They'll Be Home For Christmas

What a fabulous weekend for adoptions at the Futures 4 Felines cat rescue!!! The following kittens left us for their forever homes...

Bear 

(at his very first adoption weekend... he was adopted within minutes!)

Butterfinger 

(whose forever family has been waiting for WEEKS for him to be old enough)

Buttercup

(whose forever family recently lost their senior orange kitty... thank you to our vet for sending them our way!)

Cooper

(who said goodbye on Sunday morning as expected... 

He has a fabulous new mom and three kitty brothers!)

And also going home....

(drumroll please)

TIKA!!!!!

After being with our rescue for over five months, Tika was our very first adoption on Saturday. Her new family arrived shortly before adoption hours began and asked to see the kittens. After showing them the younger set, Tika's new dad said "Well, we were really thinking about someone a bit older..." I practically sprinted as I led them to the room behind the cat condos to introduce them to the full-time residents. Our girl Tika turned on the the charm and had her new home won before any of the midgets above.

Tika has a fabulous new home with a mom, dad, and human brother. When we warned them about her habit of flooding the area around her water dish, they laughed and told us that their former kitty did the exact.same.thing. They're a match made in heaven.

I will admit that my eyes were misty as I loaded our girl in her carrier.  

And on Sunday...

MOTHER JEFFERSON!!!!!

Mother Jefferson's new family arrived late Sunday afternoon to pick up supplies for their cat and dog at home when our adoption hours caught their attention. They had recently lost a senior tortie and hadn't planned to replace her this weekend, but after seeing our Mama the wheels started spinning.

Mama turned on the charm... purring and rubbing on her new dad's legs. Her new mom brought their yellow lab to meet Mama, and all heck broke loose. A crazy excited dog got into Mama's face too quickly and she drew blood, slicing the poor puppy's ear. Dog blood spurted everywhere. Can you believe they took her home anyway?

Once Abby the dog was patched up and the nervous energy calmed down, Mama sat and purred while Abby sniffed her gently. Mama will be joining Abby and another cat in her new home. She even has a space to escape over-enthusiastic dogs. There's a cat door in the door to the basement... and the kitties rule that particular level of the house (and every other level of the house too, I'd wager).

Happy life, sweet Mama. You've certainly earned it.

And not to be outdone...

HENRY!!!!!

"Where ARE they?"

Our boy Henry has been waiting patiently for five long months for his forever family. On Sunday, they finally arrived.

"Well, it's about time!"

Our handsome Henry went home with a pair of college students. He will live full time with their parents, where he will be well-loved and exceptionally well-cared for. And some of the best news... Henry has a black lab to call his very own.

His best friend Charlie is thrilled.

And so am I.

When I held him for the last time and told him that I needed to say goodbye, Henry put his paws on my shoulders and licked my lips.  He always was an excellent kisser ;-)

Goodbye my sweet boy.  I will always love you madly.

Someone who did not get adopted?

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And On The Home Front...

Cruzie's Home!!!

 Try not to look so excited about it, Cruz.

 "Okay, how's this?"

"Can Cruzie go back to sleep now?"

Cruz is home with brothers Peeps and Lincoln. We're having a royal wrestling rumble in the foster room at the moment.

"These big boys are crazy!  Can Comet play too?"

Comet and Vixen moved into the front foster room on Sunday. Comet wanted to play, but his short self ended up on the wrong end of most of the big guys's wrestling moves.

Vixen would just rather that those ruffians went back to where they came from.  

Oh wait... that's where SHE lives now.

"Maybe living in a bathroom isn't all that bad after all..."

And when the wrestling is done... a brother cuddle puddle is the perfect way to recharge.

Vixen and Comet eventually joined in, too.

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The girls are enjoying the Christmas tree.

We hear that someone else we know is enjoying his Christmas tree, too.

Can you find Clay in the Christmas tree?

Amy, mom of Casper (aka Clay), sent us the picture above along with this report... "The very mischievous Casper wanted to be one of our tree ornaments. After falling from about 6 ft up, balling up my tree skirt and breaking several ornaments, I decided to line the bottom of the tree with tin foil. Day 4, so far, so good!  :)"

I wonder if Casper knows about Santa's naughty list...

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FYI... We've had a slight name change in Teeny Tiny Tabby Town.  I mentioned that Comet, with his wild hair and permanent expression of surprise reminded me of Seinfeld's Kramer.

Once you see it, it cannot be unseen.  After some discussion and realization at Kramer's first name was Cosmo, we decided that Cosmo Kramer should be followed by Comet Kramer.

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And if all that wasn't enough, we have a new Pet of the Week.  Please check him out and share, share, share.

"We're Going in the Wrong Direction!"

As I was counting fosters on Tuesday, I noticed something very important. The number... it's not the same as it was on Monday. As my husband might have told me: "I thought the number was supposed to get smaller instead of bigger."  ;-)

As a side note, I have been hearing an exceptionally minor line from the film Terms of Endearment in my head ever since Monday afternoon. Debra Winger's character is in the grocery store and doesn't have enough money to pay for her items, so she starts to put things back. A snotty cashier motivates her to put candy for each of her kids back on the conveyor belt.  So the cashier yells "We're going in the wrong direction here!" Well, that's where we are here in Teeny Tiny Tabby Town... Going in the wrong direction here.

Welcome home, Lincoln.  We missed you very much.

And we will do our very best to make sure that your next adoption is your last adoption.

"Sure... We're all excited about having Lincoln home. But how about you take a picture of Cooper too, Lady?"

"Cooper is special TOO!"

Yes Cooper, you are extraordinarily special (and that's why I spent the next several minutes rubbing his very special belly)

So on Tuesday morning, our number went from four fosters to five.

And on Tuesday evening, our number unexpectedly went from five fosters to seven.

Meet Vixen and Comet, the newest residents of the upstairs bathroom.  

(See?  I told you that I had an excellent reason for the short blog post yesterday!)

Vixen and Comet are two 8-week-old kittens who were taken in as ferals a few weeks ago by foster mother Diane. Their mother dropped them off in Diane's yard and high-tailed it out of there. Aren't they gorgeous?

We were supposed to take them right after the Jeffersons moved out, but a slow moving Lionel and Willie Rae delayed them by a week (and then a sick Abby and the arrival of the Quincy-Adams clan delayed them by a bit more). Now that they are 8-weeks-old and almost ready for adoption, it was decided that they really need the socialization that the kids, the other cats, and the dog can give them in the next week or so. So... here they are!

They visited the vet for their first shots on Tuesday evening and were found to have a few hitchhikers... ugh. So they moved into the bathroom for a few days while we kill off the pests (two rounds of Capstar, a bath with Pert Plus, and a dose of Frontline have pretty much done the trick). I will check them again on Thursday night or Friday morning and move them in downstairs with the Quincy-Adams boys when they are clear.

They are technically ready to start visiting adoption hours this weekend, but they're a bit skittish so I've lobbied for an extra week. As short timers we won't be giving them their own last name, but they are honorary members of the Quincy-Adams clan.

This precious little puffball is Comet.

He always looks slightly surprised... and somewhat like he has just stuck a toe in a light socket... our boy has "Kramer" hair (sticking out everywhere!)  :-)

Comet's much smaller sister Vixen is a dead ringer for Mother Jefferson.

So much so that I've taken to calling her "Mama Junior"

I am certain that Mama is not amused by this.

I, on the other hand, am thrilled to have these dumplings with us.

They're purring and everything.

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Two out of three kids went down with stomach flu overnight Tuesday into Wednesday. As I write this, I'm starting to feel a bit, for want of a better word, blech. I'm trying my best to fight it off, but if I should happen to disappear from the blogosphere on Friday... well, you know what happened to me.

As my gift to you in case I'm missing tomorrow, I present...

Norman in a box.  

Sorry that I didn't have time to wrap him.

Just Don't Get Me Started....

Short post this morning. Crazy long day filled with Christmas tree misadventures (none of them kitten related... yet). I'm hoping to have a beautiful photo of a kitten under the tree for you tomorrow.  

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Please Don't Get Me Started...

I know that there are valid reasons for kitten adopters to return their kittens. Family members have unexpected allergies. The kitten isn't accepted by other animals in the family, no matter how hard and how long you try. I'll even accept that the landlord had a fit and is making you return it. I can deal with it if the adopter truly wanted the kitten and tried their very best to make it work.  

But calling less than 24 hours after adoption and wanting to return the kitten that you just cried over in the store? Yeah... Don't get me started.

It doesn't matter the reason. I don't care about the excuse. The sweet, loving, gentle kitten boy couldn't possibly cause that big a problem in under 18 hours. If you don't want him enough to even attempt to make it through one full day, I'm glad to bring him back home.

Welcome home, Lincoln. Your brothers and I missed you. We'll do better next time. I promise.

Hope you gave them a little of this on the way out the door ;-)

I'm running out first thing this morning to collect Lincoln and bring him back where he belongs. In the meantime, let's discuss the good news. I'm just happy that we always take them back. 

**Update: Lincoln is home, safe and sound and where he belongs at the moment. While I might wish that things had turned out differently, he is happy and healthy and we can always find him a better home the next time around.  

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The Good News!

Besides our good news here, we have more good news on the adoption front. Cooper has a new home and a new mom and new kitty brothers to meet this weekend! He will be living less than two miles away from me, so I'm dropping off this weekend at his new home.

Cooper's family previously adopted a kitten from our rescue. We know without a doubt that he's going to a wonderful home. I just hope they have lots of blankets for him to build forts with... our boy is an engineer, and a camper, and a hibernator.  

You might think that with all that floof, he'd be too warm under the blankets.

You would be wrong.

I'll be back tomorrow with Christmas craziness and a welcome home party for Lincoln.

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.