I have an update on Kate!
Anette says: Just wanted to give you an update on our new family member, Katherine (Kate). She is settling in very well. Our dog Gus and cat Mario (a.k.a. Sergeant Black Ops) are getting used to her. They have all been nose to nose without any bad things happening. Kate stayed in one room for a couple of days, then she went there only over night and by now she has free range of the whole house at all times. She enjoys laying on the screened in porch and watching the birds in the backyard. Kate eats well and the fur on her belly is growing back nicely. She is becoming more affectionate with us every day and we look forward to many happy years with her. We will take her to be introduced to our vet in July, when it is time for the other cat to go for his shots.
Thank you for saving this beautiful cat and bringing her where we could find her.
Gus at Graduation.
Mario (Sgt. Black Ops)
Don’t you love a good-news update? I’m glad Kate is doing so well (and I’m not surprised!) Also, Sgt. Black Ops looks an awful lot like our own Tom Cullen!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Sweet Miss Ember is just SO kissable, isn’t she?
That basket was a BIG hit for about two days, and now they won’t look at it twice.
The whole family! In one picture! This was not easy to engineer, believe me.
Pardon me, Puff, your giant head is taking up the whole frame.
“You better back off from the tail back there, child, or I’ma give you what-for.”
When they get going they’re all pretty wild, but Ruth is the wildest of ’em all.
He might be the biggest of the bunch, but Scorch is the gentlest of the bunch, too.
A little confused, Ruthie?
“You go ‘way, lady. I gots to put myself to bed.”
He’s such a little flirty pants.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
So, last Thursday I took the Dragons up to the vet in Tennessee so they could have their test for Feline Leukemia and FIV. As I mentioned last week, they came back negative (yay!). I was waiting for the results on their fecal test, so I was standing in the reception area of the vet’s office chatting with the shelter manager.
A woman came in, carrying a plastic container. Susan (the shelter manager) went over to see what she had in it. When I heard that it was kittens, I went over to take a look and saw three tiny kittens. The woman said that the mother cat – a feral – had abandoned them. There were originally five kittens, but one of them had died. She didn’t know where the 4th kitten had gone, she’d only been able to find three of them.
Oh, were they CUTE. I gave Susan the puppydog eyes, and she mouthed “You want to take them?” and I nodded furiously.
I got home with the three kittens, set them up in the downstairs bathroom (since the Royals were still with us for another day, the upstairs rooms were both full), and fed them. While I was feeding them, the phone rang – Susan had the 4th kitten and was bringing him to me.
They were about 10 days when I got them – which makes them a couple of days over 2 weeks old currently – and oh, they were such a sad mess. Loaded with fleas, and in desperate need of baths. They were tiny, all four of them just over 5 ounces. The reason I waited to tell you about them is because I wasn’t sure they would make it, being in such rough shape. They’re doing beautifully, though, and are all well over 8 ounces now. They’re vigorous, they eat really well, and I expect they’ll continue to do just fine.
Some of these pictures are from before they got their baths. After they got their baths, they looked approximately 1,000 times better.
The day I got them.
Let me introduce you formally:
You’ve met Jon Snow. He looks white, but I think he’s going to have an orange tail and possibly orange ears.
Brandon (a boy, obviously).
Arya (girl). A teeny calico; she’s got an opinion and isn’t afraid to tell you about it. She has the distinction of being female foster #100! (Including this litter, we’re at 118 males.)
Hodor (boy). Buff and white tabby.
Brandon again, having just finished eating and ready for a nap.
They’re still in the downstairs bathroom – across the hall from my bedroom – because I feed them for the last time between 11 pm and midnight, and I’m afraid that they’d wake Fred up if they were in there being fed (or screaming to be fed). Eventually I’ll move them into a cage in the smaller foster room upstairs, but for now they’re okay in the bathroom, in this carrier. When I feed them, I give them plenty of time to crawl around and explore the bathroom (and climb into my lap).
They are the sweetest, fluffiest, most kissable kittens. Oh, they just kill me.
The first few days with bottle babies are so frustrating. These guys had never eaten from a bottle because obviously they were accustomed to nursing from their mother like the good lord intended. I tried different nipples and syringes and eye droppers. Finally, they got the knack of latching on to the bottle, and now they all eat like little champs.
We were actually going to try to introduce Khaleesi to the Starks, because I thought she could probably do a better job of feeding them than I. But after two days, they were doing so well that I just didn’t want to take the chance that they could give her something and make her sick.
Oh, and the names – if you didn’t already know it, they’re from Game of Thrones. (When I was having a hard time getting them to latch onto the bottle and was frustrated, I told Fred I was going to name them Melisandre, Ramsay Bolton, Walder Frey, and Tywin Lannister, and call them The Terrors.)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Stinkerbelle keeps an eye on me while warming herself in the sun.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Previously
2012: “I can haz kissin’?”
2011: No entry.
2010: No entry.
2009: All three kittens are inordinately interested in sticking their heads in our mouths
2008: Poor Miz Poo
2007: It’s his default expression.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.