2012 in Review - Part 2

July started with some drama with the alcohol kittens and ended with Amaretto and Cognac running for the Bridge......

We did join the Cat-olympics and posted some pictures of us doing various activities.

The alcohol kittens were finally released from the bathroom and joined Doc and Sally in having some free time in the living room.....wow were they tiny!!

In August mom took off and helped our friend Miss DeLynn move to Utah. Her husband had taken a job with Best Friends and mom helped Miss DeLynn move one of the dogs and the cat out there. Plus she got to volunteer a couple of days before coming home.

In the meantime, the alcohol kittens were running around with Doc and Sally.

And yes....Bourbon is still a screamer.... (see video)

Mom continued to enjoy time with the alcohol kittens and Doc.....

In September we gotted a short term foster from the shelter named Poncho....he was a little bit older and had a good time hanging out with us....


Discussions were started to remove the bathroom door and replace it with something that revolves....

A kitty was noticed wandering around outside the condo. Mom finally caught her and discovered that she was already spayed and had been front declawed. Mom named her Eclipse and the shelter agreed to take her. Unfortunately, Eclipse is still waiting for her forever home.



Whiskey got adopted by a nice couple and has an older kitty brother to keep him company. Mom gets updates from his family and they renamed him Tucker and he is very well loved....

Mom spotted a couple of orange tabby boys outside the condo. Long story, but they ended up at the shelter.....and then ended up here.  Luke and Duke are a pair of cuties aren't they????

And then on to our big fall/winter adventure. Miss Chrystal rescued a mom and kittens and mom agreed to bring them here and foster them.  Their transport day came and they moved into the bathroom.

The fall and winter so far has been wrapped up with finding homes for Cleo, the alcohol kittens and the Gemstone kittens.  Cleo is spayed and at Petco. Gin, Moonshine and Bourbon are all ready to go - Gin at Petco, Bourbon and Moonshine still here with us.  Opal, Kyan and Cory were all adopted before Christmas and Emma is still here to gain enough weight to be spayed.

They had gotten pretty sick and mom asked for help from the CB - you guys came through and an auction was set up. Your support means everything and the donations were amazing. THANK YOU!!!!

We are all good here. Maestro is getting older but is going well for being 18 year old. We still aren't sure what is up with Tim's teeth, but he seems to be getting better every day - we did get an update from the v-e-t and it is not bartonella. They still think it is stomatitis which is an issue with his immune system. We know he is negative for FIV and FeLV so it is something else. The v-e-t is going to check with a colleague and we will go from there.  Junior and Spud still try to kill each other occasionally, but we think part of the tension this fall may have been Cleo being here and her tension about being around the other cats.

It is, overall, been a good year. Great saves, birthdays, gotcha days, rescues, adoptions and many transports.....can't forget to mention the slobbery kids mom has helped transport:

2012 in Review - Part 1

So we decided to look back over 2012.....we thought maybe do the highs and lows in separate posts but decided no one would want to read an entire post about the lows of the year. MOL  So we decided to run 6 months at a time.....here is the first half!!!

We started off 2012 with Caramel and Mocha......  Mocha was our tiny baby that mom discovered had an old rib injury that reminded us once again why we rescue....she is in a MUCH better place with her new family now. :)

We gotted our first new cat tree too!!

And this past spring was when things got heated in Florida as TNR came to the forefront with a hotel chain. We have said before that we are ALL for TNR and Junior is the best example.

Before the coffee kittens were adopted, Martin came to stay with us for a while. After he went back, the shelter decided he was going to have to go back to the woman who rescued him since his behavior was unpredictable. Mom ran into Miss Jen this fall and got to see a picture of Martin after Miss Jen found him a new forever home. YEAH for Martin!!

While we were trying to solve the mystery of Caramel's enduring snot, Cheerio came to spend some time with us. Mom has seen his mom at Petco a few times and while he is still shy, he has come around and routinely loves on his new dad. :)

In March we got a call about one of the cats that had been trapped and adopted by a neighbor. It seems that the lady was moving and rather than being responsible, she just left Madam outside. Fortunately, mom was able to catch her and after some minor drama, placed her at Petco and she was adopted by a very nice older couple.....

 The end of March brought a new adventure.  Marble and Silver came to the house. Marble had been spayed and Silver came in as a tiny orphaned kitten. The rescue got lucky and Marble decided that Silver was a nice baby and took her as her own.  You can read mom's favorite Silver memory here

 Oh yeah - and mom got new ink.....

April brought some serious sadness as we were joined by Louisa and her kittens who ran for the Bridge so very soon.....

May brought some serious craziness as we had Wendy and the fast food kittens and then Wild Bill, Annie, Sally Mae and Doc Holiday join us in a short period of time....Ultimately Wild Bill and Annie Oakley ran for the Bridge, but we are glad they got a chance to be loved and safe. And their mom got spayed and the neighborhood where they were found made an effort to do some serious TNR - so they did make an impact in several lives.

 OMG - can you believe that it was JUNE when the alcohol kittens joined us?????  Holy cats....

after staring at the picture, mom thinks the one up front might be Bourb

Stay tuned tomorrow for Part 2

Random Fridays....

Because you can never have too much Emma and Bourbon....  Yeah - Emma isn't too fond of the "Bourbon bath".  However, he learned from the best - he gets the same treatment from Tim....only Bourbon enjoys it and must have felt Emma needed the same treatment.....   Emma tries very hard to "fight" back but with Bourbon being twice her size, she doesn't have much of a chance. MOL

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No pictures, but mom had to smile at Allie on Wednesday morning. After being gone for several days, poor Allie was caught off guard when mom got home Tuesday night. On Wednesday morning she shot out of the garage when mom came downstairs and fed her and got ready to leave. Now, the normal routine is....Allie leaves, mom puts out more food, then mom gets in the car gets on her glasses and seatbelt and pulls out. Mom closes the door but leaves it open enough for Allie to get in and out. And then as mom drives out the driveway, she can see Allie head back into the garage. Wednesday morning, mom backed out and stopped to put on her seatbelt. As mom sat still for a minute, Allie shot back across the driveway and into the garage without waiting for mom to leave. Made her smile.....mom still wishes Allie didn't have to live in the garage, but is happy that Allie feels safe and has a warm place to eat and sleep.

Oh, and when mom got home last night, there was someone else in the garage. Normally Allie is out when mom gets home. But the door opened and mom started to pull in when a big brown tabby head popped up in the back of the garage. Gonna have to set the trap. Considering what this cat looks like and that Allie allows him (?) in the garage, mom wonders if he might be the alcohol kittens daddy.
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Oh, get this.....that Emma-heathen is now allowed to sleep outside the bathroom. Yep - she was ON THE BED starting Wednesday night......  ok, we know, she doesn't take up much space, but still!!!!
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Mom says we are taking it easy this weekend. She has time off for the New Year so we are kicking back. She said something about football and snacks.....we can get into the snacks part at least. Miss Connie sent us ping pong balls as part of our Secret Santa box so we are going to convince her to break those out.

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Tim still seems like he doesn't feel good. Mom hasn't heard back from the vet yet and says she is going to call them today. No yowling, but he was curled up like this last night:

That Emma....

So Mom was away for Catmas....the petsitter lady came over everyday to take care of us and play. However, mom got worried on the plan ride to Florida that Emma might have some problems with only getting canned food once per day. So she called the petsitter lady and asked if she could come over twice per day to make sure Emma got canned food at least that often.

Well, turns out the petsitter lady volunteered to take Emma home with her (and was quite smitten with her). Emma came back last night and was met by everyone. Mom swears she is twice as big as she was when mom left.

And then Bourbon got his paws on her.....

It was every kitten for themselves......

Wordless Wednesday

Our friends at Cult of Otis are celebrating Box Day....

Tommy - doing it wrong???  haha

Caramel (foster)

Sallie Mae and Doc (fosters)

Tim

Merry Catmas!!!!

Today we send you warm wishes and hopes for family joy, presents, love and good food.

Secret Paws......

We gotted our package and mom was going to make us wait.....But Miss Connie from tails from the foster kittens told her she had to open it.

First....there was a nice card. And a check.....Miss Connie had a commentathon and send mom the money to use for supplies for the kittens. Mom gotted a little choked up. But on to the box.....

You can see the whole story here: Secret Paws  (we hope)

There were nip mats and nip....the mats are out but mom hid the nip. There were toy mices...and a stocking full of balls (yeah - ping pong) and things to chase.

Mom even gotted some things. There was chocolate...and a beautiful necklace with starfish on it. Mom once again burst into tears.....she is wearing it and LOVES it.  We think it is nice too...

Thanks Miss Connie and the kitties.  :)

In case you haven't read it before, here is the starfish story:

The Starfish StoryOriginal Story by: Loren Eisley

One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed
a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. 

Approaching the boy, he asked, "What are you doing?"

The youth replied, "Throwing starfish back into the ocean.  The surf is up and the tide is going out.  

If I don't throw them back, they'll die."

"Son," the man said, "don't you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish?  You can't make a difference!"

After listening politely, the boy bent down, 

picked up another starfish,  and threw it back into the surf.  

Then, smiling at the man, he said

"I made a difference for that one."

Random Fridays

Uncle Bill has left the building. He will be boarding at a local vet until Monday when his new mom will pick him up. When mom was dropping him off, his new mom came in to see him. The family was originally going to adopt a kitten named Flame, but he is very very sick. So Miss Beckie talked to them about Bill. But the lady hadn't even seen a picture of him since he is no longer on Petfinder due to being in the witless protection program.  She took one look at Bill and fell in love. Go figure...

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Kyan has a new love. Mom saw this the other night and almost fell out of her chair laughing.

Yes ladies and gentlemen - that is Ivy that Kyan is snuggling with on the cat bed.
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And we have good news!!!

Opal went home on Wednesday. She will have her own kid and a senior golden retriever to love on. Plus her new mom said they are keeping her name!

And.....Cory and Kyan will be going home together on Friday. Mom is having to scramble to get Kyan neutered (shoulda done it when you did the others mom....) and then to another volunteer to send them home, but they will have a firefighter dad and a pair of teenage boys. Wooohooooo

How to create a gremlin.....

Step One: find a kitten - the fuzzier the better

Step Two: give the kitten a bath (yeah - no pictures of that)

Step Three: towel dry - tada - gremlin

Emma got a bath the other day. She had some......disgusting buns. And you thought she had weird hair before....  hahaha

Wordless Wednesday....

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Tim update: I had to take Uncle Bill to a local vet that is newly associated with the rescue (OMG can I tell you how much I love this office). (side note: Uncle Bill is fine - he is boarding there for a few days until his new mom takes him home for Christmas....my Tim is the one having issues) I decided to bite the bullet and make an appointment for Tim. I leave tomorrow for the holiday weekend and didn't want something happening or my pet sitter having to deal with it. He was freaked out enough that the vet there got a much better look at his mouth. They didn't see an abcess but rather ulcers along the back of his mouth. No mention of THAT when he had his dental. ugh The vet was concerned about Bartonella, so they drew blood but the test takes about a week. If that isn't it, we will re-evaluate. I did have them give him a convenia shot. I know that some people aren't fans, but they have had good luck with it when it comes to dental issues and this way the pet sitter won't have to stress him out trying to give him the clavamox. Please keep your fingers crossed for the boy....not sure what the next step is from here.

Poor Tim.....

The mobile v-e-t came to visit today. Tim hasn't been acting right for a few days - yowling, won't let mom look in his mouth, hissing at the kittens.....

Mom held him tight, the tech held the light and Dr T tried to look in. He yowled at everyone but didn't put up much of a fight, which is good.

Dr T couldn't see a whole lot without making him really uncomfortable but she noticed a really red spot that doesn't look good on his right back side of his teeth - back where he had a molar pulled a month ago.

Dr. T gave mom some pain meds and anty-biotics for him (course mom now has to get him to take pills)......we hope he will be feeling better soon. Mom is feeding him with the kittens so he is getting canned food for the moment.

kitten report

Da Bourb here with your kitten update.

Well, da foster-mom-lady took Opal and Cory to dat Petco place to spend a few days with their mommy.  What? Oh, to try and get dem some new forever homes.  Yeah, dat too. No luck with homes yet though - seems that some rescue with funny lookin dogs (greyhounds) was taking pictures with Santy Claws and I don't think the tiny kids got much attention. We shall see....


Da Shine and Da Bill are still here. Miss Beckie said something about maybe da Bill having a home for catmas. Da foster-mom-lady heard back from Miss Beckie and Uncle Bill will be leaving up next week to live with his new forever family - another cat, a woofie and his own kid. Yeah Uncle Bill....

Emma and Kyan will be here until Emma gets big enough for her surgery. She be pretty tiny, so no tellin when dat might happen.

Dem kitties over at Prancer Pie did win the petsmart gift card that Brian donated to the auction. But rather than keep it, they had Brian send it here. THANK YOU Prancer!! I got to go shopping with da foster-mom-lady. She forgetted the flashy box, so no shopping pics. BUT.......  we gotted one of those ess thingies that other kitties have. Holy cats....it is awesome.  And ALL MINE!!!

What is that foster-mom-lady?  Share? No thanks.....

She bought a bigger new cardboard scratcher too since the other one was kinda trashed. And some pawsome snacks that we haven't had yet.

Happy Gotcha Day

It is hard to be happy with the sadness across the country and around the world right now for those families in CT, but.....

Today we hope you will help us celebrate the day that mom decided Ivy and Spud would become permanent members of the crew here at Random Felines.....

We will be spending the day quietly (most of us anyhow). If you can't find Spud, check under the bed or behind the sofa and speak quietly. And ignore Ivy if she is being crabby (we do).

Random Fridays......

Well, mom went into work yesterday.....and then came home a couple of hours later. Color us surprised. Seems someone cut the power lines outside her office for the copper and the office has NO power....no phone, no heat, no computer, no nothin'. So, until they can get someone out, the boss sent them home. And it is being fixed today, so no work today either. But mom says she gots stuff to do so she may have to go in tomorrow or maybe Monday (which was supposed to be a baycation day). Mom also discovered she would never be able to work from home. Tommy kept going after her coffee drink from Panera, Bourbon destroyed a set of shoe laces (that will teach her to leave shoes on the floor), the Gemstone kitts climbed her legs and untied her shoes and walked on the laptop.
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The phone batter is still missing. It is wide and flat - no rolling and no way someone could have eaten it. Mom is still annoyed.....  We told her at least she had a good reason to clean behind the stove. She didn't laugh.
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We do think it is a shame that Uncle Bill can't relax around here:

 (yep, that is Bourbon in the cat bed with Bill)
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Speaking of Uncle Bill and Bourbon, when mom got home, she let out the Gemstone kitts and everyone was running around having a good time. The older kittens LOVE to wrestle and this broke out.....That is Kyan you see going up and down the tree.
(we had to pull it right off the camera cause you tube "upgraded" and mom can't find the bleepin' upload button)

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ooooo - and we got a case of the happies too!!!  There were some great adoptions from the shelter: Maxx the old man cat, Dolly (who had been at the shelter for OVER a year) and..... our boy Duke!!

Dear Santa Paws.....

We have been very good this year...we swear.  As you should know by now, the camera incident was NOT our fault.  Now, mom is saying that somecat knocked her phone on the floor (off the counter) really early this morning and the battery is missing and she had to buy a new battery. We are blaming gremlins.
    Mom: no kidding - very early Wednesday there was a crash from the kitchen. But no shatter glass noise (though I try to keep all that up), so I ignored it - no need to climb out of a nice warm bed. An hour or so later I wasn't comfortable so I got up to walk around for a couple of minutes. There was a dark spot on the floor. My cell phone (and only phone) in two parts....and no battery. I pulled out the stove and fridge. No battery. I had to buy a new one on the way to work just so I have a phone. There is a week to return in - though I suspect it will show up on day 8. And I am not taking the blame for this one.....

We have been good with the foster invaders.....even the annoying ones.

Bourb laughs at your accusations of annoyance

OK, we know that Junior and Spud don't always get along as well as they should, but mom says she is working on that.

So, we are hoping for some nice treats for Christmas.  But most of all we would like you to watch over our friends and family and keep them healthy and happy. Help the kitties and woofies in shelters find their forever homes.  And keep Allie (our garage momma cat) safe and healthy.  And a nice can of toona for her would be good too. :)

THANKS: Maestro, Tim, Tom, Mozart, Ivy, Spud and Junior
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also, could you guys go visit Pupa and give her some purrs and love....she is having some medical issues and she and her mom could use the love.....  thanks!

wordless wednesday.....

(no kittens were hurt in the making of these pictures, but mom did wonder if Bourbon was giving Kyan a bath or testing him out as a potential snack - if you saw the pictures from yesterday, this happened later)

Chillin'

This is how some of us spent our Sunday.....mom was beginning to wonder how many would fit on her lap. Final count - 5: Tim, Emma, Opal, Kyan and Bourbon.

kitten update....

Well, it is looking like it may be about "that" time. Mom pulled out her scale the other night and got weights on the Gemstone kittens:

Opal: 2.5 pounds, Cory 2.5 pounds, Kyan 2.1 pounds, Emma 1.5 pounds (yeah, not really surprised by that last number).  So, mom may call the clinic to see about surgeries for Opal and Cory. The issue is how to get them up to Petco. Cleo may be OK with them, but the store manager may freak out a bit. 

Speaking of Cleo, mom thought she might have had a home for her over the weekend. Mom stopped into the store to check on everyone and there were some ladies with no other animals at home interested in Cleo. Mom gave them an application and was playing with Cleo when she heard the ladies making some snide remarks about the questions on the application. Mom walked away and when she came back they were gone. It is frustrating that some people seem to think that they are "helping" us by "taking" a cat and therefore there should be no application, no contract and no adoption fee. OK, then sorry NO cat for you. ugh.....

Anyhow, mom had been a little worried about Emma for a while. She is obviously smaller than everyone else and while they are interested in playing, Emma was more interested in sitting on mom's lap and not doing much. Well, over the weekend that has changed and Emma has been playing more. Still not as much as everyone else....but more than she has been. (and watch the whole thing - about half way through she has words with Uncle Bill)

Purrs needed......


Joey from Wildcat Woods ran for the Bridge. We are sending gentle purrs to his family.....
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And for those of you who have read "Homer's Odyssey" by Gwen Cooper about her blind wonder cat, she has an update on her blog about a scary medical condition they are facing with him. Like any cat owner, famous or not, they could use support we are sure.
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And lest you think we didn't notice, the chip-in number went down. Mom took some of the money out to pay the v-e-t bill for the kittens. She just didn't realize the number would go down after she did it. Stupid technology.....   MOL (and then this morning it was back to the original number. ugh)

Random Fridays

As most of you know, mom drives transport lots for Ontario Bloodhound Rescue.  Well, a brother sister pair were rescued a while ago from North Carolina where they were left tied to an abandoned house. And then - they struck it big and were picked to be on BROADWAY.  You can see some of their training here.  And, Bill Berloni, the trainer, and his wife decided to adopt them.  Merry Christmas Pete and Lily!!!
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Mom said she is taking Monday off as a bay-cation day. Something about days to use before the end of the year. And she mentioned something about cleaning her room and trying to fix the underneath of her bed. Uh oh - Junior is going to lose his hiding space.
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The Gemstone kitts are doing well. Mom lets them out in the evenings and they are all over the place. Except Emma who is sure, being a princess, that she doesn't need to play with the horde and sits on mom's lap. This morning they were "attacking" Bourb through the gate while mom was getting ready for work.

And now, for some cute:

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We helped mom prepare our Secret Paws package last night. Bourbon apparently thought he could mail himself with the packages.  MOL