short weekend report

Mom's car was broken into on Friday. They broke into the garage and took everything in the car and threw it around....and stole mom's wallet that she had accidentally left down there. So mom spent Friday cleaning up the car and getting a new license and getting all her info updated.

And then mom got home after work and there was a cat she had never seen before wandering around the front door - very friendly and walked right up to mom. Mom grabbed her, got permission and took her to the rescue where she will be checked for a microchip and if nothing found (she wasn't wearing a collar or anything), we will look for an owner and then rehome her.

Otherwise mom stayed around the house and enjoyed the a/c with us and the kittens.

random Fridays

There was a breakthrough of sorts the other night....

Mom fed the kittens the other night (she sits on the floor and puts the tray right next to her so they have to come close to eat). After dinner they all run around like lunatics. Sumac then crashed and was snoozing on the cat bed about a foot from mom. Not being able to resist the opportunity, mom reached over and stroked Sumac. No reaction.... she did it again... still nothing. Mom continued to pet Sumac until - SHE PURRED! Mom got to pet her for quite a while before Sumac got up and left. Sumac is going to need a family that is going to give her lots of time and patience, but YAY for progress.
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We hope you all have a great weekend. It is back to the HOTS and HUMIDS here, so no open windows for a while. Of course, that means cold air blows through the floor vents, so lucky us. Please keep cool water available outside (not in metal dishes) for those animals that could use a cool drink.
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new toy for the kittens

Our friends Lola and Lexy from Lola the Rescued Cat sent mom a message asking if the kittens would enjoy a Catit racetrack. Now we've seen these before but haven't had one so mom said sure...those kittens love having things to chase.

Well, it came in the mail the other day and mom got it out and put it together.

after Mo had a chance to inspect it of course

So far the kittens are pretty fascinated. Mom put it together quickly before realizing that some of the pieces have humps in them. And she managed to snap all of those pieces together. MOL  She took it back apart and put it in a slightly different configuration too so it doesn't take up quite so much floor space. The kittens seem to have a good time running along it and then sticking a paw in a hole to try to get the ball. She has also seen it in a racetrack configuration and is going to try to figure that out. (good luck)

THANKS to Lola, Lexy and their mom Miss Dawn for the awesome new toy.

not quite wordless Wednesday

Juniper

of course mom had to take pictures before making her get down

fortunately she hasn't tried this again

weekend update

If it weren't for the fireworks banging outside, it would have been a perfect weekend. The weather cooled off some and mom opened the windows.

With the long weekend, she got stuff done early on Saturday. The cable guy came over and discovered we didn't have cable to do a fault connection. Fixed with a simple new cable. sigh....

The kittens are still fairly snotty but are getting better. And Hemlock and Sumac are getting friendlier (relatively speaking of course). They are all big enough that once they are feeling better, they will get spayed and neutered and then up to the adoption center.

 

mine ball....let's play fetch

 

enjoying some open windows and fresh air

 

will be hiding here until the banging stops

Fortunately the fireworks weren't too bad. There was some set off Saturday night that sounded like they were right under our windows. The kittens freaked out but rebounded pretty quickly. Daiquiri hid and then came out and found Junior for some sympathy. With the nice weather, the windows are open and it certainly is louder....but we want to enjoy the nice weather.

We also owe you an update on the flower kittens. Amaryllis is still at the offsite adoption location. She is doing well and seems to enjoy the big window by her cage. Dandelion got sick again and is in another foster home since we have the tree kittens. And....Muscari was adopted!!

Ivy spent most of Monday doing this:

Seriously....we don't think she moved all day. MOL 

the forest for the trees

Mom is a firm believer in the starfish story - heck, she has starfish tattooed on her forearm. You know the one "you can't save all of them, but you can save this one". Mom says it helps her to focus on what is in front of her and not be burned out trying to worry about things she can't change.

However, an article was posted in Animal Sheltering Magazine talking about changing the rescue model. The author talks about another proverb where a town keeps seeing babies in a river and struggles to save each one. At one point two people start running up river and when the villagers try to call them back, they respond by saying they are going to try to stop them from being thrown into the river.

An interesting perspective.....honestly mom says she hasn't thought about it long enough to know what the answer is for her. But it does require a change in thinking - for example, if someone comes in to surrender an animal, rather than just have them sign over the pet and be "angry" at the surrender, why not ask questions?? What is going on? Can the person be helped with some information or support? Lead them to a food bank or low cost medical care. There are websites out there that also help pet parents with medical costs.

Want to be inspired about this sort of thing? Follow the Pongo Fund out of Portland Oregon. They are striving to keep pets IN THEIR HOMES!! And they are making a difference.

Along those lines, earlier this week Jackson Galaxy and his Foundation moved kittens from Los Angeles to Boulder CO. If you watch the original video, he talks about being inspired....and what it took to make it happen. In short - he knew the right people and they were able to take adoptable kittens from the Best Friends LA shelter to Boulder Humane...which allowed Best Friends to take vulnerable kittens from the LA City Services shelter.

But not everyone has those connections or abilities.

When mom was with a previous group, she had a clash of personalities with the director of that group. The lady told mom that she needed to see the big picture and see the "forest not the trees". Mom got mad and told the lady that the lady's problem was that more often than not she was so focused on the big picture that she forgot the forest was made up of trees.

Cookie and the snack kittens - now all adopted

Not everyone has the abilities to fix the "big picture". While we know that the shift is coming - and that is great - there still need to be people on the ground taking care of the trees. And there is nothing wrong with that either.

Licorice - now adopted

social skills

Mom noticed on Sunday evening that Hemlock and Sumac seemed....slightly....friendlier after their siblings had been gone all afternoon. It was an interesting change. And it has stuck a little bit.

For their meals, mom puts the canned food in the dish and then at breakfast hangs around until everyone is eating and then makes sure to pet everyone. At dinnertime, she sits on the floor, puts the dish in front of her and makes the kittens come to her. The scaredy girls take a little shorter time to come over each meal and this is a good thing. Plus both girls have stopped hissing at mom unless they get startled.

left to right: Suman, Hemlock and Juniper

While their social skills aren't perfected, at least mom is seeing some progress. Heck, the other day she grabbed Hemlock (who has always been the most scared) and held her for a while. It was the first time that Hemlock didn't pin her ears back the entire time she was being held.

Monday evening mom grabbed Daiquiri and brought her into the foster room to see what would happen. To this point, Daiquiri would hang out near the door and wave her paws around if mom left an opening between the door and the wall, but she hadn't come in the room. Mom wasn't sure what Daiquiri would do, but in true form, she wandered around a little and then sampled the kitten food. MOL  The kittens at first surrounded her and then wandered off. Cedar went over to play with mom. Hemlock laid down to watch. And Birch .... well, he came unglued. He flattened himself to the floor and YOWLED! Luckily Daiquiri didn't see him as much of a threat (poor boy - all that effort for nothing). Everyone else kind of followed her around for a while. Daiquiri did find their catnip toy though and once she got her nip on, the kittens were just annoying and mom sent her packing. So, she may not win the "Uncle Tim" star for socializing kittens, but she can at least help get them used to seeing other cats.

not so wordless Wednesday

Mom broke out a wand toy the other day. She is still trying to get Hemlock and Sumac to come closer to her and hang out. Birch is friendly, but she does have to catch him first.

swing and a miss

sometimes you just have to run over your sisters

all 6 in the picture

(OK - Birch is WAY in the back, but still....)

notice all three torties...very very close  MOL

review

We are a #ChewyInfluencer household and get a product free each month in exchange for an honest review. Receiving the product doesn't influence our opinions - we ARE cats! MOL  

This month we got canned food from Nature's Variety. Mom thinks it was the chicken kind, but she didn't take a picture of the box or a can or anything....and she can't remember. We do know it is grain free and mom is trying to make sure she keeps us on that kind of diet.

Mom is trying to find a canned food we will all eat. While she says she doesn't think she will completely switch us all to canned, she would like to try to change one meal a day. So she broke out the expensive paper plates and put a serving out for all of us permanent residents.

Daiquiri and Tommy gave it a try

Mozart had to hold off an orange interloper

Spud was pretty enthusiastic

After sniffing every plate, we give it 3 out of 6. Spud, Daiquiri and Mozart ate their share. Tommy and Ivy sniffed it and walked away. Junior tried it, but didn't eat much.

Fortunately, the foster kittens like this kind and they were more than happy to eat the left overs.

weekend report

Juniper disapproves of mom's late posting....

Just a quick update. Mom spent the weekend with the kittens but also helped drive another bloodhound for rescue on Sunday morning. Ellie Mae is 11 years old and super sweet....just left behind by someone. She dozed for most of the hour trip with mom and landed safely in a foster home by early Sunday afternoon.

The kittens are all sneezy, so the spay and neuters mom had planned for Cedar, Alder and Juniper for today are being delayed. Silly kittens....it is like they know those words and do it on purpose.

Mom did take those 3 to an adoption event on Sunday afternoon. Juniper freaked out a little at first but relaxed. Alder wasn't too sure about the whole thing but was eventually wrestling his sister and playing with a toy. Cedar was mr social butterfly....until nap time caught up with him. This is the store where Amaryllis is available for adoption but she is SO over kittens that she didn't even look in their direction. MOL

Random Fridays

Mom has checked on the flower kittens a couple of times now. As of Wednesday night, no applications, but the rescue does more on weekends, so we suspect they may go then. (paws crossed) Orchid was being very social, Muscari was WHINY (and he sounds like a rusty hinge - only louder) and Dandelion has come out of the corner and was being very friendly. Since space is limited, they did put other kittens in the tower with the flower kittens....one is a cute snowshow/siamese mix male who is ORNERY...he growled at both Muscari and Orchid (and is about half of Muscari's size). Being well behaved kittens, but of the flower kittens backed off.
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Mom has given up on the bottom shelf of the large cabinet in the foster room. It remains empty and the kittens love playing and snoozing there. Mom keeps trying to leave a bed or blanket on the shelf, but inevitably, it gets shoved off.

Cedar (maybe) and Sumac

Alder

Sumac

Birch and Sumac

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Mom is helping move a hound on Sunday and then has an adoption event. It rained a ton here on Wednesday night so we just hope it dries out some and no more rain for a few days. A lot of our friends are at Blog Paws in Phoenix this weekend. Mom just couldn't make the finances work this year but certainly hopes they are all having a good time (and drinking lots of water and staying in the a/c).

take two....

**FYI - we seem to be having some camera issues. We are also having some nasty weather here, so that may be it. Sorry for no kitten tv

Well, mom dropped of the flower kittens at the adoption center (take two) on Tuesday. Orchid seemed ok, Muscari was whining about being in a tower, and Dandelion hid in a corner. Poor babies....  There are kittens up there, but we suspect these 3 (paws crossed) will go quickly.

Juniper fell asleep like this

Orchid couldn't believe that position was comfortable

It is a little quieter in the foster space without the 3 bigger kittens in the room. The little ones don't seem to make quite as much noise without the flower kittens in there. The tree kittens are doing well. A little snotty but nothing serious. Birch - the newest orange tabby boy - has come around pretty quickly and while he is hesitant to approach for attention, he will sit near mom and doesn't mind being held or pet. Hemlock and Sumac seem to be a little tougher to crack. Mom is thinking this weekend she may take them into a smaller space and work with them using something high value as bribery. None of them are at 2 pounds yet though, so we have time to work with them. 

wordless Wednesday

Rough housing

The flower kittens love to race around and jump on each other. Mom swears they may actually be spring loaded for the amount of hang time they can get. And of course wrestling is a favored sport. Either with each other or with a little kitten if that is who they can catch.

Despite the outrage of Muscari, he and Dandelion seem to have  blast just running around like nuts. Though of the flower kittens, Muscari is by far the whiniest.

weekend report

Yep - it is definitely summer....we think the hots are here to stay for a while.

Mom spent more time with the kittens this weekend. Mozart got into the foster space on Friday (mom didn't have her camera). Two tree kittens ignored him, a couple of the kittens were curious....and the rest freaked out and put on their stranger danger suits. Sumac and Hemlock called him several names too. Since kittens aren't really his thing, he didn't stay very long.

 

Muscari

 

Dandelion

 

Dandelion and Orchid

 

Birch and Sumac

The hissy kittens are making progress. Hemlock is still the most hesitant to be held. Birch and Sumac don't seek out attention, but they are making more progress. Hemlock is still pretty hissy.

Everyone seems to be feeling better. The flower kittens will probably go to an adoption event with mom next weekend and then back to the adoption center. The tree kittens still have a few weeks before they are big enough for surgery.

random Fridays

You may have noticed a change to the appearance of the blog. We won a give away from Glogirly and she redid our header and made us some social media buttons and get everything set up for us (since mom couldn't do it on a bet). She has a great design site and we are THRILLED with the new look. Glorgirly - you ROCK!!!
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There were a couple of comments that people didn't get why mom cracked herself up naming the torties. Sumac and Hemlock are poisonous....thus she thinks she is funny naming hissy torties after those trees. MOL

For those of you that didn't see it on facebook or instagram, there was a 6th tree kitten and he was finally caught on Tuesday. Mom picked him up Tuesday night and he is NOT happy about it. His brothers hissed at him a little and then went about playing. Hemlock curled right up with him. Like the hissy girls, he isn't happy about being grabbed, but will tolerate being held. The goal is to get them not only to accept attention but come looking for it (thankfully we have time to get there).

Meet Birch

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Everyone seems to be feeling much better thankfully. If they get back to 100%, the flower kittens are ready to go and get themselves adopted.
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Also, for those of you that don't follow us on social media, starting last weekend, mom put out a plea from our rescue Colony Cats for help from anyone near Calgary Canada. Miss Jill reached out via Twitter and she picked up Tora last night. While we aren't exactly sure how Tora got to Calgary, she had been surrendered to Calgary Humane and they had originally made her available for adoption. Then after determining her to be very shy and stressed, contacted the rescue that she needed to be picked up. Ummmm....we are in Ohio. Fortunately, Miss Jill has the space to take her and picked her up last night. She said Tora settled right in to the spare bedroom and was already seeking out attention. We are entirely sure what the next step is for Tora, but HUGE applause to Miss Jill for seeing our plea and coming to her rescue.

throwback Thursday

(or...mom got busy this week and didn't get something else prepared for today....hahaha)

The flower kittens are now 11 weeks old. Can you believe it??? They are all feeling much better so hopefully in another week or so we can get them back to the adoption center. Amaryllis' surgery went well and she is now in her own private set up at one of our remote adoption locations.

Dandelion

Muscari

Trillium

Orchid

(mom loves this picture - it cracks her up)