Growing Up

I asked Eloise to take a break from sharing her brother stories for today.  Her third and last brother has wormed his way into a special place in my heart.  He's come such a long way in his time here that I found myself in tears talking about his progress last night.  So I figured that I should be the one to tell you all about our Porter.

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Kitten's Real Name: Porter

Kitten's Approximate Date of Birth: April 2, 2012.

(Making Porter approximately 21 weeks old... almost 5 whole months!)

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Kitten's Nicknames: Porkchop, Porter Pop, Po-Ta, and

Po-Po

"Just because Porter likes to impersonate the siren of emergency vehicles whenever he's hungry, you call him Po-Po?  How about Porter call the real Po-Po because of your dumb nicknames?"

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Porter came to us at the beginning of July as a sweet goopy mess.  Crawling with hundreds of fleas and fighting an eye infection, I really thought he was at his lowest on that day.  And then the ringworm diagnosis came.

"Can we stop talking about those worms sometime soon?  Porter's had enough of worms to last him for.stinking.ever already."

Henry and Eloise had just enough ringworm to make life irritating.  Porter (poor little baby Porter) fought a war of epic proportions.  His face was riddled with welts.  His ears were rough and scaly.  All four of his legs were bald.  There were times that I despaired that we were never going to be rid of it.

And just look at how beautiful this boy is now!

Timid little Porter retreated into his shell in my presence for weeks.  He associated me with all of the bad stuff... medication and bathing were at the top of his naughty list.  If I reached for him, he shrunk away, slunk away, and cowered in a corner.  I worried that he hadn't been adequately socialized and that he would have trouble when the time came for adoption.  I'll admit now that my feelings were just a tiny bit hurt that he would have rather had nothing to do with me on most days.

And now he comes looking for me whenever he's scared or needs a hug... and I'm just hating every minute of it ;-)

Porter began his time here as a loner and a sideline sitter.  He watched every little thing that Henry, Eloise, and Ben did, but rarely joined in the game.

And now he's smack dab in the middle of it all...

Getting a little bossy...

And starting to become an instigator...

While leading the charge at the door to get out and explore the rest of the world...

With a rumbling purr that's as loud as the other three kittens' put together.

Things are definitely looking up for our Porter Chop.

In the past two weeks, my Porter has morphed from a shy, scared, trembling baby to a confident, ruffian, racehorse of a kitten who knows what he wants and isn't afraid to chase after it (at high speed).  I'm not worried one little bit about sending him off into the world.  He's ready... even if I'm not.

"Pfft... Just when you let Porter out of the room, you're sending him to a cage?  How will Porter run up and down the stairs like a white streak there?"

Wednesday is probably our last full day with the Washington babes.  Thursday marks one full week of eye drops.  As long as the goopy eye stays gone, our kittens are ready to move to Petco.  Ben will be on his way... he's more than ready and desperately needs a mama who can cuddle him 15 hours a day and who will allow him to play in the blinds during the other 9.  Not sure who his traveling companion will be yet... could be Porter, could be Eloise, could be both.  They're both strong, confident, healthy and ready.  I've changed my mind 20 times since yesterday.  

"Tell you what, Lady... You send that new guy Baz to get adopted and Porter will stay here and sniff your feet for you.  Porter can be the stink detector."

Henry and Baz will be sticking around for a while.  Henry takes his last dose of Batril on Sunday, so he can make the move early next week.  Baz is making improvements in his interactions with the others, but I can't see myself ready to unleash him on the confines of the Petco adoption center (especially since MY babies will be there!)

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Another Newbie

 We have one last brother in the Adams clan.  Our little gray and white tuxie...

Say hello to Hudson.

Hudson is one adorable teeny tiny ball of fluff.  He's air within a puff... the tiniest kitten in weight, even though his floof suit makes him look bigger.  And he is a ridiculous mess.

If a mess can be made with it, you will find Hudson in the middle.  He sits in food dishes... wet and dry, full and empty.  He rolls in litter boxes.  He is quickly becoming the master of bath taking.

He's a precious little poppet and I love him dirty or clean (although I do wish he were clean a bit more of the time)