NEWS! of the GOOD variety!

Wheee! All sorts of happy-making news to report today regarding little kitten Max's progress.

First, and most importantly, I got the results from his Feline Leukemia and Feline-Immuno-deficiency-Virus tests-- and he is NEGATIVE. Huzzah!! Much rejoicing!! Yay!
Because I know now that he's not dangerous to my house cats, I've let little Max out and about from the Kitten Hatchery a bit. My cats are less than thrilled about this, but he doesn't seem to mind them so much. He is, however, still pretty much afraid of everything and prefers to sleep in the sink even when he could be out and exploring or hanging out with me. Poor fuzzy, he's clearly had a bad time of it before now. I'm glad that thanks to your help, I'm able to give him a better, healthier life.

He's still a purr-monster. Oh! And progress-- he still meows when you get close for the first time (and by "first time" I mean any time he hasn't seen you in more than 10minutes) but the growling and hissing has stopped. And as soon as you touch him, he goes into purring mode, pretty quickly flopping over to give you his belly and ask for rubs.

I noticed at that present Mr Max has TWO sets of upper canines, which amuses me to no end. (The first time I saw this happen in a kitten I freaked out, wondering, WHY IS MY CAT A MUTANT?! Now though I know it just means his baby teeth haven't come out yet, and it definitely means he's about 5months old.) It does, however, mean I can call him Mutant Max for a bit.

My very favoritest thing for a kitten to do is to be on his back in your lap and to suddenly catch sight of his tail and grab at it with his paws. And kitten Max pleased me to no end last night when he suddenly did this. Not only is it freakin' adorable, but it was the first time I'd seen him play since he moved in last week. After that, he did a bit of wrestling with me (as if my hand were another kitten.) I know that I ought not encourage him to attack human hands, but I was so pleased to see him playing!!

(One of my cats, a rescue brought to me by The Most Awesome Cat Rescuer and Friend Ever, Tam, came with her very own lobster. At the time, the lobster was the same size as the kitten, and perfect for wrestling. The cat, how an adult who prefers wrestling with my yarn skeins, eschews the lobster now, and so it has become a fostering toy. I will find dig it out tonight so that Max will have something other than human hands with which to tussle.)

And last, but by no means least, I think it's safe for me to announce one more piece of good news. Kitten Max has a forever home. Yes, that's right. And even better? Max will have siblings-- one of which is the previous foster, Dean!! Dean's Dad has opened his heart and home again, and when Max has been neutered and gotten his second set of shots (so a month yet) he'll be off to his forever home. Dean has blossomed in his forever home (and grown huge, and apparently stayed very, very cuddly) so I'm certain that Max will do wonderfully.

More updates (and pictures) as they're warranted. :D

Baby's First Vet Visit

Mr Max's first vet visit went as well as could be. Unfortunately, right before we had to leave to get there, Max had a bit of a poo-problem, getting it all over the Kitten Hatchery floor and on his head. How does that even happen? On the bright side, it certainly meant I had a nice fresh fecal sample for the vet... ew.

(Aren't you glad *every* Project-Cat blog post doesn't start out with "fecal sample"?)

The vet and techs are guessing Max to be older than I thought-- four to five months. (I was guessing three to four.) And because he's so friendly (even if very scared) at such an advanced age, he must have had human contact before this-- meaning he wasn't from the colony but was dumped by someone. ARG, people. ARG, I say.

Actually, this might explain his whiskers, too. I couldn't figure out how a cat who had had no contact with people could have had a number of his whiskers be cropped close to his face. Now I'm even crankier at people....

Anyway, before the vet came in, Mr Max actually explored a wee little bit-- hopping into the sink, and then deciding to hide beneath the paper towel dispenser. When the vet came in, though, he let her slide him out and submitted to her will. He was very good, apparently, at getting his blood drawn and everything (they did this in the back) and was good at getting his shot. (This last was done in the exam room.)

We won't know the results of the FIV/FLeuk test 'til tomorrow. Fingers crossed!! Similarly the fecal exam won't be back 'til tomorrow. But the vet agreed that he has worms, and gave him the dewormer today already. If anything else comes back as unfortunate from the fecal, she'll prescribe as necessary. (Beatrice, you might remember, came with her own case of ... something I can't spell. Nevermind then...)

She's not concerned about his thin fur-- she says even the bald patches on his ears are likely just malnutrition (not ear mites! Yay!) She even thinks he *might* be a medium-haired cat when his hair fills in.

She's also not concerned with his lack of playing-- she's guessing it's just that he's not comfortable yet. And while his temperature is at the upper end of normal, he doesn't have a fever. So overall, Mr Max is doing pretty well. I'll update you tomorrow on what the vet says when she calls. 'Til then, keep your fingers (and paws) crossed for negative results!!

Baby's First Bath

Life with little Napoleon Maximilian continues with progress. Some progress, like the purring and the loving, is leaps and bounds. Other progress, like the lack of playing, is slow going.

Yesterday morning I entered the Kitten Hatchery to discover little Max curled up in the sink with my toothbrush holder. I've never seen him jump that high, but clearly he can or he'd not have been in the sink. I took this as a sign of his being ready for a bath. He was sitting up and watching my every movement as I prepared (I wanted to clean everything off of the countertop so as to protect it) but not as wary as he might have been.

He submitted to the bath with, if not grace then at least without anger. His wee little paws kept scrabbling at the faucet as if to grab on and pull himself away from me. But he never scratched or bit, and didn't even hiss, howl or growl. Instead, he just meowed in a forlorn kind of way. We turned two basins full of water dirty, and still I couldn't get his paws quite white. Then we sat down, little Max bundled up in a towel, and cuddled for a while. He seemed to like this part-- he was purring up a storm. Eventually he even ventured so far as to start bathing himself-- so far the only time I've seen him do this. He let me trim his claws, too. And all this before his breakfast!

Speaking of which, he's still eating quite well, both dry and wet food. And he noms down the vitamin gel I bought for him like it's -- frankly, I don't know how to describe how much he loves this vitamin gel. He eats it straight from the tube! Kittens are supposed to gain weight fairly rapidly and little Max certainly is. I don't have a feel yet for how big he'll be at full size-- I need the vet's estimate on his age first-- but he'll be a sizeable cat. (All the male cats from our colony tend to be pretty big, it seems.) He's got the bat ears and oversized paws, after all.

He still hisses when you go towards him the first time you enter the room, but the instant you touch him he purrs. And he has a loud, deep purr. I was washing my face this morning (after all, the Kitten Hatchery must do double duty as my bathroom) and I realized I could hear him all the way down on the floor and a few feet away. Notice that at this point I was not (obviously) touching him, but he was still purring. A good sign, I think.

I'm a little worried about his health, but I hope his ailments are simply the usual outdoor kitten ones. His fur is thin and coarse, but I think good food will help that. His ears are scratched up on the outside, and missing fur, and I assume that's due to scratching due to ear mites. (He let me clean out his hears no problem with kitten-ear-cleaner and a cotton ball, but I'll ask a vet to do a more thorough clean out, and of course there'll be drops and such if there are mites.) As I mentioned before, he has the roundest belly of all time, so there'll be deworming. Eeww. He also seemed to be running rather hot last night, although much less so this morning. Fever? I don't know. But this may well explain why he isn't playing, if he's not feeling up to it.

The good news, though, is that thanks to the incredible generosity of Project-Cat donors, little Max has enough funds for at least his first vet visit, and probably his second as well. (Okay, so this assumes that there's nothing majorly wrong with him... Fingers crossed.) So thank you thank you thank you, donors. You are Teh Awesome.
I've mentioned the vet several times in this entry. We are heading to see said vet this evening (5pm AZ time). The Animal Hospital I go to has a lot of vets in it, but we are seeing one that I've gone to once before (with one of the kittens-- which one I am not sure... Malcolm and Zoe the first time maybe?) and so that is good. There'll be an update tonight or tomorrow about how the vet visit goes, I'm sure.

I'm always terrified when taking one of these kittens to the vet for the first time. The diagnoses... So 'til then cross your fingers that it goes boringly frankly. Boring in this kind of thing is good. Boring is healthy!

Meet Napoleon Maximilian

Or "Max" to his friends.

In other words, the Kitten Hatchery is unexpectedly open...

Two nights ago Beatrice's Mom came over to watch some television. When I opened the door, however, and said "Hi," she responded with, "Kitten." Uh, kitten? Sure enough, there by the food dish was a kitten I'd never seen before. A bit of chasing later and hey, there's an angry, angry kitten in my bathroom. (And a lot of blood from a kitten bite on my thumb, and a trip to the doctor for a tetanus shot in my very near future.)

He seems to be about 3months old or so and very, very dirty. He spent most of yesterday growling and huddling in the bathtub. But by last night he let me pet him a little (while hissing.) This morning he let me pet him, and leaned into the pets. Then, breakthrough! This afternoon he stretched up into the pets and started purring! I was able to pick him up (and discover that he is, in fact, a he) and plop him my lap-- where he promptly started rolling about and asking for me to pet his belly!!
We still have a ways to go-- I can't get him to play, for example. And he starts to growl whenever he sees me, but stops when I start petting him. He's eating well, and using the litter box with no trouble. He let me clean out his very dirty, very gross ears, although I suspect there'll be more of that to come, too. He clearly has worms (ew!) because he has the roundest belly ever.

So here's the thing. Fuzzy funny face, aka Angry Kitty (who is no longer so angry), aka Napoleon Maximilian, aka Max, needs a few things. First, he needs vet visits. Second, he needs a home. Should you wish to, you can help me with either of those...

I'm hoping to take him to the vet on Tuesday for his first kitten check up/vaccinations, etc. (De-worming.) If you'd like to help this poor, poor graduate student afford said vet visit, you can kick a few dollars my way via that PayPal button over there....

(Tomorrow he gets a bath... I'll try to take pictures.)

Holy Carp! An update!

I know, I know... I'm well aware that I have been pretty much the worst blogger ever. The good news is that I have been keeping a close eye on our colony and everyone is doing pretty well. Okay, so Mistoffolees looks like he's molting, which is weird but doesn't seem too problematic. Tuxie is a bit pushy-- alternately mewing and hissing when I feed her. And everyone else is, well, everyone else.

See? I still take pictures! To the right, Agatha says hi (from between a set of stairs, if you're wondering).

As long as the colony is its usual self-- just requiring food and water-- we're good. I don't mind finding the cash for the food (and while they do go through a lot, some of my neighbors feed them, too), and I've got friends around here who have been lovely in helping to take care of the colony when I've had to frequently go out of town.

More pictures:






Lovely Daphne wondering why I'm bothering her with that flashy, clicky thing....


And Tuxie playing at being shy. (She's not really.)






However, two things have come up. First, I really do need to get the last of the colony TNRed, both for the sake of not wanting any more kittens, and for their own health. Remember that Pigpen, Tuxie and Barnaby all escaped TNR the first time around. And since then we've been joined by Tuxie and Paint.

And then there's Tigger, but he's better left to his own entry.

So I need to raise some monies to TNR these guys. Fortunately, it's not quite the undertaking that getting the first THIRTEEN was, but still. So if you're feeling in the mood, please feel free to hit the donate button over there on the left. (My birthday's in about two weeks-- you can make it a gift!)

I can't run another raffle-- well, I could, and I'd be happy to, but as it turns out they're illegal... So any other thoughts on how we can raise the moolah for these guys' TNR?

Drive By Posting!

This summer has been... well, let's just say not my best summer ever. The cats, however, have been doing well. I've been seeing more of the group every day (this is partly because of how early in the morning I've been having to leave...) and everyone looks healthy and well. Tuxie, Aloysius, Bessie and Pigpen are generally eating as soon as I put down food. Barnaby stops by frequently, as does Agatha and Walsingham and Gremlin. I see Daisy nearly every afternoon as she likes to sleep on the cement floor of the building where it's coolest (it's been about 110degrees every day for the past ... forever). Daphne is a frequent sight as well. No kittens have been spotted this spring or summer, which is great. And I hvae taken some pictures and want to take more and as soon as I can, I'll get back to posting.

'Til then, I really hope you know about the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee. If you do, then I'm probably preaching to the choir, and you know about how they're trying to use 40squillion (that's thousands) dollars for the Tacoma Humane Society. If you're considering donating, I hope you'll do so today because not only are they only 3 days away from the end of their 'thon, but also because all donations today go directly to their spay/neuter fund, which helps ferals and free-roaming cats, like the ones in this colony. So if you have a few dollars to spare (every bit helps!!) consider sending it their way today.

Pictures!

We haven't moved forward, alas. I haven't heard back from TNR Group #2 yet, you see. So we'll try again in June. Why not May, you ask? Because I am going out of town. No need to worry about our Colony-- people I trust very much will be taking care of the fuzzies for me, stopping by every day.

Come back in June when things will gear up, one way or another. :)

'Til then, enjoy these pictures...

Below, Daphne contemplates me with uncertainty, while Bessie tries to do a photobomb. Okay, Bessie probably was just wondering whether to run, but still...

Tuxie in the sunset. She's usually within earshot of my front door.

Streeeeeetch and yawn, wee Agatha, stretch!

Agatha, aka Crooked Kitty, close up. I'm always so happy to see this little girl.

It's Daisy! I have no idea why she looks so cranky here...

And finally, Beatrice, the not-feral, though you wouldn't know it to pet her, says you'd better come back in June for more updates and pictures!!!

It's Never Easy-- So Thank Goodness for Help

::Sigh:: Another water bowl gone. (The one in the above picture, in fact, with Bessie-the-Former-Tomcat.) I think I may need to go to a big box store and purchase a dozen cheap dishes. I have no idea if it's gone thanks to neighbors or thanks to management...

I spoke with the wonderful person from AZCats who helped me last time (2008), and it turns out that there's been some kinds of machinations in animal groups in the past two years. I didn't get details, but suffice it to say that due to distance (Phoenix is a big city, especially for transporting angry caged animals in) I have been referred to a different group. I'll update more as I know it. She also referred me to some online resources which may help in the on-going communications with the management here.

'Til I know more, I leave you with pictures. Everyone likes pictures! These are the fuzzies you are directly helping when you donate to Project-Cat.


Mr Mistoffolees from above-- He seems to be saying, "I can see you up there. But I know the food is up there. How do I get to the latter, and not the former..."


Tuxie, being her adorable self. Behind her, however, is one of the two Problem Tiger Tabbies. These are two gray tabbies that belong to a neighbor. They are not, however, neutered.

Walsingham, lounging in the desert.

Feeding time at the zoo. This is by no means an ideal place to feed a number of cats, as you can see by the congestion in the next two photos. But since DNL is fearful of my feeding them in the old spot (seen in the photo following these two), I don't know what else to do...

Cats in photo directly below: Tuxie, Pigpen, Aloysius and Barnaby.

Cats in photo directly below: Walsingham, Agatha, Mistoffolees, Aloysius (I think), Tuxie and Pigpen.

The old feeding spot-- much bigger, much more secure for cats (in that they can run from people easier. Note the water dish-- it's also gone. Cats in the picture include: Daphne, Mistoffolees, Athos, Tuxie, Daisy, Walsingham, and one of the Terrible Tiger Tabbies (who is really friendly and affectionate and I call him Tigger, but he is also very, very clearly not neutered.)
This is Paint. She's cute, no? But she's very shy. She'll get her own post-- just as soon as I get some more pictures of her!!

Walsingham and Agatha. They're always together, which warms my heart.

No updates, 'cause no news...

The ferals are chillin', doing their feral thing. It's getting warm here in AZ-land (82 today and 91 tomorrow! Yikes.) I'm finding occasional tufts of fur around the feeding area as they blow coat. I imagine that Tuxie is not enjoying the return of the hot weather, what with her long fur.

Another neighbor-- though I'm not sure who-- has started occasionally leaving food for the fuzzies, which I appreciate greatly. (Food's expensive! Well, it gets expensive when you're feeding so many.)

The TNR Fund for this go-round is at $125, and I'm exceptionally grateful to my two donors. (I don't know if they want to be named at all here in the blog, so I shan't for now. But if you're reading this, know that you have my thanks!!)

I've just gotten in touch with Altered Tails, the fabulous people who helped last time, to see what the upcoming schedule is like for high volume spay/neuter days. I suspect that we shan't be able to TNR 'til June, which I regret as we'll be deep into kitten season by then. But alas, April is rapidly running out and I, lucky me, will be leaving town for May. (I'll try to get a guest blogger-- perhaps she'll be better at updating than I am!)

I do have pictures, I promise... but I also have a list of things to do a mile long, so ... um... sorry. (I know, I'm a terrible blogger. But at least when I do post pictures they're of cute, cute kitties.)

GOOD NEWS!

I spoke with the office people today, and pointed out that it is Spring. It is warm, and it has been warm. There are two (2!!!) unneutered male cats belonging to my neighbor, and there are several cats in the colony who are either new or whom I couldn't catch last time. There will soon be kittens. Can I, I asked, TNR? Please? Or would you like some kittens?

They said yes! I haven't made any arrangements yet (I didn't want to start any balls rolling, so to speak 'til I'd gotten a feel for where management/owners stood), so watch this space for more news.

I have to let the office know when *I* (and you) know more, so that they can leave notes on people's doors about what's going on. The office person I spoke with said that people had come and asked what they could do to help about the cats, so that's a good sign.

And, uh, if you have a few dollars to chip into the TNR-fund, now might be a fantastic time to do so. The fund is empty (I've been paying for cat chow out of my own pocket, which I don't mind, but at $50/cat for speutering, even if I only catch a few, it becomes costly for one person. ) Even just a few dollars helps a lot.

(More updates -- and cat pictures-- next week. Maybe sooner. But life has gotten crazy 'round here...)