Just donated to Challenger’s House for all the amazing work they do — any chance you might stage a donation campaign like what the Itty Bitty Committee does, or is that just way beyond the scope of what you already do ? (which is sooo much more than anyone else I know, so I would totally get it)
You know, I don’t know that the campaign like Laurie does is really within my skill set. I’ll have to think about it. Maybe I could do something on a smaller scale – I think bringing in 75 squillion would cause me to fall over dead.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
In a few of those photos Stompers seems to be starting to look like a real (albeit small) cat. Is he getting to that long, lanky stage?
He’s more of a round little butterball still, but he’s starting to lengthen ever so slightly. I don’t think it’ll be too long before he’s headed for long and lanky!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Do I foresee a Tommy-Sugarbutt-esque brotherly bond in the works between Caspian and Kennebec? Caspian seems intrigued and maybe a little star-struck by Kennebec, even if they did start off on the wrong foot. (Or maybe I should keep in mind that the captions are for humorous effect, and are not what the cats actually said…)
Caspian was a little star-struck, but Kennebec has shown no interest in going back into the foster room, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens when the ‘Maters are given the run of the house (which will happen fairly soon, I think. I’m considering giving it a try this weekend, though I may wait until after they’re neutered next week.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Robyn, do the kittens sleep with you? Gracie is 14 weeks old now, and likes to sleep with me. She wakes up and sees something move, and it is ATTACK!!!! Most of the time it is my arm, or leg. Any advice? I love that she sleeps with me, but her claws are SHARP!! Wish I could trim them.
There’s more advice on the topic here, but I can tell you that getting Gracie accustomed to having her claws trimmed would undoubtedly be a good thing. None of the fosters sleep with me (they’re put in their rooms at night so that the permanent residents can have some relief from the invaders), but I do my best to keep their claws trimmed so that they don’t climb up my legs at snack time or at play time – or really, any time! Kitten claws are the sharpest things on earth.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I would love a permanent web cam that I could tune into anytime I needed a Crooked Acres Critters fix! You could aim it towards an active area of the pond, or towards the piggies, or the doggies, or the chickens, or you could set up so we can aim it anywhere we like. (But not towards your house, so we don’t feel like Internet peeping Toms!)
I don’t see Fred agreeing to that, but it’s an interesting idea – I have to admit that I’d tune into a webcam that’s aimed at my chicken yard myself!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I just got a baby kitten for the first time in 23 years. I am so out of my league! Who knew a kitten would be so much different that the old obsess kitties I normally adopt? Anyway we are on the hunt for the perfect kitten toys. Right off hand what are the toys your kittens love the most besides the De-bird? That thing is a hit from ages 1 to 99. Toys for old obsess grouchy cats dont seem to have the same appeal for the new baby kitten. HEEELLLPPPPPPPPP???
They love those round ball tracks like this, they adore the rings off of milk jugs, and if you don’t drink your milk out of a plastic jug, you can buy a set of these (warning: those things tend to end up in the middle of the floor where you’ll step on them with bare feet, and they hurt!), and they love to toss toy mice – like this around. Also, these crinkly mylar balls are a big favorite (I have a couple of giant ones that I don’t remember where I got, but the kittens love ’em!)
As for things you have laying around, straws are a perennial favorite, crumpled-up pieces of tinfoil are awesome, and even just crumpled up pieces of paper. Anything they can bat around and chase, they’re going to love!
Connie added that Ping Pong balls are a big favorite, too, which I agree with! I’ve also got a golf ball kicking around in here, too.
Kittens really like soft “kickers” that they can (you guessed it) kick, like these (though they don’t have to be the Kong brand, which are a little pricey.)
Also, I can’t believe I forgot this: the number one favorite toy around here are packing straps – plastic straps that come wrapped around boxes. Those straps are scattered throughout this house, and the kittens always love playing with them.
Okay, readers, tell us this: what are YOUR cat’s favorite things to play with?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
who’s the kitty begging us to help Challenger’s House? I’m pretty sure i should know those puffy little whisker cheeks but the name escapes me.
That’s Pepsi, who was actually never one of my fosters. I got that picture of her when I was cleaning at Petsmart one afternoon, and I just love it to death!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
What kind of cookies do you feed the pigs and pooches? Just regular sandwich-style cookies or some kind of nutritional thingys?
I give the pigs Piggerdoodles (which I make myself, obviously), and I’ve been super lazy about the treats that the dogs get. I went through them earlier this week after Fred sent me an article about jerky treats manufactured in China making dogs ill and tossed all the treats that were from China. I used to make Milkbone-type treats a few years back; I need to dig out my recipes and do that again.
Once a week or so, I fill their Kongs with yogurt and peanut butter and chicken baby food (it’s not just for kittens!) and freeze them, which they absolutely love, and which keeps them busy for a good long time.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I have to give a huge shout out to First Coast No More Homeless Pets here in Jacksonville, Fl. They put together a mega-adopt-a-thon last Fri-Sun. Animal Care and Protective Services (city shelter) and many many rescue groups from around the area participated. All animals were spayed/neutered and micro-chipped. By end of day (6 pm) yesterday, 920 dogs, cats and rabbits had been adopted. They all pretty much ran out of animals. Each day 300 – 500 people were waiting at the door (10 am) for the opening. ACPS (who I volunteer for) had all of their dogs and cats adopted. If you went to the shelter…silence. The only animals that remained were in the I-wing (where sick or URI dogs and cats are) and those still waiting to be spayed/neutered or are on hold for possible owner claims. That has never been the case before. We all know, that it will fill up to the max again shortly, but we are basking in the glory for now. We are trying hard to become a no-kill community and have all people educated about proper animal care and spay and neuter along with TNR programs for feral cats. FCNMHP – you rock! This is their website. I am adding it not as advertisement, but for information. Who knows who it could help repeat this process in their community! 🙂
That is absolutely awesome!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Oh, so cute. Stompers totally looks like he could be a littermate of the ‘Maters. A LitterMater!
I think you may have answered this question before, but how does he compare, size-wise, to them? They all look pretty comparable from the photos.
and
Stompers looks HUGE to me compared to Caspian. Kind of chunky. On the other hand, black is very slimming.
Glad that Stompy’s finally putting some weight and looking healthy.
HA – LitterMater! Caspian – who is the smallest ‘Mater – and Stompers weigh the same, but when they’re side by side Stompers looks bigger. Caspian looks kind of lanky, whereas Stompers is a little butterball. Stompers is getting ready to do that long-and-lanky thing. It’s funny how a two-pound kitten can feel so heavy to me, but a six-pound adult (Brandywine, who started out at 5 1/2 pounds, can you believe that?) feels so light.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The last pic of Elwood and Corbie would be perfect for this:
29 Of The Most Imminent “SOON” Attacks
And Elwood licking his chops too!
Ha – I love those!
And you can thank the comment Kelly left about that picture for making me come up with this one (hehe):
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
How are those sores on her back doing? It’s clear they don’t bother her too much, but they look a little ouchy.
The “main” sore on Brandywine’s back, the one you guys have seen the most, is healing nicely though it seems like it’s taking forever. There’s one closer to her tailbone that’s pretty much completely healed. I’m hoping that the fur grows back at least around the sores if not from the sores themselves, but even if they don’t, I don’t think the scars will be too scary.
Also, speaking of Brandywine, the report from Kathie, who was at the clinic and got some Brandywine love, is that she’s a total sweetheart. Which of course I knew, but it’s good to know that she’s that way with strangers, too. She reminds me so much of Maggie, though I’d say Maggie was even more laid-back than Brandywine.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I confess I was torn between open-mouthed horror and laughing my ass off. 😉
I had not seen that, though I’ve probably seen all of them in the context of the show. I know that they’re just trying to get footage so Jackson Galaxy can see how the cat is acting, but 9 times out of 10 I find myself thinking “You know, if you weren’t poking your hand at the cat, s/he wouldn’t be smacking you!”
(Elayne said) I thought that was going to be this. (They say “the window sticks,” but it looks to me like he rolled it down instead of up in his panic, and/or the weight of the leopard made it roll down some on its own.)
One of my cats will sometimes chase you (where “you” = me or TJ) very aggressively, including swatting at you or even launching from a table-top aiming for your chest; he’s not actually BEING aggressive when he does that, he just wants you to scratch his head or his spine, but he LOOKS aggressive enough that it’s made TJ & I both run a few steps off more than once. My parents’ cat, on the other hand, IS aggressive and mean/hateful about it. He’s very much a “one and a half people” cat; he worships my dad and tolerates my mom, but anyone else would be risking their lives except for the fact that he’s declawed. (He still bites if he gets a chance, though, and starts hissing and spitting at me the minute I walk in their door.)
Man, the last thing I’d want coming at me is a really mad wild cat, and second to that is a really mad domesticated (ha) cat! Note to self: do not poke the wild cats with a stick, tempting though it might be!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Maybe you’ll get the Taters to do things like that?
I would love to scan their cute little behinds, but as soon as the printer/ scanner starts making noise, they get scared and run off. I bet Stompers would let me do it, though. I may have to try that!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
By sheer coincidence I just came across this. I sent the link to my friend who grows tomatoes and zucchini in her backyard as a hint because I’ll be visiting her in a few weeks and I’d really like to try the Zucchini Boats.
You certainly have a small patch of paradise there. Do you have a mosquito problem though?
That recipe looks so good! I may have to try it, if the zucchini plants will give me a few more zucchini. Fred picked a big bucket of squash last night, but not a single zucchini among them.
To my surprise, we don’t have an issue with mosquitoes. I thought for sure that we would, with the pond and all, but I haven’t been bitten by a single mosquito (YET) this year.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
All five ‘Mater kittens. On the white bed is Caspian, that’s Dingwall Scotty in the front with the white locket on his chest, Mr. Stripey’s under the platform, Sungold’s in the background, and that’s Wellington with the yellow collar.
And then they switched things up a bit!
Dingwall Scotty’s having deep thoughts. Or waiting for me to rub his belly. Maybe both.
Caspian, disturbed.
Wellington, eye on the prize.
Mr. Stripey likes to climb into my lap and bite me. When I blow in his face to stop him, he gets all befuddled.
Caspian biting Mr. Stripey’s butt. Mr. Stripey is attempting to bunny-kick Dingwall Scotty (who you can barely see.)
Mr. Stripey has a leaky eye. It looked absolutely awful when we first got them, but with time and lots of eye ointment, he’s lookin’ good.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The followup to yesterday’s picture. Here, Princess Fianna shows the slightest bit of irritation.
Stompers, having just been woken up, looks out the window to see what’s what.
“Hmph. Can’t a guy take a nap around here?”
Agata, on top of the cat tree.
Stompers likes to get up in the cat tree condo and then when he’s ready to come down, he yells at me. It’s a good thing he’s not spoiled, eh, Kristyn? 🙂
How the guest bedroom looks now that I pushed the bed against the wall. That quilted “blanket” is actually a waterproof bed pad (this one; I ordered several and then dyed them). I put another one on the middle of the bed and one on the other end, then covered them with another fitted bed sheet. Then on top of that, a quilt. So from the mattress up is: waterproof mattress cover, fitted bed sheet, waterproof bed pads, a second fitted bed sheet, and a quilt. There’s no WAY the cats are getting anything nasty on that mattress. I won’t have it!
Brandywine is certainly making herself at home these days.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
It’s a Corbie in a box. Have you ever seen a more gorgeous cat? No, you have not. Don’t even try to tell me you have, because I don’t believe you. La la laaaaaa, I can’t heaaaaaaar youuuuuuu.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Previously
2011: Ciara would like you to know that she is, in fact, da bebbe.
2010: He’s scared and skittish, but also playful and likes to be petted.
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: How nice it is to do nothing and then rest afterwards.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.