the apples

Gala and Cortland continue to do well. Their eyes are a little goopy, but considering everything else with them, mom says that isn't so bad. She did order some ramps for the tower so hopefully they will stop jumping straight down once those are put in.

You can't see her very well, but Gala is over in the corner. Almond saw her standing there and went over to check her out....and growled at her.  sigh.....

That hammock is a huge hit with Cortland. We haven't seen Gala in it, so we suspect she can't figure out how to get over there. But Cort will get in and march for all he is worth until he falls asleep.

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

apple kittens

Gala and Cortland are both doing well. They have figured out how to get to the top shelf in the tower and in fact Cortland's favorite place to snooze is now the hammick in the middle. The main issue is that they aren't very coordinated getting back down and it makes mom twitch every time she hears or sees them do it.

Mom is going to go and find some ramps she has seen online to put in the tower and hopefully we can get them delivered pretty quick.

Fuji is doing as well as can be expected. Mom got an update on Saturday and the vet was going to wean her off the fluids. Her temp and blood sugar was stable and now it is just getting her to eat on her own and gain some weight. We appreciate the purrs - keep them coming. And please know that she isn't out of the woods but that she has made it this far is a pretty good sign.

Monday morning, mom heard from the rescue lady.....Fuji can come home, we just have to make sure she keeps eating. Mom will put her back in the tower with her siblings, but she will eat by herself several times per day. 

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.

Pumpkin

**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 was ALL about pumpkin....food, treats, you get the idea. Heck - the people get all the pumpkin stuff, why not us???

Mom decided to try the Weruva Pumpkin Patch Up! supplements. We got to try some and those that got a taste seemed to enjoy it. But mainly mom has been adding it to the KMR for the apple kittens. There are advantages to pumpkin being added to a diet - in the case of the kittens we are hoping some fiber will be a benefit (if you know what we mean). And this has two ingredients: pumpkin and water. THAT'S IT!! It comes in a box of 12 pouches - which makes giving it so easy.

Now, we know what you are thinking....why not just get a can of pumpkin from the store?? Here's the thing: kittens don't eat that much and a good deal of it might go to waste. Plus - even if mom saved the can, she would probably put it in the fridge and completely forget it was there. And then bad things happen. :)  This is easy storage, easy open and since there is water mixed in already, it is kind of a slushy consistency, which makes it much easier to mix in with the canned food the kittens are getting or even with KMR.

Don't worry....we got to try some too and there were no objections from everyone else here. Certainly as a supplement it is something we would consider keeping in the cupboard.

kittens of all ages

Mom gets questions all the time about what ages of kittens we foster and what it is like. Since we have a variety right now, we thought we would discuss the differences.

Normally we get two variations of kittens: ones that are old enough to eat on their own but need time to get bigger before they can be adopted (think Almond and Acorn) or ones that are tiny but come with their mom (think Margarita and the fiesta kittens).

Of those two groups, both are actually pretty easy. Almond and Acorn had their own space while they were tested and got their first vaccines and mom got to know them. Once they were a little bigger, they started getting time out of the room to run around but still spend nights in the bathroom so they have access to kitten food without adult intruders and also to keep them out of the bedroom (the bedroom door is closed during the day).

Moms with kittens are pretty easy - keep mom fed well, the room warm and the litter box clean. Mom will show her kittens how to use the box and teach them to eat on their own as well. And again, once they are big enough, they will start to get some free time out to play.

At the moment, we also have two other age groups: tiny and teenager.

Our rescue will take bottle babies, but mom doesn't step up for those since she works full time and is about 20 minutes away from home (presuming traffic isn't bad). There just is no way to be able to feed kittens every 3 hours...plus she likes sleeping at night. However, she agreed to take the apple kittens knowing they were pretty close to eating on their own (their teeth were already coming in). Here's the thing....kittens at this age with no mom are MESSY!!!! No mom to clean up after them, they have to learn to eat on their own.... you get the idea. These three are eating on their own now, but food goes everywhere. Mom is doing a ton of laundry and they are getting a bath every few days. Hopefully within a few more days they will get the hang of everything.

Cortland managed to avoid a bath over the weekend

His sisters were not so lucky

They do seem to be eating better on their own but

are still pretty messy about eating...food goes everywhere

As for the teenagers - when we foster kittens we make a commitment to them. So when Tostada got sick and then Reno and Nashville got a cold, mom agreed to bring them back here. Teenage kittens (Tostada is about 7 months old, Reno and Nashville about 5 months old) are a whole different game. They are bigger, wild and crazy and generally on the move. Put three of them together and it is a PARTY!! With the other kittens in the bathroom and the tower, these guys are out 24/7. Which means running around at all hours and even sleeping on the bed.

Reno taking a snooze

Here is the interesting part....while it is fun to see the little ones grow and get ready for adoption, it is also fun to have the older ones come back and see how they have changed. Tostada has no use for cuddling, but then she never did. But she loves to play and now that she is feeling better is constantly on the lookout for something to entertain her - and she LOVES the other kittens and of course Uncle Tim. Nashville will come over looking for attention and even sleeps with mom at night. But Reno is the one that interests mom the most....he was the last TNR kitten picked up - and he hissed, growled and spit at mom all the way home and for the next couple of days. He was aloof until he went back to the adoption center - never seeking attention and a little shy. He was kind of that way when he came back....and then mom discovered that the kitten sleeping with her at night isn't Nashville, it is Reno!! He is all kinds of lovey and will roll over for scritches and purrs and licks mom's fingers.

Of all the age groups, the teenagers are the most fun, but mom says she gets tired just watching them. MOL It is fun to see the little ones with moms grow up from jelly bean size to ready to be adopted. Those bottle babies though - no thanks.  :)

weekend report

The little ones are doing good - no pictures as they are just starting to learn to eat and they are MESSY!! Mom did decide on names though....the boy will be Cortland, the girls Fuji and Gala. Both girls have white chest lockets so they may end up wearing collars to be able to tell them apart at a glance. While they act like they would prefer being syringe fed, mom discovered over the weekend that all of them are eating on their own....she is mixing canned food with KMR and they are kind of slurping it up. With no mom to teach them, they will be a little behind the eating curve until they figure it out on their own.
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The weather has been pretty nice here so we have some open windows for fresh air and window whiffing. That ladder may be one of the best investments mom ever made.

 

Daiquiri and Nashville look like they are telling secrets

 

synchronized snoozing

 

Acorn is pretty adorable

 

and pretty fiesty

 

This is Acorn and Tostada looking out the window

Mostly we did some serious snoozing over the weekend.