A Naked Princess in a Cage

I know you've all been following the saga of the Princess Kitty, and hanging on every twist of the plot... OK, to be honest, I know that it's not exactly a big deal to anybody but me... but...
Princess has come inside!!!!

After my doomed attempt to trap her, and then when the Orange Boy tested positive for feline leukemia, I had pretty much given up all hope of trying to adopt her. But, she apparently had other ideas. A few days ago, she started coming close to me. I mean, I've been feeding this cat for 6 months and she wouldn't let me get within 10 feet of her, and suddenly this week she started approaching me.

I didn't know what to make of it, but I decided that maybe she was trying to tell me something, so I stuck my hand out and she actually came up to me and let me pet her! Well, to make a long story short, within 24 hours she had done a total 180 and decided that I was her shelter and not a threat. Once she got a taste of being petted, she couldn't get enough. She literally crawled into my lap, and curled up into a purring ball. It was a miracle!

Sooo... once that happened, I just didn't have the heart to let her stay out there under the tree, so I scooped her up and brought her to the vet. I was pretty sure she was gonna test positive for FIV/Leukemia because she'd been exposed to the Orange Boy, but I had devised a plan to build an outdoor enclosure on the detached garage and let her go in and out through the window.

But then... another miracle... she tested negative! There was much rejoicing! The poor little thing (she's only 8 pounds) was totally covered with thick mats. The vet said they'd probably have to knock her out and shave her to get them out... but then, another miracle... she actually let them shave her without being sedated! The vet and all the technicians were just beside themselves, because apparently even most house cats won't let you get near them with the clippers. I could hear them in the back room while they were shaving her exclaiming "OMG - she's actually purring!" I think she wanted those mats off of her!

She hasn't figured out the litter box yet (she's 0 for 4 so far), and she was pretty wiped out yesterday from all of the excitement and the shots, but given the way I was thinking it was gonna turn out, litter box issues seem like a trivial thing to deal with. So, she's in a training cage at the moment, with a kitty heating pad to keep her warm since she's pretty much naked after having all of the mats shaved out. And I am beside myself with joy.

Who knew?!? Well, I guess she did...