Guess what happened on Sunday????

As a continuation of yesterday, mom ran the kittens up to Petco between transport runs. Chex, Cheeto and Milano were all spayed/neutered and ready to go. Mom had spoken with a woman interested in Milano and they are spoken again Saturday morning about meeting.

Mom took the playpen and the three kittens up to the store. They were a BIG hit. S came in with her husband and their 6 year old son. They had been interested in Milano. And then Chex turned on the charm.  And Cheeto was his adorable self.

After watching their son play, they had a conversation and decided:

To take home Chex and Milano together!!!!

Mom decided to bring them back home overnight and the family would get everything set up at home and pick up the kittens on Sunday.  Mom packed everything up and got out to the car - and discovered she had left the application in the store. She walked back in a man was looking at Cheeto and mom got Cheeto out and they talked for a while. He was very interested and filled out an application.

So, Sunday afternoon, EVERYONE went home.

The boy said Milano will be renamed Eleanor, but they hadn't decided what they are naming Chex.

Cheeto will be an only kitty and gets to keep his name. But they are getting a roommate in August and she has a little dog. Cheeto met him on Saturday - Cheeto hissed and puffed up but they are slowly going to introduce them over the next few months. We are sure Cheeto will be fine.

Mom normally sends up a gift bag with toys and treats and picture. We will make suggestions about toys the kittens like. In Cheeto's case, mom STRONGLY suggested a trackball - which his new dad bought for him.

Concats on the new families kitts!!!! You are in great hands. We will miss you but send good wishes!!!

Within a couple of hours being home, we got this picture from Cheeto's new dad:

 

The zen of transportation....

We are letting the mom take this one today....

I love doing transports. The selfless reason is that I can be a part of getting an animal either to a foster or to a forever home...but definitely on the road to a better life. The selfish reason is this: I don't have to worry about anything. I pick up the animal and drive from point A to point B and then go home. There is a sense of relaxation to it - peaceful drive for the most part with nothing much to worry about.

And then there are days that seem to be arranged by the Three Stooges.  Saturday was one of those days....

It started Friday. Of all the kittens in foster care with the rescue, the ones from Wednesday that were fixed here are about the only ones ready to be adopted. The head of the rescue is getting tired of dealing with a cranky public that comes in wanting kittens and gets annoyed when there just aren't any. From a rescue standpoint, you know that a loss of adoption isn't a good thing, but you hope maybe, just maybe, this is a sign that spay/neuter is working (though we suspect it may just be the calm before the storm). So I was dealing with "when are the kittens going to be at Petco?"

Saturday morning - I have transport set up with the bloodhounds. YEAH!!! I love those dogs. I get to the hand off spot....and we can't get the dog out of the car. She is so fearful she is barking and growling and snapping. OK - that's new.  A few phone calls later - transport coordinator, head of the rescue and a local vet....it is decided that the first driver will just take her back to where she was being boarded.  Where apparently she jumped out of the car and was beside herself with excitement. oh well....maybe next time  :)

The off to deal with kittens (come back tomorrow for that tail).

Later that evening, a transport run for Cane Corso Rescue. I don't normally do 2 in one day, but don't mind. I met and picked up Mia.

Her new mom and dad were driving from COLORADO to pick her up.

Somewhere along the line I managed to misread an email. I was sure I was meeting the adopters. Apparently there was another leg in the middle. So, the leg before me was running behind due to traffic. I get going and am trying to figure out where I am headed and if there is a better meeting place. I find one and text the adopter. She texts back "IN or OH". I am all... ummmm OH. She then calls me - to say she thinks I am meeting someone else but not them. Awesome - now the adopters think I am nuts. :)  I call the coordinator and we are laughing. While I am talking to her, the phone beeps with an incoming call that I ignore. Liz says she is going to call the woman I am meeting next to let her know about the time. I check my voicemail - it is that woman saying she is early and knows I am running late.....gotta love it.  :)  Melanie was great and Mia ended up with her new mom and dad Saturday night.  I laughed with Liz on the way home and said I was headed home to have a drink and go to bed.

So, no matter the awesome outcomes, some days are all "zen" and some days are just about keeping a sense of humor.

Random Fridays....

We have a couple of quick requests: (yes - some of you saw this on Monday - mom hit "publish" without changing the schedule date....wow she needs help)

1. Does anyone know of a free app for mom's smart phone (which after a couple of weeks is still occasionally proving smarter than mom) that is good for cat vet info? We thought we read  about one somewhere but can't seem to remember?

2. Do you have cool cat furniture you would like to share pictures of with us? We may have mentioned before that our grandpa works with wood. He made mom a coffee table (though for the weight, she says it should be called a coffin table - MOL). Anyhow, someone had said that she should suggest to him to make cat furniture. Mom said yeah right, that wouldn't happen. Anyhow, grandpa saw cat furniture at the pet expo and waved mom over - "this is marked $250 and the material costs about $25 - are you kidding?" mom said nope - that is why we don't have much furniture. And all of a sudden you could see the wheels turning in his head.  :)  So, if you have pictures you don't mind sharing, leave a link in the comments or email us at randomfelines at hotmail dot com.  He won't get started for a while cause they are trying to sell the house (though if it takes much longer grandma is gonna let him work in the garage anyhow cause he is drivin' her nuts) but he is making mental notes.
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Mom got a text from the rescue lady about spay/neuter appointments on Wednesday. Mom knew Cheeto and Milano were big enough. Chex was pretty close. Miss Mona said to bring Frito too. Mom said no way was he big enough, but she wasn't going to argue. The kitts ended up spending a little time with mom at work (no, she didn't let them out) before going and then mom picked up everyone (it is a mobile clinic). Well, wouldn't you know....that little Frito guy didn't make weight. <>  Of course, he is the only one with an application so mom has to call the people and say "really sorry, hope you don't mind waiting a couple of weeks". And this being the case, Chex, Cheeto and Milano will be heading to Petco on Saturday. We suspect will have news of some sort on Monday.....

let's see (left to right)

Chex's tail, Cheeto (white w/buff), Frito (tabby),

Dorito (buff), Milano (gray w/white), Samoa (black) and Triscuit (white w/ gray)

Chex 

Milano 

Samoa (he has goopy eyes, but they are looking better now)

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Mom will be driving around like a crazy woman on Saturday and we all plan to be lazy on Sunday!! Have a great weekend.

About them starfishes.....

Mom had been thinking for a while about more ink. She has some that she got just because but more recently, it is about remembering the important things.

Which brings us to starfishes....  Thanks to Miss Connie for putting up a link to one variation of the story. We have seen many but this is a good one. Mom says these starfishes are a way for her to remember when it gets hard that she can't save every animal out there....but she can save the ones right in front of her right now. The top one is red/orange/yellow and the smaller two are shades of blues and then shades of greens.

Mom had talked to the artist last week and was going to go in this week but they take walk ins on Saturdays. She told him she would be there when they opened. Unfortuately, he wasn't there quite yet. He did managed to drag in (in the meantime mom went looking for her expo ticket and ended up with Frito - see Monday). He did a good job despite the hangover, and gave mom the "sorry I was late and hungover" pricing special.

The kitty there: that is Ivy. Mom got that last year. She originally wanted just a graphic design of a cat but found this picture of Ivy in our window and decided to use that. So, the princess is imortalized in ink. (not to inflate her ego any more or anything)

Oh - and Sparkle - we can't help you with the reptile one your mom has.....that is just not right. :)

Wordless Wednesday....

that trackball gets a workout........... 
Cheeto is the main player - the smaller white kitten is Triscuit. Chex (gray) and Dorito (buff) wander by about 20 second in. And Milano shows up at the end.  :)

mom said she is considering getting one of the bigger ones - those kittens would get a serious work out then.

what fun....

Mom was home most of the day on Sunday and let the kittens out to play. It was every man for himself as they were ALL over the place......

Ready, get set.....

that track ball is a hit - that is Samoa with his head IN the trackball

Triscuit using the trackball for her own purposes

Ummm - Tommy, we think they found you. Dorito is looking at him and you can see Cheeto's feet under the table (mom didn't notice that until she was posting the picture).

Maxwell isn't too sure what she thinks about the kittens. She is out and watching, but isn't getting too close quite yet.

(PS - some of you may have seen a second post yesterday....check back Friday - mom had a techno-dork moment. ugh)

mini mancat

"Halp!! Lemme outta here! I dinnit do it!!!"

So, mom went to the rescue's adoption center on Saturday morning to pick up her ticket for the Pet Expo. She left a while later....with no ticket...but she took this guy.

Seems someone brought in a single kitten earlier in the week. Mom had seen him on Thursday when she stopped to drop off paperwork (and clipped his toenails). Saturday morning he was still there.... So, mom said what is one more and brought him home.

Meet Frito. He is just about the same size as everyone here. However, he is is currently calling everyone names if they get too close. He likes mom, but just isn't too sure about the rest of the kittens.

Anyhow, there were lots of people at the Expo. Or so mom tells us. And she said once she got down there, she got the kittens set up and everyone settled in for a nap.

Since no one is ready to be adopted just yet, they were just taking applications. Mom got one....for Frito. sigh.....

Oh my

Looky what mom did.

Yep those are starfish. Mom got more ink.

wait - we're going where????

Mom wanted to have the snack food kittens given the once over by the vet - get some weights, opinion about Samoa's goopy eyes and Triscuit's weight.

She loaded them up and off they went. Mom says she feels kind of lucky since they have traveled pretty often so they are pretty good in the car. Just some toes popping out through the bars and poking her.

They arrived at the vet's office and mom let them out to get used to the room.

Everyone was pretty good. And then.....there was snuffling under the door!!!!  Everyone went on high alert until it went away......

 we are stayin' over here until that noise goes away

Everyone got checked out and got a thumbs up!!! Mom specifically asked about Samoa and Triscuit. Samoa has some goopy eyes - he is going back on antibiotics for a time until they are REALLY cleared up. Triscuit is tiny and cute and that is the official word from the vet. MOL

Mom has speculated that maybe Triscuit and Samoa are not actually related to the bigger four kittens. The suspicion is that the bigger four were in fact Cookie's kittens and she willingly took the other two when they all came here. The facial structure of the smaller two is a little different and they are just smaller than the others. Not that it matters, but it would certainly explain the size difference.

Samoa and Chex checking out the chair in the room

 That being said, here are the current weights:
Chex - 1 pound 10 ounces
Samoa - 1 pound 9 ounces
Triscuit - 1 pound 5 ounces
Dorito - 1 pound 8 ounces
Milano - 2 pounds 1 ounce
Cheeto - 2 pounds 1.5 ounces

OK - so mom just notices that Samoa actually weighs MORE than Dorito. So much for the smaller theory....  MOL. But he certainly LOOKS smaller - must be cause Dorito and Chex are fuzzy.  :)  But, Samoa's structure is closer to Triscuit's size and structure.

Also - notice the size of Milano and Cheeto..... you know what that means!  Mom will be calling the spay/neuter clinic next week to make their appointments. By next weekend they should be ready to be adopted.

Oh - and Cheeto got revenge....he pooped in the carrier on the way home and mom had to drive with the windows down.  MOL

Random Fridays.....

Mom saw the most AWESOME video posted on the bloodhound rescue facebook page. Some of you may remember the transport mom did last July. Two bloodhounds had been bought (and we don't advocate that but a local group was getting video and evidence about puppy mills) from a mill and were being rescued. Mom offered to pick them up from the local group and transport them to the local foster here in Ohio. The rescue let her name them and she picked Edison and Marie. They were so scared. Both moved to long term foster in Canada and then were adopted. Well.....Edison's family adopted another bloodhound named Pearl. And they are playing and love each other and mom got all choked up.

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Tim is usually a big hit with kittens. He tolerates a whole lot more than everyone else around here. Mom calls him Uncle Tim.  Good thing - we will let him distract them. :)

Triscuit was having a good time. Until she got distracted by a piece of carpet off the cat tree (mom says that tree sheds worse than Maestro). And no, mom didn't let her eat it.
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We found a new campaign we want to share with you. One Picture Saves is trying to get people to help get pictures of pets in shelters and make sure you get the "happy" shot.

It is so very true..... which animal would you prefer? The one in the corner of a cage looking terrified or the cute picture of the smiling pet?

The shelter where mom volunteers is VERY lucky to have a professional photographer that volunteers his time to come in. Seriously.....check out this picture of mom's favorite boy there right now named Dragon
  How do you resist that face?????
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And one last thing:  Mom and the kittens will be at the Pet Expo this weekend here in Ohio. If you are nearby, come visit!!! 

da snarky kittens say - come visit - you know you want to...

Thankful Thursday.....

CHECK IT OUT!!!!

We gotted a new tunnel. Our other one was a little shorter and had taken a beating over the years. And then over the weekend some kitten decided to .... poop in the tunnel. Mom decided after cleaning it several times and it having some rips, it was time to upgrade.

So the other day she found a new one. It doesn't have all the wire rings of the other one so it doesn't stand as straight, but it is longer and still crinkly.

Guess we sorta have to thank the kittens for the new tunnel.....

Mo gave it the once over.

 Mo and Tim inspect it once mom stretched it out.

Ivy and Tim check out the other end.

Mo pops out to see that Junior isn't to sure about the new tunnel.

Wordless Wednesday....

Chex and the feather

Dateline 2pm: our mom is a serious dork. Hey lady - that isn't Chex - it is CHEETO!!! sheesh......

What an adventure....

We are purring for everyone in Boston.....so scary to think that some sick person(s) used a wonderful event and celebration in Boston to cause such destruction and fear and loss.
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Well, mom packed up the kittens and took them to Petco on Sunday. As mom was setting up, the carrier was sitting on the table and Cookie chirped at the kittens (mom put her in the playpen later and she didn't care a thing about the kittens, so don't feel too bad).

The kittens has a good time and played quite a bit at first. We had some interest and of COURSE everyone wanted to hold the babies. Mom won't let kids - she will hold a kitten and let the kids pet them. At one point there was an entire soccer team of girls in the store. YIKES!!  But the kittens were good. OK - except for that cocker spaniel. The dog was VERY well behaved and the owners kept him on a short leash, but Cheeto wasn't too sure about that hairy creature.

And then it quieted down and everyone piled up for a nap. First it was Triscuit and Samoa piled up on Milano.

Then the whole crowd joined in.

top to bottom:

Cheeto, Triscuit, Chex, Samoa, Milano and Dorito

Finally home where they got lunch and another nap. A woman took an application for Cheeto. She knows that he won't be ready for at least a couple of weeks, but she was interested enough to take some pictures, video and an application. So, we shall see.....

Mom hasn't let them have freedom all the time yet - just don't trust those baby brains. But mom came home last night and was greeted by Cheeto. She doesn't think they were out very long though - and only Cheeto, Dorito and Chex made it out. She said something about figuring out how to attach the baby jail gate to the wall so that somecat (cough*tim*cough) stops knocking the gate away from the wall.

Blog the Change.....

We got to thinking about what we were gonna talk about today...... and then we were all - DUH!! Look around...we are up to our eyeballs in kittens!!!

Blog the Change asks us all four times per year to think about what is going on around us and how to affect change. Today we are going to tell you about two campaigns that we think are making a difference.

Just One Day was set up to ask shelters across the country for ONE DAY to stop euthanasia and pick up cameras to promote their animals instead. Last year was a huge success and many shelters that we read about on their facebook page that promoted the Just One Day pledge had LINES of people ready and willing to adopt. There were several stories of shelters and rescues that had EMPTY cages by the end of the day. That is a true difference.....  This year it is June 11, 2013. You can go here to read more about the pledge, how to help them promote it and to check your state.  The rescue we support Colony Cats has taken the pledge!!

 
This is the map as of March 18.

The other thing we want to talk about is a new campaign by Petfinder called I am a Cat Parent.

There all sorts of fun things on the page - an article about cat dads (including Jackson Galaxy), videos about stereotypes, tattoo galleries, articles on just about every thing cat.....

Obviously, our mom IS a cat parent and proud of it!! We think that more people need to realize that shelter and rescue animals aren't broken....they didn't ask to be in shelters....and it doesn't mean they are bad. It means that life happened and this animal - for whatever reason - needs a new home.

ADOPT DON'T SHOP!!!

In other news.....

Mom is getting ready to attend Blog Paws in May. To do this, she had a list of things to do.....

1. get a domain name
2. get business cards
3. upgrade the phone

Well, Saturday she was three for three.....

we are now: www.random-felines.com
(yes - there is a dash...don't ask. let's just say mom is a techno dork and struck again)
She bought the domain through godaddy.com and they were VERY helpful getting us forwarded to the domain. We are still blogging through blogger, but the .com forwards here. (and that will be the extent of mom's technical knowledge)

Business cards: done.....once she knew the .com was working, she got them ordered. nice green with a kitty on them....and our names and info!!!

Upgrade the phone: done....and now we are getting the snickers listening to mom use every bad werd she knows trying to get the "smart phone" to cooperate.
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We don't think you need to update your reader to keep following us. From the way it was explained, if you go to the .com, it forwards you to the blogspot.com site.....so both are ok.   And here is the link:  www.random-felines.com

exciting news....

You all remember Maxine right??

She is Maxwell's sister. She was here earlier in the year and then went to Petco. And seemed to be there FOREVER!!! She is only 7 months old and has spent most of her life up there. The girls at the store love her and she came out of her shell with them. But she was still jumpy and mom was afraid she would might not get adopted.

Well......Maxine went HOME LAST NIGHT!!!!  A very single guy who is disabled (so he is home all the time). His last cat lived to almost 20 years old. After she ran for the Bridge several months ago, he decided it was time to share his life with another kitty. He saw Maxine in the Petco store and went in and she came right up to him. Mom talked to him and he said he is more than willing to work with her and give her all the time she needs.

Concats Maxine!!! It may have taken some time, but we know it was worth the wait.

Random Fridays.....

Tim was on Romeo the Cat's blog listing jobs for cats.  (he is #3) Mom says she would have posted the picture here too, but she has NO IDEA where she saved it (go figure - sigh....).

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There was an amazing show on last fall called Shelter Me about pets from shelters and the jobs they can do. Well, there is a second installment coming out. You can find the tv listings here.

This is a clip that is on You Tube from the first show....
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Marg asked us about the car with the bloodhounds. Mom says she has been lucky so far in that most of them haven't been very drooly (is that a word?). She puts an old sheet over the back seat as the seats are leather and she wants to avoid the nails. However, for the front seat (in the case of Copper), she just wipes up and does have leather wipes she uses.  :) She says the worst is when they drool on her - ewwwww!
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And now, to start your weekend - some random cuteness (squee alert)

Milano

Triscuit

(you should see her after she eats - her belleh is bigger than her head - MOL)

Samoa (front) and Chex

Cheeto

(who knows what the heck he is staring at)

scritches???

We thought there was a picture of Dorito, but when it came up on the laptop, it was fuzzy (haha) and a serious close up of his nose. Maybe next time......  Mom says she thinks Chex and Dorito are going to be medium hairs. And, after one final check, Milano and Triscuit are our girls and everyone else is a boy!!  Haff a great weekend.....we aren't sure we will be gettin' in any window whiffin' but we have been enjoy lots of it this week.

Mom is taking the kittens to Petco on Sunday and said something about letting them out of the bathroom and baby jail. Just when you thought it was safe to lay on the floor in the living room.  :)

Thankful Thursday....

Today, we are thankful that we could give Daisy a chance to get over her snot.

And that by being here we got to work with her while she was here so we could provide more information to the shelter for her future family.

And now we are thankful she is GOING BACK!! She is cute and lovey, but she was pesky.  :)

Mom learned that Daisy was brought into a local humane society at 6 weeks old. She was put in a cage by HERSELF until she was brought to our shelter. She is now 5 months old. So, go figure she has some communication issues. She went up to Mo at one point, ears up, body relaxed, tail up, ready to play....and growling the whole time. But - with more info, the shelter is better able to find the right family for her.

Good luck Daisy!!! We know your forever family is out there.
(but you may want to work on the snarky expression - MOL)

wordless Wednesday....

SPIDER!!!!!!!

Watch for the Daisy photobomb!!  :)

Oh, and mom's a dork and missed an important event yesterday. Marg's birthday!!! 
Happy Birthday and we LOVE YOU!!!

tinies on Tuesday.....

Cheeto, Triscuit, Chex and Dorito

Samoa, Milano, Cheeto and Chex

The kitts are doing well. Weights range from 1 3/4 pounds to 1 1/4 pounds. So, we have at least a couple more weeks. Mom took Cheeto and Chex for an adventure on Sunday afternoon. It was VERY nice here over the weekend. Grandma was laying on their ham-mick in their backyard and Cheeto and Chex spent some time "hanging" with grandma. Cheeto was unsure but OK with it. Chex kept trying to burrow under grandma. :)  We say, better them than us.  MOL

Mom decided not to give them free access to the house this weekend. Daisy is easily aroused and doesn't seem to have much impulse control. Rather than take a risk that the babies get hurt accidentally, mom kept them in the bathroom with baby jail up as a gate. Daisy goes back to the shelter on Thursday, so maybe next weekend. Of course, next Sunday is Petco adoption weekend..... no one will be able to go home on Sunday, but we will be taking applications.

weekend wrapup....

Another weekend, another transport.

Mom signed up to help move another bloodhound to foster home. But she got a call late Friday asking if she could help with a quick run earlier on Saturday to pick up a Cane Corso from the vet to meet with the first leg of her run to her new adoptive home.

Sugar made it home on Saturday and we wish her and her new dad a happy forever!!!

Later that morning, it was time to meet Copper.

Good heavens he was a sweet boy. Mom loves the shot of his head on the passenger seat sniffing the breeze from the open window. :)  He is 2 years old, 95 pounds, super sweet, a little drooly and available for adoption.

Later that night, mom went to a fundraiser for the rescue and got to hear from Cathy Unruh and Lucy Miracle.  Mom hasn't read the book yet, but can't wait too.....

Mom's friend Krista went with to the fundraiser and then came up to meet us and the kittens. Krista's lab Chelsie crossed the Bridge on Monday so she just need a chance to see the fun up here and talk.