Raw Instinct #ChewyInfluencer

We are part of the Chewy Influencer Group and receive no compensation for our reviews. All opinions are our own. We did receive the food for free but it did not influence our honest opinion. 

This month we decided to try the Instinct Raw Boost Minis for cats by Nature's Variety.  These are actually freeze dried raw treats. Mom has been looking for something like this to add to our diet, so she was interested to see if we liked them or not.

As always, a certain princess (Ivy) was right in the middle of the activity. And when given a treat, could have cared less.

Hurry up mom!!!

Tommy gives them 2 paws up.

Mom likes that they are freeze dried raw. And as per normal, almost everyone here liked them. Ivy wasn't interested and Spud ate one but didn't care after that. More to the point though, Mozart liked them (a lot) and since mom has been trying to get some weight on him, she is going to set aside the rest of the bag and supplement his breakfast with these. (don't worry - the rest of us will get other treats)

So - let's see.....that would be 5.5 paws out of 7. Not bad considering mom has tried some raw freeze dried food with us before and NO ONE would touch that. MOL

weekend report

We had a pretty quiet weekend. Still on kitten watch, so no rowdiness other than Daiquiri. MOL

Mom did get excited on Saturday when she saw a post on Facebook. When she left Nashville at the adoption location last week, they left a pair of 6 month old kittens as well (that were fostered by mom's friend Amanda). Blue and Teal are both polydactyl and had some eye issues that needed entropian surgery. And on Saturday they were adopted - TOGETHER!!!  Woohoo.... 

Now to get Nashville adopted.....

And on Saturday, after watching the Spartan basketball team win, mom took off for a transport run.

Jughead was turned in to a high kill shelter in North Carolina. A rescuer in Ohio saw his picture on social media and he was so much like her pittie that she knew she had to save him. Just a few hours before he would have died in the shelter, he was pulled. And on Saturday made his way to Ohio. His ears were cropped really short, he needs to be neutered and is heart worm positive. But he is OH SO SWEET!!  Like so many other dogs on transport, he was happy to see everyone and didn't mind being handed off to different people and the long car ride. He hopped right in mom's Beetle and after sniffing every inch of the backseat (no doubt it smelled a little like bloodhound), he laid down and snoozed. In fact, mom heard a noise at one point and realized he was snoring. She had to wake him up to get him to the next driver. MOL  The rescuer renamed him Blue and we know he is in great hands and will find a wonderful home when he is healthy and ready for adoption.

Random Fridays

Well, the changes at mom's work weren't as bad as she anticipated, but she is still pretty busy. Part of it is organizing the files the other person left behind. Once mom gets that taken care of, it should hopefully be slightly more smooth sailing.
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Spring came and left and will hopefully come back again here. Mom says that Mother Nature needs to "pick a season". MOL  But definitely not warm enough for open windows yet....
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Sorry this is so short....mom says she doesn't have much planned for the weekend, so she is going to move some stuff around to start rearranging the kitten space and will try to get some posts done.

We are still on kitten watch

Stay safe and warm!!

throwback Thursday

Last March we got our first kittens of the season - Strawberry and the soda kittens: Faygo, Fanta and Rootbeer. Everyone has since been adopted....

Dr Suess Day (for real this time)

Orange Cats

the oranges - Clementine and Tangerine

(now Ike and Izzy) (adopted 9/14)

Black Cats

Mozart - our resident house panther

Tabby Cats

Moonshine (now Gray Goose) and Bourbon

(adopted December 2012 [it's really been that long??])

Torbie Cats

Ivy

Feral Cats

Allie - our feral girl

(notice the ear tip - released 7/12)

House Cats

Sangria and Stoli

(adopted December 2014)

Mom loves them all

Jake and Elwood

(adopted 10/13)

remote adoption locations

Like a lot of rescues, we live and breathe for adoptions. We put our available dogs and cats up on various internets websites. We share on social media. We have an adoption center. But as experienced fosters, we also know that generally if people don't SEE the new pet in person, they don't adopt. We are lucky that we live in a fairly large city with lots of pet stores.

cat cages at one of our remote locations

Nashville - not really happy about those adoption events

Sunday was another adoption event at the store where mom cleans twice per week. Part of the agreement with this particular chain is that the cage doors stay locked and the only people with access are rescue volunteers. Employees certainly interact with the cats and give out applications, but for their sanity, they can tell people that they can't open the cages.

Mom loves this particular store. It is close to the house and they are very motivated to help the rescue (in fact, the manager has adopted from the rescue - TWICE).

This is also the store that did the largest part of the litter donation drive - they got 304 bags donated in the month of February - that is 10,032 pounds!!!

And....as of Sunday, Nashville is now up there to be adopted. He wasn't very happy about it. But....we know that we can't adopt him and as mom says, he isn't getting adopted sitting in our living room. Hopefully someone will see him and be ok with him being a little shy. 

weekend report

 There wasn't too much exciting going on this weekend. Mom got caught up on laundry and running errands. We did a lot of this:

 

Spud on the cat ladder

No idea how that can be comfortable

 

Junior and Daiquiri

Mom says there are some changes going on at her work, so hopefully that won't cut into our posting and comments, but it might short term.

Oh - and still no kittens.

Random Friday

Mo says thanks for all the birthday wishes. It was a pretty quiet day for him (which we are sure he was thankful for - MOL).
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Another adoption event on Sunday....mom is taking Nashville again.

She is also making up treat bags for the staff at the store. The litter drive we mentioned last week runs through Monday and they have raised (through 2/22) 254 bags. Mom is pretty blown away and wanted to thank the employees of this store for their hard work. They BY FAR got more donations than the other stores in the area that support our rescue.
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Mom was visiting her family last weekend in Tennessee which is why there were no posts here Monday and Tuesday. She was slacking traveling.

But, there were a couple of incidents on her way home that made her sad and angry all at the same time. Just as she crossed into Kentucky, she saw a big brown dog on the far other side of the median of the freeway. She knew she would never be able to stop, and the exits and turn arounds on that freeway are few and far between. With a heavy heart, she kept driving though she did call the Kentucky State Police and left a message in the hopes that someone would go out and check.

Then about an hour from home, there was a beagle along the right hand side of the road. This time she was able to pull over. Since animal rescue is what she does, there is always a leash and treats in her car. She shook the treats and had her leash but the dog ran away. She tried to get his attention, but he kept running and mom was afraid he would duck into traffic and get hit. Since she didn't want that to happen, she stopped chasing. Sadly, it looked like he (or she) was wearing an orange plastic collar that mom has seen on puppy mill dogs before. She is hoping that wasn't the case, but it would explain why the dog wouldn't come near her. This time she found the number for the local dog shelter and left them a message.

Now, we can't know if these dogs got loose from someone or what. However, considering their locations, we aren't sure how likely that is for these two.....and that is just wrong.
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We hope you all have a safe and warm weekend. Mom is muttering something about lots and lots of laundry.

Happy Birthday Mozart

Our resident house panther turns 9 years old!!

Mom finds it rather amusing that as a failed foster (failed to be returned to the shelter), he is relatively intolerant of the foster kittens. But he LOVES the mom and everybody else here, so mom says residency wins and the kittens have to leave him alone. :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOZART!!!

Dr Suess Day (or not)

One girl

Two girls

Round girls

Striped girls

**edited 10am EST: so the mom flipped to the wrong page in the CB calendar and put this up before realizing it is NEXT week.....so we will try this again then....in the meantime, enjoy the cute

Random Fridays

One of the local pet store chains is doing a litter sale for local rescues. The local store where we do some adoptions (the rescue has several remote locations in pet stores) - where Tostada and Margarita were both adopted - is giving that litter to our rescue. The donation drive runs for the entire month of February, and for a special price, customers can purchase a 33 pound bag of litter that will be donated. This particular store is running a contest among it's employees. To date, they have had over 5,000 pounds donated. Read that again: 5,000 pounds!!! (and the contest is only half over) To put that in perspective, the big container that can be bought by most people in stores is 40 pounds. That is 125 containers!!! All we can say is YAY TEAM!! and thanks.....
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Also on Sunday, a nice lady that knows the other volunteer at the adoption event came into the store. She asked about making a donation. Since we are heading into kitten season soon, we both suggested that she get some kitten food. The other volunteer knows we foster kittens so she suggested that we take whatever was purchased to restock our pantry. Well....this nice lady bought a HUGE bag of canned food. We should be well stock (for a little while anyways). THANK YOU to her and to all those who donate!!
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mom says she is busy all weekend, so it should be pretty quiet around here - well, as quiet as it ever gets with Daiquiri and Nashville chasing each other all over the place....

We will try to keep ourselves entertained

Annual Puurformance Review

It's that time of year when we take the mom to task.

Now, we could be snarky and say we wish we had more treats, or more canned food, or turn the heat up further.....

But let's be honest - our mom is a good lady. While kittens may be annoying and she sometimes comes home smelling like other cats and sometimes even (gasp) dogs.....we know that she is doing good work helping other animals get well and find homes of their own. And truthfully, where there are kittens there is kitten food and canned food and sometimes leftover treats, so that isn't all bad either.

Although we may have to take points off for her realizing this past Monday morning that the food container was going to be empty BEFORE our shipment of food arrived. She pushed the order through faster but still had to pick up a small bag from the store to hold us over. geez......

Of course, mom says all we do is lay down on the job.....

not wordless Wednesday

Nashville and his Valentine's bowtie

Mom bought a bowtie for Nashville to wear to the adoption event on Sunday. Miss Emily from Kitty Cat Chronicles makes them herself (and donates part of the profits to their local rescue). The bowtie is very handsome and well made - two straps of velcro hold it to a standard cat collar. She also makes flowers that go on collars for girl cats.

Mom put it on him for a trial run on Saturday and while he (obviously) wasn't thrilled with the new addition (he's never worn a collar before either), he didn't fight it. The bowtie is crocheted and pretty light weight so we think he was just insulted having to wear a tie. MOL

Unfortunately, looking exceptionally handsome made him popular on social media but didn't get him any applications at the event (he is kind of shy and doesn't put out much effort to meet new people at these events). This is now his new profile picture on Petfinder however, so hopefully someone will fall for the cuteness.

**that being said, two of the girl cats that were brought to the event did get applications, so that was good news!

Pet Dental Health #ChewyInfluencer

We are part of the Chewy Influencer Group and receive no compensation for our reviews. All opinions are our own. We did receive the food for free but it did not influence our honest opinion. 

For our Chewy review this month we decided to review the VetriScience Perio Plus feline bites.

Pet dental health is a big issue. Our grandma actually brushes Izzo the dog's teeth. Mom says she isn't that brave....plus most of us here wouldn't cooperate for that. Which means we need a healthy alternative.

As some of you may remember, Tim was diagnosed with stomatitis (article by Cornell Vet) and ended up having most of his teeth pulled due to inflamed gums and infected teeth. If left unchecked, it could have had serious effects on his long term health. He got to keep his fangs, but our v-e-t suspects he may have to have those pulled at some point too.

Our friends at Playful Kitty wrote a great article about stomatitis and our friend Miss JaneA wrote an article about dental health for Catster.

Here's the thing....the bites were WAY big. And not very chewy. Which means basically no one ate them except Mozart and Spud. Spud had one and walked away. Everyone else sniffed them, licked them and were uninterested. Mom even tried breaking them into pieces (which was easier said than done) and no one was interested.

Mozart loved them....and played clean up crew eating every treat that no one else would touch.

So, while Mo certainly benefited from the treats...and will more than likely get the whole dang bag over time....it certainly isn't anything we will be buying for ourselves. Nice idea - bad implementation. Oh well, can't win them all.....

It's that time of year

When mom gets a little nutty for the woofies.....  Yep - the Westminster Kennel Club dog show is on tonight and tomorrow night. Mom breaks out the snacks and stays up late.

We know....we are all about rescue and everything else. But....we've never said that responsibly raised pure bred dogs are bad. There are bad breeders and there are evil puppy mills. Setting that aside, mom likes to see the different kinds of dogs. David Frey is the announcer and not only is he knowledgeable about the dogs, he calls it like he sees it - this isn't a dog for everyone, this dog requires a lot of grooming, etc.

While we don't have a dog, our extended family does....Izzo and Maple are both rescues from their local shelter. We will tell people over and over....rescue a dog from a shelter or check Petfinder for breed rescue. Or if you are certain you want a specific breed and have done your research, please find a RESPONSIBLE breeder.

Maple

Izzo

Random Fridays

Sounds like Miss Margarita is doing well in her new home. Her new name is Harmoni - and she is now on instagram as harmoniacat.  YAY!!!
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Big adoption events all over the place this weekend. If you or a friend or family member is thinking about adopting, now is a great time. Check you local pet stores (Pet Valu, PetsMart or Petco) for events. Mom will be out on Sunday and plans to take Nashville.
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We have a case of the VERY colds here this weekend, so mom says she doesn't have too many plans other than the adoption event. We plan to stay near a floor vent and suck up the warms.

National Spay Neuter Month

Just in time for the impending kitten season, we want to talk about National Spay Neuter Month.

the snack kittens from March 2013

Did you know that since we started fostering, we have had 245 mom cats and kittens come through this house?? Pretty amazing....

Did you know that mom says as much as she loves fostering kittens (no matter how hard it can be sometimes), we would love to be put out of business? Too many companion animals lose their lives in shelters every year due to lack of space and available homes. This isn't the fault of shelters....this, at least as far as we are concerned, is due to people not being responsible and getting their pets spayed or neutered.

We've heard it all:

• it's too expensive - search "low cost spay neuter" for your city and see what comes back
• my pet doesn't go outside - until the one time they do and either come back pregnant or get another loose animal pregnant.
• my kids should see the "miracle of birth" - birth is messy...if they want to see it check you tube
• I can find homes for these kittens/puppies - ok, what about the ones currently sitting in a shelter that need homes too

And on and on..... but honestly, there is no excuse. Altered pets live longer healthier lives. They are less likely to stray and get into fights.

Best Friends started their Fix at Four campaign to help raise awareness. And many communities now have outreach programs like the Lucy Pet Foundation in LA that help by bringing surgical buses into communities that need help. And we talk all the time about TNR and the benefits to ferals.

So help us spread the word....fix'em - for the benefit of all of us.

wordless whisker Wednesday

Margarita

Ask any foster family out there about the cats they foster that they worry about more than others, and we bet a lot of them will tell you the momma cats. Kittens - yes even the black ones - get adopted when they are little. Momma cats, like a lot of adult cats looking for homes, seem to take that much longer. And so we worry.....

April of 2015 we had a family join us as fosters: 

 Yep - Margarita and the fiesta kittens.

She was actually back to the rescue and ready to go before her kids. Since mom wasn't sure how she would do at the open rescue center, they waited until there was an opening at one of the remote locations in a local pet store.

And honestly, mom thought she had been adopted until she was moved to the remote store location where mom cleans and does adoptions. Needless to say, mom was pretty sad to see her, but also glad Margarita was doing ok. Though, Margarita seemed to hold some sort of grudge against mom and would occasionally call her names. MOL

Well, Margarita was at this store for a while. And then one of the other volunteers and her daughter made it their mission to keep sharing her picture. A friend of theirs came to meet Margarita and after some serious though decided to take her home. As of Sunday, Margarita has been ADOPTED!!!! Mom already got an update and it sounds like Margarita came right out of her carrier, made herself at home and slept with her new mom the very first night.

A funny story: the store where she was has lizards for sale. The cages are set up along the wall next to the cat cages. It took her a while, but Margarita discovered the lizards....and it was was lizard TV for hours at a time. At one point one got out and we can only say thank heaven Margarita had the top cage. MOL

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This means we only have two foster from last year to be adopted. Nashville, who will go with mom to an adoption event on Sunday and then into the next open spot at the store. And Lille, the tortie mom to the french city kittens - the wound on her face seems to heal, then break open, then heal, then break open. Until it is fully healed, she can't be spayed. The rescue is trying to figure out exactly what is going on with that girl.

weekend report

Nothing too exciting here this weekend. Mom worked around the condo and we goofed off. She did get a ball out of Daiquiri's stash for her to play with. Nashville found it fascinating and promptly stole the ball. Mom had to get out another one since sharing was NOT an option. And 36 hours later, both of them are missing....

 

Most everyone here loves sleeping on top of the towers. Mom is going to have to make sure that is an option as she resets everything here.

We did get to watch the Kitten Bowl on Sunday..... since we are officially on Kitten Watch 2016, that is about as close as we are getting to little kittens for a while we suspect.