Tigger Thursday

Just in case you missed it... We're famous!  Connie at Tails from the Foster Kittens included us in her series "Interview with a Fosterer" yesterday.  Click the link to read all about it.

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Mother Jefferson made the trip to the vet Wednesday to be spayed.  I learned a few very important things about her throughout the experience...

The first thing is that she apparently was an opera singer before the kiddos were born.  She had quite a bit to say along the drive, but it was all quite musical and pleasant sounding.  I hope her forever family will encourage this talent and help her get back into the business.

The second is that our kind sweet Mama remains a kind sweet Mama even under the stress of a veterinarian's office and surgical procedure.  She shocked the techs by refusing to give them "tortie tude" even once during the day.   She purred coming out of the anesthesia and was interested in playing and eating almost immediately.

The third is that our Mama wants to be a Mama, no matter what.  The vet recommended that we separate Mama from Lionel and Willie Rae for a couple of days to allow her to recover in peace, so we relocated the babies into the main house (allowing them some wandering time, but putting them in a bedroom for the evening).  Mother Jefferson, ignoring her physical condition, spent her first few hours home at the glass door to the foster room.  She meowed loudly, knocked on the door, tried to paw her way out, and bounced as if she were riding a pogo stick.... right up to the moment that we gave her babies back.  Lionel and Willie Rae ran to Mama, who gave them both thorough inspections and baths.  She flopped over to nurse them and then they settled into a cat bed to sleep through the night.

She is such a good Mama.  

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With Mother Jefferson gone for the day, I opened up the door to the foster room and allowed Lionel and Willie Rae to have their freedom.  After a few shaky, fraidy cat moments, they blossomed into brave adventurous kittens.  They ran and jumped and played for hours.  After a few hours, Willie Rae went back into the foster room and called loudly for Lionel.  When he arrived, they cuddled up in a sunny spot and took a nice long nap.

I didn't take pictures yesterday because I was having too much fun with the babies.  But there was a song running through my head all day that I thought I might set to pictures....

Oh, the

wonderful thing about kittens

is kittens are wonderful things!

Their tops are made out of rubber.

Their bottoms are made out of springs.

They're bouncy,

trouncy,

flouncy,

pouncy,

Fun,

fun,

fun,

fun,

FUN!!!

But the most wonderful thing about kittens

is that there's always another one!

Always..... another one!

The earworm

You're welcome

Help!!!!!

A.K.A. Pausing for Reflection and Clarity on Thursday

Things are all a jumble in Teeny Tiny Tabby Town.  For the first time in forever every single resident is healthy and just where they are supposed to be physically, but....

We're having some behavior problems.

Readers have long been entertained with Norman's food exploits.  After all, our little old man provides a bit of funny with getting stuck breadstick bags and making off with the family roast.  But his food issues are starting to get serious.  I wouldn't necessarily call him aggressive (yet) but he is, without a doubt, absolutely obsessed.

Norman is not sick.  His recent blood work says that everything is working normally.  His behavior from the beginning has always told me that our boy starved at some point in his life and was responsible for his own survival.  I had hoped that he would relax a bit as time went by and he would realize that he would never go hungry here.  Unfortunately, that is not the case.

Thieving raids are frequent.  I feel defensive in the kitchen, needing to guard or hide every single thing that is remotely edible.  Norman does not relax, so I cannot either.  When he steals something, he runs off and hides while devouring his spoils with gluttony.  He makes himself sick, vomiting if he eats too quickly (which he always does in these circumstances).  If we close him in another room while we cook or eat, he is beside himself... howling non-stop until we let him out.  If we try to have a snack away from the table, we expect to engage in hand-to-paw combat with him.  He is relentless.

Norm is not starving.  He has a bit of old man boniness, but overall he's in much better shape than when we brought him home in January.  This isn't a normal and casual  "Hey... What are you eating?  Can I have some?"  This is "I want that.  GIVE IT TO ME NOW!!!!"  I'm at my wit's end and could use some practical advice on how to deal with a bad-mannered and potentially dangerously obsessed cat.

I should add that this behavior is escalating.  While he's always been over-interested in what we're eating, it's just over the past couple months that he's reached the level of "serious pest" and only in the past couple weeks that I feel like this is becoming something critically important.  

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And Issue #2...

She looks very sweet, she acts very sweet, but...

Our Mother Jefferson is having issues playing nicely outside the foster room.  Inside the front room, she is happy... always purring, looking for affection, snuggling non-stop and never raising a paw in anger (never seen it, even with pushy kittens).  Outside the foster room, she started off beautifully.  Walking up to Charlie and rubbing on his legs.  Walking up to Norman to bump noses and say hello.  Walking up to Simba and expecting to sit down next to him and relax.

Something changed inside Mother Jefferson once her babies were allowed out of the foster room for extended periods of time.  When given the chance, she now charges outside the room looking for danger.  She chases down the other cats, going on the attack and cornering them in a rage.  She puffs up, screams at Simba and Norman, scratches them, and continues to do so until she is dragged off and locked back in the foster room.  I understand the difference... the presence of her babies.  But the only thing I know to do about it is not let her out of the room any longer.  She begs non-stop to come out, but I won't put my cats in danger.

With it only happening twice, my cats are acting differently.  Simba hides upstairs and I have to coax him down.  He isn't sleeping with me on cold nights, which is completely against his norm.  And speaking of a norm, Norman marked his territory last night... my bed.  Sigh.

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And...

In the middle of all of this, our human family is going through upheaval.  My husband, a United States military officer, has received a short-notice transfer to Washington DC.  It's only for a year, so the kids and I are not moving.  But he is (and pretty much right now).  Two-thirds of the kids are taking it well.  The third might drive me to drink.  It just doesn't seem like the right time to make any more changes to our family.  Which means...

 

Someone's Petfinder profile might be going public this weekend.

I'm not making any definite pronouncements, just a warning that I might have to let him go to a calmer environment.  I love every foster that comes through my door as if they are my own and can honestly say that I don't love Clay any more than the rest of them.  It's just always been a different kind of relationship.  As he gets older and more independent, he is not as attached to me as he was a couple weeks ago.  And I can see myself letting him go.  But... notice that I said "might".  I'm just not sure right now (and anytime you're not sure, it's probably safer to err on the side of "no".  Let's face it, there's always another kitten who will need me.  I may or may not be receiving texts on that subject right now.)  

No decisions have been made, other than Baby Jeffersons will be going to adoption hours on Saturday (and I imagine not all of them will be coming home).  I have been asked to be on hand to evaluate adoption applications and hand-pick our babies' new families.  I just hope I feel more settled by then.  

Oh, and did I mention that the kid who would drive me to drink is lobbying to keep yet another one of the Jeffersons?  (And I'd totally keep that one too.  There's something about every single foster that makes me love them in a special way and think that I want to keep them.  But if I kept them all, I'd have no room or time for the next ones who need me even more.)

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In the middle of all this, cuteness abounds.  I love my kitties (permanent and foster) and will continue to work through all of these issues to make a better life for all of us.  If you have any advice for how to handle any of these situations, I would love to hear it in the comment section.

I will be taking lots of pictures for an astronomically huge Friday edition to make up for my whining today.  Have a great day everyone!

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And "Holy Crap! I Can't Believe I Forgot to Tell You This!!!!!"

Itty, bitty Adams sister Chevelle?  The one who snagged herself a home without ever going on Petfinder?  Well, there's a reason for that.  She was adopted within the family.  Paula's sister (who has an established thing for calicos) couldn't wait to take this sweetheart home with her.

You know what that means, don't you?  Someone we know is a big sister now...

Penelope Jean the Calico Queen has itty bitty Chevelle to push around now ;-)

(I'm not saying she would ever do that.  I just know how the sister thing works in my house.)

Foxy Mama Friday

Our gorgeous Mother Jefferson doesn't make herself available for photographs very often.

But when she does...

 Just look at that beautiful buff mixed in with her dark, dark black.

 Our tortie mama is unlikely to stay still in front of the camera because she really would prefer to be in your lap... purring, snuggling, purring, (did I mention purring?)

 You can hear her deep, calming purr throughout the foster room.

The fact that her kittens rarely purr is surprising to me since their mama is all purr, all the time.

"Love me!"

"HI MAMA!"

"Don't look at the kitten.  Look at the mama!"

"HI MAMA!"

"Oooooph!"

 "WILLIE RAE LOVES MAMA!!!!"

"WHAT???  Willie Rae DOES love her Mama!  And, no... Willie Rae is NOT too big for this!!"

"Do you SEE what I put up with?"

"A Mama's only revenge is jumping on them and giving them baths... dirty little brats."

"WAIT!  Where are you going?  Take me with you!  We could get a latte and a pedicure and discuss fine literature!  Or heck, we could take a nap uninterrupted! WAAAAAAAAAIIIIITT"

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FIELD TRIPS WITH FLO AND WILLIE RAE

"Roxie! Roxie! Let us in!!!!!! There's a DOG out here!"

"Lionel! Lionel! Let me in!!!!! The handle is right up THERE!!!!!"

(P.S. I love that Flo is hopping on one leg trying to get in through the window)

"Hmmm.... Flo AGAIN????!?!?!"

"Flo thinks she looked good on there.  Better than Clay....."

"Oooooooohhhhhhh... Florence LIKES fishies!!!!!!!!!!"

"Um... Lady?  Why is that big man making those weird noises at Florence?"

"ANOTHER short one???  Can Norman inquire as to your limit, Lady?"

"Is Norman not enough for you?"

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Now I ask you.... HOW could you possibly put him down to do housework?

Monday Mourning with Mama

Mother Jefferson was a good sport and put on her rally cap Sunday evening for the Detroit Tigers. Unfortunately, they failed to appreciate her efforts on their behalf.  

"You okay, Lady?  'Cause Lionel will totally kiss you on the nose and make you feel better."

He totally would, too.  Our little Lionel is quite the dumpling of love.  

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Our Baby Jeffersons are 8-weeks-old today.  Can you believe it?  We're closing in on being "officially adoptable".  In fact, I've been asked to upload their profiles to Petfinder this week.  I'm going to be waiting a few days though, while I decide whether or not a certain someone's picture will make it online.

"Are you my mama, Lady?"

We spent bits of time this weekend exposing the kittens to life outside of the foster room.  They're nowhere near as brave as litters past... and they're not in love with Charlie either.  We have a bit of time, though....

The decision has been made to turn the adoption condos at Petco into an "adults only" residence in order to feature our older cats and hopefully find their homes in time for the holidays.  Most of our rescue's kittens have been adopted into forever homes.  In fact, I have most of the available kittens living under my roof right now.  During the next couple of weeks, Mother Jefferson will be spayed and make the move to Petco after recovery.  Since they are now over 6-months-old and gangly teenagers more closely resembling adults than babies, our upstairs trio of Henry, Tika, and Abby will be moving back there once they have recovered from the most recent illness.  Another mother cat (Mother Adams, as a matter of fact) will be joining them all there.

The Baby Jeffersons will start attending adoption weekends in another couple weeks, but will continue to come home at night with us until they are adopted.... which means that we will get to spend time with them right up until the moment they leave for their forever homes.

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Between watching two tragic World Series games, a Lions come-from-behind victory, and a MSU Spartans miracle, the weekend was spent finishing last-minute costumes and getting the kids to 4 Halloween parties, a Halloween dance, a rollerskating party, a school trip to the Detroit Institute of Arts, and a soccer game (And no, we didn't adopt any extra kids over the weekend... this was the weekend schedule for just three kids).   We're also battening down the hatches for the 4 straight days of rain expected on the outskirts of the Hurricane Sandy system.  

I'll be inside and taking tons more pictures to post for you tomorrow.  Sending good wishes to all our friends on the east coast.  Stay warm, dry, and safe (and let us know how you're doing if you can).

Toesday!

Today is Toesday, you know what that means....

Clay toes!

Four toes,

Eight toes,

Blurry toes.

"Mama... Why isn't the Lady coming in?"

"I don't know, Lionel.  Why isn't the Lady letting Mama out?"

"My goodness, Lady.  Florence wonders when was the last time  you cleaned this window."