Meet the kittens

milk bar time with momma

even at this age they are squirmy and make it hard to get pictures

our big headed girl

Actually, mom weighed them on Tuesday and they are all about the same weight, but that one girl sure does LOOK like she has a big head (especially compared to her brother).

Momma cat was tested on Tuesday (in case you missed it on facebook) and is negative for FIV and FeLV so that is good news. She actually was very well behaved for the blood draw as well.

That said, she is still VERY nervous. She was found outside, spent a couple of days with another volunteer and moved in with us on Sunday. No telling how long she was on the streets by herself, but at least a few days defending her kittens. While she isn't charging the door to get out of the kitten room, she sensed Chanel on the other side of the doors on Wednesday morning and charged AT the doors to make her back up.

Also - she has smacked mom a few times. It seems to be is mom's hands move too fast or in a certain manner. But that momma cat has a hair trigger going from "pet me" to "I slap you" in 0.25 seconds. For now mom is giving her lots of space and moving very slowly in the foster room while keeping her hands low and close to her body.

And now.....the moment you have been waiting for....the names:
   Momma cat shall be Bissell
   black female is Roomba
   tabby female (she has white toes and belly) is Dyson
   tabby male is Hoover

Get it??? Vacuum cleaner kittens......  (yes - mom cracks herself up)

**on a side note, mom checked the web cam yesterday and no momma cat, no kittens. WHAT?? She went back and checked motion controlled pictures and it looks like Bissell moved the kittens into one of the storage bins in the Ikea cabinet. just great.....

Global Pet Expo

**a post by the mom

I took off most of last week and traveled to Global Pet Expo in Orlando. As a member of the Cat Writer's Association, I was able to send in my credentials and get in as a member of the press.

Let me say right now - it was HUGE!! I knew it was big, but I had no idea what I was in for. I don't wear a step tracker, but I can't imagine how far we walked in 3 days. I do kknow the exhibitors took up 355,000 square feet of space though.

I did see some interesting things, took some business cards and flyers that I have to follow up on and took a few pictures as well. What I forgot to do was take a picture of the item I found interesting and then a picture of the booth. Oh well....lesson learned.

These bowls are neat. They collapse, the covers close and when the cover is open, it creates a stand of sorts that helps keep it from tipping over. It came in pink and blue and 3 sizes (and this was one of those "I should have taken a picture of the booth" moments).

We of course had to stop at the hauspanter booth and visit with Kate. I love the designs they have and everything is very sleek and modern - you know, cat furniture without LOOKING like cat furniture.

The t-shirts here were cute and they give back to rescues. Plus they said with a large enough order they would work with a group to add a logo to shirts as well. hmmmmm

We also met the ladies from Faux Paw Petique that makes unique gifts with cute cats and dogs. They make a lot of different tote bags - mostly of a different material than this one which is a silky type. All easily cleanable with long handles.

There were all kinds of things to see - from food to treats to furniture. You name it, they had it. Heck - there was stuff I hadn't even thought about.

Thursday night Purina honored Dr Evan Antin and mom and Miss Dawn from Lola the Rescued Cat got their pictures taken with him.

It was a LONG three days and I'm not sure I will do it again, but it certainly was fun to see some cat ladies friends and talk to people who love animals. Plus we took Cupcake along Thursday and Friday and that always leads to entertaining conversations.

Cheating on us

Pierre

Ashton

Newton

Cupcake

Mom was in Florida last week for Global Pet Expo where she got to check out lots of pet stuff (come back Wednesday) as a press member.

But....she also stayed with Miss Julie, her husband and their kitties. Yep...she stayed at Chateau Cupcake.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Of course once she got back she let the rescue know our foster room is ready:

Mom plus 3 kittens that were born 3/15. As of right now mom thinks 2 girls and 1 boy. Momma cat is sweet but kind of unsure and a little growly. Mom picked them up on Sunday and is just giving them a little space for right now.

30 seconds

30 seconds with Goldfish and Daiquiri

(by the way - Goldfish will chase that spring ALL over the living room but has some weird 6th sense about the phone camera being turned on and will stop)

Weekend report

we did a lot of this....Junior had a great idea

OK - and mom did some yelling at the tv. Basketball tournament time has arrived. sigh....

And....for those who never believe a picture can make all the difference, a lady came to the rescue on Friday specifically to meet Pocahontas cause she saw this picture:

Her application was approved and she came back Saturday to take her home!! Woohoo

Rescue pics

Mom was taking pictures the other day at the rescue with her phone:

This is Pocahontas

She is 7 years old and came to the rescue

from an elderly owner that was evicted.

Her favorite place was the laundry room until she

was kicked out by another cat so she has taken to

hanging out in the bathroom and more and more

at the adoption desk. She is short and round and adorable.

This is Ivy

She is 8 years old. 

She was found as a stray and came to the rescue 9/16. 

She certainly deserves her

second chance.

This is Esparanza.

Remember mom's adventure New Year's Eve?

This is the girl she rescued. She is almost 6 years old.

She is still uncertain at the rescue with all the other

cats but she is out and about and looking for attention.

we haz a box

Mom ordered some stuff online and as always, the best part is the box. Goldfish and Junior weren't to interested, but Daiquiri spent most of Monday evening curled up in that box. Mom offered her and Chanel for sale on our Instagram account, but no takers....  haha

Excuse me?

Yep - that is Chanel in the foster room. No - mom didn't let her in there.

Somewhere along the line, Chanel has discovered that she can get up on the kitchen counters. Mom is NOT amused.

The other day there was a thunk that sounded like Chanel jumping back off the counter and hitting the floor. Fine...whatever. Only a couple of minutes later mom heard noises behind her chair from the foster room. She got up and found a certain tuxedo cat in the room.

Chanel obviously got up on the counter, went through the kitchen pass through into the dining room (knocking things over as she went) and then was stuck.

Next project - figure out how to completely block the pass through. Mom is pretty sure that any momma cats we get to foster won't be big fans of tuxedo cats coming to visit unannounced.

Random Fridays

Is it just us or does Chanel always look like she just woke up from a 3 day bender??

Have a safe and hopefully warmer weekend (for those of you in the midwest and north).

feeding toy

We were asked if we wanted to try a new food puzzle called Pipolino and decided to see what would happen. We received a medium sized one which was larger than mom was expecting. It is heavier than you would think and mom is making this an "only when she is home" toy to avoid someone crashing it down the steps.

**we got this puzzle free of charge for our review. receiving the puzzle did not influence our review. all opinions expressed here are our own

The one end unscrews to fill and then the inner part rotates 

to open the holes to different sizes

since we have never used one of these before, 

mom filled it with treats for the first run

as you can see, everyone was pretty interested 

(ok - except Ivy who just is not food motivated)

trying to figure out how it works.....

Interestingly enough, Chanel was the first to get anything out of it. While we would love to say she outsmarted it, we think it may have been more accidental. She kept trying to stick her head under the puzzle, it would roll out of the way, treats would come out, and repeat.... She did keep trying to stick her paws underneath it as well - not sure what technique that would be.

Mom has since put some regular food in it and while that will never be as interesting as treats, it did keep our attention. All in all, we call it a success.

Obviously this would only work with dry food, but if you have a cat (or dog) that eats really fast, this is a great way to slow them down and keep them busy. Chanel was entertained for quite a while.

drinking fountain

We won a new drinking fountain from another blogger and got it in the mail last week. Mom got it set up on Saturday and we spent the day checking it out. We have had fountains before but they seem to have a short shelf life in this house or are seriously complicated to clean.

This one is from Catit and has a stainless steel top which mom prefers.

Of course the box was a big hit with everyone. 

 

the mistress of suspicion stared at it for a while

 

her minion soon arrived to help the investigation

Ivy was the first one to use it but by Sunday everyone had tried it. It came with a nice rubber mat that mom is using. There isn't a good space in the kitchen for the fountain - the cord isn't super long. With the floors being water proof and a good mat, mom put it just outside the kitchen. It really isn't in the way and seems to be in a good spot.

It is VERY quiet and the instructions make it seem easy to clean. Mom has high hopes. Goldfish sat and stared at it for a very long time before wandering off. She seems to be the only one still a little unsure of the fountain.

Random Fridays

we don't think that bear is going back in the foster room

make sure to keep your tuxedo cats properly organized

(and she is going to be disappointed when mom finally

gets around to putting all her books back on the shelves)

As most of you know by now, Daiquiri has a "minor" obsession with foam soccer balls and spring toys. She will play with other toys, but those two are her favorites. She has a stash....somewhere.... and mom has found several under the sofa more than once.

Well, the floors are proving to be even more fun with the springs since now they really fly all over the place.