Already????

Well, we knew it was going to happen.  OK, all of us except Emma - she was a little surprised. MOL

Mom came home the other night with our first "official" group of newbies for 2013. We have had a couple of spares that were moving around (Judy and Nurdle) but this is our first momma and kittens of the year.

Mom took the crate into the bathroom to get them set up and Emma followed her - cause THAT is where dinner is served. She and mom went around a few times before mom could get the door closed with Emma on the outside. (mom here: that kitten is slippery.....  haha)

A good samaritan brought in this group. Seems one of his neighbors moved out and left mom and the kittens in an apartment. The guy was concerned as it appeared mom wasn't caring for the kittens. They were separated when they first came in cause mom was acting like she was angry with the kitts. Well, mom ate 2 and 1/2 cans of food before slowing down. The rescue lady then reintroduced the kittens and mom was fine with them.

 momma cat - Mist (and yes, she needs a sammich or four)

trying to put the whappy paw on Emma (out of the shot)

kitten tetris

They are all boys. Mom thinks one of the black ones may have very faint stripes....we think she is gonna have a hard time telling them apart. No names yet....she is still working on that part of it. The tuxie is the bravest of the crew but we suspect within a couple more days the boys will be all over mom. Mist is a nice girl and loves her chin scritched. :)

Mom spent more time with the boys last night and they are FULL OF IT!!!  All over and biting her. She is leaning toward naming them after peppers.....more on that when she figures it out.  :)

Wordless Wednesday.....

OH - and the v-e-t on Saturday said "she is just little". OK....mom got her spay surgery scheduled for 1/29.

Tim on Tuesday....

Well, it has been a week since my teefs were stolen......  Mom says she doesn't think I am feeling "perfect" yet and she was mumbling something about dragon breath. But I feel much better and there haven't been as many fights around here in the last week. Not that I am saying ANY of that was my fault of course, but.....

I still don't open my mouth all the way - it isn't comfortable. I did let mom take a little look on Sunday and she said it looks so much better....though a little strange with no teefs back there. I am still eating canned food with Emma....she isn't so bad (OK - she growls at me a little, but come on, she is tiny). I hope that continues, but I am not sure mom is gonna fall for it forever.

Thanks for all your support and purrs and comments - they have meant a lot to me. And it is nice to know that other kitties out there have gone through this same thing and been ok with it.

Tim

Emma and I spent Sunday afternoon on mom's lap

weekend transport

Mom did another transport on Sunday. It was a last minute thing....the coordinator thought she had it all nailed down and then a couple of things went wonky and mom agreed to fill in.

This is Carmen:

Mom doesn't know much about Carmen. She is a Cane Corso - but one of the smallest mom has ever seen. MAYBE 50 pounds. And in serious need of a picnic basket of sandwiches.  But mom says she was SUPER sweet and a great traveler.

And mom said she got to thinking while she was driving. There are probably hundreds, if not thousands, of dogs on the road every weekend on their way to forever homes, foster homes or rescues. And at least in the transports mom has been involved with, there are been rare incidents (and never anything really bad). So much is asked of these dogs - be good in the car, travel well, and be handed from person to person for a very long day in a car. And yet they go along with no problems.

Carmen turned around once when mom handed her off, but then got in the next car and she was off. Amazing......

Caturday.....

We plan to relax today and take it easy......  The cold is back here and we are glad to be inside. Mom worries about our feral momma cat Allie. She always worried about any being that has to be out in bad weather, but she said it is somehow worse since Allie sorta lives with us and mom sees her and gave her a name.

Junior getting a good cleaning from Tommy

And no, mom is not allowed very close to Junior....thank heaven for the zoom on the camera.....  but she says he is darned cute and it is hard to resist. :)

Random Fridays......

Mom found a new website: Micro Chip Lookup  It is a universal lookup site where you can enter any chip number and it will give you the company information so you can contact them for owner information. Tell your rescues about this.....
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There is an auction being schedule to help Sallie the Romance Puppy.

If anyone has anything, they can email a picture of the item, a short description and a suggested started bid to Marg. margaretmsan@gmail.com
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We have good adoption news......Judy went home on Monday with her new moms. They have two dogs (ages 12 and 6) and are going to give her all the time to adjust. And Nurdle went home on Wednesday night with a very nice young couple.

Judy's new mom called our mom on Wednesday night. Judy's new name is Smudge and she is doing very well. She has had one meeting with the dogs - not so bad - she gave them the halloween cat routine but the dogs were on leashes so she was fine. They are going to work with everyone more over the weekend but are committed to making it work. YEAH - we love those kind of adopters. :)

 Judy and Nurdle.....just awwwww

Gin and Maxine at Petco - Max is still looking for her home

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Mom gets emails from Tucker (former known as Whiskey) about how he is doing. And she had asked mom a few times about Gin. Mom emailed her earlier in the week to let her know that Gin had been adopted.....and she sent us this picture of Tucker (apparently that bed used to belong to his big brother):

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Allie the momma cat (before her release)

Mom here: I have a story to share from the other morning. Let me start out by saying this - I love my Dad. He doesn't always "get" what I am doing with rescue, but I love him.

He and my mom are trying to buy a piece of property and I am faxing the documents back and forth for them. Dad called Wednesday night and said he had one more thing and he would bring it over Thursday morning. He called when he was close and since I was ready to leave for work, I headed down to the garage. My normal routine is to open the door into the garage, yell good morning to Allie (our feral momma cat to the alcohol kittens) and then open the garage door (then feed her and leave). When the door went up, she was sitting in the middle of the driveway - which is pretty typical. I tied my shoes and told her she needed to move since Dad was coming.

She back up to the sidewalk when he pulled his truck around. We spoke for a couple of minutes and then I stuck my head around the front of the truck to be sure where Allie was before he drove off. I told him it was ok to go cause the feral I care for was sitting on the sidewalk. Dad looked out the window of the truck at her, looked back and me and said "I thought it was a cat."

ummmmmm, yeah. Without laughing (though I couldn't get the grin off my face), I explained that cat is her species and feral is her temperment and that across the drive was as close as we got but that I care for her. And then of course there was the obligatory "dad lecture" about making sure not to leave the garage door open too far.
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Thankful Thursday.....

We know we have talked before about the local clinic that does low cost spay/neuter and helps out lots of rescues.....

Mom forgot that Tuesday was Blog the Change so she decided to add it to Thankful Thursday and tell you about the latest efforts of SOS of Ohio.

Some of the staff and some of their volunteers are in the Bahamas this week helping out with Operation Potcake. You can see pictures from their facebook site here.

They are using local businesses and spaying and neutering dogs - for free!!!  From what we can see, they did 299 the first day and 262 on day two.

From their website: "Potcakes are local dogs, a mix of many different breeds. They may resemble a typical pariah dog or have hound, mastiff, spaniel, terrier, or retriever characteristics. Although appearance varies, potcake dogs generally have smooth coats, cocked ears, and long faces."

We couldn't be prouder of our local vet, techs, staff and volunteers who are taking time out to help these animals in need.  They are already running over the money they have on hand, so if you are someone you know has some coffee money you haven't spent yet, please let them know and donate.  Their goal is to spay/neuter and medically treat at least 2,000 animals in 10 days.

SOS and all the volunteers helping Operation Potcake - YOU ROCK!!!

Wordy Wednesday

Thanks for all the well wishes for Tim. He seems to be feeling much better. Mom noticed that he wasn't rubbing his face on things quite so much last night, so it may have been the drugs. MOL

Plus....she found a toy drowned in the water dish this morning so he MUST be feeling better (he is the only one she has caught doing that).   Mom hasn't tried to take a look yet so no news there. Dr Tom cleaned his front teeth and sealed them, so we are hoping that those get to stay. For right now he is still eating canned food (what a hardship) and will go back for a checkup on Feb 5.

Mom completely forgot yesterday was Blog the Change (can't get mom to remember anything these days), so we are combining it with our Thankful Thursday post tomorrow.....

Tim and the v-e-t.....

Well, Tim tried to escape his fate, but mom grabbed him yesterday morning and shoved him in the PTU. Then is was off to the v-e-t. Even his warrior songs in the car did not deter her.....

Dr Tom is a very nice man - he was very gentle with Tim and answered all of mom's questions. Plus he was the first to give her a good explanation of why the stomatitis started and everything else. Our v-e-t Dr Taylor had said she suspected an abcess in the back where he had his molars stolen. Dr Tom said that in some cats, a dental is done and the gums are exposed and the plaque gets in there as it is cleaned off and the body reacts by causing an overwhelming infection. So......

Tim lost all his teefs but the front ones. The infected teefs in the back are being rubbed by his lips and that is aggravating it even more (mom saw pics - it was ugly - poor boy). He will be on anty-biotics for a while and rechecked in 2 weeks. Hopefully he will get more comfortable and be back to his normal lovey self soon.

While mom liked Dr Tom, Tim didn't seem as impressed and at one point even tried to climb into mom's shirt.

Mom was kinda smart last night when she brought him home. She put him in the bathroom with Emma to get some dinner and left him in there for a little bit (she had an appointment). When she let him out, he smelled like home and less like the v-e-t. He seemed pretty comfortable and there was no hissing or anything. Though he does keep rubbing his face on everything like he has an itch (which he probably does).

Fanks for all the comments and purrs for our boy. We have read the sites recommended and know he will be fine.....though mom's wallet can't say the same thing. :)  She is mumbling something about someone around here having to get a job.

wet toothpaste.....

Mom had mentioned before that Nurdle needed a bath. We don't know what he had been into before he got here, but holy smokes he didn't smell so great.

So, Nurdle got a bath....no, there is no pictures of the event or video - mom is the only person here and you need two hands to bathe a squirmy kitt.

lady, you are just rude

I got my lasers on you foster-mom-lady....

it is gonna take me forever to get all my furs dry

He was pretty good for the whole thing. Whiny but didn't put up a fight. It took him a little bit to get all his furs back into place - and Judy walked around him sniffing him.  Problem solved.....

Mom has discovered a new thing about Nurdle....he has NO sense of personal space. He wants to be up close and personal with mom!!  At least he is little, cute and purrs (loudly).  :)

He seems to be having a great time being at Petco with Judy and Maxine. And strangely (at least to us), Judy has had a LOT of attention but Nurdle not nearly as much. We aren't sure why - mom and the staff at the store sure seem to be enamored with the little guy.

Tim is seeing Dr. Tom the v-e-t dentist today. We will give you a full report tomorrow

It's a miracle.....

At 8 months old, after weeks in foster care and MONTHS of waiting......

were they really this tiny?

 she did love snoozing with others

GIN GOT ADOPTED YESTERDAY!!!!!

So, for all the moaning and groaning and wait and everything else, Gin is the last of the alcohol kittens to get a home.  And it was worth the wait.....she has a new mom and dad and three kids to spoil her rotten.

Mom did get a laugh out of the adoption part of it too. When mom called the woman yesterday afternoon, the lady asked if they could meet in the afternoon as they are Turkish and their oldest son is taking language lessons. Sure...no problem. Mom got their a little early to do the paperwork. When the family got there....the lady and the daughter have their heads covered. And there is mom is all her glory: capris, messy hair in a pony tail, tattoo on her arm, and adopting out a kitten named after alcohol. Gotta love it. :)  They are renaming Gin....her new name is Mulberry. The lady got her out and Gin relaxed into her arms. And that makes it ALL worth the wait.

Oh, and we are back to just Emma here. Mom took Nurdle and Judy with her and left them in the cages at Petco with Maxine. Plus, mom put Emma on the treat scale there and it (very) unofficially says that Emma is (finally) over 2 pounds.

Maybe....

Well, mom is taking the kitts to Petco again today for a couple of hours. It isn't the normal adoption weekend, but these guys need the exposure when they are little. Mom put up a sign with the other cats but seeing them in catson makes a difference.

Thanks for all the comments yesterday.....we understand about retesting and everything. Mom was hesitant to post about it, but was just so frustrated with the lady's attitude.  But we knew you would understand and mom would feel better once she got it out of her system. :)

We had another all out cat fight last night involving almost everyone here.....the kittens and Maestro was safe. Mom discovered later that Tommy lost a toenail - pulled out all the way to the quick. No idea where his nail ended up. ugh.....  We hope some of this can be solved with Tim feeling better.

Random Fridays

A note about Fred: mom is the one who gave her the nickname and mom is the only person allowed to call her that.....
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 Eileen mentioned on Monday that she bets Emma likes Nurdle cause he is her size. Actually, for being about 3 weeks YOUNGER, Nurdle is actually BIGGER than Emma.....

Keep in mind that Judy and Emma are both about 12-13 weeks old. Nurdle is about 9 weeks old. hmmmmm 
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OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!!!

Remember Eclipse from this summer???? Well, she didn't like it at the shelter much - she would growl and hiss at the other cats and try to slap volunteers (she is front declawed). Well......

On facebook on Tuesday, mom discovered that Eclipse was ADOPTED on Monday!!! Concats to her and her new family....we are glad they saw past her scared attitude and decided to give her a chance. They commented on the picture and said she was very relaxed and sleeping already at the house. :)

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Thanks for all the comments about Tim and Tom on Tuesday.... (say that 10 times fast).  Mom says she isn't opposed to a full extraction, but doesn't want that to be the first option. Plus it sounds like everyone else out there is having the crazies, so mom says maybe the boys just lost their minds temporarily.  Hard to say.... at least we aren't telling. :)  Oh, and Tim seems to feel better some days than others, so yes, he was running around playing with the laser, but he is also still kinda hissy some times.....

Mom talked to our v-e-t Dr T yesterday and she wants mom to get Tim in to see a pet dentist. Cause even if it is stomatitis, that doesn't explain his reluctance to open his mouth or some of the other things mom has been seeing. Tim goes Monday to meet Dr. Tom.....(no, even we couldn't make up something like that...Tim going to see Dr Tom...hahaha)

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Mom was hesitant to talk about this, but wants to throw it out there. A couple came in last weekend and said they were interested in Gin. Everything looked good until mom was going over Gin's medical records. Since the kitts were tiny when they were caught, their mom Allie was tested. It is policy of the rescue that if mom is tested and comes back negative, the kitts are not re-tested unless something arises that would make us think they have been exposed to something (mom is negative, kitts are negative - they get their antibodies from her). The lady freaked out....no way was she bringing a cat into her house that hadn't been tested. Mom tried to explain and she wasn't listening. Mom thought about trying to make another option for this couple, but decided that she wasn't going to cave to this woman.  We understand that people want to see "the test" on their cat - but this woman wouldn't listen to mom's explanation. (and her husband rolled his eyes at mom behind the lady's back, so we suspect she may just be like this)

Which leads us to this....we understand that not everyone does rescue. We understand that not everyone knows the ins and outs. But WHY do people have to act like they are doing us a favor by applying and adopting animals???  We heard more people complain about adoption fees and policies that we should. So, the next time you go to adopt, please understand that rescues are all different but they do things for a reason.....and the protection and happiness of the animal is their first priority (or at least it should be - some rescues are better than others).

And so, Gin is still waiting for her forever family.

snoozin with the Bourb

Thankful Thursday....

We hear so many stories about kids being mean to animals or bullying or whatever.....

And then we hear stories about kids giving their allowances to shelters or birthday money or volunteering. Today we are thankful for ALL these kids - and the people who are helping them be animal people

So we wanted to take a minute to say how thankful we are for mom's niece. Mom calls her Fred and she has been sending the summers up here with grandma and grandpa for a few years now. And she goes with mom when she goes to the shelter and LOVES to come over to visit with the fosters here (she moves a little fast for us.....)

Fred and one of the alcohol kittens

 Fred taking Doc for a walk

Fred was having a bake sale to raise some money for the shelter too

Fred holding Whiskey at the vet's office

She and her mom go to the local humane society near them to pet and love on the animals as well.

We can work as hard as we want to save animals, but if we don't teach the next generation to do good things, then we have still failed. Mom is proud that Fred wants to help animals and is learning about what mom does - and still wants to help even when she sees the bad things. Fred lives with 2 kitties and the polar bear (see below)
   mom: really? we are still on the polar bear thing??

Fred's dog Minnie - she is a Great Pyrenees....

she wore the antlers, but we don't think she was having fun

Fred and Grandma (those antlers got around)

Wordless Wednesday

**Featuring: Nurdle the tuxedo, Judy the gray, Emma the calico and Tim as the big monster that runs through the middle......

Tabby Tuesday

Dateline 12:15am Sunday night/Monday morning......

There was a crash, bowls banging together and a screaming cat fight with cats running down the hall.

By the time mom got out to the living room with the lights on and squirt bottle in hand, Tim had Tom cornered in the dining room....... (yes, you read that right - Tim had Tom cornered) Tim lost his collar and has MORE new scratches on his nose.  Tommy had a few fluffies sticking out of his fur.

Mom here: I have NO idea what started this. I do wonder if Tim is feeling weird from the stomatitis and is taking it out on the others. Gotta touch base with both vets about how to help him. In the meantime, I got my hands on Tommy and didn't find a mark on him. Tim wouldn't let me anywhere near him. I have NEVER seen those two do anything but play wrestle. I don't know what started it, but it got serious enough that everyone was jumpy for a while. Even Judy in the bathroom was standing in the halloween cat pose with all her hair standing on end.  Ok - except Maestro - he slept through the whole thing...one advantage to being old and going deaf. :)  I am just glad that I had clipped nails a week or so ago. And that Tim went after Tommy and not a kitten or Maestro. It worries me......  I do have pain meds I can give him, but I am not sure that is it and don't like the idea of having him high as a kite - plus at this point he doesn't trust me much so medicating him could be an adventure. 

Nurdle

From Wikipedia: nurdle (noun)

• A pre-production microplastic pellet about the size of a pea.
• A pea sized dab of toothpaste applied to a toothbrush

or........

 a small black and white kitten that was rescued, is in foster care, and is looking for his forever home.

being this cute at the adoption event is exhausting

Mom went to the rescue adoption center on Sunday to get the medical paperwork for Maxine and Judy. This little guy was going to go to Miss Beckie's but she said that she doesn't have anyone that small and maybe he could come here. Sure.....  Miss Mona (who runs the rescue) said she heard the word and definition on the today show and thought it was fun and knew somecat was going to have to get it. We admit, mom is having fun walking around saying it. And it was making people smile at the store on Sunday.

Anyhow, when he got here and walked out of the carrier like he owned the place. THE NERVE!!!

Mom took him to Petco on Sunday......he seemed to have a good time. He was hissed at by Cleo and Gin but it didn't faze him at all. He is now running around playing with the girls. We can tell that Emma thinks he is cute - but a little weird. :)

playing with picture resizing.....

we told you yesterday about the Funny Farmers info about the resizing of pictures. mom downloaded the program (you can find the link to their review in yesterday's blog post). anyhow, it was pretty easy to use, and mom checked our google picture limits and decided to play with some. here are the results....she was playing with Doc and the alcohol kittens pictures.....

don't you want to kiss that nose???

Doc and Bourbon (we think)

 Doc, Bourbon, Gin and Whiskey

So, now she has a new way to save and load pictures....if only we could get her to LABEL them when she saves them......  sigh

Random Fridays....

Ivan from The Cujo Chronicles gave his football predictions the other day....prepare to laugh. :)
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Emma is an equal opportunity pest cuddler. Mom, Tim....whomever she can find. (and no, we have NO idea what Tim is thinking about there in the back)
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The Funny Farmers posted some great advice for those of us having problems with the stupid picture issue.
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So, turns out mom had a case of the lazies and Judy didn't go to Petco on Wednesday. And after a couple of days, mom has decided to take Maxine up there - she can gain some serious social skills up there and Judy will stay here - she is better with playing with Emma and they could both use a friend.

Speaking of Emma, she REFUSES to eat dry food. Makes mom even more nutty. She tried to fool the kitt this morning - she put down dry and then put the canned on top. Emma ate around the dry. If it were us, mom would take a stand and say "eat it or whatever" but Emma is still little and can't go too long. Mom is trying to figure out how to tell someone - yes she is cute and available for adoption but she only eats canned food. ugh....

Oh - and mom will be at Petco on Sunday for another adoption event and plans to take Emma for the "cute" factor.
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Have a great weekend - we are hoping it warms up a little.....mom looks at the thermometer in the morning and wishes Allie had somewhere other than the garage. Plus mom wants to start setting the trap in the garage to try to catch Allie's boyfriend. :)

a couple of short term newbies....

Judy (above) and Maxine (below) 

With the boys leaving on Sunday and an adoption from Petco (no, not Gin sigh.....), we were down a cat at Petco and it was just us and Emma here. So Mom spoke to Miss Beckie about playing a game of musical cats to Petco. Miss Beckie was going to give us a little guy to keep Emma company, but then decided maybe to send a couple of her shyer kittens to us.

Judy went to Petco yesterday. She is not quite as skittish as Maxine.

Mom laughed at Emma.....when the new kittens were released into the bathroom, Maxine ran and hid and Judy sat on the blankets. Emma of course had followed mom in - looking for something to eat of course. She came over, sat in front of Judy, tilted her head to one side....and whapped Judy on the head (not hard, but still). Emma has been trying to play with Judy - though not overly successfully.  :)

Maxine is gonna need some work - right now she is running from mom and everyone else here. But heaven help us she is a cutie (mom just has to get a better picture).
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Loved all the comments yesterday. We know when fosters come in that the plan is to find them homes and watch them leave. But Bourb (and by extension Shine) were the exceptions - due to special needs and just the length of time they were here.  There were tears, but they were happy tears. Mom knows this special couple is the right place for the kids...... And don't worry - we will keep you updated. :)

Bourbon and Moonshine.....

It has been a slightly quieter weekend around here.  See, Friday night mom got a text from the rescue lady. Someone had stopped by the rescue center.....they were dropping off donations but wanted to ask about Bourbon after seeing him on Petfinder.

Now, mom will admit that her heart skipped a beat.  But, she did the right thing and called them. They had a previous special needs cat from the same rescue. That cat developed a neurological issue and ended up losing feeling in his back legs. He only lived about 18 months, but mom said you could tell they loved him very much. They spoke about Bourbon's issues and mom mentioned his brother Moonshine was living here too. They made an appointment to meet both boys on Sunday.

    what the carp is all that white stuff??? 

                                    Shine doing his cat tree inspection

    yes, that is Emma curled up with da Bourb

So Sunday morning mom packed up the boys and met this very nice couple. No kids, no other animals. Mom got there early enough to get Bourbon out and on his leash/harness and comfortable. The couple showed up and they started talking and mom handed over Bourbon. Logan (the dad) is pretty tall and has a beard. Bourbon did his lean back and give you the "look" thing - and then reached out to touch Logan's beard. Too funny.  Moonshine came out and was loved on by Laura for a few minutes. They talked about helping Moonshine adjust and his favorite trick of carrying around a ball in his mouth and throwing it down the stairs to chase it.

They fell in love with both boys and adopted them that morning. Mom said did say that they were adopting two kittens and a potential stalker - which they are ok with.

Mom is a little sad, but knows that this couple is well equipped to care for Bourbon, accepts both boys for who they are and are just what mom could hope for. They have moved furniture and built stairs for their previous cat and couldn't wait to get them home. Mom knew the only way Bourbon was leaving here was with the "perfect" family.  And they were open to adopting Moonshine too. :)

Good luck and much love to Bourbon, Moonshine and their new mom and dad......

We gotted an update:

Bourbon has been playing all day! He's still a little 

skittish around us, but has ventured into my lap a 

few times. Grey Goose (fka Moonshine- we decided 

to only rename him to play off his coloring) spent 

most of the afternoon hiding under the couch. He was 

pretty shy at first but he's slowly been exploring the 

place with Bourbon this evening and the 2 of them have 

been napping together and sharing toys and taking turns 

using the litterboxes. We just love them already 

and are so happy to have them as our little family!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

 

 We wish you and yours a Happy 2013!!!!  We are looking forward to a wonderful year of more good times here, more rescues, more adoptions, more education of the public and more transports!!!!  And of course, spending more time with our friends here in the CB!!

Love and kittie kisses: mom, Maestro, Tim, Tom, Mozart, Ivy, Spud and Junior

(oh, and be sure to check in tomorrow for an exciting start to 2013)