Somehow I finally got the wallet to fully sync before I saw your reply, but thank you for being prompt with the assistance.  I've opened and closed the wallet a few times since then and there've been no more hiccups.

I really do hope MEWC lasts, because for whatever reason I have grown fond of it.  Perhaps it's my fancy for the feline species, perhaps because the DAG size doesn't make my 1050Ti crap out like Ravencoin does.  Regardless, most new altcoins show promise and enthusiasm in the beginning and then begin the long, slow decline to obscurity.  May MeowCoin not suffer that fate.