Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Why I do what I do



I seriously dare you to think about this picture for more than a second and not get leaky eyed..


Kitten watch 2013


So "Ginger" is still not birthing those babies.  She does love it when I pat her belly, and I think I might feel a flutter.. if so we are going to be doing this for a while - and OMG I bet she is going to have a huge litter because she's already quite large belly wise.

She is doing better in her fear / trust issues.  The first few times I went in it took forever for her to come out and she had to see my face first.  Last night she came out pretty much on her own.  She mewed at me first, and I called to her and she came out.

She really likes sitting on the couch, so I decided to put a tarp on the couch under the covering so if she does happen to give birth on the couch it won't ruin it.  I tried to re-introduce her to the box I bought in hopes that it would be used as a birthing box, but she still doesn't like it.  Maybe she just wants to avoid it until it is time to keep the smell of her to a minimum.. (if her scent builds up it is like a calling card to predators.. it is also why they eat their placenta and the waste of the kittens)

Looking at her I noticed she looks a bit like a Sphynx.  Since I know some times Sphynx kitties have hair.. since it was a genetic mutation that took it way, I'm guessing a genetic mutation might put it back?  I don't know, I'm sure someone much more versed in these things can tell me I'm way off course..

from http://hairlesscatblog.com/cute-mexican-hairless-cats
OK fine, I have crappy photos of her,
but she does have that Bull Terrier look about her

Seriously, tell me you can't see the resemblance.. check out this photo of a Sphynx with hair.. it's at a stock image agency.  Oddly enough finding another photo was near impossible.. (OK fine, it was impossible because I don't want to look beyond the first page of google results) I have to say I REALLY hope there aren't hairless kittens growing in there.  I know people think they are really cute, but I have absolutely NO idea what to do with them.. I suppose I can learn..




Monday, July 29, 2013

New additions to the Foster Room


So at BlogPaws Bernadette drew a photo of Odilia and raised some funds for the shelter.  Bernadette provided me with a copy of the image and I had it printed on canvas.  I ran across a buy one get one free sale so I had two made and Amy Jo bought one and here hangs the other..



I also hung the painting I won at the shelter's kitten shower as well.  I think they look really nice there..

Speaking of things in the kitten room, I couldn't really face seeing Trevor in there with out Odi, and since he and The Spitters were of size...


and so I brought them back to the shelter.. They will be neutered and will go up for adoption if they haven't already.  Good lucky sweet kitties..

and since this is a post about new additions..

Um.. hello?

what?

Yup, it is official, we are on Kitten Watch..  Kitten Watch 2013 officially started on Friday when I met her.. but didn't move to the house until Saturday. Her paperwork says she is a year and a half.  She was an owner surrender not a stray and the profile they filled out said she came from "Tulum Mexico". She must have one interesting story.. She was surrendered because she didn't get along with the dog. She also shows signs that this is not her first litter since ALL of her nipples are distended and some of them show signs of having been nursed on before. She also has a scab on the back of her head and one behind her whiskers on the side of her mouth, so I'm guessing that the 'not getting along' got violent at some point.


Her given name is Ginger which fits as she is ginger colored under her stripes, but I don't think I'm going to keep it.  We'll see what happens.

I am guessing her story was that someone was vacationing in Mexico and saw a pregnant kitty and wanted to rescue her and brought her home but once they got here it didn't work out with the dog.  I can't imagine they had her any length of time.. but who knows.  Maybe they took home a kitten and then got a dog?  or maybe they brought home a kitten and she only got aggressive with the dog when she got pregnant.. but that doesn't explain the first pregnancy.. *shrug*  suppose it don't rightly matter.  She is here now..

She is thin, but I think she's just willowy. She hides until she sees me and then after a bit of conversation she will come out and eat and then very very much wants attention. She likes sitting on the couch and having her belly rubbed.  She let me trim her claws.  There are times I can't tell if she is playing or if I ticked her off, but as soon as I stop moving she stops trying to bite or rabbit kick me so she has very good manners..

If she is a first time mom and has fewer kittens I suspect we will have kittens by the end of the week. If she has already had a litter and has more kittens we could be looking at several weeks.  I'm hoping for the former and not the latter.

Anyone want to take bets?


Sunday, July 28, 2013

Saying goodbye to the Kitten No One Wanted..


I am so struck by what the shelter said to me when they first asked me if I might want to foster Odilia.. 'Do you want her, she has no eyes, no one wants her'

How could I possibly refuse?


She came to me in April, the 23rd to be exact.. small, but robust, friendly and outgoing. She was the size of a three week old kitten but had the teeth of a five week old one. So who knows how old she really is. Talking with Amy Jo we thought that April 1st would be a wonderful day to celebrate her birth.

Amy showed up on Thursday and came to visit.  She couldn't take Odilia because they were staying in a non-pet friendly hotel - like I minded in the least. (oddly enough they ended up staying in a room called Ophelia)

Friday we went and did her adoption.


Amazingly enough while we were there two other kitties went home as well.  For a Friday morning that is impressive..  One of which I got photos of last week and you'll see him in the next installment of "Shooting at the Shelter"

Amy and I then spent some time together, shopping for goodies for Odilia and showing her the sites, including Lenny the Chocolate Moose..  I dropped her off at her hotel and she and Ray went to dinner and I went home for some last cuddles.  I was very fortunate that Odilia was in a cuddly mood.  We had a good long snuggle.. she played with the random tear that fell down my cheek.  Generally I prefer my fosters to be all playful and not snuggly in those last days, it tells me they are ready to go... but I was happy for the time. Odi has been with me far longer than most kittens - and it has been a while since I have had long term kittens. Generally they leave at 10 - 12 weeks of age and they rarely stay that long unless they were born here and when that happens they don't have personalities for the first few weeks.. and I haven't had a kitten born here in a while.

Saturday they came to pick her up to drive the 9+ hours home. They set her up in a kennel for the ride and the photo she shared with me showed that once again she drove beautifully..



And yes, I sobbed after she left. I felt silly because it was exactly what I wanted. I could not have been happier - well no, that's not true.. If Amy Jo decided to move and live across the street I could be happier.. but barring my own personal brand of crazy I couldn't be happier with where she ended up.  Amy has invited me to visit, and I don't doubt I will do that one day.  Until that day I always have this brand of crazy to keep me company

Come on Momma, lets get some chocolate cream pie and snuggle...
I'm hoping to get Amy Jo to do a guest post and share some of her photos of the trip home.. but I imagine she's a little stressed over the whole situation so I'm not sure when it will be.  I can tell you she is doing amazingly well.  There has been a bit of adjustment on her end with older siblings, but they are patient with her and I am sure in time it will be like she has always been there..

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Today is the Day


Can you believe it is here already??

Today is the day that Odilia's new mom is going to arrive in the state and meet up with our girl.  She and her fiance are staying in a hotel that is not pet friendly, so I won't officially be letting go of her until Saturday, but I am sure that is going to be here before I can blink.

Yes, I am sad.. Odilia is special... but keeping The Crew happy is my main priority, and so this how it needs to be, and while it is bittersweet, it is all good.

Amy Jo is on Facebook, and she has already created a Facebook page for our Odilia, and she has promised us all oodles of updates..

To try to make this transition a little easier on Odilia, I asked Amy Jo to send something up that smelled like her.  She sent up her BlogPaws T-Shirt from 2010 (which made me laugh since Odilia's trip to BlogPaws got her her home)

Hey Odilia, come here, I have something for you.. 

Something for me??

What can it be?

Let me get down from here and get over there.. 

What's this??

Now this smells interesting


Now this is going to be an adventure..  

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Close encounters of the Turtle kind..


As much as I love kitties, my spirit animal is the turtle..

Over the years I have had random encounters with turtles... starting from one evening I was out playing in the rain much to my parents dismay.  When they heard a far away crack of thunder they called me inside and when I turned to come in there was a great big huge snapping turtle between me and the house.  I wanted to investigate but my parents wouldn't let me.

I saw that (at least I'm assuming it is the same one) once more before I left home.. he was a huge impressive beast..

Then randomly through out my life I would occasionally spot a turtle on the side of the road, or trying to cross it.  I would do my best to help them out.

A couple of years after we moved into the house I live in, I saw a very small snapping turtle by my mail box. It was so odd for him to be there.  I had just driven into the garage a few minutes before, ran in the house for something and left and poof, there he was.  I got oodles of photos of him before he got snappy and left.  He was maybe the size of my palm if not smaller, and he so impressed me.

Today I ran home after leaving for work.  I had brought Odilia with me to get her rabies vaccine, and after she got it I ran her home.  I fed her breakfast, scooped the box, got a little something to eat and off I went. As I was driving out my little four house street, I saw something on the side of the road that I did not remember being there when I drove in.  I slowed down and saw this..


He pulled into his shell and so hoped I would just go away.. but I couldn't leave him on the road.. no matter how slow our street is, cars still drive on it.. so I got a little closer to see if I could encourage him to move along


All it did was cause him to pull into his shell further.  I KNEW it would, but I wanted an excuse to look at him closer.  I had grabbed a plum and by this point had eaten most of it, but there were still some juicy bits left so I offered it to him.. nope, no go.  I was just too frightening. Suppose I can't blame him there.



He (or she, I have no way to know) had some wet muck on his side, so I assumed he was just in the culvert to the fire pond.  I still can't fathom why he would be up on the road, but as the experts say, when helping a turtle cross the road, move him in the direction he is facing  So I picked him up (man he was HEAVY for his size) and put him on the far side of the culvert and put the plum off to his side.   Who knows.. maybe I helped him, or maybe I just irritated him for interrupting his race with the hare..


Wordless Wednesday



Tuesday, July 23, 2013

More goodies for The Crew


Shortly after our last review for Chewy.com I was contacted again and offered another product.  One of those options was once again the Orijen treats.  Which I got free for an honest review.

Last time I chose the duck.  This time I chose the wild boar.


I would love to share photos with you, but well lets just say The Crew was so thrilled by this that they were quite beside themselves.  I couldn't help myself.. Frankly anyone would have a hard time saying no to the seven of them when they are doing their happy dance, and they need their nails trimmed.. and Fleurp is on the counter reaching out with her paw and putting it gently but insistently on your wrist to pull your hand to her..

I can tell you they were VERY thankful, and they loved it a lot.  I can also tell you they were also quite happy with the way Chewy.com packs their products.  I believe I said it before - if they would just sell the paper as a cat toy they'd be rich.


More Please


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