Happy New Year!!!!

We wish you a very SAFE and happy healthy New Year!!!!

 We would like to add to your celebration with the news that mom stopped at the shelter last night and....  George and Gigi were adopted - TOGETHER!!

Finally Friday.....

Mom says for only being 4 days long, it has been a long week.  :)

She stopped to see the kittens last night. Miss Gigi is staying at the shelter and should be on the adoption floor today. Mom says she looked pretty hung over last night but was looking for love. And....Geoff (our meezer boy) was adopted!!

We don't have many plans for the weekend. Mom will go over to grandma and grandpa's house on Monday to watch the Spartans play football in their bowl game, so we don't have to worry about that (grandpa bought himself a new big flat screen tv, so mom says she is getting spoiled watching sports over there).

We will be taking it easy....mom said something about some fireworks on Saturday night - not sure why the new year has to be brought in with explosives. We are already making plans to hide under the covers!!!

We hope you have a safe and fun New Years!!

Thankful Thursday......

We are going to let mom take this one today:  A word on miss Gigi - she was dropped off this morning for her lady-gardenectomy and the cat person said she could just stay at the shelter. Mom wasn't quite prepared for that, but that means we should have a peaceful, kitten-free weekend. :)

It is getting closer to the end of the year (how did that happen??), and I have been thinking about this past year. It has been a wild roller coaster. The ups and downs seemed to never end. I experienced more foster losses than any other year combined. But, the highs have been amazing.

What am I thankful for? First, that my family and friends are healthy, happy and employed. Second, the kitty crew here is healthy and (mostly) get along. Third, all of you. I don't think I could have made it through all of this without your cheers and support.

And please know that while I post here about the cats and the fosters and the transports, I do read and following along with all of you as well.  I cheer your successes, smile at the cuteness, and cry at the losses.

So, here is the year in review (these are just some highlights - it was interesting to go back and look over the blog for the last 12 months). I am going to try to stick to the positive things:

January - the chicken kittens came as fosters, Watson was found as a stray in the neighborhood (yes, someone dumped a persian), and my brother and sister-in-law got Minnie the Great Pyrnees.

February - our annual Purr-fur-mance review and the family Disney trip

March - the 2nd annual Best Friends trip (thank heaven for this)

April - Junior's 1st Gotcha Day, Swizzle and the kittens came as fosters, the adventures of Foxy the dog

May - TNR: Annie & Oakley...and the first of the Memorial kittens, and the sad news of Swizzle and FeLV

June - the rest of the Memorial kittens, negative test results for us, discovering that Tim is a great help socializing wild kittens, and BOX Day

July - Jasper & Soapy's transport (for Winnie's Wish), Chiclet got adopted!!!, Willow, Zander & Ebony joined us for a couple of weeks, Christmas in July

August - the gremlins came as fosters, Black Cat Appreciation Day (Mo would like you to know that he thinks this is every day), Mac (the 100th foster)

September - Mo Cats Day, the gray foster kittens (Cloud & Kiari), Tory & Trevor came as fosters (and then were adopted together), Martini got adopted!!!! (he was one of Swizzle's kittens)

October - Kletus came as a foster (this was good and bad), working cats adopted from the shelter

November - Danny & Mason came as fosters (and then were adopted together), Baloo & Mowgli came as fosters (and then ran for the Bridge), the G's

December - Ferris

We hope that you have a great 2012....we can't wait to see what happens!!

Wordless Wednesday (sorta)

Update: Geoff and George are back at the shelter. Mom was afraid Gigi would be whiny without her brothers, but she was pretty good - just a few cries in the middle of the night. Gigi goes tomorrow for her spay and then back to the shelter early next week. The kittens curled up with mom yesterday before she took in the boys and mom got some cute pictures. And our boy Ferris (Thankful Thursday 12-22-11) has an upper respiratory thing, so he is stuck in the back of the shelter until he feels better.

Gigi

George

Geoff

let's see......

Santa Paws did visit us.....we got some toys and treats. Plus mom came back from Florida on Monday night, so we got to sleep with her too!!!

Some updated news: there were some great adoptions from the shelter before Christmas. One was mom's buddy Smudge (you can see video of him here). He was on the radio on Thursday (though mom didn't get to hear it cause apparently CD101 is actually on 102.5). Someone heard all about him and adopted him on Friday. YEAH!! We hope Santa Paws brought him a water fountain at his new home. :)  Also, there were a pair of boys named Paramount and Baby. They were about 3 months apart in age, both moo kitties but had bonded like brothers. The shelter said they would adopted them separately, but everyone hoped someone would adopted them both. And someone did Thursday night!!!

Geoff and George go back to the shelter tonight. sigh....  mom is gonna miss the little boogers. Gigi should be spayed on Thursday and then go back early next week.

And now for some Christmas pictures:  Mom says the weather was finally nice when they were visiting (normally it is yucky) so they went to the beach on Saturday and walked.

grandpa and lanah (mom's niece) building the annual gingerbread house

the florida family

lanah and the polar bear

(seriously guys, it isn't a polar bear - Minnie is a DOG)

too funny.....

Mom is on her way back from Florida, but we wanted to share this video with you. The polar bear from Florida (ooh geez - she is a great pyrnees) is learning how to speak. Sorta......

Merry Catmas!!!!!

We hope you have a wonderful day and that Santa finds you tonight - and you were on the NICE list!!



Secret Paws 2011

YEAH!!! We got our Secret Paws 2011 presents!!  We got our from Penny and Tippy - known as the Meow_Girls....BUT they aren't online with a blog!!!  Girls....if you are reading this - THANK YOU and get on the CB with us!!

We love the treats and the new toys. There were jingly balls and FEVVERS!!!  The kittens got in on the action as well...

thankful Thursday...

Meet Ferris. Last Tuesday he showed up at the office where mom works. He was still there on Wednesday. They fed him and he acted so very hungry. After talking, the girls at the office decided to take him to see if he had a micro-chip and then get him rescued. Mom called the shelter and they had an open spot, so they agreed to take him. This big orange tomcat was wearing a collar but not micro-chipped. And not neutered. They checked the local paper, craigslist and PetFBI but didn't find any ads about a missing cat like the boy.

Last Thursday he was tested (all negative) and neutered. Now he is just waiting for an open spot on the adoption floor. He is VERY handsome and such a lover. He traveled very well in the car, didn't seem very concerned about the dogs in the lobby at the shelter and is a chatty guy. Mom checked on him Saturday and he was doing very well and seemed very happy to see mom.

(check out those whiskers and tomcat head.....mom sighs)

wordless wednesday.....

Resting up for Catmas....

Mini Meezer Mancat Monday....

Geoff here: da foster mom left the laptop compooter thingie on so I thought I would tell you about our weekend. da foster mom left the bafroom door open caturday morning and we got to be out all day. well, most of it since we did go back in for dinner. da foster mom gave us the first dose of the mede medi nasty stuff on Friday. george didn't like it much and drooled. :)  da foster mom cleaned our room on sunday and we again gots to play out in the whole house most of the day. we seem to like the back bedroom and keep her guessing as to what we is up to.

da foster mom said that we have to go backs to the shelter on fursday to be weighed and maybe gets our surgeries. but we will come back heres since we have to be on the nasty stuffs for a few days after that. we do enjoy being heres, but da foster mom says we has to get big enough to find homes of our own.

George & Gigi

Geoff (being a new blogger is hard)

 

Baby update.....

As we posted Thursday, none of the kittens weighed over 2 pounds for their spay/neuter surgery. The shelter ran another test and they are positive for coccidia. yeah....  sigh....  At least this can be treated and they should be better quick. Weights and "maybe" surgery next Thursday. Mom is glad they figured it out (apparently the microscope at the shelter isn't strong enough to catch this on these guys). But, Gigi was in there last week and they didn't run the test and mom has been complaining about this since we got them. So, a little frustrated. However, at least we know what it is. New drugs starting Friday....

Spud & Ivy's Gotcha Day.....

Hard to believe they have been here for 3 years.....

You can read their stories here: Spud and Ivy

Considering they were raised together, you would think they would get along better. Not gonna happen...we think Ivy considers Spud to be the ultimate pesky little brother.

Ivy loves to snuggle with Tim and Mozart. Spud is considered to be Tim and Tom's own personal stalker....but they tolerate him pretty much. Certainly better than everyone else in the house. Spud and Junior have never figured it out - Spud has no tolerance and Junior has no common sense. :)

But, we hope you can join us to celebrate their gotcha day!!!  With all the sads recently among our friends, please kiss all your kitties and woofies tonight and take an extra minute to tell them how glad you are they are in your life. Mom has promised us extra lap time and some extra treats....

Goodbye Sweet Admiral....

Admiral Hestorb

The news is making its way around, but we were shocked to hear the Admiral ran for the Bridge. We know her mom is heartbroken.....and our mom is crying too......

Thankful Thursday.....

As always, we are thankful all our friends. We are purring for all those that need it.....

Mom is continuing to volunteer - just limiting her interactions some. The kittens were scheduled for surgery today - however, no chance of that - they don't weigh enough: George 1 lb 15 oz; Geoff 1 lb 12 oz; Gigi 1 lb 5 oz. sigh......  The cat lady is going to talk to the vet and run another test for parasites - and then check into changing their diets. Raw isn't an option since they will have to go back to the shelter but we may try grain free.....
And, we are thankful especially for updates from adopters: we got an email from the lady that adopted Bat & Mohawk - now named Lucy & Linus. You can read about them here: release the gremlins Mohawk's adoption Bat adopted

They are doing very well. They love Peanut (the cat with cerebellar hypoplasia) and apparently the pomeranian has taken to giving them baths. Their new mom says they love snoozing with Peanut under the Chrismouse tree....

YEAH!!! We love adoption updates....and knowing our former foster kitts are doing so very well in their new homes. It really does make the craziness worth it. :)

tabby Tuesday.....

Mom bought ANOTHER new bed for our condos - so all the bottom rooms have bed in them. Mom says she hasn't seen anyone using the top bunks, but she may invest in bed for those anyhow.

Here is what is interesting - Junior LOVES the condo and the new beds. OK - that isn't interesting. But what is interesting is that he sleeps facing the wall. Mom is baffled. She thinks that with as jumpy as that boy is most of the time, he would sleep facing into the room so he has an escape route and can see what is going on around him. Nope - most of the time he is butt out and facing the wall.....

Weekend wrap up...

THANK YOU for all the messages to mom yesterday. She is pretty frustrated by the whole thing. We know lots of you recommended a face to face meeting, but mom just isn't sure that is going to fix anything. This director lady seems to have her mind made up about mom....so she turned down the lead position and just plans to keep under the radar as much as possible. But we know the whole thing hurt her feelings and we cuddled with her to help her feel better.

She did have a transport on Sunday, but forgot to take pictures. It would have been pretty funny as she managed to get 4 medium airline crates in her Beetle!! She wasn't sure it was going to work at first - especially based on the sizes the sending rescue stated the crates were, but ends up the crates were a little smaller than stated. thank heaven....  and now 4 pups and one adult are safe in long term foster!!

The baking went....ok. Mom made oreo truffles suggested by Army of four. They turned out pretty well. But she also made 7 layer bars and isn't sure they turned out quite right - though she said they taste ok. :)

The foster monsters were out most of the weekend and up to no good. Last night Gigi didn't seem to be feeling well. She was much better for part of last week, but was moping about last night. And she is just still so bony. V-e-t appt on Thursday should hopefully tell us more....

Finally Friday....

Mom said something about today being a short day for her at work due to their chismouse party. So hopefully we will get some snuggling in this afternoon.

Mom smiled at yesterdays comments. Yep - we have meetings on the sofa. But none of us are cow cats - Maestro is the only one that is close and he is gray and white. Tim and Tom are brown and white tabbies and Ivy is a torbie. Mom just got weird lighting in the shot trying to get us all in one place (and notice Junior and Spud are no where to be found). MOL

We are relaxing this weekend - just like normal. Mom said she is going to try to bake this afternoon, so we may have to go into hiding - baking isn't mom's thing.

Hope you stay warm this weekend....

(these are Tim's toes under the blankets on the bed last night)

Thankful Thursday

So mom emailed the shelter yesterday about the kitts. Apparently the last time they were tested they had a high parasite count and so the vet treated them for that again and wants to see them in another week.

This week we are thankful that we are inside cats and for all those people that help the homeless animals out there. The shelters are up for our neighborhood cats and mom hopes they are using them.....

Purrs to everyone who is hurting - we know there are a lot and somehow it seems worse this time of year.

Wordless Wednesday (sorta)

We got drugs for the kittens but no note, so mom emailed the shelter to see if she could find out something else. The packet said "1/4 pill tonight per kitten. Should clear up in 2-3 days". Really??? sigh....

Anyhow, on to wordless wednesday - except if you turn up your sound, you can hear Junior (around the 1 min mark). :)

We shall see.....

Mom dropped Gigi off at the shelter this morning so she can see the v-e-t this afternoon. Hopefully nothing serious.

In other news, the boys have figured out the gate. Mom was in the kitchen last night and heard "meep meep meep" looked down and there was George. She figured someone knocked the gate going over (since Tim and Tom like to go into the bathroom for kitten food), so she took him back. The gate had moved a little, though not really enough to afford an escape.

A few minutes later "meep meep meep". sigh.....and then Geoff came marching down the hall. Leaving Gigi by herself in the bathroom screaming to be let out too (she is just enough shorter than her brothers that she can't reach to get out). Since mom isn't sure she trusts them just yet, they got locked in today. :)

BTW - we left the bed in the condo last night and have been using them regularly - Junior especially loves them. MOL

George

Geoff & Gigi

BTW - mom is trying to comment from work today and after having to delete her "cookies" she is having problems accessing some accounts....sorry!!

new beds

Mom was working an adoption event this Sunday and bought us some donut beds. Normally she doesn't have those cause we are a little bigger than those and our Angel Butterscotch used to pee on them. However, she thought she would give it another try.

And she decided to try them in our condo!!

And then came out this morning and found this:

Mom is taking Gigi to the shelter tomorrow to see the v-e-t. Everyone still has runny poop but Gigi isn't gaining weight either....

Random Stuff.....

We were locked in jail last night FOREVER!!!!
       Mom: oh please - it was the 2nd bedroom with all of your stuff and it was an hour while the cable guy was here changing our service

And Spud and Ivy didn't have to be in here either!!!
    Mom: cause I couldn't catch them and they don't like strangers anyhow

Whatever mom.....

The kittens got their booster shots yesterday and checked out ok. Weighing in at 1 pound 10 ounces, 1 pound 9 ounces and 1 pound 6 ounces (we think this is Gigi). For now, they are out for some time in the evening, but mom has been blocking off our room with the gate (which Ivy hates since she can't get over it). Mom said she may leave the gate off tonight and then maybe tomorrow while she is shopping with grandma she may let them out - unsupervised!! They go back in 2 weeks for boosters and maybe surgery - mom won't give them breakfast and they will see how much everyone weighs.

We plan to nap most of the weekend. Mom is going over to grandma and grandpa's house on Saturday night. Something about the 1st Big Ten Championship football game. She is going to yell for our Spartans to beat them Badgers.

GO GREEN!!!

dis foster mom are belonging to me

look what we got.....

Mom bought us a new cube....

Mom: hey guys - I bought it for Spud to help him be more comfortable.

Sure, whatever mom. As you can see, Junior checked it out but it was mainly Mozart that decided it now belongs to him.

Spud did check it out at one point, but then Tommy walked up and Spud ran off. The cubes were $15 at Walmart, so mom says she may have to invest in a couple more and put them in a couple of different places. The one she saw a few years ago had a hole in the front and the back and this just has a hole in the front - so there is less escape routes. However, it is worth a shot. She is also going to check for something to add to our water to help with stress.

THANKS for all the great advice we got. We will keep you posted.

Oh - and Ivy LOVES hand lotion - apparently just not spearmint. MOL

Two Word Wednesday

MY spider!!!

Ivy: Mom says I have a minor obsession with hand lotion. Anyhow, she got home the shelter last night and put some on while she was watching TV. I couldn't resist.  What was that smell? (mom: ecalyptus spearmint)  I ran over to sniff and when she moved, I reached up and grabbed her wrist with my front paws. I stuck my tongue out and tasted it. YECH!! I backed up and made a face. Mom asked "taste funny?" and I fell over. Mom laughed and laughed.....

We need some ideas....

Some of you may have heard mom complain about the relationships around here that revolve around Spud. For the longest time she thought it was just Spud and Ivy doing the too-close-in-age thing. Spud gets Ivy cornered, she hisses, he won't back down and the chase is on.

Then it evolved to Spud and Junior. If Junior got too close to Spud's personal space, then a battle would ensue. The problem with most of these battles is that the others can't just watch - Tommy especially feels the need to engage. And it doesn't help that Junior doesn't have the sense to back away slowly. :)

Mom asked the v-e-t Dr Taylor about Feliway. She said it sorta works but not reliably enough to justify the cost. She suggested more vertical space, so mom cleared out one of her shelves - and of course the only one she has seen up there is Mozart. (and mom won't medicate Spud - he is skittish and she is afraid of making him even more tense by trying to catch him everyday)

Well, it got worse over the weekend - mom has now caught Tommy stalking Spud across the living room. She distracted Tommy a few times, but other times he got away and would chase Spud down the hallway.

Poor mom often thinks that Spud might do better in another home but she won't put him through that. When she took him in as a kitten it was with the intent to get him big enough and then take him to the shelter to be adopted. But he looks a lot like our Angel Tigger and mom has some guilt issues, so Spud stayed.

Plus she knows that 7 adult cats in 1000 square feet isn't ideal either.

But, here is where is gets more interesting....Mom caught Spud sleeping under one end table last night. She thinks he ended up there cause Mo was sleeping on the/spud's floor vent. MOL  But she got to thinking....what about putting one of those soft cubes under the end table for Spud to sleep in? He would have his own space (assuming someone else wasn't sleeping in it). But she is afraid he will feel cornered. We think if Spud had his wish mom would leave him in the bedroom all day by himself, but she doesn't like that option for a number of reasons.

So, anyone have any suggestions? There is a limit to how much cat furniture we can put in the living room. Mom is considering turning part of the 2nd bedroom into a foster fort and that will clear some floor space for an elevated bed or another tree, but that may not happen until later this winter. Mom just worries about the stress this causes everyone here. All ideas welcome.....

Mini Meezer Mancat Monday....

OK, take a moment to admire the title - mom has been dying to use this one for over a week....  MOL

Anyhow, as some of you may remember, the shelter where mom volunteers took in 3 kittens that were related to Mowgli and Baloo. They joined the household on the 17th. So far they have been in the bathroom, but they were tested on Friday and got the all clear. The first few days were peaceful but then they discovered the joy of escape - at 2am. Kind of fun to watch mom dance down the hall trying to find a missing kitten while not stepping on anyone to avoid turning on the lights.  :) They haven't gotten complete freedom from the bathroom yet....still kinda tiny.

So, introducing (oh, and the cat caregiver at the shelter keeps naming the kittens - we take no responsibility):

Geoff

Gigi

George (formerly Ginger but he is actually a boy - MOL)

Mom is laughing at them everytime they eat - they are a little....agressive. This isn't the best video but it is cute.



Easy like Caturday...

We are taking it easy this weekend and hope you are all doing the same - sorry about turning off the Thanksgiving comments - mom thought she would give you all the day off.....MOL

We have some very good adoption news to share:

Danny and Mason were adopted last Sunday together.

Mom took the gray kittens back to the rescue adoption center last Sunday. She got back to check on them Wednesday and Kiari had already been adopted by a woman who adopted a tortie from the same rescue about a year ago. :)  Cloud is working on his cute routine, so we hope he will be adopted soon!!

Mom helped the shelter with their Black Friday sale. There were 7 cats & kittens adopted on Friday including 2 adults who have been there a while and needed to be only cats!!!

We needed the good news and knew you would all appreciate it as well.

Happy Fangsgiving!!!

May you table be topped with turkey

and your fridge be filled with leftovers!!!