Christmas Lights

OK - should there be an "epiration date" on taking down lights after Christmas? I was on my way to my parents house on Wednesday (about a 10 minute drive) and spotted at least 10 houses with their lights still up.

Don't get me wrong - it was pretty cold and we had some snow there for a couple of weeks. I wouldn't have wanted to be outside either. But do you still have to turn them on even if they are still up outside?

Just one of those random things.... I guess I just think that by mid-January you should have them down. Of course, what do I know when the stores have Christmas decorations out by Halloween and Easter stuff out in January. sigh...

Bandit memorial

February 1997 to January 2010

Bandit was Rob's first dog. He had been looking for a while and saw a picture and wanted this breed. I guess it was better than the Malamute he originally wanted (until I told mom how much they shed and she shut Rob down on that one).

Rob found a breeder in Toledo and talked me into going with him. There were two 3 month old puppies. He picked the one he wanted and off we went. And about 30 minutes down the road, the dog threw up on me....thankfully we were near a gas station and we could exchange shirts. :)

Bandit was a great dog. Rob took him to college where he was very popular. In fact, the guys in his house took to walking him for Rob to pick up girls.

He lived with Rob and Abby until Lanah was about a year old. By that time Bandit was getting older and they were afraid he might unintentionally snap at her as she was using everything (including the dog) to pull herself up to walk. So Rob called our parents and they agreed he could come live with them.

Bandit wasn't feeling so well over Christmas and last week Mom had to make the decision to let him go. He earned his wings 1/8/10. I know there is another angel over Rainbow Bridge waiting for us.

Maestro

Maestro is my old man kitty. He joined the family November 1994 as an 8 week old kitten. I was in college at the time. Butterscotch would have been about 2 years old. I was convinced he needed a friend. I brought home Maestro - though I knew Dad would have a fit. Butterscotch also wasn't convinced a new kitten was a great idea. He would pin Maestro down and chew on his ears until Maestro would cry. Then Maestro was neutered and they were friends from the day Maestro came back from the vet.

When I moved out of the house, Butterscotch and Maestro came to live with me. They were my friends through several moves and new homes. They even went to Texas and back.

Maestro is now the old man of the house. He is unamused by foster kittens, but has learned how to stay away from them. His favorite spot is on the arm of my chair during the day when I am home and curled up next to my pillow at night. He is my sweet bowling ball boy. :)

group shot

I finally managed to get them all in one picture - ok, so it isn't great, but at least they are all in the shot. :)
In order: Tim, Mozart, Ivy, Spud, Tommy and Maestro (with his back to the camera)

New Year, new fosters....

These are the new kids. Got them 12-19-09. The dilute calico is Honey. The boys are Bugs and Taz. Taz is a grey tabby and Bugs is a grey tabby with white chest and paws - and his tail is only about 1.5" long....and yes, he does bunny hop. We spent New Years Day curled up together in my chair with a fuzzy blanket watching the parades and football and taking naps. :)

my favorite Tim & Tom story

Not long after their adoption was finalized, they decided to get into a bit of trouble.

I was lying in bed one night and heard a crash in the kitchen. I got up and as I walked down the hall I could hear something hit the floor, and then crunching. Hit the floor, crunching. I turned on the kitchen light to see Tim on the counter next to a bag of M&Ms that had been purchased for my sister in law. The bag had been ripped open and Tim was hitting M&Ms to the floor one at a time where Tommy was eating them. <> Fortunately, I know he didn't get that many, so I wasn't too worried even though it was chocolate.

However, about a week later, I hear a similar crash. This time I am a little slower to get up. I finally do and find my pill box on the counter...open...and all the pills spilled out. Tommy was crunching on something as I walked into the room. I picked up all the pills and put everything back in the appropriate boxes. Only one pill missing. A birth control pill. That's right - my 5 year old (at the time) 15 pound neutered male tomcat ate a birth control pill. Ugh....

I called my vet the next morning. I had to explain myself twice before she put me on hold. After almost 10 minutes, the receptionist came back on the line. "I spoke to each of the vets and they said he should be fine. If he starts acting funny, bring him in. Or if he starts wanted to shop or anything like that." Yep - like I hadn't been hearing that joke all morning at the office. :)

He was fine - and now I hide the pills futher up.

The last group of kittens got adopted!!

OJ went home on the 22nd with a nice young couple. I had to laugh when I spoke to the adoption counselor. I guess the boyfriend was asking about our return policy and the girl looked at him and said she would make him leave before the kitten. YEAH!! Plus she works for a vet, so he is in good hands.

Cider went home Christmas Eve. The family lost their last cat in September. They were sure they wanted a dog, but after looking for a while, changed their minds. The kitten was a surprise for their 4 year old daughter. The mom has my contact info and promised to keep in touch.

Blackberry went home on Saturday with a nice family of 4 - 2 kids who are going to spoil him rotten.

It is a relief to have them all adopted and home so I don't have to worry about them.

Aida found a home!!

A very nice single retired guy took her home from Petsmart last night!!! Yeah - a great Christmas present for all three of us. She gets a home, he gets a companion, and I get the relief of knowing she is safe and loved and in a home of her own. He has no other pets, so no risk of her terrorizing another cat. :) He has my contact info and I assured him if anything happened, she will come back to my house. I am so happy for her!!!

Mo the mighty hunter

I was lying in bed last night reading when I heard Mozart. At first I thought he had gotten shut in a closet or something since his meow was muffled. (yes, his meow is so distinct that I know it is him) I listened and it got closer. I looked over and he appeared in the bedroom carrying a stuffed toy. I looked at him and he dropped it and meowed at me again. "Good boy Mo - you are the mighty toy killer." He jumped up and I scratched his ears for a little while before he took off for his next adventure.

Babies on the run

I moved the gate yesterday morning to give them a little more floor space to run around while I was at work. Then I left, heading to the dentist, work and then a shift at the shelter.

When I got home, I was met at the door like normal by my crew. As I got to the top of the stairs - SURPRISE!! Three little kittens sat there staring at me.

I went to check and it appears they shoved at the pen enough to squeeze through. Who knows how long they were out - probably most of the day. But there were no messes and they appeared to have had a good time.

she's not so scary

I let the kittens out to run around last night - at least under supervision.

Anyhow, Cider was doing laps and ended up under a side table. Ivy came up to her and Cider laid her ears back and HISSED. Surprisingly, Ivy backed off. I was rather surprised.

Everyone was having fun. I think Blackberry was a little freaked out, but Ivy and Spud and the kittens spent over an hour running around in circles. They are so much fun to watch.

foster update

awwww....aren't they cute? They were vaccinated 11/22/09 and were all worn out. Fortunately, everyone is eating without standing in the food dish, so all of them and my bathroom are MUCH cleaning. Blackberry (black and white) is still pretty whiny but loveable. The other two will PURR the minute you pick them up.
I did laugh the other day at them. Cider was sitting cleaning on back foot. OJ was lying about 12 inches away. I look over and he is reaching out with one paw. I thought he was just stretching until he grabbed the carpet and pulled himself toward his sister - and then repeated it. I think his stalking technique needs some work.

Tim & Tom

This is Tom & his brother Tim. As of 11/09 they are 7 years old. They were brought to the shelter 5 years ago together. Fortunately for Tim, our processing department said they should be adopted together. They were put in one of the glass cat atriums. However, a cat fight broke out. Tim got scratched up and Tommy was blamed for starting it. I still say that my best guess is that someone went after Tim and Tommy stood up for his little brother. After a few days in medical, I convinced our adoptions department to make them "special adoptables" and put them in a foster home. What I didn't realize is that they planned to make ME the foster home.

After fostering them for about 4 months, I got a call that someone might be interested. I thought about it and realized I couldn't give them up.

They are quite the pair. Almost every night there is either races around the condo or a wrestling match. They will groom each other and are usually asleep on the bed at night pretty close to each other.

Mozart

Would you trust this face? What if it came right up and gave you a mighty purr???

This is Mozart - 2 years old and black. He came to my house as a foster with his brother Picasso (orange tabby). He got pretty sick and ended up with a NASTY eye infection. In fact, he has a corneal scar on one eye.

I had taken him back to the shelter, but by then he was a black teenager among many. I woke up one Sunday morning and was convinced someone was going to adopt him and I would never see him again. His adoption was finshed within 30 minutes of the shelter opening that same day.

He has been a joy. Doesn't mind the foster kittens and he is young enough to put up with the antics of Spud & Ivy. He is my lover kitty....looking for a lap or somewhere to snuggle. He slept behind my knees under the covers the other night. :)

and a spare

OJ & Cider had to go in for vaccinations on October 25. There was this tiny black and white kitten being carried around by one of our intake counselors. I told her if she could get the vet ok, I would add him to my crew. Well, she did and I brought home Blackberry that same day. He is the same size as Cider, though much less fuzzy. Just as whiny as everyone else though....the three of them make quite the racket when I go into the bathroom. No, they aren't starving, but they would like you to think that. :)

New fosters and an update

This is the new pair - OJ is the orange and his sister is Cider. I picked them up on 10/18/09. They are MAYBE 4 weeks old. Tiny and VERY messy. You don't even want to see my bathroom.

In other news, Daisy and Mouse have both been adopted. I didn't get to meet either family, but I hope they have other cats to play with. Minnie is in the CAHS medical department - she decided she didn't want to leave her spay incision alone and ended up having to be knocked out again so they could fix it. Now she has big stitches and a blue cone on her head (gonna have to get a picture of her).

Daisy Mae, Minnie & Mouse (in that order)

Well, the girls went back to the shelter on 10/11/09. I know I can't keep them, but I miss them. I even miss them running around the house at all hours of the night. I had never let a group out like that, but since they weren't official fosters, it didn't seem to matter. Saturday morning they were out and spent I have no idea how long running laps around the condo - down the hall, into the bedroom, over the bed, out the door, down the hall and around again. And then Mouse stopped on my chest and just looked at me for a few seconds before taking off again after her sisters. Cross your fingers they find their forever homes soon.

a moment to reflect

I think sometimes I get so caught up in the day to day of work and family and volunteering that I forget how far we have come helping make progress for the cats at the shelter.

So, last night I was sitting and reading the book Rescue Ink about the group by the same name in New York City (http://www.rescueink.org/). As I sat there reading, I looked around my living room. Tommy was asleep on the pillow on the sofa. Mozart was asleep behind Tommy on the back of the sofa. Maestro was on the chair arm next to me and Tim was snoozing on the hassock by my feet. Spud was curled up (with one leg sticking out) in the corner cat cubby I have. Ivy was behind my in the dining room - licking the carpet (don't ask).

Minnie was asleep on my lap and her sisters were doing laps around the living room.

I may not be able to affect every life out there, but I have made a difference for these felines - and many more at the shelter and through fostering. It was an interesting reflection....

Spud

I am going to try to get a paragraph or two up about each of the current crew.

This is Spud. The daughter of a neighbor of my parents found him last fall in a box outside of the daycare where she was working. After a couple of days she realized kittens are a lot of work and called to see if I would take him and get him big enough for the shelter. With everything she said, I was sure he was a bottle baby. Nope - ends up he was about 6 weeks old at the time.

I brought him home - at the same time I had Ivy and her mommy and sisters. My main concern was getting him FIV/FeLV tested. I managed to get a last minute appointment with Banfield. They took him in the back to draw blood and the vet came back out with this tiny red kitten in one hand and the test in the other and a concerned look on his face. I panicked - I was sure the test was positive. Nope - seems the test wasn't done yet but the vet wanted to know if I would be upset if the kitten was male, not female as I had told them (really, I hadn't looked too close). I told the vet I didn't care if the kitten was a puppy so long as the test was negative.

Turns out it was, and a year later, he is still living with me. He bonded with the group of kittens and when Ivy came back to stay, I couldn't part with him. You can't tell really well in the picture, but he is more red than brown and has the LONGEST fuzz coming out of his ears. He is OK with people, but very comfortable with the cats. In fact, I call him the "stalker boy" as he has no sense of personal space - if Tim or Tom lays down, he is right there - right up next to them. I have seen him pull the same move on Ivy who usually doesn't mind. Mozart and Maestro make him move or get up and leave.

Dazed & Confused

Daisy is one of the kittens that I took from the shelter. A friend is letting the momma cat take up one of their spaces at a local Petsmart in the hope she gets adopted soon. Aida's spay and dental went very well and her long term outlook is great.

Anyhow, Miss Daisy is trouble. Last night I got home and everyone met me at the door to the garage. I went upstairs and the kittens followed me to the bathroom for dinner (I am trying to feed them canned kitten food at least twice per day since they are now out and about 24/7). Only - no Daisy. Which is strange.

OK - the kittens were downstairs. So I go back downstairs and hear "meep meep meep" from behind the garage door. Yep - she went out as I came in. So I grabbed her and took her back upstairs for some dinner with her sisters.

But, it gets better. Later that night, I opened the fridge door to get something out and let it shut without checking first. Yep - about 10 second later "meep meep meep". I open the door and Daisy stuck her head out with this look on her face like "Why did you do that?" I have seen her launch herself into the fridge before and just this one time didn't look before shutting the door.

Note to self: make sure you know the location of all kittens before shutting any doors.