime you like- I for one don't mind hearing about her at all. Alas, no good names come to mind for me- she needs something "special" and it's just not coming to me at the moment. Whatever you choose, I'm sure it will be a terrific fit for the lovely little lady. Thanks for posting Ms. Butler, and rock most awesomely on!

Maklarr4000

Huzzah for good news! I love a happy ending. I'm tossing out the name "Mewkasa" (Mikasa being the battleship) because yay for punny references only Battleship nerds will catch, and she is worthy of a fighter's name. Tiny but feisty!

Jessica Rockeman

Beanie

Akiyo

In Japanese "Mirai" can mean future, and Kiseki means miracle.

Akiyo

given her miraculous recovery, I think a name that means "miracle" would be fitting. For some reason i also want the name to have middle eastern origins. XD I would suggest "Ayah" but that sounds too much like the Chinese phrase expressing exasperation. "Mirai" is pretty, so is "Mira," and I think they're both french.

Ama

Oh, my suggestion for a name: Jolie (beautiful or pretty in French I think?) Kind of sounds like Jelly (bean). :)

GracieV

Thank you so much for the update, I'm so happy she's doing better!

GracieV

Me too! I'm grateful to still have her here. I'll count yours as another vote for Arya, then. =)

Tracy Butler

Aww - good! What's his name? Yes, torties and calicos have a reputation for being feisty little things. I think Penny/Penelope is a cute name, but it doesn't have that touch-of-fire aspect to it that I think would suit this little one.

Tracy Butler

You do realize we all now expect to see her properly anthropomorphized in the strip, somewhere, yes?

daGrimm

Good suggestion - I do like daisies, after all. =)

Tracy Butler

Hehe - cute!

Tracy Butler

Yeah, Mina makes me think of Dracula too. I don't know why it was at the forefront of my mind when filling out paperwork for her vet visits, but I'm not so sure it fits her for that reason. Harley's a good idea, though!

Tracy Butler

Hehe - good call. It probably won't be her 'official' name, but as a nickname, it'll likely stick.

Tracy Butler

Hehe, well it has certainly been her nickname to date, but as a dignified adult, she might look at me with resentment if I'm still calling her Jellybean. ;) Good for you for protesting that pet shop...and for toughing it out with poor Fara.

Tracy Butler

Great suggestions! One of those might just fit.

Tracy Butler

Very cute. Very awesome of you to take care of her. <3

Alan Evans

Since someone mentioned Fitzgerald...how about just keep calling her JellyBean? :) <a href="http://www.encyclopaedia.com/ebooks/51/16.pdf" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://www.encyclopaedia.com/ebooks/51/16.pdf</a>

Stacey Chronister

So very glad she's doing well. Hm-m-m-m-m, names for kitties. With the diamond like pattern on her face, how about Harlequin? That could be either Harley or Quinn in nickname mode. I like Mina, too, though that always puts me in mind of Dracula. There are old standby's like Patches, and I also really like Jellybean.

Patricia J. Knoop

Twizzle

daGrimm

Mae

Okay, but I do a lot of rescue and know how much it can be and am always happy to help a fellow rescuer and cat lover. If you ever need help, please do not hesitate to reach out!! After all, we're patrons of your art, not your charity :) Best of luck with your new baby! You are an amazing person on so many levels!

Nevi Ozturk

Your heart matches your genius.

Doscher

*dries face* I very much like the name Arya. Good for a tough little kitty.

Sam Stump

Jellybean is a fun nickname. As for her official name -- well, you already know my suggestion.

Pho-Kadat

Mina is hard to improve upon, although there's a very good chance "Jellybean" will stick. Our own Hercule is far more often called Doc, which was a step up from "hey, cat" while we settled on the supposedly-correct name.

Dirck de Lint

Oh no... how can anything so tiny be so massively adorable? Your story reminds me of my tortoiseshell baby and how, after we rescued her from a pet shop that we protested outside to have shut down because of the massively inhumane conditions (poor kitties cramped up in tiny cages with no room to move in the sweltering heat), she was so sick with a worm infestation that we were told she almost certainly had brain damage and wouldn't make it through the night. I was just a little kid at the time and my mum was so sure Fara wouldn't be coming home that she got me another cat, a ginger boy I named Fox. Amazingly, Fara pulled through and we were able to bring her home 4 days later. She eventually passed at only 6 from stomach cancer and was always a bit on the sickly side, but she had a great life. Fox lived to be 18 and I heard he passed a few months ago... so sad I didn't get to say goodbye. He was keeping my mum company back in England after I moved to the US. Anyway, sorry for such a long story. I hope your little Jellybean (yep, I'm on the 'bean bandwagon too) thrives and has an awesome long life! So many kudos for giving the silly little baby a chance against the odds. You're awesome.

Alex

Though I am also digging Jellybean quite a bit, you could also name her after another famous tough lady, especially if you want to go for an awesome Lackadaisy-era type name! Examples: the unsinkable Molly Brown, Clara barton, Annie Lumpkins (or any of the other famous badass Annies), Rosie the riveter/Wendy the welder, Ada Lovelace, Nellie Bly, etc. etc. etc.

Leigh Legler

^_^

marwan abou jaoudeh

Thank you for the suggestions! Maxine is very cute, and I agree - if I can find something Jazz Age appropriate that suits her, I might go that direction.

Tracy Butler

Aww, yeah, pet stores are notorious breeding grounds for terrible diseases like parvo and FIP. I'm glad your lab made it out alive!

Tracy Butler

That's exceedingly thoughtful - but you're already a generous patron, and I couldn't really ask for more! Thank you very much, in any case. Vets do cost a fortune, especially on an emergency basis. I had been setting aside some money for new kitchen appliances and a new couch. I was happy to dip into that for her, though.

Tracy Butler

Wow - what a story. Bucket was a scrapper. It is amazing how fast they latch onto your heart, even when they're mean little buggers...and also amazing how resilient they can turn out to be, despite seeming so fragile.

Tracy Butler

Daaaw! I think Mina is the perfect name for her. I hope she grows up big and strong.

John

Awww, our little guy was tiny when we got him, too. Now he's a beast! What about Penny? Calico's often have a very vocal personality, so many cats in one little parti-color coat.

Jean DeWolfe

That's awesome! She's so cute, it would have been too sad if she didn't make it. D: As for names, I really like Arya, actually~ :)

Beck Rachwitz

It's amazing how deep a little furball can sink those needle-sharp claws into your heart, isn't it? My parents found their first kitten on a camping trip while my Mom was pregnant with my older brother. Even half-dead from starvation, she led them on a merry little chase theough the woods. The poor thing was so starved, she was basically pooping saliva, and she spent her first undignified night of human ownership confined to a bucket with a towel. Nineteen years later, Bucket, the bitchiest old calico you'd ever meet, died in her sleep laying next to my mother, the only human being she never tried to kill. Hopefully your little jellybean grows up with a better temper than Bucket. At least she'll definitely have a better name. Get some sleep.

Ascender

That's so wonderful!! But it must've cost a fortune - is there anywhere I can make a special donation to you for the baby?

Nevi Ozturk

I like these updates on the kitten, actually :) So glad she's okay! I had a similar scare with my Labrador when we got her as a puppy. The pet store we got her from had very unsanitary conditions, and she wound up with a case of kennel cough that quickly escalated into full-blown pneumonia. The vet wasn't sure she would make it. Anywho, congrats are in order for your persistence and dedication. I'm sure any name you choose will be a good one!

Nicole Zalles

So glad things seem to be looking up! You should give her a 20s-30s name! New Lackadaisy character perhaps? :) She kind of reminds me of a cat I used to have named Maxine, that could be a good name, but I like Penelope as well! Hope she keeps feeling well and thanks for the update!

Tristan Chace

Mina is a great name. You've been around her all this time so you'd know best - go with your first instinct I say. Which could of course be Jellybean as Stephen proffered.

Woodchi

I'm kinda digging Jellybean as well. Or Penelope. She's precious. Bless you for taking her on and fighting so hard to keep her alive. What a tough little beastie she must be. Fingers crossed that she stays stable and strong.

Bear and Bun Customs

Awww, thanks for the update! I hope you continue to share her story with us every once and a while. Also, I like the name Jellybean ^-^

Katie Struk

I kinda liked their term you used in the first post , "Jellybean"

Stephen Rushbrook

YAY!!!! This makes me so happy!!!

Erika Hapke

Mechakitty

Mert


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