Is it just me, or is this the stripyest (is that a word?) bunch of black cats I’ve ever seen? I’ve not seen such prominent stripes on all black kitties before. Even Mike, who’s from another mother.
They’re pretty stripey! I think most black cats have some striping that only shows up in certain conditions. It might be better lighting that makes it possible to see all the stripes on this bunch.
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Speaking of awww, Stompers is a big goofy gentle orange perma-kitten, isn’t he? Someone clearly learned how to interact with other kitties while at the And3rson finishing school for friendly creatures. I bet he’s still a people-snuggler, too. So much love for that fantastic boy!
And randomly, thinking back to videos of the last few days, is it just me, or does Mike have a happy most of the time? XD He seems like he might be the litter purrer (he hasn’t forgotten his rough start and knows just how amazingly he has it now, maybe), but I could easily be mistaken!
It’s funny that you mention both Stompers and Mike as being so very sweet and happy – they were both bottle babies, and I have found that bottle babies have a tendency to be just a bit more… happy? Sweet? More chill and less likely to hold a grudge?
Mike is absolutely happy 99.999% of the time, and even if he’s startled or scared, it lasts just a moment, and then here he comes again with that happy tail. (The kittens met the vacuum cleaner face-to-face for the first time yesterday, and once the vacuum started up, Mike was the only kitten I saw. To be sure, he was watching from a distance, but everyone else vamoosed into another dimension.) He’s purred for me since the very beginning and I swear you only have to look at him for him to turn on that purr. The other kittens haven’t purred as much, and it’s been my experience (this is not everyone’s experience, apparently, but it’s been mine) that kittens who are with their mother don’t start purring for me until later. They’re finally starting to turn on their purrs, though, and they all have the sweetest purrs.
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Has Kim fallen for Fred like the long line of other mamas he has charmed? ❤️
Actually, NO. I mean, it’s probably only a matter of time – Fred has been pretty busy with work and hasn’t spent a lot of time with the fosters – but for now she seems to have a slight preference for me.
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My Luna goes crazy for Churu and bites the tube, which causes me some concern. Do any of your kitties try to bite it? My other cat is totally uninterested in Churu.
They do try to bite it, but I haven’t had them actually chew on the tube or bite off any of the tube (which would worry me). If they start biting, I’ll generally pull the tube away and wait a moment for them to calm down. (Note to Churu: what if you put the Churu in an EDIBLE tube?)
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I don’t even know how to SAY glomerular. I’m having as much trouble trying to say it as Jenna had with “The Rural Juror” on 30 Rock. I hope Mama Kim keeps feeling good!
OMG “The Rural Juror” – that cracks me up, I hadn’t thought of that in a long time!
(And honestly, I’ve been calling it “the Gloms” because I can’t pronounce it either. Something about trying to go from the “glom” to the “er” gets me every time. I try to turn the “r” into an “l” and it’s just a total tongue twister for me.)
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On Facebook, a few people asked about the barrier at the top of the stairs (that confines the fosters to the upstairs), so I thought I’d share a picture of it here, too.
It’s made out of PVC, cat screen, and plastic. The PVC is attached together with some kind of PVC hinges (that was Fred’s department) and everything else is held on with zip ties. The section at the top of the stairs, over by the light switch, is on a hinge so it can be opened and closed like a door. The whole thing is zip-tied to the banisters. The plastic (zip-tied at the top) is to stop them from climbing to the top of the whole shebang. So far, it’s working great – and the best thing is that if need be, we can remove and store the whole thing. (At night, when the fosters are in their room, I open the “door” at the top of the stairs so the permanent residents can come upstairs.)
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“Trying to nap here, lady.” Kim is SERIOUS about her naps. She’s my kinda gal.
Lalo in the sun.
Saul checks out the view.
Kim loves the ham-mick in my room. I don’t think I’ve ever seen her on the one in the foster room, though!
Mike really likes the top of that three-level organizer in my office. (Someone on Facebook pointed out that it looks like a cake pan!)
The three-level organizer in question. I didn’t buy that for kittens, but you notice there are now blankets on each level of it.
Look at those bright eyes! Gus and Saul in the back, Nacho and Francesca in the front.
Today the boys are off for their neuter surgeries! I expect we’ll be home by mid-morning, the boys will nap, and then they’ll be racing around like usual by mid-afternoon. (They might even skip the nap.)
Note: I just got word on this yesterday: Lalo and Gus were initially supposed to go home this weekend, but Obi (formerly Angus) has been sneezing and the vet has put him on medication and doesn’t want the kittens to be around him right now. So they’ll stay with us for a while longer!
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Jake’s lookin’ smug.
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Posted on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Tumblr) yesterday.
Francesca admires my artwork.
Throw Back Thursday: in 2007, when we lived on 4 1/2 acres and had chickens, the chickens would often be allowed into the back yard. That cat there on the left is Newt, who is still with us and is now nearly 17 years old. He looks like such a baby there!
YouTube link
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Throw Back Thursday: From 2014, the Grocers kittens skitterbugging and leaping around, at half speed! (I do love a good slow-motion kitten video.)
Throw Back Thursday: in 2019 we were fostering Margeaux, who came to us with three kittens who were not, as it turned out, her own. A few days later Margeaux’s daughter/friend Katriane joined us with three kittens of her own. The kittens grew up together, and one day we noticed that – hey! Margeaux’s getting a wee bit round! Well, that’s because Margeaux was pregnant. She proceeded to have 6 kittens of her own, and Katriane was a willing assistant in the raising of those kittens.
The larger of these two kittens, Francois, was adopted out with his brother Jacques, but they were returned a few weeks later. It took Francois a few days, but once he saw the little kittens bellied up to the milk bar, he thought that sounded like a pretty good idea, and I walked in to find Francois (left) and Beauregard (right) at the milk bar. (Margeaux did not put up with this nonsense for long, and got up and walked away right after I took this picture.)
Margeaux and Katriane were adopted together – they are now Elfie and Neko and you can see them living their best life on Instagram @keepingtabbies . (Neko is the only mother cat I’ve ever fostered who decided one day that she was done letting the kittens nurse, and never wavered in her decision. Elfie, on the other hand, would likely still be letting those kittens nurse.)
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Lalo: A boy and his tail. Well, he caught it! I don’t know what he’s going to do with it, but it’s been caught. Good job, Lalo!
That’s right, it IS #Thlurrrpsday, and Kim shows off her amazing form.
Good night innernets. (Saul, Lalo, Gus and Francesca.)
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Previously
2021: “Kid,” says Uncle Charlie. “That’s quite a tail you have.”
2020: Annie Oakley likes to sit just far enough away that I can’t reach her.
2019: After I shower, I inevitably come out of the bathroom to find a bed covered in kittens.
2018: Gauge and the Stranger Danger suit.
2017: No entry.
2016: Iva appears to be raaaaather pleased with herself.
2015: Phelps, giving the innernets the sultry eyes.
2014: Toes and Teefs and Tongues Tuesday.
2013: “What you want, lady? You go away for days and months and years, and you think I wanna snuggle you? You think WRONG.”
2012: No entry.
2011: This was the perfect storm that kicked off what I like to UNfondly refer to as “Sprayapalooza.”
2010: Laurie probably beats her kittens to make them behave.
2009: “I HAZ A COMPLAINT! I WAS TOLD THERE’D BE FOOD AT THIS PARTY!”
2008: These kittens = exactly what a cranky woman needs.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: Cleanliness is next to Sugarbuttliness.