Telling the Tabbies Apart on Thursday

Okay, so yesterday's challenge wasn't quite fair (especially given the fact that most members of my own family cannot tell the terrific tabby trio of the upstairs apart).  But now you know the confusion that I'm living with ;-)

The Answers

1.  Abby

Note the big round bug eyes.  It's the eyes that I check whenever I'm confused whether I have Abby or Tika.

2.  Tika

Tika, while it is harder to tell in this picture, is more angular in the face and has "normal" eye size and structure.

3.  Abby

Check out those eyes.  They'll give her away every single time.

4.  Henry

Henry is the easiest to distinguish in person because he is so much bigger than the girls (outweighing each of them by nearly two pounds).  In photos, he tends to resemble Tika so it can get harder to differentiate.

5.  Abby

She's the sweetest looking tabby in the foster room.  She also has the sweetest personality.  Those eyes do not lie.

6.  Henry

This look is quintessential Henry.  For such a lover boy, he can give you the haughtiest glances.  It's as if he simply cannot believe you could be so ridiculous.

7.  Tika

The squint is pure Tika.  She's the hellion of the room and always appears to be hatching a dastardly scheme.

8. Lionel

9. Florence

The key to telling Lionel and Florence apart (aside from the anatomical differences at the back) is in the head shape and in the eyes.  Florence is almost perfectly round in both places, while Lionel is more angular with almond shaped eyes.

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Please Stand By

Our next full post will be tomorrow.  Besides Halloween costume construction, my son's football game, and game one of the World Series (sigh... I'm writing during the 4th inning and hoping for a big comeback), the day got away from me and photos just aren't happening today.

We've had a return of upper respiratory among the upstairs kittens, which involves:

1. A nebulizer treatment with Baytril, Dex, and saline administered twice per day times three            days

2. Clavamox twice daily for ten days

3. Liquid Baytril once a day for ten days

4. Lysine gel twice per day for ten days

This is mainly for Abby... who was so sick on Monday that I was truly worried for her.  She bounced back quickly and, while she is still a bit drippy and sneezy, she is much much much better.  The other two are just a bit wheezy and are already considered mostly healthy (at least in my book).  And imagine the medication process with kittens who are difficult to tell apart... "Did you get your medicine yet?"  Thankfully Abby is a million times easier to dose than Tika (which tips me off yet again).

The kittens were supposed to attend an adoption expo over the weekend, but unless a miracle happens they will stay home with me instead.  I won't be sorry to hang onto them for a while longer.  The downstairs kittens are still a bit young for such events, so we will remain at capacity for at least another week.

I'll return tomorrow with more cute kitten pictures :-)

Which One on Wednesday?

Welcome to My World

This is a test of your emergency kitten identification system...

This is only a test.

1.  Abby (Holly Waterfall with the correct guess!)

2.  ??

3.  ???

4.  Henry  (Holly gets another one!)

5.  ?????

6.  ??????

"Really, Lady?"

7.  ???????

"What do you mean, you can't tell us apart?"

Actually, I can tell them apart.  I'm just the only one who can tell them apart most of the time.

Who can really blame everyone else when the upstairs room is full of this...

I swear that I really did try to get them all to sit still.  This is as cooperative as they get as a group.

And please ignore the state of the table behind them... One of the kittens (the one of the left as a matter of fact) insists on turning the water bowl into a splash zone.  Puddles in the feeding area turns into muddy footprints of litter box dust on the table (where I feed them to avoid flooding the carpet).  Teenagers... what are you going to do?

And Just In Case You Weren't Confused Enough...

The downstairs edition :)

Holly also correctly guessed Lionel  is on the left and that Florence is the kitten on the right.

"Telling these kittens apart is exhausting!"

I'll be back tomorrow with the answer key.

Update:  I decided to fill in the answers as they are guessed correctly. 

Maybe knowing the answer to a couple will help you get the rest.

But... I will divulge all tomorrow :)

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Oh yeah.... Go Tigers!!

Norman's A Star (But We Knew That Already)

We adopted Norman in January from the Michigan Humane Society.  Shortly after he joined the family, I sent them a picture of Norm in his new home and told them how happy we were that he joined the family.

There's something surreal about scrolling through your Facebook news feed and seeing a picture of your cat that you did not post.  There was Norm, in all his Norman glory, staring back at me from inside our hallway bathroom sink.

The Michigan Humane Society chose Norman as their "Adoption Tail" for yesterday.  He may or may not have let it go to his head.

He spent the afternoon posting and re-posting the link.  He e-mailed all of his friends to tell them what a star he is... and then he fell asleep on the laptop so no one else could use it.

He dumped out all of the cat toys and kept the best ones for himself.  After all, Simba is not a Facebook star.

"HEY!! Simba could be a star if Simba wanted to be a star... so THERE!"

He commandeered all of the cardboard boxes and declared himself "King of Camp Cardboard"... again.

He demanded ice cream for dessert... WITH blueberry cobbler.  And then he refused to eat the cobbler (or the blueberries).

He took charge of the remote, and insisted upon a Josie and the Pussycats marathon...to be followed by a showing of The Aristocats.  He refused to even consider Tom and Jerry.  That mouse clearly does NOT know the natural order of things.

And he told us over and over and over again how lucky we were that he decided to move in last winter.  And just in case you need a few good reasons to adopt a black cat...

13 Reasons to Adopt a Black Cat

1 You can't tell if they're dirty and their teeth always look white!

2. A black cat is a great accessory  to any outfit, they go with everything.

3.  Black is very slimming-- holding your cat will make you look extra-slender.

4. Save time on date night-- you won't need to lint brush on your little black dress.

5. Your cat doesn't care what color YOUR hair is!

6. Black cats are the most fun to play hide and seek with.

7. They have a "black belt" in cuddling.

8. You'll never need to go shopping for Halloween decorations.

9. In most cultures, a black cat in your home brings good luck!

10. A black cat will help you celebrate your inner "Goth".

11. They are always in the best dressed category.

12. They make you look beyond the surface to find true love and beauty.

13. They are the least likely to be adopted and need your love the most!

Kittens will return tomorrow.

Baby Jeffersons at 7 Weeks Old

Can You Believe It??

Our Baby Jeffersons have reached the 7 week milestone.  I thought it might be fun to take a look back at how much they have grown...

Little baby polar bear Clay at 3 days old...

was the first kitten to open up his eyes and criticize the world he saw outside them.

(Here at two weeks old)

Today our take-no-prisoners big boy Clay is the first one to take on every new challenge.

He finds everything absolutely amazing.

His flame points are slowly developing and those beautiful baby blues are never going away.

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Teeny tiny tabby princess Florence at 3 days old...

(and at 2 weeks old) was a teeny tiny tabby beauty who gave absolutely no hint of...

the gorgeous teeny tiny troll doll she was to become at 7 weeks.

Don't mistake those big wide eyes for either surprise or fear...

because teeny tiny Florence just might be the teeniest tiniest hellion here.

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 Roly poly Lionel was worried roly poly at 3 days old...

and at 2 weeks old too.

At 7 weeks old, Lionel still carries around a touch of the worries...

but he might just be playing you.

Roly poly little Lionel will not only be the first one to the food bowl, but he will also be the first one to greet you at the door.

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 Exotic little Siamese sister Roxie at 3 days old...

grew into the position of family drama queen at 2 weeks old.

 But by 7 weeks old, Miss Roxie Blue Eyes is the bravest and quietest of the three sisters...

She's growing into her Siamese points.  Seal point in color, but with a tabby "M" shading on her forehead and tabby stripes in her tail coloring.  I've heard she might be considered either a Lilac Point or a Lynx Point.  Anyone have any idea what I should be looking for to figure this out?

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 Thank heaven Willie Rae came equipped with the distinctive orange splotch on her forehead.  She started early as the easiest Jefferson kitten to photograph at 3 days old...

and continued to display her quiet, easy going nature at 2 weeks old.

At 7 weeks old, Willie Rae is easily the meekest and quietest kitten in the room, but that doesn't mean she can't hold her own in a wrestling match with any of her brothers or sisters.

She's also the likeliest kitten to launch a sneak attack on that back of your pajama pants, swinging like Tarzan as you walk across the room.

And she's added a distinctive horizontal orange stripe across her back to aid in kitten identification purposes too.

Don't get the idea that these babies are too awfully grown up though...

They still love their Mama very much.

(Although this is the first time I've seen all five of them there in a week or two... poor Mama got taken down by a pack of marauding kittens)

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And in Permanent Resident News...

Simba would like you to know that Norman is not the only food obsessed cat in the house.  Here he is examining the contents of the bread cupboard in the kitchen (one of the upper kitchen cabinets, thank you very much)

Also...

Chuckie got a new bed that he loves very much.

He's not the only one.