Let me pick your brain (and maybe your readers’s brains as well) on this. I saw Nola was adopted today (woohoo!!) What can rescue people do to get more adoptions? Especially adult cats? Our adoptions are so slow right now! I was just talking to one of the other fosters and she was saying how she could never remember it being this slow. Another foster was commenting last week that we put so much effort into the adoption events and we’re lucky to get one adoption. Any thoughts?
Rather than cut and paste the great responses to this comment, I’ll just link to the comment location, and y’all can go read the great suggestions others left. And I’ll reiterate that exposure via social media is key. Kay and Bill saw Andre and Bella (formerly Andouille and Beignet) on Facebook, and it was via a shared Facebook post that Nola found a home.
(Nola went home yesterday, by the way – yay!!!)
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Is Belle the most playful with her kittens mama you’ve ever had? I don’t recall any of the others being so playful. But then she is pretty young still herself.
Lucy was very playful with her kittens, and so was Regina. I think most mamas play with their kittens, but some of them tended not to play as much when I was in the room. Belle definitely has that kittenish energy.
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What is the name of that bed Belle loves and where did you buy it?
It’s the MidWest Quiet Time Fleece bed, and I got it at Chewy.com. I got the 18 inch version, but I wish I’d gotten it a bit bigger. She – and the occasional kitten – love to stand and knead on it.
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So happy that you got such a great shot of Chip’s “happy” tail. That is the first thing I noticed about him as they were becoming mobile. Well…that and the fact he definitely was the social director for the litter! Adorable!!!
That comment was from Kami, who’s a Challenger’s House volunteer and has actually witnessed the magic that is Chip. “Social Director” is an excellent description of that boy, and I believe I’ll be stealing it!
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Belle has a similar look like some of the other mama’s in the past. Can we see any comparison pictures? They are all beautiful of course!!
Here you go!
I think these four look like they could be sisters – especially Belle and Lucy! If you’re not familiar with all these mamas, Lucy was our foster back in 2015. She had her kittens here – SEVEN of them! – and also took on mothering Carlin. Livia was our foster in 2013 – she was at the spay/neuter clinic, and gave birth right there. She and her 7 (!) kittens came to us when the kittens were about 12 days old. Khaleesi was our foster in early 2013, and she gave birth right here to four kittens of her own. When she had birthed kitten #3 and was resting before #4, we slid a little orphan in under her and though she was perpetually puzzled by the number of kittens she ended up with, she raised the little orphan (who was Norbert) as her own.
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Those kittens are going to surpass their mum in size soon!
I can tell you that Belle weighs just under 7 pounds and when all four of her kittens are nursing, the combined weight of all four adds up to about 12 1/2 pounds. I’m amazed that she’s able to get up and walk away as easily as she does! (Mrs. Potts is the lightest kitten at 2 pounds, 10 ounces and Chip is the heaviest at 3 pounds, 5 ounces.)
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Unrelated, but have y’all seen this? Purrli
That is SO cool. I love it!
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Mrs. Potts really seems to like having a sister. She and Agnes spend plenty of time playing with and grooming each other.
Agnes’s tongue is cracking me up – it’s so long she’s practically got it tossed over her shoulder like a scarf.
Mrs. Potts is a multi-tasker: sliding out of the scratcher AND tussling with Agnes.
I love Agnes’s one white whisker.
Mrs. Potts has a think.
Ressler has such a big, round head compared to the other kittens. The better to hold his big brain, I guess.
Agnes wonders if Gaston is going to vacate that box any time soon.
Gaston coming through the scratcher, grabbing for Lumiere. But Agnes is all “Wait! I’ll clean him up for you!”
There goes Mrs. Potts, leaping straight up into the air again. That’s her favorite move!
::Beep::Beep::
“What you want, lady?”
Mrs. Potts knows that Gaston is in a jumpin’ mood, so she runs at top speed for her Safe Place.
Gaston follows.
He gives her a bite or two, then wanders off.
“But Tiny Basket is my safe space. You can’t bite me here!”
Due to a scheduling snafu, the kittens didn’t all get done by the time I got there to pick them up. Agnes, Mrs. Potts, and Lumiere came home with me, and Ressler, Gaston, and Chip spent the night. I’ll be going to pick them up later this morning.
Belle didn’t miss those babies for one single moment, and when I brought Agnes, Mrs. Potts and Lumiere back home at the end of the day, she looked at me like “Really? They’re BACK?”
Lumiere will be going home soon, and the others are ready to go. If you are interested in adopting one (or more!) of these kittens, now is the time to speak up. Contact Challenger’s House at challengershouse@mchsi.com, drop them a line on the Facebook page, or call the shelter at 256-420-5995.
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Jake will have you know that he keeps those loons of his SUPER well tuned. In case you were concerned.
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Previously
2016: “HO-DOR, HO-DOR, HO-DOR!”
2015: Roundup: Rickles
2014: Stefan likes to hold the kittens down and nibble on them. The kittens aren’t fans of this particular move.
2013: No entry.
2012: No entry.
2011: “GIVE. US. COOOOOOOKIE!”
2010: I circumvented Fred’s demand to name the little guy “Tony Rocky Horror” (The guy in Pulp Fiction who got thrown out of a window for giving Marsellus Wallace’s wife a foot massage.) and named him Martin.
2009: No entry
2008: “Be vewwy quiet, girlies. It will come closer and I will GET IT! Watch Mama at work!”
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
I think Khaleesi’s “birth story” of Norbert might be my favorite ever. It’s so obvious in the pictures that she really was trying to do the math.
Ditto!
(For reference for those not in this area, we live in Madison (Huntsville) Alabama)Back in 2007 when we were looking to adopt 2 kittens, I contacted Challenger’s House. I was familiar with them because I had shopped at Susan’s store on South Parkway. This year when we wanted to adopt 2 kittens, I went back to the Challenger’s website but found they were no longer taking in new rescues. That, and a recommendation from a friend, led us to Forgotten Felines and Robyn’s blog. If you look at the April 3rd post, you will see that I claimed Andre the day he was born.
So what does that have to do with getting cats and kittens adopted? VISIBILITY
People who do not already have a pet, probably do not go to PetSmart on a regular basis, but at lot of people check Facebook on a regular basis.
Encouraging all foster families to have a Facebook page or blog so that people can see the kitties in a home setting would help getting the kitties introduced to potential adopters. [This may already be the norm. It is definitely what drew us to Andre and Bella.]
I think you need some way to showcasing the kitties who are not at PetSmart so that if people do not connect with one of the kitties there, they can see others who are available. Kitties in their foster environment also show more of their personality. At a minimum, I think links to the Facebook pages of the foster homes would be helpful. A video loop of other kitties available would be great (assuming that PetSmart would allow it)
For the older cats, have you thought of “marketing” them to retirement communities? Older adults frequently would prefer a cat over a kitten as they are calmer.
Thanks so much for the tips 🙂 I’ve got my own foster blog, so maybe if I plastered that all over the place, on their Petfinder profiles and their write-ups at Petco and such, people would read my blog and fall in love with them? I think most of the other fosters would be too busy or too technologically challenged to start their own blog. Also, we have a binder at Petco with pictures and descriptions of all the cats that we have for adoption. Maybe we need to start a live kittencam.
Yes, posting and blogging can be VERY time consuming. Most days I spend over an hour posting pictures and videos of Andre and Bella. I don’t blog, but as I discovered, creating a Facebook page doesn’t take that much skill (I am still pretty Facebook illiterate), and since most people have the Facebook app on their phone, uploading a picture or video to the Facebook page is easy.
love that Mrs. Potts appears to be a gray tabby until you notice the orange stripes on her legs