Poor baby....

The kittens are doing very well. Still no idea what their names are - mom is going to see if she can find their paperwork tonight. :)

The brown tabby female has figured out the gate. Mom put up the big ex-pen as the gate and by Saturday afternoon, this tiny girl was up and over and out playing. If mom is in the bathroom, she will stay, but otherwise, she is out looking for attention. In fact, yesterday morning while mom was getting ready, Junior SHOT down the hallway.....with this tiny girl hot on his heels. Mom almost fell over laughing.

The biggest girl has had mom worried. She just hasn't been playful and outgoing and in fact was acting kind of "ouchy" when mom touched her. Then Sunday morning mom noticed a red spot on the top of her head. Mom checked it again Sunday afternoon and it POPPED!!! ewwwww  Mom ended up taking her into the shelter yesterday morning to get it looked at - they shaved a spot on the top of this girl's head and cleaned it out good. Appears to be a bite wound. Poor baby....

Oh, and mom walked in there on Saturday and couldn't find this girl either.....opened drawers, and almost panicked. And then she looked up.....

Yes...she is sleeping on top of the shower door.

And for some added cuteness:

World Cat Day....

We thought we share some good news on this Monday and celebrate World Cat Day!

As some of you remember from this past spring, we had taken in Swizzle and her kittens. And then disaster struck when we discovered they had FELV.  Swizzle and 2 of the kittens crossed the Bridge. Martini had originally tested negative and had to be separated from everyone. Mojito and Malibu were retested 6 weeks later. Malibu is still positive and they will retest her again at 6 months. However, Mojito threw the disease!!!

Mom stopped over at Colony Cats on Saturday to drop off kitten food. And..... Martini and Mojito are available for adoption!!! They are now about 4 months old. And just so darned sweet. Mom was able to cuddle both of them....and she got a little choked up. You were all so very supportive when we were going through this and we wanted to share the good news!!

Mojito & Martini 4/12/11 (2 weeks old)

Martini 8/6/11 (4 months old)

Mojito 8/6/11 (4 months old)

Product Review!!

July 22nd:
We gots a package a while ago from Baby Patches at Nip and Bones asking us to be on her Tester Team and to review a product for them. We didn't get any compensation - so everything we say here is strictly our opinions. :)

When Mom opened the package, she was pretty excited. And then she saw it was Organic Cat Grass that you grow yourself. This could be bad....mom has a brown thumb. We have a christmas cactus she hasn't killed yet, but we suspect that is just cause it doesn't die just cause she forgets to water it. She thought about sending it back, but then said that if SHE could grow this then is proves any idiot could do it.
(we kept our idiot comments to ourselves)

Step one: open the main bag and then the seed bag and bury the seeds in the dirt. Add water and let them sit in the dark for 3 days. The instructions say to put the bag on a plate cause you have to poke holes in the bottom - this is a good idea cause the water leaks out pretty bad....mom ended up just pouring the water back into the bag once per day.

After 3 days, then you put it outside in the sun.

July 25th:
Mom checked and HEY there is some grass growing in there. So she put it out on a plate on the deck. She cut the container down a little more to give it some more sun.

July 29th:

Mom looked out this morning and the grass is over the top of the container. A little bit taller and we get to taste test. :)

August 1st:
Yep - growing even more.  Can we test it yet???

August 3:

Taste test!!!! Mom opened the balcony door and let Tim, Tom & Mo outside. After a little encouragement, Tim & Tom both seemed to enjoy the grass. Mom thinks maybe cutting it and letting them have it that way might help. The bag is a little tipsy. Mo just wanted to nom the flowers.  (oh and mom says if you turn up the volume, you can hear Mo "meep" about halfway in)



All in all, we give it a 8 out of 10. The bag could be a little less tippy and Mo was like "whatever". :)

New fosters

We got an email asking us if we wanted more foster or to take a break. Of course mom said "more fosters". So they said she could take the gremlins. Huh????

She picked them up Tuesday night. The story goes that there was a box in the play yard on Friday morning when staff got in with big letter saying "please take care of our kittens". Holes punched in the box but the top was open....and the kittens were loose.

(feel free to insert something from the bad werd list here. mom did. we'll wait)

OK, so they managed to catch everyone. They were INFESTED with fleas. Much better now, but they are kind of.....sad looking. :)  The gray fuzzy ones are the worst - hair sticking up in places and very thin in others. The smaller tabbies are better. Everyone is very thin. There is one bigger girl - obviously not related to the other 4. She is a little skittish but coming around pretty quick. Mom found her on top of the shower door the other day (sorry no picture - mom didn't have her camera).

We would love to tell you their names, but they were named at the shelter (boo) after characters from the movie Gremlins and mom didn't have a chance to write down their info. We will provide that later. For now, enjoy the pictures....

you woke us for this?

biggest kitten - female gray tabby

female brown tabby

male brown tabby

male gray

female gray

wordless wednesday...

the kid (and a cow) at the Mason County Fair (in Michigan)

Tailsday.....

Mom was trying to get us all on video last night walking around to compare how we each do it differently. However, we refused to comply. Instead, she realized she could tell the tale of the tails.

Some of us just sleep without twitching:

Ivy & Tim

Spud & Mo

However, Tommy like to make his tail twitch:

And mom would love for someone to tell us what is up with Junior:

That boy's tail is usually up like that. Mom is reminded of a wildlife show she saw where a leopard was walking through the brush and the tv guy said they do that to let everything around know it isn't hunting. Now, Junior wouldn't know HOW to hunt, so we aren't sure what he is up to....

Editor's note: we love that people are saying Junior's tail shows he is confident. Mom says it is funny that he really is confident around the house and yet wants nothing to do with her (yep - that is our adorable semi-feral boy).

Wild weekend update....

MOM ABANDONED US AGAIN!!!!
    (oh for pete's sake - it was 3 days and Miss Carolee was here everyday....)

Fine - whatever.....

Anyhow, the hots are still here, so we are lazing around the house. But we are cats, so you can't expect too much more than that. MOL

Mom spent the weekend up north with her relatives. Nothing like 7 hours of travel in her small car with her parents and the kid (who is 7) to make her kind of grateful to get back to work. A fun time was had by all - except for the car ride....and the mosquitoes!!

Adoption news: Grace & Audrey were adopted on Friday TOGETHER from Petsmart. Miss DeLynn came over on Friday and picked up Xander, Willow and Ebony since mom was out of town. Good thing too since.... Willow was adopted on Saturday. :)

Oh - and remember Leo the bloodhound? His foster parents decided to adopt him. YEAH!!!!

On that note, we are going back to sleep.....  Stay cool!!!

Just finished this book....

As most of you remember, mom has visited Best Friends, this last time in February.

(Bob at Benton's House)

When grandma and grandpa went away for a weekend in May, grandpa bought mom the book about the founding of Best Friends....

A couple of interesting things.....grandpa said he had read a little of the book before he gave it to mom. She shrugged - no big deal (except he folds over the pages to mark his place - makes her nuts). Then the other day she was at their house and he said he would like the book back when she was done reading it. Wow - ok.

So she hurried up and read it. It is a relatively easy read and an interesting look into the nature fo their friendships and devotion to the cause of animals and No More Homeless Pets. Some fun stuff, a little sad stuff, but interesting....mom finished it last night. What mom found fun was putting together the background with what she knew - that person's name was on that building, that octagon was named after that dog, etc.

But - here is the other part. When mom was there in February, she got to have lunch with Faith Maloney, one of the founders. See, they had gone to puppy class in the morning and met this group of 4 sisters. When they got to lunch, there wasn't much space and the sisters were at a bigger table. They asked to join them and everyone got to chatting. One of the sisters had just taken a seminar at Best Friends about starting your own sanctuary. It is taught by Faith and another person. As we were talking, Faith came in and this lady flagged her down and invited her to join them for lunch. Mom admits she was a little star struck. :)  But Faith was so down to earth - and had this amazing ability to listen like you were the only person in the world.

Then mom read the book and learned so much more about Best Friends and Faith. Made her all warm and fuzzy (though that may have been cause Mo was curled up with her in the chair). If you are looking for an interesting read, mom seriously suggests it!!

Hope everyone has a peaceful, nice and safe weekend. We still have the hots here. sigh.....

Microchips....

Everycat at our house except Maestro has one (he is 16 and has NO interest in going anywhere).

Mom saw this article on the Today Show website about mandatory microchipping of all animals adopted and reclaimed from shelters in California.

What do you think??

We think it is a great idea.

However....it is up to the owners to keep the info up to date.

Ivy's chip has a one-time registration fee and mom can get online to update the info whenever she needs to - plus she has loaded a picture and other contact info including our vet.

But, her chip is different from everyone else's chip. For the guys, mom can load a picture and other contact info, but there is an annual charge to keep it updated. Which seems like a crime to us. Especially since she has to go it for 5 of us. Aren't more people LESS likely to keep it updated if they have to pay every year? Just send an email reminder to update info once per year and let it go. So, mom has been bad. The info on 4 of us is in their database but she hasn't paid the "renewal" fee yet. And...she hasn't registered Junior's chip. BAD MOM!!! Especially since Junior and Spud refuse to wear their collars with their microchip tags on them.  (yeah, I will get on it - promise!)

we aren't holding our breaths...but can you see our collars??

Wordless Wednesday....

featuring Ebony the foster moo kitteh....

                                    

Christmas in July....

First a PSA (pawblic support announcement): the White Dog Army is walking to support 2milliondogs.org as they walk to raise money to fight cancer. Can you help just a little?? There is a widget on their page. We know they are woofies, but come on CB - they are GREAT woofies!!! And who among us hasn't lost a woofie or known someone who has to this dread disease....

Now, on to Christmas in July. We got paired with The Island Cats and we were pretty excited when the man in the blue shorts left the box outside (OK - we didn't see it arrive, but we saw mom bring it upstairs). She HID THE BOX for a day to keep us out of it until she could get the flashy box out. sigh.....

hurry up already!!!

But the presents were awesome and we are so thankful to have great friends. We got a big Kong kicker and a HUGE new tunnel (with leopard spots) and treats and toys. They even sent us toys for the kittens (Ebony has taken over this red donut and guards it fiercely). 

Mom got a magnet for our fridge that makes us an official member of the Island Cat Club. And they even sent us a new kitty - mom is calling him George:

Everyone had a blast - Junior and Mo sure love the tunnel:

We had a blast checking everything out. Tim loves the new kicker most of all. THANKS to Wally, Ernie, Zoe and their people for our great presents.

Weekend update....

Let's see - we did....NOTHING!!! MOL

OK -the kid came over a couple of times, but she loves the kittens and mainly played with them. Mom also took her to the shelter to play with the girls. AND..... Lucy got adopted on Sunday. Mom got to talk to a very nice couple - they have 2 other cats at home (16 & 4) and were understanding about Lucy being a little shy. Mom "slipped" them her email address so we hope to get updates.

The power went off for a little bit on Friday night due to the storms from the heat. We are very thankful it came back on after 2 hours - we were afraid it was going to be very hot to sleep and that mom would leave the kittens out as well. YIKES!!

The kittens are doing well but we aren't sure when they will go back due to space on the floor. In the meantime, they are certainly relaxed. (mom says they are very lovey kittens as well)

Ebony

Willow

Xander

Leo & Chiclet (a revisit)

We reported earlier in the week about Leo and Chiclet.

Chiclet is doing great. Mom spoke to her new family Thursday night and she has moved in and made herself right at home. And they said that during the last storm she stayed right on their laps, so hopefully she was feeling pretty safe. She sounds very loved!!

However, Leo is back in his foster home. Mom did her leg of the drive on Thursday. Within about 48 hours of getting to his new "home" he was scheduled to go back to foster. Mom doesn't know the full story, so we aren't going to speculate, but the foster mom (mom met up with her for the last leg of Leo's trip) wasn't really happy. Yeah, better to send him back, but seriously - 48 hours?? Especially after he spent an entire day on the road??? makes mom more than a little nuts.....

Oh - and how hot is it here? Mom delivery Leo about 45 minutes from home at about 10pm. When she got there, she pulled up, stopped the car and stepped out....and her glassed IMMEDIATELY fogged up!!! That is hot....we are sleeping on the floor vents in sympathy. :)

Friday night adventure....

OK - back to the story.

I got back from my day out with my mom and niece (we went to Velvet Ice Cream) about 1:30pm.

mmm - ice cream

I emailed Crystal to tell her I was taking a brief nap. We had just about everything nailed down but the health certificates and I told her I had called the vet that helped with Swizzle and they would get me in Saturday am if we needed it. I laid down and tried to get my brain to wind down. About the time it happened, the neighbor let her weenie dogs out onto their patio - under my bedroom window. They are barkers.... so much for a nap. I sent one final email: call me when you get a chance, I am leaving now.

I stopped for snacks and was on the road:

yes, it IS hot here...

I was stocked and ready. Soda - check. Snacks - check (chips, chocolate, nuts - all the necessary food groups). Map - check. Crystal's phone number - oops - hope that doesn't end up being a problem.

I had a couple of books on CD and my regular music stash. The first book was almost done and when it ended I switched to music for a while. Daughtry is one of my favs - good to drive too. I also put in Feels Like Today by Rascal Flatts. When I hit the title track Feels Like Today I had to wipe away tears (you have to go read the lyrics - powerful stuff):

I woke up this morning

With this feeling inside me, that I can’t explain

Like a weight that I’ve carried, been carried away, away

But I know something is coming

I don’t know what it is

But I know it’s amazing, can save me my time is coming

I’ll find my way out

Of this longest drought

The trip was pretty smooth. There was some traffic in Cincinnati - of course it would have been better had I not gotten there right around rush hour (good planning mom). And the bridge - I am not talking about that. I HATE bridges.... at least there was only one on this trip.

Crystall called when she got a break from kennel work. It was great to hear her voice. We chatted for a while and she said she would call when they left so I had her cell number (since writing while I drive isn't a good thing). We went over times and she reminded me I was in a different time zone to just REALLY confuse me.

Remember that comment about the map???  Well, turns out that 71S and 75S split somewhere south of Cincinnati. I missed it. No idea how.... I kept going south and ran into 64W like I was supposed to. Only as I drove I kept seeing signs saying so many miles to Louisville. Wait - wasn't that where I was supposed to get ON 64W??? Crap.....  I finally stopped for gas and took a better look. Yep - I took the long route. Think of a triangle - instead of taking the the angle, I went straight down and straight over. I called Crystal and left a message "Don't leave yet - I am a directional dork and took the long way around".

I love the midwest - some people find it too flat and boring. But there are hills and landscapes. And besides - check this out:

We met in Mt. Vernon around 10pm. It was like meeting a long lost friend....We talked. The kittens got transferred to my car. We went over more information. I didn't want to leave, but we had to head back.

The trip home wasn't as bad as I was afraid it was going to be. I made it until about 1:30am and stopped for a nap. About a dozen cars lined up at a rest area. I parked between two trucks to hide and took a power nap. Then back on the road.

Jasper and Soapy got chatty about 3am. We talked for a while and they went back to sleep.

The last 20 minutes of the trip were the WORST. I was so tired and yet so close to home. I managed to get home about 6am, set the boys up in the bathroom and fall into bed - remembering to set the alarm for 8:30am so I could be back on the road to get Leo.

Jasper in his new harness and his mini-me

I stopped to get a travel carrier - got the small Sherpa bag. I didn't get it out of the box until I got home. And it was REALLY small. So on the way to the airport to meet Cathy and her husband, we stopped at our 2nd Petsmart of the day and bought the medium sized one. Much better.....

(before the sherpa bag)

I got a text later from Cathy that they had made it through security - relatively unscathed.....Jasper (the bigger kitten) was a little freaked out but we had anticipated that. I had a collar on Soapy and a harness on Jasper with leashes just in case. And I had trimmed their nails that morning.

And the boys were off to California.....

Me? I transported Leo, met Chiclet's new parents to finalize her adoption, went to the adoption event at CHA where Josephine was adopted (among many others) and fell back into bed at 8:30pm. For those of you doing the math, that is over 36 hours with about 2 hours of sleep. To make up for it, I slept until 9am on Sunday....  :)  And for once the fuzzy crew let me get away with it (helped along by a snack at 5am).

Would I do it again? Absolutely! OK - not tomorrow, but I would do it again. People will think I am nuts, but I knew I had to do this. I have said here before that for me it is about helping THAT animal in THAT moment. And right now I could help get these guys to their home. And I could help another rescuer who needed a helping hand and some renewed faith.

Oh - and the scheme I mentioned a week ago? If this hadn't worked out, I was going to ask for help and fly myself out to CA with these kittens.....told you - I HAD to make this work.  :)

lost their minds....

Yep - it is official - the kittens are NUTS!!!!

Mom let them out last night. There was a LOT of hissing. All three kids are very active and loved the extra space. However, that meant they spent a lot of time running into everyone. And Tommy, Spud & Mo weren't too happy about it. Junior seemed undecided - mom thinks. See, Junior has one sound effect for everything. Worried? whine. Hungry? whine. Excited? whine. Angry? whine. The kittens spent some serious time running up and down the stairs and Junior was laying at the time whining. Mom isn't sure if that means he doesn't like the kittens or he wanted to play and wasn't sure how to start.

Everyone is out this morning and mom left for work.....paws crossed we all survive the day.

Mom tried to get more pictures of the other kittens too, but they were in motion the entire evening. Mom wants to get a picture of Ebony from the back - it looks like he is wearing white pants with black knee patches. MOL

Wordless Wednesday (ok - not really)....

We have new kittens - at least for a week. :)  With the adoptions over the weekend, they are putting some of the sick kittens into foster to let them get better. There seems to be eye gunk going around.

So - here are the new kids.

Ebony - male about 4.5 months old

(he isn't related to the other two - his sister Jewel is still at the shelter)

Willow - 3 month old female (Xander's sister)

Xander - 3 month old male

(Willow's brother)

It has been a while since we have had kittens this big and they were WILD last night - banging around the bathroom. Mom treated their eyes this morning and then just tonight and tomorrow morning. Since they are basically over it and just need time to recoup, mom is going to try letting them out tonight when she gets home from work - that way they have more space to run around during the day....

We will keep you posted on how it goes....it has been a while since we have had kittens running loose all the time so we are going to have to adjust. :)