random Fridays

First, we are sorry to start this with some sad news: Fuji went in Monday to see a different vet. Mom isn't so sure about that clinic where she was last week and wasn't sure she was eating plus with mom at work during the day....  Long story short, a kennel tech at the vet office agreed to take Fuji home with her overnight and bring her to the clinic during the day for a few days to get her back on track. Mom got a call yesterday morning and Fuji crossed Rainbow Bridge. This vet did everything in their power....mom said she wanted to give this baby a chance since she was feisty....unfortunately it wasn't meant to be. We know sad news isn't a great way to start your morning, but we wanted to let you know. Gala and Cortland are doing very well though and we will do everything we can to keep it that way.
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Ummm - about Nashville going to the adoption center at the pet store....he was there for about 36 hours before his eyes got goopy. Sunday mom switched him for Reno. She would have left Tostada, but after chasing her around the house for over 10 minutes, mom couldn't catch Tostada and left her home. MOL  We are guessing after a couple of weeks of being medicated plus a couple of vet trips, Tostada isn't going to make being caught easy for mom.  Anyhow, Reno is up there though scared....but he will come up and LOVES to be held. Nashville is running around the house and sleeping with mom. All three are on Petfinder too....

However, there was an adoption from the store, so Tostada is now up there as of Wednesday.
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 We mentioned yesterday that mom was spending Thursday going around town with Uber and local offices could request a visit. Since Nashville and Almond are here and outgoing, mom decided to take them. (Acorn has a bit of an eye infection and mom didn't want to stress her out)  Surprisingly, Nashville HATED the whole thing. He didn't mind being snuggled but wasn't very happy about being trekked around. Fortunately every office was very understanding about this and he got some love but would then go back in the carrier. Mom picked up a little fuzzy calico kitten named Margaret and she and Almond had a blast. Who knew Almond was such a ham??? You can see pictures from us and around Cleveland and Cincinnati by going to the twitter feed for Uber Ohio. You can read about it in our local paper and see video too.

The very first stop was to the election office for John Kasich. This is the link to their twitter feed - there is an ADORABLE picture of Almond and Margaret by a campaign sign.

We stopped at several other offices too. Including Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream's headquarters - check out the picture on their twitter feed.

We had four volunteers out with four drivers and a representative from Uber. Mom had a BLAST!!! A HUGE thank you to Uber, their drivers and the offices that had us visit today. Mom said that it was fun for her to talk about the rescue but also to see just how much joy these kittens brought to everyone....the day got off to a sad start for mom but she couldn't help but spend the rest of the day smiling bringing so much joy to others around town.

We hope YOU had a great National Cat Day yesterday. Thank you for supporting us and being our friends. We plan to relax this weekend as mom has plans for next week. Take care and be safe.

*sorry this is late - mom hit the wrong button when she saved it to post  MOL

National Cat Day

Isn't that every day???

Be sure to keep track of mom today on our facebook page....our local Uber drivers are doing a special thing today for the rescue. 4 drivers are hooking up with 4 volunteers and groups of kittens and driving around town giving "kitten breaks" to local businesses for a donation to the rescue. How cool is that??? Mom will post a blog tomorrow about how it goes....

Speaking of facebook, if you haven't seen it, mom posted a video to instagram which loaded to facebook and is going wild on our page....

And since we are posting videos....here is Almond entertaining himself over the weekend.

wordless Wednesday

synchronized snoozing

(the nuts - Almond on the left, Acorn showing her 'tocks)

Daiquiri up top, Tostada lower

apple kittens

Gala and Cortland are both doing well. They have figured out how to get to the top shelf in the tower and in fact Cortland's favorite place to snooze is now the hammick in the middle. The main issue is that they aren't very coordinated getting back down and it makes mom twitch every time she hears or sees them do it.

Mom is going to go and find some ramps she has seen online to put in the tower and hopefully we can get them delivered pretty quick.

Fuji is doing as well as can be expected. Mom got an update on Saturday and the vet was going to wean her off the fluids. Her temp and blood sugar was stable and now it is just getting her to eat on her own and gain some weight. We appreciate the purrs - keep them coming. And please know that she isn't out of the woods but that she has made it this far is a pretty good sign.

Monday morning, mom heard from the rescue lady.....Fuji can come home, we just have to make sure she keeps eating. Mom will put her back in the tower with her siblings, but she will eat by herself several times per day. 

weekend report

Mom took it easy this weekend. Saturday was chore day - laundry, groceries, that whole thing. Plus mom was watching football.

Nashville went to a local adoption cage at a pet store. Mom cleans there twice per week, so she will keep an eye on him. He was a little freaked out on Friday, but settled in some after that. He is super sweet and we hope his forever family finds him soon.

Otherwise there was just a lot of this going on:

Random Fridays

That house gets some action. It comes off the foundation occasionally, but there is usually at least one occupant if not more. Poor Tim never seems to get a chance to sleep in there by himself. Someone (in this case Tostada) will end up climbing in with him.

aww - sleepy Tostada recharging in the sun

she is feeling so much better

Hey look - tiny kittens. The gray is the boy Cortland and the black is his sister Gala. They are eating and howling and (mostly) using the litter box. Mom set up baby jail and they are allowed to run around in there a couple of times per day while mom is cleaning the tower or feeding them.

Their sister Fuji however isn't doing so well. Mom got home from work on Monday and Fuji was cold and howling. Mom ran to a nearby v-e-t and ended up at the 24 hour clinic. They are giving her fluids and she is eating some on her own, but her temperature and blood sugar seem to go up and down, so she will be at the vet until they get her stable.

As for the rest of us, we are taking a cue from Nashville and plan to snooze the weekend. Though there is rumor of a kitten heading to an offsite adoption center and adoption events all weekend, so we suspect some kittens won't be getting much peace this weekend.

Pumpkin

**as part of the Blogger Influence Group, we get a free product once a month to review for Chewy.com but that does not influence our opinions. The product review is our honest opinions. Chewy.com is not responsible for the content of this review.

This month was ALL about pumpkin....food, treats, you get the idea. Heck - the people get all the pumpkin stuff, why not us???

Mom decided to try the Weruva Pumpkin Patch Up! supplements. We got to try some and those that got a taste seemed to enjoy it. But mainly mom has been adding it to the KMR for the apple kittens. There are advantages to pumpkin being added to a diet - in the case of the kittens we are hoping some fiber will be a benefit (if you know what we mean). And this has two ingredients: pumpkin and water. THAT'S IT!! It comes in a box of 12 pouches - which makes giving it so easy.

Now, we know what you are thinking....why not just get a can of pumpkin from the store?? Here's the thing: kittens don't eat that much and a good deal of it might go to waste. Plus - even if mom saved the can, she would probably put it in the fridge and completely forget it was there. And then bad things happen. :)  This is easy storage, easy open and since there is water mixed in already, it is kind of a slushy consistency, which makes it much easier to mix in with the canned food the kittens are getting or even with KMR.

Don't worry....we got to try some too and there were no objections from everyone else here. Certainly as a supplement it is something we would consider keeping in the cupboard.

wordless Wednesday

(mom put the house back together and used some duct tape on the inside joints. Tim loves it - and there is usually more than one cat jammed in there)

kittens of all ages

Mom gets questions all the time about what ages of kittens we foster and what it is like. Since we have a variety right now, we thought we would discuss the differences.

Normally we get two variations of kittens: ones that are old enough to eat on their own but need time to get bigger before they can be adopted (think Almond and Acorn) or ones that are tiny but come with their mom (think Margarita and the fiesta kittens).

Of those two groups, both are actually pretty easy. Almond and Acorn had their own space while they were tested and got their first vaccines and mom got to know them. Once they were a little bigger, they started getting time out of the room to run around but still spend nights in the bathroom so they have access to kitten food without adult intruders and also to keep them out of the bedroom (the bedroom door is closed during the day).

Moms with kittens are pretty easy - keep mom fed well, the room warm and the litter box clean. Mom will show her kittens how to use the box and teach them to eat on their own as well. And again, once they are big enough, they will start to get some free time out to play.

At the moment, we also have two other age groups: tiny and teenager.

Our rescue will take bottle babies, but mom doesn't step up for those since she works full time and is about 20 minutes away from home (presuming traffic isn't bad). There just is no way to be able to feed kittens every 3 hours...plus she likes sleeping at night. However, she agreed to take the apple kittens knowing they were pretty close to eating on their own (their teeth were already coming in). Here's the thing....kittens at this age with no mom are MESSY!!!! No mom to clean up after them, they have to learn to eat on their own.... you get the idea. These three are eating on their own now, but food goes everywhere. Mom is doing a ton of laundry and they are getting a bath every few days. Hopefully within a few more days they will get the hang of everything.

Cortland managed to avoid a bath over the weekend

His sisters were not so lucky

They do seem to be eating better on their own but

are still pretty messy about eating...food goes everywhere

As for the teenagers - when we foster kittens we make a commitment to them. So when Tostada got sick and then Reno and Nashville got a cold, mom agreed to bring them back here. Teenage kittens (Tostada is about 7 months old, Reno and Nashville about 5 months old) are a whole different game. They are bigger, wild and crazy and generally on the move. Put three of them together and it is a PARTY!! With the other kittens in the bathroom and the tower, these guys are out 24/7. Which means running around at all hours and even sleeping on the bed.

Reno taking a snooze

Here is the interesting part....while it is fun to see the little ones grow and get ready for adoption, it is also fun to have the older ones come back and see how they have changed. Tostada has no use for cuddling, but then she never did. But she loves to play and now that she is feeling better is constantly on the lookout for something to entertain her - and she LOVES the other kittens and of course Uncle Tim. Nashville will come over looking for attention and even sleeps with mom at night. But Reno is the one that interests mom the most....he was the last TNR kitten picked up - and he hissed, growled and spit at mom all the way home and for the next couple of days. He was aloof until he went back to the adoption center - never seeking attention and a little shy. He was kind of that way when he came back....and then mom discovered that the kitten sleeping with her at night isn't Nashville, it is Reno!! He is all kinds of lovey and will roll over for scritches and purrs and licks mom's fingers.

Of all the age groups, the teenagers are the most fun, but mom says she gets tired just watching them. MOL It is fun to see the little ones with moms grow up from jelly bean size to ready to be adopted. Those bottle babies though - no thanks.  :)

Tostada update

Our tabby girl seems to be feeling much better. The head of the rescue had been ill and mom and the vet decided to see about other options while decisions are being put off. The vet and mom talked and decided to try a pretty high end antibiotic to see if that would help. Tostada did seem to do better on the prednisone, but the cough came back after she was done with the meds. So this time she was put on azithrymicin for 10 days. After about 4 days she seemed to be doing much better.

Early last week mom sent a picture and text to the vet. "She seems to be feeling better. We may have to get used to hearing 'I told you so'. Do you want to try more meds?" The vet responded and said 'I told you so' is always better than more surgery. They agreed to keep Tostada on the meds for another 10 days. So sometime next week she will have had 2 rounds. Mom is completely ruling out her final judgment until after Tostada has been OFF the meds for a week or so, but for now it is nice to see Tostada feeling better. She is much more active and having fun with the other kittens. She doesn't sleep with her head tilted. No more cough. And she stopped sleeping in front of the refrigerator.

Of course, now that she is feeling better, mom has to chase her around the house to give her the meds each night. MOL

For those who sent purrs and lots of positive thoughts....and those who donated to her medical care. THANK YOU!!!! Mom says that this rescue is great for going above and beyond helping cats that need help. But we can do more because you support us. 

National Feral Cat Day

National Feral Cat Day

#FeralCatDay

Alley Cat Allies

Feral Cat Facts (from Alley Cat Allies)

• Cats have lived alongside humans for more than 10,000 years. They are part of the natural landscape. Feral cats are the same species as pet cats. Feral cats, also called community or outdoor cats, live in groups called colonies and can thrive in every landscape. They are just as healthy as pet cats, but they are not socialized to humans and are therefore unadoptable.
• Trap-Neuter-Return—a humane approach to managing and caring for community cats—is the only effective method of stabilizing cat colonies. In the last decade, the number of local governments with official policies endorsing TNR has increased tenfold, with hundreds of cities and towns successfully carrying out TNR programs.
• However, in the majority of cities, cats are still caught and brought to animal pounds and shelters where they are killed. The shelter system is the number one cause of death for cats in the United States. About 70% of cats who enter shelters are killed there, including virtually 100% of feral cats. That’s why it’s so important for people like you to join us for National Feral Cat Day®, and every day, to help change society and create compassionate communities for cats.

Blog the Change

Tomorrow is National Feral Cat Day so what an opportunity to talk about feral cats, community cats and TNR.

Our feral girl Allie....hard to believe we have been caring for her for over 3 years now after she had her kittens in a window well near our condo. Mom sees her more in the winter and less in the summer, but we know she is around. Our garage door stay open about 6 inches to give her access to food, water and shelter. Some would say we need to re-trap her and bring her inside. We say - she would HATE that. Why should we change her lifestyle based on our beliefs? Would we love to know she is safe all the time? Sure - but she wouldn't thrive inside....and to force her into those confines is unfair.

This is Katniss. She was dropped off near us and then caught and spayed, but wasn't being cared for at all. Luckily we have friends who care for a colony out of town and they agreed to take her. It took quite a bit of time and effort on mom's part to catch her (ferals get trap savvy pretty quickly) but she was caught and moved. We don't recommend this for all ferals - it is better to release them where they are familiar with their own territory. But for her safety, it was decided to move her. She adjusted (eventually) and can now be seen integrated into the colony.

You will find some articles that state that feral cats are "bad for the environment". What they don't tell you is that all their "science" is based on one article - and it is bad science. The World Animal Foundation just published an article that disputes the original information...something feral advocates have been doing for years.

You can find out more about ferals from several places - we recommend Alley Cat Allies and Vox Felina. Mom has argued with our condo association and did manage to get them to back off. One man wanted to bring in "someone" to "get rid off those cats". Mom explained that extermination doesn't fix the problem. And that the cost of bringing someone in to do that certainly didn't seem a good use of her condo fees. Granted, while they let the people inclined to help continue to do so, they haven't put forth any effort of their own to help. But at least they aren't impeding the process.

In short, look around you. There are cats out there living in your community. Some of them are truly feral - living with a certain fear of people. Some are community cats - left to fend for themselves by people who once said they would protect them. Both groups deserve support and respect. Educate yourself and your neighbors. Spay and Neuter!! TNR and ear tip.

video Wednesday

Acorn and Tostada

look what we got

You may remember last year at Christmas, Target had a gingerbread house that was for cats. Lots of bloggers and cat people bought them and there were pictures all over. There was also commentary that there should be houses for other holidays.

Seems someone was paying attention because there is a haunted house that is available. Mom got ours and set it up over the weekend.

 

Tim got in first

Mozart checked it out right after

 

Almond wanted in on the action

 

Tommy stuck his head in the house, but it was occupied

Tim spent quite a bit of time in it and when he came out, Mozart moved in. The Christmas house was kind of plain but this one is decorated and pretty fun. It took mom just a couple of minutes to put it together. We suspect that toy won't stay in the doorway very long. As for the bottom, that is a good thick scratcher - we still have the one from the gingerbread house (the house survived until about February until a kitten disaster squad went through).

This house came apart by Sunday night. Mom is going to get some packing tape and put it back together. The toy is MIA. We do wish there were windows in this one - the Christmas house had windows and the kittens loved climbing in and out and whapping each other through them. Someone suggested cutting windows into the house and mom may do that.

weekend report

The little ones are doing good - no pictures as they are just starting to learn to eat and they are MESSY!! Mom did decide on names though....the boy will be Cortland, the girls Fuji and Gala. Both girls have white chest lockets so they may end up wearing collars to be able to tell them apart at a glance. While they act like they would prefer being syringe fed, mom discovered over the weekend that all of them are eating on their own....she is mixing canned food with KMR and they are kind of slurping it up. With no mom to teach them, they will be a little behind the eating curve until they figure it out on their own.
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The weather has been pretty nice here so we have some open windows for fresh air and window whiffing. That ladder may be one of the best investments mom ever made.

 

Daiquiri and Nashville look like they are telling secrets

 

synchronized snoozing

 

Acorn is pretty adorable

 

and pretty fiesty

 

This is Acorn and Tostada looking out the window

Mostly we did some serious snoozing over the weekend.

random Friday

Daiquiri likes to snoopervise out our front windows. 

No idea what she was looking at but mom loves how Daiq balances on the ladder.

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Good news: Margarita - the mom to the fiesta kittens - went home on Sept. 26. Took her a while to find the right match, but it sounds like she was worth the wait.

Bad news: the moos didn't make it. Mom thinks there was just too much not in their favor and they never really thrived. Devon is back with her colony and we take heart knowing they were given every chance.
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Tostada is on a new drug. The vet jokingly said we are taking a "shotgun" approach to this whole thing. Hopefully a stronger antibiotic will show some improvement. She does seem to be feeling better since she is certainly playing more, but the cough stops her and it just sounds uncomfortable.
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The little ones are doing well. The black ones both have white lockets on their chests and are both girls. (of course) The gray one is a boy. So far they are being called: the chunky one, the whiny one and the boy. MOL  Mom has been leaving some canned food and KMR in a dish for them and we know at least some of it is being eaten - the boy has been caught in the act. However, to be safe, mom has had our pet sitter come in around lunch time to feed them....just in case. Mom got a text from the pet sitter on Wednesday and apparently Almond was being goofy while she was feeding the little ones.

For now, Nashville and Reno will go back on meds for their cold. And everyone will more than likely be with us for a little while. The head of the rescue has been ill and the volunteers are trying to keep everything on an even keel until she is better.

OH - and sorry we have been a little sporadic. Mom did something to her back on Sunday and can't seem to sit (or walk or stand or whatever) for long periods of time.

wordless Wednesday

nut-date

These two are having a good time around here.

 Acorn has a skeptical

she would also like her goofy brother to find somewhere else to sleep

Almond is cute and he knows it

They are both growing like mad and doing very well. Nashville likes to treat Almond like a cat toy which of course makes Almond scream like a diva. Almond is also very friendly and loves to be around mom. Acorn will lounge near mom while mom is watching TV or reading, but hasn't quite decided to sit in mom's lap. Maybe she just doesn't want to compete with Almond. 

not the plan

Mom intended to go to an adoption event on Saturday. However, they were short help at the adoption center and she ended up staying there to help.

 She came home with a carrier.....Tostada couldn't wait to check it out.

These guys are about a month old but not quite eating on their own. Mom isn't sure how this week is going to work out with them but we will manage. (mom is hoping they will decide to start eating on their own and make it easy, but we suspect we know how THAT is going to work out)

However, there was a great adoption story.

Corrine has been with the rescue for 2 years - she was found as a stray, already spayed. The parents of a friend of a volunteer were in town from Michigan for the weekend. Their son had adopted from the rescue before. They wanted to adopt and wanted to do it from our rescue.

They looked around for a while and ended up over in the intake side (normally not where people are allowed but the exception was made in this case). And they met Corrine....she was sitting on a table and reached out and touched D on the sleeve. His wife B came over and they fell in love. This was their new kitty. They did the paperwork and asked mom if they could pick up Corrine on Sunday morning on their way home. No problem.

Lesson note: when this happens in the future, put the cat in a crate overnight.

Mom and the family showed up Sunday morning. And spent over an hour looking for Corrine. Nothing - she was no where to be found. Mom kept apologizing and the family was great about it. D and B are retired, so they decided to stay one more night and everyone traded information. Mom promised they would keep looking.

Mom had to leave to clean cages at one of the remote locations. As she was getting ready to leave, she got a text "They found Corrine, she is in a crate now".

WOOHOO!!!

Mom called D and they agreed to meet again and send Corrine home. Mom asked the volunteers. Apparently they walked to the front of the intake space, came back and Corrine was just sitting on the table. No clue where she had been hiding. Mom got her packed up and she was on her way to the good life.

PS: Mom got a text later in the afternoon from D and B's daughter. She said her parents decided to rename her Rosebud and promised that she will be loved and spoiled rotten. Restores mom faith in humanity....