Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Bug and the new kittens

Well, Bug is still eating on his own and living in his condo.  He screams like mad when mom is around, but will quiet down when she shows him the food dish (again) or lets him out to run around some while she sits on the floor with him.  However, she says he is a messy eater and gave him a bath the other night.
She has also been supervisin' the kittens and mom cat in the bathroom.  She tried again to introduce Bug and while Chiclet (the momma cat) didn't seem to mind so much this time, Bug didn't get it.  Mom is hoping that when the kittens get a little bigger she can let them out with Bug to play and give Chiclet a break (and her too).  In the meantime, names have been assigned and we have new pictures.
Names: girls: dilute calico (less white & bigger) - Georgia; dilute calico (more white) - Carolina
    boys: gray/white - Nevada; orange/white tabby - Utah; buff/white tabby - Maine; cream (I suspect he may end up with points like a siamese) - Dakota

all the kids


Chiclet

 
Carolina


Nevada

 
Maine


Sunday, September 26, 2010

Super Saturday....

I got to meet Teri and Brighton from Curlz & Swirlz.  They were at a cat show in Wilmington Ohio this weekend and that isn't too far from where I live.  There were all sorts of cats but it was a Cornish Rex specialty, so there were LOTS of those.



I happened upon them at first by accident.  Brighton was being judged.  I looked over a woman's shoulder at her program and realized that Brighton was in the group I was seeing.  They got done and I let them get settled before introducing myself.   There were smiles and hugs and Teri generously let me pet Brighton - which is usually not allowed at cat shows.  He is so soft - I have never been around Cornish Rexes before and it was fun.  I got to observe kitten judging, which was a riot....they are all howling and jumping around.  Some of the judges just judge, but there was a great one who made comments about breeds and the cats and was great to watch.  She judged some long hair cats which included this HUGE Maine Coon kitten - the owner said he weighs about 18 pounds and he is only 9 months old.  I wish I had gotten a picture as he was very handsome as well.

I did get to see Brighton get judged before I left for the day.  Don't laugh too hard at the video.  I don't know what I am doing and didn't realize I shouldn't have changed the direction of the camera.  Plus I have NO idea how to edit.


There was a no kill shelter represented as well, so of course I made a donation and bought some toys before I left.



Thursday, September 23, 2010

Adopt a Less Adoptable Pet

Pet Adoption  What is it about the one particular animal that grabs your heart?  Everyone always wants the cute kitten or puppy?  I say babies are overrated!!

I have one of these "less adoptable" animals.  Mozart was one of my foster kittens.  He got a VERY nasty eye infection and has a visible corneal scar.  When he went back to the shelter adoption floor, he was 6 months old, black and scarred.  And the vets put a note on his card that he may have to eventually lose the eye.  Yeah - that will make people jump up and offer to take him.

After over 2 weeks of him being gone from my house, I broke down and finalized his adoption.  3 years later he is my sweet baby and still has both eyes.  And you know what - even if he eventually loses one, who cares?

I will never understand why people want a certain color or gender.  Who cares???  Shouldn't it be about the purrsonality and how they will fit in your household???

So - Mo says - get out there and adopt...every kitty and doggy needs a home but especially those that have special needs or some other reason that people overlook them.



Here is our Less Adoptable Pets special:  Barney & Oleander
Barney & Oleander would like to be adopted together from Black & Orange Cat Foundation.  They are scardey cats that love each other and are both 4-5 years old.  Barney: Tabby - Brown, Cat; Plain City, OH

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Quick update...

Bug was fine when I got home last night!!  Screaming like mad once he heard me, but nothing serious.  I would love to know what he does all day when I am not home.

Junior was up on the bed cuddling for a few minutes before taking off to kill my toes.  And there was less howling in the middle of the night.  YEAH!!

Momma cat got tested and vaccinated today.  I took Bug in with me to visit before I went to work.  She was nursing and seemed OK with him being in there.  However, Bug sniffed her, tried to eat out of her dish and then wandered around looking for me.  I tried to show him the mommy equipment, but I don't think he quite got it.  To him, I am the mommy and this is just some strange cat he keeps running into.  :)  But hey, being out during the day isn't hurting him, so whatever at this point.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Monday update....

Well, Bug is on his own today (OK - not really since my crew is there, but I didn't bring him to work).  We shall see how this pans out.  I do have a friend who lives close to where I work that has offered to help babysit and/or leave him there so I can come over at noon and feed him.

Momma cat is doing well.  Turns out the kittens had MAJOR fleas, so everyone got a bath last night (and no one was happy about it).

Junior jumped up onto the bed last night as I was reading and wanted to snuggle some.  AWWW!!


Bug and the canned food

Bug's new house (in the living room)
Junior
Junior checking out Bug
Bug & Ivy (awwww)
new momma cat and her kittens

Sunday, September 19, 2010

What a weekend....

So by Friday I was pretty sure my boss was over the kitten in the office adventure.  So I emailed a friend who volunteers with Colony Cats and asked if maybe they had a momma cat I could "borrow".  Sure enough they did and I made arrangements to pick her up on Saturday.

Only, come to find out, the kittens are about 2 weeks younger than Bug and she has 6 of them.  I am going to try an introduction this afternoon, but I don't know how she is going to take to another kitten.  I suspect she may be more a babysitter while I am at work and Bug will be out with me while I am home.  I put up the pen and he is currently sleeping out there.  I am going to get it set up more as a housing thing and then will leave him in there most of the time.

I took him with me to my parents' house last night to watch the MSU Spartans beat Notre Dame.  OK, so I left at the end of regulation since it was LATE but Dad called before I got home and said MSU won in over time.  GO GREEN!!!

Anyhow, Bug was a riot.  I let him out and sat on the floor so he could play some.  He ran around and under their coffee table and was bouncing around.  Fun to watch.  I put him in the pen this morning and he was doing the same thing.  Junior was sitting outside the pen and wasn't sure what to do about Bug.

Speaking of Junior....big breakthrough.  Friday night he came up and jumped up in my lap and snuggled in for some love!!!  I knew curiousity would eventually get the better of him.  Of course, with the momma cat in the bathroom, he was out and free last night.  He has GOT to get over the whining at every other cat thing - he was on and on and on and (you get the point) last night every time he ran into another cat.  Baby - there are 6 adults here....you are going to run into them....get over it already!!

Anyhow, I will keep everyone posted on the new babies and how momma cat does with Bug.  Momma is a very skinny calico and she has 4 boys (white, orange tabby, orange/white tabby and gray/white) and 2 girls (both dulite calicos - one with more white than the other).

OH!!!  And good news - my friend Kelly took Pecan to Youngstown to live with her brother, sister-in-law and nephew.  She is going to have to learn to live with their dog, but I have great hopes for her!!!

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

ummmm - mom???

I am still not too sure what Spud thinks of Bug.  Anyone want to hazard a guess??  :)



Monday, September 13, 2010

The continuing toenail saga....

Miss Ivy needed her nails again.  Kelly was again available and willing to help out.  This time I decided to employ the ace that the vet sent us to try.  I grabbed Ivy about 1:10pm yesterday, gave her the pill and stuck her in the bathroom for easy finding later.

Kelly arrived around 2pm. She ooohhhed and ahhed over Bug and even got to hold Junior for a few minutes (OK - he was unwilling, but he let her do it which is HUGE).

The moment of truth.  I opened the bathroom door.....and shut it so I could laugh.  OMG - she was sitting on the floor, upright but back legs splayed out to the side, third eyelid about halfway up and looking seriously drunk.  Kelly asked what was so funny...I tried to describe it.  "How much did you give her?"  "One whole pill."  "I only give Murphy a half."  "Yeah, but Ivy is more ornery - or she used to be."  (snicker)

So I pull myself together and grab the princess.  She growled, but it wasn't as bad as normal.  Only one scream and no poop.  YEAH!!  I still had to hold her while Kelly cut, but it wasn't nearly as bad as without the ace.  I was hoping maybe to be able to do it myself, but I don't think we will ever get to that point.  Next time I promise to try it with 1/2 a pill.  :)  It took her the rest of the afternoon and evening to sleep it off.  I did manage to keep her from trying the stairs. 

This was her first attempt to find somewhere to sleep it off:

Friday, September 10, 2010

I am so proud....

Junior is making so much progress.  He is out all day now and is venturing into the living room more often.  No telling how much time he spends out during the day, but he is out most of the evening.  He still runs if something startles him, but he recovers pretty quickly.  His favorite spot seems to be on a chair in the dining room where he can look out the sliding glass door.

Bug is doing great too.  Mom called last night and said she may know of someone who will adopt him when he is big enough.  She just lost her cat and needs some time to recover which will be great for Bug.  He is eating like mad.  I again forgot to weigh him this morning, but he looks twice as big as he was when I found him.  I have been letting him walk around the living room in the evenings.  He doesn't get too far - tough when you are only a couple of inches off the ground.  :)  Spud just sits and stares at him.  I have never had kittens this tiny that have been out and exposed to the crew, so this is different.  I don't know whether Spud is fascinated or thinks Bug is a toy, but he just watches him.

The fosters went back to the shelter on Tuesday.  I got to see them that night and they didn't seem too thrilled about the change in surroundings.   Hopefully they will relax and find a home soon.

Ivy, Walnut & Hazel checking out the new guy

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Weekend update....

Tommy checking out BUg

I got home Friday and Junior had "gone over the wall". The gate was still up, but no orange kitten in the bathroom. I took down the gate and left it alone knowing he was somewhere in the condo. Around 8pm I heard some hissing and managed to herd him back into the bathroom. So it has gone for the rest of the weekend. He spends his days out - mostly in my office and nights in the bathroom. I am hesitant to let him out at night as I don't want to have him in my bedroom and not be able to get him out in the morning. And then last night he actually ventured down the hall toward the living room. He didn't make it into the living room, but this is as close as he has gotten. Serious progress for 3 weeks in the house.

The nuts went back to the shelter this morning. I am sad to see them go - I have had them for a while and they were a joy. The caregiver at CHA thinks they may go to a local Petsmart adoption center, so that should help them get adopted a little faster. I will say that I think the adults had had enough of this group and may be glad they are gone. Even Mozart was losing patience. :)

And Bug is doing great. Eating like mad and getting bigger every day. I don't think my scale goes that low, but I am going to try to weigh him tonight (and yes, I now think he is a boy). I trimmed his nails the other day and they are sharp already again. I may try to introduce him to canned food next weekend. I had him at my parents' house over the weekend and discovered I could entertain him by letting him suck on my finger. I also put him on the floor last night and after wandering around a little, he crashed for a nap. I went into the kitchen and when I turned around, Ivy, Walnut, Pecan and Hazel were all standing round him watching. I have caught Spud laying in front of the carrier just staring more than once. Wish I knew what he was thinking.

All in all, a good weekend. :)

Friday, September 3, 2010

Meet Bug...


OK - so we found another kitten in the neighborhood. A neighbor named Susan found one Wednesday, but he was dying and I had a local vet help me with him. However, she called yesterday and said that she was hearing another one. We made plans for her to bring it to my condo. Only she couldn't get it out from under the stairs. So we went over and I laid in the mulch and after about 15 minutes and a lot of swearing, I managed to get the kitten on to the end of a broom I brought and pulled her out. She was pretty filthy and had some fleas. Back to my house and I got her cleaned up. She appeared to have a wound, so I got the vet on the phone that helped me with the other one and they agreed to fit me in. She checked out pretty well. About 2.5 weeks old and weighs in at only 0.3 pounds. But she is eating so I will keep up with her. I was up several times last night with her. She slept for longer than I would have thought, but I think a lot of it could have just been recovery after a good meal and now being warm and safe. I brought her to work with me this morning knowing that I was going to have to beg my boss to allow me to bring her to work for a couple of weeks. He says he is allergic but I think the cute overwhelmed his argument and he agreed. YEAH Jim!! So, she is in a carrier on a heating pad next to my desk. :) Keep your fingers crossed for her. She is tiny and has a long way to go, but I have hope. (sorry the pic is fuzzy - I took it with my phone)

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Junior update

Getting his picture is a pain.  This is the cutest one I have so far.  He either looks mad or you can't see his face - his chin blends into his chest and it just looks odd.

He is making progress.  Last Friday I got out of work early and decided to run an experiment.  I put up the pen I have....

That requires some explanation: I bought a baby gate to use in the bathroom door so I could leave the door open - to get some air in and let everyone see each other.  Problem is that kittens can get over the gate pretty quickly.  So I got to thinking about rabbit pens.  A little expensive though.  I borrowed one and it worked GREAT!! So I decided to make the investment and found this one Dr Foster Smith.  It works great.  And once the kittens can get over THAT, then they deserve more freedom.

In Junior's case, it allows him a feeling of safety.  I know he could get over it - though I am not sure he knows that.  When I first put it up, the fosters were fascinated.  I heard a shuffling noise and went to investigate - the purple towel (you can see it in his picture) was moving across the floor.  I find that towel all over the bathroom.  He gets adopted, it will have to go with him. 

Now he is sitting in the hall for a good part of the day.  He can interact with the kitten (I have seen he and Wally playing with his ball through the bars).  The adults seem more than ready to ignore him.  Hazel and Pistachio still have fits when they see him.  Stachi followed me into the bathroom this morning when I went back in to grab my rings and he actually charged at her hissing right back.  I kind of wanted to applaud.

He still is jumpy though.  He will be sitting in the hall but run back into the bathroom when I come down the hall toward him.  He bounces back pretty quickly though and will come right out when I call him.  He tried to come out of the bathroom last night with me, but considering it was 3am, I vetoed that maneuver.  However, based on that, I may try that as my next step.

He is still vocal - likes to talk to me when I am spending time with him.  But still growls and hisses at the kittens and I am not sure that is really what he means.  Plus we have to work on the biting thing....he doesn't do it hard enough to draw blood, but he doesn't have any inhibitions either.  I am hoping he will get comfortable coming out into the living room with everyone and when he tries it on the adults they will teach him some better manners.

For now I am very proud of his progress.  Now to find the right family to adopt him....that is the challenge.

awwww

The gang of four (honest, Hazel is still here, just refusing to cooperate for the picture taking) were spayed and neutered yesterday.  The foster mom lady got almost all the way to the car before she realized that Hazel wasn't in the carrier with Wally.  She went back and the vet tech came out at the same time - apologizing like crazy.  No big deal - at least she didnt' get home without our sister.

We were feeling a little crazy last night but much better this morning.  No one seemed to like us much when we got back to the house.  The foster mom lady said we smell like the V-E-T and the adult kitties don't like that much.  Too bad for them....

The foster mom lady says we go to the shelter on Tuesday to be adopted.  Not sure what that all means...we will have to wait to see.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Last night....

As most of you know, I volunteered at Best Friends this past March. I am also on their volunteer network. I got an email a couple of weeks ago about helping with a puppy mill transport. ABSOLUTELY!!! Their truck picked up over 150 dogs from various "breeders" in Missouri and are transporting them to NYC. (they should be there by now) They stopped in Columbus as a mid point. Got here about 8pm. We watered, fed and cleaned for 3 hours. By 11pm they were ready to go and I was tired, thirsty and smelled FUNKY (the kittens were enthralled when I got home). The dogs are slated for rescues in the New York area and then on to forever homes.  Check out their blog Pup My Ride