Really Chickpea

 That girl sleeps in the oddest positions

For reference she is on mom's lap in this picture....with her head hanging toward the floor.

Sad news

 

                      Baloo 4/11/21 to 3/10/22

My sweet boy is gone. I didn't make our struggle public as some people would have wanted to insert their opinions and I needed to try to do my best for him.

With symptoms starting in January, my vet and I suspected he had the wet form of FIP. I decided based on his age and attitude, I want to try to treat him. I'm not going to debate the merits of that decision. If you have opinions, please keep them to yourself.

After 52 days of treatment, his body gave out. He just didn't have any fight left and I made the kindest decision to let him go. 

I'm broken. He was a special boy: tormenting Chanel, snuggling at bed time, playing with foster kittens. The house is missing a presence. 

---------------------------

To make yesterday worse, sweet Soda 0assed away suddenly too. 

You may recall he was here when Goldfish was a kitten as I was looking for a kitten raiser. He flunked out here but my friend Heather adopted him and he did great at her house. Fly free sweet boy

Weekend report

 Oh it was nice here this weekend. 70s and mom opened the windows for son fresh air. 

We got a suncatcher from a friend and mom finally got them up on the window. Chanel of course has to check out every new thing. Fortunately she has a short attention span so she left it alone after the original inspection.

Chickpea is happy snoozing away the weekend.

Baloo likes to work on his tan. 

Weekend report

 

Things are pretty quiet here. Mom has skowly started helping a small local rescue but it won't be the same level of time commitment which will be nice for her.

Mom was gone Saturday and when she came home there was a big brown tabby sitting behind the trash can in the garage. Time to break out the trap and do some TNR.

Mom has been watching the news and like everyone has a sad. We are send so much love to all those affected by this tragedy in Ukraine. 

Chickpea

 She is so goofy. We are still trying to figure out the reason for the snorty noises she makes. The vet suggested a different med but that is complete and while she seems a little better, it's not gone. So on to the next step.

In the meantime, she spends her days loose in the house and nights in the foster room. She and Baloo chase each other around and have a blast. She is mostly respectful of the older girls but has a few kitten moments that get her popped in the head by Ivy or Daiquiri. 

She is so super sweet and just unfazed by everything. Hopefully we can get her cleared up soon and on to the business of finding her forever family. 

A new era

 A post by the mom

Sorry its been quiet here for a while. Hopefully I can get back into a rhythm. 

It's been stressful here. The rescue I've been with for over 10 years is unraveling. I've done everything I could to help bring change and progress. Unfortunately a dug in minority has decided they aren't going to budge. 

So as of this weekend, I've walked away. I had made it clear there were decisions I couldn't live with. They made it clear where they are headed. And I can't do it anymore.

So where do I go from here? Taking a break. I've got time before kitten season im the mid west. I can't imagine not being a part of rescue. But not like this....

I'm actually really OK so I don't want people to worry. This has been coming and I've been planning for a couple of weeks. But change is always hard. 

Taco accident

 

The taco truck is pretty popular. Chanel and Daiquiri like to sleep inside, Baloo prefers the top.

Well the other day he may have leaned too far to one side:

Weekend report

 Horton went up to the adoption center on Saturday and went to his forever home that afternoon.

Mike is on the website and ready to go. We just need to find the right family for her. If you know anyone wothon a couple of hours of central Ohio, send them our way.

Chickpea needs to go back to the vet. Her breathing issues are SO frustrating.

Thaddeus is doing better. He was neutered on Thursday. Mom felt bad as he was friendly for the first time that morning and she had to grwb him and haul him to the vet. She still has to catch him to love on him but he is much better.

We also now have Titus that cane from the same area and is likely Thad's brother. He is much friendlier and comes up for love pretty quickly. 

Happy 2022

 We hope you had a safe holiday. We are all good here. 

Good news: Buster went up to the adoption center on Saturday and was adopted on Sunday!! No details on the family but congrats on your new forever Buster.

Mike is on the rescue website. Chickpea is still snorty and we are working with the vet on that. Horton was neutered last Thursday but has a little cold so he is here another week. 

And mom brought this guy home on Saturday. Meet Thaddeus. He needs to be neutered but he's also a little spicy. Thought he seems to be more undecided about being spicy. We suspect he will come around fairly quickly. 

Present from Mike

 *a post from the mom

I was out of town for Christmas and my friend Heather was babysitting Mike. Her partner is and artist and they helped Mike create a painting for me using pet safe paint. 

I love it.

Of course, Mike being Mike, the clean up didn't go smoothly so he still has some leftover paint.

Merry Catmas

 We hope Santa Paws found you and you are all having a safe and happy holiday. 

More proof cats are liquid

 Let's see: all the kittens are still here. Chickpea is on a different medication for her nasal issues. Buster is on the rescue website and ready to go. Mike will go on the website soon (mom is concerned about him getting adopted for the wrong reason during holiday excitement so we are waiting to post him). And Horton is just waiting to be 2 pounds and get added to the surgery list.

In the meantime, they are being fairly lazy:

Lazy weekend

 We are SO far behind....sorry

First: all of the noodle kittens are back at the rescue. Everyone has bern adopted except Gnocchi and Manacotti (who is being treated for a cold). Even Farfalle the momma cat!!

We added a new single kitten that the trapper named Horton. He is super sweet and just needs to get big enough for surgery. Baloo does treat him like a cat toy though which he does not fund amusing. 

Everyone else is doing mostly well. We are dealing with some things with Chickpea - she has some sinus issues going on we need to get figured out and resolved. Buster is up on the rescue website and Mike will get posted soon. 

Otherwise, mom is working from home and buried in rescue paperwork while we take it easy. 

Spay neuter oops

 All 5 kittens had their surgeries yesterday. 

Turns out mom may need remedial kitten classes. Buster and Mike....are both girls. Oops. 

Everyone is doing well. Gnocchi and Rigatoni will head up to the adoption center. Mike and Chickpea are both on meds for upper respiratory stuff. Buster will go online but hang here for a little bit. 

And yeah gonna have to fix the names.

Also....pictures of wobbly kittens are hard

Weekend report

 The rest of the kittens go for spay/neuter surgery on Thursday. 

Mom was kitten sitting some bottle babies on Saturday. Baloo was pretty curious.

Mike and Buster have been getting along great. However Sunday morning Buster got out of the pen so he ended up in the foster room with the other kittens. Mom is thinking about a rug in there so Mike can be in there too.

Cross your fingers

 The screen doors blocking off the foster room work about 90% of the time. The other 10% mom spends chasing kittens off the top of the doors and around the condo. She had originally blocked off the lower 2/3 of the doors - to keep kittens off the screens and block sight lines.

However, certain enterprising kittens have managed to jump that distance. Mom had been reluctant to cover more of the doors. If you look in the top left corner of the first picture, those are sliding doors in the dining room. This allows a lot of light into our condo as the only other window in the living room is the second picture and we don't get a lot of sunlight throughout the day.

Choices choices.....less light or loose kittens?? Erring on the side of less kittens in the house running loose, mom thought about how to block it off. Well, with $4 worth of post board, we are hoping this does the trick.

With there being less light coming in from the sliders, in addition to winter and the time change, mom bought some lights to go around the front window. Just to add a little cheer. So far so good. She did get smart and bought the plastic outdoor lights, so here's hoping they survive the gray monster.

Everyone is doing well. Orzo and Cavatelli were spayed on Thursday but have colds so they will be here a few more days. Mom is still juggling the surgery schedule for the rescue and dealing with holidays and vacations so our kittens will be further down the list.

Coming & Going

 Mom got 2 of the boys on the surgery schedule and that means Fava and Manacotti went up to the adoption center on Saturday. Favs made it 30 minutes before he was adopted. 

Manacotti is still up there but hopefully his family shows up soon.

The rescue did get a call about another wobbly kitten. Since we have Mike, the new guy came here on Sunday. He seems to have a very mild case of CH....and a major case of the grumpy. He gets around very well, his head barely bobbles. And he spent the first part of his day here growling at every cat he saw. 

Have you really thought about this

 *a post by the mom

Among the other things I do for the rescue, I process applications and contracts. Recently a juvenile (about 7 months old) male kitten was adopted, returned, adopted and returned. All no fault of his own - the first adopter was over 70 years old and after having him for a couple of weeks decided he had too much energy. The other couple own a restaurant and decided after a few days they didn't have enough time for a pet. 

It's hard not to be judgmental. I get that people want pets. I think pets enrich our lives. But I really wish more people would do a little research and put some thought into it. 

Thankfully we do not do same day adoptions, so we have taken the "spontaneous" adoption issue out of the picture. 

I honestly think that the whole "cats are an easy pet" myth is part of the issue. People seem to think that they adopt a cat and it will lay around their house all day and not be much work. We work very hard to mitigate that myth but yet it persists.

For whatever reason as well, people seem to think that the volunteers with our rescue don't seem to know what we are talking about. We will try to give them advice and point them in a direction and yet they will insist that they know best. If we truly believe the cat will be in danger, we can refuse the adoption, but sometimes we have to let them fail.

The best advice I give people coming in to adopt is to take your time and let the cat pick you. Have a seat and see who comes over and wants attention. See who catches your eye or who asks for pets. Don't base it on the picture on the website. Prepare to be surprised. 

The thing that I don't think people really take into consideration is that it takes time to adjust to change for these animals. It can take a few days up to a few months for ANY pet to adjust to a new home and new schedules. Plus it is can be so hard for cats to be adopted and then returned. They don't understand why their world has been turned upside down so many times. 

Things to consider:

1. Pets are a lifetime commitment.  This can be 15 to 20 years. Through weddings and dating and kids and moving....you make a commitment to that pet.

2. Kittens are nuts. There is just no way to get around that. Getting a pair can help and we will suggest that - at least they have each other to play and wear each other out. But they will get into things. They will test gravity. They will wake up in the middle of the night. 

3. All pets need work. Cats will need daily care. They need mental stimulation. They need annual medical care and vaccines.They get sick and may need emergency care and that can be expensive. 

4. They need love and affection. Life doesn't exist in a vacuum. The more you put into the relationship, the more you get out of it. 

That said, I certainly understand that life can be hard and pets need to be returned. All we ask is that you try to make it work, try to find that pet friendly apartment, try to take an allergy medication. And don't lie to us about why you are returning a pet....we've been doing this long enough to know better.

Before even sending in the application, think about these things: cost of supplies, cost of medical care, time during the day you have to commit to a pet. If you rent, have you checked with your landlord to be sure you can have a pet. Are the pets in your home up to date on wellness care and vaccines per your vet?

Before you bring them home: do you have supplies? Do you have a carrier? Do you have a safe space set up for them in your house with their things where they can spend at least the first few days? 

There is no rush. There are plenty of adoptable cats out there. Make sure you have your life and priorities ready and in place before adding to your family. Then reach out to your local rescue and be prepared to bring home some love.

Sundays

 It was cold and chilly here on Sunday. Mike decided he wanted nothing to do with it so he stayed on bed (he likes to borrow under the water proof mat for whatever reason that makes him happy). 

Bug alert

It is stink bug season here. Ugh. They get in the house and buzz around and they are passed the point where mom will squish them (plus they smell really bad of you do). 

Normally they get flushed or tossed back outside. Except the one the other night was out of mom's reach.

A tunnel

 Mom had been doing some research on how to help Mike gain some independence. 

For example he can stand up to eat but mostly if mom puts a hand under him to keep him from falling over. She had seen a few things online and contacted a local plastics company for help. 

Mike's new tunnel:

It is made from acrylic and is heavy enough he can't tip it over. The box has to be in there for now since mom "might" have gotten the dimensions wrong. She also needs to rig something across the front so he doesn't fall out.

But....it will help him stand up while giving him enough room to wobble some and build up his muscles.

Weekend report

 The Beans and the Noodles all got their first vaccines. Some eye boogers going on in there but nothing serious. Mom is saying she needs to get more dishes cause she gets run over on there at mealtime. 

Baloo enjoyed some cooker weather this weekend:

Mike is a joy. There are waterproof pads in his own and he makes his own cave system. Mom did order some silicone bowls for him to use since she worries about him banging his head on the dishes as he eats.