Donna

I just got a comment from Donna's new owners. 

on November 21, 2011 I adopted Donna. She is doing really good and getting really big! She love's her daddy! I thought you would like to know how she was doing.
-Jamie&Paul 

This made me smile.  Donna was the least outgoing of the group, and it warms my heart to hear she has bonded so well with one of her new owners.  Not that I didn't imagine she would.  Just as we know the sun will come out after a rain, it is always nice to see it.

I'm assuming Jamie stopped by and posted this.  Thank you Jamie, feel free to send me photos - I've posted my email  on the side bar.

must.. buy... wrestling.. ring...

I forgot to mention I went and visited Minerva again and they have her out on the adoption floor :) She seems to be doing much better now that the kittens are gone. Donna and Rory are still up for adoption. There were a couple of other kittens with them. Donna seems to have caught on to the game of getting adopted and was up and at the front of the cage purring when I went to it. I am well pleased.

yea!!!

In case you missed it in the comments yesterday I heard from one of the adopters of the last kittens.

We just wanted you to know that we adopted Amelia and Mickey. They are now Millie and Mikey and seem to be very happy with their new names (no clue). They will split their time between Massachusetts and Kennebunk with us. We have had cats for 40 straight years so we are professionals! It is just the two of us with our daughter in and out (another cat lover with her own). We really appreciated your info cards for the adoptees, they were factual and helped us when we chose them. We would have taken them all if we were courageous enough. If history is the measure, Millie and Mikey are headed for a long 15-20 year run with two "parents" who really know how to pay attention to them. Thanks for being a foster mom, it is a great thing that you do.

Yea!!  I love it when kittens go home in pairs.. :) I'm sure Mickey and Millie (I do quite like that adaptation of her full name original name of "Amelia")   Thank you Steve and Carol for stopping by and giving me (and the rest of the blogosphere) an update on them.  Feel free to send pictures ;)

The last of the kitten picts

for this batch of kittens anyway

that's all folks!!!

Wordless Wednesday - Floor iz lava

quick trip to the shelter

I just ran out to see Minerva and I was so surprised at how well she is doing.  I didn't talk to anyone who had dealt with her this weekend, but there was no notice of warning on her cage, she seemed happy (and covered in catnip) and was more then happy to get some attention.

She was a little bothered by the kitten under her who wanted my attention, but on the whole I am so impressed.  I was so sure she was not going to adjust well being back in the bustle of the shelter.  She is one impressive kitty.

Amy and Mickey (surprise surprise) were adopted and went home.  Rose was adopted and will go home later this week leaving Rory and Donna... again, no surprises there.  Who ever gets Donna is going to be so happy with her, but she just does not show well at all.  There was one other kitten up for adoption so I doubt they'll be there through this weekend.  I'm glad they should all have a home for the holiday.

No kittens at the shelter waiting for a foster home.  So odd.  Maybe we are making a difference with the Spay Neuter programs out there..

Kitten picts

Donna liked sleeping in this basket

Rose  - hanging out in the laundry basket

Mickey making weight

I see you there taking photos.. stop that

Off they go

I did write ups for them yesterday and this morning I gave the shelter a call (since when I emailed and said they were ready to go they said bring them any day just call) and the woman who answered checked and I was told it was OK to bring them down.

I had to drive through some construction and had to wait and wait (thus making me late for a very important date - oh ok fine, I was late to work) and when I got there it took a few minutes to find someone who knew what was going on and take the kittens.

Turns out the clinic isn't going to neuter them today.  I can't tell you how irritated I was to hear that.  I get up early, I call (I HATE calling people - it is my own little phobia) and I drive all that way listening to the kittens complain about no breakfast no cuddles and being in a box and being driven, and I'm going to have to bring them home and do it all over again later?!?!?!  

well all that flashed in my head before the woman could tell me that they would put them up for adoption intact and neuter them either as they got adopted or when there was time in the clinic.

I must remember not to jump to conclusions :)

Although I am still a little irritated that things didn't go as they should "according to the rule of Connie" but I know full well that I'm currently in a lesson stage in my life of that I can not, nor should I, micromanage the world.  Things will happen as they will, and often there is a very good reason for it, even if I can't figure out for the life of me what that is.

So.

In the end all is good.  The kittens are at the shelter, and whomever adopts them is going to really really want them because they are going to have to wait to bring them home until they are neutered.

I brought Minerva too.  Apparently she used to have the name "Patches".  I am praying she adjusts to life in the shelter and with other kitties so that she has a much better chance of finding that special someone to take her home.  I talked to my husband about my decision last night.  I am not willing to foster her indefinitely.  Don't get me wrong, she is a great cat - smart, sassy, opinionated, strong willed - and I feel blessed for having gained her trust and her .. love?? adoration??  her willingness to accept attention from me.. yea that's it. 

well anyway.. the discussion went something like:  ME -  I am going to bring Minerva back and see how she does, and if she doesn't adjust well to shelter life I'm going to bring her back here for a few weeks and give her a chance to be seen on the website, but by Christmas she'll have to go back and decisions will have to be made.  HIM - decisions?  ME: yes, I can't keep her indefinitely and if she doesn't find a home then they will have to decide what to do with her next. HIM - oh  ME - yup.

It isn't fair or even nice to think about.  But it is reality.  I am hoping and praying she does well and that right person comes along right quick.  Hey, our little shelter in our little rural community adopted out 217 cats and kittens last month.. (not to mention the 55 dogs and 24 small animals)  I can't help but be horribly impressed and hopeful that the right home is out there for her.

Rose and Mickey

a word on wordless wednesday

I am a little surprised that no one commented on the NAME of the food that Rose was hanging out on.  I came across it in the store the other day (prior to the donation coming to the shelter) and I laughed so hard I had to buy a can for my "Intense Beauty" Miss Muffin.

Well Amy is doing better.  She still wasn't keeping weight on like I would have liked and was feeling kinda boney and I realized they hadn't been dewormed.  A day after deworming, she started putting on weight and stopped feeling quite so skinny.

I'll be doing write ups for them today and bringing them back on Friday.  I'm sending Minerva back as well.  But she is welcome to come back and to sit at the house and wait for a home if she isn't comfortable at the shelter.

More Amy

I'm so cute and innocent

Well, I'm cute..

Wordless Wednesday

making weight

Donna has always been the smallest of the kittens, so on "making weight watch" I would really only weigh her.  Occasionally I would weigh Rose, but she was always larger.

Well yesterday Donna made weight.  I was thinking they would be going in to be neutered by the week's end, but as I sat and played with them, I realized Amy felt like she had lost weight.

She was over two pounds, but barely and after having eaten dinner.  This morning she was 1lb 14 oz.  I am concerned, because she has always been the most robust (think round) kitten.  I'm not sure if it is because she is about to experience a growth spurt or what.  But I've held off on committing to bringing them in at this point until I have some evidence that Amy is having problems or is not having problems.

Minerva is not happy about that.  She wants them to move on.  But then she's wanted that for weeks now :)

I am considering bringing her back with the kittens and seeing how she does in the shelter environment.  I won't take kittens for a few days (if they even have any.. but they usually do right up till Christmas) in case she freaks out and needs to come back.  I've still got my fingers crossed that someone will see her on the website and cry out that she is just the cat they have been looking for.  Some people really like attitude in their cats.

Speaking of Donna.. I have to admit something.

I was joking with my husband about how Donna is such an odd duck in her food choices.  He joked that he bet she would like Iams.  I laughed so hard and agreed.  I have NEVER gotten kittens to eat Iams food well.  Both the dry and the canned are often consumed so they do not starve, but a majority of the food is left to dry out and needs to be tossed.  Ten years I've been fostering.  I've NEVER had a set of kittens like Iams.  Never had a mother cat eat it well either.  Well the last time I was getting food I saw a few cans and for a joke brought them home.  I forgot about it until last night while feeding.  Yes, Donna LOVED it.  Growled over it.  Swatted at her brothers and sisters to keep them from getting it.  Both the regular and the kitten..

Some days I really wish I knew what kittens really thought.

Fun with Boxes, part two

This is when they learned they could use the flap as a slide

Fun with Boxes, part one

*sigh*

i so bored

What was that?

let me out!!

Did he seriously just come here to make faces at me??

I'm actually cautiously optimistic about Minerva. She has been annoyed with me, but she hasn't physically told me off in, what,  almost three weeks now.  She purrs, she doesn't mind it when I move her, and I feel comfortable picking her up.  I'm still cautious around her - I'd be silly not to - but I can almost hear her say "oh that was so yesterday"

I can't help but wonder how she would do with other cats.  She was aggressive to my crew when she had her own kittens, but seems highly interested in them now that she's dealing with someone else's kittens.   I guess we will cross that bridge when we come to it. 

Also, a side note, my little bumblebee found a wet food she found worth eating.  And not only was it worth eating, it was worth growling at her siblings to keep them from eating it!!  I went from shocked to laughing watching her smack Amy away from her food.

Donna the Brave

Donna.. my little bumblebee.. She still prefers dry food.. She did try the new Royal Canin food I brought home, and ate some of it, but on the whole she's OK with being different.

She's also very.. standoffish? introverted? OK with being alone?... well lets just say she does not embody the typical kitten spirit of everyone loves me and it is my job to let them.  At first I thought it was because she was fearful.  I brought her and Rose (Rose is also a bit introverted but not nearly as dramatically as Donna) to work for a little field trip.  I have found that getting the kittens out of their comfort zones then returning them really helps bolster their courage and makes them more ready to accept change in the future.  They hid the entire time they were here except for a few cuddles from the co-workers (sad but not really that concerning, it is the return to the comfort zone that cements their courage).  Unfortunately the trip out had no effect on her desire to be alone. (or alone with Rose.. )

She never liked it when I would pick her up and cuddle her or pat her. She enjoys playing with the other kitties, and with me if I have the feather toy out, but she is mostly content to play by herself. (or Rose) 

She really does embody all of those stereotypical cats that you hear from people who don't really know cats.

Well I am determined to at least get her to accept attention.  So I've been working on getting her to come to me willingly (OK fine, I trick her with a toy) and have been trying to hold her and give her love when ever I am able to get my hands on her with out freaking her out (not as often as you would think)

Finally I remembered (and yes I feel a bit like a dunce for not remembering this sooner) that leaving the TV on often helps feral kittens get used to humans.  The constant drone of human voices does seem to acclimate them to humans.  So I turned the TV on to home shopping and left it there for two days.

Donna then came up to me and licked my toe.  It totally MMD.. (in case you don't know IMMD it was a part of the icanhascheezburger.com network.  They have recently stopped posting little moments of win on "it made my day")

She skittered off when I bent down to pat her, but a toe lick is huge.  (of course then Micky threw his whole body on my foot saying he'd be happy to take Donna's patting if it was just going to go to waste)

So who's nose was it?

Yup, it was our sweet Amy, nose debris and all. I can't believe I took a picture of her all covered in food

I'm saving it for later!!

yes honey, that's sweet and all but not all that cute.

How about this?

or this...

Yes, you can be very cute.  Good thing too, cause you are a bit of a wild child at this stage of your life.