Scoresby 3/29/15 - 3/30/16

I received a very sad message from Allie yesterday morning.

It is with a very heavy heart that I am writing to you. Sadly this morning, while I was getting ready for work, Scoresby (née The Kraken) passed away suddenly. We rushed him to the vet, but it seems to have been a stroke or heart defect that they can tell to the best of their ability. It may have been something he was born with or an undiagnosed disease. I can tell you that he was his playful and loving self up until the very end and will be missed greatly.

Goodness I love this photo of him

I didn't hear from Allie often, but when I did it was very evident that she loved him. She has such a kind heart.

I hope I do not bring down your morning too much, but I know you loved him as a kitten and would want to know. Thank you for helpin bring him into our lives.

As sad as I was to hear it, I am glad she told me. I follow her on social media and would be wondering what happened to him.  My heart absolutely breaks for her.. not that it didn't crack a bit on its own at the thought. He was an amazing kitten.. my little bonus boy..

‘Goodnight you prince of Maine, you king of New England.’

Former Foster Friday - guess who!

Anyone want to guess who this is?

His mom named him Scoresby but you will know him better as

Yes, that's right, it is The Kraken!! and no, his mother didn't keep the name and no I don't blame her, I don't think I ever officially called him that anywhere other than the blog, he was always 'cutie' or 'sweetie' because The Kraken is such a huge name.

The Kraken was adopted by the same family who adopted Lyra, formerly Tawny, so this particular update is double sweet for me. It was reported that Lyra initially had a problem no longer being an only child, but has come to appreciate having pesky younger brother.

#TakeYourCatToWork on #TakeYourDogToWork Day

Today is take your dog to work day, but I say we don't let that get us kitties down.  As you know, I am lucky enough to be able to bring my foster kittens in to work on occasion to help socialize them. I know it is a huge benefit to them, and it improves their self confidence and allows them to adjust to new situations easier when they do it when they are so young.  I wasn't able to bring my current set in as they are a little young and litter box habits aren't to be trusted yet

I know most cat people aren't able to bring their cats to work, but we are not alone, most dog people aren't either.  But that doesn't mean we can't celebrate in spirit..

And know, if you have a young cat or kitten, the more you take them out of the house when they are young, the easier it will be on them when they are older. Introduce them to as many new experiences as possible. Repeat a few of them from time to time too so they are familiar with them. Take your kitties to a friend's house if they are accepting of your kitty, take them to the local pet store. I once took Jack to a local ice cream shop for ice cream; I will admit he made quite an impression on the folks there.

I often see people decry it as abuse when you travel with your cat, I say it is only stressful on the cat when they are not used to it. Make it a positive experience, be loving and full of praise, and you too can have a kitty you can take down to the local ice cream shop.

or that will hide in your inbox

Meet the new kittens

I don't know much about them yet. I brought the new litter home right after being at the shelter for Zilla and Nessie's adoption. I didn't have time to clean the room so I set up the cage and put them in there. There was more room there than the cage they were in at the shelter for a couple of days, so I didn't feel too much guilt about it.  I set the drop cam up so you could see the kittens in the cage (they may or may not be still in the cage when you are reading this, so if you want to check them up, click the kitten cam link at the top of the page).

Mama is a transfer down from a shelter up north, and I don't have much more info except I was told I have three boys and two girls - just like the last litter. I haven't verified that myself yet, so we'll be doing individual intros later.  Mama is skittish, but okay with people. When I opened up the room to the kitten room it squeaked kind of fierce, and she jumped right up from nursing the kittens and hid in the litter box - so I WD40'd the door so it doesn't squeak any more.  Once I was done cleaning I opened up the door and encouraged her out of the cage with some more canned food (I've given her 20 oz of canned food already) and she came out, but once she ate she went under the couch. I think she is going to need some time to realize she is safe. I've got the tv on in there to help adjust to the sounds of humans.

I could not be happier with Zilla and Nessie's adoption. The couple that took them are super sweet and so adorable. They have been watching them on the dropcam so they were so excited to take them home.

Zookie and Sully are up for adoption, and if they are still there by the weekend I will be shocked.

I have not forgotten about the awesome AMA questions you have asked. I have a couple of posts from BlogPaws that I would like to post, and I'm going to try to get to them this weekend.  If you want to join in the AMA (ask me anything) feel free to leave a comment or email me

Packing their bags, with the kittens

Okay kittens, we have a new adventure for your picture day..

YAY! we like new things
(if you look really close you can see her little tattoo next to her spay incision)

and there was much rejoicing

We are going to pack your bags for you to go to your forever homes

so, do we get to pack the good stuff?

Okay, well not the pingpong ball, we are still playing with that

Why did you pack all the good stuff??

Um, what does pack mean?

Cause we not going ANYWHERE!!

Lady, you are weird

so, if there is nothing in here, that means we created havoc.. right?

Havoc achieved..

I originally had families for all five of the kittens. I was a little concerned about one, (oh who am I kidding, I'm always concerned about all of them) and it turned out that adoption fell through, so Sully and Zookie are actually going to the shelter to be adopted. I have no problems with Zookie going back, because he is basically bomb proof, but Sully is a bit shyer, and I worry about him.  I spent some time cuddling him this weekend and he made himself right at home.. *sigh* I so wish I knew where he was going, because I would love to see him grow into those swirls.. but the chances of that happening now are pretty minimal. With a $199 adoption fee, I am not worried where he is going to land, he will be very much wanted and appreciated.. I'll just write up an adoption card today that explains he just needs someone who is aware that he needs someone who respects his need for time to adjust. The Kraken went home on Sunday with the family who adopted Tawny last year. I will be getting updates from time to time on him.. I can't wait to hear how Tawny - now named Lyra - likes her little brother.

If all goes well, I will have new niblets to introduce you to on Wednesday

You plan; kittens laugh

So, the other night I went and took care of the kittens, like I always do.  I did my best to leave the room reset for another day; food, water, clean litter, toys pulled out of corners - like I always do.. and yet something wasn't right.  Can you tell what it is by watching the video?











Ready to guess? did you guess that a kitten escaped with me? Well sadly you are completely correct. There are only four kittens in the first part of this video, and five once the baby gate goes across the door.  Want to watch again and check, go ahead, I won't mind.

I'm still pretty exhausted from all of the travel and all of the socialization, so I'm not shocked by this turn of events, but I am pretty disappointed in myself.  This is the first time since we have started isolating kittens from The Crew that this has happened. Poor Zilla was found 'stuck' on the stairs from the basement to the first floor because she was garnering too much interest from the resident cats and she ended up pooping on the stairs.  Seems my own cats weren't willing to walk past her either as someone peed in the bathroom... at least I am really really hoping that is what happened.

As soon as she was returned to the room, she acted as if nothing happened. She is in good spirits and probably telling good tall tales of her wild adventures among the wilds of The Crew
.
.
.
.
.
I have a few good questions for my AMA (ask me anything) but I'm looking for a few more.. anyone? anyone? Beuller? Beuller?

Nine week old kittens do NOT sit still for photos

This week's photo shoot was not easy.. everyone of them had to jump up on the display and get in the way..  Fun fun fun.. and because the backdrop is just a towel, they felt the need to climb it, and play on it and under it and what not..  I am seriously considering going on Etsy and trying to find a nice backdrop for future photoshoots..

I am thinking of doing an "AMA" post.. AMA standing for "ask me anything"  I have read a few of these types of posts on reddit and I always learn something interesting reading them, regardless of the content. So, if you have a burning question about me, my blog, my cats, my fosters, what I feed, pepsi vs coke,  etc.. feel free to post a comment with the question, or if you want to ask the question privately you can email me, just stick AMA on there somewhere..  I think this could be fun!