Monday, October 31, 2011

Time for


Scary Stories!!

What kind of stories?
 Scary Stories... it is after all Halloween.. 
Scary??
 Yes sweetie.. it is that time of year when people try to scare one another.  Its lots of fun!!
but we are not people
yea, They'll be no scaring here!
OK then.  Guess you guys just aren't ready for Halloween this year.  Maybe next year..

Minerva


yea! Minerva is up on the shelter website.  Hopefully someone will be interested in her right quick.  They put her on the front page too, *fingers crossed*

This is what they wrote for her:

Minerva came to the AWS with her newborn family of three kittens. She did a such wonderful job raising them that when 5 orphans came to the shelter a couple of months later her foster Mom, Connie, offered to put them with her to see if she would care for them.  She did and since then all of her 8 children and step-children have been adopted.  Now it’s Minerva’s turn to find a home.   She has a ton of personality and is very smart!  Believe it or not, Minerva knows the commands: "up", "sit", and “lay down”. She LOVES to play, particularly enjoying flying through the air after bird feathers on a string.  She will throw herself after them with abandon, not much caring where she lands. Minerva is a chatty, loving girl who loves attention, specifically chin rubs and head bumps.  If she had a nickname it would be Queenie because she is convinced that she’s royalty and that the humans she lives with are her loyal subjects.  If you would like to meet Minerva, please call (edit) to set up an appointment for you!

This is what I wrote.  It was edited because they didn't want to highlight her less then desirable traits.  I'm right there with them, but I really believe Minerva needs to come with some warning..

Minerva came to AWS with her newborn family of three kittens. She went into three different foster homes. The first two were a little too loud and busy for her, being a new mom and all, so she went into the third with the forewarning she was high strung. And she was. She was very protective of her kittens, and being a young cat herself, she didn't know the proper way to communicate with humans. She didn't quite
understand why biting and swatting brings about such extreme responses
in the humans. Her third foster home was able to work with her and
tried to teach her a few tricks, hoping that better communication would
help foster a better relationship. Minerva is VERY smart. She learned
"up" "sit" and "down" right away. A few days later she learned "lay
down". Some days she is willing to work and train, but other days she
is not. Minerva also is a talker, to the point it is believed there is
some Siamese in her back ground. Being a Tortoiseshell cat, she has
what is affectionately called "tortitude", Tortoiseshell cats tend to be
strong-willed, a bit hot-tempered, and they can be very possessive of
their human. Other words used to describe torties are fiercely
independent, feisty and unpredictable

Combined with her under socalizaton as a young cat, the hormones running
through a mother cat with kittens, and the fierce intelligence she has,
Minerva needs a special home who understands "tortitude" While she has
never hurt anyone, she does have a tenancy to swipe at and mouth at you
if she is not getting her way.

Minerva is one special kitty. She is quite loving, well she wants you
to love on her, demanding chin rubs and head bumps. She really enjoys
being the queen and ruler of her world. She LOVES to play, particularly
enjoying flying through the air after some bird feathers on a string.
She throws herself after it with abandon, not much caring where she
lands. She did a wonderful job raising her own three kittens, being
very protective of them from the other cats in the house at the time,
but she took on five orphans who came in after their mother was killed.
After taking on the new kittens, Minerva was interested in the cats on
the other side of the door - presumably wondering where the new kitten's
mother was.

She is ready to put motherhood behind her and move into a home who will
accept her as the royalty she believes she is.

Well that's OK, because she won't go into a home with out the people spending some time with her.  Besides, by the time she finds a home she probably will have calmed down even more.  She hasn't "had issue" with me for almost two weeks now.  :)

clothing paralysis


Kitties who have never worn clothes (or a harness for that matter) often have a curious problem of clothing paralysis.  I don't know why they do this, but it is oh so funny to watch.

Now I'm not a fan of this gif as a whole, but if you can focus on just one square at a time, you'll see the phenomenon happen time and time again.

and I dare you not to laugh... or at least chuckle..

Funny Pictures - Halloween Cat Gifs
see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!

Sunday, October 30, 2011

16 hours


so the past few days has been "interesting" to say the least.  We got warning of snow on Friday, and I didn't believe it - OK I didn't want to believe it.  My husband left the house before the sun came up so he didn't see the snow until he was out of the house so he couldn't 'warn' me that it had snowed (I like a soft entry into that kind of news).  I woke up to see this
I'll sadly admit the first thoughts in my brain when I saw this were not nice ones.  I should be thankful that I have a warm home to sleep in, a soft bed full of kitties and a kitchen full of food (among other things) and as soon as the evil thoughts were thought, I reminded myself to not focus on them. 

Then the weather man then told us of a storm a coming.  A big storm.  SnowTober according to twitter.  A snowstorm to remind me that what we got on Friday was nothing!! All the forecasts said thick heavy wet snow.  The kind that is great for snowballs but stinks for power lines and trees not yet in hibernation and full of leaves that have yet to fall.  I knew we would loose power.  My husband and I had a discussion about generators.  We have one but the last time we tried to use it there were problems.  He thought it wouldn't be a big deal to fix it (bad gas he said) and so we left the generator we saw at the salvage store we like to shop at and went home (with our brand new bigger salvage freezer)  It had started snowing by the time we left the store.  We got home and decided to go to the movies.  I wanted to see Puss in Boots, but wasn't sure I wanted to see it in prime time (was thinking about going to a late show) but since the snow was already flying I figured people would keep their kids home (most did, many did not)

Cute flick.  A little predictable.  I enjoyed it.  I enjoyed the many references to real cats more then the actual story though.

Got home, went to bed, at around 11pm we lost power.  I did what I could to mitigate it, by turning the heat up (it is programed to cool down at night) but despite that at 2am I was COVERED in cats.  All seven made it into the bed and were cuddling for warmth.  I doubt it was any colder then it normally is in the house at about that time, but I think the storm and the snow made them all in a snuggly mood.  I just wish they weren't all in the mood to snuggle with my nose!!!  I would end up with whiskers up my nose, and I would push that kitty away and ended up with different whiskers up my nose.  Finally I decreeded that it was 2AM and this was silly and pushed them all away, and they settled down until about 6AM which was breakfast time.  DH got up and fed them and I got a few more hours of sleep and less obnoxious snuggling.  When I got up, I saw this

At around 10 we finally decided that the power wasn't coming back on and I was getting hungry.  There wasn't anything in the house I could eat that didn't require power so I gave DH one of two choices, get up and get the generator going or take me out shopping.  He chose shopping (it was a close call) We went to WallyWorld and I got a yogurt (I am still amazed there are no full fat flavored individual yogurts for sale in my community) and a few other things we didn't know we needed till we saw them.  I decided to pick up a few flashlights too.  Even though we have plenty, we can never put our hands on one.  I figured a few more would help that.

We then went to Staples.  I needed to turn in some ink cartridges for work, and I had a 15% off coupon, so I wanted to look around.  I have been wanting a DSLR camera for quite some time.  I do not know enough about them to have made a decision on what to get other then I thought it would be cool to have an EOS because I own a VW EOS car.  When I walked through their camera section, they had an EOS rebel on sale for $400.  It was $150 off, so I thought what the heck.  I asked after it and was told it was the floor model only.  I didn't much like that idea because I do know if you get dirt inside the camera it needs repair work, so I said no, but after thinking a few more minutes I thought what the heck, I could return it if need be.  Well turns out someone had stolen the lens for it, so I could either get a floor model camera with out a lens for an even better deal (but then have to buy a lens and then return both if the camera didn't work) or buy the Nikon that was comprable for $250.  I went with the Nikon.  When he went to ring it up, it was even less at $200!!  yahooie. 

So now I'm the proud owner of my first DSLR..

Got home, still no power, no generator.. driveway still covered with snow.  DH went to snowblow the driveway, and before he was done we had power back.  16 hours with out power.  We are seriously considering upgrading the generator at this point.  We can fix the smaller one we have now that is a few years old, but it will probably cost us more then we would like to spend to have a smaller generator that is a few years old.  We can replace it, upgrade, or look into a permanently wired generator.  which is overkill for how few times we lose power, but so close to not having power for as long as we did, right now we are both willing to throw that kind of money at never having to deal with that again.

Now, on to a few things that amused me since getting my power back.  I saw this photo on my camera and felt it seemed appropriate for Halloween.  I just love how Fleurp is turned so dramatically, but looks like she is not in the reflection.  Looks to me like she is looking at her evil twin.



and I saw Sparkle made a video that amused me.  I wish Sparkle's videographer could come up here and make a video of The Crew..


Saturday, October 29, 2011

National Cat Day


So, how come no one told me it was National Cat Day??

I better hurry up and grovel and beg my kitties forgiveness for not making a bigger deal out of it.

Or maybe I'll just pretend that tomorrow is the 29th.. they won't know the difference..

Just so you know, there are a slew of kitty themed National Days.. (list copied from http://www.gone-ta-pott.com/ )

Cat Holidays To Remember:
  • Happy Mew Year for Cats Day: January 2 - (wellcat.com)
  • National Answer Your Cat's Question Day: January 22 - (wellcat.com)
  • National Cat Health Month: Celebrated in February - Let February be a reminder to you to make that vet appointment and have your pet checked out.  And since February is also National Pet Dental Health Month, have the vet check out your pets teeth too.
  • Hairball Awareness Day: Aril 28 – (ScienceDiet.com)
  • National Hug Your Cat Day:        some sites tell us the date of this holiday is May 30th and is celebrated all over the world! Some sites say it's May 19? We are encouraged to hug our cats on this day! Go ahead, it's good for you and your cat!
  • Adopt-a-Shelter-Cat Month: June (the ASPCA)
  • Rat Catcher's Day: Celebrated July 22 -
  • National Feral Cat Day: October 16 and All Year Round - official website allycat
  • Cat Herdings Day / Celebrated December 15- Ok this is going to be a brain full - The phrase herding cats comes from the common saying that something involving coordination of many different groups or people is as difficult as herding cats.  Visit the blog The Joy of Cat Herding and get expert advice for solving cat behavior problems.
______________________________________________________________________

Other Important Holidays
  • February – Pet Dental Health Month (PetDental.com)
  • April – National Pet First Aid Awareness Month (PetTech.com) and
  • April - Prevention of Animal Cruelty Month (ASPCA)
  • First week of May – Be Kind to Animals Week (the American Humane Society)
August 19 – International Homeless Animals Day (the International Society for Animal Rights)



Cat herding day is apparently next.  I'm going to have to get my cat herding skills in shape for that one.. 

A gift from Fleurp


I was cleaning up the house and emptied a few baskets I was using to store things in.  I put them down in the hall to return them to where empty baskets stay, and a few minutes later I saw this
Thanks sweetie..
You're welcome momma..
a few hours later the mouse was back out of the basket and was once again fodder for Fleurp

Mayhem


Friday, October 28, 2011

Made me smile


I was patting Minerva this afternoon, and she actually purred. 

She always loves having her neck (under her ears) scratched, and she does show it, but up till now she really hasn't purred outside of nursing. 

IMMD

Amelia


Well it looks like Amelia is going to be a very big kitty when she grows up. She's already very stocky, and she's got some honkin paws..
But she's still friggen cute.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

It has arrived


Remember way back when Romeo the Cat ran a contest for free Royal Canin Food in conjunction with PetCo?  And remember when I won?  It was oh so exciting!!

I wrote to Romeo and asked if he or his staff could connect me with Royal Canin to purchase the other half of the pallet, because I like to make a canned food donation in the fall (when donations fall off, but all those late summer kitties are still around and food is scarce)  Romeo's staff wrote and when Royal Canin heard that I wanted to purchase it they oh so generously donated the half of pallet I didn't win..

Well with the summer vacations and the emailing back and forth and scheduling things, the food didn't show up for a bit of time, but it SHOWED UP TODAY!!  yea!!  (yet I know Minerva won't eat it, so I don't know why I'm doing the happy dance.. oh wait.. the other kittens in foster care and at the shelter will!!)
Is it wrong of me to be a little happy I don't have to unload it??
Except they have told me they want me to come down and get my picture taken with it all.. I hate having my photo taken.. *pout*

Wordless Wednesday


Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Toesday with Rose


I love it when smudges of color show up on pink paws (and noses).  Rose is getting smudged feet

Monday, October 24, 2011

Breakfast Time


nom nom nom nom nom
Purr, purr, purr (do you see all five kittens?)
Thanks Mom
You're welcome, but I'm not your mom
I have been putting off doing a write up for Minerva because I'm not quite sure how to explain her Tobitude.. Anyone want to help??

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Friday, October 21, 2011

Floppy Ear Friday


OK, so their ears really aren't floppy, but I like those types of titles, so just go with it...

Remember back on the 6th I mentioned that Rose and Rory had little gremlin ears?
I was very curious what would happen over time.. well lookie
If you click on it and see the bigger picture, you can see they still have slightly curved ear tips.  It is not as pronounced as it used to be, but it is still there.  I still think it is freakingly adorable... and apparently Minerva thinks it is just too cute for the InterWebs..

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Miles and Treads were Gonzo and Peanut


Back in 2003 I fostered a mom, Charlie,  who gave birth at my hosue.  She had five kittens, and one of them was painfully small.  He was less then two ounces when he was born.  I called him Peanut.  His siblings were the first set I picked a group name and oddly enough the names all worked for their personalities.  They were Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo and Fozzie.

Peanut
I fell hard and fast for my little Peanut, as you can well imagine.  He is he center of my favorite kitten picture.  At the time I could not adopt him and he went up for adoption with his siblings.  A very nice couple came in and were originally thinking of adopting an older kitty, but in the end went with my Peanut and Gonzo.    I begged her to keep in touch with me and let me know how he was doing. 

She did for several years.She had changed their names to Miles (for Gonzo) and Treads ( for Peanut, because he has a few extra toes) but we lost touch. I often wonder after them and how they are doing. 

Well a few minutes ago she commented on an old post and wanted to let me know that Miles and Treads are doing well.  IMMD.

Donations


I had been going to the shelter for supplies for a few weeks and they were out of scoopable litter.  I have a plethora of litter at our home because I buy a lot of it when it goes on sale, but I knew the shelter really could use some, so when Big Lots gave out a 20% off coupon I decided to buy about $100 worth of litter for a donation.

I went down and only saw a few cases on the shelf, so I asked management if they had any more.  After the ineveitable questions as to why, they said they had recently done a donation drive for animal supplies for another shelter but since they hadn't picked it up in months, would I like to bring it down.

Well I'm never one to turn down a donation for the shelter.  I know that they also supply a local food pantry with pet food with supplies they have in excess, so even if the shelter couldn't use it, it would go to use.

So this is what $100 (almost 500lbs)  of litter looks like after I sweet talked the staff :)
I did route around in the boxes.  There was some canned food, some bags of dry and bags of litter, and a few boxes of toys.  I snagged a few of the toys for the fosters and they are already well loved.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

When a negative is a good thing.


Brought the kittens in to the shelter to be tested for FeLV/FIV.  They only tested one, and I had them test Donna since she is such a contrary one.  She's... well lets just say she's a little different.. and I was a little concerned, but she came up negative. 

yea!

It is always a risk when you take in orphaned kittens, and fortunately this time it came out OK.

as a reward I gave them some raw food.  Rory and Donna (big surprise) weren't all that interested.  Since they hadn't gotten breakfast I was hoping they would all dig right in.  None of them were excessively thrilled over it, which is surprising. Often when I give them raw food for the first time kittens get all growly and possessive.   Maybe I waited too long, and their pallet is closing down..  *shrug*  it was pretty obvious that I waited too long to take them out of the house.  they were all quite freaked out being in the car.  I'm going to have to take them out again soon.

So now I can relax a little and just concentrate on getting some weight on them.  They are a pound and a half at this point, so I'm thinking two more weeks.  Minerva is going to be posted on the shelter's website in hopes of getting her a home sooner rather then later.  I am assuming she won't do as well in the shelter environment because of how she reacts when she doesn't get her own way.  Fingers crossed that someone is out there just waiting for her tortitude self to show up.

No one ever told the bumblebee


Have you ever heard the little moral tale about how it is actual impossible for the bumblebee to fly according to physics, but since no one told the bumblebee that, it goes ahead and does it anyway?  It is a cute little story even if it isn't 100% true.

So in the 10 years I have been fostering, I have NEVER had a kitten who rejected wet food and would eat only dry.  Kittens innately gravitate towards the higher animal protein in canned food.  As you have seen in this blog very recently kittens tend to use dry food as litter and I have to teach them that it is actually food (unless I have a mother cat who eats it, then she teaches them)

Well Donna is the bumblebee of my life.  When they were in the weaning stage I would offer all of the kittens wet food, and one by one the light bulb went off over their heads and they LOVED wet food.  Not Donna. I figured she was just taking her time weaning.. well in the past few days I've come to realize she has weaned.. just on to dry,
nom nom nom
I tried offering her wet food, she spit it out.  *rolls eyes*  Apparently no one told Donna she is an obligate carnivore..

So I've taken up the dry for the night.  Donna won't starve, she still nurses off of Minerva.  I'm hoping she'll take to wet food, but if not, she'll just be a dry food kitty.  I know many kitties do just fine on dry food but I would just like her to have the option of eating canned in case she is one of those kitties, like Jack, who do medically better on canned.  But if not, I'll just start calling her Bumble..
You say that like it is a bad thing ~Donna
 I just love little Rose sitting in the background..

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Messy Messy Kitten


Micky likes to get into his food... Good thing he doesn't mind getting his face washed.

OMC - WANT!!


I am in awe over the wonderful work Matthew Ross does.  His georgeous paper 3D paper sculptures are amazing.  Oh how I would love this one..
But his basic kitties start at $150.. .so that really isn't with in my budget of fun cool items to sit around the house and be chewed on by The Crew.  The prints are much more reasonable, but I would so love the real thing..   *sigh*

Speaking of something else I want..
How cute is this?? it is made by Bubbledog

But this one tops them all.. I really should just buy it and remove it from my wish list seeing as it has languished there for over a year..
There are some wonderful cats and dogs (among other things) at http://www.uniquegiftart.com

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Haunted walk at the shelter


I ended up going to the shelter last night to help out with the haunted walk through the woods they put on.  It was the third year they were able to do this particular fundraiser.  I wasn't sure I was going to be able to show up, so didn't sign up to be anything in particular but was able to help out at the coffee/cocoa stand for a few hours.

There was a wonderful turn out.  It was a warmer night but there was a bit of wind so the cocoa was a big hit. 

The shelter has a bunch of woods around it, and they were able to set up a 10 minute walk with several vignettes for a good fright.  The tour guides wore glow sticks if there were kids in the group and they wanted to keep it tame.  Still they had quite a few groups ditch before the end.  One woman walked out and said it was so scary she peed her pants :) I said they should put that on the poster for next year :)


They had a young man who twirled a fire stick which was quite a hit.  donated goodies to sell and a witch at the end giving out candy.


A good time was had by all, and I believe they raised almost $1000 (before incidentals) 


all and all, a good night

National Feral Cat Day


So today is National Feral Cat day... well OK someone (well Ally Cat Allies) decided today to bring attention to the nation's feral cats.. It's not an official holiday, but it is a good idea..

One thing about the word feral bugs me... and that is the ubiquitous use of that word for ANY cat that doesn't have a home.. or should I be a little more accurate in that any cat that once lived outside for any length of time..

The official definition of feral is "of or characteristic of wild animals; ferocious; brutal."  Or not domesticated.  

A feral cat is a cat that is not friendly.  A cat that would rather take your arm off then take a treat from it.  A kitty who would much prefer it if you would not interact with them.



There are stray cats, domesticated cats who are living outside, that are not feral.  These kitties can live in homes.  Ferals often can not - I know of a few that are in homes, but it took a lot of work to win every ounce of trust and even still they are wary.  They are not your typical house pet and it takes a very special owner to even try to work with it. Sometimes feral cats are domesticated, at which point they are no longer feral - which is easier to do when they are younger.  As a general rule feral cats are NOT cats you can pat, they are not cats that have been your pet for years (save for the rare exception), and  feral cats are also NOT cats that have been living in your home for months or years that you no longer want so you bring it to the shelter and say it is feral. 


But they are living feeling beings who deserve to live long healthy lives.  It really hurts when I hear of communities that want to just kill them and  hope that ends the problem (often it does not, other cats move in when the first set is removed) 


There is no absolute when it comes to the best way to deal with feral cats.  TNR does help control the population and keeps kittens from dying due to lack of food.  Feeding can help keep them healthier.. 


But until we get the over population under control and cats are no longer considered disposable pets, there isn't a whole heck of a lot we can do to prevent the continuation of feral cats.  Wouldn't it be nice if even your most commonly bred cat had a monetary value to the world?
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