introoder alert

When mom goes into the foster room, Bacall gets all kinds of wound up and wants to get in there:

Why yes, she IS walking on the top of the divider doors.

NO, she shouldn't be up there.

Foxy is the first guard to check out the introoder.

Despite her expression, Panache REALLY doesn't care that Bacall is in the room.

In fact, she chirps at Bacall and mom caught her kissing the kitten the other morning.

Notice however that Foxy and Fish appear very suspicious.

Foxy expresses her displeasure

Bacall gets all flirty - it didn't work

what? we didn't do anything

right - they are the picture of innocence (not)

Fortunately, Panache doesn't care if Bacall is in the room. Bacall is very good with the kittens and isn't pushy or trying to play rough. Fish and Mallard seem indifferent after the first couple of minutes but even after a few days, Foxy is holding a hard line that Bacall is not to be trusted.

Wednesday morning Bacall followed mom into the foster room like she does. And - since mom didn't have her camera with her - Bacall jumped Panache and was trying to get her to play. Bless that momma cat - not only does she put up with her own kittens she is fine putting up with this one as well.

One word Wednesday

Snoozing

Happy Birthday Daiquiri

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAIQUIRI!!

(how did she get to be 3 years old already though??)

guarding the cat laundry

Seems like just yesterday that mom's friend Beckie called about a tiny kitten needing a surrogate mom and Daiquiri joined a mismatched group of kittens being cared for by Cassidy. While mom certainly wasn't planning to expand our family, she is a good fit.

adoption events

Mom spent most of the weekend at two different adoption events. On Saturday she and another volunteer took Bacall, Foxy and Mallard to a local apartment complex in the downtown area. They were doing a special if people wanted to adopt and also had sent out a notice about our wish list. The little girls were a little freaked out but settled in. Bacall was completed calm and really great about the whole thing. In fact, one of the manager got her out and she curled right up in his lap and snoozed.

On Sunday mom was at the partner store where she cleans. She put Bacall in with her siblings for a few minutes and it was like they had never been separated. She then gave Rooney a chance to be in the crate on the table with Bacall....he got a little wound up and was wrestling with her but it was still love. Not sure why there hasn't been much interest in Rooney and Harlow at the store, but hopefully soon. In the meantime, Bacall seems fine and will go up to the adoption center this week.

what's in the bag

It takes more stuff than you would think to haul kittens off to an adoption event. Crates, table, box of information and donation box, mom's chair, kittens...and their stuff.

Miss Julie from Cats Herd You gave mom this really nice canvas bag one year at Blog Paws. It is a great size and has long handles. Perfect for hauling around....stuff. Mom started out just throwing everything in there, but it was hard to find things and then things were getting lost or smooshed or duplicated. Time to get organized....

The purple blanket goes in first. Mom was thinking that she needs to get some pet safe wipes to add to the bag, so that is on the list. There are always paper towels and usually an old towel as well in the car, so mom does have other clean up stuff available.

How to organize the bag you ask?
Cheap pencil boxes. Yep....less than a dollar each as kids are going back to school. They line up nicely in the bag, are see through, stay shut, and are easy to manage.

decorating stuff, signs, pens and markers

mom stuff: tissues, bandaids, allergy meds, drink mixes for water

harnesses and leashes (and the infamous flower collar)

toys

treats, snacks, dishes, brush and misc. stuff

The blue folder thingy holds her paperwork - applications, contracts, health records and the like. Since it all fits together and the bag is the right size, it has taken up a place in the car by the front seat. That way mom has stuff if she needs it and it is easy to get to when she heads off to an event. She just adds snacks and a drink for her and she is ready to go. (after loading all the OTHER stuff into the car)

Speaking of events, mom is going to be at a local apartment complex tomorrow promoting adoptions and giving out information. She will take Bacall and the little kittens. 

a mystery

Over the weekend, mom walked in to the foster room and found this:

Panache and her mini-me

cute, right?

don't ask her too many questions though - fluff for brains

But wait....
Shouldn't there be THREE kittens.....

we wasn't hiding...honest. 

would these faces lie to you???

(the correct answer is yes...yes they would)

Apparently there is JUST enough space between the wall and the cabinet that a certain pair of kittens squished back there. Mom thought it was right up against the wall but she wonders now if it shifts as she tugs the rug to try to get it straight every so often.

The cabinet is one of those "put it together yourself not expensive kinds" and she is is thinking the easiest solution is to just pop the cardboard type backing off the bottom part of the cabinet.

videos

National Take Your Cat to the Vet Day

It still amazes mom when she is working on applications for the rescue when she calls the vet office only to learn that pet listed hasn't been seen in....years. This year Royal Canin is getting on board and helping people be more aware that cats need regular vet visits.

REGULAR FELINE VETERINARY CARE IS CRUCIAL

In the United States, less than half of cats see the veterinarian on a regular basis. Cats need regular check-ups to make sure they’re healthy. National Take Your Cat to the Vet Day on August 22 was created to build awareness among cat owners for the need of regular veterinary care.

The American Association for Feline Practitioners has great information and WHY and HOW to get your cat to the vet. As rescuers, we always recommend taking a new pet in to meet your vet within 30 days. Mom says it is more a "look we got a new cat visit" than anything else, but it helps to have been seen before something urgent pops up and you are scrambling to get an appointment.

wait - we is going where??

Don't get us wrong - stick us in a carrier and take us to the v-e-t and we will LOUDLY sing the song of our people. To which mom replies - suck it up kids. MOL She knows it is stressful but she also knows it is necessary.

Cats hide illnesses better than anyone out there and it pays to keep on top of things. From just an annual check up to make sure everything looks and sounds good, to regular vaccines (based on your vet's recommendations), to blood work, to dental cleanings, it is all important. Preventative care is always going to be cheaper than the panicked moment when you have to try to get an appointment or worse have to find an emergency vet.

Luckily the vet we are using now is wonderful and does everything to make sure things are done quickly and without stressing the cats. Of course, Tommy and Mo don't mind strangers, so they are pretty easy. Daiquiri and Ivy get wound up, but mom has taken to using the carriers that have the top come off easily, so she simply takes the carrier apart and no one has to be forced out.

And here is where mom confesses something: Junior and Spud don't actually get regular visits. We know - it is a bad thing. However, both are pretty wild (Junior would actually be considered semi-feral in all honesty). It causes more stress to catch them and get them to the vet and have them be handled than to just leave them alone. It is a hard decision to make, but those two boys aren't your "typical" housecats and so mom makes the exception. Mom has had conversations with the vet and we do have a medication that we can try to "slip" them in order to get them to the vet if mom notices changes in their habits or behaviors. Don't get us wrong....this is NOT ideal and you need to talk to your vet about these situations...but Junior and Spud are exceptions not the rules.

In fact - this is a good reminder: she needs to call to get Mozart in and get his vaccines updated.

During the month of August, if you post a picture or a tip about getting your cat to the vet and use the hashtag #Cat2VetDay Royal Canin will donate $5 to Frankie's Friends which is an organization that helps provide grants for emergency care to family pets in need.

weekend report

The girls are hilarious together. Daiquiri found a couple of spring toys from the black hole where she hides them and has been playing with them all weekend. This of course gets Bacall all wound up and she feels the need to intrude play along.

shining up her whapping paw

Daiquiri is kind of possessive of those toys however and feels no

compunction about growling at Bacall.

Come on Miss Daiquiri - please let me play with it

Some kitten will be here for another week or so. She has this on again/off again sneeze that mom is medicating. In the meantime, she is having a blast sleeping on the bed, snoozing on mom all weekend and chasing Ivy and Daiquiri around the house.

There is a family out there that is going to adopt an awesome kitten. She is a little nosy with no sense of personal space some times, but she is fun loving, outgoing and super friendly. We would recommend she get adopted with another kitten or a young cat in the house willing to play with her.... a lot.

Random Fridays

         UPDATE: Flynn and Bogart were ADOPTED TOGETHER last night!!!
Bogart and Flynn are still at the adoption center. Mom did get a little excited as someone had expressed interest in them, but alas those people changed their minds and the boys are still available.

Rooney and Harlow are doing well at the partner store. Mom says when she dropped them off last weekend, they were completely well adjusted. It's nice not to see them freaking out, but mom says it would be nice if they could at least ACT like they were going to miss her until she leaves the store. In the meantime, they are having fun harassing ankles that walk by their cage. One of the store associates told mom that a lady came in to the store the other day with her standard poodle that is a bit....barky. MOL The dog stuck her nose right in the cage with the kittens (which is something we certainly wish people didn't do to cats in cages at stores like this) but the kittens didn't seem to have a care in the world.

Bacall is recovering well from surgery on Wednesday to be spayed. She has been on and off sneezy though so mom is going to keep her here a few more days just to be careful. That said, she is certainly ready for her forever home.

Beyond that, nothing too exciting here this weekend. The little kittens are 8 weeks old today but going to be one of those groups that just takes longer to get to 2 pounds. With Panache weighing in just over 6 pounds and coming from a bad situation, no surprise there. They did get their first rounds of shots however, so they are getting closer to being ready. They are certainly having a good time playing in the bigger space of the foster room. 

little kittens

Foxy

Fish

Panache

Mallard

Remember to check the web cam (tab at the top of the page) to watch them playing (or more likely sleeping) through out the day. 

on the loose

With her siblings all off at the adoption center or a partner store, Miss Bacall would have been in the foster room by herself. Except we needed that space for Panache and the kittens. She could have gone in the crate, but she is big enough to be out and honestly after listening to her brothers howl in the crate, there is no reason for it.

As of Saturday morning, Bacall had free run of the house. She came right out and made herself at home - no hissing, no nothing with the permanent residents. Of course, none of them got too bent out of shape about her being out either. She did get up in Mozart's face at one point and he gave her the paw of doom so she has learned decided to leave him alone.

It has been a while since there were kittens on the loose in the house. Mom wasn't too sure how it would go overnight. Saturday night Bacall found somewhere else to sleep - mom thinks most likely on the back of the sofa since that is where she was Sunday morning. However, Sunday night Bacall got up on the bed and made herself right at home. Luckily, she picked a spot right next to mom's pillow once the lights went out and she didn't move all night except to occasionally get more comfortable.

Of course, there are always toys to play with....and a Daiquiri to get interested.

change of space

Let us out....

Saturday afternoon the foster room was cleaned and Panache and the little kittens took up residence. Panache sniffed around, found the food and water, then fell over for a nap.

The kittens sniffed everything, Fish hid for a while, they started to play, then decided to hide for a while just in case.

Fish isn't so sure about the open spaces

Mallard and Foxy have found the incline scratcher

Momma Panache

yep - more kittens find the trackball fascinating

yes, she is sticking her toes in first

Mallard is the most outgoing of the bunch. They are still a little jumpy in the new space and checking things out. Mom is a little scary for them but they will come over and see her after a couple of minutes. Hopefully with more space to run around and mom able to spend more time in there with them, they will come around and be more outgoing. Mom hasn't had a chance to weigh them but they will be 7 weeks old on Friday, so at least a couple more weeks.

weekend report

Mom took Rooney and Harlow to an adoption event on Saturday morning. They did great - interested in the store and all the people and generally unfazed by the noise. After that, there was an opening at the partner store where mom cleans, so they are now up there looking to be adopted. Paws crossed. Mom did get a text from her friend that also cleans that they were all lovey on Sunday though some kitten did try to escape. MOL

Harlow

Rooney

Hanging out at the event

Mom came home from the event and cleaned the foster room, transferring Panache and the kittens into there. Bacall was released into the house and we will tell you more about that later. So far the little kittens are seeming to enjoy having more space....and so is Panache. Bacall just can't seem to figure out why she can't get back INTO the room.