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!

Sad news.....

For those of you who have read Homer's Odyssey about Homer the Blind Wondercat, you may already know this. But, if not, his mom Gwen Cooper and his family let him run to the Rainbow Bridge last Wednesday. She posted to his facebook page on Sunday.

Mom first read Gwen's book a few years ago. She has read it many times since then. While on it's face, it is a book about a woman and her cat, it is more than that. Throughout the book, Gwen comments that she learns from Homer that what people view as a "disability" for Homer, is not a big deal for him. He has no idea that he is different and no idea that he isn't "normal". It is a lesson that we all can learn.

Most recently, mom reread the book last summer. Last summer we had two "special" kittens that we fostered.

Doc was rescued while helping some former adopters found kittens and asked for help with rescuing the kittens and doing some TNR. After some time in the house, mom discovered that Doc was deaf. And he had no idea.

The best part, mom was at an event Friday night and was approached by a mother and daughter. The mom said "you may not remember us but we adopted Doc last summer". OMG!!  They spoke for a while and the daughter found a picture of Doc on her phone. He has grown into a big handsome mancat - they say he is long and lean. And the daughter has to leave her door closed as Doc is a certified thief.

Then came Bourbon. Mom realized right off that there was something different about him. After x-rays, we learned he was born without kneecaps. And like Doc, he was adopted by a wonderful family who doesn't care that he is "different".

So, purrs to Gwen and Lawrence. And THANK YOU for making people more aware that being different shouldn't be a death sentence.  Doc and Bourbon may not have ever been given a chance in some shelters. We are lucky that we are associated with a rescue that is willing to take chances and is no-kill. 

Fly Free Homer.

Almost a year ago (part two)....

There were two more guys in the alcohol family kitten family. Bourbon and Moonshine were here much longer. Bourbon never went to Petco - he was born with no kneecaps in his back legs and mom wanted to keep him safe and keep people from feeling sorry for him. Shine went to Petco but was VERY unhappy there and ended up coming back to the house. And at the end of 2012, the boys were adopted together.

Well, mom told L and L when they adopted the boys that they were getting "two kittens and a stalker" which they were really ok with. Thank cod......

 picture from their mom - shortly after going home

And, last Wednesday mom got to stop over and see the boys. She doesn't normally get birthday presents for former fosters, but this group is different, so she had Miss Andrea from Celestial Kitties make us some special kickers for them with their names on them. And then mom forgot to get pictures of the toys.  MOL

(BTW - Tucker's mom says Tucker never growls or hisses at his sister....but he got his kicker in the mail and was NOT ABOUT to let her near his new toy).

Bourbon is the official family greeter and was right there when mom got to their front door. Goose (Moonshine) is a little shyer, but loves his mom and dad. They call him the land shark cause he will run across the room and jump on his dad for a ride across the apartment. The first thing mom noticed was that, while he still walks funny, Bourbon noticeably walks more like normal. His back doesn't have nearly the slope.  And the boys are VERY loved and spoiled.

When the toys were broken out, Bourbon claimed them both.

Goose wasn't having it though and took off with his.

think all of the money you could save - just buy him a paper bag

Mom sent them a note when she got home thanking them for letting her come over. She got this back from their mom:
Thank you again for the gifts for the boys- they are absolutely loving them! We feel so lucky to have added such amazing cats to our little family and really feel like they were always meant to be with us. Thank you so much for being such a great foster to our "babies"!


Awwwww - that is why mom fosters.  :)

We hope you enjoyed the updates. It was pretty awesome for mom to get to see all the boys now that they are just over a year old.

In need of purrs....

The rescue that we help out has had a tragedy.....one of the foster family's house caught fire. At least a dozen foster cats died in the fire. Others have been trapped and still others are missing. 9 are currently at the vet being treated for smoke inhalation. We don't know about the family.....

Please be thinking about the rescue and this family.......You can read more about it on their facebook page.

A lot of our foster are from there: Mist and her kittens, Cleo and her kittens were taken in after they came here from Chrystal's house, Bourbon and his siblings......  it is a long list.


Bourbon and Grey Goose (formerly Moonshine) sleeping on their new mom.....
wish they could all have this kind of happy ending

(the furries said the facebook link wasn't working right - it did for me, but I added a link to their website as well)

Bourbon and Moonshine.....

It has been a slightly quieter weekend around here.  See, Friday night mom got a text from the rescue lady. Someone had stopped by the rescue center.....they were dropping off donations but wanted to ask about Bourbon after seeing him on Petfinder.

Now, mom will admit that her heart skipped a beat.  But, she did the right thing and called them. They had a previous special needs cat from the same rescue. That cat developed a neurological issue and ended up losing feeling in his back legs. He only lived about 18 months, but mom said you could tell they loved him very much. They spoke about Bourbon's issues and mom mentioned his brother Moonshine was living here too. They made an appointment to meet both boys on Sunday.

    what the carp is all that white stuff??? 

                                    Shine doing his cat tree inspection

    yes, that is Emma curled up with da Bourb

So Sunday morning mom packed up the boys and met this very nice couple. No kids, no other animals. Mom got there early enough to get Bourbon out and on his leash/harness and comfortable. The couple showed up and they started talking and mom handed over Bourbon. Logan (the dad) is pretty tall and has a beard. Bourbon did his lean back and give you the "look" thing - and then reached out to touch Logan's beard. Too funny.  Moonshine came out and was loved on by Laura for a few minutes. They talked about helping Moonshine adjust and his favorite trick of carrying around a ball in his mouth and throwing it down the stairs to chase it.

They fell in love with both boys and adopted them that morning. Mom said did say that they were adopting two kittens and a potential stalker - which they are ok with.

Mom is a little sad, but knows that this couple is well equipped to care for Bourbon, accepts both boys for who they are and are just what mom could hope for. They have moved furniture and built stairs for their previous cat and couldn't wait to get them home. Mom knew the only way Bourbon was leaving here was with the "perfect" family.  And they were open to adopting Moonshine too. :)

Good luck and much love to Bourbon, Moonshine and their new mom and dad......

We gotted an update:

Bourbon has been playing all day! He's still a little 

skittish around us, but has ventured into my lap a 

few times. Grey Goose (fka Moonshine- we decided 

to only rename him to play off his coloring) spent 

most of the afternoon hiding under the couch. He was 

pretty shy at first but he's slowly been exploring the 

place with Bourbon this evening and the 2 of them have 

been napping together and sharing toys and taking turns 

using the litterboxes. We just love them already 

and are so happy to have them as our little family!

Random Fridays....

Because you can never have too much Emma and Bourbon....  Yeah - Emma isn't too fond of the "Bourbon bath".  However, he learned from the best - he gets the same treatment from Tim....only Bourbon enjoys it and must have felt Emma needed the same treatment.....   Emma tries very hard to "fight" back but with Bourbon being twice her size, she doesn't have much of a chance. MOL

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No pictures, but mom had to smile at Allie on Wednesday morning. After being gone for several days, poor Allie was caught off guard when mom got home Tuesday night. On Wednesday morning she shot out of the garage when mom came downstairs and fed her and got ready to leave. Now, the normal routine is....Allie leaves, mom puts out more food, then mom gets in the car gets on her glasses and seatbelt and pulls out. Mom closes the door but leaves it open enough for Allie to get in and out. And then as mom drives out the driveway, she can see Allie head back into the garage. Wednesday morning, mom backed out and stopped to put on her seatbelt. As mom sat still for a minute, Allie shot back across the driveway and into the garage without waiting for mom to leave. Made her smile.....mom still wishes Allie didn't have to live in the garage, but is happy that Allie feels safe and has a warm place to eat and sleep.

Oh, and when mom got home last night, there was someone else in the garage. Normally Allie is out when mom gets home. But the door opened and mom started to pull in when a big brown tabby head popped up in the back of the garage. Gonna have to set the trap. Considering what this cat looks like and that Allie allows him (?) in the garage, mom wonders if he might be the alcohol kittens daddy.
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Oh, get this.....that Emma-heathen is now allowed to sleep outside the bathroom. Yep - she was ON THE BED starting Wednesday night......  ok, we know, she doesn't take up much space, but still!!!!
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Mom says we are taking it easy this weekend. She has time off for the New Year so we are kicking back. She said something about football and snacks.....we can get into the snacks part at least. Miss Connie sent us ping pong balls as part of our Secret Santa box so we are going to convince her to break those out.

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Tim still seems like he doesn't feel good. Mom hasn't heard back from the vet yet and says she is going to call them today. No yowling, but he was curled up like this last night:

That Emma....

So Mom was away for Catmas....the petsitter lady came over everyday to take care of us and play. However, mom got worried on the plan ride to Florida that Emma might have some problems with only getting canned food once per day. So she called the petsitter lady and asked if she could come over twice per day to make sure Emma got canned food at least that often.

Well, turns out the petsitter lady volunteered to take Emma home with her (and was quite smitten with her). Emma came back last night and was met by everyone. Mom swears she is twice as big as she was when mom left.

And then Bourbon got his paws on her.....

It was every kitten for themselves......

kitten report

Da Bourb here with your kitten update.

Well, da foster-mom-lady took Opal and Cory to dat Petco place to spend a few days with their mommy.  What? Oh, to try and get dem some new forever homes.  Yeah, dat too. No luck with homes yet though - seems that some rescue with funny lookin dogs (greyhounds) was taking pictures with Santy Claws and I don't think the tiny kids got much attention. We shall see....


Da Shine and Da Bill are still here. Miss Beckie said something about maybe da Bill having a home for catmas. Da foster-mom-lady heard back from Miss Beckie and Uncle Bill will be leaving up next week to live with his new forever family - another cat, a woofie and his own kid. Yeah Uncle Bill....

Emma and Kyan will be here until Emma gets big enough for her surgery. She be pretty tiny, so no tellin when dat might happen.

Dem kitties over at Prancer Pie did win the petsmart gift card that Brian donated to the auction. But rather than keep it, they had Brian send it here. THANK YOU Prancer!! I got to go shopping with da foster-mom-lady. She forgetted the flashy box, so no shopping pics. BUT.......  we gotted one of those ess thingies that other kitties have. Holy cats....it is awesome.  And ALL MINE!!!

What is that foster-mom-lady?  Share? No thanks.....

She bought a bigger new cardboard scratcher too since the other one was kinda trashed. And some pawsome snacks that we haven't had yet.

Random Fridays......

Well, mom went into work yesterday.....and then came home a couple of hours later. Color us surprised. Seems someone cut the power lines outside her office for the copper and the office has NO power....no phone, no heat, no computer, no nothin'. So, until they can get someone out, the boss sent them home. And it is being fixed today, so no work today either. But mom says she gots stuff to do so she may have to go in tomorrow or maybe Monday (which was supposed to be a baycation day). Mom also discovered she would never be able to work from home. Tommy kept going after her coffee drink from Panera, Bourbon destroyed a set of shoe laces (that will teach her to leave shoes on the floor), the Gemstone kitts climbed her legs and untied her shoes and walked on the laptop.
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The phone batter is still missing. It is wide and flat - no rolling and no way someone could have eaten it. Mom is still annoyed.....  We told her at least she had a good reason to clean behind the stove. She didn't laugh.
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We do think it is a shame that Uncle Bill can't relax around here:

 (yep, that is Bourbon in the cat bed with Bill)
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Speaking of Uncle Bill and Bourbon, when mom got home, she let out the Gemstone kitts and everyone was running around having a good time. The older kittens LOVE to wrestle and this broke out.....That is Kyan you see going up and down the tree.
(we had to pull it right off the camera cause you tube "upgraded" and mom can't find the bleepin' upload button)

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ooooo - and we got a case of the happies too!!!  There were some great adoptions from the shelter: Maxx the old man cat, Dolly (who had been at the shelter for OVER a year) and..... our boy Duke!!

wordless wednesday.....

(no kittens were hurt in the making of these pictures, but mom did wonder if Bourbon was giving Kyan a bath or testing him out as a potential snack - if you saw the pictures from yesterday, this happened later)

Chillin'

This is how some of us spent our Sunday.....mom was beginning to wonder how many would fit on her lap. Final count - 5: Tim, Emma, Opal, Kyan and Bourbon.

so close and yet.....

Bourbon and Moonshine were laying on the floor the other night - close to the same position a couple of feet apart. It was pretty cute and mom got up quietly to get the flashy box.

She got back out and was setting up to take the picture....

when....

there was a thundering down the hall and this happened:

Gives photobomb new meaning.....

And we love that Shine sat there, in the same position he started in, and watched Bourb get run over.  MOL  Uncle Bill is feeling MUCH better and has become quite the firecracker around the house.

Mom did get a couple of cute pictures of the alcohol boys though.....

Da Bourb loves that scratcher, but we don't think he is using it quite right.

Witless protection program

We think you have seen Uncle Bill around here for the last week or so. He is about 6 months old and SUPER sweet. Mom thinks he is part persian cause he is short and round and fluffy and his face is a little shorter than the rest of ours. (mom asked Miss Beckie and he came in with a brother who was long legged and short haired - cat genetics, gotta love 'em)

Anyhow, Uncle Bill had been at the other Petco store. And a lady put in an application for him. But it wasn't a good application. She was told that but continued to harass the store employees and Miss Beckie. So we decided to move him to the store up here. The joke was that he was in the "witness" protection program. After hearing more, mom decided the "witless" protection program was more appropriate. MOL

Of course, after three days Bill got sick and so now he is here with his runny eyes and sneezes. Once he gets better, he will head back up to the store. We suspect with his disposition and overwhelming cute, he won't be there long.  :)

Random Fridays.....

Continue to check out the auction for the kitts. Last day to bid is tomorrow....

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Cupcake and Lula went for their lady-gardenectomies on Thursday and stayed at the shelter. There is space on the adoption floor and we hope that they find their forever homes.

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Bourbon was at it again. Mom got up early Thursday morning and found this:

 He must have carried everything out of the living and down the hall to the bathroom door (was he missing the girls??). He was sleeping in the bed when mom saw him, but got up before mom could get back with the camera.

Yep - that is the size difference - Emma vs Bourb

(and no Miss Priscilla, mom says he is NOT staying)

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Emma does not approve of your tv viewing choices

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Our friend Brian is having a commentathon (click HERE). For each comment, a bowl of food will be donated to a shelter....can't beat that.
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Allie update: Allie is the mom to the alcohol kittens. She is feral and really doesn't like people. As you may remember, mom had been feeding her outside the condo but worried about her when it started getting colder. So, after some experimenting, we discovered that she will come in the garage. We have a ptu set up for her to sleep in with blankets and a cover over the top. It was about 35F this morning outside and about 43F in the garage this am, so not really warm, but out of the elements. We know she is in there cause mom keeps seeing paw prints on the car. :)  Mom did have to switch Allie's food to a plastic container as she had been leaving it in a zip top bag and Allie chewed through it.

Anyhow, this morning when mom opened the garage door she saw this:

Mom put out more food and got in the car to head to work. Allie actually started back across the driveway and mom waited to start the car until she saw her again. Then mom pulled out and closed the door, leaving it up about 6 inches. Mom saw Allie head back into the garage before mom made it out of the condo driveway. While we can't make her a house cat, we at least know she has food and shelter and is safe. Mom got this pic from the car as she pulled out. Allie is next to our garage, and as you can see it appears she has her winter pjs on now.

Bourb almost killed mom

PLEASE keep checking out the CB Auction for the kitts.  There are great things and ONLY 3 days left!!!
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The condos mom made for us now reside in the former dining room. Near, in and around the condos are a couple of round cat beds and some fleece blankets.

Last night when mom got home, one of the beds and one of the blankets was in the middle of the family room. Weird..... So she put everything back.

And then mom saw this:

Bourbon dragging the blanket BACK into the living room. This was after dragging the bed back. Mom almost choked on her dinner she was laughing so hard. Be glad she got a couple of pictures. Really - she almost snorted potato up her NOSE!!!

 Lula and Moonshine decided to come over and see what he was up to.

You can get a good look at him walking. In the meantime, mom was laughing like mad watching him drag everything back and forth and back and forth.......

Here is something else to consider - he could walk around mom's chair into the living room - it isn't a straight shot, but it avoids furniture. Nope, instead he walks UNDER an end table behind mom's chair, then between the chair and the wall and then out into the living room. A straight line, but a little more complicated when dragging things around. Gotta love that boy. :)

A moment with da Bourb

This has been a moment with da Bourb 

(co-starring Moonshine, Gin and Junior)

Please be sure to check out the CB Auction to help with the expenses we have with the gemstone kitts. It will be up and running through December 1 and there are some really great things available.

no easy Caturday.....

Please be sure to check out the auction using the sidebar button. It will be up through December 1!!
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Mom says that Gin is staying at Petco until she gets adopted so help her cod!!!  As of yesterday morning, Gin wasn't being very nice to Uncle Bill, but it wasn't attempted murder.....yet. :)

Moonshine is still here. Mom says she isn't sure what to do with the boy. He is a lovey guy when he is here but a serious crab at the store.

In the meantime, he and Bourbon are playing. Be sure to check your volume before hitting play - Moonshine is a screamer. MOL

wordy Wednesday

It is such a shame that Bourbon can't relax at all. MOL

Of course, considering he does the following on a regular basis, no wonder he sleeps so soundly:

He is OBSESSED with the red sting we got from Miss Mandy and the kitties and pugs (from Miss Andrea's fundraiser). He carries it around and plays like mad. However, the other night he did something new. He LOVES sleeping on the bed and he was curled up next to Maestro sleeping. Mom rolled over and touched a kitty - then realized it was Bourb. She then felt something funny and moved her fingers around until she figured it out. Bourb had brought the stringy to bed and was sleeping on it. Now THAT is obsession. MOL

Chaos - part deux

Saturday morning the phone rang - WAY before we were out of bed. Mom checked her voicemail a little later and it was grandma. And she sounded a whole lot better. Interesting....

Mom called to check on the kittens. The phone lady said the test results were negative and they were still getting fluids. What tests mom asked? The tests the vet ran. (no? really???? ugh - and still not sure what all of them were)

Mom then got a call from Petco. Seems that the kittens were causing some issues and Gin was VERY angry and someone used the bed as a litterbox. Could mom please come pick up Gin and give her some R and R at our house and oh by the way Mystic is snotty too? sigh.....  So Gin is back here now too. She spent about the first hour back running around and hissing and growling and has since calmed down and is playing with Bourbon and Moonshine. Mystic will be heading to Miss Beckie's house.

 hey Bourb - mom says it isn't funny

In the meantime, mom was checking online as she was part of a transport on Saturday. And this time??  Kitties!!! Two senior cats has been saved and were on their way to their forever homes!! A great private group called URRKN  was arranging their transport and it went through our hometown.

Grandpa called and said that grandma had made some major progress and they were sending her.... HOME!! Yeah......

Mom left for the transport which went well - though wet. Mom says there is nothing fun about getting soaked then driving an hour on leather seats. MOL Other than the rain, it all went well and the kitties got to their new home on Sunday.

After mom got home, we met her at the door for dinner. But mom noticed that Cleo was on the back of the sofa and didn't get up. Mom fed us and then went to check on Cleo. Mom wasn't sure what was going on until Cleo stretched. And then it dawned on mom - 36 hours with no kittens and Cleo is still nursing. Oops.... so, back to the 24 hour v-e-t. They finally put mom and Cleo in a room and brought in the kittens. Cleo got mugged.

So, as of today: Gin and Moonshine are still here. Cleo and the kittens came home (but could still use some purrs - they still isn't 100%). Grandma is home and doing ok as well. We did get an application on one of the little kittens from Petco and she is heading home tonight. Oh, and now Moonshine is sneezing. And the flashy box is still missing. Mom left for work mumbling something about string and ears and needed a drink and it is only Tuesday but we aren't sure what she is talking about.