That was not the plan

 The little kittens have been in the tespo panel pen in the living room since we got them. For several reasons, mostly that they are smol.

However, mom came home last night to find loose kittens and this:

Yep. One panel is snapped in half. So there goes that plan. And time to get new panels. There is a really nice panel system out there but it is WAY out of our price range. Maybe someday.

Which means Mike has new roommates. There was a little name calling but considering it was a rush introduction, not bad. Mom will keep an eye on everyone and see how it goes. 

Never a dull moment though.

Mike's big adventure

 

Mom decided to take Mike on an adventure this past weekend. It was warm here (finally) so she and a friend went mid morning to a nearby park. Mom put a harness and leash on Mike - not that she moves very fast but better safe than sorry. 

She did so well. They didn't stay long due to the heat, but Mike wasn't fazed by the sounds or anything else going on around them.

Honestly, she was mostly interested in having two people pay attention completely to her. She snuggled up with mom and crawled in her friend's lap for some love as well. It just reinforced to mom that Mike needs her own people.

Of course after that much excitement, it was time for a nap. 

**Mike is looking for her forever home. She cannot be around steps - her balance is just not good enough to keep her safe. But she is fine with other cats or by herself and would be great as an apartment cat. Mom says she is willing to drive within 4 hours of central Ohio for the right family.

Weekend report

 Hold smoke it got warm. It was snowing last Monday and in the 80s this weekend. But warm weather means open windows so we got to enjoy warm air and a nice breeze. 

Chickpea is now officially available for adoption and is at the local Petsmart. Hopefully her new family finds her soon. 

Mom reached out to the shelter where she has volunteered for a while and offered to foster again for them. So we have new kittens too. They are probably 6 weeks old but SMOL so we may have them for a little while.

Four boys, all tuxedos and very friendly!! 

An empty trap

 

As someone in rescue who works within the realm of TNR, this happens. Picking up an empty trap from the spay/neuter clinic. 

A cat was trapped but had severe injuries and the best decision the rescue could make for him was to end his suffering. It is never an easy decision and no one takes it lightly. But rehabbing a feral cat and medicating them while keeping them confined can be nearly impossible. This is better than a long painful end he would have had outside on his own. But it still breaks our hearts to know he suffered before we trapped him.

Any rescuer will tell you the first line of rescue work is spay and neuter. It reduces the number of kittens and it also reduces fighting amongst tom cats. 

Did you dilute that torbie?

 A post by the mom

OK, I admit I can get a little geeky about cat facts. While I don't understand all the science behind it, the colors fascinate me. 

So to start, to get an orange cat, the male had a red gene and the female doesn't. Male kittens from this pair end up being an orange tabby. You can get an female orange tabby about 25% of the time. 

For female cats, you get a calico, tortieshell or torbie (calico with tabby stripes). About 1 in 3,000 can be male so they are fairly rare (and due to genetics to get the color tend to be sterile). 

A "true" calico is orange, black and white. A "true" tortieshell is orange and black - no white.

Then you can get a dilute - a washed out version if you will. Dilute calicos will be peach, gray and cream while dilute torties will be gray and peach.

So then a torbie.....fiest let's talk about the name. I've heard this color variety called a callitabby, tabbico or torbie. Technically the first two would be more accurate as they are calicos with tabby stripes. A torbie would be a tortieshell with stripes - something I've never seen ( which doesn't mean it doesn't exist). However, the torbie term seems to be the one most commonly used though they are interchangeable. 

This is Ivy. She is truly a torbie: brown and black stripes, patches of orange stripes and white patches. 

I had a friend ask me about Chickpea and if you could get a dilute torbie. Which would make genetic sense, but I had to really think about it. Honestly before Chickpea, I dint think I had seen one. But she is peach and gray and white with stripes. Tada: dilute torbie. 

So there you go - my short geeky moment of calicos, tortieshells and torbies. 

In case you want to read more, there is a good article on Love Meow

Ivy and the box

 Mom ordered some stuff and Ivy claimed the box. 

So mom decided it needed a sign. 

Chanel has been in it a couple of times but normally Ivy is the occupant. 

She so cute.

Foster kitten update

 We still have Chickpea and Mike. 

Chickpea has seen a surgeon and he felt a polyp at the back of her soft palate. So that will need to be surgically removed and then she will be available for adoption.

We suspect that we just haven't found the right person looking for a Mike to add to their lives. ROCK is going to put him on their Facebook page, so if you feel like sharing, we would appreciate it. Mom loves Mike but this is not the right place to be his forever home. 

Chickpea has discovered a new game. It's called "annoy Mike". She jumps back into the Foster room, runs around, pokes Mike, get her wound up, then leaves.