Happy National Kitten Day!

Happy National Kitten Day!

I will admit this one snuck up on me. Didn't realize today was the day.  I was going to wait until Monday to admit this, so I had a chance to get to know the kittens and give you a better idea of who is now residing at Camp Casa de Gato, but seriously, how could I resist posting kittens on National Kitten Day???

So.. Meet the campers..

The two on the top are a girl and a boy.. She has the head that has more black on it, he has the more white. The black kitty with white with the big eyes is also a boy. Decided on the names Mario (for the white with black boy), Luigi (for the black with white), and Princess Peach.

All three were unsure about me in the beginning. Peach thought I might bring food, so she was willing to come to see me when I walked in for the third time.  Luigi is more likely to run and hide when I walk into the room but will come out after a few minutes. Even after playing for a few minutes, his eyes look like they do above, so I am guessing he is going to end up having some really interesting photos in the next few weeks :)

They need nail trims.. that will be on the todo list in the next day or so.. unless they move that up the list by doing what kittens do..

Happy National Kitten Day

And don't get me started with "but every day is kitten day".. look, this one is labeled as such, so let's just smile and move on 🐱🐈

This past weekend there was a request for help on FB from the woman who I deal with at the rescue I foster for. Kittens were being transported up to her and she needed some help getting them. I asked about helping but someone had already stepped up. I was fairly certain that someone was my new friend Sally so I reached out to her to see if she wanted company on her trip.  It was her and she was very open to having someone join her, so off I went. (okay, fine, Sally was super nice and came most of the way to get me for the trip)

The transport had some mechanical issues so they were very late in arriving, but once they got there we were to pick up a mom and her kittens and a group of kittens without a mother.

We met up in an abandoned Burger King parking lot (next to a well-lit gas station) and when the van rolled up Sally brought the carrier to them. They closed the door, put the kittens in the carrier and I put that carrier in the car while Sally gave them the second carrier and got the paperwork. It is a very interesting experience I must say. It was nice to be a small part of their journey to their home..

After being in a van all day in a carrier with their litter, they didn't smell the best, but that's okay. At one point I heard a bit of scrabbling and saw something move out of the corner of my eye. I reached out and found one kitten had forced their way out of the carrier (the kitten unzipped the carrier just enough) and I got to snuggle it and give it what for kisses as Sally pulled off the road to make sure no one else had escaped.

It made for a long night, but that's okay.. because kittens..

Take Your Cat to the Vet Day #Cat2VetDay

When I decided to blog about Take Your Cat to the Vet Day, I wanted to do a little research to find out when it started and who started it, but I have found very little information. In the end, it really doesn't matter who started it, but it is the message that is important.

I am not the person you would traditionally think of as advocating for regular vet visits because of my "raw feeding, minimal vaccination" stance. People who feed a raw diet and shun annual vaccinations usually have had run-ins with a vet who has turned them off completely and you hear them complain that they are all in it for the money and that they don't know what they are talking about.

And even though I have some incredibly bad vet experiences over the years, I still believe in regular visits... Annually for young healthy cats, semi-annual for senior healthy cats, and as needed whenever health or behavioral issues arise. There are things I cannot detect physically I can't tell a kidney that is cystic vs one that is shrunken vs one that is enlarged, in fact, I have no idea where the kidney is. Sometimes I can feel "ropey" intestines on kittens that have had some serious irritation, but I can't tell you if they are full of stool or full of gas.

Going to the vet for regular visits and running standard tests will help you catch disease before it advances to the point that it is too expensive or too late to treat.  Sadly, too few people think cats need regular care. They think if they aren't showing obvious symptoms of pain or discomfort that they aren't ill, forgetting that cats are prey animals and any sign of weakness could mean that they will be at the mercy of the predator.

Many people cite the difficulty of catching the cat and getting it in the carrier or the high stress on the cat to be taken out of the house and transported to the vet.

I can't imagine anyone is a fan of listening to their cats howl in the car or put up with vomiting/diarrhea/drooling if the cat is one to become car sick, but it is absolutely worth it to catch illnesses while they are treatable.

So few cats go to the vet on a regular basis, and I believe as a result of that there is less demand for research on illnesses and study of medications because vets believe that people just won't follow through on treatment and care. Often people give up on treatments because they can be very difficult and they don't follow-up with the vet to see if there are other options. This causes vets start thinking people do not care and not that if there were better options they would have higher compliance - this is why many vets are so reliant on Convenia and don't even bother to ask their clients if they would like it or a different medication. I believe that if more people took their cats to the vet more often vets would be more willing to help owners learn the skills needed to treat their cats, like how to pill them, or how to home test a diabetic cat.  I do believe it is a failure on cat owners to demand better healthcare and I think that stems from old beliefs that cats are 'throw away' animals, that you don't treat them when they get sick, that they don't live long and they just 'go off to die' when they get sick. Taking your cat in for regular exams tells your vet that you are a dedicated cat owner and you are worth investing their time in you because you will be back.


If you would like to do something to benefit companion animals today, share a photo of your kitty or tips to a successful, stress-free vet visit, using the hashtag #Cat2VetDay. For every share, a $5 donation will be made to Frankie's Friends.

National Hug Your Cat Day

As I type this up, Skippy is in my lap forcing me to hug him, which makes me happy. Skippy has always been a cuddler even as a wee little kitten. I am fortunate that most of my cats put up with my hugging them. Some of them require that I do it while their four paws are on the ground but they put up with me when I get all up in their personal space and smother them with kisses.

Like Skippy, we have several cats who seek out hugs. The most infamous one is Kit and her daddy.

Happy Jack

Jack is a very needy kitty, who needs a lot of attention. He is one happy kitty that both his mom and his dad are home with him. Last night he spent quite a bit of time getting his belly rubbed..

I do have to admit, I do love his feet..

Please Participate in World Spay Day

Here it is 2015, and we have been celebrating World Spay Day for 20 years now.. Despite all the wonderful progress we have made in the world of our companion animals, there is still so much more to be done.

It is so easy to insulate ourselves from the overpopulation problems. Our government institutions 'take care' of the problem for us.  Three to four million companion animals (that is about half the population of NYC) are killed every year for the simple fact that there are not enough homes and this is done in back rooms and the bodies are quietly disposed of and it simply is not discussed (which is why there is such a huge swing in the numbers)

Most of us go through our entire day, a week, a month, heck all year with out seeing a single stray animal. Often when we do see them, we write them off as being owned by someone else.  My husband convinced me of that once.  A cute little stray kitten came up to us when we moved into a new apartment, and he said she must be owned by someone. A few months later she came back crying for help because it was so very very cold and she was so very very hungry. We were able to capture her, but she was so fearful that she almost didn't take our help. She eventually did, but unfortunately it was too late for her then, the FELV that was inside her was taking it's toll and we ended up having to put her down shortly there after.

Those of you reading this blog must love cats.. why else would you be here. Most of you already know of this horrible problem of over population, but do you really know... I mean KNOW.. We are told that three to four million companion animals never make it out of the shelter, but did you know that there are approximately 70 million cats that are living outside of a home in the US alone? I can't even begin to quantify 70 million in a way you might understand the enormity of that number. In a human's average life span you live approximately 613,600 hours..so that is about 114 life times in hours.

No.. how about this.. there are approximately one homeless kitty for each iPhone sold in the first quarter of 2015.   (I'm not quite sure how I feel about that statistic). Honda was fined $70 million for under reporting injuries.  The data breach by Target involved some 70 million consumers..

So freakingly overwhelming for one..

and those who are paying the price are the most vulnerable amongst us.

These were cats luck enough to be found so they could give birth in a home.  They were fed well prior to and after giving birth so that they could nourish their offspring.  Most of my queens were social and were happy to have me around during the birth. I have also fostered a couple of truly feral cats, ones that would rather rip my face off than let me anywhere near them, and thankfully the kittens were easily tamed and all made wonderful pets.

There is SOOOO much that can be done, and it can be done if we all take part. Your part doesn't have to be huge.  Adopt a kitty and save a life. No room for another? How about fostering? I know so many of you swear you couldn't because you couldn't stand to give them up, but how can you stand to watch them die? Okay, I get it, fostering isn't for everyone.. How about donating some money to a local spay/neuter clinic, or a local friends of feral group? Even a dollar helps.. I know it feels so weird to just give a dollar, like we can't be bothered to be more generous, but dollars add up... they make a difference, really they do.

Have you considered ever volunteering for a spay/neuter clinic? You do not need medical training to help out. I went once and helped check cats in and set them up in cages.

And for the love of all that is furry, PLEASE, if you have a friend who has a cat who is not neutered, please share with them the contact information to a local clinic. If you see someone on social media spouting off how cute their cat's third litter of kittens are, tell them how disgusting you think they are (but in a nice and pleasant way since you do catch more flies with honey) for littering.

Be active. Participate. Do something. Do ANYTHING. Be part of the solution..

Thank you.



This post has been brought to you by Abby. Because of the overwhelming number of cats waiting for homes, kitties with special needs like Abby will most likely never find a home. The thought of returning her to the shelter depresses me to no end, and I've been in a pretty bad place for a while now. I cling to the hope that maybe, just maybe.. but each day that goes by that she isn't regulated or progressing away from the fear that rules here life... She can not stay with me indefinitely and I have put a limit on her time here as a matter of weeks. Returning to her to the shelter will kill me. She is an absolutely lovely cat that just wants to curl up next to you and be with you. She eats two cans of Fancy Feast Classics a day, and as of right now is getting 1 unit of insulin twice a day that she takes with out even noticing it.

National Love Your Pet Day

Happy National Love Your Pet Day.  I know more than one of you is probably thinking - well shouldn't every day love your pet day??  Absolutely it should, but like Mother's Day and Father's Day (yet no kid's day? why is that??) sometimes you really should set aside a day to just revel in the joy that is the special bond you have with your furry friend..

Now if you are a little specialed day out with the Hug Your Cat Day on June 4th and National Cat Day on October 29th and National Cook for your Pet Day on November 1st, and Cat Herding Day on Dec 15th, remember there are people out there who NEED to be reminded that people love their cats.. not just 'oh look I have this cute cat' but 'look at my awesome cat, he likes wand toys and hates pesky sisters, and he REALLY likes these treats but not those' because they see way too much of the 'oh my cat peed on my bed so I am going to lock it in a cage and yell at it until I finally come to my senses and dump it at the shelter.' or 'I don't want this cat so I'll put it in a carrier and send it off to the incinerator'.. or 'oh hey, look a cat, let me shoot it with my BB gun'

so thank you kind reader for loving your cats.. and thank you for sharing that love with me and the rest of the world.. and not being afraid to tell me about your kitties in my comments..

Hodge Podge of a post

Happy National Black Cat Appreciation Day!

I'm a little sad that Tina, Keith and Adele aren't with me to celebrate, but I can celebrate they are in their new homes.

I am loathe to admit that I once said I would never adopt a black cat... the reason being when I adopted Ollie I had a devil of a time taking pictures of him.. instead of taking it as a challenge to improve my photography skills I just let the frustration annoy me.

Then I learned that black cats and dogs are far more likely to be euthanized when they enter a shelter because people do not adopt them. The reasons why vary from old superstitions to pet hair.. It is so sad that any pet looses it's life before it gets to begin, but even more so because of the color of it's fur.

Speaking of which, today is also apparently International Homeless Animals' Day

Millions of animals are killed each year simply because there are not enough homes.  No matter what the no-kill movement tells you right now, we are still a very long way from solving this problem.  Education is the only way.. Helping people understand the plight of the animals is the first step in helping the animals.

Speaking of helping the animals..

My poor momma cat is not doing well at all.  I weighed her yesterday and she was 5.5lbs; this morning 4lb 14oz.  I force fed her maybe a third of a can of A/D and some KMR which she took far better than I thought she would... she even licked some of it off the towel I had her wrapped in, so I hoped she would eat it out of a bowl, but she wouldn't.  I gave her 20ccs of fluids yesterday before she got mad at me.  This morning I gave her another third of a can mixed with KMR and got about 15ccs of fluids in her before she started hissing at me and threatening to bite me... I gave all of the kits some KMR as well and sadly they all took some.  Prior to this when I would feed the wee one some would take a little, most would refuse.

They also have started soiling the bed.  This isn't unusual, but it is also a sign that mom isn't up to taking care of them or maybe she doesn't like KMR waste.. *shrug*  She is taking care of them, she is grooming them and letting them nurse.  She also looks fine.  You would barely know she's not eating.. she is not sneezing, no inflammation, she is bright eyed and likes attention when I finally get my hands on her.. (she avoids it when ever possible) other than the fact she feels like fur and bone and she is shedding quite a bit..

But she has started drinking water again, which is something.  *paws crossed*

National Hug Your Cat Day! 2013

OK seriously, who needs a "day" for this??   Those of us who have cats either have cats that love to be hugged so we hug them all the time, or we have cats that would simply hate us if we hugged them.

I started out the day with Muffin being particularly affectionate. I really love it when she gets all needy.. I eventually worked my way through most of The Crew.  Eli is still not a hugger.. Skippy was busy this morning.. I'm sure I'll get to him this evening.

Then I went to the newest fosters.  They are still very unsure of me, but I think they are starting to figure out I'm not going to eat them - although I'm sure they think that there is a darn good possibility that I'm trying to fatten them to eat them..  *rolls eyes*

The boldest, the only solid black (f) kitty, the one that sings her warrior song day and night, has decided to put me to work for her - patting her and rubbing her belly as she sits there.  I could not help but smile.  She is more than a little cheezed off that the bathtub is such a mess, but I don't want to clean it right now because I don't really have a place to put them while I do it on the off chance panleuk is an issue.  I'm still waiting to hear back from the other shelter on those kittens.  If it is negative I'm going to move these kittens down to the foster room tonight.  If it was positive.. well I'll just have to cross that bridge when I get to it.

So in honor of NHYCD, Here is me hugging the newbies..

All solid black girl - the bravest and the singer.. 

Frosted boy.  

The "frosted boy" in that last shot is one I'm a little concerned about. He is still fearful of me, but it is hard to be sure that he is just being fearful and not being lethargic.  I've seen him eat, I've seen him move, I'm not yet worried, but I am concerned.. Feel free to send him warm and fuzzy thoughts..

Now if only these guys would be around for the next 'National Cat Day"..

Well they will be around, just not at Casa de Gato.. they'll have moved on to their own homes by that point.

National Disabled Pets Day - May 3rd

So apparently May is National Pet Month, with May 3rd being National Disabled Pets Day.  Having owned a "disabled" pet myself (or two) and having fostered a few over the years, this is one of those "national" things I can really get behind.. (Like National Adopt a Cat Month in June)

"Disabled" pets are any pets that are not standard.  A kitty who is deaf, blind, missing a limb, FIV+, FeLV+ are all considered "disabled" even those people who own such pets will tell you that these animals do not know they are disabled.

Some pets need more than your average pet.. diabetics, paraplegic, kitties with "CH" (aka cerebellar hypoplasia) or thyroid conditions, asthma, but even still often the care, which needs to be done regularly is very manageable.. just a few minutes per day.

I myself have owned a kitty who became diabetic. While I would NEVER wish a person's cat to be diabetic, but I have to tell you that her disease brought us so much closer together.  Spending a few minutes each morning and evening loving on her, testing her blood sugar levels and injecting her, took no more time than I would have normally given her, now it just needed to be on a schedule. When ever I meet someone who has a kitty who was just diagnosed I tell them that while the learning curve is very steep it is really short and in no time at all they will be amazed that they were ever scared or bothered by it, and they will find it is a blessing because of how strong of a bond they will form with their kitty.

I also adopted Fleurp who has that scar on her eye that inhibits her sight.  Is she disabled? I wouldn't think she is, but I am sure the lack of site and the depth perception issues she had as a kitten would have put some people off.

While I understand the desire to adopt able bodied kitty, it doesn't take a "special person" to adopt a "special pet".  All it takes is someone who is open to love and who is willing to learn... and who is ready to start one of the most amazing relationships with a pet they will have..

but don't just take my word for it..

Cat Graney said:
I had a white, blue-eyed Maine Coon who was deaf. Boo was a challenge as adopted him as a senior and it took a while for us to adjust to each other. What made things interesting is that I've always used verbal commands with my cats. However, I learned very quickly to use hand signals with him and he picked those up very quickly. After a while the only way we remembered that he was deaf was when he would talk as he was quite loud.

Rene said:
As you know, our Benny has eye problems. He has almost no sight in his right eye and partial sight in his left. His right eye also has glaucoma, requiring two types of eye drops daily. He sees an animal opthamologist every six months.

Day to day, we often forget about his limited sight. There are times we try to play with him or come up on his blind side and we catch him off guard. He also has issues with the water bowl at times (we guess depth perception) and will always stick his paw in to check the water.

The most challenging thing with him isn't his health, but finding a cat sitter who will give him all medications as directed. We had used bonded/insured companies and later found out they weren't giving him his medication! Twice this happened with different companies--frustrating because not once did they call or email us to alert us of this problem. So something to consider if you have a disabled animal. [We now have our friend Susan care for them when we do leave home.]

Jeanne reminded us of her foster kitten Bourbon:
Well, da Bourb was a foster here and had no knee caps in either back leg. Honestly, other than walking a little funny and warning his adopters of potential early arthritis, he got around great. I think people were afraid of the "what might happen" but his new mom and dad had a special needs kitty before Bourb and moved the furniture and laid down rugs to make it easier for him to get around - and said that THEY would make changes to how they lived to make sure that Bourbon and his brother Goose were comfortable.

JaneA Kelley recently adopted a diabetic cat:
I adopted a diabetic cat, Bella, from HART of Maine , a no-kill, volunteer-run cat shelter. One of the shelter's long-time volunteers spent an hour with me teaching me about testing blood glucose, giving insulin, diet and so on.

I think a lot of people are intimidated by taking care of a diabetic cat. The diagnosis and the fact that your lifestyle is going to have to change is a lot to deal with all at once. But once you get over the initial "overwhelm," it's really a lot easier than you might have thought. There's a lot of support out there: mine has come from HART, Diabetic Cats in Need, FelineDiabetes.com, and, of course, my awesome vet.

Why did I do it? Because I'm confident in my ability to take care of special-needs cats, because I believe ever cat deserves a loving forever home ... and because I totally fell in love with Bella the minute I laid eyes on her!

Tom Demerly wrote in a Caster.com article:
MiMi doesn’t know or care that Mia and I have two eyes and she has one. She simply uses her one eye for everything, moves her head a little more to compensate for only having one, without even realizing it. She can do anything Mia and I can do, and she is the most loving and kind cat. To her, having one eye is just the way it is. It is neither good nor bad.

Lisa said:
I would tell anyone not to let the disability of being blind prevent them from adopting the kitty. I wouldn't trade Lenny for the world. He learned his surroundings and has never had cat box issues. His hearing is unbelievable. That is how he finds his toys and me. He is a clown and I love watching him. I would say go for it. He is the best.

Roberta emailed me:
In 2011, I adopted a tripod kitty I named Romeow from my vet. He was a stray and was brought to my vet by some kind people when his leg was badly injured and it couldn't be saved. He was the sweetest kitty and he could run like a 4-legged cat. He never knew he was handicapped. I had him for only 3 months when he was diagnosed with an aggressive type of cancer and I lost him 3 months later. I have no regrets adopting him and loved him with all my heart. The hardest part was losing him but I will never forget this sweet boy. I would encourage others to adopt a kitty with challenges because they give us so much back.
(oh Roberta, I am so sorry that Romeow had to leave you so quickly!!)

I have a few more testimonials coming, and I will update this post when they show up.

Odilia thanks you for reading this post..

National Cat Day

According to Catster:

National Cat Day was founded six years ago by Colleen Paige, a pet and lifestyle expert and animal welfare advocate. She wanted a day to draw attention to the number of homeless cats in shelters and rescues still waiting for their forever homes, and give cat lovers (like us!) another special reason to celebrate our own cats and the unconditional love and companionship they give us every single day.

Her goal — and it's a big and GREAT one! — is to get 10,000 cats adopted on National Cat Day each year. How wonderful would that be?

That would be wonderful.  But being as it is a Monday and a great deal of the country is dealing with hurricane Sandy, I'm sure a lot of kitties that would have been adopted today won't be.

But there are still many wonderful adorable friendly, aloof spirited, calm, floofy, hairless kitties at shelters across the world waiting for homes.. If you have room for one more, a kitty and a shelter who is housing it would be very greatful..

There is also a facebook page

How I celebrated National Black Cat Appreciation Day

I picked up two black kittens to foster.  One is fluffy.  She is a girl, she's mostly outgoing and has a tendency to growl and hiss and make a general nuisance of herself simply because she doesn't know better.    But she is willing to come up to me and let me pat her, so we'll just have to teach her that hiss and spit is for warnings of backing off and nothing else.

The second is short haired.  He is a boy.  He is mostly NOT outgoing and would much prefer it if I would simply go away.  Although he did really like that yummy chicken baby food I gave him, enough that he was willing to come out of the box for it.  He's really cute and has a stubby tail, about an inch and a half long.  He is also an absolute mess.  Completely and utterly covered in flea dirt.  His ears are covered in ear cleaning solution so his ears must have been a mess when he showed up too.  I'm letting him rest tonight and I'll give him a bath tomorrow.  It should be quick enough because all kitties get flea treatment so he shouldn't have any on him *knock wood* *knocks again to be safe* so I should be able to simply get the dirt off of him with a water bath.

So hopefully they'll only be here a week or possibly two. *knocks more wood* before they are adoptable and of size.  I am so determined to hit 300 kitties fostered this year.  Although considering the fact that the leaves are starting to change already I'm not sure that is going to happen.  But you know what they say, you shoot for the moon and miss at least you are among the stars!

Girl

Boy

Short stubby tail.  Calling him "Stubbs" would mean I have no imagination right?

Nom nom nom

Hey, bring that back!

OK

Fine

if I must

I'll get my own

Girl on my lap

Girl playing

She had run of the room last night because she kept forgetting he was in the cage with her (because he was hiding in the box) and when she noticed him she would hiss and spit and act all tough.  He's in the cage until he comes up to me on his own.