well look at that

Mom went up to the rescue's adoption center on Saturday to get some pictures for a different blog post. She wandered through the intake side and then the adoption side and then headed home.

About 90 minutes later, her phone went off with a text "2 7 week old kittens. want them?" ummm - duh. :)  Mom headed right over and came home with these two:

They were kind of chatty on the ride home and freaked out when they were set loose in the foster room. The orange one is a boy and the brown is a girl. Definitely need some work on their social skills, though the boy is friendlier than his sister.

Here's the thing: apparently someone saw an online ad (you know those listings) for kittens being sold as...snake food. Yes - we are appalled that this is even a thing. But this is not the first group of kittens that the rescue has taken from ads like this. Maybe they are just saying that to get someone to feel sorry, but we aren't sure. Anyhow, some nice people "answered" the ad and took the kittens then asked the rescue to take them. Of course they did and now the kittens are safe with us. Serious or not, mom and her friends agree that the people placing the ad suck.

After some time, mom decided on names.....the orange boy is Coyote, his sister is Roadrunner. Meet the #looneykittens

While her brother has decided mom isn't so bad, Roadrunner is pretty sure mom is scary and avoids her for the moment. However, they are out and playing and having a good time - mostly when mom is not in there.

Yes....someone knows they are in there. No...he isn't allowed to play with them. 

Mom picked them up within an hour of them arriving at the rescue. They were dewormed and got flea meds and their first vaccine, but they need to be tested.

snoozing

Best way to spend the weekend - find a favorite spot and stake it out

Spud loves the cat ladder

probably as he can get up high

and get a sense of security

 

bazillions of places to sleep in the house

and this is his favorite

 

Mo staked out that bed when we first got it

and rarely gives it up

HAPPY Gotcha Day Mozart

OK - so it's technically tomorrow, but since we don't normally post on weekends, this is what happens....

Mom was looking stuff over and realized Mo's Gotcha Day is tomorrow! And it is his 10th!!! We hope she breaks out some good treats or something.

For those who are new here (or have forgotten), Mozart came to us as a foster kitten with his brother Picasso. Mo developed a NASTY cold that infected his eyes and extended his time here with us. Everything healed up, but he does have a corneal scar on his left eye. (which accordingly made mom laugh when she was updating his microchip information and it asked for identifying information - good luck on a solid black short hair cat - until mom remembered the scar). He actually went back to the humane society where mom was volunteering at the time. He was there for a few days - and the vet that was working there at the time put a note on his information that said he may have to lose the eye and the new adopters would have to deal with that. So now they've got a 6 month old, solid black male cat with potential expensive medical issues. Oh...he got pretty cranky about being back at the humane society. Mom finally saw the writing on the wall and brought him back home.

So, to our cranky old man and lovable house panther:

HAPPY GOTCHA DAY!!!

This isn't a great picture, but you can see how the light hits

his left eye differently. THAT is the scar. 

food review #ChewyInfluencer

This month for our Chewy.com review mom chose the Solid Gold Purrfect Pairings in chicken and goat milk. There are 6 containers to a box and it is actually more of a mousse consistency rather than chunks or pate (which mom would have known before opening the container had she actually read the description a little closer - we of course don't care one way or another). They have other flavors as well but mom is trying to keep us away from fish for the moment. And it is also grain free which she is trying for us as well.

Mom has been hoping to supplement Mozart and Tommy with wet food. This didn't work out so well on the first attempt mom when she fed them in the bathroom and Tommy didn't like being behind the closed door - even if mom was in there with him and Mo.

Mozart was a fan. He doesn't eat much at one time but he did seem to enjoy it.

Tommy can be hit or miss. Normally he will eat just about anything, but mom suspects with the cold he is still fighting, he can't smell much and nothing much is appealing if it is different from what he normally eats. (on a side note, despite the cold, he IS still eating and drinking so mom isn't too worried about him for the moment)

Mom did decide to serve this meal in the kitchen. It has a door sized opening that allowed her to keep Mo and Tommy in and the others out. She wanted to give the older two boys a chance first. Plus, Spud isn't allowed wet food as bad things happen.....

When Mo and Tommy decided they were done, mom allowed in the clean up crew. Daiquiri, Dandelion and Junior were big fans. Ivy wasn't about to get shut in the kitchen with the orange stalker, so she didn't participate.

The Purrfect Pairings come in 5 flavors - we got chicken. There are 6 containers to a package which works out to about $1.39 per 2.75 ounce package. You should be aware though if you are avoiding fish....the chicken version has tuna in it (seems odd to us).

This is on the Chewy website from the manufacturer:

Key Benefits

• A holistic grain and gluten free food for cats and kittens of all life stages
• Unique flavor combo of real chicken and goat milk
• Picky cats will love the light mousse texture
• Goat milk provides a highly palatable, easily digestible source of essential nutrients
• Each Purrfect Pairings Mousse contains 78% moisture, making it a great dietary source of water

**disclaimer: we got the food for free in return for our review. This did not influence our review and any opinions expressed are our own.

Almost wordless Wednesday

Allie our feral girl. Probably about 7 years old now and still looking good and doing well.

photohunt - silky

This week's word is silky

Dandelion has some of the smoothest silkiest furs around. Mom says he isn't quite as soft as the patriot girls, but he has some wonderful silky spots....and doesn't mind his soft belly furs being rubbed either. Such a sweet boy

prepare for the end

No.....not that end....

The end of times....

If you have followed our blog for any period of time, you know that Junior, Ivy and Spud do not get along. It is tolerance on a good day and there are others when there is chasing and name calling.

Ivy loves to snooze in the house. Junior likes the spot next to it where he can sleep on the blanket and get his buns warmed by the floor vent.

Well the end of last week mom look over and this was happening. And not just for a couple of minutes. They both slept there for about 30 minutes. It has happened a couple of times as well. Of course, if you look close you can see the expression of "drop dead" on Ivy's face - right before she got up and left.

Don't get us wrong - these two will probably never be friends. But some peaceful co-existance....mom says she will take that.

We hope you had some of the nice weather we had this weekend. Not too much sun on Sunday, but it was nice and warm (especially for February). Our basketball team lost. And some serious snoozing.

Random Acts of Kindness Day

do something nice for someone

not because you have to

but because you CAN

The partner store where mom cleans and does adoption event goes WAY above and beyond for the shelter kitties.

As a group of stores in this area, they do litter drives, food donation drives, and the funds from the sales of their calendars this year is all going to our rescue (last count it was over $16,000).

Beyond that, the staff in mom's store LOVE on our kitties, are quick to talk to people about them and are great about giving mom and the other volunteers feedback on the cats and any applications that come in to the store.

That being said, mom tries to make an effort to give back and let them know THEY are appreciated. The other night she left a box of cookies with a note saying "thank you from the Colony cats and volunteers".

It isn't about doing something big - it is about doing SOMETHING. A smile, a hug, a card in the mail...let someone know you are thinking about them today (and every day).

photohunt - delicate

The word of the week is delicate.....

There is something just so sweet about kitten faces. Cassis was at the adoption event on Sunday and just snoozed.....check out the ears...and the nose....and the whiskers. sigh.....

wordless Wednesday

Quick update: mom took Cassis to the adoption center for the rescue last night about 5pm. If you didn't see it on instagram or facebook, by 7pm our little girl was already adopted!! A volunteer that mom is friends with was there last night and kept us updated. Her new mom and dad have 2 small dogs but are going to take the introductions very slow. Congrats to Cassis and her new family!!!

homewreckers - part 3

Homewreckers R Us

Work Cheap 

Results May Vary

Episode 3: getting closer to mass destruction

Supervisor kitty has some doubts about the wreckage technique

Wrecker kitten goes in for more damage from the inside

Wrecker kitten gets distracted by supervisor kitty's tail

And you wonder why the house is still standing

Cassis jumped off the coffee table, slid over the roof and the whole house flipped over. She jumped around some on the inside and then rolled it again while she was distracted by Daiquiri. Amazingly, the tape held and the is still intact - mostly. Though mom did have to turn it back right side up.

The chimney so far is taking the most damage. Daiquiri chews and it and had gotten it off of the house once. Mom put it back but suspect it may disappear at some point and eventually be torn into bits by the supervisor kitty that likes to chew on cardboard (thankfully she doesn't eat it).

Not sure how this is going to continue as the wrecker kitten is due to go back to the adoption center this evening.....

You can see Episode 1 here, Episode 2 here and the Bath House edition here
~~~~~~~~~~

Happy Valentine's Day to all of you!!!

Mom was distracted last night by the dog show and plans to be watching again tonight. She and Miss Amy will be on twitter doing a drinking game if you need a good laugh.

Adoption event weekend

This weekend the Pet Valu stores that the rescue is partners with had a big adoption event this weekend. Mom packed up Dandelion and Cassis and spent Saturday and Sunday afternoons at the store where she cleans twice per week. No adoptions but she talked to some nice people and did get some donations.

These are the current cats at mom's store:

 

Elsbeth

2 years old, loves the bed and is chatty

 

Amana

2 years old and loves everyone - including dogs

 

Liberty

 

Freedom

medical reports

Dandelion has now been on the anti-viral med for almost 2 weeks. Mom was getting ready for bed the other night and thought (apparently too loudly) that she hadn't heard him sneeze in a while. And from the other room came a series of explosive sneezes. That will teach her. MOL Miss Bernadette was helping us with info about this medication and she says they go 21 days before deciding if it is working or not. So that is another week. That said, there has been a noticeable reduction is the amounts of green snot, so we are taking that as a favorable sign.

Tommy had a v-e-t visit a week ago. Annual checkup and all that. Plus old man cat blood work and a request for some antibiotics since he has been sneezing as well (happens about once a year). Well, Dr B called mom on Tuesday and everything looks good. Normal glucose, kidney and liver values and he isn't hyperthyroid. Mom and Dr B have some concerns cause his coat is getting that slightly unkempt look, though that may be due to the cold. More concerning is that he has lost 2 pounds in a year. His white blood cell count was a little high, but again that could be due to the cold. His meds are done today, so mom is going to see if he is better and if not ask for another week. And then the v-e-t wants to run another blood cell count just to be careful.

Mom wants to try to get Tommy and Mozart eating canned food at least once per day (we can't switch everyone cause BAD things happen when Spud eats canned food). Mom tried bringing the two boys into the bathroom one morning while she was getting ready and giving them some canned. Mo was all about it (though he still only eats a few bites and wanders off) and Tommy spent the entire time banging on the bathroom door trying to escape. Mom finally opened the door and Cass ran in under Tommy as he ran out. Sounds like mom is going to need a plan B....she is thinking short term she could put them both in the foster room to eat, but that isn't a good long term plan.

Next up the girls need an annual check up and vaccines and so does Mozart.

Cassis had her spay surgery on Wednesday and it went without a hitch. Mom did laugh as the vets at the clinic will put notes on the medical sheets. In our case, usually something we need to do (meds for snot, etc). In Cassis' case it read "had a couple of baby teeth fall out today".

So, she is spayed, vaccinated, microchipped and ready to go. If you are interested or know someone, drop us an email or message us on facebook. There is an adoption event this weekend on Saturday and Sunday and mom will be out at those with Cass and Dandelion. Then if she is still available, she will go up to the adoption center next Tuesday. *and holy smokes - she weighed in a 5 pounds!!!

She did come home from the clinic on Wednesday pretty hung over but wound up. She was running around and fell off the footstool, cat ladder and mom's lap. Mom finally gave up and got ready for bed and did some reading hoping Cass would come in and lay down - which is exactly what she did.

Photohunt

Our friends over at A Tonk's Tail are doing a weekly photohunt. Each week there will be a different word - you can follow everyone on social media using the #pmtphotohunt

This week's word is CRUSTY

As in, mom is trying Freedom on a different medication, but her nose is still CRUSTY

The girls are actually doing pretty well at the store. They moved from the middle cage to the top cage and that gives them a little more space. They can sit on top of the litter box and stare out the windows. Of course, that also gives them more space to knock the top of the litter box off and use it for a fort.

Liberty has no control over that tongue

Mom wanted to try an experiment, so last weekend she took one of the harnesses and leashes and got Freedom out of the cage. She wasn't too sure what she thought about it at first, but after a couple of minutes Freedom started walking around and checked out the fish and the bunny. Of course, even after one stroll, she now thinks she should be allowed out every time. MOL

wordless Wednesday

bath house

Guess the girls decided if you can't wreck the house, you might as well put it to good use.

Cassis was in there first and Daiquiri came in and started giving her a bath. Now, we know what you are thinking - awww, isn't that sweet. Which would be true, except that we are pretty sure Daiquiri had a plan....and it worked. Groom the kitten enough and she will eventually leave and you get the house all to yourself!!

notice Cassis' paws - all "no no stop"

Cassis put up with this for a few minutes and eventually left. The expression on her face in that last picture pretty much sums it up.

Daiquiri is pretty funny about kittens. When Cassis first was allowed out of the foster room full time, Daiquiri found her mostly annoying. We think she still does, but like Tommy and Spud decides after a few days that being annoyed doesn't make the kitten go away and requires too much effort.

weekend report

Mom spent Sunday watching the Kitten Bowl. We finally had some sunshine so we spent as much time as possible snoozing in the sun.