Handsome Henry

What a difference 24 hours can make in the life of a small kitten!  Our babies went from wheezy, sneezy, flea ridden messes to happy-go-lucky, animated, snugglebugs in just one day.

I'm not quite willing to declare the issue 100% resolved, but I think (I hope!) that we are just about to the other side of the flea drama.  Porter and Henry were clean all day following their dose of Frontline.  Eloise had noticeably fewer and fewer fleas throughout the day.  By mid-afternoon, everything that I took off her was already dead.  By dinnertime, there was nothing to remove from her fur.  I will remain at kamikaze cleaning pace for the next few days to make sure they are gone for good.

Remember when I said that I was just waiting for Tommy to bring down the living room blinds?  I think the kittens will finish off the foster room blinds first.  Notice Miss Eloise sizing up the end of the blind cord for her attack.

While one level up, Porter works on another set of cords.  Henry is trying so hard to attack both cord and sister down below that he's turned himself into a blur.

"Bringing down the blinds is tiring.  Hey Henry,  you take a turn while I rest here on your back."

And here I thought Henry and Eloise were the troublemakers.  Turns out Henry doesn't care who his partner in crime is... as long as they're willing to raise a bit of a ruckus.

((Psst... don't worry, I hung up the cords after I was done shooting the photos to protect both blinds and kitten))

Miss Penelope is enjoying her new digs upstairs in the family room.  She traded the full wall of windows for softer furniture and more frequent companions.  Crazy thunderstorms alternating with temperatures in the mid-90s kept the kids inside for the most part on Tuesday.  Between the television, the board games, and the books, Penny's room became the cool kids' hangout.  Sleeping bags and pillows moved in on Tuesday night.  I imagine Penny will be up until at least 2 a.m. giggling with the girls at her very first slumber party.

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Handsome Henry

And you'd better believe he knows how beautiful he is!!

For the rest of the week, I'll be spotlighting one of our fabulous kittens per day.  Leading off is our sweet boy Henry. Henry is a brown tabby with more of a marbled look.  He's covered in dashes, dots, and squiggles.  His coloring is much lighter than his sister Eloise and his legs MUCH longer.  He seriously looks twice her height.  I will endeavor to photograph both the markings and the height discrepancy for a later post.

Henry is a remarkable bit of sugary-sweet baby mixed neatly with hell-raising spitfire.  He is the first kitten to charge the door when I enter the foster room.  He has complaints... many of them.  Henry's demands usually include "Pet me!", "Hold me!", "Snuggle me!", "Kiss me!" and "Don't get up!"  I've very happy to oblige since in return I receive purring that's as loud as my son's snare drum in the school marching band.  ((Seriously, did you all know how loud baby kittens purr??  Sheesh, OSHA should recommend ear plugs for this job!))

Our boy never met a toy he didn't like, but he's especially fond of the track ball.  He's found a serious wrestling partner in Porter.  With the leaps, pirouettes, and sheer brute force that Henry incorporates into his wrestling moves, I anticipate a long and storied career with the USA Olympic gymnastics, or the Boishoi Ballet, or maybe even Mixed Martial Arts.   He is absolutely obsessed with my necklace, my bangs, and my nose and takes every opportunity to swipe at or nip each of the above.  The scratches on my neck and nose?  Henry.

Henry is the classroom monitor.  He must know everything that is happening at every moment in time.  Unfortunately, he takes this to extremes by following Porter and Eloise into the litter box... digging holes for them, burying as they go, and playing with their tails at inopportune moments.

Hey lady... that's a nice camera you have.  How about you put it down and snuggle me?

Henry has a gravelly, frog-like meow that's much like Cap'n Floof over at Love & Hisses (scroll down and play the video if you haven't already... it's great!).  I can't decide whether this will be his normal speak or if the congestion from his upper respiratory crud is affecting his voice.  Henry's still a bit wheezy when he plays hard but it doesn't slow him down one bit. 

We're kicking back to relax with kittens for the holiday today.  Here's hoping that whatever you do is safe, relaxing, and enjoyable.   Check back tomorrow for an in-depth look at our next kitten... same Bat-time, same Bat-channel  ;-)