Nashville went home

June 2015: mom got an email from a client about a feral colony running around her house and the neighborhood. There were kittens and fighting males and could mom please help. Mom contacted the rescue and a trapper went out and spent a couple of days catching the colony.

Including these three: (top to bottom) Reno, Nashville and Topeka

Known as the TNR kittens (their mom was caught, spayed and released) 

Well, sometimes it takes longer for adoptions to happen than others. Normally it can be momma cats, but Nashville has been in rescue for almost 9 months. And then the other day mom got an application via email. And Wednesday night Nashville went home. His new mom adores him and her roommate has an 8 year old cat so he will have company (and hopefully not annoy the holy heck out of his new roomie).

Concats Nashville!! It may have taken a while, but it was worth it.

remote adoption locations

Like a lot of rescues, we live and breathe for adoptions. We put our available dogs and cats up on various internets websites. We share on social media. We have an adoption center. But as experienced fosters, we also know that generally if people don't SEE the new pet in person, they don't adopt. We are lucky that we live in a fairly large city with lots of pet stores.

cat cages at one of our remote locations

Nashville - not really happy about those adoption events

Sunday was another adoption event at the store where mom cleans twice per week. Part of the agreement with this particular chain is that the cage doors stay locked and the only people with access are rescue volunteers. Employees certainly interact with the cats and give out applications, but for their sanity, they can tell people that they can't open the cages.

Mom loves this particular store. It is close to the house and they are very motivated to help the rescue (in fact, the manager has adopted from the rescue - TWICE).

This is also the store that did the largest part of the litter donation drive - they got 304 bags donated in the month of February - that is 10,032 pounds!!!

And....as of Sunday, Nashville is now up there to be adopted. He wasn't very happy about it. But....we know that we can't adopt him and as mom says, he isn't getting adopted sitting in our living room. Hopefully someone will see him and be ok with him being a little shy. 

Random Friday

Mo says thanks for all the birthday wishes. It was a pretty quiet day for him (which we are sure he was thankful for - MOL).
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Another adoption event on Sunday....mom is taking Nashville again.

She is also making up treat bags for the staff at the store. The litter drive we mentioned last week runs through Monday and they have raised (through 2/22) 254 bags. Mom is pretty blown away and wanted to thank the employees of this store for their hard work. They BY FAR got more donations than the other stores in the area that support our rescue.
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Mom was visiting her family last weekend in Tennessee which is why there were no posts here Monday and Tuesday. She was slacking traveling.

But, there were a couple of incidents on her way home that made her sad and angry all at the same time. Just as she crossed into Kentucky, she saw a big brown dog on the far other side of the median of the freeway. She knew she would never be able to stop, and the exits and turn arounds on that freeway are few and far between. With a heavy heart, she kept driving though she did call the Kentucky State Police and left a message in the hopes that someone would go out and check.

Then about an hour from home, there was a beagle along the right hand side of the road. This time she was able to pull over. Since animal rescue is what she does, there is always a leash and treats in her car. She shook the treats and had her leash but the dog ran away. She tried to get his attention, but he kept running and mom was afraid he would duck into traffic and get hit. Since she didn't want that to happen, she stopped chasing. Sadly, it looked like he (or she) was wearing an orange plastic collar that mom has seen on puppy mill dogs before. She is hoping that wasn't the case, but it would explain why the dog wouldn't come near her. This time she found the number for the local dog shelter and left them a message.

Now, we can't know if these dogs got loose from someone or what. However, considering their locations, we aren't sure how likely that is for these two.....and that is just wrong.
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We hope you all have a safe and warm weekend. Mom is muttering something about lots and lots of laundry.

not wordless Wednesday

Nashville and his Valentine's bowtie

Mom bought a bowtie for Nashville to wear to the adoption event on Sunday. Miss Emily from Kitty Cat Chronicles makes them herself (and donates part of the profits to their local rescue). The bowtie is very handsome and well made - two straps of velcro hold it to a standard cat collar. She also makes flowers that go on collars for girl cats.

Mom put it on him for a trial run on Saturday and while he (obviously) wasn't thrilled with the new addition (he's never worn a collar before either), he didn't fight it. The bowtie is crocheted and pretty light weight so we think he was just insulted having to wear a tie. MOL

Unfortunately, looking exceptionally handsome made him popular on social media but didn't get him any applications at the event (he is kind of shy and doesn't put out much effort to meet new people at these events). This is now his new profile picture on Petfinder however, so hopefully someone will fall for the cuteness.

**that being said, two of the girl cats that were brought to the event did get applications, so that was good news!

Nashville

Nashville's cold comes and goes and he is on some meds, so hopefully he will be ready to go for an adoption event on Feb. 14th (presuming mom can catch him twice per day for the next week). He is a super sweet boy and deserves a forever home of his very own. He would probably do best with other cats just because he loves to play and seems to enjoy the company of everyone here. We know he will probably be a little bit shy in his new home but we also know he will warm up quickly and be just as lovey as he is here.

Hard to believe it was July 2015 that these guys were caught during a TNR attempt on some adults (our rescue was fairly successful with the adults too though mom can't remember the final number caught). Topeka was the girl and Reno and Nashville were the boys. Nashville is the only kitten still looking for a home.

checking out a sleeping London

(geez Nashy was tiny.....)

snoozing on his sister

And now he is fun loving, active and just goofy. Mom does have to say he has definitely hit that gawky teenager stage....he tried to jump up on her lap the other night and slid right back off. Coordination doesn't seem to be his thing at the moment.

mom says it looks like he wears his heart on his sleeve

weekend report

Mom didn't know the top of the tower could hold three cats - 

Nashville in the back, Ivy to the right and Daiquiri in front.

 You would never guess that Almond was neutered on Wednesday.

He and Nash and Daiquiri were wild over the weekend.

Despite it looking like Nash is kicking Almond's butt, generally Almond starts it.

Daiquiri is still fascinated by the TV.

Nashville and Almond went to an adoption event on Sunday. Mom is hoping to get them up to the adoption center on Tuesday so that they have a chance of getting adopted over the holiday weekend. Nashville is super sweet and healthy now. Almond has personality to spare.

Acorn is still snotty. Mom is getting her into the vet on Wednesday to see about maybe a different round of meds. Acorn's right eye ulcered at one point and has healed but is not clouded over. Mom thinks she sees some things in bright light but has definitely lost some vision. But it doesn't bother her so they are going to leave it and just talk to potential adopters.

play time #sponsored

**as part of the Blogger Influence Group, we get a free product once a month to review for Chewy.com but that does not influence our opinions. The product review is our honest opinions. Chewy.com is not responsible for the content of this review.

This month we got the Kong Triangle Play Mat to try out. Mom didn't read the dimensions before she emailed that we wanted to try it. On the website it says 14.5" by 12". We gotta say - its small. In fact, even the nuts (who weigh about 3 pounds each) barely fit in there.

That being said, any toy with something dangling from it is a hit around here. And since the sides are pretty tough, it stays upright and we haven't banged it over yet. However, with the other toys around here (especially our crinkly tunnel), even the little kittens lost interest faster than mom expected.

The really nice part is that it is held together with velcro and folds flat. Mom is going to fold it up and then break it out again when the newest group is a little more active and ready to play. They should be just the right size.

Nashville checks out the toy

Daiquiri attempts to see if she fits inside 

(for the record, she doesn't)

Almond does fit (sorta) and gives the toy a good whapping

Overall score - meh. The adults lost interest quickly once they discovered they won't fit inside (if you are going to have a good hiding spot, inside is best). Nashville and the nuts find the toy pretty interesting, but otherwise don't seem too interested either.

On a side note, the mat came out Sunday afternoon. Monday night mom heard a thump in the hall. She checked and found the mat halfway down the hall....and the mouse removed from his string. Not a cat in sight. Oh well.....

wordless Wednesday

(yes, that is his paw on top of her head)

weekend report

We were spared from mom yelling at the TV about football this weekend. She went out to lunch with a friend and missed the game....but her team won so it was all good.

Mom mostly spent time with us and relaxing. She is enjoying that Acorn has decided she wants to be more of a lap cat now. Almond is going on Wednesday to be neutered and then will head out to be adopted. No family yet, but hopefully a family will step up soon and find him. Acorn is still pretty snotty - may be time to find a new med for her. Nashville is still here too....mom is afraid if he goes back to the adoption center he will get really snotty again from stress. But....he isn't getting adopted in our living room - he needs to be somewhere out where he is seen. He may go with Almond and see if that helps him adjust.

Reno and Tostada are still at that remote adoption location. We haven't had an adoption from there is a little while. Mom may consider moving Reno to the adoption center with the other boys from here and allow an adult to move to the store.

We have a surprise for you tomorrow....it's cute, we promise.

random Fridays

First, we are sorry to start this with some sad news: Fuji went in Monday to see a different vet. Mom isn't so sure about that clinic where she was last week and wasn't sure she was eating plus with mom at work during the day....  Long story short, a kennel tech at the vet office agreed to take Fuji home with her overnight and bring her to the clinic during the day for a few days to get her back on track. Mom got a call yesterday morning and Fuji crossed Rainbow Bridge. This vet did everything in their power....mom said she wanted to give this baby a chance since she was feisty....unfortunately it wasn't meant to be. We know sad news isn't a great way to start your morning, but we wanted to let you know. Gala and Cortland are doing very well though and we will do everything we can to keep it that way.
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Ummm - about Nashville going to the adoption center at the pet store....he was there for about 36 hours before his eyes got goopy. Sunday mom switched him for Reno. She would have left Tostada, but after chasing her around the house for over 10 minutes, mom couldn't catch Tostada and left her home. MOL  We are guessing after a couple of weeks of being medicated plus a couple of vet trips, Tostada isn't going to make being caught easy for mom.  Anyhow, Reno is up there though scared....but he will come up and LOVES to be held. Nashville is running around the house and sleeping with mom. All three are on Petfinder too....

However, there was an adoption from the store, so Tostada is now up there as of Wednesday.
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 We mentioned yesterday that mom was spending Thursday going around town with Uber and local offices could request a visit. Since Nashville and Almond are here and outgoing, mom decided to take them. (Acorn has a bit of an eye infection and mom didn't want to stress her out)  Surprisingly, Nashville HATED the whole thing. He didn't mind being snuggled but wasn't very happy about being trekked around. Fortunately every office was very understanding about this and he got some love but would then go back in the carrier. Mom picked up a little fuzzy calico kitten named Margaret and she and Almond had a blast. Who knew Almond was such a ham??? You can see pictures from us and around Cleveland and Cincinnati by going to the twitter feed for Uber Ohio. You can read about it in our local paper and see video too.

The very first stop was to the election office for John Kasich. This is the link to their twitter feed - there is an ADORABLE picture of Almond and Margaret by a campaign sign.

We stopped at several other offices too. Including Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream's headquarters - check out the picture on their twitter feed.

We had four volunteers out with four drivers and a representative from Uber. Mom had a BLAST!!! A HUGE thank you to Uber, their drivers and the offices that had us visit today. Mom said that it was fun for her to talk about the rescue but also to see just how much joy these kittens brought to everyone....the day got off to a sad start for mom but she couldn't help but spend the rest of the day smiling bringing so much joy to others around town.

We hope YOU had a great National Cat Day yesterday. Thank you for supporting us and being our friends. We plan to relax this weekend as mom has plans for next week. Take care and be safe.

*sorry this is late - mom hit the wrong button when she saved it to post  MOL

Random Fridays

That house gets some action. It comes off the foundation occasionally, but there is usually at least one occupant if not more. Poor Tim never seems to get a chance to sleep in there by himself. Someone (in this case Tostada) will end up climbing in with him.

aww - sleepy Tostada recharging in the sun

she is feeling so much better

Hey look - tiny kittens. The gray is the boy Cortland and the black is his sister Gala. They are eating and howling and (mostly) using the litter box. Mom set up baby jail and they are allowed to run around in there a couple of times per day while mom is cleaning the tower or feeding them.

Their sister Fuji however isn't doing so well. Mom got home from work on Monday and Fuji was cold and howling. Mom ran to a nearby v-e-t and ended up at the 24 hour clinic. They are giving her fluids and she is eating some on her own, but her temperature and blood sugar seem to go up and down, so she will be at the vet until they get her stable.

As for the rest of us, we are taking a cue from Nashville and plan to snooze the weekend. Though there is rumor of a kitten heading to an offsite adoption center and adoption events all weekend, so we suspect some kittens won't be getting much peace this weekend.

wordless Wednesday

random Fridays

Tostada will be dropped off at 8am this morning for her surgery. We know mom will be a wreck most of the day. Not sure when it will be done, but we will put an update on our facebook page when we know more.

THANK YOU!!! for the purrs, prayers, positive thoughts and donations. Mom stopped by the rescue Tuesday night and the head rescue lady mentioned she had gotten some donations through the website (she was shocked by the Canada thing haha). She didn't know we were going to put it out there. Again - we know things are tight all over and we are SO grateful for those that are giving...and understand that not everyone can give. But keep up the purrs....right now that is most important for our girl.
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kinda a weird form of cat tetris

Nashville headed off to the adoption center on Wednesday night. He sure came out of his shell once his siblings left for the adoption center. He is much friendlier with mom. And boy is he a flirt!! He LOVES the ladies around here....and of course snuggling with Uncle Tim. He wasn't very happy about the car ride....or any part of being left. Until mom put him in a tower with other kittens - he curled up in a hammock with his new "girlfriend" Inge.  :)  (picture on our facebook page)  Hopefully he will go home with another kitten or cat.
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A Moo update:
The Moos are actually are not here at the moment. Mom went to Tennessee last weekend and before she left she noticed that Devon wasn't doing so well. Since mom was going to be gone, Devon and the Moos transferred back to the rescue to be watched over. Devon has mastitis but is still nursing the kittens. They have just started eating canned food on their own, so the plan for now is leave them where they are (being in a crate seems to help Devon remain calmer) and when the Moos are eating well on their own, they will come back to us and Devon will go back to her colony. Mom stopped to see them on Tuesday and Devon hissed (go figure), Mac was busy eating, and Mollie walked right up to mom to register a complaint about something.

However, since kitten season never ends, mom brought home two other kittens on Wednesday when she dropped off Nashville. A lady had a cat that had kittens (don't get us started) and the rescue agreed to help with the kittens ONLY if mom cat was spayed. The lady got it done and we got kittens. We aren't sure if they will be honorary Moos....probably, even though they are about 2 weeks older. They are both black and white so there is that. If that is the case, we are thinking 2 more "M" names. The one on the left is a short hair male and the one of the right is a fuzzy girl.

They were a little hissy and jumpy when mom first got them home, but settled in pretty quickly. By a couple of hours later, the girl was all playful with mom even. We suspect they will figure it out in no time.
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Adoption update:

In case you missed it on our facebook page, Anise, Topeka and Reno were all adopted last week or over the weekend. Topeka has a nice young girl to spoil her. Anise was adopted with another kitten (not one of ours) and mom didn't get any info on Reno. But we are glad it didn't take too long for them to find homes.
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Bee update:
Mom tried to kill them with no luck. She found a removal company and the guy came out yesterday and took the pot, the plant and the bees. There were a few bees left but the guy said a spray would kill them or they should die on their own in about 36 hours. The bee guy did say that these were yellow jackets and they are indeed evil bees and that no amount of spray was going to kill them due to the size of the hive and it's location in the pot. He said he would know more once he froze the whole thing to kill everything, but he estimated the whole hive contained about 3,000-5,000 bees. Gives mom the heebie jeebies just thinking about it.

weekend report

Today is Labor Day here in the US and that means mom gets a long weekend. 

We plan to celebrate by doing NOTHING!  MOL

Mom took Reno, Topeka and Anise to an adoption event on Saturday. There wasn't much interest other than "aww they are cute". Not too surprising...in all honesty these events are more about talking to people than adoptions. A pair of early 20-something girls stopped into the store with a 5 week old kitten they had found. Mom talked to them about shots and gave them some info about our local low cost spay/neuter clinic.

After the event, the kittens went up to the adoption center. Mom will get their info up on Petfinder, but really kittens get adopted much faster where people can see them in person. Most of the kittens at the center are older than these three, plus the cute factor, so we suspect they should be adopted quickly.

Nashville is having fun running around the house. His eye is looking some what better but not enough to go the adoption center. He has turned into a ladies man and can be seen flirting with Tostada and Daiquiri. Tostada is pretty relaxed around the house and is cuddling when in the mood. Considering she was the most skittish of the fiesta kittens, mom was surprised by the turn around.