Funny that the 2007 post is all about how Newt won’t stay inside. Times have changed, eh?
They CERTAINLY have. I can’t remember the last time I saw that boy outside, he’s practically inside-only!
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Mercury was used as a name before. I think around the time the potatoes bunch were there.
Yep, the previous Mercury came to us in early 2013. She had been adopted about 5 months previously with Kennebec. She wasn’t our foster as a tiny kitten, but Kennebec – who gained the nickname “Lunk” his second time at Crooked Acres – was, and one of the pictures I took of him remains one of my favorite-ever pictures to this very day.
We had Kennebec at the same time we had Stompers, you may recall.
Anyway, Kennebec was adopted with Mercury (who was fostered by someone else), and then they were returned 5 months later due to their people moving. This is what that Mercury looked like:
They were only with us for a few weeks before they went off to Petsmart. As I recall, Mercury was adopted fairly quickly, but Lunk came back here at least twice more, once for a goopy eye and once because they were painting the cat room. He was eventually adopted, and I don’t think I’ve heard anything since about either of them.
ANYway, my point is that yes, we had a Mercury in the past. But that Mercury was fostered for Challenger’s House and this Mercury is fostered for Forgotten Felines, so it’s all good.
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How is Phoenix’s coat coming in? It still looks like a mix of solid black spots and brown tabby spots from the photos. Is that even possible? Mama Mercury looks like she has some areas that are more grey-tabby than brown-tabby.
It’s the neatest thing – at first glance she’s a white cat with black spots, but a closer look shows that she’s got brown tabby marks and coloring around her face and on her tail. I don’t believe I’ve seen anything like it before!
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Have they doubled their weights yet?
I think so – I weighed them at 1 day old and 3 days old, but then someone barfed on the piece of paper on my desk (upon which I’d written the weights) and I tossed it without copying down the numbers. As of Wednesday, they were between 6.53 oz (Stardust) and 8.01 oz (Aurora), which are good healthy weights. And they’re getting big, round bellies!
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I was wondering – does Mercury seem to miss the poor little one who died?
She doesn’t, as far as I can tell. I think cats are a lot more pragmatic than people are, and perhaps on some level she knew what was happening.
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how soon before you or Fred start calling Stardust Ziggy?
I think it’s much more likely we’ll be calling her “yellow” since she’s got a dab of yellow fingernail polish on her ear. I’m sure Fred would call her Ziggy, but Fred very very rarely remembers the names of any kittens, so it’s unlikely. (I’m pretty sure he has no idea what Chip and Gaston’s names are. He calls Chip “Mouth” for obvious reasons, and Gaston is “the gray one.” (When I asked him what their names were so I could be correct in reporting what he calls them, he thought and thought and then asked if one of them was Beignet. HA.)
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OK, I am going to break down!!! Because of Robyn and Fred we have taken a new kitten into our home. This is a very serious and hard thing for us… We have two grown boys (15 and 16 pounds). The 15 pounder Sam is the boss. I was lucky enough to adopt Red from the Lexington humane society when we lost our other kitty. I requested a large boy that had been there for a while and they introduced me to Red – it worked out perfectly. Now, our employees went to a job site and brought me three sick kittens. Well, to make it as short as I can the two orgn bros found a home. Question: do we keep the baby separate for a week in another room, swap our rooms for a few days? I think the Red will be fine with kitten, not for sure about Sam…. Any help I will really appreciate.
I guess my main question is introducing cats and kittens the same?
That’s exactly what I would do, just take it super slow and it should be okay.
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Chip to the left of me.
I love that little smile on his face.
Gaston to the right of me, out cold.
Oh, this boy. I can’t stand how cute he is!
Chip and Gaston have pretty much acclimated to life at Crooked Acres. They spend most of the night in my room, alternating between the cat tree and snuggling up against me in bed (and sometimes jumping on my feet because of course). They take part in the morning snack time, they have plenty of permanent residents to play with (Dewey, Jake, Stefan – even Frankie will play with them now), and they spend their afternoons either on my desk or in my room. They’re such little nuts; it’s certainly fun to have them around!
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I had several errands to run yesterday morning, and when I got home I went to check on Mercury and the babies. It took me a moment of staring into the crate to realize that all five kittens weren’t present and accounted for, and in fact there were only three in there. I looked around the room, trying to figure out where the two missing kittens were. They were pretty well camouflaged on a bed over on the other side of the room, curled up together peacefully sleeping.
I moved them right back to the crate, and Mercury was all “::shrug::”
“They was being annoying.”
She did it again several hours later, when Teresa was visiting, snatched up Aurora, took her over to the other bed, bathed her, fed her, and then went into the crate with the other four kittens. I know that moving them is instinctual, so I’m not going to worry too much, will just keep a closer eye on the room to make sure everyone’s okay.
You can’t tell from this picture, but Stardust’s eyes are both about halfway open.
Phoenix is taking her time about opening her eyes all the way, but they’re getting there.
Line ’em up!
Aurora sees you, innernets.
Hubble too.
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Maxi keeps an eye on the birds. SOMEONE’s gotta.
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Previously
2016: “I’m not crazy, lady. I’m not going over THERE.”
2015: Phelps has had his bottle, obviously.
2014: She is just the silliest little goofball, this girl.
2013: “YOU LET ME OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW, LADY!”
2012: Saying goodbye to Rupert.
2011: Sights from around Crooked Acres.
2010: He meows, stretches, then goes down the cat tree, meowing the entire way.
2009: Have I mentioned that Sam is a back climber?
2008: Kara & babies.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: Yesterday afternoon Rambo and Jodie were snuggled up on the cat bed on my desk, and she sat up and stretched, and then there was this ::fwoomp!::, and she was gone.
That picture of Kenbebuc is FABULOUS!!
*Kennebuc
*Kennebec 😀
Good LORD!! It was early, that’s my defense!! And I was on my tablet, not a keyboard, that’s my other pathetic defense!!
GORGEOUS picture!!
But isn’t it unusual to move only one or two kittens? Would that indicate that they were sick or such?
No, it’s entirely possible she meant to move them all and I interrupted the process. She moved all five of them to the same spot overnight, so I do believe she has spoken. Whatever Mama wants, Mama gets (as Nola could have told her!)
Never had a cat mother but as long as she’s not leaving the same kitten outside the family home, I guess its ok.
I’m with Robyn – I think generally she was moving them and got sidetracked. In rescue, we often say when a well meaning person shows up with a single tiny kitten that there has to be a momma cat out there looking around like “I moved the other ones, left that last one right here, I’m sure of it….”
weird that the two Mercurys sort of look alike. and the “Beignet?” comment from Fred almost made coffee come out of my nose
I lol’d at Beignet, too!! Ah, Fredisms… 😀
Fred’s behind the times! Amirite? 🙂
Now I’m going to hear coldplay’s Yellow whenever you talk about Stardust.
Oh, Fred *snickers*. Maybe mama just wanted to pretend she only had 3 kids for a bit?
Oh, I don’t think I could resist picking them up, kissing them, squeezing the marshmallow out of their ears, and then going back for seconds. Gaston and Chip too, whether they like it or not.
Oh, c’mon. We’d ALL do it, given the chance.
that photo of Maxi is beautiful