A little trick for a big treat - visiting former foster kittens

On Halloween, I like to go in town and people watch. I live near a town that really does Halloween and they shut down the street so the kids can safely run back and forth.

Last year two of my foster kittens moved into a home in the general area, so my husband and I took the opportunity to go knock on their door and say hello.

Nancy and Trixie's mom is so gracious and happily invited us in to see the girls. This was them when they first showed up here on February 2nd and I named them Wryn and Sprite and their mom was Lemonade

When I stopped by and called out Trick or Treat, there was a lot of chaos going on and the kitties weren't quite sure they wanted to visit. Nancy (formerly Wryn) was willing to say hello but she was ready to leave if things escalated. Trixie (formerly Sprite) was not quite willing to risk it and stayed upstairs.

We visited for a few minutes and then we were off to see the celebrations. Stephanie had invited us to stay so when we finished walking around town we decided to stop back in for a visit.

The kitties are lovely, their owners are even lovelier people and it was a nice visit. There was even talk of birthday celebrations for the kittens which just totally MMD :)

Catching up with the kiittens

The kittens are still doing well. We have a plan for them to go home on next Saturday, which should be fun.

I tried setting up an Easter photo shoot for them, and it went surprisingly well

and as a result I found out that they both like feathers, but Wryn REALLY likes feathers.

Unfortunately, this isn't a real cat toy, just something I use to catch the kitten's attention when I do photo shoots, or I would so send this along with her.

Wryn is also dealing with a reaction to her rabies vaccine. She had a rather large swelling on her right rear leg - where the vet that neutered her gives vaccines, but it has dissipated to no more than a pea. I've told her mother about it and she will mention it to her vet and they will have a discussion about what is appropriate for her going forward.

The kittens have visitors

Stephanie and her daughter stopped by to visit her kittens.  Stephanie is moving into a new home and felt uncomfortable bringing them into the home with so much going on, which is why I am kitten sitting them. They spent some time with them when they adopted them and then they came to my house, so I imagined they were aching to see them.  I offered to have her - or them - over earlier but it didn't work out.

We had a very nice visit. I was also very impressed with the kittens. Sprite went right up to them and Wryn was willing to go right up to them, but preferred to start from the back (you can see her in the photo above behind Stephanie (on the left)

We sat there and talked while the kittens got used to them, and it didn't take long at all.  I was so very proud of them.

It has been probably twenty years or more since she had kittens in her house, so she had a lot of questions. Yes, I was in my glory.. but it was hard on me because I don't want to come off as obnoxious.  I know I am far left of the standard of cat care - being a raw feeding, minimal vaccinating kind of cat owner. When you ask me about nutrition, I am going to tell you what I think, but on a one on one situation like this, I feel the need to be careful. I was so thrilled that I didn't turn her off, and Stephanie showed interest in learning about raw food.  I did my very best not to squee when she took out a pad of paper and started taking notes.

Wryn and Sprite are two very lucky kitties!

The girls are going to be a very welcome addition to Stephanie's home, and they kept joking how her daughters would be over far more often once the kittens move in. (If I'm without kittens for too long, I might just show up at her house)

The kittens will be leaving me a week from Saturday. I am so happy for them. Stephanie's joy is absolutely infectious, and it has done me a world of good to watch them interact with the kittens and see how much they love them already.

and I have this feeling that I'll be getting regular updates on them once they do leave.

Adventures in kittensitting

I am absolutely loving having these two here. It has been so interesting to get to know them after they spent time at the shelter and getting handled by so many people there. They are so much more outgoing and inquisitive that I could almost convince myself they are completely different kittens. I am so glad, and I have absolutely no concerns that they will adjust to their new home when the time comes. And they are freakin adorable in their collars.

Wryn and Sprite - adoption story

So yesterday I went to the shelter after work to see Wryn and Sprite at the shelter. I was jonesing for a little kitten love and I hoped they were still there.

I lucked out, they were still there.  When I went to see them, the staff at the adoption counter told me they all thought they were very cute, and that they had been out cuddling them all morning. I love to hear such things because I know the more these girls are handled the better it will be for them.  I went to the cage, and they were both hanging out at the bottom (which is covered with a cage cover to give them some privacy). Sprite came right to me, but I had to pull Wryn out. Both were very friendly though and enjoyed the attention and didn't seem fearful at all. It made my heart sing to see it.

I spent some time with them, and when they realized they could run in opposite directions and drive me crazy, I put Sprite back and took Wryn to the adoption counter so I could stand up and still be with her.

As I stood there a woman and her daughter came into the shelter. They came to see a pair of cats that were noted that would be good to be adopted together. Unfortunately by the time they came one of the cats had been adopted. She was looking for a pair of kitties because she previously had a pair of sisters that lived until they were 17, but they had passed a year and a half ago.  So yes, I put on the hard sell.  Apparently they had been in yesterday and saw them, and they were very interested, but the woman was moving into a new place, and for the next week or so things were going to be chaotic, and she was going out of town for Easter.

So I did what any sane kitten woman would do  - especially when she doesn't have foster kittens - I offered to kitten-sit.

She was not in a position to adopt them right then and there because the water company was coming to turn on the water, and so I confirmed my offer and gave her contact info if she wanted to take me up on it. I warned them that I didn't think the girls would last very long. And then I went home.

I wasn't home very long before I received a message from the shelter asking if it was okay to give out my contact information to the woman from before. I said it absolutely was okay, and a moment later I received a phone call asking me if the offer to kitten-sit was still on the table. I said of course it was, and I jumped up and ran to the shelter.

This time, she was there with her other daughter.

They were both so giddy at the idea of adopting kittens that it was infectious. They kept thanking me, but seeing them so happy over these two girls... well seriously, it felt like they were doing me the favor.

I actually waited around until her other daughter (the one from earlier) showed back up to snuggle the kittens some more. We swapped contact information and Facebook contacts and I told her about the webcams so they can watch them. There was talk of coming to visit, to which I said they were welcome to. And once all the paperwork was complete and all the exchange of info was done, they were afraid they were keeping me. It was so sweet, but I seriously could have stood there and watched them coo over the kittens for hours.

I mean seriously.. they were literally bending over to accommodate these kittens.  I so hope they don't mind my sharing this particular photo, but this moment totally made my day... well that and the little dance of joy they did when they walked out of the shelter.

So we packed them up and I brought them home. It took them about five minutes to relax in the room when they realized they were back and nothing had changed, they started running around and had a little snack.  Then it became apparent they were tired. Sprite climbed up on the back of the couch and started snoozing. Wryn climbed up in my lap and let me pat her. She then proceeded to lay down, and then..

This was a first.They both fell asleep on me. Once again my heart sang.

It was such a good day.

I'm not sure exactly when they will go to their new home, but it will be sometime after Easter. I know I'm in no hurry, but I bet they are.

Wordless Wednesday - The Girls