Happy New Year!! I hope we all have a fantastic 2013!
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I think I gave the wrong impression to some of y’all. There was only one kind of holiday postcard going out this year (well, every year) – I didn’t have different cards featuring different permanent residents, it was just the one, featuring this year’s cover girl…
Miz Poo!
Theoretically, it would be fun to do several different cards every year, but that’s kind of beyond the scope of my organizational abilities, so we’re going to stick with just one picture each year. I sent out 341 cards this year!
Thank you so much for all the cards you guys sent with pictures of your families and your cats and dogs and your wonderful notes, I enjoy them so very much. I know y’all understand that the Christmas spirit wasn’t very strong around here this year, but being able to look through your cards was a definite bright spot of my holiday.
You can go to this page here to see the Flickr link where I posted all the cards y’all sent. And as a bonus, you can scroll down and see the cards I sent as well as the cards I received in 2010 and 2011.
(As always, if you’d rather I didn’t post the card you sent, just let me know and I’ll take it down ASAP. I did go through and blur out surnames in the interest of privacy.)
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I really really liked Kelly’s 2012 year in review post for yesterday, so I am totally copying it for today’s post!
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2012 in Review.
We started out January with Charlie and Patty Peppers in attendance.
We also had Jax, Clay, Tig and Opie (The Sons) with us.
Jax (left) and Clay.
Tig (left) and Opie.
What you can’t tell from those pictures is that the three black and white kittens (Tig, Opie and Clay) didn’t have full tails – they ranged from just a tiny bit of a tail, to a short stump of a tail. Jax had a full tail, and his brothers spent a LOT of time smacking at it.
Charlie and Patty went off to Petsmart early in the month, and the Sons were a couple of weeks behind them. When the Sons went off to Petsmart, Lucy, Sally, and Everett Peppers came back for a month-long break from the cage (and many bouts of fun with Da Bird.)
Everett (front) and Lucy.
Sally.
In mid-February, Everett, Sally, and Lucy went off to Petsmart, and we brought home Emmy, who was pregnant.
As always, when we have a pregnant mama, we’re sure she’s going to drop those babies at any moment, and then we end up waiting for what feels like forever.
I shared the video of Emmy’s belly, which appeared to be possessed by aliens, on the last day of February.
The very next day, she brought forth Logie, Newbery, Darwin, and Razzie. Three girls, and one boy (Newbery).
Those kittens grew up far too fast, as kittens insist on doing.
Until the end of May, it was only the Nominees here with us. Emmy went off to her new home on May 24th, and from all reports continues to do well.
At the beginning of June, I introduced y’all to the new guys, all named after potatoes, and called, as a group, The Taters.
Kennebec.
Fianna (left), and Agata.
Norland (later to be nicknamed General Grumpy)
And Russet! (Who became known as Cap’n Floof.)
They actually came from two different litters, but we threw them together and they adapted very well.
We were going along, minding our own business, the Taters in the guest bedroom and the Noms with the run of the house, and then oh good lord, what do you suppose happened next?
That’s right, STOMPERS happened! This sweet little half-dead monkey stomped right in and stole our hearts.
In mid-June, the Noms went off to Petsmart. By the end of July, all the Noms except Razzie had been adopted (Razzie didn’t go home until September 1st, her 6-month birthday!)
In short order, the ‘Maters moved in.
Brandywine was in rough shape, with a burn on her back (probably caused by the hot undercarriage of a car), but the babies were in great shape because she was an amazing mama.
Caspian (left) and Wellington.
Dingwall Scotty (left) and Sungold.
Mr. Stripey (left) and mama Brandywine.
In early July, Norland (General Grumpy) and Russet (Cap’n Floof) went off to Petsmart (they were adopted later that month.)
At the end of July, Stompers went off to his forever home in Georgia to live with reader Kristyn and her family. A few days later the remaining Taters – Agata, Kennebec, and Fianna went off to Petsmart.
With the ‘Maters having the run of the house during the day and spending their nights in the guest bedroom, we said hello to the Pickles.
Polly (left) and Petey.
Percy (left) and Joe.
Four little Pickles, right? All cute and (mostly) healthy, running around in the foster room like silly little Pickles. This was going to be an EASY bunch, I thought.
And then came….
Tony Rocky Horror Pickle. Who later became known as RatBat Boy and Magoo.
Oh, that boy. He was tiny and too thin and had horrifying intestinal issues, and was just a mess. At one point we thought we’d lost him. But he persevered, and he thrived, thank god.
On the 18th of August, Brandywine and her little ‘Maters went off to Petsmart. Brandywine was adopted immediately – didn’t even spend a single night at Petsmart – and her sons waited a while. Caspian and Wellington were adopted in September.
A few days after the ‘Maters went off to Petsmart, we said hello to the Weeds.
Dandelion.
Purslane.
And Thistle.
They initially all tested positive for FIV, though Purslane and Thistle were “faint” positives. Upon retest, Purslane and Thistle were negative, and Dandelion remained positive. We tested Dandelion again later, and then did a different test that showed she was definitely positive.
Through September, October, and November, the house was full with Pickles and Weeds. Eventually, the two litters met and became friends.
Percy, Petey, Tony, and Joe went to Petsmart on November 16, 2012. Percy was adopted the same day, and Polly joined Petey, Magoo, and Joe the next day. Polly and Petey were adopted that day, and then Magoo and Joe waited a few weeks before someone came along and adopted both of them.
The day the Pickles went to Petsmart, the remaining ‘Maters who were still there waiting for their forever home – Dingwall Scotty, Mr. Stripey, and Sungold – came home for a break from the cage. Kohle, who was no relation, had been at Petsmart longer, and came home with them for a break as well.
The ‘Maters & Kohle.
Kohle has incredible eyes.
Dandelion went off to her forever home on December 4th, straight from here without having to spend time at Petsmart. She has a brother in the form of Duke, a King Charles Spaniel. They’re already good friends! Soon after, Purslane and Thistle went to Petsmart. They were scared at first, but soon enough they were accustomed to their surroundings and were able to let their personalities shine through. They were adopted (though not together).
On December 14th, the ‘Maters and Kohle went off to Petsmart to take up residence in their cages again. The very next day, Kohle and Dingwall Scotty were adopted.
Sungold and Mr. Stripey were at Petsmart for a while longer, but someone decided she wanted to adopt them BOTH, and so they both came back here to hang out until after the holidays. They’ll be going home next week.
On December 20th, Barney and Bitsy Beans came home with me.
More than a little skittish at first, they calmed down pretty quickly and they are now total lovebugs. A week later, on December 27th, Baby Beans (who is the reason for the “Beans” naming theme) came home with me, too, and is in the process of making friends with Barney and Bitsy.
So as the year comes to an end, we have five kittens in the house – Sungold, Mr. Stripey, and Barney, Bitsy, and Baby Beans. By my count, we fostered a total of 38 kittens in 2012 (feel free to check my math), and that brings us to a total of 198 kittens fostered.
It’s been a really fun year with more ups than downs. We fell in love with kitten after kitten this year (and were sad and then joyful as they left us and then found forever homes), and I’m excited to see what 2013 has in store for us.
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The state of the permanent residents in 2012.
In 2012 we started the year with 13 cats, briefly went up to 14, back down to 13, and now we’re at 12. We said goodbye to Rupert (who we only had with us for a couple of months. We weren’t able to bring him inside because he freaked out too badly when we tried, and he was hit by a car in August and killed instantly.) We also said goodbye to Elwood, who was only three years old and succumbed to FIP.
The current permanent residents are all doing well, are healthy and up to date on their vaccines, and happy. If we end 2013 with no fewer permanent residents (but ALSO no MORE permanent residents), I’ll be thankful.
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As we begin this new year, I’d like to take a moment to thank you all for reading. I know that a lot of you say that you like to start (or end) your day at Love & Hisses, reading about the kittens and the permanent residents. You give me (and each other) advice, ask and answer questions, fall in love with the kittens we foster and our permanent residents, and grieve with us as we’ve lost permanent residents. I started this site because I can’t shut my face about cats and kittens, and to have y’all enjoy the pictures and stories I post means more than I could ever begin to express. I appreciate each and every one of you, whether you’re here every day or just come by every now and then. We’ve built an amazing community here, and I certainly could never have done it alone.
So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you all so very very much!
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Previously
2012: No entry.
2011: No entry.
2010: No entry.
2009: This is going to be hard – it always is – but I have to trust that they’ll end up in fantastic homes with people who spoil them as rotten as we do.
2008: No entry.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.