A brief update:
After spending two days not moving much and hissing at Ella, Billie transformed into über-kitten, playing with every toy (a bent pipecleaner being her favorite) and running around like a nut. That lecture we gave her about kittens with no personality having to go back to the pound must have sunk in.
She even started to tolerate Ella and came withing a belly's distance without hissing (that's Ella on top, Billie below, Husband in the middle).
But meanwhile, Ella, who came with the kitten cold most cats catch at the Humane Society, got sicker and sicker. She stopped eating. A quick trip to the vet and $175 later, she was pumped full of fluids, vitamins, antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and an appetite stimulant and was on the road to recovery. The only good thing about her being sick was that Billie (who had caught the kitten cold herself) was sympathetic and let Ella sleep in the same basket with her.(Ella is the one talking in the picture.)
Now they are both on antibiotics but are feeling pretty frisky, even if they do sneeze a lot. Ella has packed on some pounds -- well, ounces -- thanks to the special fat food from the vet. They still sleep in the same basket, but they spend most waking hours playing an elaborate game of Kitten Tag that involves lots of wiggling, hopping, nose tapping, and mad dashes across the free-fire zone of the bedroom.
Okay, okay . . . back to the books. I just started Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann. Perfect for this rainy weekend while I watch the Jazz Cats play.