Loved seeing more of Dennis today-somehow I was starting to think he was a pretty reserved, always watching/supervising cat–now I know he does play AND give luvvies. Suspect he could easily fit in as permanent resident!! (I know, I can hear you say NO!!)
Dennis started out as the reserved, standoffish sort – he’d let us pet and snuggle him, but we had to instigate it, had to reach out and grab him, because he’d never come close or climb into our laps on his own. He spent most of his time off to the side watching the other kittens get their love and kisses. But with a lot of time and work, he’s relaxed, and now will actually climb into my lap when I sit down. If I lay down on Fred’s bed, he comes right up and crawls all over me, purring and kneading like crazy. If I’m standing up and walk toward him, he is OFF like a shot. So he still has his issues, but he’s turning into a sweet snuggler.
That said, NO MORE PERMANENT RESIDENNNNNNNTS!
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Funnily enough there is a web site that does just that, for all you Yakety Sax fans.
That is AWESOME!
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Lots of movement in that video, but I want to know, who was the kitty who was sleeping in the doll bed most of the time? That’s the one I’d want to adopt!
That was Livia. As the oldest in the room, I guess it makes sense that she did less running around and playing than the others did (though she can be super playful when she wants to be!)
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I have a question for you and your readers: How long should you wait after your kitties pass before thinking about adopting again? (I know, such a happy topic!)
I know it really depends but I would love to hear someone’s experience with this. We had to put both of our cats down last fall after 13 years and it just shattered our entire family – to the point that we packed up every thing cat related and donated it all to the local SPCA. My son and I still get choked up when we talk about them. I’m just now able to read this blog without getting all blubbery. I cried harder for my cats passing than for actual human relatives – I can’t believe it hit us so hard.
I think adopting again might ease the sadness for us all but I’m worried about it being too soon. Towards the end our kitties became a constant stress from lots of care needed, surgeries and emergency trips to the vets. We needed the reprieve but I’m not sure when the right time is to adopt again. Any advice or shared experience would be very helpful 🙂
I actually think that the fact that you’re starting to ask that question might indicate that you’re ready, or close to it. I would make sure that everyone in the family is on board (or at least not opposed) before you start looking for cats to add to your family, but you know – looking at and meeting cats doesn’t mean you have to adopt them if it doesn’t feel right.
I understand completely how much you miss those kitties – they were part of your life, day in and day out, for years. It’s so strange to have them no longer there, I know. But think of it this way – adopting two kittens or cats and giving them a good home would be a great way to honor their memory.
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Robyn, for friday’s mailbag: Is there anything special you do for the outside residents of Crooked Acres when there is a threat of severe weather like tornadoes? Do George & Gracie get to come inside? How about the outside cats? Glad you are all OK so far, hoping today doesn’t bring anything terrible for you.
We could put George and Gracie in the garage if we needed to, but I actually think that they’re better off out in their field. The garage is not a very well put together structure, and if we took a direct hit from a tornado, I think that they’d probably be in more danger in the garage than out in the field.
As far as the cats, we have a “if we can get hold of them, we’ll save them” mentality. Fosters will always be tossed into carriers and brought downstairs, because they’re contained (in the foster room), and we can get our hands on them to put them into carriers. The permanent residents that we can locate are put into carriers and brought to the hallway closet, but there’s always the problem of not being able to find or get hold of some of them.
So basically what I did, Monday afternoon when we knew bad weather might be headed our way, was pile carriers all over the place. If we knew the bad stuff was headed our way, we were going to grab cats and start putting them in carriers, then pile cat-filled carriers in the hall closet, and stay with them until the threat passed.
Of course, we never had to put that plan into action, because as it turned out no bad weather came directly at us. I imagine that if we HAD had to put that plan into action, there would have been a lot of racing around, grabbing cats, and lots and lots of swearing.
One of the reasons I’m dead set against adding any more permanent residents is because I am not convinced that we can get all the permanent residents safely tucked away in case of emergency, and I’d really like to be able to!
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Tricki Friday!
One of the things I love about Tricki – the way she curls her tail when she’s standing and watching the other cats.
She’s a feather teaser-lovin’ girl.
Gorgeous, gorgeous.
Eye on the teaser.
Have I mentioned how much I love her eyes? SO much.
I meant to get a picture of Tricki jumping up after the teaser, but the camera decided to focus on yawny Livia.
::thlurrp::
There she goes with that curly tail again.
And again!
::THLURRRRP::
I’ve got a short Tricki video, but it’s nothing fancy. In the first section she skids into the room (from the closet) like Kramer from Seinfeld. In the second (it’s at night after the light was turned off), she went sliding into a cat bed shaped like a tuna can (lid and all), which caught the attention of the other cats in the room. She stayed there for a good part of the night, too, her eyes occasionally glinting in the infrared light.
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Beautiful, beautiful Corbs.
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Previously
2013: Or perhaps you’d prefer a floofier, more robust flavor?
2012: “You must rub da belleh.”
2011: Meet Dorothy.
2010: No entry.
2009: No entry.
2008: (Side note: If your heart doesn’t melt and pour out your belly button when Kara rubs her face against Kaylee, there is no hope for you.)
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
I really don’t understand why Tricki wasn’t adopted right away. I mean, she’s absolutely beautiful, her name is awesome and she seems like a super sweet little monkey. I would have had a really hard time walking away from her.
I love Tricki so much and would adopt her in a heartbeat, except I wouldn’t be able to tell her apart from my other sweet black girlkitty. 🙂
I laughed when Tricki jumped into her tuna can bed, and all the shiny eyes show up. Especially whoever was in the bed behind there (Livia?). She/he looked totally disgusted to be woken up and is staring eyes of het into the back of Tricki’s bed for a long time. “Hate you, Tricki!” Ha! I, personally, love her.
Glad Dennis is getting less introverted and more luvvy. Like all the fosters, we’ll just keep our fingers and toes crossed that the right home is out there and the sooner the better! I honestly never considered how tough it would be to round them all up for safety. I’ve had 2 of 3 in carriers in the hall here, and couldn’t fish the third out from under a bed…we don’t get horrible storms that often, thankfully.
I hate XP – I can’t see the videos at work!!! waaaaa
As to “when to adopt”…have the family conversation and then look around. if you go to a local rescue and fall apart, it isn’t time. but you may walk in and see the love of your life. there is no easy answer, but we wish you luck!
When to adopt? Personally, I think as soon as possible. I find it easier to cope when I have a new baby to concentrate on rather than how broken my heart is and missing my former cat. And, it gives a deserving kitten/kittens a new loving home. I don’t think it takes away from the memory of your departed loves at all.
I have to agree with this sentiment. “My” new cat (that being the cat that I now belong to) Lily is different than Jazz, but there are some similarities (talkative, bossy lap cats). I still miss the Jazz-imal, but I would have been a complete mess without Lilium. I’ll also say that I did things a little backwards. We brought Lily home from Challenger’s House while Jazz was sick (kidneys) but still hanging on. He took to her right away, but left us about a week later. I like to think that he hung on until he knew I would be OK.
I am the same way. I haven’t lost cats, but I have lost two dogs in the last 15 years.The longest we went was a week before getting a puppy. I can only speak for myself, but it did ease the pain of our family’s loss, and I do feel it is a tribute to the pet that is gone. It doesn’t mean you don’t mourn your departed animal, I still think about my dogs every single day, and wish they were here. I also know that they loved for us to be happy, and would be glad we had a new puppy in the house.
The problm with clicking on the prior year’s entries is that you immediately want to know what’s going on with the prior fosters.
Is it me or does Tricki have a touch of the Loon
Awww, Miss Dorfy blew into our hearts three years ago today! *Waves to Dorothy and her mom!*
Tricki is a beautiful girl! And Robyn…you KNOW what happens when you start making declarations about no more permanents!!! 😉
To the person who is wondering if it’s too soon to adopt, may I suggest fostering? Back in 2008, when my only cat Rocky passed away at age 16, I was devastated. The house was horribly empty, but I KNEW it was too soon to think about “replacing” him. I looked into fostering and it was the perfect solution for me at that time. Six years, countless litters of foster kittens, and three perma-cats later, I’m still really, really glad I made that decision.
I’ve lost 2 cats in the last 6 months or so – one just two weeks ago after 17 years. As long as you are ready to commit to the new cat as an individual rather than a replacement the exact time doesn’t matter. In between, about a month after the sudden death of Calpurnia I adopted a pair of kittens and they have been good for me, and the other cats, and hopefully I have been good to them. You don’t forget the ones you lose when you get more, they just remind you of the happier times.