Slowly, but surely, I am getting things ready to try all of this again.
As part of the diagnosis on wee Cricket, the doctor ran a serum test on her blood and saw a slight positive for panleukopenia (a.k.a. feline distemper). In all honesty, she showed none of the other symptoms of panleukopenia, and the vet felt the slight positive was caused by a vaccination she had received a few days before she adopted me. (Don't get me started on vaccinations.
) But panleukopenia is scary contagious and is almost always deadly to young kittens. As a result, I am scrubbing this place with some really powerful disinfectants. I have one disinfectant that can kill any virus, when misted on at a mixture of 2 ounces per gallon of water, so I am mixing at 4 ounces per gallon. I am scrubbing with a disinfectant and scalding water, two times, then misting everything with the final disinfectant and allowing it to air dry. Once I am finished with all the hard surfaces, then I will be steam-cleaning the carpets, the furniture and the bed. After that process, I will go back over everything and misting with disinfectant, one last time. By that time, I will be the only thing left alive in this place. I've already tossed all of the old toys, the old food and water bowls and the old litterboxes out, so nothing is left that could be infected with anything. It sounds like a lot of work for something that cannot be proven, but I am not wanting to run any more risks.
I already have a local shelter on the look-out for me. I have them watching for two (yes, I said 'two') female, sibling kittens. I am hoping to get a pair of gray and white domestics, but that is not as important as the requirement for them to be litter mates. I want them to be siblings, so they will know one another well, so they will always have built-in playmates and so they never have to go through the adjustment of losing each other. One of the kittens will be named Angel, whilst the other will be named Cricket.
I figure this will not only honor my girls, but will also give me some company around here. It is just taking a lot of work to get things ready.