Besides Mama and Auntie, how many other kittens are left? And are they going to continue to try to trap them?
There’s one more kitten. They’re going to keep trying to trap. I think (though I’m not positive) that the plan is to TNR Mama and Auntie.
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HOW in the WORLD are you going to be able to pick out photos from that batch for next year’s calendar????? Do NOT envy your task on that one! 🙂
I think I’m going to have to do the calendar differently next year, because this year about killed me! I’m thinking of doing one big picture and then some smaller ones around the edge for each month. That way I can sneak more pictures in!
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Wanted also to tell you, I recently looked after my 3 yo nephew for 10 days, and every morning we’d come straight here on my iPhone. Alice the Frog was his very favourite, and he would ask to see her several times a day. He was in love with all the Grocers, especially Trader Joe and Piggly Wiggly (insisted on using his full name).
Awww, sweet! From Alice, for your nephew:
(Her face in that picture cracks me UP.)
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I’m curious, what do you do to clean the room in between litters? Is it just like a regular cleaning or is there anything special you do like wash everything with bleach? And what about what’s carpeted, like the cat trees?
I use a comforter as a rug in that room, so I toss that in the washer and wash it on hot, with bleach. I put all the food and water dishes and the water fountain in the dishwasher. I vacuum and then mop the floor with bleach, let it dry, and go over the floor with a steam mop. I toss the used litter, scrub down all the litter boxes with bleach, let them dry, and then wipe them down with vinegar. I go through the toys and toss anything that’s dirty (and can’t be cleaned) or starting to break down. I vacuum the cat trees and spot-clean any spots that need it.
(I would really like to have cat trees that are made of sealed wood and can be easily cleaned; that’s a goal for the future.)
I also wipe down the baseboards in the room and the closet, and if I had a particularly messy litter of kittens or it’s been a while, I’ll wipe down the walls. All told, it takes 2 – 3 hours to get the room clean (with plenty of breaks to let the floor/litter boxes dry). The worst part is emptying the litter boxes and carrying the dirty litter downstairs and out to the trash.
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From Charlene:
BTW, last week when I was asking for feedback about my Tortie-tude t-shirt design, someone asked for one for Tuxies. This is a draft.
Not really liking the graphic and thinking I need to look for something better. What do you think? Would you buy this? Thanks for any feedback, good or bad.
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There was discussion a few days ago about canvas prints of photos. I just came across this deal on Groupon.
Not sure if it is only good for our local area or if anyone anywhere can get the same deal.
It’s showing up for me, so it should be good! It does say that there’s limited time remaining, so if anyone’s interested you better hop to it!
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Can’t believe the Grocers are all gone now… Was this the quickest adoption of any of your foster litters?
I think it very well might be – I don’t remember any other litter of that size getting homes as quickly. There usually tends to be one or two who wait and wait, which always drives me nuts!
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Ralph in the catnip toy box reminds me of those toddlers who somehow end up in those prize-grabbing-claw machines, and then there they are in the window: one of the prizes!
That is EXACTLY what he looks like!
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My Sherman in Wisconsin says “welcome!” to the new Sherman in Wisconsin. (Mine was dumped at my house three years ago. And he got his name ’cause he’s built like a tank.)
This reminds me that after I heard that his name is now Sherman, I came up with a list of names for a future litter of kittens with three boys and one girl:
Sherman, Herman, Thurman…and Ethel!
(Please tell me that someone got that, because Fred didn’t at first.)
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Robyn – think you could put a sidebar picture and link for any former fosters staying at Challenger House? When you attract new readers, maybe someone might be taken with their back story and want to adopt them (or seasoned readers may be able to now adopt!). If I’m keeping track correctly, we have Mr. Stripey and Terry there now..
I will definitely do that, this weekend! (Or soon, anyway.)
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Who is that on the pile of beds, is that Alice? Having trouble sleeping on a rock hard pea?
That is Princess Alice, who is sleeping TERRIBLY on that not-at-all-comfortable pile o’ beds.
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I’m so glad to see I’m not the only person with a screen door at the bottom of their second floor stairway!
That screen door at the bottom of the stairs is THE BEST THING we have ever done in this house. Every now and then I look at it and think “What took us so long?!”
We actually prop the door open at night so that the cats can go up there if they want to (though Fred sleeps with his bedroom door closed, and keeps the office door closed when he’s not actually working, so there’s not much up there for them, aside from the bathroom (with a litter box in it) and a cat tree in the hallway), and then we close it during the day. Occasionally Dennis will ask to go upstairs and hang out during the day, and we let him (he’s also very imperious about letting us know when he wants OUT). He spent so much time upstairs as our foster that I’m sure it feels like home to him.
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Please don’t point the skimmer finger at me, but I didn’t remember that Creed was returned. Does anyone want to update me, or do I have to search for it myself?
I would have sworn that I wrote about it, but apparently not!
The short story is that Creed – who was our foster back in 2009 along with his sister Phyllis and brother Dwight – was returned in June because he was having litterbox issues. His owners had taken him to the vet, who apparently told them that it was a behavioral issue and sent them home with meds and a sensitive stomach food. (Um, wha?) He kept peeing inappropriately, so they brought him back to the shelter. They dropped him off at the vet Challenger’s House uses, and a urinalysis showed that he was loaded with crystals. A food change fixed that problem, and he’s been fine ever since. He’s a gorgeous, sweet boy, and I wish he’d find his forever home!
This is my favorite baby Creed picture. Those Precious Moments eyes just kill me.
Okay, I just went and looked again, and apparently I did mention that he was returned in this post from late June. No wonder y’all didn’t remember that he’d been returned, because it was just buried in there as an aside. Creed was also at the TICA Cat Show in July, competing, until he decided he was DONE with that nonsense. And lastly, fun facts about Creed, when he was our foster.
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How are Terry’s eyes? Is he able to open them all the way? In the pictures, they look like they’re squinted or almost closed. Was the surgery successful enough that he can open his eyes wide?
He’s got a perma-squint – he can open them if he wants to, and he can see just fine, but I think he’s just most comfortable with them in squint position.
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These kittens have been named! Let’s see if you can guess the naming theme…
Thunderclap Newman.
Jethro Tull.
Molly Hatchet.
Those are classic rock bands from the 70s. I was going to call the litter The Classics, but after poking around on Wikipedia I see that each band only had one hit, making them one-hit wonders, so I’m going to call them The Wonders.
(Edited to add: Okay, okay. Apparently Jethro Tull is not a one-hit wonder and Molly Hatchet may or may not be. I have to admit that I had to look them up to come up with Aqualung and Flirting with Disaster, because I was probably too busy listening to Donny and Marie during the period when they had hits. Sorry for any offense! But I’m still going to call the litter The Wonders, because I like the sound of it more than The Classics. 🙂 )
At some point earlier this year, we happened to see the name Thunderclap Newman, and both said “That would be a great kitten name!”, so I filed it away. Yesterday, Fred brought it up as a name possibility for the black kitten, so I let him have his way. In case you’re curious, Thunderclap Newman was a one-hit band fronted by Pete Townshend (see the video for their one hit here.) Jethro Tull, of course, did Aqualung. And Molly Hatchet did Flirting with Disaster, which I skated to a zillion times at Roller World when I was a kid.
Thunderclap Newman reminds me of a wee Tom Cullen.
He is easily lured out of hiding with a feather teaser.
“Whatchoo got there, lady?”
He’s still a bit skittish, but it doesn’t take much to get him rolling around and purring like crazy.
“What doin’, weird lady?”
Molly Hatchet and Jethro Tull are still a little scared. She’s prone to hissing and smacking, but by midday yesterday it was as though she was just doing it because she felt like she was supposed to.
Jethro enjoys a good belly rub, but he’s still a bit hissy, too.
I like that cat tree condo because they feel safe there, but I can sneak a hand in there to pet them, too.
They’re not only hissing at me – they don’t seem to remember Thunderclap Newman at all (they’d been apart from him for a week before they were reunited, and we know that a week is like a million years in kitten time) and they’ve been hissing and growling at him if he gets too close. Luckily, he’s not taking it personally. He’s just glad to have the company!
Last night I fed them baby food off a spoon. Molly didn’t fall for my trick of moving the spoon away from her and closer to me and wouldn’t follow the spoon, but she was happy to eat the baby food off the spoon if I held it way out to her. Jethro hissed, then ate the baby food, then hissed some more, then ate. Thunderclap practically climbed into my lap. Considering that Molly and Jethro were outside until Wednesday afternoon, I’d say we’re making great progress.
PS: I know I had a foster named Molly in the past – Molly Peppers – but Susan was okay with me using it again, since the surnames are different. The only other remotely female-sounding name Fred offered as a naming possibility was Thin Lizzy, and I much preferred Molly Hatchet.
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Stefan in a rare conscious moment. (But you know he went and took a nap right after. Lest you worry about him being sleep deprived.)
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Previously
2013: “I don’t get it.”
2012: “No, we’re going to sit here and look innocent.”
2011: Chuckles loves him some Tommy.
2010: No entry.
2009: No entry.
2008: Pet store kitties.
2007: “What IS it?!”
2006: Ten is TOO MANY.
2005: “Why, yes, we are. We ARE bad.”