we got kittens

Mom put a post on her own facebook page about how she was jumping every time the text alert on her phone went off hoping for new kittens. Well - it happened yesterday afternoon. Sorta....

Mom got a text from the head of the rescue asking if we would take a pregnant mom cat. Sure we would. Never mind that we have never had a mom cat give birth in our house before....but we have friends with experience so mom was willing to give it a try. Mom picked up the momma cat last night after work. The rescue lady was sure birth was eminent. She had NO idea.....

Mom got home, got some boxes set up in the foster room, set up the mom cat and ran to feed us and change her clothes. The mom cat let out a screech and mom came running back....and there was a kitten. Mom cat seemed a little startled so mom cleaned off the baby's face and then the mom cat got the hang of it. Within 2 hours there were 4 kittens and mom cat seemed done.

Mom cat seems to be taking very good care of them. Since they are currently less than 24 hours old, our mom isn't even going to BEGIN to guess at genders.  MOL

We have been pretty good about leaving mom cat alone. We were pretty curious and trying to look through the screens while our mom was in there, but if mom was out with us, we left the new mom and her kittens alone. Daiquiri was the most curious. Mom cat on the other hand hasn't seemed to even notice us (yet).

Also - check this out....through a program with MeShare cameras, we got a free camera (since we foster with a non profit organization). This allows mom to check on the kittens when she isn't home. It also allows us to share everything with you!!  You can find our camera here. (let us know if it doesn't work)  Couple of things to keep in mind:
      - For now it is on 24 hours per day.
      - Our wifi is a little weird, so if it goes off don't panic - it should reset.
      - If mom is going to spend any time in there, she may turn it off since she doesn't want to be on camera.
      - The sound is turned off.
      - If you are seeing the picture in black and white, it is night time (we are on US east coast time) or there isn't enough light in the room for the camera.

Thanks as always for joining us on this journey.....

wordy Wednesday

you recognize this face right?

Isadora Calais of the French city kittens

Well, her mom sent our mom a message the other day and we thought we would share the exchange cause it completely made mom laugh.

D: Just so you know I just had to chase your foster child around the house to get the slice of Swiss cheese she stole off my sandwich

M: Hahaha....thanks for the laugh. She may have gotten cheese head lessons from Tommy. Did you let her have some at least?

D: Yes. I'm a total sucker. She's been stealing animal crackers for a while. I turned my back to put the knife away (she has no fear so I can't put a knife down anywhere) and when I turned back she and she cheese were gone. Under the table, down the hall into the living room. She managed to eat a quarter of it on the run. She's amazing!

M: And maybe some "brat" lessons from Daiquiri. Tommy stalks me when I'm eating cereal or ice cream. He is a total dairy hound.

D: Who taught her the love of water? OMC she loves water! She's been in the shower with me twice. I have to be careful as she doesn't seem to notice if it's hot water.

D: She's in the sink. Not content to supervise. The first time in the shower I had a head and hands full of shampoo and my eyes closed. She couldn't get out and I couldn't help her. I was crying and she was terrified. She was still very tiny then. She was scared off the shower for a few weeks but it now back to trying to get in with me. If I don't lock her out it takes three times as long to shower while I battle her. She's hilarious!

Apparently the tiny tortie also talks to herself as she walks around the house. She has her brothers under her paws and has made herself right at home. That's our girl.....

Weekend report

Thank you for all your support last week. The highs and lows were spectacular.

We are going to take a few days off. Mom needs a break. And the laptop is dead....and a new one just isn't in the budget. Mom can so some on the kindle (which is how this is being done) or at work, but it's hard to post that way.

Keep your eyes here though....we have a foster update in the work and hopefully we will get kittens soon.

Tim

Tim had been not quite right for a few days....stuffed up, not eating much, laying around more than normal.

Wednesday morning he really wasn't acting like himself. Mom called the vet and got an appointment for Tuesday.

However, when she got home Wednesday night after doing Nashville's adoption, Tim seemed worse. Mom decided to call the vet Thursday morning.

Unfortunately, around midnight on Wednesday, Tim threw up and was just laying on the floor. Mom grabbed him up and headed for the ER vet.

They did an ultrasound and found fluid in his abdomen. Blood work showed anemia and very high liver and kidney values. The vet couldn't say definitely what was going on but thought end stage kidney failure or cancer. Mom broke down. Could they keep him stable to get him to our vet on Thursday? The vet said she was concerned he wouldn't make it that long. Mom knew she had been hoping our vet could give her a "better" answer but she knew then it was time to make that awful decision and let him go.

At 4am on March 24, 2016, our sweet Tim, brother of our boy Tommy (who seems to be OK....but then he probably knew something was wrong before mom did), our resident Uncle Tim to foster kittens, feral kitten tamer and sweet cuddled, crossed Rainbow Bridge.

Mom was looking at pictures and even two weeks ago he looked good and was acting like his normal self. If his numbers were that bad, she knows that even testing a few months ago (senior blood work) probably wouldn't have changed anything except giving us and her more time to come to grips with this. Right now the suddenness of the whole thing is making it worse.

Rest in peace sweet Tim....you were very loved.

Nashville went home

June 2015: mom got an email from a client about a feral colony running around her house and the neighborhood. There were kittens and fighting males and could mom please help. Mom contacted the rescue and a trapper went out and spent a couple of days catching the colony.

Including these three: (top to bottom) Reno, Nashville and Topeka

Known as the TNR kittens (their mom was caught, spayed and released) 

Well, sometimes it takes longer for adoptions to happen than others. Normally it can be momma cats, but Nashville has been in rescue for almost 9 months. And then the other day mom got an application via email. And Wednesday night Nashville went home. His new mom adores him and her roommate has an 8 year old cat so he will have company (and hopefully not annoy the holy heck out of his new roomie).

Concats Nashville!! It may have taken a while, but it was worth it.

not quite wordless Wednesday

 

Hey what's with the doors????

new habit

Mom bought a doorstop the other day to keep the bedroom door open at night. Daiquiri has taken to closing the doors at night for some unknown reason. Which was fine until at 4am on Friday the door SLAMMED shut and scared the heck out of the mom. So now there are doorstops.....

Another thing Daiquiri has taken to doing is running in the bedroom at night when the door opens, jumping up on this dresser and staring into the TV. Now....this TV doesn't work - it isn't plugged in cause mom doesn't want to pay to have the cable run in the bedroom. The first few times Daiquiri did this, we couldn't figure out what she was staring at up there. Her own private imaginary TV show???  Aliens??? Who knows.....

Then mom figured it out. With the light on the night stand turned on, Daiquiri must be seeing the room reflected in the TV screen. This would include whatever mom is doing and the ceiling fan moving around.

It can't be all that interesting, but she sits up there for quite a while and stares into the TV. 

almost done

When we last spoke about the foster space, mom needed to get screen doors....

 

Let's just say it's a good thing we live about .25 miles from Home Depot.

Mom tried to get there early enough on Sunday to pick everything up and avoid the "guys in trucks". While the store wasn't busy first thing in the morning, when she came out and was shoving the doors in the car, 3 different guys drove up in their trucks. Fortunately no one said anything. The opening to the hatchback is apparently smaller than mom expected (which is why she should measure, but whatever...not sure it would have made any difference). She did check with a local home improvement store about delivery....and it was $69. For that she figured she would shove them in the car.

 This is an indoor/outdoor rug. Mom says in hind sight she should have thought about just getting a bigger one and using it on the whole floor, but this works. (and it was $20 so there's that)

The screen doors are screwed together and just enough wider than the room that they wave back and forth and stand up on their own. Mom put furniture sliders on the bottom to help them move.

Mom knew that the sight lines would have to be covered to keep calm. She went to a local fabric store and found this on sale. She thought she could use thumb tacks to get the fabric to stick, but no luck. So she has one panel part up and has to run out tomorrow during her lunch to find something she can use to attach the fabric to the doors.

 

Cute right???? 

Random Fridays

Tostada - now Sweet Pea

We got an update from her mom:
          "I just wanted to follow up with you about Tostada (Sweet Pea) to let you know how well she has settled in. She has been to the vet who loves her and is happy my household has a cat again.  She is very playful - she loves her toy mice, and anything of mine that is not nailed down.  She loves getting belly rubs - it is amazing how trusting she is.  She is as affectionate as can be and loves curling up next to me wherever I am.  And she travels well.  She doesn't fight getting into her crate, although singing the whole time she is in a car is the norm. She has virtually no adjustment period in transitioning to new places - so she is able to go with me almost anywhere I go overnight. That can be pretty much in my independent life!"

Wow - that is so awesome!!! Heaven knows we worried with how long she had been with us and the rescue, but it sounds like she was just holding out for the purrfect match!

Honestly, if you really want to make the day of someone who fosters and you have adopted their kittens or cats (or dogs)....send them pictures and an update. You will make their day - we promise!
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Mom is going to try to finish the kitten area this weekend. She had an idea of using screen doors to close off the space....the interesting part will see her getting the doors from the store to the house in the Beetle. (we promise to make her take pictures)  For now, we have been enjoying the space and Daiquiri has been using the floor covering like a slip and slide. Mom does plan to get a rug to cover the tarp....even if just to keep it from moving all over the place. MOL   #kittenwatch2016
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And of course.....there will be basketball. 

SlimCat Interactive Feeder #ChewyInfluencer

We are part of the Chewy Influencer Group and receive no compensation for our reviews. All opinions are our own. We did receive the toy for free but it did not influence our honest opinion. 

We actually got two things to review this month. The first was done last week and now we are going to review the SlimCat Interactive Feeder too. Mom spent a few minutes when she opened the package trying to figure out how to get the treats inside - until she flipped it over and discovered the bottom just unscrews. MOL

She put some treats in there and put it down to see what we would do with it. Now....the point of this toy is to put your cat's regular meal in it and make them work for it. Mom put treats in it just to see if we would be interested in playing with it.

So far the biggest interest is from Spud, Daiquiri and Mozart. Daiquiri likes to play with it and get the treats out but doesn't seem to like the treats mom put in there. Which works out as Mozart likes to follow her around and eat what she leaves behind her. Mom was concerned at first that Princess Destructo (Daiquiri) would try to beat the daylights out of the toy to get the treats out of it. Fortunately it seems pretty destruction proof (especially since Daiquiri has shoved it down the stairs a couple of times).

Mom doesn't think she will use it for our actual meals, but she likes the idea of putting treats inside to make some cats work for those. Right now it is just over $5 at Chewy.com which isn't very expensive for something like this. 

one word Wednesday

clean

foster space

As you come up the stairs into our condo, you see into what could be used as a dining room. The sliding glass doors open onto our balcony and the pass through on the right goes into the kitchen.

Mom doesn't really use it as a dining room space and it was just sitting there. She decided to see if she could turn it into a foster space. She first laid down some plastic to protect the carpet and then laid a canvas painters tarp on top of that (see above). She isn't sure if she will buy a cheap rug or not....that's a maybe.

Then the tower went back into the space. It fits in that corner...mostly (mom had to move the picture over a little bit).

Some cat wasn't too sure about all the changes going on (Daiquiri)

Mom bought that white shelving unit at Target. She was looking for something else but this was inexpensive and bigger than the other item. It did take her about an hour to put it together (the directions got a little confusing at one point plus she was watching college basketball).

We do have another tower that can be put where that green chair is sitting right now. The only thing mom doesn't like is the short brown table that she put in there. We have another table but mom doesn't like that one so much either. She is thinking about going back to Target and getting a shelf similar to the white one but shorter to fit under the picture. Partly it is places to put things and partly narrowing down places for kittens to hide.

She has started filling up the cabinet. Canned food on the top shelf. That black box is our first aid kit. Then drawers for toys and treats. The bottom shelf she is going to leave open for now and put blankets and towels on the shelf about that.

The biggest issue is how to close off the space to keep kittens inside and permanent cats outside. If you look back at the top picture, that white shelf to the right sits right behind mom's chair. The fireplace is next to that and there is a natural break in the space. Mom is thinking about trying to find folding panels that she can stretch across the space. The issue is that they have to be relatively sturdy, cleanable, sit flat to the floor to keep kittens inside and span an 8 foot space (she is probably going to have to get a couple of them and connect them together).

So, there you have it....the new kitten space. Mom does say if we get a mom cat with TINY kittens, they may be in the bathroom short term as it is smaller and easier to deal with. For now, we have spent a good deal of time checking out the changes. We won't know if it really works until we actually GET kittens.

weekend report

As most of you know, our fosters stay in the bathroom until they are big enough to be out during the day. Mom has been thinking about how to rearrange some space to give the fosters more room of their own. As you come up the steps to the main floor of the condo, you look into what should be a dining room. It has never been used for that and mom decided to reorganize the space. First step was take everything out and get the carpets cleaned. Mom locked us up on Saturday early and we spent most of the day in the back bedroom with our stuff.

p

As the carpets were cleaned she set the living room back up. That half wall you see to the right is at the top of the steps. The cleaning guy did a great job and after allowing the carpets to dry (thankfully it didn't rain on Saturday), the furniture was put back (although the coffee table was rotated 90 degrees) and we were finally allowed out.

Come back tomorrow to see the changes to the space for the foster kittens.

All that moving and cleaning was exhausting!!

Random Fridays

We had some nice warm weather this week and mom even opened the windows a little to allow in some fresh air and for us to get in some window whiffing.

Mom says this weekend is going to be a little busy. Something about clean carpets, moving furniture, setting up a different foster space and basketball. Sounds like a whole lot of no quiet time for napping for us.

We will show you changes to our space hopefully next week sometime. Mom bought a second tower last year on sale, so we have the one that is set up and another in a box. As you come up the stairs into our living space, there is a "dining" room to the left and the "living" room to the right - though they are really one big space. Mom is going to turn the dining space into the foster space. The real issue is that is where the door to our balcony is along with how to close off the space enough to keep us out if a momma cat isn't happy. Our mom suspects that momma cats with tiny kittens may still end up in the bathroom short term but mom doesn't want that to be the permanent space. She is getting a cover for the floor to protect the carpet and is then going to have to put some thought into a room divider. She doesn't have too many carpentry skills (plus it is about 8 feet across) so she is thinking about folding screens to use as dividers.

Have a safe and hopefully warm (and rain free) weekend.

Oh - and still no kittens....

Another throwback Thursday

Hard to believe, but it has been almost 2 years since Jade and her kittens were here. They didn't come to us until April but we thought we would flashback to that adorable family. For those of you who don't remember, Jade and her kitten Mica were found on a horse farm. About 24 hours after mom picked them up, she got a call from the rescue leader about 4 kittens that were found under a bush while they were doing some TNR. Jade took those four as well. They were Ash, Amber, Pearl and Coral.

momma Jade and all of "her" kittens

Amber along the bottom, then left to right: Mica, Pearl, Coral laying on Ash

Ash, Pearl and Coral

(it is weird to look back and realize Coral really was SO much tinier than her siblings)

Mica and Ash

(oh we would LOVE to know what Mica looks like all grown up)

tiny baby Coral

Stripes

Mom has a weird fascination with Daiquiri's stripes....
She wanted to get a really good shot of her tail, but no luck.

if you look closely, there is one LONG stripe that runs down her tail

and then rings that run around it

racing stripe down her back

fabulous eyeliner

mild ears of annoyance

some kitten likes to stick her nose RIGHT up to the camera every time it comes out

mom has to sneak up on the kid to get pictures - MOL