what happened to the lights

ummmm - it is a little dark here. Mother Nature had a temper tantrum last night and the wind howled and trees blew and there was thunder and lightening. And then the lights and the air went off. And it is still off.....  darned mother nature.

Mom put the gate up in front of the bathroom last night so she could leave the door open since it was stuffy in the house. And this morning she was greeted by.....6 tiny tabby kittens. Seems someone (mom suspect Tim but we aren't telling) knocked the gate away from the wall and there was a great escape.

Hope everyone is safe. Mom had to be shipped off to grandma's house to use her lap top....

Whappin'

Mo here with our "almost" the weekend report.

Mom wants me to tell you about the whappin incident. :) See, she keeps bringing the kid over here. Something about cute kittens. Whatever. (the kid is the one in the picture yesterday - she is mom's niece, 8 years old and staying with grandma and grandpa for the summer)

So, on Monday she came over. She was hassling playing with Doc on the second level of the cat tree and I was up here on top surveying my the territory. Mom was sitting next to the tree on the coffee table. I cracked an eye and very carefully reached over the cat tree and....WHAPPED the kid on the HEAD!!! It was AWESOME! And... I didn't even get in trouble (in fact, mom was heard snickering). I managed to get in a couple more good whaps before leaving for a new spot. (mom: I hate to say this, but it was pretty funny. the look on Mo's face was priceless - he knew he got her)

For those of you who follow Chrystal on Daily Dose of Dogs you know her mom had a heart attack. Mom sent her a text yesterday just to check in. Mom figured it might be the best way to catch Miss Chrystal since we aren't sure how much computer time she is getting right now. She said "things aren't great but they could be worse". Miss Chrystal is staying at her mom's house and we know they could all use all the purrs and woofs we can send. If you want to leave her a message here, we will gather them together and send them to her.

Oh - and mom talked to the head rescue lady about the lame baby cat. She first sighed deeply (probably thinking about the bill) and then said she will contact another animal hospital that helps the rescue that has an orthopedic vet on staff. She did say that she agrees he is too small to do something now, so he may end up being with us for a while. :)

This and that.....

Let's see - we got lots of odds and ends.....

1. Mom has seen Allie a few times now. So we told her to get it together and get some food and water out for the girl. Allie was hanging out under a parked car when mom got home one night and was on the sidewalk yesterday morning. We weren't sure she was going to come back around, but it looks like we inherited kittens and our very own feral cat. :) Mom is starting to think about shelter for the winter.

2. Fast food kitten update: the shelter called and the boys had a weird variation of calici (no mouth ulcers, which is a major sign). So, everything got thrown in the washer and was washed in HOT (again - just to be sure - mom cleans after each group leaves)!!! Mom is being pretty vigilant with the outlaws since they had been hanging with the boys. We does have a question for you all though.....does anyone know if the FVRCP is a live virus vaccine? The outlaws haven't been vaccinated yet and mom isn't sure if she should do it now or wait a little bit longer.

3. Silver was.....ADOPTED!!! She went home last night with another gray kitten from another litter who is about 2 weeks younger. They will have an older sister in their new home who is about a year old.

4. Head count: mom thinks she finally has it on the new bunch - 4 boys and 2 girls. We think she keeps changing her mind and doesn't really know what she is talking about....  MOL

don't know what I had to go to the v-e-t...nothing wrong with ME!!

5. But, we suppose you really want the v-e-t report from last night. :)  Well.....the v-e-t wasn't very sure and was glad mom brought a brother for comparison (mom brought him for company, but whatever works). They ended up taking x-rays. Seems our tiny boy's knee caps are not where they are supposed to be (completely luxated on both sides). Stranger still is that his humerous bone (thigh bone) doesn't complete into the knee joint - it didn't form right. Of course, the v-e-t wondered what caused it - malnutrition, birth defect, whatever. Mom is more concerned about how we FIX it. The tiny boy weighs about 14 ounces (eep - the cute). It would be a surgical fix and mom is concerned cause he is tiny. So, mom is gonna talk to the head rescue lady tonight about the next step. It won't be cheap whatever it is, but for now it certainly doesn't bother him....he gets around great, just looks a little funny doing it.

The kid went with mom so that grandma could run some errands and go to the gym. :)

One Word Wednesday....

NAP-ATTACK!!!

(yes, they are sleeping on the cable cord that comes out of the floor)

Things on Tuesday....

Check it out - the peep gots an award from Nerissa. We are supposed to tell something interesting about us. But, we think we will let mom take this one.....maybe tell them how you got started in rescue mom??



Let's see.....when I first moved back to O-hi-o from Texas, I wanted to get involved with a volunteer group. Get out of the house, meet new people. And I knew after spending my adult life with cats that animal work was what I wanted to do. So I checked around where we live and ended up at the humane society. I started as a "matchmaker" helping the public when they came in with questions and introductions to animals. From there I accidentally got started fostering (that started with Tim and Tom). I am no longer with that same group, but I continue to work with the public and continue to foster. Since then I have learned so much - about the plight of animals and medical issues and just plain weird stuff. People laugh when they discover I actually work in the legal field. :)

There are a couple of exciting things going on around the CB today as well:

It is KC's birthday today. She and her hu-mom do a lot of work for the CB keeping us all updated on the news. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

And....it is Jan's birthday as well. We are sure the Funny Farmers are going to do something special for her and we are sending very special wishes and meows as well. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Allie kittens

Well, mom brought the kids up this weekend. They were put in baby jail and were a little....baffled. :)

Tim and Sally ended up invading baby jail....there was kitten food to be had. Mom would still like to get another week of them with Allie, but when she went to feed them on Sunday, Allie was kind of jumpy and acting more and more like she wanted out. So mom let Allie go Sunday night. The kittens are now in the bathroom. Doc & Sally are in there at night but out during the day.

We wish her well and hope she stays safe.

Mom did discovered something that makes us even more glad mom caught this family.

He seems to get around ok and is very playful and active. But there is something weird about his back legs. Mom got them admitted to the rescue (with Doc & Sally) and will have a vet check him on Wednesday.
Be sure to check out the auction for Karasota Castle and get to name the kitts: we have 4 girls and 2 boys. (or maybe 5 girls and 1 boy....mom isn't sure - again  MOL)

Easy like Sunday....

Sparkle has declared this Cat World Domination Day in honor of her birthday.  We wish her HUGE purrs and many more happy birthdays to come.

Ivy has decided to celebrate by dominating the cat tree.

And don't forget to bid on the right to name Allie's kittens: Furriends of the cb

Random things.....

As to yesterdays comments:
  @Connie - yeah, they took Rally too. Though we can't blame the tech - just the staff that decided without talking to mom.

  @Frankie Furter - mom has brain freeze - is there a list somewhere off all the olympic events?

  @Furries - we doubt the fast food boys will be back. Once they are healthy, they should also be big
enough to neuter (Arby and Sonic already weighed enough) so they will go back to the shelter.

Adoption news: Mittens is going home this morning!!!

Also, we are helping out over at Furriends of the CB. We gots to thinking about Annie from Krasota Castle.


Was there something we could auction off??? We couldn't find anything neat around the house and mom isn't crafty (and she won't let us auction off the outlaws - what a shame).

But that got us thinking....what about the naming rights to Allie's kittens??? Click here to bid

Finally Friday.....

Well, we are short the fast food kittens. sigh......

Mom notice Sonic and BK limping like Arby had been. Both were hot to the touch to on Wednesday. She suspected calici, but they had been vaccinated and had no mouth ulcers. They were still eating though, so she didn't panic. Plus, they were scheduled to go in to the shelter on Thursday morning to be neutered (yeah, that wasn't going to happen, but the vet could see them). Both were given fluids and were feeling better according to a voicemail mom got. However, they wanted them to get fluids twice per week....so they sent all 3 boys home with the vet tech. Mom isn't really happy as she can give fluids but not much she can do about it.

The outlaws are doing well. Doc is out and about and playing. Sally is a....screamer. That girl has some lungs. Her main complaint is that she is always hungry - doesn't matter if she just ate or not. If mom gets up, Sally screams for a snack. Plus she can get over the baby jail gate so she has taken to following mom downstairs when mom goes to feed Allie's kittens. That causes mom to curse....now she has kittens trying to get out and Sally trying to get in and Allie hissing from the crate.

Speaking of Allie's kittens, mom is hoping to bring them up for a play date in baby jail on Saturday. This will give Allie a break, give mom a chance to catalog the kittens, and also give her a chance to see how well they are eating on their own. It amazing to see how quickly they went from "don't be touching us" to "hey are we happy to see you".

Hope everyone has a great weekend. We have the serious hots here so we are planning to stay inside in the a/c.....Spud is claiming the floor vent in the kitchen (a/c plus tile equals cooler long haired cat).

Hey: if you think about it, think good adoption thoughts for this weekend for Silver and the girls at Petco.

Track ball.....

A nice neighbor lady gave us some toys that her cats don't use. One is a short crinkly tunnel the kittens seem to like (we prefer the bigger ones).

But she also sent this round track ball thingie. The ball goes round and round and round but we can't get it out. (not that this stops Tim from trying)

umm - hey Doc? we don't think that will make the ball go around

where did it go???



Mom cracks up watching us use it.....

Poor Arby.....

Hey, guess what?? We is famous!! We have been written about in The Blogville Chronicle.

     ummm....about that - the article is about Allie and the kittens.

WHAT???? geez....those kittens get all the press.......

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Mom noticed he was limping Sunday night. Part of her said he was playing too hard with his siblings and the outlaws. But...Silver has calici early this spring (though she was never near these kitts) and that was how is started for her.

We kept a close eye on the boy, but by last night he was pretty lethargic and warm. Mom force fed him some fluids, but he found her unamusing. Mom sent a text to the shelter director and dropped the baby off at the shelter this morning.

We just heard back from them - his temp this am was 106 but is now down to 101. Another foster that works from home is going to take him and make sure he gets syringe fed every 3 hours. They are thinking it is just a high parasite count.... (which we had last fall with Troy - same high fever without the limping). Silver never ran a fever like this though.

Please send our foster boy some purrs......we know he could use them (and for his new foster mom Jen - our mom shudders at the every 3 hour thing - though she would do it to help him).

International Box Day....

Doc and Sally

Sally and Doc

Arby

BK

Sonic

And a few box...fails:

Junior - on the box rather than IN the box

Tim - in need of a BIGGER box

Maestro - missed the point completely

Monday update.....

Mom ended up taking Wendy to the shelter over the weekend. She was getting cranky with everyone here. And with some good adoptions over the weekend, we hope she will be on the adoption floor soon.

All the kittens were on the loose together and sleeping in the bathroom together. It is actually a little easier on everyone. AND...with his mommy gone, Rally is coming out and being more social.

Allie is getting cranky about being locked up. We hope to get another week with her nursing the kittens. She doesn't charge or anything, but she is calling mom some pretty not nice names. :)

The ability to say no.....

  Mittens - still looking for a home

We are going to let mom take this one....

I have been volunteering (and yes even worked part time for a bit) in shelters for quite a while. I see all kinds of people come in and want to adopt. Some are great families, some need some education, and some should not have animals at all. All groups have a process to adopt and questions to answer.

However, I have noticed over time that some rescues seem to make it WAY more difficult than it should be. Isn't the point to get these animals adopted out so you can rescue more? I understand selective, but I have met families that I would have let take one of MY animals that have been turned down by another rescue.

That being the case, I am now doing most of the adoptions out of the one store for the rescue. I see all kinds of things - and will try to educate first. So far I only had one person I would have turned down, but they "changed their mind" after I tried to get more information out of them. :)

I did get an application the other day on Mittens. Great family - one older cat in the home, own their own home, two kids, two adults, all the right answers. Except the kids are 1 and 3. Yeah - that may be a problem cause Mittens can be fiesty. I have heard of groups that WILL NOT adopt to families with young kids. Really??? But, I don't want the family getting frustrated with her and returning her and her having to deal with that drama either. So I called the mom. Told her my concerns. And rather than saying no, I suggested another cat in another store (that was fostered by my friend Beckie). They said they would go meet Expo.

So, what is the point of this??? Maybe rather than volunteers saying no, make better suggestions. And people need to be aware that we aren't saying no for the heck of it....we all have reasons. But I also think rescues need to not adopt for the sake of adopting - stick to your standards and make people understand why.

And to those rescues out there that make people jump through so many hoops - your adoption numbers may be down because of it. And consider this - the last woman that I spoke to who had this problem ended up going to a backyard breeder. So now you are helping to perpetuate the very problem you claim to be trying to solve...... 

As a side note: Expo went home Saturday with her new family and her new mom couldn't be more excited. 

Spud won an award.....


Spud got an award all to himself from Leo at Celestial Kitties.  He is pretty impressed with himself now since he is normally the quiet guy in the back of the room.

So he has to tell an illuminating fact about himself and then pass it on.....

Spud: I am a little shy, but not as bad as I used to be. There is a lot that goes on around here, but other than that big orange lug, it is pretty good. Mom calls me "stalker boy". Something about getting in Tim and Tom's personal space to get some love and attention. Don't know what is wrong with that - they seem to like me. MOL

Plus we need to pass it on - Spud says:

Allie from A Tonks Tail (cause she is HOT)

Ebano from Repositorio da Marilia.blogspot.com (cause mom loves us some house panther)

Tom from Whisker Messages (cause he is so very smart - and fuzzy)

Variety.....

It may be the spice of life, but right now, it just makes mom's eyes roll in her head.  MOL

Us: we is all doing good. Maestro has his bad moments when his mind wanders off...somewhere. But mostly he is doing good. Junior and Spud insist on occasionally trying to kill each other and Mom is trying to diffuse it all. She was hoping the trees would help, but they still cross paths in a couple of tight corners and then the name calling starts....sometimes she can diffuse it and sometimes she doesn't see them.

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Wendy and the fast food kittens:

Wendy is a bit.....angry. Mom tried to put the outlaws in the bathroom to make it easy. Nope - she whapped Doc. And while she had been staying in the bathroom behind the baby gate, the other night she decided to sit OUTSIDE the gate. Which puts her right in front of the door to the room with our stuff. And she growls and hisses and calls us names. Oh, and she was singing the "let me out" song several times last night. Which is weird since she doesn't even LIKE being out.....

The kitts are doing well. They are scheduled to be neutered on the 21st, but mom isn't sure they are all going to make weight. Something about running off as many calories as they take in. MOL

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The outlaws:

Doc Holiday & Mustang Sally are doing well. Still kinda tiny, but outgoing. And Sally is ALWAYS hungry!! If mom gets up for something, Sally is sure it is to feed her NOW!!!! She follows mom around screaming. Mom feeds them canned 3-4 times per day - but she has to supervise since we kinda...well...may not leave them alone. :)
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Allie and her kittens:

With a negative test, it is now just about giving the kittens time to grow. They are in what mom calls the "ewok" stage. MOL Allie is eating and caring for the kids - though not a fan of mom. Or us for that matter - Tommy snuck down there and the cursing was pretty bad (from Allie and from mom). Mom wishes she had some tech skills cause it would be nice to put a web cam on the cage to see what they are doing down there (and when the kittens start eating on their own). But, Allie seems ok for now...
[ps from this morning - mom went down to clean up and feed everyone. most of the kittens came forward to greet her. AND...she saw the little gray (male) baby eating the dry food - hehehe]

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And a picture of the kid. Mom spent Wednesday at the zoo with her....

The polar bears were AWESOME!!!

oh my.....

Mom found a note in her mailbox a couple of weeks ago from her neighbor. There were kittens in her window well. The neighbor was feeding mom and wanted ideas. Mom took a look and the kittens were TINY!!! They talked and decided to leave them for the moment.

Well, momma cat moved the kittens. And the neighbor lady called the other night and said another neighbor had seen her and the kittens. Mom decided it was now or never - if momma cat moved those kittens again, they might never be found and the cycle would continue.

Mom took Tuesday and Wednesday off (for other reasons, but hey, what can you do) and decided to try to catch everyone on Tuesday (she had a date with the kid on Wednesday).

She went over Tuesday morning and found the family in a patio. Momma cat stood her ground, but mom managed to get the kittens into a carrier.

don't even think about touching us lady

umm - move over - I can still see her out there

Not sure what flavor of kitten - but there are 6 of them. 5 brown tabbies and one gray tabby. Mom guesses they are about 3 weeks old. Ears and eyes open but teeth JUST coming in.

So, mom put out the live trap. And within the hour had momma cat (now Allie) in the trap. She took her to SOS of Ohio to be tested and spayed. Mom is setting up a wire crate she borrowed from Miss Kelly (when we caught Grandma the cat) and is going to leave the babies with mom for at least a couple of weeks to let them nurse for a while - presuming Allie is OK with everything.

Mom picked up Allie after her surgery. The test was....NEGATIVE!!!! Yeah....  And now they are set up in the entryway to the condo. The garage is just too hot this time of year. Next time, mom swears she will buy a bigger house. :)

Allie is eating well and feeding the kittens. They were bouncing around the crate this morning when mom fed them...when mom reached in to touch one, back to baby hissing.