Holy Adoptions Catman!

When I last updated you on Friday morning, my weekend plan included taking Willie Rae and the Quincy-Adams quints to adoption hours on Saturday and Sunday afternoons.  By the time my kids got on the bus that morning, we already had a wrench thrown into the plans.

"Willie Rae wouldn't really call it a wrench, Lady.  More like a bump in the road... a big BIG bump (on the floor)."

Remember my open banister spindles with the staircase that forms the fourth wall of my living room?  Remember the "Stooges" (Eloise and Porter) taking the wrong side of the stairs and ending up coming down the hard way?  Well, another kitten has applied for the position of stuntwoman... and her application has been rejected.

The scene of the crime

On Friday morning, Willie Rae and Abby were racing up and down the stairs, back and forth and back and forth and back and forth, when Willie Rae got it into the marshmallow fluff between her ears that she could avoid Abby on the course if she only took the outside of the stairs instead.  I didn't see it happen, so I'm not sure if she didn't make the turn quickly enough or if she was too fast and took a misstep but I heard the end result... a crashing thud of a three pound kitten onto the living room floor.  ((Now picture Abby, wide-eyed and peeking through the spindles from the landing at the top of the stairs... if her face didn't say "uh-oh Spaghettios" I don't know what would))

"I didn't do a thing.  One second she was there at the top of the stairs, the next second she was SPLAT on the floor downstairs!"

After nearly an hour of a baby kitten hopping around the house on three feet, I called the vet.  We spent the morning waiting on x-rays and pain meds.  Nothing broken, but she certainly was sprained and in need of a little bit of TLC (she got it).  Her limp improved throughout the weekend, but we decided to make sure she was okay before bringing her back to adoption hours... so she stayed home.

"Hey Lady... Willie Rae will just stay home and help you learn how to use your new clicky-box thing-a-ma-bob.  Deal?"

You don't think she planned it that way, do you?

"Ppbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbth!  Raspberries at you, Lady!  Raspberries!"

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On Saturday, I packed up the five Quincy-Adams boys and headed to Petco.  We already knew that Woodward would be going home with his new family.  Before he left, he had a very special visitor...

"Hmmmm.... This guy smells funny."

"He tastes funny too"

"Can I have a new home for Christmas, Santa?  A good one where I can stay and be loved for ever and ever and ever and ever?"

"I CAN???  Shake on it, Dude."

Woodward has a fabulous new home with a new mom, a new dad, and a new kitten sister who is about 12 weeks old.  Happy life, my sweet bear.  Happy life.

Saturday adoption hours were slower than slow.  I arrived with five boys, one who was already adopted.  I went home with four boys in tow.

Sunday adoption hours are traditionally pretty dead.  I think we've done one adoption total on a Sunday in the past two months (or more).  So imagine my surprise when at the end of the day, we had found new homes for...

Rocky!

Rocky was quite the popular young man on Sunday.  He spent the first couple hours of the day being passed from potential adopter to potential adopter.  He went home with a wonderful young couple.  He has a new mom, a new dad, and a dog in his new home.... and lots and lots of toys.  He went home with an overflowing cart of Petco goodies.  Our boy is very spoiled and very loved (and very missed already).

Not far behind Rocky was....

Malibu!

Malibu went to a fabulous home with a new mom and dad and a calico sister named Callie.  She caught her new mom's eye right away, but she had competition... her brother Lincoln.  Mally's mom went back and forth, spending quite a bit of time holding each one before making her final decision.  Our sweet girl (and last sister of the litter) hit the jackpot.  

It was all well and good that Malibu won because the next one to be spoken for was...

Lincoln!

Our Lincoln went home to a wonderful family who needed him very much.  They recently lost their much beloved cat to cancer and had started the day by just looking to see if a new kitten might make them feel a bit less broken-hearted.  While Malibu's family was making their decision, they met Lincoln and Peeps and Cooper (but fell head over heels for Lincoln).  Once Mally's adoption was finalized, it opened the way for Linc to make the next move.

Lincoln's new family includes a mom, dad, sister, and two dogs.  Their work schedules vary enough that he will rarely be alone, which means our cuddle bug will always have a lap at his command.  Lucky boy.

And we still weren't done yet, because just as adoption hours were ending a very special proposition came in for...

Peeps!

Peeps's new mom came looking at adoption hours last week with the idea of finding a kitten to give to her daughter at Christmas.  She fell for Peeps and brought her daughter in on Sunday to meet the crew and think about "maybe adopting a kitten after the holidays" (wink, wink).  The one that her daughter fell for?  Peeps :)

But, SHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!  The conversation was held with a lot of winks and nods and secrets because our Peeps will be a very special Christmas surprise for a very special and lucky little girl.  Mom came back later in the afternoon to fill out the paperwork and make things official.  Peeps will be staying here at Teeny Tiny Tabby Town until Christmas Eve.  I am so excited to be part of this Christmas surprise that I can hardly stand it.  

It was whispered that our Peepers's new little girl has a very special name picked out for her future kitten... Marshmallow.  How perfect is that?  He will be a Marshmallow Peeps!

Hee Hee Hee :)

Peeps will be sneaking into his little girl's bed on Christmas morning with a jingle bell and bow around his neck.  He will have a little boy to love too.   Hooray!

Peeps and Cooper are currently the sole residents of the front foster room.  No worries about Cooper, though.  We heard from a former adopter that she was ready to adopt another kitten from us.  After checking the Petfinder listings, she picked one that she wants to meet very soon.  His name?  Cooper :)

Willie Rae will be returning to adoption hours next weekend, barring any more freak accidents that is.  In the meantime, we're planning a very special adoption evening for our Petco residents... stay tuned for details.

"Adoption?? That's what the Lady thinks. Willie Rae already adopted herself a good family.  They just don't know it yet. "

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Futures 4 Felines has a new blog post and new pet of the week.  You might recognize her.  Please consider sharing both her and Henry's stories.  My Christmas (and theirs) will be much happier if we can get them home for the holidays.

Weekend Wrap-Up

When we left off on Friday, there were some unknowns going into our weekend. We were still waiting on health checks for Henry, Tika, and Abby.  We were still waiting for forever homes for Lionel and Willie Rae.  We were waiting for news from Malibu's potential adoption meet-up.  So to catch you all up....

Lionel and Willie Rae spent one last Saturday morning snuggling in the sunshine with their mama.

"Got your tail, Mama!"

When I look the shape of Mama's tail to Lionel's paw, I see an upside-down heart.

Mama loves Lionel.

Lionel loves Mama.

More on Lionel later...

Henry, Tika, Abby

The terrific tabby trio visited the vet on Friday afternoon.  I knew they were big, but holy cow!  Abby weighed in at a petite 6 pounds 1 ounce, while Tika weighed 6 pounds 4 ounces.  Henry Washington, the bruiser of the foster room, tipped the scale at 8 pounds 5 ounces... at 6 1/2 months old.  Our baby is growing to be a big, big boy.

As I suspected, Tika's ringworm is completely gone and she was cleared to return to Petco on Saturday.  Henry was given the a-ok to move out too.  Abby was a bit borderline.  She still has a watery eye and snotty nose, so we decided to keep her at home for one more week of snuggles and recuperation.  My goodness is it ever quiet upstairs right now.

Too bad we can't say the same for Petco...

It seems that someone has been working on his jumping skills while he's been away from the store.

Really, Henry?  This is how you behave right in front of Santa?????

"Uh-oh... Do you think he noticed?"

Henry scared the life out of every volunteer at Petco on Saturday afternoon by leaping to the top of the cat condos and wandering around the roof.   When it became apparent that I was too short to get him down without a ladder, I did the next best thing and pulled out the camera.  Yes, I encouraged the misbehavior by fussing over him and recording it for posterity.  You're welcome.

Tika and Henry settled in as the only residents of the cat condos and immediately began setting up house like a pair of old married people.  Henry checked the shingles (hee hee).  Tika washed the windows (by going back to her game of splashing the entire contents of the water bowl on the walls and floor).  Henry napped.  Tika nagged him by pulling on his whiskers.  And then they settled in together and purred, purred, purred.  They clearly love each other.

By the way... they both whined and fussed at me without mercy when I arrived on Sunday for adoption hours.  Apparently, they already thought they were home with me.

Malibu

Miss Malibu had an interview with potential adopters on Friday.  She was offered the position but declined the deal.  

Not sure what our girl requires in a family, but this one just didn't do it for her.

(And I love that she was given the final decision in the matter)

Lionel

Our big boy Lionel watched and waited and waited and watched for his chance at a forever family.

He hung out with the big boys for a while and checked out their toys.

(These would be the brothers of our Adams kittens, by the way.  Dark orange Cooper, Buff Peeps, Tuxie Monte Carlo, and Tabby Lincoln)

And then... his family arrived.

We couldn't have asked for a better situation for our boy.  Lionel's new mama has had a rough year.  She lost both her husband and her cat in the past year and, as she put it, she needs him.  She came along with her teenage granddaughter and picked Lionel out of this beautiful gaggle of boys to be her very own.  Our little Lionel will be spoiled and loved beyond measure.  I couldn't be happier for him.

Here's to a worry-free life for our worry-eyed boy.

Don't worry... I gave him enough good-bye hugs and kisses for all of us.

(and then some)

Willie Rae

Willie Rae worried through the weekend at Petco.  A dog rescue shares the adoption space and we had a couple of enthusiastic barkers.  Our baby girl has obviously met a dog before (and has heard him bark), but these new dogs made her feel exceptionally uncomfortable.  She hid and trembled whenever I pulled her out of her hiding spot.

This was as happy as our silly Willie Rae looked while at Petco.

We tried introducing her to the boys (well actually, this was Monte Carlo trying to introduce himself...), but she wasn't interested in making their acquaintance.

Who could blame her?  These are the same boys who stole her track ball...

and put their boy germs all over it.

And they did "boy stuff" like make blanket forts and jump out at her from underneath them.

(This would be Cooper... our undercover operative.  Our brave and friendly boy comes to Petco for the naps.  He burrows under the blankets and stays there unless we drag him out, or unless Willie Rae accidentally steps on top of him.)

Willie Rae met and enchanted more than one family over the weekend.  Even teeny tiny timid babies know how to turn on the charm when necessary.  But at the end of Sunday's session, she came home with me (and is currently terrorizing the main house while her Mama worries in the foster room).  You know me... I'm in no particular hurry to send her on her way and am just happy to have her here at home.

The more she grows into her torbie coloring, the more Willie Rae reminds me of my lost love...

 and the harder it will be to say good-bye.  I will if the right family comes along.

Or she can stay.  I'd keep them all if they needed me to (but you already know that about me).

We'll make the return trip on Saturday, along with Mama and Abby.

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

Monster-Sized Monday

Okay, so it's not quite Monday.  Lots of developments here in Teeny Tiny Tabby Town, though.  Go grab a fresh cup of your favorite beverage, find a comfy spot, and put your feet up so you can relax while I fill you in.  I'll wait here until you come back ;-)

Ready?  Here we go....

When we left off on Friday, we were planning on introducing the beautiful Jefferson babies to their adoring public at our Petco adoption hours on Saturday afternoon.  I made it my mission to get a picture of our fab five together one last time before they left.  This is how it went:

Four beautiful little faces... looking anywhere but at the camera.

So serious... and seriously not looking either.

Bazinga!!!  We have achieved one kitten looking.  Hey Clay, will you tell your brother and sisters to look this way please??

"Hey guys... the Lady wants you to look at the clicky box.  Make nice and maybe she'll go away and let that girl wave the feathers at us."

(Rude sound effect from Roxie)

"Why should Roxie have to look if Willie Rae doesn't even have to be in the picture?"

"Willie Rae is right here!!!!!  Click away, Lady!"

Almost there.

Mission accomplished (sort of)... Five beautiful Jefferson babies, aged 9 week and 5 days

(From Left to Right: Roxie, Florence, Clay, Lionel, Willie Rae)

And so we celebrated by letting the girl wave the feather thing at the babies.

 Oh sure, now they all look in the same direction.

 Meerkat Florence tries to get a leg (or two) up on her competition.

 Clay's got it!

 Nope... Roxie has it!

Or maybe Lionel instead ;-)

After the babies got good and tired, they decided to have a snack and a nap before leaving for Petco.

"Really??? Aren't they a little old for this?"

"When are you leaving again?"

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The Adoption Report

We arrived at Petco on Saturday afternoon to learn that someone was already spoken for...

Should it really surprise us that this beautiful girl had internet admirers?

I simply could not have asked for a better family for our Roxie.  They saw her picture on Petfinder and it was love at first sight.  They drove roughly 100 miles round trip to bring her home.  It's those eyes... they're mesmerizing.  Actually, her points sealed the deal.

Roxie has big paws to fill.  Her family adored their late lynx point cat for over twenty years.  Our girl batted those beautiful eyes, showed off her points, and settled into the arms of her new family members as if she had been there all her life.  There were lots of goodbye kisses and (before she left) I asked her to remember to write and let us know how she is doing.

Turns out that her new family had checked out our little blog before they came over.  They promise to check in from time to time and let us know how she is doing.  I, for one, cannot wait to see what those points look like on an adult Roxie.  As I was looking her over on Saturday, I discovered a tiny orange spot on her foot... and at the tip of her tail.  Girlfriend may just be a calico lynx point.

Someone else wasn't very far behind his sister...

Sigh....

I wrestled with the decision to keep Clay or not to keep Clay all week.  I'm a firm believer that when it's right, you know... and I didn't know.  My life is a bit topsy turvy at the moment and I have two senior cats to consider.  And the truth is that I can have foster kittens to snuggle pretty much any time I want them.  I struggled and fretted right up until the moment that I put Clay in his new mama's arms.  He's in the right place.  I just know it.

Clay's new family also lost a beloved kitty this year.  They need him and he needs them.  It's perfect.  Clay went to a big and busy family... lots of kids and lots of fun await him.   While they were waiting for the adoption paperwork to be processed, they went shopping and bought him a feather teaser with sparkle balls attached to the end.  This boy has it made.

I won't pretend it was easy to say goodbye.

But the kisses helped.

(And Clay's new mama has also promised to send us pictures and updates as he grows)

And yet another Jefferson had a new home awaiting her...

Miss Florence the belle of the internet ball had a dozen phone calls made for information about her.  Our sweet, shy girl went home on Saturday afternoon with a pair of seven-year-old twin sisters and their dad.  I won't claim to be anything less than tickled that, when shopping for a cart load of toys and supplies for their new kitty, the girls chose a red Christmas cape for their new kitten to wear.  Remembering what I did to my cats as a girl, I imagine that Florence has many days of playing dress up in her future.

I only hope to see a picture of it.

In other adoption news...

Sweet Pea and Honeysuckle (or is is Honeysuckle and Sweet Pea?) have a new home... together!

So does Bamm Bamm.

We saw this familiar face too...

It's Little Mally Boo Boo... much, much bigger than I remember.

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Two kittens came home with me Saturday afternoon.  After running around for several hours like their tails were on fire, it was finally time for a rest.

So much roomier when there is only two.

Mama watched two kittens, and only two kittens, come out of the carrier and immediately went inside to look for the missing three.  She spent the majority of the weekend meowing at the foster room door.  I think she believes we're hiding them from her, or that they're lost and need help finding their way back... poor Mama.  Just to mess with her, I took Lionel and Willie Rae back to adoption hours on Sunday.

"Why you bring Lionel back here, Lady?"

"Being back here makes Lionel worried."

"Willie Rae isn't too thrilled to be here, either."

Lionel and Willie Rae did indeed return to Petco on Sunday afternoon, and they both came home with me again.  Sunday adoption hours are notoriously slow, and this Sunday was no exception.  Both received oohs and aahs from interested parties, but neither found their new home... yet.  They loosened up a bit while they were there, too....

 "HEY!!  Look what Lionel found!!!!"

"FOUND??  Don't you remember just a minute ago when that was WILLIE RAE's sparkle ball?"

"Oops... Did you want Lionel to give this one back to you?"

"Because LOOK!!!  Lionel found a blue sparkle ball too!"

"Lionel loves blue sparkle balls!"

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The Plan for the Upcoming Week

1.  Love Lionel and Willie Rae for an extra five days.

2.  Love Mother Jefferson through her spay surgery and recovery later this week.

3.  Love Henry, Abby, and Tika for a few more days... it's almost time for them to return to the adoption center.

4.  Take lots of pictures.

We'll be back on Tuesday.