play time and updates

Obviously these pictures were taken before the four kittens went up to the adoption center. It is certainly much quieter with 2 kittens in the foster room as compared to 6 kittens. Though Cipher can certainly howl with the best of them when he has complaints about something.

Dyson

Hoover

Cipher and Roomba are doing much better so we hope to get them spayed/neutered next week. There is a kitten shower for the rescue on the 15th and a big adoption event on the 22nd and 23rd so they will be ready to go for either one of those.

Miss Fate continues to do well. She purrs the minute mom picks her up though she has NO TIME for snuggling as she would like to be down and checking out the rest of the house. She did manage to push the gate open at one point and mom found her wander around like she owned the joint (no - she is not staying). Mom has since rigged the playpen a couple of times to try to keep her in there. She is a fairly smart cookie though so she is giving mom a run for her money. However, mom doesn't want to have to leave her in the crate all the time but also doesn't really want her having free roam of the house either.

wordless Wednesday

meet the newbie

Happy Memorial Day (in the US). Thank you to all our service members and their families.

First, some news: mom dropped off the 4 kittens to the adoption center on Friday. She did some paperwork and left. She got a text about an hour later and....

PUZZLE GOT ADOPTED

Nice couple that also have a 2 year cat at home so he will have company. YAY!!
~~~~~~~~~~~

While mom was doing paperwork at the center, a mom and daughter came in with a tiny black kitten. Turns out the daughter was driving down a major road near the adoption center and saw a tiny fuzzy thing in the MIDDLE of the road. Several cars went right over but she stopped and got out and grabbed the kitten. However, they have a dog at home so they needed a place for the kitten. Since mom was there, she offered to take the kitten home that night. She grabbed the Sturdi crate from the car and set it up in the living room.

Chanel was a little fascinated. The kitten hissed at her a few times but Chanel stared at her for quite a while.

Daiquiri was not nearly as amused by this new development.

Since she was rescued and ended up with us, mom has decided to name her Miss Fate. She is probably about 5 weeks old. Eyes still a little blue but starting to change. She is eating kibble (thank heavens) and canned food. She can't be in with Cipher and Roomba as she hasn't been tested yet and the other 2 are a little sneezy. Since mom was worried about her, she now as a stuffed bunny for a friend. After just 24 hours, she is purring and is very friendly. She will still hiss if she is startled but otherwise is great. The assumption is she must have been in the back of a truck or under a car and when the vehicle stopped on the road, she fell out. She is in really good shape - nice weight and no injuries no she got very lucky.

Cat Writers

Chanel here with our most recent travel report:

Mom and I went to St Louis last week for the Cat Writers Association annual conference. Mom got to see some of her cat friends and I got to hang out in my stroller and be admired.

The windows had a great ledge so I could sleep up there and watch the world go by outside.

Mom and Miss Julie went to go see this big metal arch thingie. They did NOT go up inside of it but did wander through the museum and watched a cool movie about it being built. They also did not bring me back any hamburgers.

Mom and Miss Julie also went to this cat cafe (Mauhaus) and spent some time with other cats. Since they are looking for homes of their own, I guess this was OK, but whatever....

Otherwise, Miss Julie brought me a new wand toy that is fabulous. I got to play in the tub AND the sink (though mom and Miss Julie kept yelling something about "WET CAT"). I met lots of new people and gave mom a hard time about putting on my harness. We went to a book signing and the awards banquet, though I went back up to the room right before dinner since mom knew it would be noisy.

Oh - and they seemed to think this video was funny for some reason:

Look what we got

**quick kitten note: 4 of the 6 were neutered on Monday (don't get mom started on the other 2 - she is SO NOT HAPPY about how this turned out - though the kittens are fine so it isn't that). However, if you are watching on the web cam, they are spending even more time asleep. Puzzle HOWLED all the way home from the clinic and spent the next two hours wound up until he finally passed out - proving that his "Screamy" nickname is well earned.

Last week, mom took Chanel and headed off to St. Louis to the Cat Writer's Association convention. It was a chance to hang with her cat ladies friends, learn some stuff, meet new people and socialize a certain tuxedo cat. As you can see, said cat didn't enjoy the hotel room at all. HAHA

Anyhow, there were lots of great sponsors and one of them was Sturdi Products. They made the badges for the convention and make lots of great pet stuff. One of them is the large pop up kennel you see below....

They make a small that is half of this one. Mom was pretty interested as it unzips in the front and on both ends. There is a middle panel that also zips closed or can remain open (and if mom used it for a mom and kittens, it can be zipped 1/2 way so the kittens can't get over into a litter box or food). Plus it basically twists twice and lays flat in it's own carrying case. It also has straps on the back so it can be belted into a car.

Turns out the owner didn't want to pack up stuff to take home with her and made mom a deal. Mom couldn't pay her fast enough. She got it strapped into the back seat of the Escape with the help of Miss Julie (from Cats Herd You and mom's roommate for the convention). It was pretty easy (and would have been easier except there is a cover on the back seat and they had to go fishing for the buckles). Mom put Chanel in there for the ride home and she seemed to enjoy the extra space.

It is a little deeper than the back seat of the Escape but since it is belted in, there is no risk of it tipping over in the car. Mom was hoping to use it for adoption events with kittens, but she isn't sure about that now since the mesh is actually kind of hard to see through for the public. It has several pockets too. Overall - a definite win for cat travel.

**we weren't paid for this review and mom paid for the kennel, even at a discount. We just wanted to share a fun product that we found and enjoyed. 

surprise

wait for it.....

up to no good

Cipher sees something at the sliding doors

Roomba marching off to do girl stuff

Enigma - please stop chewing on mom's seat cushion

don't jump....don't jump

It seems odd, but having all 6 kittens in there seemed to MORE than double the quantity of kittens in the foster room. They are all over the place - moving cans, tipping over the water jug (there is a reason there is a lid on that thing), trying to open the drawers, pushing each other off the Kasas. The noise is impressive too - between the thundering around the space and the screaming when someone bites someone else, we wonder if those kittens ever actually sleep.

Mom weighed everyone on Sunday:
Puzzle 2 pounds 5 ounces
Enigma 2 pounds 5 ounces
Cipher 2 pounds 8 ounces
Hoover 2 pounds 5 ounces
Roomba 2 pounds 2 ounces
Dyson 1 pound 13 ounces (lightweight...haha)

kill the towel

must...kill...the...towel

what? not doing anything

Hoover is coming over to check out mom

but even cuter, check out Dyson's toes

The towel was originally in there for....well mom can't remember. Now it is in there to wipe kitten eyeballs. It ends up all over the room however as kittens drag it around. 

family pictures

 

what are you staring at over there??

 

no kittens - over here

 

so close

 

look lady - just give it up

The kittens are doing very well together. Mom checked on them the other day and there were 4 out
of 6 kittens stacked up on the penthouse on top of the Kitty Kasas. The decoders are fine with their collars which is nice since it is easier to tell them apart in pictures and even on the web cam.

The vacuum kittens are doing so much better and are seeking attention and love from mom. She thinks that they were mostly jumpy due to Bissell being jumpy. It really does make a huge difference for kittens to have examples showing them that things are OK.

They are having a blast running around the foster room. Sometimes it is absolutely silent and you wonder if there are kittens in there are all, and other times it sounds like there is an army in there.

more kittens

vacuum kittens: Hoover, Dyson and Roomba

Hoover getting his thruup on

those boys always look so surprised

nope - no birds in here

So the decoder kittens finally got new names - and new collars. Our Fairy Catmother sent collars that are small enough to fit kittens. Green stayed green, Yellow stayed yellow, and the FCM decided Screamy could be neon orange since he's loud. hahaha

Anyhow, mom decided since she needed to do their paperwork, she should actually assign names: yellow is Cipher; green is Enigma; orange is Puzzle. If you are watching the web cam, the nice part is that these collars show up pretty well on the camera. The black kitten without a collar is Roomba.

All 6 kittens are getting along really well. The nice part is that since the decoders are so darn friendly, they have convinced the vacuums to be the same. Dyson is no where near as skittish as he had been - he is now coming up and asking for attention and isn't running when mom tries to catch him.

Surgery is scheduled for all of them on May 20. So if you live in central Ohio or are willing to travel, let us know....  :)

kittens

With Bissell back at the rescue, mom decided to see about integrating the kittens. The vacuum kittens could use an example of being more brave with people and the decoder kittens needed more space than the bathroom to run around.

Step One: introductions through the play pen. Roomba was the most curious and the boys inside couldn't have been less interested in the other kittens.

Step Two: find a cozy spot to sit and stare at the new guys.

Step Three: toys

Green was amazed!!! It went remarkably well. Despite being almost 3 weeks different in ages, they are all really about the same size. Mom did weigh them and everyone is almost 2 pound except Dyson who is slightly less than everyone else. Which is odd considering he is kind of aggressive about that food bowl.

The kittens are doing very well with each other. The decoders are more coordinated as they are older and they play a little rougher. But mom noticed Monday night when she was in there that the vacuum kittens are definitely a little bolder and more curious about her. Whether that is their momma being gone or the example made by the decoders, we aren't sure.

weekend report

 

family picture

Bissell went back to the rescue on Saturday and will be spayed today. She managed to get out of the foster room about 11pm on Friday and went after Daiquiri and Chanel. No one was hurt but Bissell was VERY angry.

Mom is hoping that her being spayed and away from the kittens will calm her down some. Bissell is still kind of hard to read but right now mom isn't sure if it is hormones, kittens, both or just Bissell. Until she is spayed and away from the kittens, it is hard to say. And since she either figured out the door or Daiquiri pushed it open, it causes a scary situation for mom. So back to the rescue and some decompression. She will be by herself for a few days after being spayed while the rescue gets a better handle on her attitude toward other cats. Mom is very sure she shouldn't be with kids, so that will be part of it.

We aren't sure when it happened, but guess who had a birthday on Sunday??  Goldfish turned 1 year old. HAPPY Birthday sweet girl!!!

Mom went shopping on Saturday and bought a new harness for Chanel. She isn't sure what she thinks about it, but she sure is cute.

Random Fridays

Bissell

She is still very much not happy with the other adult cats, but again at least is able to be distracted. She got all ticked off the other day when mom was in there as some cat was on the other side of the door. Bissell sure can make a lot of racket and she whacked the door a couple of times. She IS getting better about smacking at mom, so that is a good thing.

Something else interesting happened last week though. While Miss Z was here and entertaining the decoder kittens in the playpen, mom took food from the table and went to get their dinner ready. They know the sounds of the container and started howling like the beasts they are. Mom couldn't hear anything, but apparently Bissell started chirping from the foster room as it seems "starving" kittens make her upset. Which makes mom wonder if she might be ok with other kittens in there. Who knows?? The main reason the decoder kittens were kept on their own (besides getting vaccinated and a little snot) was mom wasn't sure she could trust Bissell.

Speaking of the decoder kittens, they are doing well though they will never be very big. Both of mom's friends that were over last weekend were amazed when mom told them how old the boys actually are as compared to their size (born 2/25/19). They are still super social and friendly and their snot has cleared up as well.

some tuxedo cat is suspicious of your intentions

(and yes, she LOVES to sleep on that scratcher)

her favorite perch

(and also suspicious - must be a tuxedo thing)

really kids

Roomba - look over here

now we lost Hoover

nevermind - apparently they were done

Things to climb, cans to tip over