As promised from from last week, a shot of Bella from her scraggly days. And this isn’t even her at her scraggliest – the eye infection has healed, and she’s pretty cleaned up – but still, not the kind of kitten you’d encounter in a Disney movie. More like something that crawled up out of the drain. Or Oscar the Grouch’s trash can.
Note the uncertainty in the eyes. “Oh, innocent little kitteh me! I’m so uncertain!” The Stray and I have taken to calling this the “help, I exist!” look that every kitten wears in the first few months of life, where they don’t know what to do with themselves, but hey! Look! A tail! GET!!!

Fast forward three years, where the wide eyes have melted into a 24/7 disquieting gaze. Which is at its maximum power when lurking on top of the toilet seat and waiting for the obliviously showering human to throw back the curtain.