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

Measuring Up...

First, the news from Petco...

I received a call on Sunday afternoon to let me know that Bentley and Hudson were adopted TOGETHER (Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay!!!!!)  As I heard it, the family came looking for one kitten and had to take a break for lunch to discuss possible combinations because they had fallen in love with all 3 Adams boys in residence.  In the end, they opted for a Teeny Tiny Tuxie Town and took home our tuxie brothers... which is what I would have recommended if they wanted two out of three.  Bentley and Hudson are very close, where Cruzie is a bit more independent and would be a happier singleton.  

This sweet boy had BETTER be next, though!!!

Cruzie is the last remaining former resident of Teeny Tiny Tabby Town at Petco because PORTER WENT HOME ON SUNDAY TOO!!!!!!!!!  I'm tempering my joy at the moment to see how this shakes out.  Porter has been having one health crisis after another (which I attribute to living in the cat condos at Petco.... poor boy has an immune system that's just a bit weaker than the other kittens and he tends to catch everything).  Our rescue director explained everything that our boy has been exposed to and the mom said she didn't care, she just wanted Porter.  Fingers crossed that the only further update I have for you is that Porter loves his family and they love him just as much (because I don't think my heart could stand it if he were returned again)

Happy, happy life my sweet boy

The update about Malibu is encouraging.  She continues to get better, but we're not taking any chances by exposing her to other kittens prematurely.  We have plans to take part in an adoption fair during the last weekend of October.  As long as everything continues to go well, she will make her first appearance there (along with Abby and Henry and any other kitten in our rescue who is healthy and ready... the Jeffersons will stay here with me for an extra couple weeks before being made available for adoption).

Oh.. and Tika is still here.  The other foster home fell through for her.  We'll keep on keeping on with the arrangements as they are for now.

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MEASURING UP...

Perhaps you all remember this photo from August, where 12-week-old Henry thoroughly investigated a 24-ounce bottle of Diet Coke (and aww... look at Porter too!)

August 5, 2012

I thought it might be fun to see how much our Henry has grown since then...

October 14, 2012... Henry prefers his Coke without a smile.

"How does Henry get this bottle open?"

"Well, this clearly isn't working."

And in case you're wondering....

This is Charlie next to the same bottle of Diet Coke.

And Norman (who had to be bribed to sit still)

Clay and Florence look extra teeny tiny in comparison.

Clay was not impressed.

Florence either.

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Henry Washington at 5 1/2 months old... totally swoon-worthy.

Mega Monday

Hi Everyone!  When we last left off, I was in a tizzy of stress and cleaning up after three rooms of foster kittens.  While I've been gone, I've had both a breakdown and a breakthrough.  Along the way, I've come to the conclusion that I am allowed to be human (i.e. less than superhuman).  Instead of focusing on the stress around here, it's my new mission to bring you nothing but the cuteness... and boy oh boy, do we ever have a lot of that to go around.  But first, the updates...

The Adams Family

I bid so long, but not farewell, to the Adams kittens on Saturday.  As seems to be the case, they did not leave in the way that I expected (and under less than ideal circumstances).

On Friday, I started to notice a problem.  By Saturday, I was back at the vet.  Our girl Mally is sick.  Before you worry, it's nothing life-threatening and she will be fine and completely back to normal within a couple of weeks.  She is, however, exceptionally contagious and that necessitated her separation from her brothers and sister.  As luck (?) would have it, another of our foster homes has a similar condition in residence so Mally packed her little bags and moved there for the time being.  As I was expecting her departure under happy circumstances, to say I was devastated would be an absolute understatement.

Because Mally's condition was so contagious, we could not be certain that her brothers and sister were completely in the clear.  The vet advised waiting and watching for a week before proceeding with their move to the adoption center.  Since my house was already overcrowded and overstressed, we made the heartbreaking decision to move our Adams foster babies to another foster home.  They went to a great foster mother who was bringing her current litter to Petco on Saturday when I was supposed to be dropping mine off.  As long as the rest of the Adams are symptom-free next Saturday, they will make the trek to Petco then.

Bye Bye, my sweet boy.  I'll see you very soon.

The kittens were at Petco for a short time Saturday afternoon while we made the moving arrangements.  They drew considerable attention from three separate families who were interested in adoption.  Once these babies return to Petco, I have absolutely no doubt that they will be snatched up in a flash

**I'm being purposefully vague about the diagnosis because, truthfully, it doesn't really matter as long as it's treatable.  My new view on life includes not focusing on the drama of the "what" (i.e. the f-word or the r-word or whatever other word it might be).  Instead, we just need to do what we need to do to get through it.

Henry and the Girls

Henry, Abby, and Tika (known in shorthand around my house as HAT) continue to improve.  I can no longer hear Henry breathing from across the room.  They are playful, sweet, loving little beings who have absolutely no business being left unadopted for so long.  They're suffering from "Brown Tabby Syndrome".... people think they're a dime a dozen and forget to meet the personality behind the stripes.  And believe me, these guys have loads of personality to spare.

Upon entering the upstairs foster room (aka my family room), you are assured of three things:

***The first is that Henry will try to escape.  He will probably succeed which then necessitates running down and up the stairs to return him to the proper room.

"Henry has absolutely no idea what the Lady is talking about..."

He looks calm and sweet in this picture.  Looks can be deceiving.

Oh heck, he is still an exceptionally sweet boy... with an escape fetish.

***The second thing is that Abby will be rubbing herself on whichever body part of yours is easiest to reach.  She is the sweetest kitten I have ever met.  All she wants to do is love you (Are you listening, Universe??  Get this kitten someone to love!)

Our Miss Abby has those same big round bug eyes like Baz did.

***The third thing is that you will step in a large puddle of water and that the kittens' water bowl has usually been emptied courtesy of Tika.  No idea what makes the girl feel the need to splash and spill three-quarters of the water bowl on the walls and floor before she drinks, but she had this reputation at Petco and she's living up to it here.

"Does this face look like the face of trouble to you?"

Why, yes... Yes, it does.

A bonus video for you:

The Jeffersons

The Jeffersons would like to have moved on down to the deluxe foster room on the first floor, but we're in a period of sterilization before they can move in.  The current plan is to move them in on Wednesday.

While we were gone, the kittens acquired upright ears.  One day last week, I walked into their room after an absence of a couple of hours to find that their ears have boinged right to the tops of their heads.

Florence the intrepid explorer found her way out of the linen closet.  She was closely followed by Lionel.  Roxie, Clay, and Willie Rae stayed behind straining at the plastic crate in their way and mewing pitifully to join the adventure.  We've done a bit of rearranging to give our developing kittens more freedom.  Mama's not so sure she approves.

"Yeah, Florence found the escape hatch.  Did the Lady think we were going to live in a closet forever??"

Hanging out under the bathroom cabinet by the door to the hallway.  I guess Miss Flo is plotting another escape.

"No, Lady... really... Lionel wasn't going anywhere.  You can put him back down now."

Clay is developing darker flame points.  His eyes are clearing up, too.  And while he seems rough and tough and big and brave while exploring the bathroom... he looks a teeny bit scared of it all.

((Yes, those are my flannel pajama pants stuffed under the door.  I put them there when I was flea treating the carpet outside the bathroom and didn't want to affect Mother Jefferson and the babies.  Clay has decided they make an excellent place to sit... so I left them there.))

"Hey!  Clay is NOT skeered!  Clay is just amazed and horrified at the state of this bathroom!"

Yes, Clay... so am I.  Who knew how messy you were?

Oh yeah... and we've got trouble:

"Hey Roxie... you've got funny ears.  You know what that means, don't you?  Your mama dresses you funny!"

"Fight, fight, fight!!  Clay's got next!"

Your Saturday Story of Cute:  Clay followed Mama over to the kibble plate.  Mama scooted over so Clay could watch her eat.  Clay sniffed the kibble.  He looked at Mama.  Clay began pushing himself under Mama because he apparently prefers milk to kibble.  Mama scooted over so she could continue eating.  This could have continued all day... well, except for the point where Mama ran into the wall and had nowhere else to go.

Your Sunday Story of Awesomeness:  What a difference a few days make.  Our babies went from helpless little creatures, scared of everything but Mama, screaming every single time a human picked them up to curious little beings, tumbling out of every corner of the room to greet their visitors, demanding attention, and trying to climb into laps. Willie Rae was the first to accomplish the lap sit on her own Sunday morning.  

Porter

Just don't get me started about people who adopt kittens without thinking about what it means to have a kitten... let alone adopting two kittens without thinking it completely through.  Porter is back at Petco through no fault of his own.  The reasons don't really matter.  I'm bummed for my sweet boy, but this just means that he was meant to find another family.

How could anyone not want this sweet baby boy?  Seriously... I'm staying away from Petco for now.  First, it would break my heart to see him back there.  Second, I would have to fight myself from bringing him home too.

In a way, I'm glad that the Adams kids aren't at Petco at the moment.  They're so much smaller than him that they were bound to be unfair competition.  If you could send good luck vibes to our little Porkchop, I would very much appreciate it.

Epilogue

I nearly quit fostering on Saturday.  I cried.  I threatened to walk away.  Actually, I threatened to drop all of the foster cats currently in residence off at Petco and let someone else deal with it.  Letting go of the Adams babies was something I had to do.  It was best for their healing and it is best for my stress level.  I felt guilty, as if I had done something wrong.  Truth be told, there is still a part of me that does.  I blew off a major amount of steam laced with a considerable number of curse words.  And then it was time for me to get back to work.  But I've realized that I can only do whatever I can do.  Then it's "let go and let God".  I took the rest of the day off to enjoy my daughter's first high school dance (no, I didn't chaperone and horn in on her good time but I did enjoy the process and the picture taking).  I put my feet up and let things be for the night.  Tomorrow is always another day.

But if I'm not here with a new post tomorrow, just know that I'll be back sooner than later... and that we're all just fine.  I'm merely taking the time to enjoy my babies a little bit more (the furry and the human kind).

PPS--- I figure I'd better wrap up the things over which I have been specific in the past.  Charlie and Norman's r-word tests are now officially negative.  Their fur is growing back without treatment anyway.  We'll never know for sure what it was, but at least it's gone.  We f-bombed three rooms in the house on Saturday night... the front foster room, the basement, and the garage (Do the basement and garage count as rooms?)  I'm not certain if everything is gone from the main house, but I do know that with determined vacuuming, lots of laundry, and carpet/upholstery treatments there is definitely less to deal with.  The permanents can have another topical treatment on Friday... I'm told by several sources that you can do 21 days safely instead of 30.  I'm also hearing that Frontline is less effective this year, so gang will be getting Advantage II instead.  If those little f's are not gone already, we will diligently remove them over the next week.

Happy Fall!  Let's celebrate!

"Simba will help with the snacks."

Cruzie Tuesie (Well, Kind Of...)

As you'll recall, our Miss Mally had issues with Cruz cramping her style in yesterday's Mally Monday post.  So little brother took matters into his own hands for today's post.

Seems to me that I remember another brown tabby who insisted upon chomping on the camera lens...

Dear Henry Washington had similar tastes.

And speaking of the Washingtons...

Eloise and Porter were adopted over the weekend!!!!!

Our teeny tiny tabby princess Eloise was adopted on Saturday.  

After weeks of waiting at Petco, Eloise finally met her match.

"When will they ever come for me??"

Wheezy's new mama brought in her two sons, 10 and 13 years old, to pick just the right kitten for their family.  The boys spent close to an hour carefully handling and interacting with the girl kittens (it had to be a girl) and thought our Eloise might be just the one.  They spent another hour alone with Eloise... petting, playing, snuggling, cuddling, and falling in love.  It was a done deal.

Bye Bye, big girl.  Don't forget to write.

Our sweet baby Porter (aka Porkchop) went home on Sunday.

Our gentle little lamb found the perfect new mama.  She's an older lady who lives alone and was looking for someone special to keep her company.  She found two special someones.... Porter's new buddy Danny from Petco went home with him to be his new kitty brother.

"I hope their feet smell better than yours do, Lady."

Porter's new mama lives very close to Paula, the lady who runs the rescue.  She has already invited us over to visit Porter whenever we like.  I'm sure we'll be hearing more about our boy in the future.

I can't wait to see more of him as he grows.

That just leaves one Washington at Petco...

What on earth is taking Henry's family so long to find him???

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Health Update

The Adams kittens visited the vet on Monday for their 8-week-old vaccines.  Thankfully, they were all big enough to get a dose of Capstar while they were there (okay, Hudson was technically one ounce too small but they fudged it).  The dreaded f-word should be on its way out of our house now.

Right before we left, I sanitized and sprayed down their room with a flea treatment.  We stayed gone until the Capstar had done the deed.  Each one of the kittens appeared to be clear of hitchhikers on Monday evening.  Think good thoughts that the spray keeps the bugs away.

After coming home, I vacuumed/sanitized/sprayed the rest of the house room by room.  Beds have been stripped, sheets washed in hot water, animal beds and toys washed and freshened.  The spray says it kills fleas/eggs/larvae on contact for seven months.  I'll settle for a couple weeks when everyone can have another dose of Frontline.  Just in case, I plan to sprinkle some diatomaceous earth into the carpets, upholstery, and litter boxes in the morning to keep any new friends from visiting.

The permanent residents have been on regular Frontline since late winter, so they should be in the clear.  Mother Jefferson and the midgets cleared a round with the flea comb.  Good news is good news.  Just hope the news continues to be good...

Tuesday Morning Edit

I should have thought to give an r-word update while I was typing last night.  The fungal culture that the vet's office is running on Norman and Charlie takes 7-10 days to produce an accurate result.  I'm told that the r-word generally grows quickly and that most positive results become clear by day 3 or 4.  We are on day 8 and the test still reads negative.  The vet says he is inclined to believe it will remain negative, but will not feel safe to call it an absolute negative until the end of the week.  In the meantime, Norman's spot is growing its fur back (which would make me believe it's negative).  Charlie's is not yet, but the swelling is going down and the skin color has returned to normal (another good sign).  I'm just hanging on for another few days...

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Moving On Down...

Mother Jefferson and the kittens left the upstairs bathroom Monday evening... and moved on down to the master bathroom instead.  (They will be moving into the front foster room once I'm certain that all of the bugs have checked out of the hotel and that the Adams clan is clear to move to the family room).

The kittens started by exploring a Charlie bed, lining the floor of the open shower.

Mama Isabel wasn't certain that she approved of this set up.

"No... This won't do.  It won't do at all."

Apparently 3-week-old kittens can climb out of a Charlie bed on the floor of the open shower.

It didn't take Mama long to relocate the babies.

You've got it... they're on the floor of the linen closet.

Willie Rae had all sorts of complaints.

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Tuesday appears to be a long, interesting day.

The kids have the day off from school for a teacher professional development day.

(I know... on a TUESDAY???)

I've promised to spend part of the day shopping for a 10th grader's dress for the Homecoming dance.

Dear Lord, help me to return with most of my marbles.

The rest of the day will be at football practice and a soccer game.

If I don't make it back to post tomorrow, here's a video of Mama and the munchkins to tide you over...