Memorial for Sparkle

Today we remember a great cat of the blogosphere. Sparkle was a pioneer and is missed by all - especially her family. Today they are remembering her and having a comment-a-thon in her honor to give a donation to Tabby's Place.

There was discussion over here....do we leave our comments off and just point people over there? Or do we do something great?

We decided to donate to our local rescue Colony Cat's in Sparkle's memory. For every comment through midnight Saturday, we will donate $0.50. We know the money will be put to good use and will be honored to carry forward in her memory. The donation will help kittens like Clem.

Things....

Most of you by now know about Allie....our feral girl from a couple of years ago - mom to the alcohol kittens.

Well, in addition to her, mom has been seeing a long haired white cat around - definitely feral as she seem terrified if you even look at her. If you remember Bug, this girl looks like her...which makes mom sad as it would appear they missed a kitten somewhere along the line. However, the goal now is trap her and spay her.

Last night mom got home from her shift at the shelter and saw this girl laying on the sidewalk across from our garage door. No time like the present, so mom picked up Allie's food dish and set up the trap.

Mom went down this am and....the door was closed on the trap.

She lifted the towel and found....a black cat. (insert HBO werds here - mom was sure she had caught Allie)

However....this black cat is freaking out (the second time Allie was caught she calmly sat in the trap and gave mom the evil eye). This cat has no white locket on the chest (Allie does) and appears bigger than our girl. And mom was pretty sure she didn't see an ear tip.

Back upstairs, shower, get dressed, grab Cass for her v-e-t appt and off they go.

Cass met with Dr. West today about her back leg. The chick (for lack of a WAY less polite term) who took her to the spay clinic said it was her right back leg. Mom had seen her walk and it was Cass's LEFT back leg. But either way, something funky was going on.

X-rays were taken and there is no pelvis fracture. That's good news. The bad news is that it appears to be "maybe" neurological. Her left back leg doesn't respond to pain as much as the other, but oddly her right front leg responds less than her left front. So Dr West did a complete neurological workup (which is hard to do on a cat...just saying) and is calling in a favor with a vet at Ohio State. Hopefully we will know something soon (no idea the time frame....you don't get to the front of the line calling in a favor). For now it is limited activity and get her fed more (she weighed 6 pounds 11 ounces and you can feel her hips). If it is something not so serious, the goal would be pain meds and anti-inflammatory. We don't know much beyond that right now. Paws crossed it doesn't end up being surgical....that won't be cheap. So if you could pass along some purrs to our momma cat, that would be much appreciated. And we will keep you posted as we learn more.

Stoli (up front), Sangria (middle) and Daiquiri

wordy Wednesday

We know you were wondering on Monday.....why did the orange kittens move??

Well....we have newbies in the bathroom:

The mom cat was left at the adoption center. A woman had found her and despite the rescue trying to get her spayed and cared for, the woman resisted. Until the mom cat showed up VERY pregnant. Unfortunately, she was malnourished and the kittens didn't survive. She was spayed and being cared for by the rescue. The lady did say she didn't think the cat was walking on her right back leg. The clinic gave her the once over and didn't feel any breaks. We are going to keep an eye on her and see if some rest helps.

In the meantime, 4 kittens were left alone in a box at the local humane society after closing. They were anemic and covered in fleas. No mom in sight. Their fate was not going to be good. One died that same night.

But....the other three were introduced to the calico mom and it was love.

In fact, when mom got here and set them up, she got the mom cat out of the carrier first and she threw a fit until all the kittens were out. MOL  Mom was a little worried about the tiny girl, but everyone is doing very well. Mom is keeping them close. And when mom put out canned food for mom on Sunday morning, all three kittens tried it.

While they may not have been born to her, mom is taking VERY good care of these kittens....making up for those she lost. We have 2 girls and 1 boy. Two are black and white - what the kid (mom's niece) calls "moo kittens". We thought the other girl was too, but she is starting to show some brown stripes along the edges of the black.

Unfortunately, the tiniest black and white girl started going down hill and despite the best efforts of mom and the rescue, she didn't survive. We tried Julep - and you were loved no matter how long you were here.

Mom is now known as Cass. (mom was jokingly calling her "Hop-a-long Cassidy" and it stuck)

And Sunday evening mom got a call from our friend Miss Beckie....seems some teenagers found a week old kitten and thought it would be easy - bring it inside and viola. Right....  Anyhow, Miss Beckie knew about Cass (she was the one who rescued the moo kittens) and so the tiny came over to our house. Cass took her right away. Mom is keeping an eye on everyone as the new girl is younger and smaller than the other kittens, but it is all good. The new girl is a brown and white tabby - with a white stripe down her spine.

And it is that time of year again (might as well make it a tradition). So please help us welcome the third annual alcohol kitten crew.

The little boy (the mainly black one in the upper picture) is Stoli. His sister is Sangria. And the newest tiny girl is Daiquiri.

Opt to Adopt - sort of

tiny girl back in April

We suspect this won't come as a surprise to many who follow us.

Over the last couple of weeks, mom has been taking Coral out in public on the harness and leash. She wanted to see how she did in crowds and other things. In fact, Friday night a local community was having a Dog Days of Summer event. A friend of mom's was out with a cocker spaniel rescue so mom decided to go over for a little bit (it was hot and humid). Coral did GREAT!!! She was unfazed by the crowds and everyone paying attention to her. She wanted down a couple of times, but we suspect that was more about being hot. Nothing to get a fuzzy kitten overheated than being out in 85 degree heat and humidity (they were only there about an hour).

We would like to welcome Coral as a permanent member of the Random Felines family. She has fit in seamlessly and her sweet disposition made it an easy decision.

Really? I can stay? Cool....

on the move

It was about that time.....  Ash, Jet and Quartz made it up to the adoption center on Friday. Mom stopped on Saturday (more on that later in the week) and while Jet was curled up in a corner (no surprise), Ash had made a friend his own size and Quartz has made herself the official greeter of the kitten room. Paws crossed we will have adoption news soon.

 The NEW baby jail. Remember we had tried this when the geology kittens were tiny but Coral and Pearl could walk through the bars. Mom did some thinking and came up with a plan. She bought a heavy duty shower curtain. The pen sits on it and then the sides were brought up and connected with zip ties.

 Pretty nice set up....more space and they can see out the balcony doors (off to the left).

 These have to be the most concerned looking kittens ever....

The problem we face now is that Sunshine can get out. She does go back in and the kittens are eating on their own, but still. Fortunately everyone here is ok with her. Though poor Spud almost had a stroke when he was sure he got away from Junior only to turn around and see another orange cat. Luckily she is pretty mellow and doesn't care.

random Fridays

If you use Fresh Step litter but don't use their points, we have a favor to ask - if you sign up here you can donate your points to the rescue where mom volunteers and we help foster. Every 5,000 points is FREE LITTER for the adoption center.
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Mom has made some indications that the weekend project is the cat tree. She already de-carpeted one of the posts...she was going to do the tall one until she remembered that the kittens use it to climb and with no carpet - no climbing. Hey...wonder if we could get her to do that tonight - at least a day or so of peace. MOL  Anyhow, the posts will be covered in sisal rope and the platforms she wants to maybe paint and then use cat beds that can be taken out and washed.

That laundry basket gets a work out. Fortunately the only kind of laundry that mom leaves sitting out is OUR laundry and the stuff she uses for the kittens - so refuzzing it isn't an issue. MOL
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Hope you all plan to have a relaxing weekend. The hots are back here (apparently summer has decided to have one last hurrah before fall) so no open windows yet. Oh...and someone said that the football season has started again. Oh joy.....

we have a sad

After blogging for this long, we have gotten to know so many other bloggers. We have been inspired to be better. They make us smile, they make us better cats.

Yesterday the blogging world lost one of the greats....

Sparkle the Designer Cat passed away yesterday.

We are sending purrs to her assistant, her assistant's boyfriend and to Binga and Boodie.

Mom wanted to write something wonderful in tribute, but we are all just pretty heartbroken. We know that her impact on the blogging world won't end....as mom says, the hardest part of having animals in their lives is having to let them go...no matter how much time you have, it never seems like enough.

Thanks to Glogirly for the graphic. Comments are off.

state of the cats

we thought we would just give everyone a general update on everyone here...in no particular order (cause the computer won't cooperate)

Tim  is still the gentleman chicken of the family. Mom had the cable changed over a couple of weeks ago and Tim was under cover most of the day. But he is so wonderful with our foster kittens.

Allie is doing great too. Mom doesn't see her as much in the summer/fall but enough so that mom doesn't worry too much.

  Junior is doing better. For a while there (mom swears it was the weather or something), he was getting kind of aggressive forward with Ivy and Spud. In the past couple of weeks he has backed off a bit and things are more calm. Mom is still working on a walkway over the window in our entry that will hopefully give everyone a little more space.

Tim and Tom seem the be the only ones that will truly put up with Junior. Tommy is doing well as head mancat. He seems to have a weird lingering sneeze that mom will have the v-e-t check in to the next time she is over. Tim and Tom are going to be 11 and are doing well.

Ivy is still the princess. Hates having her nails trimmed, hates Junior, would love it if mom would stay home more and provide more lap time.

Mo...what can we say about the house panther??  Oh - get this...for Black Cat Appreciation Day, he tried to bite mom...got a few layers of skin. (she was trimming his nails) But this is the same cat that will come up and sleep on his back next to her in the chair while she is reading.

Spud....mom worries most about him. He is just so afraid of so many things. But we love him and he is affectionate to mom sometimes. And like everyone else in the house, lurvs him some Tim.

Ash and Coral are doing well. Mom thought she had a line on an adopter for Ash but the lady ended up adopting a different kitten from the adoption center. That is ok, but mom had her fingers crossed.

Quartz and Jet seem healthy....cross your paws. Mom has to get their info up on Petfinder and hopefully can get them up to the adoption center.

Clementine and Tangerine are doing great. Starting to eat on their own and using the box. Tange is more of an observer, though she loves getting some hits in on her brother. Clem is just...cute. And mom has the baby jail gate set up in front of the bathroom so that she can leave the door open while she is getting ready for bed or for work. Clem loves to go sit by the gate and give Coral the eyes of love. goofball

video Wednesday

The three girls were playing and when mom pulled out the camera, Coral walked away....but the other two girls were baffled....

Coral loves the kicker....and it gives you some idea of her current size

Opt to Adopt - Anna

OK - here we go....let's promote a woofie this week....

See, mom isn't really a little dog person, but even she admits that she has NO idea why Anna hasn't been adopted yet.

Anna is a chihuahua boster terrier mix. About 4-5 years old. Great with adults, kids, cats and other dogs. Doesn't mind being dressed up and carried around. Her owner was no longer able to care for her and now the rescue where mom volunteers is trying to find her a home. The rescue is in central Ohio.

weekend wrapup

Mom and Coral spent a couple of hours on Saturday at a local festival. A local Girl Scout was sponsoring a booth for local rescues as her senior project. Coral was very well behaved and spent the entire time on mom's lap. Mom put her down in the grass at one point but Coral wasn't too sure about the feel on her toes. Unfortunately, after a couple of hours the wind kicked up and then it started to rain. Mom spoke to the girl and they agreed that mom and Coral could pack it in and head home. But mom spoke to several people and did reaffirm how well Coral does in public.

The orange kittens are getting bigger every day. When mom is getting ready for work or for bed, she leaves the bathroom door open and leaves up the baby jail gate to give them a little room. Tange walks around a little. Sunshine like the carpet on her toes. And Clem walks up and stares at the big girls...such a flirt.

Mom has caught both of them drinking water and eating out of Sunshine's bowl. Mom put out canned food at one point. Tange wasn't interested, Clem took one bite and walked away and even Sunshine wasn't all that interested.

Quartz and Jet were supposed to go up to the adoption center this weekend, but their eyes are runny again. Mom is fairly convinced the words "adoption center" makes that happen.

Ash is at the other Petco store. They are much smaller and the kittens are allowed out to run around part of the day. Mom stopped to see him on Friday after work and the kittens were back in the cage for "naptime". Ash was so sound asleep that he didn't even twitch when mom called his name. MOL

Black Cat Appreciation Day

cause you can never have too much of that....

We know we are preaching to the choir, but ALL black animals in shelters seem to be overlooked. Be it superstition, don't show well or whatever, black cats seem to be the last adopted and the first euthanized. Mom doesn't have the numbers in front of her, but she doesn't think that we have had any more black foster kittens than we have had any other kittens.

Check Your Chip Day

Our friend Daisy reminded us the other day that today is Check Your Chip Day. Now, like her we got all excited thinking it was about potato chips, but alas it is about microchips.

Yes mom, we know those are important....but mmmm potato chips.

Everyone here is microchipped. And we don't know of a rescue out there that doesn't microchip any more. And in a study done at our local university, the vet found that the return rate of lost animals was much higher when a chip was found and was REGISTERED!!! That is the big thing - you have to make sure your chip is registered and your information stays up to date.

Our vet scans us for our chips everything we have an appointment. Doing this the first time mom discovered that Ivy's chip actually moved. When implanted (yes, among the other weird things mom can do, she knows how to implant a microchip), it is done between the shoulder blades. However, in Ivy's case, she was chipped when she was spayed at 8 weeks old. And ummm.... she is a little....bigger now. MOL  So turns out her chip is now resting over one shoulder blade. When scanning, the vet or shelter should go side to side and front to back....just in case.

Now, the ASPCA also has an app that will store all your pet information, including microchip info. Mom downloaded it. HOWEVER you can't accurately put in the microchip information since that part of the app only allows for numbers and a lot of chips include letters (most of ours do). We have tweeted the ASPCA and sent an email to the address on the app, but haven't ever heard anything (if you know someone over there, let them know there is a bug). That being said, we think it is a great idea to have all your info in one place.  If you have suggestions for other apps for phones, leave us a comment.

The lesson here:
Microchip your pets
Make sure your vet scans for the chip everytime
Make sure your info stays up to date

And if you find a lost animal, get him scanned for a microchip - it is the fastest way to get him reunited with his family!!!

kittens and more kittens

 Sunshine is a good mom....though she has some "teenage" moments. And is seriously distracted by mom when she comes in to visit.

Cuties in the sink...the only way mom could get them both to hold still. MOL

Top picture: Tange on the left and Clem on the right

Bottom picture: Tange in the front and Clem in the back

Tange is lighter in color and smaller than her brother.

 Jet and Coral getting goofy. Jet has been released from the playpen. She is having fun with the other girls though is still a little jumpy with mom.

Quartz - holding down the ess... (yeah yeah - it is a little beat up)

video Wednesday

Flashback

3 years ago we caught the last group of kittens born to our local feral colony (this doesn't include Allie - she showed up later). The kittens were named after famous actors: the first video is Lucille Ball (Lucy) and the second is Grace Kelly.

Opt to Adopt - Jet and Quartz

Miss Jet was spayed yesterday. Lately she hasn't been overly friendly with mom but the staff at the clinic said she was wonderful (mom was tempted to check and make sure it really was Jet in the carrier when they left). Jet was good on the way home, ate like a champ in the play pen....and then drunkenly howled off and on the rest of the evening.

With her being spayed, she and Quartz are now officially ready to be adopted.

Remember these girls were left at our adoption center in a carrier - no mom and not eating on their own. Our very own Jade (who hasn't been adopted yet) took them on as her own.

Quartz is VERY lovey and outgoing and playful. In fact, mom had to put her back in with Jet last night. Partly in the hopes that Jet would quiet down with some company...and partly cause Quartz has no sense of mom's personal space. She is great with the adult cats and loves playing with Coral.

Jet is a little more reserved but loves playing with her sister. She doesn't mind being picked up and held and the more it happens the less she seems to mind.

(Sorry for the late post....we got new cable/internet last week. It was working fine Sunday but mom wasn't too motivated to post ahead. And then last night it wasn't working at all, so she is doing this one from work.)

weekend wrapup

The rescue still has a relationship with a couple of Petco stores and our friend Miss Beckie deals with one that is about 15 minutes from our house. There was space in their cages, so Ash is there as of Sunday afternoon. There are other kittens his age and he went right in with no complaints.

Jet, Quartz and Coral are still here. There is an event in a week or so and mom said they may stay here until then and make sure their eyes are completely cleared up.
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Mom missed our Blogoversary yesterday. Amazing that it has been 5 years.... we have had many many fosters, lots of adopters, met lots of people, made so many new friends. There have been joys and losses....but the journey has been wonderful. And we are overjoyed you have joined us on this journey!!!
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Clem and Tange are getting bigger every day. And more mobile....in fact mom had to upgrade them from the box to a bigger boxed in space. Tange was getting in and out of the smaller box on her own and mom wants to keep her out of trouble. Sunshine is still being a great mom...