Clementine and Tangerine

Sorry this is a little late going up - wanted to make sure they were both cleared to have surgery today before we started celebrating!!

Mom let the oranges out Friday evening and then again on Saturday for the weekend. Tangerine is a little more skittish than her brother, but they had a blast running around like nuts.

Clem may have runny eyes for a while. No matter what drugs he gets, they tend to run a bit. But his new mom and dad are aware of it and don't mind at all.

Tangerine is super sweet and we know she will come around once she is home and comfortable.

Good luck kittens!!! We are glad you and your mom were pulled from a kill shelter and were given a chance to grow up here and find your forever homes. They are being spayed and neutered today and mom will hand them off this evening.

And they should be easy to round up - they have already learned the sound of the canned food opening. :)

Mo's big adventure

Last week we had a big bug in the house. Mom couldn't manage to smack it and says we are pretty hopeless when it comes to bug catching.

She had read somewhere that if you open a door or window and turn off the inside lights and turn on an outside light, the bug will go out. Must have worked cause we haven't seen the bug since. After a while mom turned off the light and shut the door.

However, mom got up the next morning and there was no sign of Mozart. She fed everyone, shook the treat container.....nothing. But she had to go to work. No open windows or doors...he wasn't under the bed or anywhere she could check quickly.

Mom worried all day. What if he was sick? What if he was stuck somewhere? What if, what if?

Finally she got out of work (it was Friday so thankfully early). She came home, ran upstairs....and there was Mo - standing outside on the balcony.

In all fairness to mom, she did look out there before going to work. He must have been behind one of the plants when she looked outside. Fortunately, he was fine....though kind of clingy for a while.

Adopt A Less Adoptable

Every year Petfinder makes an effort to get the word out about those that SOME PEOPLE consider less adoptable. From seniors, to color of their fur (usually black but we think torties get a bad rap too), to physical differences, to FIV or FeLV.

Here is our grandparents' dog Izzo's story:

His previous family brought him into a shelter and just handed him off with no information or anything. He is a nice little dog...but tested heartworm positive. This is a time consuming and expensive thing to treat. Some shelters won't treat for it. Izzo got lucky and the shelter where he ended up put him in foster care and treated him for the heartworms. Once he was ready to go, he came back to the shelter.

As you can see from this picture, there were spots shaved on his back by hips due to the treatments. When our grandma and grandpa got to the shelter, they saw him and fell in love. However, when they went up to the adoption desk to ask about him, there was another couple asking about him. But the lady was asking about the missing patches of hair. As the adoption counselor explained, the lady said she didn't want any dog that had been sick and had missing hair. And thus Izzo came to live with our grandma and grandpa. See, for them, it wasn't about previous illness or hair that will grow back. It was about his sweet disposition and size. His furs have grown back and he is healthy...and will remain that way since they are being responsible and keeping him on preventative medication.

Lesson here: it shouldn't be about appearances....it should be about saving a life and adding joy to your family.

Remember Me Thursday

Sadly, we are not yet a no-kill nation. Animals die everyday in shelters....people don't spay and neuter, they buy rather than adopt, they have negative connotations regarding shelter animals....more reasons than we care to count. We know we are preaching to the choir here, but if we can impress on even one person that 3-4 million adoptable animals are killed every year just for lack of homes, then this makes a difference.

Remember Me Thursday is an event to put into the forefront of minds that this occurs every day around the world. Click on the link to light a candle on their website.

We talk about this all the time - adopt....foster....volunteer....spay/neuter....donate

Hopefully one day we won't need events like this, but until then we are joining in to remember those that don't have the chance to get a home of their own.

Help us spread the word.....  use the hashtag #LightForPets today on facebook and twitter to share

Wordless Wednesday

Ivy edition....

Opt to Adopt - Nala & Lexi

Mom got to drive twice this week for Ontario Bloodhound Rescue.  Two bloodhound girls - mother and daughter were rescued from Tennessee and moved to a kennel just west of us until they could be moved to foster care.

Nala is 3 years old and moved Thursday afternoon. She is super sweet. Great getting INTO the car, had to convince her to get OUT. :) Nala turned out to be heartworm positive so she got her first treatment before going to foster in Pennsylvania.

Lexi is 5 years old and moved Saturday to her foster home in Canada. She was also super sweet. She actually was heartworm negative which surprised everyone since Nala was positive. Lexi got right in the car and settled in for a nap.

And update: Lexi is already adopted. Her foster home was one of the head volunteers for OBR. In less than an hour, she posted that Lexi - now Clover - fit in great with their family and their big male bloodhound Humphrey and would be the newest member of their family. :)  Congrats!!

weekend wrapup

Guess who was adopted last week??? Yep, our momma cat Sunshine went home with her new mom on Thursday after she was spayed. Her new mom has other cats, two of whom are 1 and 2 years old, so hopefully once Sunshine settles in and recovers from surgery she will have some friends to play with. Mom already got a quick update and Sunshine escaped her room already and seems a little nervous but has also come looking for affection.

The little oranges are doing better and mom is hoping to get them spayed/neutered this week. And... once they have surgery, they have a family all lined up. And they will get to go home together.

Mom had some car issues on Thursday. She got Coral and Sunshine loaded into the car, put the key in the ignition and the car went....click. ARGH!!! (the girls learned some new HBO werds)  Fortunately mom layed on the gas the second try and the car started...she drove straight to the car guy and he replaced her battery. But it screwed up her morning and was money she hadn't planned on spending.

Coral has been doing this weird reflux thing when she swallows. Mom made an appointment with the vet. They think her system may be sensitive so mom will be keeping track and has pepcid on hand if she needs it. She is also upgrading her to a premium canned food. Oh...and her weight? 2 pounds 15 ounces. And yes, she turned 5 months old on 9-10. MOL The vet thinks she is fine and is just going to be a tiny cat. As always, she was very well behaved and climbed up into the arms of the vet, laid back and purred. What a ham.

And on another front, mom has been trying to find a treat Coral likes (for having a reward when they are out). Temptations - no. Blue Buffalo Yums - no. Freeze Dried Chicken - no. Freeze Dried Shrimp - no. Goofy girl....

random Fridays

Stoli was playing with the ess....not sure if he realized Coral was back there.
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Our friend Miss Kelly (local) gave this flower when Maestro crossed the Bridge. Mom planted it outside and thought it died (have we mentioned mom has a black thumb?). But lo and behold it bounced back. Not sure if it will survive the winter, but mom was glad to see it bloom one more time.

That kicker sees some serious action - not all of it being kicked.

Mom was helping the bloodhounds yesterday and another this weekend. And some other news Monday too.... 

Hope your weekend is relaxing!!

good news

Ash AND Quartz were adopted this week. (no, not together) Mom got to meet Ash's new mom - there is an 11 month old girl cat at the house so Ash will have someone to keep him company. Mom didn't meet Quartz's family, but we are very glad they are both home.

Jet is still at the adoption center. She is in the kitten room and is out and about. She is a little skittish with people though. Add that to being black and mom worries about her.

wordless Wednesday (mostly)

Stoli and Sangria got a little supervised freedom:

Opt to Adopt - Jet Ash and Quartz

Jet

Ash and Jet

Mom tried to get an updated picture of Quartz, but the official greeter of the kitten room kept walking up to the camera before mom could get a picture. Ash is SO much bigger than Coral now.

Ash at about 4 weeks

They had all been taken off the adoption floor. Ash and Jet developed a cold and Quartz's collar got wet and attached to her neck and cause a wound that needed tending. Jet is still a little jumpy but doing much better. Ash and Quartz are both so friendly and outgoing. Now to get them adopted!!!

weekend wrapup

Good job mom....she forgot Spud's birthday.

HAPPY belated birthday Spud!!!!
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We didn't do a whole lot this weekend. The oranges got moved from the big baby jail back to the play pen. It has less space, but Tangerine figured out how to follow her mom out of the pen and she is skittish enough that mom doesn't want her running all over the place.
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Coral went shopping with mom again.

 They go and hang at the resale shop for the adoption center. Mom wants to keep getting Coral out and working on her social skills, but it is tough to find places that allow cats.

Then it was back home for a nap with Tommy.
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Oh - and mom took the money from the mice bucket challenge we did on facebook and also our comment-a-thon for Sparkle's memorial and bought some supplies for the rescue.

Random Fridays

Our friends at the White Dog Diaries had a post on Wednesday about a potential cure found for parvo. If you have ever been with a rescue or shelter that has dealt with this, you know that it can be seriously fatal or very expensive to treat. This sounds like a great leap forward.
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Mom was laughing this morning at the bathroom crew. Since Cass seems kind of uncomfortable with the kittens, mom has been supplementing Daiquiri and Kahlua. They have that figured out and now stand and SCREAM at mom for their meals. As mom was getting ready for work this morning, they were giving her the same routine. In order to distract everyone else, mom got the canned food out and put it down. As she was getting everything else set up, the screaming stopped. She looked down and saw ALL the kittens and Cass eating on their own.!!  YAY. Of course, a few minutes later Kahlua was back screaming at mom, but it is still progress.

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No plans for the weekend. Mom would like to take another trip with Coral - just to keep getting her out and used to everything. No progress with the new carrier....this morning she got close and looked inside, but that was it. The cool weather has returned and we are enjoying open windows!!!

remembering

Today we want to take a moment to remember the events of this day in 2001.

Mom was sitting in her office when her phone rang. Grandpa had an appointment that morning and hadn't gone in to work yet. As he was watching the morning news, he saw, along with so many others, the places hit in New York and the towers fall. He called mom to let her know what was going on. No one in her office had heard yet....they found a tv and all sat watching the news.

We remember the lives lost in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. And those that then went to the other side of the world as a result to protect us and lost their lives.

We remember the heroes....from those on the plane in Pennsylvania....to those that ran INTO the buildings as other were running out...to those who came back from war with physical and mental wounds that take so long to heal.

We remember the families and friends of those who lost someone on that day and those that followed.

The new building is up at One World Trade....we hope as a show of faith to those who worked there, those that will work there in the future and those that helped make it happen.

Wordless Wednesday

flashback to August 2009: Aida is the momma cat, the girls are Daisy (l), Minnie (c) and Mouse (r)

not what mom had in mind

The rescue we support has a resale shop next door to the adoption center. They have furniture and pictures and lots of other stuff. However, the other day mom was in there and found a Sleepypod carrier for sale. Holy Cod!!!  We have read about these on the interwebs, but our budget just doesn't stretch that far. But this was a great deal. And if mom wants to be taking Coral more places, this seemed ideal....

Of course, mom bought it and Coral won't go anywhere near it. In fact, the first time she acted afraid of it. For now mom has it opened and sitting on the floor in our living room.

Just call me "batcat"

Mo has turned it into is mancat-cave.

Mom just sighed and said at least it was a good deal. MOL

 Ivy isn't so sure about this thing.

This is about as close as Coral has gotten since mom brought it home. Mo is sleeping inside in this picture. Mom hopes as it starts to smell more like all of us that Coral will relax.

One other thing....whoever donated it didn't leave the shoulder strap. Before mom bought it, she checked online and didn't see it being sold separately on the website. Mom sent an email inquiry and went back and forth a couple of times with a nice lady named Camille at Sleepypod. Finally on Friday mom called and talked to her. They don't sell the straps separate but Camille took mom's phone number and if something is returned (sometimes the straps are ok but the bags can't be repaired for whatever reason), Camille will call us. What great customer service!!!

Of course if we can't get the kid IN there....we aren't sure that the mancave needs a shoulder strap (Tommy has since decided it is an awesome place to nap as well).

weekend wrapup

Friday at work mom got a call from another lady named Miss Marilyn who also fosters and volunteers with the rescue. Someone found a kitten in a box. Miss Marilyn had been bottle feeding her but the head of the rescue Miss Mona mentioned that Cass is still nursing kittens.

Friday after work mom picked up another boy she had dropped off to be neutered (gray tabby boy - still trying to catch the white cat). Miss Marilyn brought over the new kitten. Mom got her home and after releasing the new guy, brought her upstairs. Cass was ok with the whole thing, so now there are four  kittens in the bathroom. The new kitten is black, medium length hair and FEISTY!!! She is going to give us a run for our money.

 Daiquiri in the corner, Stoli next to her and then the new baby.

We asked our facebook friends for ideas on a name. We got some great suggestions. The ones we don't use will go on our list for future use. The name that got the most suggestions was: Kahlua. Works for us...the baby does seem to be caffienated. :)

Tangerine went with Sunshine to an adoption event on Saturday. No real interest, but we think Tangerine enjoyed being in a smaller cage with her mommy....she took the opportunity to nurse like a fiend cause Sunshine couldn't get away. Clementine stayed home due to his cold. He is still pretty snotty. Mom took him over to the rescue on Friday and got some fluids into him. He came home and immediately ate. Mom saw him nursing Sunday morning too. Mom doesn't think the clavamox is working, so time to talk to the rescue lady.

We got the windows opened. Mom says Mother Nature must have finally realized is it September (though she is muttering something about the hots coming back on Thursday).

Hope you all had a great weekend.

Random Fridays

Thanks for all the purrs for Cass. Mom spoke to the rescue vet yesterday and she had spoken to the specialist. Nothing shows up on x-rays. And since she is walking better than a week ago, mom and the vet agreed to stick with limited activity for now and then reassess once she is done nursing. Since we will never know when something happened or what exactly happened, the best we can do for her is treat the symptoms and get her healthy.

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An update....some of you may remember reading one of our Opt to Adopt posts about a senior guy named Ebright. As a reminder, he was living in foster care, was adopted by a lovely older woman, she passed away and her family called the rescue to "get the cat out of the house". Ebright went back into foster care with our friend Miss Beckie. But he wasn't very happy about it. Ebright's greatest joy was living in a house with just HIS person. Well....as it turns out, another senior lady called the rescue and...wanted Ebright. No other cat would do. So, Ebright is now in his new home with his new lady sleeping on her couch. She said he is a little grumpy and she wouldn't have him any other way.

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dang photobombers

(that's Tommy's tail)

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Over last weekend, Junior jumped off the sofa, strolled over and laid down - right there. He is less than a foot from Ivy. Not sure if he was doing it to torment her or just ... whatever (hard to say with that boy). But weirdly, Ivy just sat there. It lasted 2-3 minutes until Junior stood up, stretched and wandered down the hall. Don't get any ideas though - later that evening she was snoozing on the footstool and he was teasing her until she hissed at him.

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Mom has been working on the cat tree. So far the carpet is off two of the big posts and two of the platforms. Mom says she is fairly certain whoever put the thing together was paid by the staple....there were like a bazillion. She wrapped sisal rope around the parts of the posts that we like to scratch on. She found donut beds on sale for the platforms. Now she just has to figure out what to do with the platforms. She was considering paint. She doesn't want to put fabric on since she isn't sure how to attach it so that she can get it back off if she needs to. The sides are cardboard though. Plus mom noticed the other day that Coral had gotten used to climbing the high post and using the carpet to climb over the top platform - Coral is now slightly confused.  HAHAHA  Mom just has to remove the last part of the carpet.

And then maybe someday start working on the shelves she wants to put up for us. (yeah right)