Opt to Adopt - sorta

First - Jasmine was adopted on Saturday!!!  A nice young family came in and spent some time with her. They have a pair of 2 year old sister cats so Jasmine is going to have to get used to them. They have a 6 year old daughter and an 8 month old son....the daughter was beside herself with excitement!

Concats Jasmine!!!!

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And then.....break out the party hats....it finally happened.

Yep - Licorice was ADOPTED!!!!!

She went home Sunday. After almost 8 months of recovery and waiting, our girl found her forever home. The dad and daughter went looking for a kitten and fell in love with our flirty girl instead. No other animals in the house (except for some goldfish - won't that be fun). They are committed to her diet and everything that comes with adopting a 5 year old cat.

We will be keeping up with the family and will update you as we go along. Mom is thrilled and relieved - and yes, a little sad...but in a good way. :)
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So, with space at Petco, mom decided to go with something that seems to be working and picked up another big  boy to put up there.

Meet Disney - long hair orange and white tabby boy about 2 years old. He is super sweet and was neutered when the rescue found him, so had to be owned at one point, but was found wandering the street with no id and no microchip.

When mom saw him at the adoption center, she knew she wanted to take him to Petco. Miss Mona said hallelujah.....apparently he likes to sit by the back door of the adoption center and wait for someone unsuspecting to open the door and then jump out. :)

Disney went up on Saturday. Then on Sunday, mom got a call about an application. And Disney was adopted and went home last night.

NEXT????  MOL

Thankful Thursday

We seem to say it alot, but we are VERY thankful to be a part of this cat and pet blogger community.

And now, in addition to just screwing around here on the web and on facebook, we have an official announcement:

Mom is now an associate member of the Cat Writers Association

Mom had to submit a story from the blog along with other information. We have been doing this a while, but mom wanted to send something to show our serious side. She could have sent Bourbon's story, but thought that might be a little long. Then she thought about sending this story. What can we say - it was late one night when she was thinking about this (cause really mom?? send a dog story to get admitted to a cat association ....you are SO smart). And then she knew which story to send:

Licorice

when mom first found her last summer

amazing how far she has come

and now at Petsmart waiting for her forever family

We want to thank the CWA for allowing mom to become a member. And we especially want to thank Miss Debbie from Glogirly (you know - the home of Katie and Waffles) for agreeing to sponsor mom.

weekend wrapup

Licorice went up to the adoption center for the weekend. And we got....nothin'.  It snowed on Sunday though so things were pretty slow. The ladies who volunteered in the retail store did say she was super sweet and well behaved. of course she was!!

Mom spoke to the head of the rescue. We are lucky that we have several stores in the area that has cage space for adoptable cats. So today mom is taking Licorice to a Petsmart store on the east side of the city. There are no rescues located over there so the store cages are a valuable resource. Mom will get a call if an application comes in. Luckily the store is good about diet changes, so Licorice will stay on her grain free food up there.

This is Lucy!

Her owner died and the family took her to a shelter. She is 11 years old. She is VERY thin and her coat is bad and her hips are bad. But the rescue, despite her issues, was NOT going to leave her in a shelter to die. She was pulled and spent 2 days with a volunteer near the shelter. On Saturday she made her big move. There is another volunteer in PA that normally helps with fostering. Lucy was moving out there.

But along the line, the volunteer, Dr Marybeth, decided to keep her. And here is the bonus....Dr Marybeth is a vet. So Lucy is in good hands for however much time she has.  :)

Random Fridays

First, we published Bourbon's story here on the blog. Mom was working on it for something else but figured it should be here. Click the tab along the top of the page.

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We got the REALLY colds here again. Sigh.....  we don't think spring is ever gonna get here. But it could be worse....some of our blogging friends have a TON of snow. Don't want that - no thank you!!
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No real plans for the weekend. Mom is going to take Licorice up to the adoption center over the weekend and have her in the resale shop side in a condo. That way she can get her own food, there will be no other cats and she can be seen by the public. Cross your fingers and paws!!

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And we got an update on Cumin (now Julius). He is doing very well and sleeping with his new boy. They haven't introduced him to the dogs yet, but he is out and about in his rooms and greeting the boy and the mom whenever they go in. Good job!!!
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Have a safe and happy weekend!

Mostly Wordless Wednesday

Licorice is hanging out in the bathroom. She has taken to talking to mom and asking to get up in her lap. Mom opened the bathroom door over the weekend but there were no forays outside the room.

Opt to Adopt - Licorice

Well, that tuxedo ladycat from last summer is back in the bathroom. She was scratching at her ears and mom got a call from the store manager saying she had a "huge gash" on her neck. It wasn't huge and it wasn't bleeding, but this guy has no cat skills and so mom picked her up and had the vet at the adoption center take a look at her. Nothing evident with her ears....

However, the manager is a....nevermind. He made it VERY clear that Licorice wasn't welcome back at the store. Mom got her back on Thursday and the head rescue lady spoke to the store manager. He tried to say it was the "health" issues but made enough comments that we are all sure it is more about the time she has been up there and not getting adopted. So.....Licorice is back at the house and won't be going back to the store at all. Mom put up a flyer there though.

Here's the thing....she is super sweet. She is a great lap cat - she has even come up to mom in the last couple of days and asked for some lap time. Licorice isn't fond of being picked up and carried around, but hey, most of us aren't either. She loves her toys and is hilarious to watch play. She has been around other cats and dogs and would be fine with slow introductions. Due to her itchiness, she is eating grain free and has done very well on it. So that is her only restriction. You can read about how she came to us here. And honestly, back at the house, she is living in the bathroom with limited mom time. We REALLY want her to find a home of her own and will arrange transport if you can provide her with her forever home.

She has come a long way baby.....

A year in review (part 2)

July:
With Killian getting adopted and the rest of the beer kittens up at Petco, mom felt the need to bring home more kittens: Sorcha, Sebastian, Sierra and Screech

And then Licorice arrived....that has been an adventure (and she is STILL waiting for her forever home).

Our wordless Wednesday posts were dedicated to one of us per week. Most of July was taken up trying to determine what was up with Licorice, getting her healthy and less itchy.

August:
Sierra and Sebastian got adopted. And of course mom brought home more kittens - Hobbes and Mandy.

We celebrated our 4th blogoversary.

Busch and Miller were adopted together. We helped a former adopter rescue a kitten named Mitts. And Jake and Elwood came to the house as fosters.

September:
Stella was adopted!!!  And the pilot kittens - Goose, Maverick and Amelia (the Dust Bunny) joined us as fosters.

Mitts got adopted!!

Licorice finally was spayed, got her teeth cleaned and went up to Petco.

Spud and Ivy turned 5 years old and Maestro turned 19 years old!!

Elwood got to meow like a space-pirate.  MOL

And mom had an adventure with Junior that she could have done without.

October:
Tim and Tom turned 10 years old!

And we celebrated National Feral Cat Day. Especially our girl Allie.

Our cousin Max crossed the Rainbow Bridge. And Jake and Elwood got adopted.

And Basil and Saffron joined us as fosters.

November:
Oliver went to Petco, came here (in October), gave everyone the snot and then got adopted.

Rosie came to join Basil, Saffron and Amelia.

And Chex and Milano were returned due to medical issues with their family.

December:
Amelia finally got big enough and without snot to be spayed. Basil went with and was neutered.

Mom broke out some Christmas stuff....and made some of us wear it.

Basil got adopted. Maverick got adopted. Milano moved up to Petco. It was a wild weekend. :)

We got a special Catmas present from mom.

We participated in the Secret Paws gift exchange.

Rosie got adopted.

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It has been quite a year. The blogging community has lost several members - you can see them here at the blog Our Rainbow Friends.  We have taken in fosters, and some were not strong enough to survive, but we know that part of fostering isn't always the good things but sometimes being there to help those that need us - even if it is help crossing the Bridge.

We have taken in 39 fosters this year. We have had some great adoptions. Mom has helped transport 20 dogs.

We wish you a wonderful, healthy and happy 2014!!  We can't wait to see what comes.

Random Fridays.....

we have NO idea where Saffron learned that smug espression from

Mav....hanging at Petco

Licorice - yep, mastered the leg dangle

Goose is wondering if he reaches a little farther if he can open the lock

Mo is protesting....he is hiding out until Caturday arrives

Random Fridays......

On Tuesday morning, mom got a phone call at work from the Petco store where our adoptables go. Seems some jerk person left a cat in a laundry basket covered with a board and a brick in front of the store. The girl above was terrified, had hair loss and was covered in fleas. The store manager treated her fleas and they set her up in a big crate with food and water and a litter box until mom could get over there after work. In the meantime, mom sent a text to the rescue and asked if they could help. The head rescue lady said to take the kitty to the clinic in the morning for spay and shots and everything else.

The store clerks were calling her Penelope. Mom brought her home and she really didn't want to come out of the carrier. After mom's shift at the shelter, she sat with Penelope who finally came out of the carrier and ate something and loved on mom some.

Mom got a surprise the next morning at the clinic - Penelope was already spayed and had a microchip. The chip tracked back to a small local rescue (not ours) who picked her up from the clinic and was going to contact the adopter and see what was going on. Mom is going to contact the rescue to see if we can get the rest of the story, but if not, we at least know she is safe back with the group that saved her the first time.

Mom got an update from the rescue - the person who left her was the person who had originally adopted her as a kitten. But the kitty is back with her original foster mom and may be adopted into their family.
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And then there is this gremlin. Amelia the Dust Bunny got a bath last weekend. She is getting over the snotty crap running around here but had some stuff in her furs. Mom tried to comb it out but no luck. So the Dust Bunny got a bath. She was VERY unhappy about it (mom mutter something about thank cod the nails were clipped). Mom discovered some of Amelia's furs are actually wavy - though once she is dry you can't tell.  And Oliver followed her around until she dried out sniffing her....like the bath itself wasn't embarrasing enough.
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Still no applications on our Licorice girl. It makes us kind of sad....but she seems to be enjoying living at the Petco. She gets out and hangs with the clerks on their laps. Plus mom bought some grain-free dry food that she was scarfing up the other night. Paws crossed nothing sets her back to chewing on herself again.

Good weekend wishes to all of you. It is COLD here so we are hoping for some sunpuddles.

Sweet thing....

Sometimes, cat go from "foster" to "project". 

That is what has seemed to happen with our Licorice girl.

We wish we knew her background. We know she was so very thin and covered in lice when mom found her. We know she purred like mad for the vet on that first visit. We know she didn't fight the bath but hated being medicated. Her toenails were down to the quick - it looked like from scratching on something. She will jump in mom's lap, but is still touchy about being pet in certain places.

However, after several weeks......

She seems to be feeling much better. She was spayed yesterday and got her teeth cleaned. Mom switched her from dry food to canned and was adding coconut oil to it. Mom did switch her back to dry at one point as Licorice seemed to have a case of the runs (ewww). She has one spot on her back where the fur is slowly growing back. And the big spot on her neck that she scratched raw seems to be healing.

And - no new spots!!!!

Licorice is a nice girl....though we suspect she would prefer to be in a home without other cats. She isn't agressive with us, but when we get to closer to her she growls softly to let us know to back the heck up. :)

 I hab a hangover....

Mom picked up Licorice after her surgery. She was kinda slow coming out of the drugs and even once mom got home she was VERY wobbly. They cleaned her teeth and even had to pull one. We don't think Licorice cares if the tooth fairy brings money so long as she brings the pain meds.

Once there is a spot up at Petco, mom will move her up there. She has been on Petfinder for a couple of weeks, but it is always easier to get cats adopted if people can see them in person.

Random Fridays

Another weekend.....and this one includes 3 days!!  We hope you get to enjoy it. Mom said something about it being hot and humid here - so no open windows.

Also, she has been muttering something about Big Ten football starting this weekend...yep, she has broken out the green t-shirts and is saying "GO GREEN!!" (she is a Michigan State fan)

Mom got to spend time with Nasa (Hubble) and Orbit last night....they are getting big and crack mom up.

         we are having technical difficulties (have we mentioned mom is a techno-dork recently?) anyhow - if you check our facebook page later, there should be video up...it was on mom's phone and she can't get it to load to you tube or to facebook.....sigh

Licorice is still pretty itchy and mom has a call into the v-e-t.....mom says she just wishes she knew how to make Licorice more comfortable. The tech (Rob) answered the phone this am and said he gets it and will see what they can do.

Otherwise, we hope you have a safe and relaxing weekend!!!

Thankful Thursday....

Mom got to watch the Cat Video Festival from the Minnesota State Fair online thanks to Animal Planet Live. She enjoyed it, but her lap was taken up with the laptop. MOL

We are thankful for nice local vets. The woman who found Mitts had taken her in to a local vet and gotten her tested and everything else.

Mom got a copy of her medical records but didn't look really close. Today she noticed charges for sedation and surgery. Huh....  so she called the vet. They said that Mitts had a laceration on her paw when she came in so they knocked her out to clean it and put in a couple of sutures. Excuse us??  Sutures???  Ummmmm......that could be a problem. Mom spoke to the tech and they agreed mom would check when she got home and call them back if she needed to. So mom got home but didn't see anything. Since she wasn't sure which paw it even was, she called and the vet agreed to see Mitts. A few minutes with a tech and mom was assured that there was no sutures still in (mom hadn't seen anything either) and the nice tech even trimmed Mitts nails. And....no charge. :)

Mitts is now at Petco. Stella wasn't really happy about getting a new roommate. There was some name calling and Stella tried to smack Mitts - until mom told Stella NO and got the stink eye. MOL

Now we gotta work on Licorice. Mom was hoping things would clear up. She started giving Licorice coconut oil this past weekend. But the last shot from the vet isn't working - Licorice has a big spot on her neck that she has scratched raw. We have a feeling she is gonna end up with another v-e-t visit and may end up having to wear the cone of shame. ugh.....

Random Fridays

 

Elwood on TOP of the carrier guarding Tim.

 

Licorice - out and about

Well, mom goofed. Miss Mandy will go home tomorrow. The family is having company tonight and mom is helping the rescue at an event (and taking Stella) so tomorrow worked out better.

Licorice is now out and about more often. She does hiss and growl when anyone come near her though, so we gotta work on that. And she is still kinda itchy. Mom keeps saying she was going to get some coconut oil and we are going to get her a little more motivated this weekend.

And now for some purrs please.....  Remember Ebright from Tuesday? Well, Miss Beckie had to move him to her house. He is in a room with a couple of other cats, so he might be OK living with older sedate cats in a home. But.....he surely misses his mom. Miss Beckie said she fed him before picking him up and he ate. But she is having to force feed him at her house. And when he runs out of the room, he runs down the hall to the last door on the left - cause in his house that was his mom's bedroom. Miss Beckie says he walks into the room and is just confused because it isn't what he was expecting.  And Miss Beckie's dog Casey is having major surgery today too..... like Miss Beckie needs one more thing.

We hope you all have a nice weekend. It is cooler here in the evenings, so mom leaves the windows down during the day but opens them later.

Weekend wrapup....

It has been a busy couple of weeks.....  so let's catch up. First, mom is hoping things settle a bit so we can be commenting a little bit more. :)

Friday afternoon, Busch and Miller were adopted - together!!!  It was by the sister of the woman who adopted Sierra and Sebastian (who emailed us and said they are doing great).

So Stella is the only beer kitten that needs to be adopted.

Since the kittens here haven't been spayed or neutered yet, mom put in a call to Miss Beckie who took a couple of her kittens up there.

We mentioned on our facebook page about a newbie. Well, in fact we have three newbies.

This is Mitts (no, we didn't name her). One of our previous adopters has a friend who found a kitten and needed some help. The woman had the kitten tested and vaccinated but didn't have the resources to find her a home. So Mitts is staying with us until she can be spayed and then she will go up to Petco. And yes, she is polydactyl....on all four paws!!!  She is a little skittish but coming around.

Then late last week, the dog trainer at the Petco store asked for help. It seems his parents have some neighbors who are..... let's go with "idiots". They had a dog that they were neglecting that the trainer's parents took in. Then the next thing you know, they bring home a pair of kittens.....and are neglecting them too. This couple is very kind hearted but out of resources. So, mom agreed to help. And we now have these guys here too:

The pictures were taken at the vet office.r. First rule - EVERYONE gets tested. And they are: negative!! They couldn't be a sweeter pair. They purred the entire time at the vet's office. Wanted to check everything out and were just happy to be loved on. After a night here, we have to agree. Mom let them out into the general population and they have been great. Even Tommy can't find a reason to growl at them (much). They are about 6 months old and once they are neutered they will go up to Petco when there is space as well.

So, names. The couple were calling the smaller one "starvin Marvin"....so mom was thinking Marvin and Daffy from the Bugs Bunny cartoon. But it didn't seem to fit. She posted a teaser picture on facebook, and Miss Kelly from Whiskers in the Window suggested Jake and Elwood. That works....

 Elwood

Jake

So, we have done 4 adoptions in the last 10 days at Petco. And we now have 5 kittens and Licorice in the house. Hopefully the adoptions will keep up and these guys will all be in their forever homes soon.

Oh - and on the Licorice front....she was still pretty itchy so she went back to the v-e-t on Saturday when the boys were going to be tested. They did a skin scraping and found - NOTHING. Argh....  even the vet is a little frustrated. So, she got a steriod shot. If that works, then it may well be an allergy of some sort (heaven help us)....the shot should work within 8-12 hours (mom said as of Sunday afternoon when this is being prep'ed that Licorice does seem better). If the shot didn't work, it is all in the kitty's head. Keep purring for our girl. Dr T did say that Licorice's teeth are pretty nasty, so mom will need to talk to the rescue about that.