weekend report

We hope you all had a safe weekend. Good news - mom brought home some turkey and she shared a bite with each of us!!

The rescue had an adoption special this weekend. Lots of adoptions (no final numbers yet), and this guy went home too (mom wants to pull his paperwork and hopes he went home with another kitten):

Almond got adopted on Friday

Acorn saw our rescue vet on Wednesday and got the ok to move forward with her surgery and  then get her out there to be adopted. If you look close at the first picture of her, the left eye is clouded over. She got an eye infection about a month ago and developed an ulcer. It healed but left a scar on her cornea. She seems to see something from it, though not perfectly. It isn't causing her pain or bothering her, so she is good to go.

Tommy spent Sunday just hanging around. 

Everyone is pretty happy mom is home. Two of the city kittens are friendlier now and mom will continue to work with the other two. Since they are vaccinated, the gate is up in front of the door and Daiquiri has already gone visiting.

Happy Turkey Day

HAPPY 

THANKSGIVING

(mom is gone for the weekend so no post tomorrow - have a great holiday - or a safe weekend)

thankful for....

A great rescue that does so much for animals.....

Lille is at the rescue for now.....

Mom discovered a huge abscess on the side of her face

She will be there getting medical care and then be spayed and ready for adoption

Almond and Nashville are back at the adoption center ready for their forever homes.

The rescue is having a big adoption event this weekend - we hope LOTS of kitties (and dogs) get their forever homes.

Have a safe and happy weekend.

three ninjas and a tortie

Kind of sounds like the lead in to a bad joke, doesn't it??  MOL

There were some great suggestions for names - thanks!! We tend to steer away from people names. Mom searched "french pastries" and discovered she couldn't pronounce or spell most of them, so those were out.

But....she searched "french cities" and got some interesting hits. That being said, meet the French city kittens:

mom: Lille

She is super sweet and kind of chatty.

She has seen Daiquiri outside the door and seems pretty unfazed.

Of the kittens, the tortie and one black kitten are girls - they are now Calais (the tortie) and Avignon

The boys are Lyon and Marseille.

Calais is totally friendly and outgoing. The boys are getting there, though one is more skittish than the other. Avignon is a total scaredy cat and mom is going to have to work with her. Hopefully they will settle in more as time goes on. (it's only been a couple of weeks) They are doing well and playing.

The little orange girl is Orleans.

Some sad news however: Mom got home from work last Thursday and the orange baby had crashed....mom rushed her to the vet but the kindest thing to do was help her over the Bridge. Based on her size and eye color, it was evident she wasn't related to the other 4 kittens. Lille is a good mom but not overly into the whole idea. Mom had bought kitten milk and was going to be supplementing Orleans but it got bad before she had a chance.

weekend report

Mom didn't know the top of the tower could hold three cats - 

Nashville in the back, Ivy to the right and Daiquiri in front.

 You would never guess that Almond was neutered on Wednesday.

He and Nash and Daiquiri were wild over the weekend.

Despite it looking like Nash is kicking Almond's butt, generally Almond starts it.

Daiquiri is still fascinated by the TV.

Nashville and Almond went to an adoption event on Sunday. Mom is hoping to get them up to the adoption center on Tuesday so that they have a chance of getting adopted over the holiday weekend. Nashville is super sweet and healthy now. Almond has personality to spare.

Acorn is still snotty. Mom is getting her into the vet on Wednesday to see about maybe a different round of meds. Acorn's right eye ulcered at one point and has healed but is not clouded over. Mom thinks she sees some things in bright light but has definitely lost some vision. But it doesn't bother her so they are going to leave it and just talk to potential adopters.

play time #sponsored

**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 we got the Kong Triangle Play Mat to try out. Mom didn't read the dimensions before she emailed that we wanted to try it. On the website it says 14.5" by 12". We gotta say - its small. In fact, even the nuts (who weigh about 3 pounds each) barely fit in there.

That being said, any toy with something dangling from it is a hit around here. And since the sides are pretty tough, it stays upright and we haven't banged it over yet. However, with the other toys around here (especially our crinkly tunnel), even the little kittens lost interest faster than mom expected.

The really nice part is that it is held together with velcro and folds flat. Mom is going to fold it up and then break it out again when the newest group is a little more active and ready to play. They should be just the right size.

Nashville checks out the toy

Daiquiri attempts to see if she fits inside 

(for the record, she doesn't)

Almond does fit (sorta) and gives the toy a good whapping

Overall score - meh. The adults lost interest quickly once they discovered they won't fit inside (if you are going to have a good hiding spot, inside is best). Nashville and the nuts find the toy pretty interesting, but otherwise don't seem too interested either.

On a side note, the mat came out Sunday afternoon. Monday night mom heard a thump in the hall. She checked and found the mat halfway down the hall....and the mouse removed from his string. Not a cat in sight. Oh well.....

Catify #sponsored

**we got a free copy of the book for our review but that does not influence our opinions. The book review is our honest opinions. The publisher or authors are not responsible for the content of this review.

Jackson Galaxy and Kate Benjamin are at it again and this time helping you improve your space - for the cats in your life.

Catify to Satisfy is on sale now - and if you purchase it before the 22nd (this Sunday) $2 will be donated by the publisher to the Jackson Galaxy Foundation.
    from the press release:

The Jackson Galaxy Foundation focuses on programs that drive innovation in care and housing of sheltered animals, promotes improved shelter design and construction, and provides “Elevation through Education”; increased knowledge that inspires and empowers animal advocates to effect real change and raise the status of rescued animals.

 “Knowledge and innovation will save more lives. The pieces are in place, the technology is available, the passion is alive, and the time to act is now.”  - Jackson Galaxy

Mom tries to do her best to "catify" around here....knowing that it helps relieve stress. We have our cat ladder to allow up to get up and there are a couple of cat trees in our back bedroom. She loves some of the ideas in the book....now to find someone with some skills to make it work. bwaahahaha

(mom found this ladder on Kate's website Hauspanther)

The book is divided into four sections: base camp, scratching, litter boxes and superhighways. And each section includes ideas from cat owners across the country - showing that solutions can be diverse and DIY. There are pro tips and DIY solutions. There is even a section showing how Jackson brought his ideas to Boulder Humane to improve the lives of shelter cats.

The book is full color and seeing the things that people are doing out there for house cats - from the simple to the very intricate - fills our hearts with joy. Kate lends her insight in the how to do it category and Jackson lends his ideas into the why cats do things category.

wordless Wednesday

(yes, that is his paw on top of her head)

newbies

Last week mom wandered in to the adoption center for the rescue to drop off an empty carrier (we either can't find one or we have a bazillion - it's weird) and pick up vaccines for the nuts. As she does when she is there, she wandered around and saw this momma cat in a crate.....

who me??

Mom of course forgot to ask how she came to the rescue.

The lady working that night told mom to come back on Wednesday so that the mom cat could be tested. Mom returned on Wednesday and took the family home (mom cat is FeLV/FIV negative...the kittens are too young to test, but if mom is negative, they are).

When mom was checking them out on Tuesday, one of the black kittens HISSED at her. Of course mom had to get the kitten out and kiss it.

"don't need bodyguards, got my own ninja squad"

Here's the odd thing....mom would swear there was no little orange kitten on Tuesday night.
But Wednesday, there it was......

Not one to really think about it, mom packed up the whole family and took them home and now they are set up in the bathroom. One tortie girl, one black girl, two black boys and one orange girl. (mom said she is gonna need collars for the black ones)

Here's the thing though - not only is the orange girl MUCH smaller than the others....her eyes are still VERY blue. Which means someone pulled a fast one - that kitten isn't related to this family. But hey - she is eating, doing ok and the mom cat likes her. Better to be with a mom cat than not....mom will just have to keep an extra eye on her since she is tiny.

Everyone is doing well. The mom cat is very friendly. One of the black kittens will run if mom moves around too much but they aren't hissy and don't run quite as soon as they did when they first got here. We bet they will be friendly in no time.

cute and she knows it

No names yet....nothing has really stuck. If you have a good theme idea, we are open to suggestions. No holidays though....we hate to see Christmas names get stuck on a kitten and then have them still around come spring. (yes, it does happen)

weekend report

We were spared from mom yelling at the TV about football this weekend. She went out to lunch with a friend and missed the game....but her team won so it was all good.

Mom mostly spent time with us and relaxing. She is enjoying that Acorn has decided she wants to be more of a lap cat now. Almond is going on Wednesday to be neutered and then will head out to be adopted. No family yet, but hopefully a family will step up soon and find him. Acorn is still pretty snotty - may be time to find a new med for her. Nashville is still here too....mom is afraid if he goes back to the adoption center he will get really snotty again from stress. But....he isn't getting adopted in our living room - he needs to be somewhere out where he is seen. He may go with Almond and see if that helps him adjust.

Reno and Tostada are still at that remote adoption location. We haven't had an adoption from there is a little while. Mom may consider moving Reno to the adoption center with the other boys from here and allow an adult to move to the store.

We have a surprise for you tomorrow....it's cute, we promise.

Random Fridays

From the mom:
All of you who read and comment - you rock!! Thank you for the words of encouragement...it helps to hear them.
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We wish you a nice (warm) and safe weekend. Mom is having lunch with a friend on Saturday but said otherwise she will be home. YAY!!
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As we mentioned earlier in the week, we won a mega box from Meowbox while mom was at Bark World. You can get a subscription for yourself from them and mom thinks it nice that you can also give a box as a gift to someone else. The cool part is that each box is addressed to the cats in the house getting the box. The lady mom spoke to said that no matter how big they get, they intend to keep the personalization for each box.

 

lots of treats and toys

mom said one bag of treats is going downstairs 

to share with our feral girl Allie

 

This toy is kind of neat - the ball in the middle has catnip.

Mom was trying to get Daiquiri to chase this toy - 

it is nice and light and easy to bring back.

 

There were some chicken dental treats that mom opened.

Ivy wasn't a fan.

Nashville was such a fan he whapped anyone who got close to his share.

 

This fish has valerian in it. We haven't had that before 

and this toy was a huge hit....with us.

Mom says it is pretty stinky.

 

Junior certainly enjoyed it.

 

Almond found the ball and decided to beat it up.

We don't think the nip affects him yet (he may be a little young)

but it was light enough for him to toss around.

 

Mo getting his valerian on. 

We loved everything in the box. Mom is keeping some aside to trade out toys to keep us interested. She opened one bag of treats and said we will get to try the others a little later. We have to say, we loved opening the box and seeing what was inside.

Thanks to Meowbox for sponsoring the cat breakfast at BarkWorld and also for offering 3 boxes as prizes. We LOVED ours.....

fostering

*a post by the mom

Some mornings, the alarm goes off and you get out of bed, kiss the resident pets, care for the fosters, realize it is a good day and move forward.

Other days, the alarm goes off and you want to - and sometimes do - pull the covers over your head. You lay there, thinking of all the things that have gone badly in the past few days. Sick kittens, ornery people...it gets tiring.

Why do people complain about things without knowing what they are talking about? It gets so hard to listen to people saying "just take one more what's the big deal" when they have obviously never volunteered in rescue. It is hard seeing things on social media like "we hope it works out". How about you DO something besides hope?

You lay there and think about the last group of kittens you offered to foster....they looked fine, acted fine, and within 10 day all of them passed away from something. No idea what. And you struggled for days to try to keep them healthy and alive...and then watched them leave this planet. You know you did your best and offered them safety and love....but that really isn't enough to heal your heart and get you out of bed.

You have the overwhelming urge to just lay there and feel sorry for yourself. Or be angry at the world. Or both....

And then a resident cat sticks a nose under the covers. Maybe trying to comfort you. More likely wondering when the heck you intend to get up and provide breakfast.

You hear kittens banging on a closed door - demanding breakfast and release from their overnight room.

You remember that for every person out there with no respect, there are the people who come in to adopt or make a donation that are happy your organization exists.

And for every kitten that doesn't survive, there are so many more that did and got that opportunity because you chose to open your door and help.

And so you throw back the covers, kiss a cat, release the kittens and start your day. Maybe this will be a good one....maybe not. But there are lives to be saved, adoptions to be done and food dishes to be filled. (plus the job expects you there on time, but that is a whole other thing)


**The last apple kitten, Gala, passed away on 11/5. While I have had the occasional kitten die in my care, this is the first time I have ever lost an entire litter. Every loss is heartbreaking....this was harder. And yet, as harsh as it sounds, life does go on. The nuts still need care and are getting bigger by the day. Tostada and Reno are at an adoption center in a local pet store waiting for their forever families. Nashville is running around the house - being sure to sneeze on me whenever I tell him he needs to get to our adoption center. I will never lie about this - foster can be so very hard some days. And other days, I sit and watch kittens tumble over each other as they play and know that every hard moment is worth it.

*there have been questions about sharing this post - feel free to share anything you see here so long as you link to the blog and give us credit. 

Veteran's Day

This is a sponsored post. We received the book at no charge in return for our honest review. Receiving the book in no way influenced our opinions. Products reviewed here are only done for things we support but regardless will always give our fair and honest review.

We got an email asking mom to review a book. This isn't something we do too often, but this one struck mom as kind of important and interesting, so she accepted the offer.

Reporting for Duty (amazon link here) by Tracy Libby is a book about military veterans and their service dogs. Study after study shows how having a pet can affect the mental and physical health of people. Many veterans come back with so many physical and mental injuries that teaming them up with service dogs just seems like a wonderful idea. The book covers 15 stories of veterans suffering from things like PTSD as well as physical disabilities. And there is even a section about how some of these dogs are rescued shelter animals.

This was in the press release from i-5 Press: "According to a RAND Corporation September 2014 study, more than 540,000 veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have PTSD and/or depression, and more than 260,000 veterans have been diagnosed with traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) - and these numbers do not count the veterans from other wars, from peacetime service, or with other physical injuries, illnesses, or diseases that could benefit from service dogs."

Think about that for a second....over 3/4 million service members that could use a service dog.

Mom enjoyed reading the book. The pictures are moving and the stories heartfelt. She had no idea how much military service members go through....it was heartbreaking at times and yet uplifting to know there are groups out there trying to help. We hope this book goes a long way to making that happen for so many more who need the help.

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the book are being donated to Veterans Moving Forward.

We are lucky in that there is charity near us called Wags 4 Warriors doing very similar things - using shelter dogs to help veterans. 

soaking up the sun

BarkWorld 2015 review

Mom went to BarkWorld in Atlanta Thursday to Saturday. We didn't go - we have a travel embargo in place. MOL And since mom was flying, no kittens went this time either. Since we weren't there, we are going to let mom take this post.
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As with most conferences like this, there was good and bad.

The bad:

• Downtown Atlanta - while there were restaurants all over, traffic was terrible, parking was expensive and getting around was very hard.
• I don't care what the organizers say, it was ALL dogs, ALL the time. A couple of things in the swag bag were for both, the only true cat item was a coupon for cat litter.
• Little dogs and owners who pay no attention to the dogs or where they should be.
• NOTHING was on time.....there was never any explanation for it and everything started late. It was so frustrating - and unprofessional.

The good:

 

Sophie

•  Spending time with Paula from Sweet Purrfections and Julie from Sometimes, Cats Herd You.
• MeowBox stepped up after a few comments were made on Facebook and offered to sponsor a cat breakfast. There was some cat specific swag in the breakfast and MeowBox gave away three boxes (we won one and Julie won another).
• Emily and Sophie from Kitty Cat Chronicles came in for a visit....it was nice to see them both and get some kitty love. 
• Meeting the cat guys from Canopy Cat Rescue.
• Having lunch and a good time with Sydney from Chewy.com

Keynote speakers:

 Tom and Shaun from Canopy Cat Rescue waiting to start their speech

These guys were great. They were very prepared and are so passionate about what they do. There was a limited number of people invited to speak with them after their speech and they are just nice guys. For them, everything about what they do is rescuing cats. It was asked about the show that was on for a short time. Without getting into specifics, it was pretty clear that TV was getting into the way of rescue and they parted ways. Their passion is so evident and it was a thrill to hear them and speak with them.

 

 Shorty Rossi was there with his dog Hercules. He was funny and again VERY passionate. He spoke at length about getting educated before making statements on social media. And then getting involved and being passionate. It was interesting to hear how far he has come in life and how he is so dedicated to pitties and BSL and making changes for the breed.

Gus Kenworthy is the Olympic skier who went viral in Sochi for taking a stand for the dogs that were seen roaming the streets. He brought back a mom dog and 4 puppies. It was interesting to hear his story, but it was evident that public speaking is not his thing...

Sessions:
There were sessions about branding and writing. The big picture message that I got out of the sessions that I went to was to be genuine, be passionate, be honest, be educated and be yourself.

Exhibits:
They weren't giving out much stuff. HALO was there and was donating a meal to shelters for taking a picture with their sign and posting it. I don't put my picture out there much, but for that I was on board. There was a couple of app companies there that I need to look into more and will talk about some other time. But again, mostly dog oriented.

Overall: 
As much as I loved getting out of town and seeing some friends, I don't think I will go again. I LOVED meeting the Canopy cat guys. But honestly, it was exhausting dealing with being one of very few cat people. Brands were sure what to do with us. There were a couple of dog owners I wanted to seriously slap. The total lack of professionalism when it came to running things on time and keeping people informed of changes drives me nuts.