first there were three...

Quick update with out photos..

So I took the June fosters in to be tested.  They tested Zander, and he was negative, so all is good.  I'm not a fan of single kitten testing, but c'est la vie.  Their mom is still at the shelter and has been stuck in a cage (with all her feral-ly glory) and hasn't gotten sick, so I'm going to go with they are fine.

Shelter manager introduced me to the litter she wanted me to take.  Two medium hairs, one looks like a little clone of Muffin and oddly enough her sibling looks like one of Muff's siblings (who I didn't adopt), and two short haired ones that also look like siblings - but they do not look like all four came from the same batch.  Could they? sure.  Did they? I'm not so sure.  The short haired kittens hang out together and the medium hairs hang out together.  Seeing as all four of them are in that small cage, and I can tell that, I'm going to go with they weren't a foursome when they came into the shelter.  But they came in as a group of 19 cats surrendered, so if they came from the same home.

I heard a few sneezes on the way home, and I'm not comfortable with mixing litters (but I don't really have the option to run two separate rooms of kittens with the treatments I am giving Ollie) so I put the new crew in the cage.  I'm not quite sure how long I intend to leave them there.  They did well last night, not destroying anything, so they might last a few days.

the short hairs are VERY elegant looking.  They remind me of Eddie from a few years ago (one of my first sets) that had such sleek hair that I named him after the talking horse. They have huge eyes and small heads.. I can't wait to get some photos of them. 

they are all about the same size.  The mediums are the same size as Z, and the smaller short hairs are the same size as Buffy..

Oz seemed interested in the kittens, but was easily distracted away from them (he self distracted, I didn't have to interfere at all) other then that the current kittens were not acting any different.

I gave O, B and Z science diet food last night.  They dug right into it, but there was more then half of it left this morning.  They were so hungry that when I went in this morning they actually started eating the left overs (not all of them, just O)  Yet again SD fails to impress hungry growing kittens.  Such a shame a "leading cat food company" can't make a product kittens will eat.

I'm sure you are wondering why I went against my own rule of mixing litters.  Yes, the fact that the shelter was crowded was part of it.  And feeling like a hero to the shelter was another (she sure does know how to say thank you.. :D) and fostering another kitten that looks like Muffin has it's appeal, but the main reason was I'm falling head over heals for Z.  He's SUCH a love, SUCH a manipulator, and has such a whole hearted "I LOVE YOU" purr.. I can NOT keep another kitten, and I figured with four other kittens to distract him, he might not be so focused on me.

 The newbies in he cage.

I could only spot one of the other kittens.  Wonder where the other two are.  Probably behind the couch. .
totally time to pick up the foster room again.  I do not look forward to this with the kittens free as they always try to "help"

Quality Ollie Time - and a quandry

This morning while doing Ollie's treatment, he decided to hang out with me for a while.  It was towards the end of the two hours, and I was still not quite awake.  I was all wrapped up in my big fluffy white bathrobe with my big fluffy white socks (not to mention my pasty white skin sticking out in all the modest places) and on the lounge chair we have set up in front of the TV.  Most of the time I don't sit on it right, but have my head where the small of your back should go.  I was laying there trying to work up the strength to go about my day, when Ollie decided he needed to sit on my chest.  So I sat there patting him and giving him lovin.  It was such an odd little sight, this black cat on this overly white person.  I had my knees up too, so I was almost in some odd boat position.

I was able to get through about 10 minutes before I started thinking about how he wouldn't be there one day.  Because now it is a reality, I started getting teary eyed and emotional.  I know I ticked him off because of the look he gave me before he left - as if to say "you had to go and ruin this with all your.. emotions!!"  Quite the disgusted look.  Hey, I didn't think I did too badly as I wasn't actually crying.. just spending time in the future grief I knew would be there one day.  Stupid thing to do, I know, but sometimes you can't help it.

I got a call from the shelter, they are swamped! and I was asked to take more kittens.  I really hate mixing litters, and I am not in a position to take on more then one room, but this might be a case of life and death.  Maybe not for these particular kittens I've been asked to take, but they are running out of foster homes at the moment.  They were full before they had 19 sets dropped off over the weekend.  A cry for help got them some new homes, but kitten season is in full swing, and I'm sure with the holiday coming up it's just going to get worse.  So do I risk it and take home a second set and mix them??   I mean seriously, what are the chances that something would go wrong?

Kitten Cam

It is grainy, it is slow, and it is out of focus, but I find myself fascinated with it. Even though I can't tell the difference between Buff and Oz, it is fun to see what they are doing when I'm not there.

This morning Zander wanted to keep playing past their normal nap time.  Buff/Oz is sleeping.  But Z kept walking over and trying to entice in play..

 Then he gave up

Then this afternoon they were back in the cage.. I just LOVE that belly shot..

yea yea yea.. hard to tell.  too much going on.. Does this help?

Probably more visible to me because of the context of watching the kitten roll around.

The crew

Jack and Ollie having a meeting.. should I be worried?

I often refer to this as "dead kitty syndrome" when all of my cats lay around looking like an explosion of kitties just occurred.  I'm sure all kitties do this, but when you have three or more doing it in one room at one time, it is a little disconcerting.  The hotter it gets, the higher the incidence of DKS and the less likely they are to come out of it when I walk through the room.  I know it sounds morbid, but I figure if a dog can play dead, then I can joke about this..

I'm not sure why my cats play DK, as they have access to the basement which is always MUCH cooler then the rest of the house..

Ollie is still doing ok.  His weight is holding steady, but I think one of the lumps is getting bigger.  He's also starting to tell me that the two hours we do his treatment each morning is a little too long for him.  He will willingly show up for the first hour of his treatment, but after that he walks down slower and slower, if at all.  Sometimes DH will carry him down for me if he is home.  Today he disappeared and I have always said this is about his *quality* of life.  I am not going to force this on him - because he will be miserable and grumpy and that is no way for him to end his life, nor is it any way for the other cats to live with him. He's started getting grumpy again in the AM - smacking the other cats for getting in his way or breathing the wrong way (or what ever other "rule" they have broken anywhere near him).  But this weekend I did get a nice sweet surprise.  He climbed into the bed and gave my cheek a little lick.  I can't remember the last time he licked me out of love... heck I can't remember the last time he licked me.

I guess they like the cage

I let the kittens out full time this weekend. They've done very well, although Zander does have some issues with very loose stools (and had it all over himself and then wanted to come cuddle with me - leading to another bath for him!) But when I checked on them this afternoon, this is what I saw.

 Door open, but all three are in the cage.. Silly kittens.

Zander is an absolute love bug.  Loves being patted, and cooed upon.  Buffy is the moderate love bug.  She likes a good pat, but she's still unsure of totally giving into the pleasure of a good belly rub.  Oz is the most stand-offish.  I was laying on the couch with B and Z, and he was on the floor taking a nap.  He will seek out attention, but he's not a slave to it.

As I said, Z got another bath.  It was quite humorous in the way it transpired.  He had his "accident" then came out of the litter box and jumped up on the couch, and laid down belly up on my legs.  Almost as if he knew he was stinky.  I got one whiff, and then one look, and knew there was no leaving him like that.  His bib and face were already covered with food - which I was hoping someone would clean up for him.  I grabbed him belly up and a towel and face cloth and headed upstairs.  He was fine traveling like that until we hit the bathroom at which point he wanted down.  I plopped him in the dry sink while I moved a few things on the side of the sink.  He had fun figuring out what the sink was all about.  I used the face cloth to clean his bib and face.  I then lifted him out of the sink and filled it.  I put him in it, and the debris on his legs seemed to just fall off, so I swished him around a little, then drained the sink and then put him under the running water.  He wasn't all that sure about it, but he trusted me, and just let me do it.

He really did like being bundled up in the towel and being carried back down into the basement.  He hung out with me bundled for a while, purring.  Finally he got up and walked a few steps and attempted to dry himself off.  He seemed perturbed for a while, but then forgave me and came back for more cuddled.

After our nap, I locked them up while I cleaned the floor.  There had been other litter box accidents, resulting in a few stains on the floor.  The floor in the litter box box was a mess too.  Thank goodness for Swiffers.  Made quick work of the mess.  The kittens were quite fascinated by the fact that I moved things around and that it smelled a little different and had a fun time re-discovering the room.