Wound up

 Hold moly the 2 youngest had a case of the wound-ups on Sunday. Back and forth and round and round.

Until the baby ran out of gas.

Geez it's cold

 OK yeah it's January and we live in the mid-west but still.

We did get some snow and mom opened the door a little to let Boba check it out. She was unimpressed. 

Tilly got some freedom this weekend. She's also on new meds since her cold wasn't clearing up. She's been on them long enough that mom isn't worried about us catching anything. 

She's a good girl and is being very polite though mom has had to kick her off the desk several times. 

New year

Mom got some gift cards for Christmas so we got some new things. 

This scratcher is next to her chair. She's hoping Buttons will use it to climb up to be on the chair but who knows. 

We also got this new farmhouse scratcher from Chewy. (We bought it - that's where it's available)

Chanel checking out construction 

It was pretty easy to put together and seems really stable. So yay!!

We do hear some bad weather is blowing through. Please be safe and check on your neighbors. If you see animals left outside, please check with you local humane society or animal control.

A favor too: Buttons is entered in a photo contest. We will be posting on social media so be sure to check our links. One vote per day. It will say you can donate for more votes but we would never ask anyone to do that. It would be nice to win to be able to give some money to rescues but also make more people aware of CH. 

2024 in review

 Another year already. Like so many years, it brings change both good and bad. 

Let's take a journey through our year:

January was up and down. We took in the car kittens and mom had an adventure. But we also lost our Ivy girl. She is still missed. 

February brought us some older orange kittens for a couple of weeks. And Boba worked harder to figure out the food puzzle.

March had a couple of birthdays. Boba turned 1 years old and Chanel turned 7 years old.

April came and mom tried to convince Boba to wear a harness and be an adventure cat. Fail - total fail. haha  No kittens yet but the weather was finally getting nice and we got to enjoy some open window time. 

May brought us kittens. They needed a little socialization but weren't with us very long. Buckeye, Phantom and Gillig were very nice kittens. 

June started with the kittens from May being adopted. Then we had more kittens - the Cinderella group: Cinderella, Bibbidi, Bobbidi and Boo.

July came and we were invaded by a pair of CH (cerebellar hypoplasia) kittens. Pumpkin came first from a lady seeking help on Facebook. Buttons came a couple of weeks later from a vet office. We also fostered a trio of older gray kittens from the shelter for a couple of weeks. The Cinderella kittens were all adopted pretty quickly. (Pumpkin and Buttons were both private fosters that mom and a friend took on)

August was when Buttons actually arrived here. The girls got along really well.

September was uneventful thankfully. The CH girls continued to grow and get stronger. The weather cooled off some so we got a few days of open windows.

October came and brought us....Pumpkin 2.0 from the shelter. He wasn't here very long and was adopted from the shelter. Pumpkin 1.0 was stuck in the foster room due to the floors but Buttons got a little more freedom once mom blocked off the stairs.

November and there was a road trip to get Pumpkin to her forever home. Her new mom has another CH cat and we get updates that they are doing great. Pumpkin did really well on the road trip and it was totally worth it. Mom also took a vacation to spend time with friends and found out about a new water fountain. Our luck isn't great but 2 months later Chanel hasn't killed it.

December and we got our last kittens of the year. Just here a couple of weeks to get over a kitten cold then back to the shelter where they were adopted within a couple of days. We got a new gate for the stairs. Because....mom decided to adopt Buttons. The girls (Daiquiri, Chanel, Goldfish and Buttons) all got their annual vet visits and were pronounced healthy. Daiquiri could stand to lose a couple of pounds but we ran her first senior blood panel and everything looked great.

 

Some final numbers: 23 fosters this year, 11 boys and 12 girls. We are just fostering with the shelter now so we see less numbers each year. And that is really OK - there are difference and mom finds this to be a more positive interaction.

Total foster numbers: we started in 8/06. 473 fosters total: 23 momma cats, 240 females, 233 males.

We wish you a very merry, safe and happy new year. We can't promise to make mom post more often but we will do what we can. HAHA Love you all and thank you for your support over the years.

Happy Holidays

 We know there are lots of them so we wish you happy celebrations. No matter how or with whom you celebrate, please know we are sending you warm wishes.

We got an early present that included one of those famous catnip bananas. Daiquiri was pretty excited. Boba got a turn. 

Then Buttons got her paws on.

In other news, the fountain is a success. No ad or anything, but it's an Elfin and we think we've seen it on sale. 

Please take care of yourself this season and be safe. 

Vet visits and news

 We did the annual vet visits on Wednesday. Boba got gabapentin before the appointment to keep her head from exploding. 

Daiquiri may have to get some next time too. The stress is hard on those two.

Everyone got a clean bill of health. Chanel and Boba got their rabies vaccines updated and Daiq got a blood draw for senior (omg) blood work.

Also Daiq and mom "may" have gotten a talking too about Daiq's chonky figure. She weighed in at 14.75 pounds and should probably be under 12. Chanel stayed steady at 11 pounds and Boba weighed in at 11.5 (the vet declared her just a big girl).

_________________

In other news, it may come as no surprise to some of you, but Buttons is now officially a permanent member of the Random Felines. Mom made some adjustments around the house and things are going well. 

This is the new gate at the top of the stairs. It's still a work in progress since Chanel gets over but can't seem to figure out how to get back, and Boba knocks it off the closing magnet when she jumps over. 

We hope Buttons can also help us continue to educate people about rescue but also special needs kittens.

Good news

 The girls went back to the shelter on Friday. Marigold was adopted that evening and Aster was adopted on Saturday. We love quick turn overs like that. 

Annual vet visits are this week so mom is preparing for that. Daiquiri has to get the "old lady" blood work done while Chanel and Boba need their annual checks and vaccines. Boba will be going on the happy drugs this time so her head doesn't explode. 

Otherwise mom is busy working and getting Christmas stuff done. We don't put up a tree but she has shopping to do. 

Catching up

 Sorry...we've been bad about this.

Anyhow. There have been a couple of spare kittens here for about a week and they go back this Friday. Aster and Marigold came here after being spayed to get over a cold. Mom finally let them out of the foster room last Thursday and they are WILD. Just all over the place. They are out now during the day but in the foster room at night. 

Marigold

Aster

This will most likely be our last set of kittens for a while (though you never know). 

Fountain update: it's still alive!!! Actually Chanel still plays in the water a little but thankfully most of the except has worn off. Goldfish is still a little unsure about it - most likely because it will turn on when she walks by it. There is still a regular dish next to it as well.

Otherwise it's pretty normal here. Mom is working a little more with holidays and it getting a little extra busy. But she says it pays for Christmas presents so it's OK. 

Unexpected buy

 Not an ad

If you've followed us for anytime, you know we've tried water fountains. They can be great to entice cats to drink more. 

But.....previous ones have been terrible to clean. So many finicky parts. Mom would get so frustrated.

Then there is this cat:

Chanel actually has killed most of the ones we've tried. The last one she stood on the bubbling spout until the motor died. 

However, mom was on vacation a couple of weeks ago and noticed her friend (Julie - Cupcake's mom) had a box on her table. Oh look a fountain. They unboxed it and mom was intrigued. 

It was an Elfin Fountain. Mom had seen ads but never looked into it since there is currently a no fountain rule. 

This was different though. The motor was in the base - not in the container itself. This means minimal parts and everything but the base can go in the dishwasher. And the base is chargeable so it can be cordless. 

Yep....mom bought one. 

It charged quickly, easy to put together. Nice size water container. Quiet and easy to use. We are going to need a bigger mat. And milage may vary on how often you need to fill it. 

The only real problem so far is Chanel is part raccoon. She loves to stick her feet on the basin. Luckily she can't block the spout or the entire basin so the motor is safe. But she flings water ALL over. The top stainless basin also gets dirty faster here but it unclips really easy to get rinsed off. 

It's been running for a week now and we all really like it. Some more than others...

Big news

 Hey Boba...get out of the carrier. We need it for someone else.

PUMPKIN GOT ADOPTED!!!

Her new moms (a mother and daughter) heard about her on a CH page mom joined. They previously adopted a pair of CH orange cats - Popcorn and Cheddar. Popcorn passed away and they were looking for a companion for Cheddar. Pumpkin seemed like the perfect fit.

Mom asked all the questions and everything checked out. But...they live in New Hampshire. Mom put a lot of thought into it. What if it doesn't work out? But how long before another adopter comes along? And this just seemed like the ideal match.

So this past weekend mom and her friend Miss H drove to NY and handed Pumpkin over to her new mom.

We've already gotten updates and they love her and she's doing really well. We love a happy ending.

Still wobbling around

 Buttons is getting more access to the house during the day. Which sort of back fired since she starts yelling to be let out generally before the alarm even goes off in the morning. The stairs are completely blocked off though so mom has to remember to move it morning and night. 

Pumpkin is still in the foster room unless mom can really pay attention to her. She isn't good on the vinyl floors but also tends to get under the furniture which is a bad idea.

She does love that S scratcher and it seems to be helping her sit up more. Though she does spend a lot of time under the one half.

Mom has been slacking

 Sorry about that. 

Pumpkin and Buttons our CH foster kittens are still here. Both girls have been spayed and are vaccinated so if you know anyone (preferably in the Midwest) who might be interested in adopting, please send them our way.

We also have a short term foster for a couple of weeks. 

Meet Pumpkin 2. Yeah mom picked him up, gom him home, and got him settled. THEN she looked at his paperwork and burst out laughing. He's a very nice boy and is just getting over a kitty cold.

Mom bought Buttons a kitten harness and took her on an adventure on Sunday. She was a little freaked out but not bad for a first time. (Picture from H.J.)

What a nice weekend

 We had a break in the hot weather here so we got in some good window whiffing. Mom says it is going back to the hots this week for a while but at least we know fall is coming.

Mom got spay surgeries scheduled for the girls. So it it is time to start looking for their forever homes. Biggest thing is no stairs. Neither has the balance. Buttons does fine on regular floors though she does spin out some. Pumpkin would do better with carpet to give her a grip to get around. She still isn't completely walking up on all fours but mom is hoping she will get there. They both eat and use the litter box with no assistance. So if you or someone you know might be interested,  please send them our way. They do not have to go together. 

Mom got the puzzle out this weekend too. But she used a different treat and Boba was unamused.