Elegant Eloise

It only took me 38 hours to heed the lesson imparted by other kitten fosters...  Always wear pants in the foster room.  Heck, I want one of the suits that attack dog trainers wear.  Forget weapons of mass destruction.  Kitten claws can take down an army.

"I'm sorry, Lady.  Did you really think we were just sweet little fuzzballs with marshmallow fluff filling?  I come programmed with mad-Ninja skills!"

The introduction of pants appears to have made them even wilder.  Just as McDonalds is the official fast food of the Olympic Games, my pants have become the official playground of the front room.  They are part climbing pole, part monkey bars, and (when I'm sitting on the floor with my knees raised) an excellent tunnel for use in stalking your brother or sister.

Please ignore the scattered cat litter on the floor.  Concentrate instead on the adorable baby kittens playing peek-a-boo underneath the curtain.

Pictures are getting harder to come by... as they get healthier, they get blurrier too.  Just when I think I've got a good shot, something distracts them and they're gone at the speed of light.  The convinced my camera is the BEST TOY EVER.  The dangling lens cap and camera strap are distracting and need attacking frequently.  If I leave the camera on the floor, they swarm it for a thorough investigation.  I may need to bring a second camera or my iPhone to get a shot of that.

Did I mention that they're into everything?

"Hey guys!  Look!!!!  The lady bought cans at the store!!!!"

"I'm sorry, Lady.  I cannot allow you to put away these cans until you pay the proper toll.  One can plus a snuggling ought to do it."

We're off first thing this morning to take Penny to the vet for her spay.  The kittens are coming along to get a quick check.  Apparently, the exams of the remaining kittens to come out of their foster situation revealed a bit more to look for in these guys.  I anticipate all will be well...  Porter's eyes are clearing up; The fleas are meeting their match; Henry's wheezing seems to be quieting; Their energy levels and appetites are on the rise.  In short, our babies are ready to launch a blitzkrieg of epic proportions on anyone who is willing to step foot into their space.  Even Norman seems okay with staying in the foyer (and there's kitten crunchies in there!!!)

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Elegant Eloise

Our Miss Eloise is the petite princess of the foster room.  Shyer and more reserved than her brothers, she's the last to purr and doesn't need or push for as much attention from me.  But when she wants it, our Weezy has the loudest, most plaintive demand of the bunch.  She demanded that I drop everything yesterday afternoon to cuddle the itty bitty baby.  Of course I obliged her... laundry and vacuuming are overrated anyway.

"Ha!  So I made my sad little baby kitty face at the Lady and whined.  She laid down on the floor for over an hour so I could suck on her arm and purr.  Is she an easy target or what??"

Our teeny tiny tabby girl got her name from the Eloise children's books.  I have always wanted a kitten named Eloise who would wreak havoc.  While she's a bit more reserved with people, Eloise can take down both of her much bigger brothers in a quick second.  ((The boys would like you to know that they are merely playing gently with their sister and can handle her quite nicely if they got it in mind... which they will, in about 4.7 seconds.))

Eloise loves her brother Henry.

"Yes, I love him.  But don't tell him.  His head is big enough already."

She has the most nicknames so far of any kitten in the room: Ellie, Weezy (Jefferson, not a health issue... she's the healthiest kitten in the room too), Ouiser (Steel Magnolias is only the best chick flick ever, and our girl has a bit of Ouiser sass to boot!).  I'm sure we'll come up with a few more in the next day or so.

A study in stripes... Eloise is the smaller, darker, stripier tabby in the front.  Henry is the bigger, lighter, more spotted tabby underneath her.

Eloise is a brown tabby... darker and stripier than her brother Henry.  She has exceptionally short legs and resembles a Dachshund when she strolls across the room.  I'd say they're about half the length of Henry's legs.  He towers over her when they stand next to each other.  Ouiser also has the biggest, most bat-like ears I've ever seen on a not-quite 2 pound kitten.  I fully expect her to take flight any moment now.  The size of her ears and the length of her legs combined with her huge round eyes give her a unique appearance.  She tends to look overly serious in just about every picture I take, but trust me that the girl has spunk and personality and she's very, very happy to be here with her brothers.

Brothers to the left of me.  Brothers to the right.  Here she is... stuck in the middle with them.

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Update

Penny and the babies are currently at the vet's office for the day.  I wasn't expecting them to keep the kittens, but it makes sense considering it's surgery day.  They will squeeze in the babies' exam when they can and I'll bring them home with Penny late this afternoon.  I will update both the blog and the Facebook page with the news when they arrive home (and will, of course, have the full story in tomorrow's post).  Have a great day, everyone!

Update, Part 2

Penny and the babies are home from their day at the vet.  Penny is still groggy, but resting comfortably.  The kittens are running like their tails are on fire after being confined to a cage all day.  The story is long... one part complicated, one part unbelievable.  I'll tell the whole thing in tomorrow's post.