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In case you missed it on social media yesterday, we have new fosters! No, not tiny bottle babies and no, not a pregnant cat. These are older kittens – teenagers, really – who are with us ’til they’re adopted or can go to Petsmart. They’re currently suffering from some upper respiratory stuff, so they’re sneezing and snuffling a lot (is there anything harder to clean off a wall than dried snot? NOPE) and are on meds. Hopefully the meds kick in soon – though at least they’re all eating and playing a bit rather than just sitting around looking miserable, so I’m grateful for that.
(Yes, I know you want a pregnant cat or tiny bottle babies or some combination of the two. There will be a pregnant cat in the future, I’m sure. But this is who Forgotten Felines asked me to take, so I took ’em!)
PS: All these cats came to me pre-named.
This is Helix. He is a boy. His estimated date of birth is June 25, 2024, which makes him almost 7 months old.
Helix’s sister Spiral. She’s a girl, and she is also a floofy snowshoe mix. She’s got a white nose, and he does not. I am 100% sure I will call them by the wrong names more than once. (She’s got the same estimated date of birth.)
Helix and Spiral are a bonded pair and have to be adopted together. They’re the only bonded pair in this bunch.
Alley Oop. She’s a girl, and she’s listed as a torti point snowshoe mix. Her estimated date of birth is June 5, 2024, which means she’s closing in on 8 months old. She has a nub of a tail about 3 inches long.
Stapler. She’s a black and white tuxie girl, and Fred describes her as “aggressively friendly.” If you sit down, she is IN your lap. She just wants to be looooved. She cracks me up. Her date of birth is May 20, 2024, which (counting on fingers) means she’s just over 8 months old.
Posty. She looks black and white, but is actually dark gray and white (I mistake her for Stapler often, but she’s smaller). She likes to burrow under the blanket on the couch, and also hang out under the cat bed on the floor, but she comes out to be petted; she just likes small spaces, she’s not really a scaredy cat. Same date of birth as Stapler, so she’s 8 months old.
Paper Clip. She’s a gray tabby and white, and will you PLEASE admire her tail light? Because of that tail light (and because they had a brother named Highlighter who’s already been adopted), I keep trying to call her Highlighter. So when I am not paying attention and call her Highlighter, please know that I haven’t totally lost it. Same date of birth as Stapler and Posty, so she’s 8 months old.
If you couldn’t tell, Stapler, Posty and Paper Clip are sisters.
I had to unzip the donut to medicate these two, so grabbed a picture while I was at it. That’s Oakley on the left (silver tabby, boy, date of birth I am not sure, but I’d call him around 7 months old). Andi on the right, gray and white tuxie girl, date of birth June 5, 2024, which makes her almost 8 months old.)
Oakley and Andi are not related to each other or any of the other kittens in the bunch.
Andi’s got no tail, just the tiniest nub that she “wags.”
Most of the kittens were found abandoned or lost, without a mother, so I’m calling them The Foundlings as a whole.
Helix is interested in the wall. The higher he can get to sneeze on the wall, the harder it’ll be for me to clean it up, and that pleases him. (I kid. He’s a sweet boy.)
Posty was burrowed under the blanket, but peeked out when I sat down near her.
“What you DOIN’, lady?” Andi wonders.
Another shot of Paper Clip’s adorable tail light.
I went and got these guys Monday, so the foster room was empty for juuust about a day. As I told Fred, that’s the longest amount of time we had zero fosters in the house in recent memory!
Unfortunately, I forgot rule #1 of cats, which is “Doesn’t matter how short the drive is, the more cats you’ve got in your car, the higher chance someone is gonna poop in the carrier.” Compounding the “Cats gonna poop” rule was that in the interest of laziness (ie, having to carry fewer carriers from my car to Michelle’s front porch), I decided they were probably still small enough to double up in carriers. Two cats pooped, so four cats needed baths.
I’d like to say I’ll know better next time, but no I won’t.
They’re kind of a mess between the snotty noses and runny eyes and medicine that some of them have drooled down the front of themselves, but they are a very sweet bunch! (Andi was very nervous and insisted on hiding for about the first day, but now she’s out in the room, likes climbing up into the highest bed, and approaches me for petting. As of now, Oakley’s the only scaredy cat hider, and hopefully he’ll come around in a few more days.)
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Charlie, watchin’ the birds. Well, he HAD been watching the birds, but decided to snooze a bit.
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Posted on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Tumblr/ Bluesky) yesterday.
New fosters, and not a pregnant one among them! Here’s a shot of 5 of the 8 kittens (7-8 months old) who are in the foster room. They’re all on meds for upper respiratory stuff, and they’re with us for the time being until they’re adopted or can head off to Petsmart. I am working on putting a video together, hopefully that’ll be posted this afternoon.
Pictured are: Posty (gray and white on the couch), Spiral (ragdoll-ish floofy standing on the bread bed), Alley Oop (looking at the box), Paper Clip (back, right), and Stapler (black and white in the front right.) All kittens in this picture are girls.
Tina at home (after a long day yesterday, they made it home very early this morning.) Jennifer says that Tina travels like a champ (I’m not surprised!) and after some exploration of her new space, she’s getting some rest. She looks so content! (Thanks, Jennifer!)
YouTube link
Meet the new fosters! 8 kittens 7-8 months old who are spayed/neutered and ready to go once they’re over the upper respiratory stuff they have. (If any of them catch your interest, email Forgotten Felines of Huntsville at info (at) ffhsv.org to inquire. Helix and Spiral (the floofy snowshoe mixes) are a bonded pair and must be adopted together.
Good night innernets. (Andi)
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Previously
2024: And off she goes!
2023: No entry.
2022: No entry.
2021: “What? You’ve never seen a pregnant lady with a pickle before?”
2020: Archie’s keeping an eye on Earl the Skwerl.
2019: Such a sweet boy.
2018: Why I had to move the cat beds away from the bay window.
2017: No entry.
2016: “Sometimes I bat the sparkly ball all the way across the room before I lay down for a nap!”
2015: No entry.
2014: Cruella has no time for your nonsense.
2013: Baby Beans, in the midst of Deep Thoughts.
2012: No entry.
2011: Starsky and Hutch (Percy and Jack) update!
2010: It was a nice surprise to unexpectedly see their little faces again!
2009: Hello, gorgeous.
2008: Did I mention that Skittles is a pretty girl?
2007: Moonman has earned himself the nickname “Joe Bob” for no reason other than it’s a good nickname for him (also, I occasionally call him “Joseph Robert”).
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
This bunch of teenagers are so very cute! And I am noticing that Paper Clip has similar markings to Charlie. ❤️
Do you get many tailless cats in your area? Could Andi and Alley Oop be related?
So glad to see that the Foundlings are the perfect age to put the new climbing wall to good use.
Please don’t ever feel bad for not having newborns or a pregnant cat. All cats deserve homes and being with you gives them a better chance of getting there. Anyone who complains obviously misses the point of your fostering and that every cat should feel love in their life. Their names are adorable and they’re all very cute, I can’t wait to see more about them as they settle in. These are the ages I wish I had back with all of my kitties.
Amen, sister! I was feeling near the same. Cats is cats is kittehs. They are a cute group.
Cats is cats is kittehs…my new favorite saying!! I love the whole group!
I am enjoying (aside from the upper respiratory stuff) having older kittens here for now; they’re a whole different experience, for sure!
Oooh new kittens! They are all so lovely, and characterful, i love the names lol. I don’t mind no mum cats at all, i love all kinds of cats and updates, and I am glad these ones are getting your care and attention while they get healthy!
Your new fosters are beautiful! It will be great to watch them bloom in your fancy new foster room!
Alley Oop and Oakley have the same estimated birthdate and short tails. It sounds like they could be related. Did they tell you where they were first found?
I love that Stapler is “aggressively friendly.” All of the kittens are beautiful and it’s nice that they all managed to be different enough that they’re easy to identify.
So excited to see all these new kittens! I hope they recover quickly and find their forever homes without having to go to Petsmart.
My daughter had an idea for the next time you get a pregnant kitty or baby kittens for a theme that she asked me to share. Have you heard of the Warrior Cats books? There are tons of books so many names to choose from and as a bunch would be called the Warriors.
I’m not familiar with the Warrior Cats books – I’ll have to check them out!
Helix has such a knowing face — he knows the meaning of love. And, Paper Clip’s welders’ torch tail is the best thing ever! I’m sure she’s going to light the way out of dark tunnels!
Spiral is utterly gorgeous, and Helix is also very handsome with that striking framing on top of his face.
This is so exciting — EIGHT to get to know and love. Yay!
FYI, magic erasers clean snot off walls! Not sayin’ how I know…..
Beautiful bunch. You’ve got great skill to be able to 1) remember all their names and 2) match the name to the right cat.
Stapler and Posty could steal my heart.
Helix has “ringleader” written all over him.
Tina will have everyone wrapped around her paw shortly.
Tina has gone to her forever home
I know, based on her photos she’s totally acclimatized to her new kingdom already
I love the office supplies naming theme! And it looks like Stapler and Posty have the same “bridge” across their noses — it’s like where their shades would sit. I’d like a closer picture of Posty so we can compare to Stapler!
*gasps!* *squeaks!* *melts* New kitties! And an amazing, friendly, cobbled-together litter of floofies and tortie points and tuxies and greybies – squee! I confess, I like it when there’s a cobbled-together litter of foundlings pitter pattering about. Not that I don’t love the momcats or the teenies or both, but I’m a sucker for a bunch of rescuees. The Mainers come to mind, as do the fifteen! in one foster room you had a while back, and the SwimBugs. Not to mention I melted again at the idea of not only two ragdolly floofy snowshoes, but a tortie point snowshoe mix *and* a tuxedo lovebug lapkitten! I would so very volunteer to be a lap for teenage rescuee kitties to cuddle in, but half a country’s a little far to travel, especially when one doesn’t drive. Darn!
Hmm, Helix and Spiral – I wonder if Dr. Franklin liked cats? Watson and Crick get no say in this one.
How can you/they tell that Alley Oop is a torti point snowshoe mix? I ask, because we adopted two cats that we were told were mother and daughter, but they don’t look alike at all! The “mother” is a torti, and the “daughter” clearly has “snowshoe feet”. The daughter’s coloring is a lot like Alley Oop’s though she has a lot more black (e.g., her face is all dark and her ears do the color point black thing), but I don’t see torti in her at all! I know you (and your readers) know more about cat genetics than I’ve been able to find on the internet, so I’m curious how Alley Oop’s mix was identified.
(Also, long time reader, first time commenter. Love all you do for the kitties.)
I actually took a picture of her ears (will be in tomorrow’s post) just so that y’all could see her tortie coloring. If it wasn’t for the tortie coloring on the one ear, I don’t think I’d think of her as a tortie point. BUT, that said – I am not terribly knowledgeable about cat genetics, and mostly when I want to know what to call a color point/snowshoe/ragdoll cat, I ask Brittany, who has dealt with them much more than I have. (I asked yesterday what we’re calling Helix and Spiral – Ragdolls? Snowshoes? (I suggested Ragshoes or Snowdolls, because I crack myself up), and she said we’re considering them Ragdoll mixes.)
Tortoiseshell and calico are color patterns, not breeds, which are expressed in numerous breeds.
Tortis and calicos are 99%+ female because the genes for cat coat colors, orange and black, are present on the X chromosome. The white gene, which is really lack of color, is carried on a different chromosome than the X chromosome. In order for a male to have both orange and black he has to have 2 X chromosomes and this makes him infertile.
This is a very simplified explanation, cat coat color genetics are a bit complicated, and very fascinating. Wikipedia has some good explanations that are fairly understandable.