It's looking more and more likely that this is my new cat. He (or she) is the neighborhood cat, a very loving but feisty and very small cop cat (i.e., black-and-white). I started calling her (or him) "Trouble" because, invariably, that is what would ensue when he (or she) came into contact with my landlady's nearly identical cop cat ("Boots"). When Boots came into my yard, he was always looking for Trouble; hence the name. I quickly made friends with this love-starved animal, but I was unsure if she (or he) was a stray or just a wayward neighbor. 
Trouble insists on this profile shot, claiming it makes him (or her) look more dignified. Anything you say, little Trouble. My friends L&D were considering giving me one of their cats, so I bought all of the necessities so as to be prepared when they came to dinner last weekend. Prior to that, however, and after an absence of about a week, Trouble suddenly appeared in my backyard, and when I asked her (or him) in, she (or he) quickly accepted, and we began a settling-in process. This week, I took an overnight trip down to the Bay Area, and the minute I stepped out of the car upon my return, there was Trouble, asking to be let in. We've been more or less inseparable since (although he or she is outside now.)
It's still an open question whether the other cat ("Deuce") will be joining the family, but it seems unlikely.
Trouble is a lap cat that gets overstimulated easily, resulting in love bites that can be fairly deep. As we haven't been to the V-E-T yet, I'm hoping that she or he will not break the skin until we can have some tests done and shots administered. And maybe then we can clear up the mystery of whether Trouble is a he or a she, before rendering that distinction an historical curiosity.
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