play time

I setup the portable playpen fence in the living room so the kittens could enjoy some new space. They loved it!

Felix went crazy over the big mousie

Theo was first to join in on the fun

Doc really enjoyed Nahum

When Doc tried to escape, Theo whacked him back down.

Theo enjoyed the show

Rose was not impressed

one R

An Olive tree?

An Oliver in a tree

love at first sight

I've got some very happy news to share! There is one less homeless cat in the world!! Sweet Simon has found his forever home!!! Even though it's sad to say goodbye to him, I am so thrilled for him and his new family!

Paddywack hosted an all day adoption event for the Community Cat Coalition yesterday and six cats were adopted! Simon was one of the lucky ones who found his forever home! Woohooo!!

The event was outside on the sidewalk, which made me crazy anxious. Every time I saw someone holding a cat outside their cage, my anxiety level went up as I feared a startled cat darting out of someone's arms and being gone. I calmed my anxiety by putting a harness and leash on Simon which he took too just fine.

Simon had a nice corner spot and thus got to watch all the people walk by. He took it all in stride. 

With his unique coloring, he got a lot of attention. People loved touching him as he is super-soft! Simon's new human just happened to walk by - it was love at first sight! She met him and immediately connected with his amazingness but after a short visit left saying she wasn't planning on getting a cat. Then an hour or so later she returned and excitedly said she just had to have him!! As I got to know her through the adoption process, I had a very good feeling that she would be a great human for Simon and Simon a great cat for her!

Simon with his new human!

I was thrilled when she offered me visitation rights! I immediately took her up on the offer and Laura and I stopped in later to check out his new digs and to say goodbye. The children in the family completely adore him and Simon was doing just fine with them too. He was hanging out under a bed, not terrified, but with an overwhelmed look, which was appropriate, after having a crazy day and now being in new space with new humans. I laid on the floor and called to him and he came right over to me - I about broke down in tears. In such a short time, this cat had really come to trust me, I had become his trusted human, someone who's presence provided him comfort and now it was time to say goodbye.

Simon playing with Da Bird from under the bed in his new home

Even though it's hard to say goodbye, I take much delight in knowing Simon will be well loved and cared for by such a kind hearted family. I look forward to future visits and updates.

photo courtesy of Kathleen

Simon, you were never meant to be homeless, wandering the streets looking for handouts. Welcome to your new home, I hope you enjoy the overflowing love and attention that I know you will get with your new family. Please know that you will always have a piece of my heart, I enjoyed caring for you in the short time I had with you and I look forward to the next visit, my sweet furry friend.

sitting gig

My first cat sitting gig is underway! An acquaintance hired me to look after her cats while she's away. So far, it has gone well. Her cats are very sweet and it's a joy to hang out with them.

Sammie

Totsi

Sammie and Totsi are indoor only, long furred, easygoing boys and ZooZoo is a stray girl who lives on her back porch. She is really sweet and loves to have her head rubbed.

ZooZoo

Meanwhile back at the Fourwhitepaws hobby cattery, the kitten taming continues. I think I mentioned before that we decided to split up the kittens. I have Belle and Felix (the tamest of the six) and two other foster folks have two kittens each. In another week we will swap kittens.

Dreamy Belle

Belle works over her orange crab

annual inspection

I've missed some blogging time partly because things have been a little crazy with so many extra cats to care for and because of this:

My laptop screen got all wonky. Having a big bar in the middle of the screen that blocks everything is very annoying! So after some research, I figured I would try to replace the display screen. The trickiest part would be to remove the thin piece of glass without breaking it. The YouTube video made it look so easy. So, I decided to give it a go and how did it go? Well this picture tells the story...

So much for easy! After picking off all the shattered glass, I managed to replace the display screen and am now using it sans-glass! The new screen works great. When the new glass I ordered from Amazon.com arrives on Saturday, I'll install it and all will be good as new for a fraction of the cost.

Meanwhile, on Wednesday I brought Oliver to the vet for his annual inspection and shots.

He was not a fan of my idea and fired up his lasers.

I've been growing more concerned about his over-grooming. The fur between his back legs has been over groomed for years and now he's starting to remove the fur from his sides too. I don't know why he's doing this and the vet didn't really know either. They tested him for fleas and he had none (Yea!) We ruled out mites because the other outdoor cats would be suffering from them too.

We are going to start by removing fish from his diet. The vet said the most common food allergy problem in cats is fish. Seems like a good place to start. Anyone know of any causes for a cat to groom off their furs?

foster update

Who knew kitten taming would be so much work?! Well, it's not so much the work as the time - time to hold them and love on them when I have to work and tend to the other cats. The cute factor is off the charts!

Little Belle overwhelms me with her cutes

All of them are darling cute. 

Some of them still hiss when I approach, but once they are being held, they settle in.

My friend who trapped the kittens, is what I would call a "kitten specialist". She had an opening in her house for some kittens, so I jumped at the chance to give these little ones some time with a "master" kitten tamer. In her care, they will soon be little fuzzy bundles of purr. I'm not sure how long she will have them for though as I heard something about some bottle babies coming her way - anytime they get with her will be greatly beneficial. Meanwhile, I'll be moving a large cage into my dining room for when they come back.

On the day we trapped the kittens' mom, we also trapped a small friendly young adult boy, who was unaltered and not microchipped. Trapping friendlies always caused me much stress because what do you do with them? So many people here dump their pet cats when they move, so there are lots of homeless friendly cats. This guy could have a home and humans who miss him. The last thing I want to do is take someone's loved cat and rehome them - but the opposite could be true too, he may be homeless. No way do I want to release a super-affectionate cat to be homeless again when I could easily find him a home.

Such is my dilemma with Simon.

Simon is a beautiful gray/cream and white super-affectionate cat. 

More than anything else, he loves to have his head rubbed!

How can I turn this lover boy back out on the street

 not knowing if he has people caring for him?

I decided to hang some "found cat" posters around where I trapped him, put an "found cat" ad on Craigslist and the person who's property he was trapped on talked with some neighbors who we thought he might belong to. It's been nearly a week and so far nothing. I'm thinking I will give his humans one more week and if they don't come forward or post "lost cat" signs, then I'll find him a new home.