what you need - a post by the mom

Daiquiri checking out what mom is posting on Twitter

I have a confession to make. This isn't easy to admit and it won't be easy to read. But here goes:

I didn't want to keep Daiquiri.

There, I said it.

Now, let me back up....and I will warn you, this is a long post.

When I first started to foster, I made a commitment, both to myself and to the cats and kittens I fostered. I would always be there for them. I have been lucky in that not many have been returned (at least that I know of). Chex and Milano came back, and they stayed with me until I could get them adopted again. And there have been foster failures along the way (a foster failure for those new to this is: fostered, failed to return - also known as adopted by the foster family). In fact, now that I think about it, technically everyone here is a foster failure. :)

Last year was hard. Maestro died in May from cancer at 19 years old. I had kittens at the time....and Coral ended up working her way into my heart. So she stayed. And then she got so sick and died from FIP at 6 months old in October. I wasn't ready. While Maestro leaving was hard, it was expected and I had time to prepare. Coral was so young and it took everything I had to admit that I couldn't fix her and had to let her go. And to be honest, I still have problems seeing her picture.

At that same time, Daiquiri was tested and came back faintly FeLV positive. I could have moved her to another foster home, but committed to her and rearranged some things at the house. By the time we got the weird test results, and then the final test results, she was over 5 months old and had been here since she was about 3 weeks old. I was afraid she wouldn't get adopted as a teenager. And honestly, as much as I wouldn't commit my heart, I knew on some level that she was staying.

But I wasn't ready. Daiquiri is the POLAR opposite of Coral. While she is slowly beginning to appreciate a good cuddle, it is by far not her favorite thing. Coral on the other hand was always in my lap. Even when she was feeling good, she would play but then when it was time for a nap, she was with me. Daiquiri will happily nap by herself or with Tim. Yes, she decidedly loves Tim more than she loves me. haha

I thought long and hard. I knew I couldn't give her up. But I also knew I had to make some changes to ME in order to be fair to HER. I just didn't know where to start or what to do.

Fortunately, this was right about the time of the last painting session, and I met up with my friend Kelly. Sitting at a table painting for 6 hours, you talk about all sorts of things. And Daiquiri and Coral were among the topics. I hadn't spoken about it to anyone at that point. I wasn't even sure I could get the words together, no less finding someone who wasn't going to judge me and take it all the wrong way. Kelly was a saint!

6 hours of painting and lots of revelations

And putting it out there helped.

The other thing that helped....getting Mae West adopted. I know, sounds strange. But the woman who adopted her was asking me - how do you choose? And after walking her through the process, it made me think.

Miss Mae West

Over that next weekend, I came to a few realizations:

1. Sometimes you don't choose. Sometimes it happens. I was prepared to keep the numbers at 6 after losing Coral. Apparently, my plans were ignored. And I had to accept that.

2. Maybe what I thought I wanted, wasn't in fact what I needed. And it certainly wasn't what that household needed. See, for those of you who have followed for a while, you know about Junior and Ivy and Spud. They have a....hate-hate relationship. However, Daiquiri LOVES Junior. She doesn't know his background - he has always just been her dorky older brother. While Spud and Ivy think Junior is weird and annoying, Daiquiri just sees Junior. And heavens she plays with him to no end. Surprisingly, it has made a difference....while he doesn't entirely leave the other two alone, and while the other two still take him at face value and find him annoying, having someone else to chase around who loves the game is much more fun. And a tired Junior is a very good thing.

In fact, the other evening, Daiquiri was down in the entry way to the condo, singing about something (or testing the acoustics - who knows with that girl). Junior looked over the edge, then snuck down the stairs. A couple of minutes later.....pounding herds of elephants up the steps and down the hall...Junior in the lead with Daiquiri hot on his tail!!!

3. I needed to let go. Losing Maestro was hard. Losing Coral broke my heart. But trying to force Daiquiri into a mold where she was never going to fit wasn't fair to her....or to me. I had to learn to love her for who she is....a nutty loveable goofy kitten.

Now if I could only get her to like me as much as she likes Tim.....  Or maybe that really IS wishful thinking.

By the way.....hard as it is to believe - the nut is 6 months old now. Happy Half Birthday Daiquiri!!
(oh - and she is going to be a big girl....not fat, but tall and sturdy)

Opt to Adopt - a Happy Tail

For those of you that don't follow us on Facebook, we have news:

MAE WEST WAS ADOPTED ON FRIDAY!!!

Since mom was there for part of it, we are going to let her tell the story.

Wednesday night I stopped at the adoption center just to check it. I was looking for a copy of Kahlua's adoption papers to add to my "collection" and was talking to a friend who also volunteers. As we were talking, a woman (maybe early 30s) came up with an application and asked about how long it would be held. She recently had her older cat pass away and wasn't sure if she was ready but wanted to have all the paperwork done in case she decided. Everything looked good and Karen (my friend) said we would keep it on file and just let us know when she made up her mind. Karen and I continued to chat a little and the woman went around the adoption center looking at different cats.

She stopped me as I was leaving and just looked baffled. "How do I choose?" I smiled and said well, you can wait for someone to choose you, or we can see what you are looking for. She wanted a girl, not terribly young or old, a little active but not too and companionable. As we were talking, I looked around the room. Now, keep in mind that I don't spend much time at the adoption center - I more do fostering and adoption events. So I don't know too many of the cats at the adoption center. But, as I looked around, there was Mae snoozing in a cat bed on top of one of the towers we use for small kittens. Eureka!!

I took the woman (who I know know is Emma) over and introduced her to Mae while telling her about how I found her. Mae stretched and blinked at Emma. I told her to lean close and scratched down Mae's back to get her to "mrow" for us. She did and Emma laughed. I said I had to run home but left Emma giving Mae some love. 

Friday night I got a text from my friend Emily who was volunteering at the adoption center. "Mae went home". After some back and forth, I was able to confirm it was the woman I had spoken to on Wednesday. And by later that evening she had posted a picture to Colony's facebook page and said Mae had settled right in. It will just be Mae and her new mom in her home....which I have no doubt will make Mae very happy. 

Opt to Adopt - Mae West

Yes, we know she has been on here before, but we have an update....

Since we don't currently have adoptable kittens in the house, and the adoption center has been so busy that mom didn't want to take kittens from there, she decided to take Mae with her on Saturday to the Petco adoption weekend. Mae of course expressed her displeasure at going in the carrier, going in the car, and going in the crate. MOL

However, things are looking up for Mae. She is out and about at the adoption center - though she has claimed the large trash can that holds the litter as her personal space. She has slimmed down some - not quite so curvy. She is still a talker though.

And....she is a lover. OK- mom discovered that Mae doesn't like her so much....appears the girl is holding a grudge about something. But our friend Miss Emily said she can pick Mae up and carry her around like a baby. And Mae was flirting like mad with the staff and a couple of customers at the store. No adoption interest, but at least she was turning on the charm.

That being said, she was giving the two other cats at the store "the look" and growled a couple of times. But with slow introductions, we know she would be ok. A gentleman came in with a toy poodle and Mae lost her mind - full Halloween cat mode. Though a couple came in later with a puggle and she seemed fine. So either she was getting used to it, or poodles are scarier than puggles. Who knows??  :)

Year 2014 in review (part 2)

July found Mae West outside our condo. She was already spayed, so after being tested she went to the rescue to find a home (still looking for a home by the way). She is adorable....and chatty. MOL

We posted an update on the geology kittens. And Pearl got adopted....by a family in Michigan. Katniss reappeared (thank cod). Mica and Amber were adopted (separately). And we had some oranges arrive at the house.

August brought us Check Your Chip Day (we were disappointed to discover it was about microchips not potato chips), Black Cat Appreciation Day (Mo says that should be EVERY day), and a state of the cats report. Baby jail got an upgrade and Cass and the alcohol kittens arrived. Unfortunately a famous blogger Sparkle left us. And Coral became a permanent member of the house.

September got us an update on those alcohol kittens. Kahlua joined their family and Stoli and Sangria got some time out in the living room....and made Coral look HUGE.

We gotted a new carrier...that became a mancat cave. And lots of adoptions: Ash, Quartz, Sunshine and Clementine and Tangerine (together).


October - a month mom wishes she could have skipped. Coral started getting sick...and got sicker...and ran for the Bridge. She was six months old. Stupid FIP.

But, we gotted a new water fountain, celebrated National Feral Cat Day, mom went to an art retreat and then headed to BarkWorld/MeowWorld.


November gave us mom's report from the conference. We had a feel good story about Aiden. Tim and Tom had to go visit the v-e-t for their snot. And....we gotted a gingerbread house!!!

December brought a good house trashing (nothing some packing tape couldn't fix). Some weird test results and having Stoli and Sangria get adopted together. Plus we had a great time celebrating with other bloggers with the Santa Kitty Toy Hop, Pet Bloggers' Gift Exchange and Secret Paws. Plus of course Christmas. And, helping to heal our hearts, we added Daiquiri to the family as a permanent member.

that girl is just goofy

We wish ALL of you a wonderful, peaceful and healthy 2015. There have been some joys and some losses this past year....for us and for our friends. Mom swears she is going to resolve to help us comment more often, but know that we are reading and following...even when mom falls down on the job. We are looking forward to more fostering next year and BlogPaws in Nashville in May.

Love and kitty kisses from all of us here at Random Felines

And be sure to follow us on facebook and twitter

Opt to Adopt Mae West

It was back in July that we originally posted about our rescue girl Mae West.

Well, she is still at the adoption center waiting for a family to take her home. As you can see, she has superior snoopervision skills:

Unfortunately, when mom was up at the adoption center over the weekend, Mae was in the sick ward with a cold. For some cats, the stress of being there affects their immune systems. That seems to be the case for Mae. She is so sweet and lovey...and has been coming out of the quiet room and been seen roaming around. The volunteers all seem to know who she is when mom checks on her....between her looks and her voice, she is well known. We think she would do best in a quieter home but would be fine with other cats so long as she is given time to be properly introduced. And honestly, if you are interested, mom would help arrange transport cause she really wants to see Mae in a home of her own.

If you don't want to click the link, the video below is of Mae having quite the conversation with mom.

video Wednesday - Mae West

Mae is such a sweet girl. She is staying in a smaller quiet room at the adoption center. She is kind of freaked out by all the cats at the adoption center. She is a talker too and mom took her camera up and got video of her chatting. Mom is afraid that people will think that Mae sounds crabby and that people will overlook her afraid that she is mean. That couldn't be farther from the truth. Though our friend Miss Emily said the other day that Mae does sound like a 70 yr old diner waitress that smoke 2 packs a day.
*if you are watching at work or someplace public, you may want to turn down the volume. you have been warned....  :)

Let's see....

Normally our random post goes up on Friday, but mom wasn't so organized last night....

With Mica, Amber and Cinco up at the adoption center, she has been stopping up there after work. Adoptions are happening, but not one of them yet. sigh....

However, mom got to spend a little time with this girl last night:

(picture from our friend Karen)

Mae is doing great. She is in a smaller room with just 3 other cats which keeps her stress down. She has gotten out a few times into the larger room and it freaks her out. Mom was up there on Sunday and Mae had gotten cornered and was screaming for help. Mom moved the other cat and Mae shot back to the door to the small room. But last night was was SO lovey. And just chatty - whoever her previous family was, someone held some serious conversations with her. She had no microchip and mom checked the local lost and found websites and didn't see anything so we guess we will never know.

This tiny terror is having a blast at Miss Alyssa's house. He moved into her foster room as she had 4 kittens also test positive. And from what we hear, he has taken over. At one point he grabbed a toy mouse and marched through the room growling at the other boys (keep in mind they are about 3-4 weeks older and about .75 pounds heavier). And then she went up to check on them and found Topaz asleep in a patch of sun, on his back, paws up in the air. :)  He has such purrsonality.

And speaking of tests, Jade was retested when she was spayed. And she was.....negative!! So she is now spayed and ready to go. :)

We did take in a couple of snotty older boys (maybe 4 months old). Calvin is an orange tabby and Winston is black. We don't think they are related. Both found as strays. Winston is pretty friendly but Calvin is going to take a little work. And they are both a HOT MESS from snot (which is why there are no pictures).

Everyone else is doing well. Quartz and Jet are getting better quickly. Quartz is pretty lovey and walks up to mom. Jet is a little more jumpy, but then again mom has to lean over baby jail and grab her from above so we can't say we blame the little girl. Mom wants to spend some time sitting on the floor with them this weekend and see if that helps.

Opt to Adopt - Mae West

Today's post is a little strange. See, we have the cat, we are just a little short on details.

A few weeks ago we heard mention of a cat around that we hadn't seen. And then mom got a look at her, but was leaving on vacation. The neighbors across from us are young but were willing to leave their garage door open a little to let this girl inside. Well, over the weekend the neighbors (who are renting and can't take the cat) said the calico was friendly. Mom got home last night from work and sat outside. She spoke to the cat but the girl was a little scared and wouldn't come out. So mom set the trap with food and came inside to feed everyone here.

About an hour lady one of the neighbor ladies came over and lo and behold - one chatty calico in a trap.

At this point we would post a picture, but mom's camera won't cooperate with her computer at work, so use your imagination.....

Mom got the girl set up in a crate in the entry way to the condo and will take her to the spay clinic tomorrow when she takes Amber and Pearl to be spayed. Mom is calling her Mae West (she has some curves). Mae is friendly, wants attention and appears healthy. We will have more details once she is tested, vaccinated, spayed (if necessary) and checked over.