A year in review......

January:
We started the year off telling you about the adoption of Bourbon and Moonshine. Amazing that it has been a year already.

 We had a few short timers come and go into foster, including Nurdle:

 Tim lost all his teefs but the front ones.

And then the arrival of Mist and the pepper boys:

February:
Mom bought the playpen and put it to use with the pepper boys at Petco.

We posted about the sweet kittens that went up for adoption at Petco for Valentines.

Mist and the pepper boys got adopted!!!

March:
The Brat Cat (aka Emma...the longest running foster ever) was finally spayed and went to Petco...and had an accident and managed to get adopted!!

And then we got a new family - Cookie and the snack kittens: 

 

April:
Most of April was spent getting the snack kittens bigger. They cracked us up most of the time.

no idea what Cheeto is laughing about

They went on their first adventure to an adoption event.  And then we picked up Frito.

Mom got new (more) ink.

And some of the snack kittens got adopted!!

May:
We took in another new family - Rapunzel and her kittens from the shelter. This ended up being a fiasco and the end of mom fostering for the shelter any more.

Mom went to Blog Paws in Virginia - and took Triscuit with her. They met lots of blogging friends.

The rest of the snack kittens were spayed/neutered and adopted. And so was their mom Cookie.

We had our first return from doing adoptions at the Petco store. Opal was returned...fortunately she was adopted pretty quickly as well.

And the beer kittens came to us as fosters from the rescue:

June:
Mom continued to have issues with the space kittens.

And the beer kittens got their freedom.

Triscuit got adopted!!! Despite the bowl on her head....MOL

And we got updates on Whiskey/Tucker and Bourbon and Moonshine/Gray Goose and they celebrated their first birthdays!!!!

And then mom hit the end of her patience with the shelter about the space kittens.


Tune in tomorrow for the second half of the year (we split it in half or this post would have gone on forever).

Wordless Wednesday....sorta

Fair warning: squee alert!!!

Seems that every group of kittens we have here is convinced they are STARVING!!! We don't know how that is possible - mom feeds them all the time...we know - we can smell the canned noms.

Anyhow, if you listen close at the end, you can hear Miss Milano saying some bad werds to mom. And watch that girl INSIST that all the noms belong to her.....

And, since we know you could all use an Emma fix, mom found this video of her playing with the pepper boys. No update yet - mom usually waits a couple of weeks to touch base to be sure everyone is settling in. :)

Weekend update

Thanks for all the comments on Friday about the fire. It is scary....and a reminder to all of us to be sure our houses are safe. Sparkle made the comment about dryer vents and it is a good one - we can't begin to imagine how much cat hair is in ours. :)

It was a wild weekend.....

Remember this girl? Hera went to the Petco store and then back to the adoption center when she came down with an upper respiratory thing.

Well, mom had been feeling bad for K and thinking that maybe there was a better match out there for her. So she sent K an email telling her about Hera. So K went to the adoption center on Saturday. And.... Hera has a new home!!! We are very excited for all of them. We think it was meant to be - and they still saved a life and helped us save another by adopting. Mom has already gotten an update and it seems Hera slept with K last night. :)

Of course, that means that ....
the brat is still looking for a home.....

someday....

when the ringworm clears up.... 

and she gets spayed....
Sigh......

And in other adoption news - there is a Petsmart store that is southeast of the city where we live. There aren't any other rescues down there, so the cats in their adoption windows move pretty fast. Cleo moved there and was adopted in 48 hours. There was an adult going home on Saturday, so mom agreed to meet another volunteer for the national adoption weekend and leave Mist there. Since the boys had been neutered, she took them with for the exposure.

Mom did get annoyed with one lady. It was VERY busy and of course everyone wanted to hold the kitts. Mom had the pen set up with Mist and the boys in there and was trying to keep an eye on things. Mom knew Mist could get over the pen if she wanted too. And then this lady comes up with a little dog that starts barking at Mist. Mist freaks out, the boys freak out and mom asks the lady to back up. The lady tightens the leash on the dog and says "I have control of him". OK - that is great - but who are you gonna blame when Mist comes over the top and tries to eat your little dog. Ugh.....

Anyhow, mom came home: ALONE!!! Yes, the boys were adopted. Poblano and Jalapeno were adopted together and Serrano went home with a mom and two kids who also have an 8 month old female cat at home already. Mist stayed but mom hopes she finds her home soon. She doesn't look like anyone else down there, so we think she should catch someone's attention.

Random Fridays....

Not sure who was more startled....mom took trash down stairs last weekend and was going to bring stuff back up from the car. As mom opened the door into the garage, Allie was sitting on top of the trash can. Allie turned and looked at mom with these wide eyes and mom froze. And then Allie took off like a shot. Mom laughed, got her stuff and headed back upstairs. She did look out the window and saw Allie stroll back into the garage.....
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Fire update:
In some seriously scary news, there was a second fire earlier this week in a different foster home for the same rescue we volunteer for. There isn't any news if they are related, but we know it scares the heck out of mom and the rescue and fosters everywhere. There were 8 cats that didn't survive the first fire and 2 from this one. There was an adoption event this past weekend and 8 cats from the first fire were adopted. But PLEASE make plans for your homes and be thinking about these families and Colony.
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In defense of the clinic in Emma's post from yesterday. They are one of the few low cost spay/neuter clinics in our area. And we do love them for it. We think in this case they are so used to dealing with the public (and a certain portion of the public) that they try to get people to do things they way the clinic prefers to be sure they get it done right (and sometimes at all). Mom was just more frustrated at the situation.....

Mom saw this and laughed after all the comments about Emma's baths and being a gremlin. We sure hope this don't happen the next time she gets a baff:


Oh - and she says "thanks" for the poor mom comments (mom's spot is on her ankle - you know, Emma height - and mostly cleared up now too) and pffft to the "poor" Emma comments - that girl kitt is fine!  MOL
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There was a request for a Bourbon update. We haven't gotten anything recently, though mom does follow his new mom on facebook and sees new pictures. :)  It certainly sounds like he and Goose have their new mom and dad RIGHT where they want them......  Mom had emailed their new mom about Bourb's knees and what their vet said. We believe the official medical term used was "weird". Who knew?  MOL 
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The boys and mom are doing great after surgery. It never fails to amuse how quickly young male kittens bounce (sometimes literally) back from being neutered. Mom needs to determine now who is going where and when for adoptions. Oh - and the clinic aged Mist between 3-4 years old. Just sayin'

 Emma and the boys are having a good time running around. And Mist is right in on the games too. It is fun to watch as the kittens get bigger and the moms start to play. :)

Wordless Wednesday

Mugging the mommy cat on Sunday.....  MOL

Update: the crew went to be spayed/neutered yesterday. Mom tried to take Emma again....no luck (more on that later - mom is a little annoyed). Everyone is doing well so far.

I got it, I got it

Silly boy.... this is Jalapeno....

The boys LOVE to play with toys. At any given moment, one of them can be heard growling at his brothers to BACK OFF!  :)

Monday already.....

Mom says that our posting and commenting may be sporadic for a little bit. She is going to try to get posts done on the weekend, but her work had gotten a little weird. The other paralegal was not doing things right and mom is going to have to take all of her files and figure things out - in addition to doing her own work.

However, on to the things you really want to hear about. The pepper boys and Mist were out most of the weekend. Those boys are full of the wild-and-crazies!!!

And then they fall over and pass out.  MOL

Emma seems to be having fun, but we can tell she isn't really sure what to do with them. She is outnumbered but they haven't figured out the cat tree so she can get up and away. And on the Emma front, "symptom free" for her means the fur starts growing back on her nekkid spots - and mom checked her paw the other night and the furs are growing back. So mom is going to call to get Mist spayed this week and see about getting Emma in as well.

Oh - and quick note on Emma's baths: she gets 2 per week for 4-6 weeks. This is the end of week 2. But - she is looking better, so that is a good thing.

Sunday plans....

Mom says Emma "the gremlin" is getting another bath today..... don't tell her

And a certain group of boy kittens are getting manicures - mom is on the laptop and they are running up and all over her and all we keep hearing is "ouch ouch ouch ouch".

And we plan to work on the mystery of how 3 little kittens can sound like a herd of elephants when they run around.....

easy Caturday

We are hopin' to spend the weekend chillaxin'. Mom said something about laundry, but we don't have to help with that. Thank Cod....

But, there is a certain momma cat who is now escaping from baby jail. We would like to think she just figured it out, but we suspect she knew all along and is just getting comfortable leaving the boys in there without her. Plus - the pepper boys are beginning to make it sound like they are practicing mortal combat in there anymore....they need more room to run around. Mom asked the rescue lady about letting them out since we still have Emma and her cooties, but she said since Emma has been in the house (and truthfully has been exposed to the boys though not for long periods of time), to just let them run. Mom thinks they may be close to 2 pounds too. Time flies. :)

And, it happened last night for the first time. Mist is good about the boys being out and playing. And in fact was chasing them at one point. But Tommy is not liking Mist much, so mom is keeping an eye on everyone. Luckily Mist is laid back about it so nothing has happened.

 

Boys day out.....

As we mentioned yesterday, mom took the pepper boys to the monthly adoption event. Mist got let off the hook and mom left her out with us for a few hours. We aren't telling exactly how it went, but everyone was ok when mom got home, so she presumes it was OK.
     Mom: Mist is one of the more laid back mom-cats we have had here. She seems primarily unfazed but much that goes on around here.....thank goodness!!!

Mom says the new playpen is GREAT!!  The boys were a little freaked out by the new environment and the noise of the store, but settled in pretty quickly and played and seemed to have a good time.

We did have a nice couple fall for Jalapeno and take an application. Mom said that the boys won't be ready to go for another few weeks, but they said they would like to have the application in place and mom can call them when he is ready to go home.

Mom took over some older kittens to the store last week. The older kittens are laid back and SO sweet. So mom decided the boys could use some excitement, so she put the black female kitten named Styx in the pen with the boys.

Poblano was NOT impressed with the new girl in the pen!!!  MOL

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Again, thanks for the comments and support for the foster family with Colony Cats that had the fire on Friday. We will try to keep you updated as we learn more. And THANKS to Sparkle for the special post.

wordless Wednesday

Adding a little Mist and some pepper to your Wednesday.....

weekend wrap up.....

Mom was gone for a while on Caturday morning. We gotted a little worried cause it was pretty cold and it started to snow at one point (we didn't get much and it blew all over the place rather than sticking). Come to find out, she was helping this big guy named Prato who is a 3 year old Cane Corso go from his foster home to his forever home (mom says he was SUPER sweet and his face reminded her of a gargoyle):

Emma has learned a new trick:

Yep - she climbed the cat tree and was walking on the window sill. She is in for BIG surprise the day she is too big to do that anymore. The spot on Emma's ear looks better but now she has a spot on one of her front paws. sigh......

Mom has been spending time with the pepper boys and Mist. Mom put up baby jail and was sitting there letting the boys have a little more room to run around (and all over her) and give Mist a chance to see all of us.

isn't she pretty???

Tim jumped the gate and checked out the bathroom (no doubt looked for canned kitten food - which Mist and the boys are not fond of). Mist basically ignored him and laid next to mom until the boys started using her as a trampoline. She was sitting next to the door when Tim jumped off the vanity and she hissed at him but didn't do anything else. So, not bad for first introductions. The boys are full of it and mom says it is hard to get pictures cause all she gets is black blurs. MOL  Everyone got their second set of vaccines on Sunday, so the boys are ready to go to the adoption event next weekend. It is all about them gaining weight right now and staying healthy.......

Random Fridays

Most of you are with us when we say that educating the next generation is the best way to help further animal causes. Well, we found this article about a class being offered by the Helen Woodward Animal Center in San Diego CA. Very cool!!
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In mom's defense of yesterday's video - Emma would eat until she explodes. Don't believe a word she said about being starved......  MOL

Quill - we would love to send you Miss Emma as a new sisfur. But......

We was not gonna announce it until it was final, which was supposed to be today. Miss Emma has a home. A nice lady saw her picture at the Petco store and filled out an application. She was patiently waiting for Emma to get big enough for surgery....and was supposed to take her home today. However, that darned fungus is screwing up the process. So we have custody of the kid for another 10-14 days.
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Jalapeno disapproves of the flashy box

(actually he is a sweet boy but generally gets that look on camera)

Poblano stares in wonder

Serrano lost his ball already

Oh and mom discovered the black pepper boys (haha) actually have a little white on them which should make it a little easier to tell them apart down the road. Serrano has a tiny locket on his chest and Poblano has half a mankini. And of course after the v-e-t visit the boys have shown no symptoms of anything. Mom thinks maybe they just wanted a road trip.
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Miss Cleo is moving from our local store to another store where the rescue has adoption cages. She has been available for quite a while and mom doesn't get it, so we are hoping being in a new area will speed things up for her. She is beginning to play which is fun to watch!! Mom went to see her the other day and she was chasing a pink mousie around the cage. Good luck Cleo!!! Mom will still do her adoption, so we will keep you posted.

we got da funk....

In case mom's life wasn't interesting enough, the pepper boys were acting kind of funky, so they got to take a trip to the v-e-t yesterday....

Jalapeno charmed the vet - she has a thing for tuxies. He was actually the one acting the worst over the weekend and had a fever at the office. The other two boys didn't have a fever, but Serrano was acting funky. No real diagnosis - just watch them and make sure they are eating.

Everyone got out to play a little and the tech had put some catnip on the floor for Mist - who ignored it. Poblano on the other hand managed to get a minor contact high.

Mom had the v-e-t check Mist's ears and she has a yeast infection so she is getting treated 2x per day for the next 5 days.

Mom is treating Emma for ringworm - just in case. Other than the spot on her ear, she is running around like a nut. She has gotten more and more active in the last week or so - guess finally weighing over 2 pounds makes a difference. And even if that what it is, it is treatable......

Ahhhh the life of rescue - snot, weird fever, itchy ears and a fungus among us. Oh well - at least everyone is cute. :)

Random Fridays....

We gotted interviewed by the Funny Farmers and it is posted on Mousebreath!!!  Thanks for thinking of us FFF and we had a WONDERFUL time.  :) And the graphic you made for us rocks!!!

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Remember last Thursday we told you about our favorite local clinic staff going to the Bahamas to hope Operation Potcake?  They managed to help spay and neuter 2315 dogs!!!!
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Most of you know mom supports Best Friends Animal Society and has been out to volunteer a few times. She saw this on their blog. For anyone who saw the show Dogtown on the National Geographic Channel, you will remember seeing Pat. Mom never interacted with him, but she remembers being in one of the cat houses when he came in and was talking to a manager about one of the cats (he wasn't just a dog trainer)... as he sat there, this shy cat from the top shelf in the office hung her head over the side of the shelf and slowly made her way down to Pat's lap. He was just that kind of guy from what we understand. Safe journey across the Bridge Pat - we know you will be well met.
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Some of you have expressed interest in seeing the set up for Allie. We have read on a couple of blogs (Love and Hisses being one of them) that you can use an auto windsheild reflector to make self heating pads. That is the next step. For now, we have carriers set up as shelters for her and her boyfriend. Mom is a little worried cause it is VERY cold here and she hasn't seen Allie all week. But she has seen Allie's boyfriend coming and going some....mom says she is going to try to trap him next week and get him neutered.

PS - update this morning - Allie was in the garage so we know she is safe. YEAH!!

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The rescue that we help out posted this to their facebook page (we don't know what the intake numbers were, but this is great news):
Our 2012 adoption numbers are in....
With the help of our AWESOME volunteers and our fans here on Facebook...

778 cats, 65 dogs, and 1 bird found FOREVER homes in 2012!!!

A huge THANK YOU to everyone - we couldn't do this without you! And never forget, adopting one, saves 2 - the pet you adopt and a homeless animal somewhere who can be rescued because of space you helped free up!
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Mom decided to go with the pepper names for the boys. They are getting wilder by the day. And they have only been here 2 days. YIKES!! Mom thinks they are probably 5 weeks old - still blue eyed but getting around fairly well. And they are biters!

 Jalapeno (our tuxie boy) and Emma

Pablano and Serrano 

Serrano's head is a little bigger and he is the more feisty one (thus the fierier name)