Weekly Instagram/Facebook/Twitter/Tumblr Roundup.
“Yeah, okay, I suppose he’s CUTE. But maybe he could give me a little SPACE?” (Winter and Rochefort)
Three years ago today we were fostering Mercury, who came to us hugely pregnant. She gave birth to six kittens in the early hours of the morning, including these two sweet girls – Phoenix (left) and Stardust, who have grown to be SO gorgeous! Happy 3rd birthday, babies! (And thanks, Debra!)
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Your daily BOOP, featuring Winter.
Planchet’s all “I see you, lady. I SEE YOU.”
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I’m calling this “Kitten Play Time,” but really the focus here is Winter and Planchet, who are having a blast.
The perfect throne for tiny Constance.
Porthos is all “Pardon me, waiter, my Aramis latte just popped me in the nose and told me to wait my turn. This is a MUCH spicier latte than I ordered!”
Good night innernets. (d’Artagnan)
Constance is still working on getting all the food in her mouth rather than on her chin. She’s getting there!
“HALLO.” (Athos)
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Aramis chasing his tail. Seriously, that boy is so CUTE.
“What?” (Planchet, in the Fruitasan, and Winter on top.)
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BAYbees BAYbees everywhere!
Winter is the EXPLORINGEST kitten I’ve ever seen.
I feel like I’ve interrupted some important kitten meeting, and they don’t appreciate it. (Planchet, Aramis and Rochefort)
Good night innernets. (Rochefort)
Paws UP, y’all. It’s Toesday, and as such please admire Constance’s beans.
Do you feel very judged right now? I sure do! Here we have former fosters Phoenix (left) and Stardust (right) with their brother Truman. (Phoenix and Stardust were daughters of Mercury, fosters in 2017.) What a gorgeous trio! (Thanks, Debra!)
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Under Constance’s snoopervision, Porthos is chasing his tail in a giant teacup. As you do.
Toesday continues, and please be impressed that I managed to catch a shot of Winter’s floofy toehawks. That girl NEVER stops moving.
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Kitten play time, and once again Winter and Planchet take center stage. (That’s Rochefort in the background rocking back and forth on the Fruitasan. He and Constance LOVE to do that.)
Athos is looking cozy in the Toastycat bed. (I wish they made those beds big enough for a human to climb in.)
Those are some fairly impressive Ears of Annoyance d’Artagnan is sporting there.
Good night innernets. (Planchet)
Post-breakfast bath time for Athos.
Look how floofy Bunny is getting! She looks good, doesn’t she? She’s still at Michelle’s, still doing well. And though I don’t have a picture of Alexandra to share, I can report that she is doing well at Michelle’s also (not trying to drag any cats away from the litter boxes, so apparently that behavior was specific to her kittens.)
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Constance and Rochefort LOVE to climb up that llama basket and hang out there like it’s a cat tree.
All 8 kittens! Top row: Aramis, Planchet, d’Artagnan (his white patch is looking especially heart-shaped here) and Constance. Bottom row: Athos, Porthos, Rochefort and Winter.
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Kitten play time! Winter loves to POP! up into the air, and it always cracks me up.
Here’s a shot of the cat on Porthos’s back. I actually see two cats… well, the outline on the back of his head looks like a chihuahua to me (or okay, a rat. No offense, chihuahua lovers.) but I could see it kind of looking like a cat. And then the one on his back definitely looks like a cat – complete with tail!
“Where on EARTH is Winter?” I wondered when I walked into the kitten room. I looked all over the place and had just started to wonder if she’d somehow gotten out of the room when she walked out of that box (which is sitting up on a shelf) and stretched.
Good night innernets. (Planchet and Constance)
“Hi!” (Constance)
For Throw Back Thursday, here’s the 3rd litter we fostered. They came to us in September 2005. The little calico was Callie, the black kitten was Barrett, the little orange winking kitten was Sad Eyes (I did not name them), and the other orange cutie was Smitty. Sad Eyes was in pretty rough shape – his back end was very swollen (it turned out to be impacted anal glands, and good morning, were you eating?) Someone suggested putting sugar on a wet cloth and holding it against his back end to help with the swelling. It seemed to help a little, and not only did he gain some relief, he gained the nickname Sugarbutt. (I mean, come on.)
The day all the kittens were to go to Petsmart, Barrett started limping so I kept him at home to keep an eye on him. And that is how he became our beloved permanent resident Tom Cullen (Tommy.) Sugarbutt was adopted out and then returned a few days later. A vet visit showed that he had Giardia (or was it Coccidia? It’s been 15 years, I don’t remember), so he came back to me so I could medicate him. By the time he was done with his medication, there was no question he was staying. He and Tommy were the best of friends their entire (far too short) lives and they were the best cats ever. Sugarbutt passed away in July 2015 (hepatic lipidosis) and Tommy passed away just a month later (saddle thrombus); we miss them to this day.
Smitty and Callie were adopted out (not together) and I’d love to know if they’re still around and would love an update if by any chance their people are out there reading this!
Regarding our third litter (see earlier post), this is my favorite picture of them – Barrett (who became Tom Cullen) leaping for the feather teaser while orange tabby Sad Eyes (who became Sugarbutt) urges him on and Callie the calico watches in silent judgement, all “He’s never going to get that.”
After we adopted Tom Cullen and Sugarbutt (who were Barrett and Sad Eyes as our fosters), we took nearly a year off from fostering. When we decided we were ready to foster again – in September 2006 – we got 2 1/2 week old Maddy, who was foster #13 and our very first bottle baby.
I loved Maddy – she was just a feisty little brat who frustrated me at every turn. But we got through the bottle feeding part and got her eating solid food and then she became a real cat – but knowing now what I didn’t know then, I would absolutely have gotten another kitten around her same age to keep her company. Single bottle babies grow up not knowing how to cat and are vicious little creatures.
Lucky for me, my friend Nance fell in love with her, and she and her husband Rick drove down from Pennsylvania to adopt her. Maddy was spoiled rotten and much loved, and I got to see her a few times, though always from a distance. She passed away in 2013.
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While you’re admiring Winter and Porthos playing on the floor, please don’t miss Rochefort skitterbugging in the window.
Snugglebugs Rochefort and Planchet.
Porthos really likes to turn these boxes over and hang out under them.
Good night innernets. (Aramis)
Breakfast is served! Clockwise from orange Athos, we have: Athos, Porthos, Winter, Constance, Aramis, d’Artagnan, Planchet and Rochefort.
Look at the SMILE on Rochefort’s face. He’s all “I got my big brudder to snuggle with me.” and d’Artagnan’s all “This one makes a good pillow.”
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Your Daily BOOP, featuring Constance. She is one chill little muffin, that one.
Return of the ever-fascinating trash can. BEST! HANGOUT! EVER!
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Wherein we are wearing our crazypants.
Wahhh! (d’Artagnan)
Sometimes the kittens organize themselves. (I did not put those kittens in those boxes, they arranged themselves. Left to right: Planchet (back), Porthos, Aramis, Constance, d’Artagnan)
Good night innernets. (Constance)
Constance is taking a post-breakfast nap in my lap.
Porthos is all “You rang?”
It’s an Aramis pie. My favorite!
Oh this girl. I just want to SQUOOSH HER.
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Porthos vs. Athos.
Aramis and Athos, showing off their pretty, pretty eyes.
Good night innernets. (Planchet)
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Previously
2019: (Though I also call him “Hank” because every foster must have 10,000 nicknames, and I pronounce it properly as “Onk” of course.)
2018: How to store your Moop between feedings.
2017: Phoenix’s eyeballs came open just so far, and I think she decided she’d rather not see what the world has to offer, thank you very much.
2016: Privet and the Ears of Floofnoyance.
2015: No entry.
2014: No entry.
2013: “Hey, Jon Snow! I climbed the wall before you even knew it was a wall! Ha! Ha!”
2012: “Where our snack, George? Where it at? It not on the ground.”
2011: Harlan gets his butt kicked while the Kong bird looks on, unconcerned.
2010: Miz Poo’s all “Do you SEE what I have to put up with?!”
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
Of course I recognized Tommy and Sugarbutt (and their siblings) right away, but I was quite impressed with myself for also immediately recognizing Maddie.
Also, I thought of you yesterday when I met a young cat in the grass by my cousin’s driveway. I went over to introduce myself, and after a good sniff (by the cat, not me)I was allowed to pet his/her highness. I had immediately noticed a small amount of white discharge by the eyes (hard to miss on a black cat) but was shocked when I got a look at the eyes – both clouded over, and one so badly I couldn’t see the pupil. That’s when I said to myself “what would Robyn do?” I sorely wished I had a carrier with me, but since I didn’t I decided to check for the cat before I left. At that point the cat was gone. I’ve put a carrier in my car for the future, but I’m still worried about him/her (my cousin lives on a fairly busy road). Now I wish I’d put him/her into my car anyway and stopped at my vets on the way home.
Oh, it’s so hard when that happens. Maybe the cat will show up again (it’s a possibility!) and will let you help him or her.
I thought I heard a purr in the background of that video where D’Artagnan is messing with the phone.