Test Results...

Chiclet is.....

NEGATIVE

This and That Thursday...

First some sad news. Mom stopped last night to talk to the rescue lady. Swizzle ran for the Bridge. She had some ups and downs but was comfortable. She stopped eating again and the rescue lady was going to take her back to the vet - but she was already gone when the lady went to check on her that morning.

Run free sweet girl - you are safe and healthy. We loved you very much in the short time you were here.

The rescue lady did say the kittens are doing well - they are WILD AND CRAZY!!! They can be retested in a couple of weeks so we are hoping for the best.

Speaking of tests, Chiclet was dropped off this morning. She was supposed to go tomorrow but this came up and it is cheaper for the rescue. So, hopefully we will know more this afternoon.

And now for the baby update:
No new kittens yet - we were trying to catch them last night but they didn't show up for dinner.

Mom spent more time on the floor with the girls. Audrey was out and let mom hold her. But, the BIG news is Lucy. Mom bought new treats. Audrey likes the crunchy temptations. Grace will eat anything. And Lucy likes the moist treats. The only ones we had were a little old so mom bought some new. And Lucy loved them. In fact, not only was she eating them from mom's fingers.....at one point she got lovey and was rubbing and mom and....she PURRED!!! OMG! Then she kept banging her head on mom's hand for attention and even rolled over for a belly rub. Mom stayed in the longer than she planned just to absorb the love.

Of course, she needed the carrier back so she found a box and converted that to the new kitten house. When she went to move Lucy, she pinned her ears back and hissed at mom. Oh well.....take what you can get we guess. :)  This is Audrey and Lucy in their new digs.

Wordless Wednesday...

Miss Chiclet gets cuter (and more relaxed) all the time!!

THANKS!!! (and more news)

Thanks for the info and feed back (especially from Alley Cats and Angels). Good to know that a little more time should help - Lucy has already made some progress in a couple of days. Mom likes the idea of a soft cube - she is going to look into that. Though the girls are fine with her reaching in the carrier.

Plus the girls in the bathroom - for now we will keep working with them. Though Wally may need some friends to avoid "single kitten syndrome" - you know, when single kittens start to think they are all that and can get away with everything (we don't get that much here cause Tommy sits on those - MOL).


Normally we don't post mid-day, but mom is kind of freaking out.....

See, she is trying to figure out how to help Chrystal at Daily Dose of Dogs in her current crisis (go read - it is amazing the work she is doing).

And then mom got an email from the neighbor lady helping with the TNR. Seems Annie (the girls' mom) has started eating at her house - and bringing her kittens (yes, you read that right - kittens with an S). Mom sent an email back asking for numbers, apparently she has seen 2 more.....  That Annie is a good mommy to keep that many going (especially with all the nasty weather we have had here). So we will move the trap and try to catch us some more kittens....  Hopefully one will be the calico mom saw before. Cause one more fluffy white kitten in the bathroom and it is going to look like we have been invaded by yetis!!

The promised kitten update!!!

First - the really good news. Mom has a friend who works for a low cost clinic - she snuck out yesterday and the girls were tested and vaccinated. And.....everyone is NEGATIVE!!!! Yeah! One thing to give mom a sigh of relief. (Chiclet gets tested Friday and the permanent crew on 6/16)

Starting on Sunday afternoon, mom spent time laying on the floor with the bathroom door open so she could interact with the girls. Mom thinks that being on the floor makes her less scary. (Tim thinks this means he is allowed to jump over the pen she puts up to keep in the kittens and land on her butt)

Anyhow, Grace of course was out and about and playing. Mom spent time with them last night and Grace kept trying to crawl up her shorts. No lack of social skills with that girl. MOL Plus, Grace LOVES treats, so that helps too....

Grace (concentrating on her treats)

Audrey isn't quite as brave, but she is coming around faster than Lucy. Audrey will come out to eat when mom is in the room and mom even got her to come over for some love on Sunday and she was eating treats while mom held her - a sure sign she is relaxed.

Audrey hanging with Lucy

Audrey and Grace enjoy dinner together



And Miss Lucy....mom started putting the really good treats in the carrier and then closer to the door to get Lucy to come out. She would actually get pretty close to the door. So mom started holding treats between her fingers so Lucy would have to sniff mom and get very close to get the treat. Mom got her out of the carrier on Sunday and held her for a little bit but Lucy never really relaxed. However, she has stopped hissing every time mom sticks her hand in the carrier - so this is a big step. Mom also has started putting the canned food on 2 plates and once Grace & Audrey are eating off the one, she places the other about 10 inches from the front of the carrier.....and she got this:

Yep - that is the full Lucy. MOL  Mom tried to get her face, but when mom moved, Lucy went back in the carrier.

Here is our current question: mom wants to take the carrier out but she doesn't want to freak out Lucy and besides there are lots of other places in the bathroom to hide. Plus mom wonders is Lucy being scared is not helping Audrey come out of her shell. Wally (Miss Kelly's kitten from yesterday) is being tested on Thursday. Kelly offered to take Lucy. Kelly has a separate foster room - nowhere to hide except the toys. Mom thinks this might help....though she would miss the constant contact with Lucy and seeing her progress. What does everyone think???

Oh-and mom emailed Bug's mom and she said Bug is just as friendly and outgoing as ever. But....her gray spot on her head grew out. sniff....  However, she said she would start spreading the word about the girls and mom let her know about Wally too!

Weekend roundup

Holy moly - what a weekend....

Let's go back to Friday night. Mom planned to go to bed early since she knew she was going to have to get up early on Saturday for a transport. Anyhow, about 10:30pm she heard this kitten cry. She just listed and when she heard it again, she realized it was that "HELP" cry. So she got up to check and make sure someone in the bathroom hadn't gotten stuck. She checked and nothing was obvious. Then she checked the carrier....and there was only 2 kittens. uh oh....  She listened again and finally located the cry. Lucy had gotten out and was in the second bedroom - way back behind the bookcase. So mom had to move it and catch her to put her back.

Saturday morning she got up early and headed off to pick up Ruger. He was coming from a local humane society and on his way to Northern Lights Sled Dog Rescue in Indiana. He was pretty good - but while he laid down in the car, he did bark/whine/howl part of the time and mom said he drooled - A LOT!!! He stuck his head between the front seats and when she put her arm up to block him, she got pretty damp.

After she dropped him off for the second half of the trip, she got a text from our friend Miss Kelly. She was at work and wondered if mom had plans for the weekend. Which is code for "I need a favor". MOL Anyhow, seems one of the employees where Kelly works caught a kitten under a propane tank in the morning and knew Kelly did rescue and brought the kitten inside. He was at that moment in their break room and Kelly was hoping mom would come pick him up. No problem....She brought him home and put him in a crate in the bedroom. He was kind of ticked off, but can you blame him? Come to find out, someone had seen him the day before under the hood of a car as well. He has now had a bath and Kelly says he is settling in and is much friendlier now. She is calling him Wally (she works as a pharmacist at Walgreens)

Mom then went to the kitten shower at the rescue. No kitten adoptions but 2 adults!!! And lots of donations....

Then home for a shower - mom said she smelled like stinky malamute. MOL

She spent some time working with the girls on Sunday, but we will give you their progress report tomorrow....

For our Florida friends....

Mom is trying to look like she is working without really working. MOL

Anyhow, she found this great article on the Best Friends Network about having to pre-register for hurricane shelter is you have pets. They have info for the following counties: Palm Beach, Broward, Pasco, Collier, Hardee, Miami-Dade, Escambia, Pinellas, and Santa Rosa. If you live there or have friends or family, direct them to this article.

And also, do you have your emergency kit ready?? Fully Vetted has a great article we got in our email.

OK, we admit, mom is bad and doesn't have anything put together. We need to get on that. Though, where we live, her biggest fear is fire and then it would just be about catching us and trying to get out.

We hope you get in some quality nap time this weekend!!

Baby names....

We are going to reserve Zim's suggestions for another group - they just don't seem to fit this crew.

Mom caught the spit fire last night and it is official: we have 3 girls!!!

The white females that were TNR'd were named Annie & Oakley (Annie is the mom to this crew). So, in going with that, mom decided to go with famous people.

Grace (Kelly) - caught Monday - lovey and outgoing

Audrey (Hepburn) - caught Tuesday - shy but coming around (also fuzzy like Grace)

And then there is Lucy (Ball). She is the short haired spitfire. Mom was going to try to get her picture but the battery in the flashy box died (haha!!) and had to be recharged overnight. So mom took some video instead  (Lucy is the one at the end that spits at the camera)

She also got some of Grace playing in the bathroom. Toward the middle, she runs over and is trying to get Audrey out from behind the food dishes.

More baby news....

Yesterday, Dave from the Army of Four seemed appalled that not everyone gets up at 5am. Seems the kittens agree with him - we heard them in the bathroom right around 5am again. Fortunately they settled back down pretty quickly so all of us and mom could go back to sleep.

Mom spent some time with them last night but it was her shelter night, so she didn't get as much time as she wanted. The social girl from Monday is still pretty outgoing - and lovey!!! The other two need some work. The other fuzzy girl is scared but mom thinks she will come around. Mom is going to try the same routine on her that she used on the other one - wrap her in a towel and hold her for a few minutes several times per day until she relaxes.

That short haired one is going to give mom a run for her money though. Mom still can't get her hands on it - and no idea if it is a boy or a girl. :)  Mom did stick her hand in the carrier last night and was scratching the lovey girl - who was rolling around and purring while right next to her ornery sibling. Mom was hoping the other would relax once it realized its sibling likes mom. Nope - still hissy. And it put the smacky on mom this morning too....those baby nails are SHARP!!! But, mom is going to take the top off the carrier tonight and give that baby some love - like it or not!! MOL

Here is a picture of the two from Tuesday. Mom tried to get a picture of all three, but the short haired one kept ducking under its siblings. And boy do we need to name these kids.... Ideas?? We try not to repeat groups....which is making it harder since we are 80 some kittens into fostering.

something about those 3 day summer holiday weekends....

It was a HOT weekend here. Mom slammed the windows and turned on the a/c. While some of us would prefer open windows, she found Spud and Chiclet sleeping on the floor vents at different times over the weekend (no not together - MOL).

Saturday was running around. Sunday was the transport and more laying around.

And then Monday. Mom went to the shelter to help clean since it was a holiday. Then home to do laundry. And about 1:30pm she got a call from a neighbor. They.....caught a kitten!!!

And no, that isn't Bug. But it is one of her relatives. Even down to the gray spot on the top of her head (you will have to take our word for it). This is a little girl as well. She was pretty scared at first, but by the 3rd time mom got her out and held her, she was purring (loudly) and loving on mom. She weighs just over a pound, but appears to be about 6 weeks old.

At 5am however, this morning, she was screaming for attention. And we do mean screaming!!! Mom kicked us out of the bedroom and took her in there thinking she might calm down, but no such luck. Mom finally ignored her and she cried some but did settle down a little to let mom get a bit more sleep. Funny that she didn't want to be caught or have anything to do with people and now, in about 18 hours, she is all needy.

Mom checked her phone this morning and.....they caught 2 more!!! Mom ran over to pick them up and they are now in the bathroom with their sister. One fuzzy girl and the other is short haired (no gender - that kitten was ticked off). All of them white. We know there is a calico kitten and they think there might be a tabby. They are going to keep trying to catch them over the next couple of days.

Oh, and they are stuck in the bathroom until we get the all clear on the FeLV cooties. Mom is going to contact the shelter and see if they will take these guys when they get big enough.

Memorial Day....

The local Rotary Club set up this field near us every Memorial Day weekend. The Field of Heroes is pretty amazing....mom's picture doesn't do it justice.

We remember all those currently servicing here and abroad - and those who went before to keep us safe.

Meet Maggie

Maggie is a 15 week old Aussie mix puppy - mom says she is cuter in person - which is good cause in this picture she looks like an alien. MOL  She was rescued by Wolf Run and is on her way to her new home. She is blind but a good girl. Mom says she bounced around the car for a while but then crawled into the footwell of the passenger seat and fell asleep.  Good luck in your new home Miss Maggie!!!

Teaching the next generation

Mom read this story on MSNBC.com and had to share. She has heard of this group and thinks they are pretty awesome. But, the best part is not only is the dad sharing his time and money to help save animals, he is passing that lesson on to his sons....give the man a gold star!!!


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How one high-flying dad is making pet rescue a family affair

Recreational pilot John Quimby and his son Ethan, 13 have never had snakes on their plane.

But they do regularly fly with dogs and cats.

The first canine passengers on their single-engine plane were two border collies rescued from euthanasia in a shelter at the eleventh hour. The father and son team picked them up at an airport in Kentucky and flew them to Tiffin, Ohio where animal rescuers were on hand to receive them and take them into foster care.

Quimby is one of 2000 pilots nationwide registered with an organization called Pilots N Paws. It’s an online message board that links animal rescuers around the country with pilots who pick up pets that have been removed from high kill shelters, puppy mills and other abusive situations and fly them to other parts of the country. Once there, they're picked up by adoptive families or rescue organizations who will foster them until they find forever homes.

Pilots donate their time, use their own planes and foot the bill for fuel, which averages around $250 per trip.

“Recreational flying is the dumbest hobby ever,” says Quimby, who lives in West Chester, OH and works as a computer project executive for IBM Global Services. “Nowadays, there’s simply no justification for the expense. People refer to this pastime as the hundred-dollar hamburger syndrome — flying somewhere to have a hamburger and returning home. But these animal rescue flights have given me a purpose and a very good reason to fuel up my plane and go somewhere every weekend.”

Pilots N Paws is the brainchild of longtime animal rescuer and horse breeder Debi Boies of Landrum, SC and her friend Jon Wehrenberg, a former businessman and recreational pilot.

Back in 2007, when Boies was trying to adopt a Doberman that had been used as bait in a dog-fighting ring in Florida, Wehrenberg offered to fly his own plane from his home in Knoxville to pick her up in South Carolina so that they could collect the dog and fly back again.

“I was flabbergasted and in awe that anyone would make such a generous offer,” recalls Boies. “But I soon learned that recreational pilots are as passionate about flying as animal people are about rescuing pets. And, since pilots are always looking for reasons to fly, introducing them to animal rescuers seemed like a perfect match. So Jon and I pooled our contacts and launched Pilots N Paws. I was amazed at the response from the moment the message board was up and running.”

John Quimby learned about the organization from a newspaper article he’d read while flying home on a business trip.

“The first thing I did after putting down my bags was log on to the site and, the following weekend, I had my first rescue flight booked," he said.

Quimby's dad was a pilot and he flew with him as a kid. Today, his younger son Aidan, 11, has been getting into the game, and the two young brothers take turns accompanying their father on trips.

"We’re all animal lovers," said Quimby. "And as a family, are so blessed that I am happy to pay the fuel and plane costs out of my own pocket.”

Apart from the quality father-and-son-time, Quimby's sons work on board the flights, helping to calm and reassure the pets until they reach their destination.

The pilots registered with the site typically fly to destinations about 250 nautical miles from their home base.

Rescues take place around the country, though Boies points out that certain rural areas in the southeast and northeast of the country are known to have a high kill rate in shelters. Puppy mills are rife in Missouri, and Los Angeles has a lot of overcrowded high-kill shelters.

Around 9,000 rescue groups are registered with Pilots N Paws. Boies has set herself a goal of having 10,000 pilots linked to the message board in the not too distant future. And since the organization is registered as a 501c3, flyers can recoup some expenses when they file taxes.

Although the Quimbys prefer canine passengers, other pilots have been known to fly snakes such as pythons and boa constrictors — in addition to cats, pot-bellied pigs and even day-old chicks.

“It’s not unheard of for animal rescuers to set up pony express–style ground transportation runs involving up to 16 drivers to cover a distance of about 1600 miles, a trip that could take an entire weekend,” explained Quimby. “Whereas on a single flight, I can replace about three to four people and cover a couple of hundred miles in several hours. I also team up with other pilots in order to transport pets greater distances. This frees up rescuers for other important work they do.”

Ethan fondly remembers that first flight with his dad when they rescued the border collies.

“The dogs were so scared,” he recalled. “I helped walk them before they boarded, made sure they weren’t thirsty and sat and played them throughout the journey to calm them down. One of them was so special. I couldn’t bear the idea of her having to go into foster care and possibly wait months before being adopted, so I asked my Dad if we could adopt her.”

A week later, Ethan and his dad flew back to Tiffin to pick up Marcie, who has remained firmly attached to her young rescuer and his brother ever since.

Ethan's job duties also include taking photographs to keep a record of the pets they have helped find better lives.

“I know I can't take them all home," he said. "Even though my brother and I are with them for just a short time in the air, we both get attached and feel sad when we drop them off.”

Project Toto

Tank has started Project Toto to help the Joplin Humane Society in Joplin MO. They have their own shelter animals to care for and are taking in those that are lost. Can you help??? We are sending a blue fleece blankie today....  There is a wish list created as well.

Update on the kittens....

Well.....mom has been thinking about them a lot. Hard not too....

So she sent the rescue lady a text this am. Here is the latest: they are doing well. (no update on Swizzle - sorry) They will be tested mid-June. Negative kittens will be moved and available for adoption. Positive kittens will go back into foster and retested at 90 days from that test. More than likely there will still be positive kittens at the end of this. Mom asked about getting them into rescue - we know it will be hard and we may get lots of "no" but at this point she needs to at least ask. Never know..... once we get there, we will post them here too and hope maybe someone out there know someone who is willing to take these kids. She was going to start looking now, but plans to wait and see what happens with the first test.

We think mom is just so used to shelters having the knee-jerk reaction of "positive = euthanasia" that she has to keep checking to see what is up with this lady. At least they are getting a chance.

Mom just paid the last bill and even with the rescue discounts, the total bill was scary. We are not getting treats or new toys any time soon.....but we know it was worth it. Even if mom is gonna have to catch us and torture us. Chiclet gets tested on 6/10 and Dr Taylor comes for the rest of us on 6/16. Wish us luck!!!
     screw that - wish the vet luck!!!

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Oh - and to change the subject, this is the latest picture of our cousin Minnie. She went in yesterday to get her stitches out from her ladygardenectomy and got a bath. She is the Pet Doctors of America Pet of the Day (you can click on their facebook link and see her on their wall as well). She now weighs 60 pounds and is taller than mom's niece!!! We all think she just looks pitiful....   MOL

Toesday.....

Like a lot of you out there, mom seems to be fascinated with our toes. Ivy was lounging on the end table by mom's chair last night and mom was able to lean over and get a good shot of Ivy's back toes. She HATES them being touched, so mom thought this was fun. Mom loves that since Ivy is a torbie (calico/tabby), her toes are pink and black both.....plus you can see some of the color variations on Ivy's legs.

Mo was being cute too, but again, mostly black hole pictures.... MOL

weekend news you can use....

Let's see:
We were abandoned!!!!
    You were not...I was gone Friday night and got back Saturday night and Miss Carolee came to visit all of you twice....sheesh

OK - well, since the weather was nice, we will let you off the hook. Except mom says she is in the "doghouse" with grandma. Apparently grandma is trying to kill the chickweed in their front yard but everytime she puts down the weed killer, it rains. Mom was over there yesterday and told grandma she heard it was supposed to be nice through today. As she was leaving, grandma was making plans to put down the weed killer. And it started raining about 5am this morning....and is still raining....and is supposed to last most of the day.

There were some GREAT adoptions at CHA this weekend!!! 5 of the long term cats were adopted - Graco and Gabriella together, Krystal, Yvette and Peppermint. Graco and Yvette came in last summer, so this was great news!!!

And mom was playing with the flashy box last night, so here is some cuteness:

Foster Friday

Mom got to thinking about all the foster kittens she has had over the years. And she decided to start sharing some of the stories that she has collected that not everyone has heard.

So, today we start with Butterfly and her kittens (from January 2008). Butterfly was the first momma cat that came to foster with us. She came in with 5 tiny babies. One didn't make it but the other 4 seemed OK - but they were tiny. Mom was very worried about them and after some emails managed to get her put in the medical department. Once they were sure Butterfly was eating, they allowed mom to bring her home with the kids. Over the next few weeks we lost Willow and Sage. And mom was very sad since these were the first kittens that died while they were with us.

However, Marigold and Violet grew into lively and wild kittens. Mom took to calling them the "skeeter sisters" since they were tiny, buzzing around and they liked to bite!! Violet loved to wait until mom was distracted and then would gnaw on her ankles. One morning mom could hear them howling from the bathroom. She opened the door to find this:
this became Butterfly's new favorite spot!!

The vet at the time was concerned about the kittens coming back to the shelter since they had been sick. They allowed mom to post the girls online and she got an email from a nice lady and they decided the family would take the girls together. YEAH!!!

about 2 months old: Marigold (left) and Violet (right)

the girls and their new sister (about 6 months old)

Mom tried to email them for an update, but the email bounced, so we weren't able to find out how they are doing now, but we hope they are well!!

TNR Thursday....

Good news and bad news.....

Mom thinks she has posted before about that saying "we are only given as much as we can handle". Once again, she wishes someone didn't think she could handle quite so much.  She in fact like the chinese proverb/curse that says "be careful what you wish for, you just might get it".  MOL

Anyhow, the other lady helping with the neighborhood TNR is on vacation this week and able to leave the trap open later in the morning. She called about 10am and said she caught the other white cat. Yep - another girl. We suspect they are sisters - but either way can't imagine they aren't related. We named this one Annie and she is just a little bigger than her sister.

The neighbor lady called again about 3pm. SOS called and said....she has already had kittens and is producing milk which means the kittens are out there somewhere. sigh...... Mom went over after work and searched and her friend DeLynn came over to help too (everyone needs a friend that will drop everything to come tramp through the bushes looking for kittens). No luck. They let Annie out of the trap around 9pm (normally they keep them overnight, but the clinic said let her go due to the kittens) and watched where she went. Everyone is going to keep an eye out and try to find where she is hiding them. Mom wants to catch them before they get too big....

Oh - and she laughed about the comments about Mo yesterday. Everyone thought he was very handsome - mom thought he looked hung over. MOL!!!

Wacky Wednesday....

Mo says: for those of you that are owned by a house panther, you know it can be hard to get a picture. Mom usually ends up with something appearing to be a black spot when she comes after me with the flashy box. However, the other night I was in a lovey mood and mom grabbed the box. You can see the results below.

       No cats were harmed in the making of these pictures - and no, he hadn't been drinking or on the nip. :)