Random Fridays

Mom has been using canned/pate food to bribe Goldfish. Mom sits on the floor and puts the dish right near her lap. When Goldfish comes up to eat, mom slowly pets her and talks to her. She is a little jumpy at first and then relaxes and keeps eating. Unfortunately, Goldfish is still pretty scared when mom tries to reach out and grab her while mom is standing. We have an experiment lined up for the weekend and hopefully that will help.

Soda is still here. Mom still isn't sure he is the exact fit she wants for a kitten raiser, but the FIV room had an outbreak of ringworm, so he is here for a while until that clears up and we can switch him out. There is another FIV boy that mom would like to interview, but he has to be cleared from the FIV room before that can happen. It may turn out that the right fit is in fact Soda, but mom would like to interview a couple more candidates just to be sure.

Oh - and that picture? Mom was feeding the kittens the pate above and Daiquiri started banging on the doors while sitting on a shelf outside the room. Soda heard and then SAW her and was fascinated.

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picture thanks to @Emily K

In other news....we have been holding on you all just a little bit. Cardamom went home a couple of weeks ago. YAY!! However, we held off posting just in case it didn't work out. See...she didn't exactly want to go INTO the carrier. And she was going to be at one house for a couple of days before her final home (she was adopted by a retired couple by the husband as a gift for his wife - not something we normally do, but in this case made an exception since they are an older couple and have a great pet history). She was staying with their son until the party. However, since we haven't heard back and she is still with them, we think it is safe to announce she has been ADOPTED!!

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Speaking of Daiquiri, if you missed it on social media, she turned 4 years old on Wednesday. And in an apparent effort to give mom a stroke, was missing when mom got home on Wednesday night.

See, on Wednesdays, mom works all day and then has a 2 hour shift at the rescue. Which means she doesn't get home until usually after 7:30 pm. This week hasn't exactly been quiet around here either - trash pickup was Tuesday morning and mom got home Tuesday afternoon to find guys hired by the condo association power washing the siding. The recycling truck came Wednesday after mom left and the more mom thinks about it, it was probably just too much for poor Daiq to deal with in 2 days.

Anyhow, Daiquiri didn't come out when mom got home. Didn't make a sound when mom called her name. Didn't come out for treats. After 40 minutes and turning the condo upside down, mom is freaking out. Then a paw comes out from under the sofa. Keep in mind, mom didn't think any of us could actually FIT under the sofa. Daiq wasn't coming out either - mom finally had to move the sofa and tip it up. Mom also got a new soccer ball out and they played a little fetch and Daiquiri seemed to be her normal self. Still no idea what exactly freaked her out....and why she didn't pick any of the hundreds of beds or cubes in the house for her hiding spot.

Random Fridays

surprise

Mom had been kind of on the lookout for a friend for Annatto. Soda is a nice guy and all, but he isn't quite too....playful shall we say.

Turns out the director of the rescue was fostering this little girl who needs some social skills. She was trapped and then taken to another shelter who said she was too feral and to put her down. Word finally got back to our rescue and the response was "give us the *beep* kitten".

She is very scared and hissy, but she will get over it pretty quickly we suspect. She and Annatto were fine Wednesday night and then mom heard them Thursday morning calling each other names. We suspect the new girl just hasn't quite figured out how to communicate....and it doesn't help she is talking to Annatto who's grasp of "cat" is fuzzy at best.

who me??

Mom was reading a book last weekend and one of the main characters rescued a pair of kittens and his niece named them Peanut and Goldfish. That made mom laugh, so our little tuxedo girl shall henceforth be known as Goldfish.
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In other news, Soda got out of the foster room on Wednesday night (followed of course by Annatto - thankfully Goldfish stayed in the room). Mom thinks he made have had outside help as the door shoves toward him. Either way, he got out twice and mom wasn't too happy. Both times Daiquiri got fairly bent out of shape, though she restricted herself to hissing. Poor Soda just did his best to stay out of her way. Mom put another barrier in front of the door and as she is typing this, she checked the cameras and everyone is still where they are supposed to be for now.
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Oh - you may have noticed this week that we only posted Monday-Wednesday-Friday. We are going to give that a try for a while and see what happens. If something interesting pops up, we may post the other days, but this format allows mom to tell more stories and less seeming to throw something together for the sake of getting something posted. 

kitten raiser

Tim was our kitten raiser from the time we took in a litter of feral kittens - one of whom was VERY sure that she hated mom VERY much. After some research, mom found an article from Alley Cat Allies about using an older neutered male cat to socialize kittens. Despite some doubts, it worked. Tim became christened "Uncle" Tim and helped raise many kittens until he passed away in March 2016.

Since that time, we have been without a kitten raiser. Tommy and Mozart were not interested in kittens at all. None of the girls care much either. Mom had some hopes pinned on Chanel, but she has been in to visit kittens since she joined us, but has never expressed any interest in them.

Well, with Annatto currently on premises and no other kittens currently available to keep him company (there are kittens at the rescue but mom won't take sick ones right now to put in with him), mom decided it was time to start actually looking. She has been thinking about it for a while and had been looking for a good candidate at the rescue, but hadn't made the jump to actually bringing any cat to the house.

Until Saturday.....

Yes ladies - there is a cat in that carrier.

Meet Soda

About 2 years old and FIV+

(and about 15 pounds of lovey mancat)

 

There were a few deciding factors:
1. Annatto HATES being by himself. Due to his size, mom doesn't want him running loose around the house. Due to his FIV+ status, mom didn't want to bring home sick kittens and expose him to anything either.

2. Mom has posted before about advocating for FIV+ cats. She knew it was probably time to put up or shut up, so our new candidate would be out of the FIV room at the rescue.

3. As mom started talking about this, a couple of different volunteers suggested Soda. One even showed mom pictures of him grooming a younger cat in the FIV room.

4. Mom was going to be home all weekend to supervise.

Mom got permission and cat-napped Soda on Saturday morning. He went right in to the carrier and didn't make a sound on the way home or even when the girls were sniffing him in the carrier. He came right out and checked out the foster room. Annatto isn't sure what to think about him, but Soda has been very patient with the kitten currently nicknamed "Catzilla". MOL There was some whapping on Monday night, but Annatto had jumped on Soda's tail for about the 4th time before Soda decided to put Annatto in his place.

Soda hasn't met everyone else here yet and if he stays that probably won't happen for a couple of weeks. Mom suspects it should go pretty smoothly. Though she did get a laugh when late Sunday night Daiquiri was over by the doors to the foster room and hissed....not sure why it took her about 36 hours to realize that mancat was in there.

No definitive decision yet, but he seems to be aceing the interview process so far. 

Random Fridays

Did you see the post mom wrote for Cats Going Places about her and Chanel and a fundraiser?

he says: Relax and Chive on

unless you want his spring toy....

then you are in trouble

glamour shots

Chive

Annatto

Caraway

The tuxedo boys are up on Petfinder so we are hoping they will get some attention that way until there is space at the adoption center - probably end of the week. They are pretty hilarious and adorable, so paws crossed they get snapped up quick.

Annatto continues to do well, though he seems to be developing a "cranky old man" attitude about certain things. He MAY have told mom where to go the other night....though it is hard to be scary and grumpy when you weigh less than 2 pounds. Not entirely sure what we are going to do to continue he socialization once the tuxedo boys are gone though.

weekend review

Just lazing around on Caturday....under the curtain....like you do. 

A front blew through and the temperature dropped quite a bit and the windows were opened!! It was nice to have a fresh cool breeze blow through the house for a couple of days.

The boys continue to do well. The plan was to take the tuxedo boys up to the adoption center this weekend, but the kitten cages were all full. Fortunately, mom is able to get them up online so they can be seen and hopefully that will generate some interest. However, we know that kittens get adopted faster if they are seen in person, so as soon as there is space they will head out. We can't require people to adopt them as a pair, but considering how well they get along, we hope that they will get adopted together.

Annatto is doing well. He is a tiny bug, but he gives as good as he gets. Once the tuxedo boys go back to the adoption center, mom will be on the lookout for companion kittens for him to make sure he stays social.

Random Fridays

Annatto is checking out the Kitty Kasa in the foster room. A local store had them on sale. There is one in our living room too but mom has yet to catch anyone in it (and as she typed that sentence, Daiquiri walked in....).

Chive and Caraway came through their neuter surgeries with no problems. They are ready to go and will head up to the adoption center this weekend. Paws crossed they go together....they are a great pair.

Annatto will of course then be alone, so we have asked the rescue to let us know when a healthy kitten that just needs to gain weight comes in needing foster. Since he is FIV+, we don't want to take snotty kittens and expose him to a cold.

Mom gave the boys a new toy.

guess they like him

Annatto (front), Chive (middle), Caraway (back)

he thinks he is tough

Annatto, Chive and Caraway and getting along pretty well. We have discovered that Annatto is a bit of a drama queen - if he decides to pick a fight with the other boys, he turns into a screamer. MOL

Fortunately the tuxedo boys are pretty tolerant of Annatto. While he came in to the vet with siblings that passed away, he has been by himself for a couple of weeks so he is having to relearn some kitten skills. Mom grabbed him the other day and he actually purred for her. He is going to be a nice addition to a family.

weekend report

IT WAS HOT!!!

Also this:

 

What the???

 

Who the???

 

Meet Annatto

He was left at a vet's office. They had him for a couple of weeks, but when he tested FIV+, they said he had to go to rescue. So now he is safe with our rescue. Mom saw him on Saturday morning and kitten-napped him. He is maybe 7 weeks old, so he will hang around here for a while and we will have him retested (not that it matters - if the 2nd test comes back positive he will still be available for adoption).

I heard a

vacuum

Random Fridays

Keep cool this weekend....and nap.

Never fails...throw a holiday in and kittens tend to get sick (or worse). Mom dropped Clove and Chicory off at the adoption center on Thursday morning on her way to work. They were all snotted up and breathing hard. They got fluids and some time in the nebulizer at the center.

Unfortunately, Clove and Chicory passed away about 11am on Thursday. Sometimes kittens get an upper respiratory and are fine, other times, they seem OK and then crash all of a sudden. It really is the hardest part of fostering....

kittens

 

Chive and Chicory

 

they do enjoy climbing that cabinet and sitting by the birdhouse

(which is now stuck to the cabinet so it doesn't move around)

They were supposed to go for spay/neuter today. However....knowing this particular clinic, there is no way they were going to "pass" with their noses like they are. So we gave the spots back to the rescue and the kittens will go in another couple of weeks. Besides, mom was pretty sure Clove wouldn't have hit the 2 pound mark yet either (there is one in every crowd). They are doing better, but this clinic seems to look for any excuse to kitten rescue cats off the surgery list. We only hope they don't do it to the general public who may not come back.

some sad news

We hate posts like this....

Cilantro passed away on Saturday. He had been fine and then he suddenly wasn't. He cried out about 3pm on Saturday afternoon and mom grabbed him and ran to the adoption center and then off to an emergency vet clinic. He had what appeared to be several seizures along the way. They got an IV in to him and the plan was to leave him with the vet overnight. Mom left and was less than 10 minutes from the clinic when the director of the rescue sent her a text that he had passed away.

Unfortunately, there is really no way to know what happened. It is sad however and mom is heartbroken. This is a group of super sweet kittens and while he was safe and love here, it is sad that he won't have a chance to find his forever family.

Random Fridays

May you have a very snoozy weekend.

 

Cats of all sizes LOVE boxes.

The kittens are doing better. Mom upped the amount of meds and that seems to be working. Cross your fingers - spay/neuter surgery is scheduled for July 5 and mom doesn't want to move that. Goal for this weekend - clean up everyone's faces. MOL

By the way, Cardamom is at the partner store where mom cleans twice per week. She is doing well and seems to be enjoying no kittens and getting attention from the clerks and patrons. Mom was in on Monday and advised Card that she was to blame for snotty kittens. Card got up, turned her back on mom and gave her the ears of annoyance. Mom cracked up..... That girl is going to make someone a great companion.

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Remember these guys from last year:

Foxy and Mallard

Well, mom and another volunteer are working backwards in the paper files for the rescue to try to get old adoption contracts into the database. And lo and behold but mom got the records for these two muffins. They were adopted in September 2017 so it hasn't quite been a year, but mom got a smile out of it.

kitten update

So 3 of the boys went to an event with mom on Sunday. They got their faces cleaned off and now Chicory (the black boy) looks like he has some weird disease as some of the fur on his face came off with the snot. (oops) They were well behaved gentlemen.

Everyone is mostly feeling better...they look a little rough in these pictures but they are doing better. The boys are all very close or slightly over 2 pounds with their sister Clove bringing up the rear as the light weight of the family. Their surgery date has been set so they need to hurry up and get over 2 pounds....and stop with the sneezing (in case you missed it, they are on meds)

boxes

The kittens haven't tried any treats from the review yesterday, but.... They got the box. Best part of deliveries around here.

weekend report

melting....she's melting... hahaha

Really is a shame she can't relax isn't it??

The spice kittens are doing better. They have some sneezes and runny eyes, but they are very active and eating and SO friendly. Mom has been putting up the gate and leaving the door open when she is home and they can see into the house. This also means Junior and Daiquiri can go over the gate and "invade" the kitten room. The boys ran over to Junior and were being all friendly at one point so much that he couldn't get out fast enough. MOL

They have been on new meds since Thursday so hopefully by mid week they will be doing much better.


**oh hey....we got a new foster room camera too. There is a tab in the top labeled Foster Camera (Nest). It is on a different wall from the other one and has a little better picture.The other one still works. Mom was convinced it died....so she did some research, got some advice, spent some money and installed the new camera. And the discovered that the kittens must have somehow unplugged the old one. (that sound you hear is mom rolling her eyes are herself)