7-26-17 Wednesday

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I know y’all have met Belle and her kittens, but let’s do a more formal introduction, shall we? I’ll also share a truncated version of these descriptions (along with different pictures) on Instagram/Facebook today. There are so many cats and kittens out there who need fostering right now that it’s killing me – we can’t take any more in until the foster room is empty, and while I adore all of these kittens and Belle, it’s time for them to find their forever homes.

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Belle

Job description: The Mama and the milk bar, not always in that order.

Where’d she come from? She showed up in someone’s back yard with four tiny kittens in tow and came to Challenger’s House when the kittens were 10 days old.

Physical description: Torbie (tortoiseshell/tabby) with fabulous white sneakers and fancy white gloves on her front paws.

Notable Physical Feature: Her gorgeous green eyes, her sleek, soft fur.

Charming Personality Quirk: She’s grown up and a mama, but she’s a very playful kitten at heart. Also, she is a mama through and through – she had never set eyes on Agnes and Ressler before she came here and they were put in the room with she and her kittens, but she immediately acted like their mother, grooming them and playing with them. If either of them was interested in nursing, Belle wouldn’t have had the tiniest problem with that. If you tried to tell her that they’re not REALLY her kittens, I’m pretty sure she’d be super offended and ask you to leave.

Favorite food: Fancy Feast pate is what she usually gets (and likes), but she’ll eat most any canned food. Is happy with Authority Adult food. LOVES her nightly treat of Friskies Party Mix.

Favorite toys: She’s not super crazy about feathers, but loves the track toys, will chase after a ball if you roll it across the floor for her, and enjoys a nice rattly mouse. Also, I often find teddy bears pulled down onto the floor from the wall basket, and I’m 99% sure she’s the one who’s yanking them out and kicking them around the floor. Also, it’s not really a toy, but bird videos mesmerize her.

Favorite game: The one where she holds down a kitten and pretends to gnaw on his or her leg while the kitten complains and squeals. Also the one where she hides from her kittens so they won’t try to belly up to the milk bar.

Other: I wouldn’t call Belle a lap cat, but she loves to walk back and forth and be petted, and likes to flop down next to me and snooze. Sudden moves make her nervous – who knows what she went through before she ended up in someone’s back yard and what her experience was with humans, after all? – but she very clearly wants to be friends. She’s social – she wants to be where the humans are – and I think that once things calm down a little (in other words, when she’s not trying to avoid nursing kittens constantly), she will be a sweet companion. She’s seen our cats through the screen door and she’s a little nervous and a bit hissy, but nothing over the top. I expect she’ll be good in a multi-cat home and would likely do well with nice dogs.

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Agnes

Job description: The cuddler.

Origin: She was discovered near the side of the road, a deceased sibling nearby, when she was about a month old. She came to Challenger’s House and hung out there until I had room for her.

Physical description: She’s a tortie.

Notable Physical Feature: It’s a tie between the one white whisker and the adorable random splashes of orange tabby that you don’t see at first glance.

Charming Personality Quirk: That purrrr. The girl must purr 24 hours a day. If she’s playing, if she’s sleeping, if she cuddling, if she’s examining something new, that girl is purring like crazy. Also, when you pick her up, she twists around so that she’s facing you.

Favorite food: Fancy Feast pate is her jam, and she likes her sprinkle of Friskies Party Mix at bed time. Also enjoys Authority Adult kibble.

Favorite toys: Feathery toys, the track ball, feather teasers, and rattly balls.

Favorite game: The one where she runs over and stops the ball in the track ball toy from rolling around the track. Also chasing and tussling with Mrs. Potts.

Other: This girl is the sweetest cuddler, loves to sit in your lap and be snuggled, adores being kissed. You can hold her like a baby, you can put her up on your shoulder – you can do just about anything to her, and she keeps on purring. Whatever she went through before she was discovered by the side of the road, it certainly didn’t break her spirit. She is just pure joy. The times I saw her when she was still at the shelter, before she came here, she was always racing around like a wild thing, playing. I had no idea what a sweet cuddler she was! And she is. So so cuddly, have I mentioned? She loves her foster siblings (especially Mrs. Potts), is curious about the permanent residents, and would be great in a multi-cat home and with dogs (she was around a couple of dogs at the shelter and was just fine with them.)

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Chip

Job Description: The mouthy little Social Director and Head Snoopervisor.

Physical description: Brown tabby.

Notable Physical Feature: His humongous ears, the tail that he holds so high it arches over his back, and his big ol’ mouth. Also, his tail is super long and skinny, and he is long and lanky and I believe he’ll be built like his mama – long and sleek with huge ears.

Charming Personality Quirk: Talky? Oh lord, this one is a talker. He’s got complaints, and he doesn’t mind telling you about them. If you pick him up and flip him onto his back like a baby, he generally stops complaining, and after he’s had his fill of being babied, he runs off to play.

Favorite food: He’s uninterested in canned food (weirdo), but enjoys his kibble (Authority Adult), and loves his nightly treat of Friskies Party Mix.

Favorite toys: Feathery toys, rattly mice, the track toy. And – most especially – he will get the crazy eyes and the boingy leaps when you bring out the feather teaser.

Favorite game: The one where he howls at you as though his little heart is breaking.

Other: This boy is a social butterfly, a cuddler, and nosy as can be. If he suspects things are going on without his snoopervision, heads will ROLLS. Don’t think you’re pulling one over on this one, folks, because he will TRACK you down and check out what you’re doing. He is very social and wants to hang out where everyone else is. He doesn’t want to be IN your lap, but he does want to be right up against you. He’s an excellent nap time companion. He gets along great with other cats, plays equally well with all his siblings – foster and otherwise – and would be great in a multi-cat home. He’d likely be just fine with dogs.

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Gaston

Job description: International Man of Mystery.

Physical description: Gray tabby with white sneakers and gloves.

Notable Physical Feature: A skeptical stare that masks his soft, sweet center.

Charming Personality Quirk: Always looks at you like he’s pretty sure you’re up to no good, and he isn’t fooled. Tends to skitter away when you reach for him, but if you pick him up and snuggle him, he relaxes and enjoys the love while acting like he’s doing you a favor.

Favorite food: Fancy Feast pate, shredded chicken in broth (Muse, I think?), Authority Adult kibble, and a particular love for Friskies Party Mix.

Favorite toys: The track ball toy, likes to fish toys out of the wooden puzzle box, leaping up after the feather teaser.

Favorite game: Tracking down his mama and whining at her about how hunnngry he is and isn’t it time for the milk bar to open, Mamaaaaa, pleeeeeease.

Other: He’s a social boy and wants to be where the people (and his siblings) are, but tends to sit juuust out of reach. He’s the only kitten I can’t reach over and grab; he sits just the tiniest bit too far away, and I can’t lure him closer with a toy because he’s no dummy. If I get up and go over to him to pick him up, he doesn’t shy away – but he won’t be FOOLED into doing my bidding. He is SUPER playful and loves to race around with his siblings – especially Chip and Ressler – and always wants to sleep in a pile with someone else. He’s a good nap time companion, but if you move around too much he gets annoyed (SO judgmental). He gets along well with other cats and would be happiest in a multi-cat home. He’d likely be fine with dogs, too.

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Mrs. Potts

Job description: The quiet observer.

Physical description: Uh… dilute torbie-ish? She looks like a gray and white tabby until you see her random splashes of peachy-pink.

Notable Physical Feature: Those random splashes of peachy-pink. Also, her crooked tail.

Charming Personality Quirk: She is very quiet and very sweet, and will often sit and quietly watch the goings-on of her siblings and the humans. I suspect she’s got a blog where she records her observances.

Favorite food: LOVES Fancy Feast pate, eats Authority Adult kibble, and adores Friskies Party Mix treats.

Favorite toys: The track ball toy, feathery mice. She’s not sure what she thinks about the feather teaser – she rarely jumps up after it, but likes to watch the others do so.

Favorite game: The one where she picks a fight with Agnes and then cries pitifully when Agnes gets the upper paw. Air-boxing while watching bird videos.

Other: She has very soft, silky fur that is a pure pleasure to stroke – and she likes being petted, so it’s win-win! She’s a quiet girl with occasional crazy moments. She doesn’t generally climb into my lap (she used to when they were at the shelter and I’d come to visit), but at nap time she’s right on top of me snuggling. She’s an excellent nap time companion and has a constant, very quiet purr. She is fascinated by the shenanigans of her siblings and will often get so caught up in watching them play that she forgets to join in. She has a small crook in her tail that isn’t noticeable most of the time, but when she walks along with her tail up, it catches your eye. She’s very fond of watching bird videos, and will often get so excited that she stands on her back legs and waves her front paws around. It is seriously cute. She gets along great with other cats and would do great in a multi-cat home. She’d probably be fine with nice dogs, too.

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Ressler

Job description: The heart-breaker.

Origin: A Challenger’s House volunteer was driving down the road when she spotted Ressler and four siblings by the side of the road. When she stopped, they all scattered. She was able to grab Ressler, but the others were too fast. A night spent searching the woods produced no more kittens, so Ressler came to Challenger’s House as an orphan. Agnes had been rescued a few days earlier, so he joined her, and they had a great time chasing and playing with each other.

Physical description: Gray tabby with white sneakers and gloves. (He and Gaston look nearly like twins despite the fact that they are unrelated.)

Notable Physical Feature: His big round eyes, his big round head, and his bunny-soft fur.

Charming Personality Quirk: Nursing on my shirt. I finally got him to nurse on a fleece blanket instead, but come on, kid. Break my heart, why don’t you? Nursing on a blanket is not an uncommon behavior in orphaned kittens, but he does it so often and so vigorously that it makes me sad for him.

Favorite food: Aside from his blanket? (Ha, I kid.) Fancy Feast pate, Muse shredded chicken in broth, Authority Adult kibble, and his nightly treat of Friskie Party Mix.

Favorite toys: That track ball toy drives him crazy. Any toy that includes feathers – including just plain feathers – give him the crazies, and he will carry them around in his mouth and growl at the other kittens. The feather teaser drives him crazy, too.

Favorite game: The one where he yanks feathers off the feather teaser and carries them around while growling at the other kittens.

Other: This boy has a constant purr, loves to be snuggled, and will nurse on your shirt if given half a chance. He’s super playful and doesn’t hesitate to snatch toys away from the other kittens while refusing to share his toys with them. That might sound a little obnoxious, and I guess it is, but that boy is just sweet as sugar. He likes to be kissed – even tilts his head to the side so you can reach the spot right behind his ear. He’s super playful and gets a bit boingy when the feather teaser comes out. He likes to watch bird videos, though his attention span is not long and he’ll wander off after a minute or two. When I say that he nurses on his blanket regularly, I’m not kidding – he does it often. It’s self-soothing behavior that kittens often grow out of, but as vigorously and as often as Ressler does it, I wouldn’t be surprised if he continues into adulthood. Luckily, although he’ll try to nurse on your shirt or other clothing, he is easily directed to his blankie (which, yes, will go home with him). It’s a little gross – I mean, he’s sucking on a blanket – but mostly very very sweet. He gets along very well with other cats and would do great in a multi-cat home. He’d be perfectly fine with dogs, too (he was around a couple of dogs while at the shelter – he was hissy at first, but adapted quickly.)

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Doesn’t that boy have THE most beautiful eyes? (That’s Dennis, by the way.)

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Previously
2016: Here’s the story of Hemlock.
2015: No entry.
2014: “And she put this HARNESS thing on me, and then she threw me in a CARRIER, and I was in there FOREVERRRRR…”
2013: “WHAT DOON, LADY?”
2012: “Go ‘way, lady. We’re wallowing.”
2011: Random foster pics.
2010: Meet Martin’s new “sisters.”
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: “I am former Senator Stanley J. Boogerton, and I approve this bed.”
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.

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