Dean Kitty Goes Home (And Other Updates)

Wow, I have seriously neglected this blog, especially in light of the fact that until *yesterday* I still had a foster kitten. Happily for all involved, this is no longer the case as Dean has gone to his forever home-- a forever home that just happens to be many states away from here. (He has gone from being a Desert Cat to a Plains Cat.)

Thanks to online friends posting about Dean needing a home on various blogging sites, Dean found a home. It took months of finagling to get it all worked out, but yesterday I flew him to Chicago. Yes, really.

And Dean was *great* about it all, a perfect angel. He took to wearing a harness and leash with no trouble (which, as you'll see, was a very good thing) and didn't make a sound in his carrier. At security, I had to take him out of his carrier to go through the metal detector (while his carrier went through the x-ray machine), and this was the only moment he got a bit freaked. It didn't help that I was juggling him as well as my belongings. He went through the metal detector riding on my shoulder, but then hopped down and tried to hide beneath the X-ray machine. Hee. Fortunately, my hold on his leash kept him from getting too far, and the traumatic part was done.

I'd heard that you're not supposed to take your pet from his carrier at the airport, but no one had officially told me that, so while we were at the gate Dean mostly sat in my lap, purring. At one point a little girl and her grandfather came up to look at Dean, the grandfather assuring me that they wouldn't touch. I told the little girl she could if she wanted, that Dean was a bit nervous but purring. She got a big smile when she pat Dean on his head.

I am incapable of staying awake on an airplane, so dozed off shortly after take-off. I woke several times to the sound of squeaking, but it was never Dean. (Apparently there was another, less happy, pet on the plane.)
(Check out the tiiiiiny Dean in the picture at left!)

Upon landing in Chicago, C., Dean's new daddy, met me at the security gate. We found a quiet(ish) space to chat, and to introduce Dean and C. C. has had many cats, so he didn't need any advice about integrating Dean into his household or anything. Mostly the time was taken up by me snuggling Dean, knowing that I was going to miss him a lot. C. told me some more about his cats, which made me feel better. (C. seems really awesome, and I was reassured by the whole situation.)

And... that was that, at least as far as Dean and airports go. C. had a long drive back home with Dean, and was kind enough to call me upon reaching his destination to give me an update. Dean was curious during the drive, and immediately started exploring upon reaching his new home. C.'s other cats have been interested thus far, although I haven't heard if there have been any official meetings betwixt them yet. And best of all, Dean spent much of the evening in C.'s lap-- so I don't have to worry about the two of them not connecting!!

EDIT TO ADD: Check out this video which C sent me of Dean playing and being all adorably cuuuuute!

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In other Former Foster Felines News...

Malcolm (and his brother, Fritz) have moved into a new home (with their people) and have adjusted quickly.

Zoe and Zadie met each other when the former came home for the summer with her person. Apparently the two of them (and their sister, Arwen) have staked out various bits of their family's house. I've seen Zadie a couple times since her move, and she remained, at least at that point, a teeny-tiny bundle of engergy and adorableness. Apparently Zoe has grown into quite the large cat, however, and is intensely loved by her human (as is Zadie by hers.)

Momo, formerly Iso, has completely adapted to his new home, so much so that it's rare to see him without his sister, Pynn.

Similarly, Dolce is completely attached to her doggie-brother (a chihuahua.)

And last I heard, Whiskey, formerly Sam, is also doing well, and is best friends with his doggie-sibling, a labrador.

And finally, what to say about Miss Beatrice? She has also moved into a new home with her mommy. At first she was so scared that she peed on her mommy (yeah, I shouldn't laugh, and yet, I do.) Right now her mom is traveling, but I've been checking on Miss Beatrice and she is her usual self. I think this cat is bi-polar. One moment she wants love, the next moment she's trying to gnaw on your face. She has actually made her other cat-sitter bleed. Oh, Beatrice. We love you anyway.

Are you my family?

In many ways, Dean is the perfect kitten. He wants to be with his human (who, at the moment, is me.) When he's sleepy, he wants to sleep in a human lap. That's where he is right now, as I type this.













He's also very good at playing by himself. (He was supervised with those ribbons, of course.) The jingle ball in the left picture is his favorite at the moment. He also already likes catnip (which is early-- most kittens aren't affected by it) and likes to bunny kick at mousies filled with it.


He'll be happy in any loving family-- he's been adjusting very well to whatever comes his way. He wants very much to play with my adult kitties (he keeps offering, they keep hissing or ignoring him) so he'd adjust just fine into a house with other kitties. Conversely, he's very much a people cat, happy to play with you, curl up with you, sleep beside you and purr, so he'd be equally happy in a home with an attentive, loving person or people.


He's ready to be adopted at any time now, and just wants a loving family.









You don't have to be local, if you're interested in this perfect fuzzy feline companion. As long as you're in the continental US, I can find a way to get him to you.


If you can't adopt him, please forward this address along to anyone you know who might be interested. If you're on FaceBook or MySpace or Twitter, maybe you could pass this information along? I know that someone perfect for this little boy is out there.

Thirty new pictures of Dean in the Flickr Set.

Adopted Kitten Update

So, on Saturday morning, Iso went to meet his new family. They live quite close, so that's nice, and hopefully I'll hear lots of good things about his adjustment to his new home. Iso's name is now Momo, and he has a big sister named Pynn. Pynn is all black (with a wee tuft of white), and is the most hyper kitten I have ever met. She's amazing, and was bouncing, pouncing and playing the entire time I was there. She immediately took to Iso/Momo, demanding that he play. She's a bit bigger than he is, so he wasn't entirely sure what to make of the situation, but was pretty game. He happily explored around his new home, while his new sister pounced on him.

I haven't heard much about Dolce, other than that she's settling in, and that her human-siblings are taking good care of her.

Zadie has become much more adventurous in her time at her new home, and has taken to waking up her human with love-bites. Ouch! Her family's other cat, Arwen, has taken to grooming her and acting as a mommy. (Aww!) Zadie has been to the vet and been declared healthy. Hurrah!!

So all the adopted babies seem to be doing very well.

That just leaves Dean, who has just stolen my cell phone and now my crochet hook. Silly boy. He's doing fine, but he obviously misses his siblings. He tries to play with my cats, but they aren't interested (and in fact are desperately counting the days 'til I can find him a new home.) I'm really grateful for teh homes I've found for the first three, but Dean is a special baby who needs a home, too.

"Sam" Update

You might recall Sam, the orange kitten I had for a few days back in, um, March? Yeah, that sounds about right. Just ran into his human, and his canine-sister (a yellow lab named Bailey.) Sounds like the puppy and the kitty are getting along really well-- they apparently go through cycles of antagonizing each other, and loving on each other. They *both* chase the laser pointer, hee! The kitty's new name is "Whiskey" but apparently he's mostly called "Kitty" because that's what he comes to.

I'm *so* glad to hear that that family worked out. (I hadn't touched base with them since the night the kitty moved, even though they are only one building over from me. Fortuitously, I had just dropped my pen off of my balcony (where I was grading papers) and when I went down to get it, Bailey was out chasing a ball, so I got to chat with her human.)

Pictures

There are 7o new pictures of the kittens in the April 2009 Kitten Set. Including lots of cute ones of Dean and Iso, the babies who need homes. (They've just been dropped back off. The poor things are probably so confused.)

New Plan (Needed)

Well, crud. On the bright side, Iso's mom got a scholarship to Ireland. On the downside, that means she can't keep Iso. And it also means her sister can't keep Dean, because she'll have to move into a dorm. So... the hardest part of cat rescue begins again: finding homes.

Please get the word out that Iso and Dean need homes (or a home). They're about 6 weeks old, have been healthy as long as I've had them. Iso is a bit reserved-- he likes to sit in your lap and watch his siblings play-- but he can also hold his own in a tussle. Dean is more outgoing, and will play and wrestle 'til he completely tires himself out-- at which point he wants to curl up in your lap.

Homes need not be local to AZ, as I can travel in the months of May and June. Please repost and help me find these great little guys homes!!

And then there was one...

Mr Dean and Mr Iso left with their mommies a few hours ago. And Miss Dolce was just delivered to her mommy a few minutes ago. So Miss Zadie and I are hanging out together. She's a bit confused, but content because I'm letting her explore my desk. Her mommy comes to get her tomorrow (and she'll be cousins with Zoe!)

I'm so happy I found such great homes for the kittens. And I'm lucy to have been a part of their lives. But it has also been expensive and exhausting, so while a part of me is sad, a part of me is also very glad. These kittens are going to be very well loved, and parts of great families.

I have taken so many pictures. Classes ended today, so while I still have a elventy-billion things to do, I should be able to find some time to work on and post those pictures sometime in the next few days.

Quick Update!!

(More to come later-- and that with pictures.)

I have found potential homes for all the kittens at this time. Violetta (Dolce), of course, I already mentioned. Zadie, it seems, will be going to the sister of the woman who adopted Zoe, so they will be first cousins! (Her new mommy will meet her tomorrow, after which it will, I imagine, be definite.) And it appears that Dean and Iso will be going to a pair of sisters, too, although those details have not yet been worked out.

Nothing is yet definite. Keep your fingers crossed for me and the kittens please, but also, if you're interested in one of the kittens, let me know and I'll be in touch.

If you're interested in other kittens, please visit a shelter near you. Those kittens need love more than you can imagine, and in many cases their days are numbered if a human doesn't choose to adopt them. And if you can, adopt an adult cat-- they have an even more difficult time finding families.

And so I'm not ending on a completely sad note, here's a silly picture of Zadie:

So many kittehs!

Well, they're definitely over their "shy" phase. Now when I walk into the Kitten Hatchery they swarm me! If I sit down, I immediately have all four kittens in my lap, generally tussling with each other. It makes it difficult to take pictures-- for every picture I post, imagine that there were 2 more that I had to erase because they were blurry, or only had half a kitten in the frame by the time the shutter clicked. Also, these kittens, like most, are so much cuter in person-- assume 75% more cuteness that you just can't see in the pictures. :)

I gave them all Foster-Names, but even those change quickly. The good news is that I have an official forever home for Violetta. I took her to the apartment complex's office today as an example of how well the kittens were doing. The staff-person who had said she might want to adopt one decided that she does want to adopt one, and moreover, wants this one! So Violetta has a forever home waiting for her in a few weeks. She will have a big sister: a chihuahua named Coco Chanel!! Violetta's name has been changed as befits her new home: she is now Dolce!

I hope I can find such good homes so quickly for the other three!! Shy little Zadie has become more out-going. She joins her siblings in hanging out with me, and likes to be held. She has even started purring. When you see her by herself, or sitting in a lap, it's hard to imagine her doing the rough and tumble of other kittens, but she'll get in there and fight with her siblings just like the others. Ideally, I'd love to be able to adopt her out with Dean, her big brother.

Dean is living up to his television namesake, being the first and last at the dinner table, and being completely outgoing. He seems to need to be aware of everything, but he also takes care of his siblings, curling up with them when they've all just had a bath. Dean is also the one who is most like Baby Beatrice-- he has taken to gnawing on everything, up to and including my feet and ankles. Silly boy. Also, it is not unusual for me to be dealing with one of the other kittens, or brushing my teeth, and to suddenly have Dean climbing up my pants leg.

Istref (Iso for short) is the only one who won't purr, but he does seem to like curling up in my lap, and he's certainly not shy any more. He plays and he cuddles and he's got such cute moo-cow-kitty spots! He's hard to get pictures, of though, 'cause he moves fast! He and Dean are already bigger than the girls (Dean is biggest, though) -- not so noticeable in pictures, perhaps, but definitely noticeable when you go to pick them up!!

The kittens are using the litter box, although there have been a few accidents. I chalk those, however, up to the changes in food which is making their stool less than delightful. (Lucky me.) Still, for the most part they're using the box fine, and I'm sure they'll be perfect with it once their little kitten tummies fully adjust to the switch over in foods. Speaking of foods, they're still eating a mix of baby food and kitten food, but they've also taken to snacking on dry kitten food, so this is good. They're not so good at the water dish, though, generally dumping it on the floor rather than drinking from it, presumably in their raucous kitty fights.

So, things continue apace. But please spread the word about these babies needing homes. Classes end relatively soon, so I can even get them fairly far afield, should you be reading this from a place that is not AZ. (Import your kittens!) Cuddly fuzzy babies need homes!

45 (!!) new pictures in the April 2009 Kittens Flickr Set

Progess Report

The kittens are doing really well. They're happily eating out of a dish, slurp, slurp, slurp. I'm going to mix baby food and kitten food next, so hopefully they'll be over to canned kitten food really soon.

Two of them are no longer afraid of me-- the adventurous tabby boy, and the sweet little grey/white girl. The Moo-Cow still hisses, and the tabby-girl still hides. But it's only been 2 days, so we'll work on that. :)

They understand the litterbox, which is fantastic. Woot! Thank goodness for instinct!!

They need names, even if they're just "foster" names. I considered continuing the Firefly theme (from which Mal and Zoe came), which would make them Simon, River, Kaylee and Wash. Then I thought that since I had a Sam, I should have a Dean (and Adventure Kitty loves to eat, so that's pretty much perfect), but SPN really doesn't have a lot of other names, and most of the girl names would be lousy for cats (and before you ask, no, I will not name one after Ruby.) I thought about naming the girls Viola and Olivia (from Twelfth Night) but an... acquaintance already has a cat named Viola, and I didn't like the association. When talking with Beatrice's Mom tonight, she suggested givign them all Albanian names (which is where her family is from), adn while I'm not 100% sold on all the names, the little grey/white girl is now named Violetta, Vee for short.

Beatrice's Mom hung out here tonight for a good long while, and for most of that time we had at least one kitten with us. Cranky-boy and Scaredy-Girl both fell asleep in our laps (awwww.) When other friends were visiting, (Mr and Mrs Gecko), we had all four out to play-- so very cute, and they're getting braver all the time.

Now, however, I must needs clean up the enormous mess they've made, with litter out of the box, someone has been sick, and just the general debris of kitten care. Then, bedtime.

More pictures are now up in their set.

The Kitten-Hatchery is Open

Yesterday I just happened to check my messages between classes, and wouldn't you know, there was one from my apartment management asking for my help again. Four baby kittens were found on a currently empty apartment's porch, and could I do something about them? I called to find out that their eyes were open, but they were very small. The manager said they were hissing, but otherwise mostly just huddling together. They had them in a shopping basket with a towel.

(Seriously-- when I showed up and found a shopping basket full of kittens? Cutest thing ever. Too bad I didn't have my camera.)

So I promised I'd be there as soon as I could and spent the next lecture trying to re-configure my day's schedule deciding if I had enough supplies at home to start the Baby-Kitten Process again. (What? Doesn't everyone have powdered Kitten Replacement Milk, baby food and syringes (sans needle, of course) in their pantry?)

Clearly these were kittens who had not met humans before as no matter what you do they hiss. The cutest part was when they hiss in between taking sips of milk from the syringe. "sip, sip, slurp, hiss-hiss, slurp, hiss, sip."

I'm not much good at determining kittens' sexes, but my friend F (Beatrice's mommy!) joined me and agreed with my guesses that there are two girls and two boys. All four took milk several times yesterday, and today I got them eating baby food, too (with gusto!) We cleaned out their ears (ew!) and got most of the goop off of their eyes and noses (ew) and gave them baths. The poor things were so dirty that they immediately turned their bath water grey and gross. They will need baths again today, but that's because of the food that gets on them when they eat/dribble.

They're already starting to show individual personalities. The polka-dot one is generally anti-people. The grey-almost-tuxie is the friendliest, calmest, and fell asleep on my stomach last night. The most-tabby one is an adventurer and explorer, and the slightly-less-tabby one is a hider.

One of the office people said she'd probably like to adopt one when they're old enough. Fingers crossed on that. And the office people also promised to help me find homes for these guys.

Here's hoping I can help them grow up and be strong. :)

More of the initial pictures here.

Sammy's Forever Home (Probably)

Wow. That... was the fastest adoption ever. The neighbor I met completely randomly for the first time yesterday really wanted Sammy, with his adorableness and copper colored eyes. Tonight I took him over to their house (hey, we really are neighbors! Neat!) so that the boyfriend could meet the kitty. They have a 18 week old labrador puppy, with all that that entails-- rambunctious, sweet, curious and bouncy. While it's going to take a few days for the two critters to get to know each other, the first meeting actually went really well. The puppy was curious, but not overly so, finding more interest in the toys I brought with Sammy. The kitten didn't hide-- he walked around and investigated, although he gave the puppy a wide berth.

His new family is very nice, and were happy to have all the information I gave them. (Well, heck, I've accumulated a lot of info over the past, between my own cats, and then the ferals and the kittens!)

AND, in a move I learned from the best (Tamnonlinear, she of the brownies), I insisted they knew that once a cat is rescued, s/he stays rescued. They know that if they ever need anything, or need to give away the cat, I'm only a phone call away and I'll help figure something out.

Anyway, Sammy has moved to the new house. It's somewhat conditional-- if things really seem like they're not going to work out between the puppy and the kitten, that's understandable. But fingers crossed, Sammy has a new home, where he's loved and safe. In which case? Fastest rescue ever.

Next, there's a stray (not a feral) tabby boy who needs to be neutered, just as soon as I can catch him. Well, I've picked up plenty of times, but can I get him to the third floor? :)

[I'll keep you up to date on Sammy's progress as I learn of it.]

Pictures!

Okay, I could not call him "Mr Jingles"... I just couldn't. So in honor of my new obsession with the tv show Supernatural, I have named him Sam. (I think he's going to be big, plus he doesn't seem to have the attitude of a Dean.) Anyway, it's irrelevant, since I'm sure his Forever Home, as soon as we find him one, will give him his Forever Name.

But, 'til then, and to pass around to people who might like to adopt a fuzzy love-kin, here are some pictures!

I'd have posted this sooner, but he fell asleep sprawled across my lap, so I couldn't leave, obviously.

Meet... Mr Jingles?

So... yeah. I'd say this isn't what I anticipated, but it never is, is it?

There is now a tiny orange kitten in my bathroom.

Why? That's an excellent question.

Apparently, the promise I had gotten regarding the feral colony was not the only thing that wasn't communicated quite right from old manager to new. Somehow the people currently working there thought that I work for the humane society, so when a small orange kitten was found today, they called me. Well, first they called animal control, but when an officer came out, she said that he looks healthy, so she couldn't take him.

Why did I spring into action? Well, first because I always do. And second because it buys me good will from the office people (I met the manager today, and gave a small spiel about the ferals, for example.)

So here's the low down on this kitten-- approximately 12-16 weeks, orange tabby, male. He's not at all scared of humans (he was purring and kneading and quite content in my arms.) He doesn't seem to have any flea dirt on him (will investigate further with a flea comb) so he couldn't have been out long, but his tail and paws are quite dirty, so long enough for that. When he was found he seemed to be foaming at the mouth (??) which is why animal control was called, but that has long since ceased. He's eating no problem-- he was very fond of the baby food (beef, if you're curious), but happily chowed down on some adult (canned) cat food, too. (I mixed it together because I don't have any kitten food here and I wanted him to have the extra nutrients.)

The name is not what I would have chosen (the office staff picked it.)

I'm going to give him a bath (that should be fun...) and just hang out with him. The office staff thinks that maybe he just got away from his humans today, so I should probably put up Found Cat flyers. By the same token, there should be Lost Cat Flyers up if someone wants him back...

The potential good news is that as I was walking out of the office with the kitten, I ran into a woman who lives here with her boyfriend and puppy. The puppy was very interested. The kitten was really calm for a kitten, but did eventually puff up his tail and hiss. However, the woman really loves cats, apparently, and is maybe interested in adopting him-- we've tentatively set up a time for the cat and dog to meet tomorrow. Please, please, please cross your fingers because that would be an awesome fix to the situation.

Otherwise, I'll be putting out feelers with every acquaintance I know because the older he gets the harder he'll be to adopt out.

He's making cute little chirpy noises now. After posting this, I'm going to go hang out with him. (He's got all the comforts of home, but now he needs a people.)

And so we start again...

Okay, I actually, for once, had things I wanted to say here. I got pictures, I have links, I have Update Worthy Material.

But it's all been preempted. Upon my return home from campus today I ran into Downstairs Neighbor Lady. She has just renewed her lease. And in the lease was a clause which declares that if you feed the cats you will be fined $400.

::blink::

I pointed out that I have permission to feed the cats and otherwise manage the colony. DNL pointed out that the manager with whom I had made all the arrangements is no longer here at the apartment complex.

Fudgesicles.

Now, technically, my agreement went higher than this, with the company who actually manages this property as opposed to the manager of the property (if that's clear.) But DNL had a good point-- since I have not heard anything about this directly (and my lease doesn't need to be renewed until August), I'm not going to say anything about it yet. I'm going to continue to feed the cats.

This does, however, explain why my box (ie: cardboard food dish) has been removed. I'm grateful that the water dish is still there.

I know times are tight, but if anyone would like to chip in a few bucks towards a Fine Protection Fund, please feel free to hit the button on the left. (Likewise, I'll be taking another cat for altering sometime in the next week or so, and a donation towards that would rock. But that's for another post-- see? I told you I actually have interesting things to say, but noooooo, management's gotta go be all stoopid. Which just angers me greatly-- the colony has not grown at all with the exception of one stray left by !@#$!@#$ residents, and that is through my work, and The Volunteer's work, and the incredible donations of all of you. So they should shut up and be glad. The cats aren't doing anything wrong. )

I wonder if this explains why I found the tunnels all blocked with rocks last week. (I promptly unblocked them, of course.)

Time Just Keeps on Slippin'

Here it is, the moment you've all been waiting for-- pictures of the kitties taken with my new camera! Wooo! (To see them all thus far, go here. 20 new pictures in that set, Project-Cat 2009.)

I've discovered that I am overprotective of the kitties. Several times now in the week I've been back, I've been leaving my flat only to find people talking about the cats. I tend to stand around and talk to them (or at least listen and watch and make sure they're not doing anything a bad to the cats...) In this way I've met one very nice neighbor who was walking her 7 week old labrador puppy (even the cats-- who were universally bigger than this puppy-- were not afraid of her), and one, um, ignorant fellow who was trying to convince a cat who had followed him from the other side of the complex (I haven't decided if this is a stray or a cat with a home but who is allowed to roam) to go inside the tunnels and meet the feral cats.

The cats were well cared for while I was gone, but they seemed, in their own feral ways, to be sort of glad to see me upon my return. (Perhaps I give them more food than my house-sitter did? Heh.) And, for a feral, Little Grey has become almost friendly, meowing at me once in a while, and letting me get about 4 feet away with my camera.

Also, while I haven't any photographs to prove it, I've seen Gandolf twice, and he's looking better. Anyone who didn't know him would still see him and think, Great Bast, that's a skinny cat! but I can tell he's put on some weight. Just as importantly, he just seems better somehow, more energetic, brighter. I hope it's not just wishful thinking. I haven't seen AzMum since right before I left, but she's obviously been taking very good care of Meester Gandolf.

And a quick update on the no-longer-wild-kittens-- Miss Beatrice flew to Tennessee with her mom, but will be returning in a few days. Her flight out was uneventful-- turns out she's a champion traveler. And she has won hearts-- despite a fierce no-pets-in-the-house rule, Miss Bea had full run of the house in roughly 24 hours of her arrival (she'd originally been consigned to a breezeway area, but this exile could not last in the face of such cuteness.) Zoe should be on her way to CA very soon, and her family sent me some adorable pictures, one of which you can see here. Looks like Arwen will also be missing Zoe when she goes!

First 2009 Update

So, I planned on going outside with my new camera (!!) and looking for kitties today, now that I'm back to my colony after a trip to the Family Homestead. Alas, it is raining. Figures. So, no pictures today.

But I do want to mention, and I think you should pass it along to everyone you know, especially people in Florida or who may be visiting Florida...

Big Cat Rescue in Tampa, FL supports Spay and Neuter, and therefore has as really cool program called Spay & Play. If you bring an original receipt from your vet showing that you have spayed/neutered your pet, or bring a receipt from an animal shelter, showing that you have adopted a spayed/neutered pet, within the past year, you'll get a free pass to their day tour (which normally costs $25.) I think this is awesome. Granted, I doubt I'll be in FL in the near future (but when I next am, I so want to visit Big Cat Rescue!) Learn more about Spay & Play and more about Big Cat Rescue in general. You should consider donating your used printer ink cartridges to them, as well as sending them a donation (or two, or three...) You can even sponsor a (big) kitty!

We'll return to our regularly, domestic sized updates soon. :)