Former Fosters - Raven Poe and Kif

I went to the shelter again tonight to see Peter and Tinsel and saw posted on the update board a letter. I like to read the letters and look at the photos, and I was half way through it when a little light bulb went off in my head. I asked myself, how many people named a kitty "Kif".. that has GOT to be mine.. Then Raven and Poe hit home, and I couldn't stop smiling.

I don't often get updates. It is sad that people forget that someone loved their kitties before they did. (Even when I used to stand there and cry over them as they left and wish them well and ask for updates) but it seems I'm getting more lately.

Unfortunately there was no photos attached to the letter. Don't know if they were or weren't sent in.. But here is the blog post with their "adopt me" profiles

Jan 16. 2011

Hi Good People at AWS

Here's an update on our 3 great kittens we adopted on December 4th.

We renamed Poe, Raven and Kif. They are now Abby, Ziva and Tony!RAFL - I love NCIS

They are truly a joyous, smart, exhuberant and creative bunch!

Abby is the smallest and is cautious but loving on her own terms (must be Poe)

Ziva is fearless andcurious and has a very loud motor!

Tony wears his tuxedo front with style and is a non-stop mover and shaker and lover!

Our resident 12 year old Stella is beginning to feel a little like a kitten herself when she's not helping to keep them in their places and assert her queenship.
The babies think everything she does is to die for!

These guys are friendly, sweet and very trainable thanks to a superb fostering job before they came to us.

THANK YOU to all!

Barbara and Jackie

awwww.. I so wish I could write back and beg for photos.. But I'm so happy to get the letter..


and for anyone counting, this is the third set of triplets I've had adopted (that I know of) I'm loving that kittens in pairs are getting so popular that people don't think triplets is considered weird. (btw, have I mentioned how much I LOVE Barbara and Jackie for adopting triplets? they rank right up there with the woman who adoptedHappiness and Joy. I couldn't find the post, but they were a very skittish bonded pair. Happy was more outgoing then Joy. Joy was bordering on feral because of being caught later in life, then going back to the shelter and being adopted and then returned. She was under a lot of stress and was constantly sick. Someone had been in a few times and had seen them, and finally took them home because they were breaking her heart. I can't tell you how much I want to track her down and give her a hug. Actually now that it has been a few years, I'd love to hear how they have changed and blossomed into the loving cats I knew they would become in the right home. Joy was almost out of her shell when I had to return her for adoption... I knew it would work out.

I'm rambling. Guess that is what comes of thinking of my former fosters.

at the shelter

well I dropped them off this morning.  This is always the hardest part for me because they won't be coming back.

But they will find their furever homes and get to sleep in beds and be snuggled, and play with Christmas trees (or dreidels)

Good luck you princes (well prince & princesses) of Maine… you kings (king & queens) of New England.  May your lives be long,  filled with love and lots of food.

Profiles

Maxie was the first of the litter to leave the nest, and she hasn’t stopped exploring her world since.  She has no fear, no reserve, the world is her playground.  She is incredibly loving and sweet, and loves rubbing against your ankles as well as getting up close for some love.  You most likely will never spend time alone again once you adopt her unless she goes home with a sibling to distract her.

The down side to all of this is that she is constantly under foot and could be a trip hazard.  She did just fine when meeting a large group of kids, and should have almost no problem adjusting to anything new thrown her way.  She does enjoy chewing on fingers and toes though.  For the most part it does not hurt, but it can.

Raven is a very outgoing kitten.  She is very loving and sweet.  She is pretty much your stereotypical kitten.  She and Poe look a lot a like, but Raven’s fur is slightly longer, and she has a few white hairs on her chest.

She met a large group of kids at Thanksgiving and did just fine adjusting to them.  I want to write volumes on her because she is such a good kitty, but it is all very typical kitten stuff.  She is what you would think of when you think kitten.

Maru was the last to leave the nest, even though she really wanted to play with her siblings. She is a cautious kitty, who does not adjust to new situations as quickly as others, so she will need an owner who is willing to work with her personality quirks.  She loves to play with fishing pole type toys, bat at balls, and wrestle with her siblings.  She doesn’t like it when you go straight at her, so she might not do well with young children who might chase her.  Because of this it would be best if she were adopted to be an indoor only kitty.

Poe is a reserved kitty, one who is very cautious about the world around her.  She enjoys interaction on her terms, and liked crawling up under the blanket when her care taker would sit with her.  She likes playing with fishing pole type toys and ambush attacking her siblings.  She might do better in a home if she goes home with a second kitten.

When  she met a large group of children she hid.  It takes her a while to adjust to new situations, so it would be best if she were set up in only one room or even one small area of a room to help her get used to her new home.  She runs when you go straight at her, so she would probably do best in a home with out young kids.  Because of her personality, it would be best if she were adopted to be an indoor only kitty.

Kif is the only male of his litter.  He enjoys showing off, and “hunting” toys and wrestling his siblings.  He likes to run and play, and does not like to be contained.  He is starting to seek out attention, so long as he is not held and prevented from moving on if something catches his attention.  He is a bit cautious of new situations.  When introduced to a large group of kids, he hid, and does not like it when someone goes straight at him.  Because of his caution around new situations, it would probably be best to set him up in one room of your home to help him get used to his new home.  It would probably be in his best interest to be adopted to be an indoor only kitty.

Welcome home kittens

Hungry Hungry kittens.  not the best cinema-photography, but I couldn't resist

Kittens are home

I called to check on them around four, and they weren't all done.  What on earth was that vet doing all day, it was just the five of them and one other last night!!  *sigh* I guess emergencies happen.  I was told to call back at 6 as they close at seven.  Fortunately they were done, and I was able to pick them up.  They were loving and active.  I took a look at all of their incisions.  Maxie's was a little protruding, but the rest looked really good.  They found the dry food, and went to chow.  So I opened up some cans of food, and they ate them right up (I have video, I'll up load it soon)

I'm glad they are here, as I had a death in my family.  Kittens are always good for the soul, but are particularly good at distraction from the sadness.  And I really didn't need to worry about them locked at the clinic another night.

I'm going to bring them in Friday morning and they'll be put right up for adoption providing they don't break with an illness.  They did start sneezing after their trip in to the shelter but that seemed to have ended prior to their going in.  Stress can bring it back, so if it gets bad they'll stay here for a while.

Kitten season has just about ended.  There are no kittens up for adoption at the moment, and none waiting to get into foster care, so this might be it for the bitty kitty updates till spring.  They do come in, but usually the staff is able to take care of them.  Some years I get kitten fever in the dead of winter and I go in begging for kittens.  Sometimes they get more kittens then the staff can handle and I get a call.

I saw a posting that a different shelter in the area would like a foster home for some bunnies. I so totally wish I could do that.  I really miss having a bunny, but I fear what bringing a bunny into this house could mean.  Skippy really loved Bri, and he might love another, but I do believe he is a carrier for bartonella, which he passed on to Bri.

We'll see what the next few weeks brings us. 

Neuter day pt 2

So I brought the fosters in this morning to the vet to be neutered. They mentioned to me they had a heavy case load and to call in the PM to see if they could go home.

Well, by the time I got into work, I had gotten a phone call that there was a darn good chance they wouldn't all be done by the time they closed, and I could feel free to leave them there for the night.  I felt bad, because I knew they had no idea what was going on and it was all so strange to them.  But I had to remind myself that this is good for them.  The more new things they can experience the better.  It makes them more accepting kitties.

Well right before they closed, I called to see how the day went, and found out that none of them were done, so it will happen tomorrow.

Four spays and a neuter

Well the plan was to neuter them on Wednesday, but the vet decided to go on vacation and canceled on us, so now it is going to happen tomorrow at a different clinic (dropping off at 8AM EST) and then bring them in for adoption on Thursday.

I can't believe how fast it went by.

but then again I'm saying that about the year as well.  I can't believe it's practically December.

Happy Thanksgiving

 I can haz turky?

plz?

Hey, whatcha doin?

Me?  I'm just hanging out here watching that cat in the window..

 cat in the window?? SKIPPY!!!

I'm sure he'd love playing with the kittens.. he's the low man on the totem pole among the crew, I would bet he'd love playing the king once in a while.

caption needed

I know there is a good lolcaption that would work for this, but I just can't think of one

Poe in the basket

 aww.. how cute, Poe is in the basket, let me get a photo of that...

KIF!! why did you chase Maxie into my shot??

 Maxie!  ok, let's try again

SUCESS!!  taking photos of kittens is much like herding cats. 

Working together

 All of the kitties were very interested in the new "foe" that needed to be taught a lesson.  Each one took their turn "killing" this new "enemy"  I haven't seen them all enjoy a "toy" together since the last time I brought out the feather string toy.

Can you guess what this might be?

Apparently the top of the box of small cans of cat food (think store brand version of Fancy Feast) REALLY needed to be taught a lesson, and Kif thought he was just the kitten to do it.

growley kitten

I brought some more chicken down to the kittens.  It took Maru a few moments to figure out I wasn't trying to pull something over on her, then she was NOT going to let it go.. Don't worry, I shared with the rest of them (and they, like Maru, were not willing to share once they got it)

Maxie & Raven

don't you want to adopt me?

I like to chew on tosies

Just hanging around

Maybe if I climb up here I can get one of those ball things better

Ambush

Poe is such a cutie.  It is a shame she's not all in your face like Maxie and Raven, but I think her personality will shine once she is adopted.  Her newest thing is to lie in ambush.

nothing here

no wait, I'm here!

You didn't see me

gotcha!

that was fun :)

Maru & Kif

 Now that they are getting older, their features are becoming more distinct.  Both Kif and Maru are turning into very stocky kittens.  Kif especially feels very much like a warm furry brick.

updates

So I got an email, the kittens are scheduled for their surgeries on 12/1. I'm a little sad they won't be in their new homes for Thanksgiving, but it will be nice for me to have them, and maybe playing with all the kids will be good for them.

I did bring Juno in this morning. The shelter is light on cats (not packed to the gills anyway) so maybe she'll find a home sooner. It was a little hard on me, separating the family but I kept reminding myself a) she was done being a mom when they got out of the box and b) they have to be separated eventually, no one is going to adopt the entire family. This is good for her as she is a kitty of adventure who hates being confined anyway. She was getting restless in the kitten room, and now she gets the view of the great big bay window overlooking a big field beyond the parking lot that I'm sure will have great interest to her with all the people coming and going.

I watched her after we put her in the community room. There were three other cats in there, and she appeared to ignore them (I'm sure she was keeping a keen eye on them while being nonchalant) After looking around the room several times she settled down to look out the window. As I left (I ended up parking directly in front of that window) I went to her to say bye, and she was trying to look around me to view the field. I'm sure she is going to be just fine.

What fun

 Apparently my camera case is FASCINATING!!

 Mom is a lot of fun too

as was this little tear in the linoleum.  we bought some cheap linoleum to put down over the foam tiles to help keep the kitten claws from tearing it up, and to make it easier to sweep up litter.  When we moved the futon in, we ended up creating a little tear.  I thought we would be ok for a while, apparently someone else had other ideas.  I hate the idea of tape over it, but I'm not quite ready to replace it yet (probably the spring) as the room is full of kittens.   I just find it fascinating what each new set of kittens will find that will interest them.  After fostering for eight full years, you'd think that room would be kitten proofed to death, but yet they still find new ways to get into trouble.

Kittens' day out

The owner of the place I work is in town.  He's only there about half the year (two to three months at a time) and he's allergic to cats, so I can't bring the kittens in for a visit when he's in town.  So I thought it would be a good idea to bring them in to the shelter to be weighed, and they decided to also do vaccines and deworming.

Kif is at weight at 2lbs 8 oz.
Maru is right behind him at 2lbs 7 oz. 
aka little furry bricks :)

Poe is the smallest at 2lbs even
Maxie was right close at 2lbs 2 oz.
Raven was in the middle at 2lbs 4 oz.

They are going to be scheduled to be neutered hopefully the Wednesday before Thanksgiving.  If the vet who does them won't be doing surgery that day, they'll wait till the next week.  I was thinking Id prefer them to go sooner as we are having about 30 people over for turkey day (yes, 30, yes, all of DH's immediate family) and there will be a ton of kids, and I know containing them will be difficult, but I just realized while typing this I do not want them at the shelter on Thanksgiving day.

It was offered that I bring Juno back early, and I think I'll take them up on that.  She is beyond OK with not being with the kittens any more.  Sometimes she plays with them, but I think she is fearful she'll hurt them, so for the most part she just sits around ignoring them.  And keeping her in the kitten room during turkey day... that would be something I wouldn't be able to stop worrying about.  the kittens I can put in the cage, Juno would not stand for it.  She HATES being in a cage (or a carrier)

I also decided to bring down some steak for the kittens to try.  Once again Juno totally got it, and tried to steal it away.  Raven and Maxie also got it rather quickly.  Kif wanted to sniff it extensively, and Maxie kept stealing it.  Maru took some time catching on, and when she finally did she became very protective of her prize.  I still just love growly kittens.  Poe just did not catch on at all.  I ended up sitting with them for about an hour.  I was cold, so I curled up in a blanket, and Poe crawled up in the blanket with me, it was so cute.

play time