Jail break

  the auction is on. There are so many great things over there....be sure to stop by.

Mom is still having difficulties getting the chip-in to do math, but we are getting any donations that are made - THANKS. Plus she MAY have figured it out...something about verification, so it may take a couple of days to show the updated numbers. Once again, the adventures of living with a techno-dork. MOL

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We just read that Huffle Mawson ran for the Bridge. There isn't anything on their blog yet, but we are VERY sad and sending them purrs.....

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And, now onto the main event: the reason for the auction

Don't believe for a second that these faces are innocent. Nope, not a chance.

Cory: in the back with the white stripe on his head. He is the second biggest (just behind Opal) and is very sure that mom is out to get him. He will come over but mom is still working on him. But he and Kyan are up for any game....real or invented.

Emma: next to Cory, more color on her face. She is the tiniest of the crew and the most cuddly so far. She is willing to play and run around....but mom suspects there is a girl out there that will be more than happy to buy Emma a shiny collar and carry her around like she is sure she deserves. She is a princess in training.

Kyan: the other boy, left side of the picture. Master of trouble and the second smallest kitten. He is always up to SOMETHING. That being said, mom picked him up the other day and he touched her nose and started to purr very loudly. aww.....

Opal: our other girl and also up for any and all adventures. She is also the kitten most likely to pounce on someone else. Like Cory, we are still working on her cuddling. But she will sit there with this look and it melts mom's heart.

But, we have other issues......they have discovered how to get over the baby gate!!!

Mom was hoping to have a little more time. Mom was working on the laptop Saturday evening when she noticed Emma coming down the hall, closely followed by Kyan. We have no idea how the littlest ones got out first.....but there it is. They don't like having the door closed now but that is the only way to keep them in there now. They are pretty little yet and can get into too much. So over the weekend they have been out for short periods of time.

Miss Emma the cute in the corner tent

The alcohol kittens are still here as well and Gin and Moonshine DO NOT like the little ones. And the little ones don't seem to care...... MOL

Marg requested video: we aim to please!!!

Independence and Gratitude.....

The auction is up and running. furriends of the cb

THANK YOU to those who have contributed something to auction off. THANK YOU to those of you who are going to shop. THANK YOU to those who have contributed through the chip-in.

On that note, mom wanted to talk to all of you:

I have been thinking a lot about independence and gratitude. I hope you will bear with me.

I think woman of a certain age and background are raised to think for themselves and be independent. And I am a big supporter of that ideal. But I think part of raising independent women is that we learn, consciously or unconsciously, to think that we need to be able to do everything by ourselves. And that asking for help shouldn't be done. I am not talking about the flat-tire-on-the-side-of-the-road-and-I-need-a-towtruck help. I am talking about the crap-up-to-my-eyeballs-trying-to-survive help. Somehow asking for help became the same as being weak. And we can't somehow be independent and weak at the same time. So we learn to suck it up and get by no matter what. Until we break or someone forces us to accept help.

And then there is gratitude. As kids we are taught to be polite and say please and thank you. I think it becomes routine. Not insincere, but used to the point where you can say it for everything. But I think there are levels of gratitude. There is the "thank you" to the person who holds the door while you are juggling your morning coffee. Then there is the "thank you" for unexpected help.

And then there is this auction. I keep saying THANK YOU. Yet it seems inadequate for all the help you are giving....and for how I feel in response. I wish I had better words to express it. But I don't have those words, but I don't.....so

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

And the door revolves again.....

We wouldn't be surprised if Moonshine and Gin are dizzy by now. MOL

Mom got thinking about Cleo. She needed to be away from the kitts and get some quiet after surgery. Yeah, that ain't gonna happen here. :)  So, mom got to thinking (a dangerous proposition, we admit). What if Gin and Shine came back here (again) and Cleo took their spot at Petco? Seemed like a good idea. So Cleo took their spot and they ended up in Cleo's carrier to come back to the house.

And Shine nearly got himself in BIG trouble....he threw a fit about getting in the carrier. And then growled and hissed and whacked at Gin until they got home. Mom knows it is cause the carrier smelled like Cleo, but sheesh.  About an hour after getting home, everyone was back to normal. Or as normal as it gets around here. 

We can't say thanks enough for the support for the auction. Miss Marg says she is getting lots of donations. We put up the chip in (though it appears to not be updating - mom will have to get on that and we wish her good luck with her general lack of technical skills MOL). If you are baffled by that but want to help, let us know.

Random Fridays.....

THANK YOU

For all the comments, support and everything else yesterday. Mom gets choked up reading the comments. We are so very grateful to be a part of this community!!!  Purrs and kisses to all of you.....  Marg said the auction should be up Monday and she has already gotten a lot of donations.  We know we keep saying it, but thank you......  The chip-in for the auction in on our sidebar as well.

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Who is that cutie in the carrier you ask???  That would be Cleo. :)  Mom took her yesterday for her lady-gardenectomy. And then she will move to Petco. The kittens aren't nursing anymore (darned teenage mom lost interest) and she is adorable and needs a home. Plus we is hoping that some "alone time" for Cleo will mellow her out a little. (sure - good luck with THAT)  MOL
   Mom: hey - she isn't that bad. OK, so she lays in the middle of the hall and uses some grouchy werds on you guys, but at least she isn't chasing you down the hall like some other momma cat we had here.
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If you are on that facebook thingy, we would like to introduce you to a "new" kitty. Her name is Lahela and she was a Guardian Angel cat from Best Friends. She is blind and was VERY VERY shy when she was first rescued. She has now been adopted and posts about her adventures adjusting to her new home.
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A local rescue Black and Orange Foundation blogged an article about adoptions from rescues. It seems that some people get frustrated by certain requirements and questions that rescues ask. The article was great (and so is Black and Orange). Should be required reading for all potential adopters. :)
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As most of you know by now, mom loves driving for Ontario Bloodhounds. If you click on the link you can read about 3 of their adoptable dogs in the news!!!  Hoss was in a music video and Pete and Lily are going to be ON BROADWAY!!! That is right, these sweet hounds were selected by a reknowed trainer to be the Bumpus Hounds in "A Christmas Story". And once the show is done, these well trained kids will be available for adoption!! And if you live in or around New York City, get tickets and let us know how the hounds did in the show.

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Mom is thankful - Tim not so much....

Mom has asked and the CB is going to try to set up an auction to diffuse some of the cost for the medical care the gemstone kittens incurred along with their spay/neuters. Mom knew when the kittens came from Miss Chrystal in Illinois that she was responsible for them. She feels that way about all her fosters. But she never anticipated that they would get so sick - no one can....it happens more often than not - especially in rescue. No animal is allowed to suffer here.....so she got them to the vet.

(THANK YOU Ann for the graphic.....mom is all choked up from the offers to help)

Now, Bourbon and Moonshine are most likely going to need dentals as well as their adult top canines grew in - but their baby teeth didn't fall out. So they have 4 top canine fangs....and inflamed gums....and dragon breath (stand back - it really is lethal). The rescue, like many others, is struggling. They took in a kitten that had to have her tail amputated due to abuse. And then October 31st they took in 2 black kittens that had been set on fire (yes, you did read that right). And they took the alcohol kittens and the gemstones kittens (that Miss Chrystal originally saved) as a favor to us.

So, if you have something you would like to donate, please see above for information. Mom says she hates asking for help, but she is going to have to bend her pride a little. It was hard for her to admit she needs help. But last night she was laying in bed.....Cory seems to be sliding backwards, Maestro has developed a strange limp, and Junior and Spud got into it - twice around 12:30am. We hate to tell people this, but mom was laying in bed and almost cried. It is hard to care so much and feel overwhelmed. So, THANKS
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Tuesday was interesting.  We didn't get breakfast in a timely manner. The kitts and Cleo did, but not the rest of us. Then it happened.......

Tim was uncerimoniously grabbed and shoved in the PTU. He put up a good fight, but mom overpowered him. He started singing the warrior song and Tommy came over to check on him.

And then we got distracted by breakfast. (sorry Tim)

Mom hauled him off in the car and he was gone ALL DAY!!!

He came back moaning and groaning about a weird v-e-t and a hospital and dogs and funny smells. And he wasn't walking too straight either.

Mom said he needed his teeths cleaned. He did very well but did have to have a couple of molars in the back removed. He was ALL ABOUT the canned food when he got home - mom had to stand guard as the rest of us wanted it too!!! By morning he was pretty much back to normal. He is on an aunty-biotic for a few days....and put up a fight with mom that first night (mom has the wound to prove it....and his toenails were just trimmed too!).

wordy Wednesday

It is such a shame that Bourbon can't relax at all. MOL

Of course, considering he does the following on a regular basis, no wonder he sleeps so soundly:

He is OBSESSED with the red sting we got from Miss Mandy and the kitties and pugs (from Miss Andrea's fundraiser). He carries it around and plays like mad. However, the other night he did something new. He LOVES sleeping on the bed and he was curled up next to Maestro sleeping. Mom rolled over and touched a kitty - then realized it was Bourb. She then felt something funny and moved her fingers around until she figured it out. Bourb had brought the stringy to bed and was sleeping on it. Now THAT is obsession. MOL

the gemstone kitts

Thanks for the comments yesterday. A couple of responses: We do have some vertical spaces. But Spud is not a "vertical" kind of guy. Mom has bought some beds and cubes so he can hide, but he won't get in them - mom suspects cause he feels trapped. About the Feliway- we suspect Dr T just hasn't seen great results with it and therefore is reluctant to suggest it (cause it ain't cheap) when the results can be so mixed. However, mom says she may have to consider it (hey lady - price of doing business).  Mom is going to lay out a couple more spots for food....since it mainly starts in the room with the dishes, she is hoping maybe that will help some.
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An update. Everyone is doing great. Mom had them out in the family room in baby jail on Sunday and they had a blast.

Cory - he is the biggest boy and generally up to no good :)

 Emma - the tiniest kitten and already in "princess mode"

   

 Kyan - mom calls him spider cat - he attempts to climb everything

Opal - cute and she knows it

They are feeling much better and eating like mad and playing. Luckily no one has figured out baby jail yet - though the boys made a serious effort on Sunday. Oh, and mom has yet to get a picture, but there is a scratcher thingy on the back of the bathroom door. Mom walked in the other day and did a head count. hmmmmm.....no Kyan. She turned and there he was - hanging off the climber. :)

Cleo is doing well also. She does like to lay in the middle of the hallway and that can create some issues.

Oh - and mom talked to the rescue lady and they are going to get adopted through the rescue. YEAH!!!

And in case you need a laugh - beware the cute - it can be ferocious (sorta):

Mancat Monday.....

Spud may look all relaxed, but he isn't so much.

Twice this weekend he has been on the receiving end of some ferociousness. Saturday afternoon he was chased down the hall by Tommy (mom didn't see what started it) and when he went to run behind the chair, he hit Cleo and it was war (thankfully Spud is longhaired and only lost some fuzz).

Sunday morning something happened in the second bedroom again (where our stuff is kept) and Spud ended up on the run again as well (and mom found Spud fuzz on the floor in there too). And mom heard us again this morning.

So, mom has a question: Has anyone tried feeding separately? As much as she likes having everything in one room, she wonders if it is too much too close together and if having bowls spread around a little might calm things down some.

Of course, about an hour after Spud got nailed on Saturday, mom had to stop him from stalking Ivy, so she will be the first to admit that he does sometimes bring it on himself. She is baffled by the infighting around here sometimes. Our v-e-t said feliway isn't her favorite thing. Mom isn't sure that a calming collar on Spud will help since he doesn't always start it. And with only 980 square feet here, there are only so many places she can use to separate us. Not to mention it is so hit and miss. We can go for quite a while and get along fine and then something (that mom never sees) set someone off.

What do you all think????

Another mystery....

Mom came home last night and discovered this:

OK - we know he is on the counter, but that isn't the mystery. Nope - notice there is NO collar on the cat. Mozart's collar is red and there was no sign of it. Mom sighed and figured it was at the same place as the camera....and never to be seen again.

Until this morning. Mom was laying in bed and we decided she needed to get up. Tim went over to the window and pulled the shades back. And there, hanging on the hook to hold the curtain back was this:

Well, at least we know the breakaway function works. He must have stuck his head back there yesterday morning before mom kicked him out of the room to go to work and didn't notice his collar was missing at that point.

So, one mystery solved.  :)

Random Fridays.....

About the flashy box. Mom knows she used it last Friday to post our weekend editions. She had the picture of Junior on the camera. But, someone had yakked on her chair so she was sitting on the sofa with the laptop on the coffee table. She got the picture loaded and eventually put the laptop back in its case. But she thinks she may have left the flashy box on the coffee table. And it has a stringy attached to it for people to slip over their wrists. And..... still no sign of it. And mom says she refuses to pay another $100 for another camera (she just got this one this summer after the other one died) when the minute she does the old one will show up. So instead she went to Wally's World and bought a cheapy. rats.......
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Opal's paw: sometimes after having in IV, there will be some swelling. Only, if it is fluids, the swelling will go down. Opal's front paw kept getting bigger and BIGGER. So mom took her BACK to the v-e-t. She has cellulitis (infection of the skin and underlying tissues). So now she is on a different aunty-biotics. Opal is still running around and being active and eating and everything but man does it look uncomfortable (it is about 3x the size it should be). Mom and Opal saw the same v-e-t from Thursday night/Friday morning and she was very impressed about how much better Opal looked and felt. Just...healthier. :)

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Tim got whapped....again. He has 3 scratched down his poor nose. (we would show you, but still no sign of the flashy box) Mom suspected that Cleo might have whapped him. He likes to go in the bathroom on the hunt for kitten food and Cleo has been a little more possessive of the kittens since last weekend. Mom heard some name calling and some banging the other night. And about 2 hours later saw the new scratches on Tim. Plus mom saw Cleo take a swing at him last night too. Gotta love a boy who can't be distracted from a possible treat by a ticked off momma cat. :)

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Gin and Moonshine are headed back to Petco. There was another adoption. So now there is a bigger kitten (named Toby) and a little kitten (named Belle). Mom put them together on Wednesday but this weekend will be the first chance she has to take Gin and Shine back up there. The goal is to keep the cages separate and hopefully that will help to keep our kitts a little calmer. They have been great at the house and mom knows they will be a great addition to a family out there.

that is Gin in the back looking at the camera and Shine between Ivy and Tommy

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Some comments from the week (we love reading your comments BTW):
Brian (11/5/12): What a day! We are all sending purrs to Grandma and the little Germ kitties.
  This one cracked us up....we know it was a typo, but considering the kitts were sick, it was pretty funny.

Priscilla (11/7/12): What? No rooster sounds?
   Nope - no roosters here....we are very sure the condo association would find that a violation. MOL
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We hope you all have a great weekend. No transports and no Sparty football this weekend. Mom said something about the sucky beast and laundry though. And maybe a a few naps. We can get into that last part - it is supposed to be nice here on Caturday so maybe we can bribe her to crack a window for some whiffies.

Thankful Thursday

Mom says

she won't be thankful

until some bleepin' cat

tells her where the bleep

the bleepin' flashy box went!!!!

Tim is hiding until someone confesses

Wordless Wednesday

Chaos - part deux

Saturday morning the phone rang - WAY before we were out of bed. Mom checked her voicemail a little later and it was grandma. And she sounded a whole lot better. Interesting....

Mom called to check on the kittens. The phone lady said the test results were negative and they were still getting fluids. What tests mom asked? The tests the vet ran. (no? really???? ugh - and still not sure what all of them were)

Mom then got a call from Petco. Seems that the kittens were causing some issues and Gin was VERY angry and someone used the bed as a litterbox. Could mom please come pick up Gin and give her some R and R at our house and oh by the way Mystic is snotty too? sigh.....  So Gin is back here now too. She spent about the first hour back running around and hissing and growling and has since calmed down and is playing with Bourbon and Moonshine. Mystic will be heading to Miss Beckie's house.

 hey Bourb - mom says it isn't funny

In the meantime, mom was checking online as she was part of a transport on Saturday. And this time??  Kitties!!! Two senior cats has been saved and were on their way to their forever homes!! A great private group called URRKN  was arranging their transport and it went through our hometown.

Grandpa called and said that grandma had made some major progress and they were sending her.... HOME!! Yeah......

Mom left for the transport which went well - though wet. Mom says there is nothing fun about getting soaked then driving an hour on leather seats. MOL Other than the rain, it all went well and the kitties got to their new home on Sunday.

After mom got home, we met her at the door for dinner. But mom noticed that Cleo was on the back of the sofa and didn't get up. Mom fed us and then went to check on Cleo. Mom wasn't sure what was going on until Cleo stretched. And then it dawned on mom - 36 hours with no kittens and Cleo is still nursing. Oops.... so, back to the 24 hour v-e-t. They finally put mom and Cleo in a room and brought in the kittens. Cleo got mugged.

So, as of today: Gin and Moonshine are still here. Cleo and the kittens came home (but could still use some purrs - they still isn't 100%). Grandma is home and doing ok as well. We did get an application on one of the little kittens from Petco and she is heading home tonight. Oh, and now Moonshine is sneezing. And the flashy box is still missing. Mom left for work mumbling something about string and ears and needed a drink and it is only Tuesday but we aren't sure what she is talking about. 

Choas...

It has been a weird few days around here. We are gonna make this a two parter, so be sure to tune in tomorrow.  Oh, and you are going to have to deal with old pictures cause...umm...the flashy box is missing. Not that we know anything about that.

Anyhow, Mom went to visit our grandma in the hospital on Thursday at lunch. Grandma was doing better, but not as well as they would like. Grandpa was frustrated and it was a little tense.

Mom got back here Thursday night after stopping to see Grandma again, and the gem kittens weren't looking so hot. Though they did feel pretty warm. Not wanting to wait, mom packed them up and headed out to the 24 hour v-e-t hospital. She got there around 10pm and got home about 4am. Yikes. She left the kittens as their temps were all over 104 (normal is about 101). Not a good thing with tiny kitts.

Grandpa called mom on Friday morning and said that grandma wasn't making any progress. She wasn't walking around like she was supposed to and she wasn't listening - like she was in outer space or something. So grandpa was making arrangements to see about a rehab facility for her for a few days. Mom said do it - grandma wasn't safe to come home and maybe having a third person be the "bad guy" was a good thing.

Friday afternoon mom picked up two kittens from another Petco store and took them to the one near us to see if they would get adopted a little faster. Gin was VERY unhappy about it.

The v-e-t called about the gem kittens and said they should stay overnight as they weren't bouncing back as fast as she would like and all still running temps.

So, by Friday evening, we had hissy kittens at Petco, Gin was ticked off, grandma wasn't recovering well, and the gem kittens were still at the vet.

Blog4Peace

Today, we wish for all of you:

Peace as  you deal with adversity.

Peace as you deal with change or fear in your life.

And kitty kisses to everyone.

  (comments are off - enjoy your Sunday)

seven things about us

We are supposed to you seven things about us....we are gonna have to think about this since we mainly talk about ourselves anyhow.  We are gonna do one per kitty since there are seven of us.

Maestro: I enjoy being the old mancat of the house. Mom says I am pretty old, but hey - so long as I can get on the bed, it is all relative.

Tim: Mom calls me the chicken of the family....and maybe a little goofy!!

Tom: I may be the head mancat, but I am not ashamed to admit the v-e-t made me hide and whine a little bit.

Mozart: I will sit with mom to watch football....until she starts yelling at the TV.

Ivy: Sometimes I am kinda sneezy. I say the best ones are if I can get close to mom and get her glasses.

Spud: Hobby - chasing Ivy. :)

Junior:  NO TOUCHING!!!

 

Random Fridays....

Our grandma is doing much better and we hope that she will be heading home today. The first couple of days were the worst, but she is up and walking around more and that will help. Plan at this point is home Saturday. She can get up but still needs to work on walking the halls.
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Cod help us - the v-e-t showed up here for Halloween. We was TRICKED!!!! (and got no treats) Ivy, Tim and Tom were due for vaccines and mom has Maestro get the "old man" check every 6 months. Maestro was good - he even gained about 1/2 pound since this spring. YEAH!! Tim has lost about a pound...and need his teeth cleaned pretty bad. Mom had the v-e-t draw some blood and will make an appointment with a local clinic to get the teeth cleaning appointment (our vet is mobile and doesn't do surgery). Tommy gained about 1/2 pound and is doing well.  And then there was the princess.....man was she crabby. There was some screaming and bad werds (from Ivy, not the v-e-t). And - she has gained about a pound since last year. Which puts her at about 12 pounds. Ugh..... so mom is gonna have to do some figuring as to how to make sure Mo and Maestro get enough to eat and Ivy can't eat EVERYTHING IN SIGHT!!!
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Bourbon was a lot of help with the v-e-t. He moved her stuff, tried to chew on her stethascope and walked over her computer keyboard to reset a couple of things. He finally got thrown in baby jail with the kittens (cause Ivy was in the bathroom) and....he can get out. It took him about 10 minutes to figure it out, but once he did mom knew she was in trouble. The nice part is that Dr T was pretty charmed by the boy. She isn't in the market right now as she has a REALLY old cat, but maybe someday (and mom said "if you know anyone").....  :)

Thankful Thursday....

Today we are thankful for:

 Treats!!!  We got an email from Chewy.com asking if we wanted to try some treats from Canidae or Felidae. We of course chose the felidae treats - cause we is felines. :)

Mom got mugged when she opened the box....

Ivy wanting her own - over here please

Mom has to be careful about how many treats she puts out. Someone (*cough*Tim*cough*) eats too many and then yaks them back up. What a waste of perfectly good treats.

The treats were chewy and...gasp - bone shaped. MOL  Not that this slowed us down any.

Tommy is convinced that biting that hand that feeds you is OK

Mom tested them on all of us plus Cleo and Bourb and Shine. So....that is 10 cats total. We have to give it 7 cats up. Moonshine, Junior and Mozart didn't seem too interested, but everyone else was ALL OVER THEM!!!!

Of course, the box and the invoice were a big hit too.... MOL

Thanks to Chewy.com. They just asked for our opinion for trying the treats. No money changed hands and they didn't influence our opinions.

wordless Wednesday

Happy Halloween!!!!

Purrs please.....

Our grandma is having back surgery today and mom and grandma and grandpa could use some purrs. Not sure yet how long grandma will be in the hospital (mom says she hopes through Friday). Grandpa was nervous about being at the hospital all day alone so mom was just going to "show up". But it seems grandma spilled the beans. Mom says she is taking a book and the laptop and hopes they have wi-fi.
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10am: The surgeon said it all went well. Grandma should be in the hospital for a couple of day and then recovery for we aren't sure how long. We will pass along the purrs....we sure appreciate it.