The Newest Member of the Family

This is Yukiko. She came to our house over a month ago, along with 2 of her siblings. We woke up on a Saturday morning to find two of them sitting in our stroller that was folded up outside our door, and a third in our neighbors car engine. They were maybe a month old, and very wild. They had never been around the condos before, and were clearly strays, so we brought them in. Little by little the other two acclimated to us, letting us pet them, but Yukiko would only stare at us with wild eyes from behind the dryer.
A week later, I went into the laundry room to check on them, and one was completely laid out, unable to walk, and meowing pitifully. The vet said feline distemper, very common in wild cats, not much to be done, and if the one had it, the other two did as well, and would all die.
We were devastated--we would have to sit and watch them drop off one by one. Which is just what happened. The first was gone by morning, the next by that night, and we resigned ourselves to watch Yukiko follow her siblings. An interesting thing happened in the meantime, however. As soon as the other two were gone, this very shy and wild kitten came out from behind the dryer and sought our company as much as possible. She couldn't get enough love and attention. She was clearly very lonely with the other two gone.
Week after week has gone by, and Yukiko has just gotten stronger and more playful. We now let her out in the house, and Rebekah loves her, though the cat has quickly learned to stay away from her small but strong hands. The other day I walked into the hall to see Rebekah with a book open in her lap, with the kitten firmly held by the neck in one arm. She was reading to her, and not letting her get away. But Yukiko will sit very still, not moving a muscle, until I pry Beck's hands open, then she'll bolt.
We're no animal experts, but we think she's made it past the danger, and we find ourselves with a new pet. We've followed the Padeken family tradition of giving Japanese names to our pets--Yukiko means "fortunate one."