Saturday, February 28, 2015

Former Foster February ends with Isaac Arnold and Smedley


We are going to close out the fabulous former foster friday February with my favorite kitties. Not that I don't love them all, but I think you all know what a special place in my heart these two have. Anne adopted these two and has been kind enough to allow me to continue glimpses into their lives. To be honest, I still kinda regret not keeping them, but I still know that would not have been a good thing (Jack is currently sitting on my lap attempting to lick my nose proving my point). Now this by no means is the last former foster post until next february.. so if anyone has one of my kittens, feel free to let me know how they are doing, and I will be happy to share them with the world.

Now.. without further adieu....



In October 2013, a friend shared a facebook post of Connie’s - pleading for someone to adopt two adorable devoted sweet twin kittens. I fell in love with these faces and that was that.


Well, okay, it was a bit more complicated than that.

My name is Anne and I live with my mom, Janet. We have had one cat at a time most of my life but we lost our last one about six years ago after a second bout with cancer. We were emotionally wiped out and needed a break … then life happened. We had both occasionally considered getting another cat. We had even tossed around the notion of two but the conversations never developed into commitment and we were not actually looking for new furry family. Then I saw Connie’s post. And her next post. And the next one. And, finally, the threat that they would be taken back to the shelter and possibly split. She kept describing these two as really special and cuddly and soft and just about everything I had on my bullet list for my personal perfect cats. I couldn’t take it and after much talking, many tears, a lot of panic about the state of the house, evaluating finances and my own ability to commit to beings that would very likely have to be accommodated through big life changes over the next decades … we said YES!!





Now about a year and a half old, they have definitely developed their personalities. Isaac Arnold is a gentle soul. He is very cautious about exploring and hangs back to let Smedley go first. He loves “Being With” us - especially with “his mommy”, Janet. He curls up on the side of her desk and lays his head on her hand. (He’s our chin skritches boy. And he is So Soft - almost too soft to feel.) Or, he will come find a spot near us while we are in another room. He generally likes harder surfaces, or at least ones with a lot of support. He cracks us up and we call him the flounder … he lies with his back legs splayed out and gets very flat.

He also is the one that likes to curl up tightly in a protected spot … preferably as small as he can squash himself into! He has found some interesting spots including our aloe plant. But, he always looks very comfy. He takes a while to be interested in playing (as I said, he is cautious) but once he does he is an amazing jumper and will tenaciously protect his toys. He is decidedly a stuffed-mouse-on-a-stick kinda guy. But any toy or red light dot is fair game!


Smedey is our “take no prisoners, barge right in and figure out where you are later” boy. He is into everything and vocal about it. He’s also very very sweet and incredibly affectionate. I am “Smedley’s mommy”. He and I have an almost daily routine of a “Full Smedley” involving him perching on my chest with lots of face buffing, licking, nipping, kneading, writhing, purring, meowing, and just plain cuddling. We both throw ourselves into it and I can’t get enough. Every once in a while Smed will let mom have this experience and every once in a while I can have snuggles with Isaac Arnold but for the most part we are paired up. Last summer I had heart surgery and the big sweetie found ever adaptive ways to manage to cuddle around my incision, contorting himself around a pillow and on my shoulder and my head and everything he could concoct to snuggle. Isaac was the model of decorum on my lap.



Smedley is a sprawler and a big belly rub boy. He usually sticks a leg or two over the edge of his lounging spot and he will turn and bend and grab your hands with his front paws to ensure the required belly rub coverage (full face-to-belly nuzzling also encouraged!) Smed loves feathers. Give him feathers on a string or a stick and he goes nuts. They both still play with the feather toys Connie gifted to them but Smed tends to get wacko about them!

Smedley is an intrepid adventurer. He was the first to jump up on counters, he is always on the front lines of poking through newly opened doors. He noses right in to check out food. He was the one to figure out how to open our kitchen cabinetry and more than once I have discovered that he has peeled off the (now needed) duct tape and has his fuzzy butt sticking up out of our garbage can!

The two of them are an amazing duo. They are so spectacularly twins and Shenanigators (instigators of shenanigans). They still play together, run around together, lick each other, tussle, mirror each other at the window, manage to open our kitchen cabinets and drawers and are generally just a delight to share our lives with. It would have been nice, though, if they would have actually caught the mouse in the bread drawer instead of just waiting for it to come back!



They are both doing well health wise. When they came home, they had both had a long struggle with digestive problems and diarrhea and were having a tough time shifting to canned food. Unfortunately, we don’t have a good local place to get commercially prepared raw food. Adoption day was the day after Thanksgiving. The first couple of months we were scrambling to get the house ready for them to expand into, to play holiday hosts and taking part in our church’s holiday events. At that point we were basically feeding them from the meat counter. (They continue their love of chicken hearts!) With time their systems got much stronger. Now we are able to give them pretty much any food and they will happily chow down. Of course, if they had their way that would extend to first dibs on our meals too! They both tend to try to eat anything. Isaac Arnold has a penchant for anything bread-like or vanilla … he is especially tenacious about trying to get at pizzelles! Smedley is persistent about sneaking yogurt. Frustratingly, this doesn’t end with actual food. They have both scared us to the core and caused lifestyle changes with things they eaten. Isaac can’t be trusted around rubber bands after an Incident without lasting consequences. But at about seven months old Smedley ate … something. We don’t know what it was for sure. One morning he wasn’t able to walk up the stairs. Three trips to vet hospitals, lots of fluids, some meds and lots of tests later he was better. An ultrasound showed something solid in his colon that was clearly passed but it was never found in the stools or identified. Mom and I are SO grateful that he pulled through that unscathed.


So, they are adored. They are wonderful. They are better than fine. And, they are exactly what we needed. We fell in love and that was that. I’m pretty sure they did too.





11 comments:

  1. Those two have grown into such handsome mancats! And such a perfect home for them too.

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  2. Awww.....love these updates. So glad everyone is feeling better and doing great. Wonderful pictures.

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  3. What a wonderful update! I remember how tiny these two were and how they struggled to get healthy with the help of Connie's heroic efforts. I was thrilled when I heard they would be adopted together, and it is wonderful to see them all grown up, happy, healthy and surrounded by love. Thank you to all of you for taking such care of these precious little ones.

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  4. OMB lok at how much they have grown,gorgeous,xx Rachel

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  5. We loved these two, too. :) So glad to hear they are doing so well in their new home!

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  6. The purrfect story with the purrfect ending!!

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  7. What a COOL "HEA" (happily ever after") story!!!!

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  8. What a pair of man cats! Has it really been nearly 18 months? I remember how tiny they were and now look at them, thanks to you and the continued loving care they're getting in their forever home. What a wonderful update. :)

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  9. The best bit? They kept their Most Awesome names!! What a wonderful follow-up story, made me grin.

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  10. We loved reading this update and seeing all the photos. Isaac Arnold was one of our mom's favorite kittens. It must warm Mom Connie's heart when she gets these updates! XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

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