Random Fridays

May you have a very snoozy weekend.

 

Cats of all sizes LOVE boxes.

The kittens are doing better. Mom upped the amount of meds and that seems to be working. Cross your fingers - spay/neuter surgery is scheduled for July 5 and mom doesn't want to move that. Goal for this weekend - clean up everyone's faces. MOL

By the way, Cardamom is at the partner store where mom cleans twice per week. She is doing well and seems to be enjoying no kittens and getting attention from the clerks and patrons. Mom was in on Monday and advised Card that she was to blame for snotty kittens. Card got up, turned her back on mom and gave her the ears of annoyance. Mom cracked up..... That girl is going to make someone a great companion.

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Remember these guys from last year:

Foxy and Mallard

Well, mom and another volunteer are working backwards in the paper files for the rescue to try to get old adoption contracts into the database. And lo and behold but mom got the records for these two muffins. They were adopted in September 2017 so it hasn't quite been a year, but mom got a smile out of it.

Junior and Allie

Junior has been having some mouth issues recently and mom has decided it is time to suck it up and get him to the v-e-t. For those who haven't followed us for very long, Junior was caught in a live trap as a kitten and mom thought she could bring him around as tame. Ummmm.....not so much. He is what mom calls our house-feral. He likes the other cats, mom - not so much. However, it isn't OK that he is hurting, so an appointment has been made for July 11. Now mom just has to figure out how to catch him. Without many options, she is planning to put gabapentin in some canned food and put that in our live trap and put the trap and Junior (hopefully) in the back bedroom. From there she and our favorite vet tech will knock him out and then they will do a blood draw and check his teeth and go from there. Since they do surgery on Tuesdays, the plan is to clean or do extractions or whatever needs to be done. And since he hasn't been to the vet in....a very long time...they will give him the once over and update his vaccines as well.

What mom didn't realize until she was giving the vet his information is exactly how old he is now. She estimates his birthday as May 2010 - which makes him 8 years old. Mom was SURE he was more than a year younger than Ivy.

What makes it more interesting is that Allie was trapped and spayed in June 2012 and the vets guessed her age at about 2 years old. If that is actually the case, she and Junior could actually be related. Mom just never put it together until recently. Weird right???

Mom actually saw Allie Wednesday morning. Mom was leaving for work and refilled the bowls and Allie stuck her head in the garage around the back of the car. For being almost 8 years old, she looks pretty good. Mom would like to try to get her inside, but goes back and forth with the idea. She is thinking later this fall when we don't have kittens - just set up the big crate in the foster room and see if Allie adjusts. If not, mom can let her back out. Since we already have Junior the house-feral, mom doesn't mind if Allie isn't friendly. Mom just wants Allie to be OK with being inside and not freak out. That way she can spend her senior years safe.

wordless wednesday (sorta)

some cat sees the camera come out and likes to get VERY close

kitten update

So 3 of the boys went to an event with mom on Sunday. They got their faces cleaned off and now Chicory (the black boy) looks like he has some weird disease as some of the fur on his face came off with the snot. (oops) They were well behaved gentlemen.

Everyone is mostly feeling better...they look a little rough in these pictures but they are doing better. The boys are all very close or slightly over 2 pounds with their sister Clove bringing up the rear as the light weight of the family. Their surgery date has been set so they need to hurry up and get over 2 pounds....and stop with the sneezing (in case you missed it, they are on meds)

hanging around

So this is her new "trick". She goes up to the top of the cat ladder and hangs off the top shelf.

She also likes to chew on her BACK toes.

Mom has to admit, seeing Chanel bang off the ladder and then hang off of it makes her SUPER nervous. Our cat ladder (and we would love to give you a link so you could get your own, but after a lot of research, we can't find it online) is about 8 inches from our front windows. Which means not only would she fall over 6 feet to the floor, she could bang off the window and window sill if she falls off the back. Fortunately Chanel seems to grab the shelves and save herself more often than not, but she has fallen and it makes mom twitch.

Random Fridays

Mom gave some of the salmon treats to the kittens. They were a definite hit....though certain kittens made getting pictures a problem.

Mom was cleaning the counter in the kitchen and found a toy mouse. She threw it through the pass thru into the foster room. The kittens were amazed:

just add water

Miss Connie made the comment about "what WOULD happen if you add water?"
So we decided to try it. Turns out you get salmon water along with moist salmon treats.

And still really no more takers than the first time. Junior had one....Daiquiri got the rest. To be honest, she was WAY more interested in the water on the plate after they had soaked for a couple of minutes.

The treats did moisten up some, but weren't flaky like canned cat food though.

boxes

The kittens haven't tried any treats from the review yesterday, but.... They got the box. Best part of deliveries around here.

we got treats [sponsored post]

This month from Chewy.com we got Only Natural Pet Wild Caught Salmon treats. And that is all there is....salmon, nothing added. We don't get much fish around here but mom figured this would be good for a treat once in a while.

Daiquiri seemed pretty interested.

Junior ran in, grabbed a treat and took off down the hall. Mom can only hope he actually ate it. MOL Ivy of course sniffed everything and decided she wasn't eating those. Chanel gave them a good sniff but didn't actually try one. The ones that mom put out were in pretty good sized chunks, so mom is going to try another time and break them into smaller pieces that might entice Chanel.

Daiquiri on the other paw found them awesome. She ate 3 and came over to mom looking for more.

We don't have many freeze dried treats here either, so mom wonders if maybe adding a little water and letting them get soft would make a difference to certain cats as well.

However, they don't have any added ingredients and at least Daiquiri liked them....which as far as she is concerned means more treats for her!!

Disclosure: We received this product free to try out in exchange for our honest review. This did not influence our opinions at all. We will always give our fair and honest opinion of products and we will only share information that we feel is relevant to our readers. Chewy.com and Only Natural Pets are not responsible for the contents of this post and the opinions expressed are based on product testing by us.

weekend report

melting....she's melting... hahaha

Really is a shame she can't relax isn't it??

The spice kittens are doing better. They have some sneezes and runny eyes, but they are very active and eating and SO friendly. Mom has been putting up the gate and leaving the door open when she is home and they can see into the house. This also means Junior and Daiquiri can go over the gate and "invade" the kitten room. The boys ran over to Junior and were being all friendly at one point so much that he couldn't get out fast enough. MOL

They have been on new meds since Thursday so hopefully by mid week they will be doing much better.


**oh hey....we got a new foster room camera too. There is a tab in the top labeled Foster Camera (Nest). It is on a different wall from the other one and has a little better picture.The other one still works. Mom was convinced it died....so she did some research, got some advice, spent some money and installed the new camera. And the discovered that the kittens must have somehow unplugged the old one. (that sound you hear is mom rolling her eyes are herself)

random Fridays

We wish you a lazy (and cool - at least inside) weekend.

Adopt a Cat Month

June is officially adopt a cat month (though we think if you plan to adopt, it doesn't matter what month it says on the calendar). However, it does give shelters and rescues a chance to get the word out about great cats that need a home. It also comes right when most shelters are in the middle of kitten season....and adults very often get over looked due to overwhelming baby cuteness.

Our rescue is also very lucky in that people volunteered their time to put together a special room for our FIV positive cats. (we blogged about the room here) A lot of shelters don't even adopt out FIV+ cats. Fortunately with the room right next to our adoption center, people are able to see the cats and it has led to lots of great adoptions since the room has opened.

This is Stanley - he is a 6 year old brown tabby boy found out on the streets. As you can see from his ear tip, he was living with a feral colony but was determined to be friendly and is now looking for his own home.

                                           

 This is Soda -  he is a handsome adult boy found in some bushes. He is very friendly and mom has to admit she has a little crush on him.

There are some people who still believe FIV+ cats cannot live with other cats. This is not the case...UNLESS your FIV+ cat is aggressive and a biter. Otherwise they can live in harmony with other cats. Just introduce them slowly - like you would any other cat.

 We hope that you will go out and see what great cats are available in your area if you are in the market to adopt. If not, share your cat stories with friends and family and see if you can convince them to adopt.

goofy cat

Long cat is long....

And yes, her feet are hanging off of the edge of the steps

Her carrier basically sits at the top of the steps anymore. She will walk over there and roll over for a nap. Mom is never sure if Chanel just likes that spot or if she is trying to tell mom to get it together and they need to go out.

(c)AndreaM

Lest you think she is being deprived however, she got to go out last Thursday. Mom packed up Chanel and the stroller and met Miss Andrea (mom's friend and our vet tech) for a drink. There is a local brewery that has outdoor space and they picked a spot to sit. Chanel was in the stroller while they ate but popped out to visit for a few minutes. Everyone around them was amazed and Chanel got to meet several new people.

spice kittens

Mom left the pen up as a gate over the weekend to give the kittens a sight line into the living room. Fortunately they aren't big enough to climb it yet, so they are still pretty stuck in there.

 

Let's see if we can get this correct: from left to right

Chive (with Chicory's tail over his face), Chicory, Caraway, 

Clove (in the back) and Cilantro

They are very purry and friendly. Mom was hoping to get the room cleaned over the weekend, but that didn't happen due to other things popping up. They are still kind of a hot mess - especially Clove. But mom thinks the meds are working so hopefully they will be back on track soon. Though Clove may be getting another bath. (shh...don't tell her)

Just One Day

Every year organizations take a stand and put down their needles....it is about saving move lives and not taking them. We certainly hope that one day the US and worldwide animals in shelters will not be at risk in shelters just for time or other reasons. Unfortunately we aren't there yet. So Just One Day has asked organizations to take one day and focus their efforts more on adoptions. Last year certain shelters actually were able to clear out their cages.




We are lucky that the rescue we are with is considered no kill. However, we also live in a large city where the humane society is the only open admissions location for cats. They are not no kill and animals, particularly cats, are at serious risk when they are taken there. Neo natal kittens, shy cats, mildly ill cats...all at risk. If our Junior had been taken there when mom first trapped him, he would not have come out of the shelter alive....he would have been deemed not adoptable based on his temperament.

If you are able, PLEASE support your local rescue. If you are not in a position to adopt, donations are always welcome.

Random Fridays

Katie Isabella asked if it is unusual for mom cats to get hissy with kittens. It really depends on the mom cat. We have had it happen a couple of times here. For Cardamom, we suspect since she is fairly young, this might be her first litter and she is just done with the antics. We don't think she would have ever hurt them, but better to move her along for her own peace of mind.
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For reasons unbeknownst to mom, the web camera for the fosters doesn't seem to be working on the blog or on our facebook page. She can still see it on her phone, so there must be something else going on. Unfortunately, do to changes at the camera company, their support is spotty at best. Not sure if or when we will get it back up and running. Sorry about that....
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Mom took one of the playpens/gates and is using it to block the spice kittens. It has been really nice here the last few days and mom has wanted to leave the windows open. She also likes leaving open the sliding door for a breeze, but the kittens like to climb the screen. It finally occurred to her to block their access to it. She pulled out the smaller playpen and is using it to block the door. The nice part is that 3 panels stick out beyond the foster room wall/door so mom has been using that to block kittens from getting out into the house. They are quick little buggers and rush the door whenever mom comes into the room.

Mom was just going to take a picture using her phone and the web camera until she notice two kittens beating the heck out of each other in the corner. If you look at the sliding door however, you can see the bars and that is the playpen acting as a barrier.
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food puzzle

Mom got the food puzzle out and put some treats in it to see what Chanel would do with it. She had some assistance, but figured it out after a few minutes. Mom loaded the puzzle by leaving some treats on top of the box and then put some inside.

spice kittens update

We do have some news....

Cardamom (our momma cat) was getting kind of rude with the kittens....smacking them and hissing. Rather than stress her AND the kittens, mom reached out and the rescue was able to get her in to be spayed. Sunday she was moved to a partner store and hopefully she will find her forever home soon. The vet aged her about 1 year old which is what mom was expecting.

To add to everything, one kitten is sneezing and some of them have .... the runs. They are getting meds so hopefully that will clear up quickly. One kitten has already gotten a bath.

weekend outing

There were a couple of places that mom wanted to take Chanel this weekend so Saturday morning she packed her up and off they went.

First stop was a local pet store that was having an open house and Chanel got to hang out and got a bag of treats as well. She was sitting at the front of the store (the front door of the store was open as the weather was nice) when a metal grocery cart went by and rattled quite a bit. Chanel got startled and mom took a few minutes to calm her back down. Part of going places is making sure the experience always ends on a positive note. If she were to go home after being startled or whatever, then she would be more reluctant to go the next time. She took a couple of treats from the store clerks after a couple of minutes, so we know she was OK. Mom also gave her some treats once they got back in the car.

Second stop was a local store that was hosting a photo shoot to raise funds for a local group called Rescued Rollers that takes donated pet wheelchairs and refurbishes them for rescues and low income families. We have met up with this photographer before and when Chanel came out of her carrier, he got excited as he remember her from last winter.

Random Fridays

So mom is guessing the kittens are about 6 weeks old. She does need to weigh them over the weekend just to get a base....in the meantime they are playing and having a good time in the foster room. Cardamom can't seem to decide if she likes them most times or not. She is being a good mom, but she seems to lose patience with them fairly quickly.

Mom says she is going to try to make a better effort this weekend to get Chanel out on an adventure. Stay safe and cool (and dry for those of you getting all that rain).