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.

Fat Boy Friday

Someone has been wreaking havoc in the cabinet underneath the fish tank this week.

Let's find out who it is....

How's that diet working for you, Simba?

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Venturing to the Veterinarian

The Baby Jeffersons made their first visit to the vet in nearly two months.

"We'll just stay right here, okay?"

"Okay... you can make us come out of the carrier, but we'll just wait under this chair for you to put us back.  Let's go home, Lady."

Given their fraidy cat nature, the Jeffersons did exceptionally well on their visit to the vet Thursday morning.  Weighing, nail trimming, exams, meds, shots, and kisses from strangers can be stressful on a baby kitten.  Little by little they came out of their shells and enjoyed a bit of an adventure at the clinic (although Lionel did choose to pack himself back into the carrier after his turn and pretended to sleep until we got to the car).  

Tail of the Tape (9 weeks old)

Lionel          2 pounds, 9 ounces

Willie Rae          2 pounds, 8 ounces

Roxie          2 pounds, 7 ounces

Clay          2 pounds, 7 ounces

Florence          2 pounds, 4 ounces

Our sweet little pumpkins slept through the afternoon while their Mama kept looking at me in wonder and amazement (and perhaps a little bit of "Just WHAT did you do to my babies to make them so quiet?")  Since I was gone all evening, I didn't get much of an opportunity to take pictures.    I may or may not have an elaborate photo session planned for Friday.  We need to get all of this cuteness fully documented before we head off to the adoption event on Saturday.  I may pop back in over the weekend to give you a preview.

But to tide you over until then...

Meet Lil Bear, a 6-week-old long haired resident of our rescue.

He has two orange brothers.

I have no idea which one this is.  I hear the other one pretty much looks like this too ;-)

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.)

Way Back Wednesday

(Okay, maybe not WAY back... but far enough)

We have a guest photographer today.  Paula sent me pictures from when our "Macomb 13" kittens joined the rescue.  ("Macomb 13" being the collective name we gave to the family of 13 kittens that we pulled from the rescue along with their Mama.  Our Adams kittens came from this bunch.)  Let's climb back into the Way Back Machine and check out our little pumpkins.

You'd better believe I nearly went cross-eyed squinting and trying to figure out who was who ;-)

Such a squirming mess of adorableness.  Check out Shelby... she had something to say even then.

Kitten craziness everywhere.

No wonder their mama looked tired.  This is Catalina, a very patient mother of 13 kittens.

Yes... I know it's my Cruzie by his stockings.  The handsome devil at the bottom is either Monte Carlo or IROC (I suppose it might be Hudson too... I just know it's not Bentley)

Baby brother smackdown.

Poor little Monte getting picked on by his sisters.  Shelby being pushy... Who would have guessed?

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Fast Forward to Today... (Okay, yesterday)

Meet Sweetpea... another one of our little calicos who are available for adoption.

And Sweetpea's sister Honeysuckle (on the left).

These girls are the current foster sisters of...

A very uncooperative Malibu Adams...

 Who wasn't in favor to looking at the camera...

Or holding still.

Malibu will be at Saturday adoption hours.  She got the "all clear" at the vet on Tuesday.

I will be there too, so plenty of pictures and hugs will be had.

Baby Jeffersons will also be making their adoption hours debut on Saturday.

I hear that I have families to choose from... (sigh, it's getting to be that time)

If you'll excuse me, I have babies to go hug.