In OTHER Cat News

In an unscientific way, I have determined that I emit a cat pheromone. I'm attracted to cats, and they seem to be attracted to me.
Every time I turn around, I discover a new stray cat coming to my house for a meal.
This summer, I noticed 2 kittens were coming here to eat. I tried to catch them, but they were too wild.
The kittens are still coming here, and I HAVE to catch them. I can't leave them here when I move. Who will feed them?
I told Paul that I need a live trap so I can catch them, try to tame them, and then take them to the shelter. I can't possibly keep them. But taming them would give them a better chance to get adopted.
Paul said he had a better idea for catching them. He tied a string to the door knob of the door to the porch. He brought the string in the window that looks out over the porch. We put food in the sunroom and left the door open. We watch at the window...when the kitten comes in, we pull the string which makes the door shut and then we have the kitten trapped in the house.
It worked! We did that today!
The kitten we caught today is a female gray tabby - we've named her February. She freaked out a little. She likes all my cats, and they like her, but she is still very scared of me. We're going to take it slow. I plan to let her outside tonight and then let her in again tomorrow. Only problem is that she is curled up in a chair in the sunroom - the door is standing wide open - but she seems to have no plans to go back outside.
Her partner is a solid black pretty kitten. The black kitten is twice as scared of people as she is so this kitten will be more tricky to catch.

Summer & Kitten Updates

Where to begin - we sold the house, we've been swimming a lot, we've painted some pottery, we're still going to the library regularly. Yesterday, we stayed home most of the day. Today, we ran errands all day - made 12 stops and got a lot done.

Tomorrow, we are going to Gatlinburg to hike to Rainbow Falls. It is 5.6 miles roundtrip, and the hike is considered "strenuous." Not sure how well I will do.....

We've sold the house, and I've let the place go to the dogs. I was so tired of cleaning it and keeping it spic and span. But now I'm disgusted with my slobbishness so I tried to tidy it up tonight. But I'm glad I can actually leave my curling iron on the counter in the bathroom and put a magnet on the refrigerator again. It's not easy to live in a house that looks like something out of a magazine. Bleck!

The kittens are growing and getting cuter all the time. I've taken more pictures and will post more soon. I plan to start another blog - a public one - to discuss the fostering experience, and I hope it will help get them adopted. I can't come up with a catchy name for the blog, and I must have a catchy name!

You can definitely tell which kitten is getting the most milk (January) and which kitten is the runt (no name yet).

Miss Dora is so sweet. I think she's getting bored with kitten care 24/7 - I may need to put some toys in there soon. The kittens still sleep a lot, but now they will sleep in a heap together and not necessarily right up against their mom. When Miss Dora hears me coming, she hops out of the box for two reasons - a can of food and to get petted. I think she would like the same amount of attention that the kittens are getting.

Kitten Pictures

2 days old, first day here, this is the blanket and box they came in. I have washed the blanket.

This kitten is the only one this color. We believe it is a girl. She is named January Jones, and she doesn't have a tail.

Paul fixed the box to keep the flap up. He's good at coming up with solutions.

New blanket while other one gets washed. 3 days old. Mom is Miss Dora Jones.

Close up!

Miss Dora is out of the box eating a can of food. I'm feeding her really well, and she is making lots of milk hence the little round tummy on Miss January Jones.

The kittens either sleep or nurse or stagger around looking for their mom when she is out of the box eating.

Close up! Miss January Jones stands out since she is a different color than the rest. Two other kittens are solid black, one is black with white feet, and one is black/white just like mom.

They are starting to open their eyes. 7 days old. As of today, Miss January Jones is the only one who hasn't opened her eyes. She is the fattest kitten with the roundest belly. She is aggressive and knows where to find her meals and will root anyone out of the way.

We are having a very positive experience fostering. The mom is a gem, and the kittens are thriving. I won't go into the details about how the flea treatment went. Everyone was a trooper about it, but I won't be doing that again to such young kittens (despite the assurance I got from the vet's office). As long as they are not infested, I will wait til they are older before I zero in on the fleas.

We have "kitten time" 3 or 4 times a day ----- or more! We want them to get used to people and children, but we try not to stress Miss Dora. Once she eats, we watch them start to nurse then we leave them alone.

Foster Kittens

We are SO enjoying our foster kitten experience. We've had them about 24 hours. Paul built an enclosure for them in the workroom of the garage. They have plenty of room, even when they get bigger and start playing.
The garage is so big, and we don't want them to roam the whole area so that they don't get lost or hurt or into something they shouldn't.
The mom, Miss Dora, is so good. The kittens seem to nurse all the time so she just lays there and lets us pet her. I feed her two cans of food a day - nursing makes her really hungry, and the shelter told me to expect that. She's sweet to us too, and lets us pet her as much as we want.
The mom is black and white and she has no tail (a bobtail). One kitten is black and white like her, two are all black, another is black with white feet, and another is a gray striped tabby. Two kittens have no tail. We try not to hold them anymore than we should, but it's hard not to want to snuggle them. Those little triangular ears....the teeny nose and whiskers.....the itty bitty paw pads....
I'm not going to apologize for blogging about them a lot!
I thanked Paul for the awesome place that he built. He thought of everything. I told him there was even enough room for another kitten enclosure and that we could take in another batch of foster kittens. He didn't even blink an eye. That's how I know I'm married to the right man.

Breakfast of Champions

I'm totally stealing this subject from Cute Overload. I just can't help it. For those who don't understand cuteoverloadese, Kronsche = Crunch, chomp

Here is the topic: Can we just make breakfast cereal out of kitten ears already?

Here are the suggested cereal names -

Marmalade Sugar Kronsches - they're not just for breakfast

Fluffer-Bitz

Coco Kronsche (if you have black cat)

Frosted Triangle Kronche

Cute Loops

CheeriEars

Earios

Frosted Ear Flakes

In other news, Abbie has been sick for the last 2 days and missed school. She's all better now. While she was sick she made the following request, "I want the cats to come sleep on me." She requested that because we have a long history of felines that can sense sickness and will sleep on you if you're sick. It's their way of trying to make you feel better. I bet most animals have this innate sense.

In other news, an appliance repairman came today, and I had to put Angel in timeout (my bathroom) because he wouldn't leave the man alone. But he got out! Later in the day, I hollered for Abbie to check on her whereabouts. She yelled back, "I'm conducting an experiment." She had put Angel back in the bathroom and then sat outside the door to observe how he got out. She'll be writing up a lab report (just kidding).

In other news, I had one wrapped gift under the tree. The kittens unwrapped it (it was merely wrapped in tissue paper held together with wide ribbon). When I finally get around to wrapping gifts with paper, I wonder what they will do. You have to expect some shenanigans with kittens in the house. Dogs are known to open/shred gifts too. At least the kittens have not climbed the tree and caused it to fall over. Yet....

Cats are Carnivorres

Who knew? Well, I knew, but it's not something I think about too much.

While having yet another litter box conversation with 2 other moms at school, asking for more litter brand suggestions, one mom suggested that I visit the newish, local Natural Pet Food Store. I told her I was willing to try anything!

I went to the store and liked the owners right away. The lady gave me several samples and told me how I needed to feed the cats a raw meat diet or at least buy food that is grain free. She said that now that they are neutered; the litterbox odor should improve.

Well, I fell for her whole spiel and even bought a holistic book about cats. I learned about the nutritional content found in mice (protein, fiber, moisture - that's pretty much it), and supposedly, that is all cats need. They certainly don't need grain.

I brought the samples home and read the book in one afternoon. The kittens LOVE the new food. They even chewed a hole in one of the sample bags to get at more of the food.

I went back to the store and bought a big bag of "Into the Wild" catfood - it is grain free and has a high protein content. I also bought cans of 100% meat canned food - quail, chicken, turkey, and beef. They LOVE it!!!!

And the litterbox problems have greatly improved. Could be because I got them neutered but I'll keep buying them the new food. If nothing else, I like supporting a locally owned store.

ME-OW!

Apparently, there is something very life-like about Abbie's cat costume. For Halloween, she is going to be Little Man, our black kitten who is a polydactyl.

Last night, I finished sewing her paws - one has 6 toes and the other has 7 toes.

Tonight, she tried on her kitten costume, paws, and ears. She went around the kitchen meowing.

Slowly, we noticed the amazing reaction that the actual kittens had. Both kittens eyes were huge and staring; their ears were flattened; and Angel's back was arched and his tail was bushed out!

I guess they really thought she was a huge cat!

I will take pictures and post them tomorrow (we also did a test run with her face paint, and it turned out awesome!). Maybe I can get a picture of Angel and Little Man's reaction too.

Cat Profiles

Name: Little Man
Describe yourself in 20 words or less: Fur like a mink coat, lovable, petite
What are your hobbies? Sleeping on Paul. Sleeping with Abbie. Batting toys down the hallway.
Favorite toy: I like balls (especially ones with bells inside) and strings.
Dislikes: When Angel sinks his fangs into my throat.
An interesting fact about me: I am much cuter than this picture portrays. I have 23 toes and 23 claws. Some people think the extra toes are ugly, but Lorrie loves them which is one reason she adopted me. I also have a powerful purring engine.
Minor Imperfection: I like the toilet too much and fell in once then Lorrie gave me a bath. {insert pouty face}

Name: Angel

Describe yourself in 20 words or less: Soft as an angel's wing, my middle name is hungry

What are your hobbies? Climbing on the kitchen counter in search of food then I get squirted. I get down then I get hungry and climb up there again. Then I get squirted and I get down. What's that smell? I better climb on the counter and see if I can steal a bite...

Favorite toy: Little Man's neck, Little Man's leg, my scratching post and the mouse that sits on top

Dislikes: Getting squirted, but I'm kind of getting used to it.

An interesting fact about me: I have beautiful blue eyes that will mesmerize you.

Minor Imperfection: Sometimes I scratch Abbie and make her cry.

Name: Misty

Who Owns Me: No one knows. I came to the Villeneuve's before Ellie died. I shared her food and slept with her in the garage. The Villeneuve's were kind enough to feed me, but they said they wouldn't keep me or name me.

An Interesting Fact About Me: Lorrie bought me a collar once, but the next day, it was gone. Either I got it off or I really do have owners that took it off me. It's a mystery!

Are They Keeping Me: Hmmm, I don't know, I just know that they've been feeding me for about 2 years. If I meow, they quickly check my bowl to see if I have food. I think I have them trained pretty well (even if I may be owned by someone else and getting meals elsewhere).

Another Mystery: I could be a boy (that has been fixed) or a girl (who has never gotten pregnant (as far as they know)). They don't know, and I've decided not to tell them. But they gave me a girl name even though they said they wouldn't name me.

Name: Baby

Interesting Fact About Me: I do not like to walk. I will walk from one room to another then I lay down again. If they play with me with a laser light (which I love), I lay there and grab it with my paws. I do not chase the laser light {shudder}. I think the vet wants me to get more exercise, but I have no interest in being a Hollywood poster girl. Take me as I am or not. I don't care!

Likes: Food, being fed on time, being petted, laying on whatever Lorrie is doing, knocking over things when I need to communicate with the humans, sleeping.

Dislikes: Diet cat food, when the kittens bite my tail

Hobbies: sneaking outside when the humans hold the door open too long then I quickly get under the car where they can't reach me

Little Known Facts About Myself: I am lucky to be owned by such super people. They take very good care of me (and I really try not to be a bother). Just don't tell them how much I like them.

Wrestlemania

Pertaining to the new kittens:
Around our house, it's wrestlemania 24/7. No wait, actually, it is wrestlemania 13 hours, 10 hours of sleeping, 1 hour of eating or looking for food to steal, and 1 hour of stalking.
With two little boys in the house - a first for us - the wrestling starts as soon as they wake up. They literally roll down the hall, one on top of the other, claws out, one's mouth is clamped around the other's throat, one is either crying or has his fangs sunk into the other's leg. Sometimes Little Man is winning then the tide turns and Angel is on top (and he's a little bigger). Most of the time, I don't get in the middle, but sometimes, Little Man's pitiful cry rips at my heart so I lift Angel off him. At other times, they will be sleeping together so peacefully then one will crack an eye open and pounce on the other unsuspecting kitten. Then it is ON again.
I think this is what it must have been like when Pierre, Paul, and Marc were little boys. I can picture them sitting quietly on the couch, watching a cartoon program. Then one of them pokes the other one. No, actually, I picture one of them punching the other one in the head. Lots of needless violence. And the quiet moment ends and fists are flying, elbows are every where, growls and grunts add to the hubbub. When its over, no one can really remember who started it or why. But at least they've gotten it out of their system for 5 minutes.

A smidge of the kajillion kitten pics we've taken

Guiness book record for the fattest? No, and she has actually lost 2 pounds. The vet is happy. I'm talking about Baby - not me!

This is the little girl that my mom babysits. She's holding Angel.
Not kittens! This is my younger brother, and his wife, Beth. She is due any day now. They are going to name their little girl, Kylee Ann (Ann is after me - yay!).
See his mitten paw? Those are his extra toes.
Sweetness. Paul says he is as soft as an angel's wing.
Snuggle wuggle

Shhhh

They are sleeping - really!

Sorry that I haven't posted pictures of the new kittens sooner. I counted today, and we have 28 million pictures of the new kittens. Only one of them is not cute. I will post the other 27,999,999 pictures on another day.

Paul and the kittens are really bonding - they are "brothas from anotha motha." Even though, they add more work for me, we can't imagine not having them in our lives. They are filling a baby void for me

Angel is Abbie's cat - he is white with peach points.

Little Man is my cat - he is solid black with multiple toes. I'll try to post a toe picture tomorrow. From behind, he looks like he is Batman - it really looks like he has on the batsuit - there's just something about the shape of his ears.

Updates

1. The kittens are getting along fine. Baby even tolerates them. Abbie's kitten is named Angel. I named mine Foster (long story) then changed it to Little Man (because Paul heard me call him that and he liked it). I have had a really tough time naming him. I am BIG on naming stuff (and I always give my pets real names) so the fact that I have named him Little Man is weird.
2. My vision since Lasik surgery has stabilized. I LOVE that I had the surgery done. Never take your vision for granted. I love that I can see clearly when I wake up in the morning.
3. My kitten has an upper respiratory infection. He is snotty and stuffed up. Never seen a cat/kitten with this before. He started antibiotics today. It is sad to see a kitten not be able to breathe out of it's nose.
4. Abbie is going to Bible school with a neighbor this week. She is gone for 3 hours each night.
5. Abbie is having a friend sleep over tonight.
6. I went to the Farmer's Market yesterday. I bought a pretty red daylily that I will plant soon. I also bought corn, squash, hot red pepper jelly, and half runner green beans. I tend to buy from several vendors - just to spread the money around otherwise I feel guilty (I am so weird). The last vendors I went to - none of them had teeth, the man was just putting a big chew of tobacco in as I approached, they told me where they are set up the other days of the week, they were very nice. I plan to shop with them again.
7. I have 2 sleeping kittens on my lap (looks like yin and yang).
8. I am sitting in a chair with a view of the front door, waiting for Abbie to get home (and her friend). We are going to do a craft project when they get here if I can distract them from playing with the kittens non-stop.

Polydactyl

This is an example of what a polydactyl cat paw looks like. My new kitten has 23 toes. The back paws have 5 toes each (normally there are 4 toes on the back), one front paw has 7 toes and the other front paw has 6 toes (normally there are 4 toes on the front). My little boy has a total of seven extra toes. It is cute, but sometimes when you stare it and watch him flex his paws and extend his claws, it is a leetle bit freakish. I will post photos soon. I took some close ups of his paws, but I haven't transferred them from the camera yet.
We have had this kitten for about 24 hours, and he still doesn't have a name. I am a very picky pet namer. Paul and Abbie continually throw out names, but none of them are making the cut. By the way, he is solid black and has green eyes. Here are a few examples of names we have discussed:
Darth Meow - Paul - cute, but this is only a small maybe
Darth Kitty - Abbie - taking a cue from Paul
Devil - Paul - a big no
Red - Paul - because he is red on the inside - another big no
That's What She Said - me - trying make Paul laugh, it worked
7 Toes - Abbie
Apollo - me - because I am a big Battlestar Galactica fan
Starbuck - me - because I am a big Battlestar Galactic fan
Jury - me - a name from a favorite character from a favorite author
Shade - Paul - but he thinks that would be more appropriate for a gray cat
.....and the list goes on......
I'm taking serious name submissions so feel free to make suggestions. I'm getting lots of pressure from Paul and Abbie to name him.

Cats and Food and New Bike

Of course, now that we have a new kitten, there will be lots of boring posts about kitten cuteness, kitten antics and kitten updates.
The kitten is doing great. He is very verbal - either his unique personality or because he is a siamese mix. Peggy has already spoiled him. She gave him a lick of Redi Whip and he went nuts. Now he climbs our legs in the kitchen hoping for more. I told her that kittens (and even dogs) can't have milk and will get diarrhea. Sure enough, it happened. He used the litter box, but the mess got tracked in the floor and his paws were stinky. He had his first bath and I got bit. Peggy likes Angel and says she might get a kitten!
He had his first vet appt today. In the car, he rode to the vet clinic on my shoulder. While waiting on the vet, he sat on my shoulder. Shoulders are his preferred location- that's where he is 99% of the time. The vet conferred that cats cannot have milk (cows are herbivores and cats are carnivores, therefore their milk content is different). She did say that he could have a teaspoon of yogurt as a treat. We'll try that in a few months. Angel was a trooper at his appointment and the vet fell in love with Abbie and wants her to marry her son.
Baby does not hate the kitten!
We took Peggy to dinner at Gourmet & Co tonight. This is one of our favorite restaurants. It's like eating the food we see on Food Network. Duck confit, sundried tomato ragout, pineapple foam.... Our meals were wonderful! I knew I was saving room for dessert - bananas foster. This is a specialty for this restaurant, and they didn't have it tonight! I have a recipe. I just need to make it myself.
We got Abbie a new bike for her birthday. She didn't ask for this. Paul put it together last night, but burst a tire as he was inflating it. He got a new tube today, fixed the tire and presented the bike to her tonight. She wasn't very impressed. It doesn't have training wheels - that's why. But we did install a long handle off the back that we hold onto to help her with balancing. It was too dark for her to practice, but maybe she will be a little more enthusiastic tomorrow?? But a gift that we got her that she really does like -- Seasons 1, 2, and 3 of Little House on the Prairie.
Tomorrow, we are going to make Abbie's selection from the cookbook that Annie got her. She chose to make Chocolate Chip-Peppermint Scones.

We got 7!

Abbie and I went back to the Animal Shelter today. I was very, very, very, very sad to discover that my precious favorite kittens were no longer there. Abbie's first and second choice kittens were no longer there. I noticed several differences from the day before. On a positive note, they could have been adopted. I'll just keep telling myself that!
I am so behind on posting pictures. Paul has been hogging the computer so I use the laptop (and I don't download photos on the laptop). I promise to catch up soon.
I knew in my heart that we would come home with more than one kitten. I was going to get one of those precious, sweet, fluffy, ragdoll-like kittens and let Abbie get whichever one she wanted. What's one more cat?
Ultimately, Abbie chose a kitten that I really liked, but I really didn't persuade her. I let her hold everyone she pointed at.
Our new kitten is a boy - finally another boy in the house with Paul - this is our first boy cat. He is 8 weeks old and is a siamese mix. Currently, he is mostly white with peach points - ears and tail. Abbie saw him sleeping and said he looked like an angel cat, hence his name, Angel.
He is currently ensconced in the master bathroom since we are having company soon. We need to keep him separated from Baby until he gets his shots. His vet appointment is Thursday.
Paul called after lunch to see how many kittens we actually got (he knows me so well). I told him 7.
He was surprised when he got home and we had only one. If I had gotten a second kitten today, it would have been an emotional decision and possibly a poor decision. Paul says I can get as many cats as I want if I make them outdoor cats. Hmmm. He's probably going to be sorry he told me that.

Birthday, More Frustration (funny), and A Visit to Local Animal Shelter

I've been planning Abbie's 8th Birthday Party for several weeks. We decided to base the party on The Daring Book for Girls (plus other ideas that I gathered here and there). Warning: the next part will sound like over-the-top bragging, but I am just setting the stage for the frustrating part. I designed the invitations myself and mailed them to 2 nieces and every girl in Abbie's class. If I wasn't thinking about the party, I was planning some aspect, making lists, cleaning the house, deep cleaning Abbie's room, buying supplies, crossing things off my list, researching activities (instructions), more cleaning, testing each project for age appropriateness and to make sure the instructions made sense, more shopping, cleaning, planning, cleaning, planning. I LOVE themed parties, and I will humbly give myself a pat on the back for doing a good job at tying all the details into the theme. We decided this would be a 5 hour party in order to do all the girly activities we had planned and to give parents a break while their daughter was at the party. I planned for lunch and a snack and had additional chaperones lined up to help me with each activity. We made fluffy flip flops, God's Eyes, friendship bracelets, played outside, played with Lego, made each girl a pretty hair do, and had *2 treasure hunts. About an hour into the party, I was regretting planning a 5 hour party, but everyone soon settled down and the rest of the party went smoothly. All the activities went well. Everyone had fun and played well together.
*The frustrating part - remember me saying how much time I spent planning for the party? Well, about 2 days before the party, Paul said, "Why don't we do a treasure hunt?" I said, "I'll have to revise the party schedule to add that activity, but it sounds like a great idea. Unfortunately, I don't have time to plan that so why don't you take charge of that activity?" Paul said okay and then went off and did something else. The day before the party, I left Abbie with Paul and headed to town one final time to get the last items needed for the party. When I came home, Paul had planned the whole treasure hunt. He had drawn a huge colorfu map of the outside of the house, written his clues, bought the treasure chest and the treasure chest items. Each clue was written in "pirate speak" and were very clever. In about 10 minutes, he created a shark out of a plastic tub and cooked 2 large pots of spaghetti to make shark guts (the girls would have to stick their hands into the shark mouth and search through the guts for clues inside plastic Easter eggs). At the end of the hunt, they would find a treasure box full of goodies like kaleidiscopes, ring pops, bubbles, candy necklaces, yo-yos, chocolate gold coins. I know the girls liked my activities, but they LOVED the treasure hunt that Paul creatively threw together in a short time. They loved it so much that they begged him for another treasure hunt. So in the last hour of the party, he wrote more clues with a different twist than the first hunt and hid them in different places. They loved it! I keep teasing him about being a creative genius.
In other news, we took our two bunnies to live on my brother's farm. I feel sad about this decision. My own moral code instructs me to research any animal I plan to get and pay for all it's vet bills and take care of it until the end of it's long life. I have broken my code, and I feel guilty. Paul wanted the bunnies out of the house. At the beginning, I thought they were so clean and unstinky (they used a litter box). But over time, the large room they were in acquired an odor and they started dumping their litter box, and not getting along very well. The breeder told me this might happen with 2 females, and I'd have to separate them, but Paul had no intention of building a rabbit hutch. My brother has outdoor animal pens perfect for bunnies (he used to have some) and he offered to take them. The problem was - how to convince Abbie that this was a good idea. On the spur of the moment, Paul told Abbie that she could have a kitten if she let the bunnies go live with Uncle Craig. She reluctantly agreed. We went to the animal shelter today, and I petted and talked to every cat in the place and petted almost all the dogs (and baby talked to them too). It is kitten season and there were so many choices! We all had a different favorite. We found ourselves saying, "I really like this one, but it's your choice, Abbie." I'm sure she was feeling the pressure. I held two little kittens that were like rag dolls - sweet, cuddly, quiet, limp, adoring eyes, fluffy, sweet.... We tried to pay attention to disposition instead of looks. There were 2 tiny white kittens with blue eyes. They were so tiny and kind of pitiful and needed cleaning up. For several months now (ever since finding the Kitty Committee blog), I've been feeling the urge to be a foster mom for kittens. I need a baby in the house in a big way. We didn't bring home a kitten today because we needed time to let it all soak in, but Abbie and I will go back tomorrow to make the final selection. I'm only supposed to bring home one kitten, right?
The dogs - there were so many! I feel so bad for all the unwanted animals of the world. I petted all of the dogs that would come to their door. Some I worried would maul my hand, but I stuck it in there anyway. I shed a few tears for a couple of dogs. One worker told me that they get about 1,000 animals a month! Holy Moly! And this is NOT a no-kill shelter. I asked if kittens get more time, but she said no, because adult cats have a better immune system and are more hardy. Makes sense. I held two kittens that she said had been there almost too long already. I can't swallow just thinking about it. How will I just bring home one kitten tomorrow?
I do plan to talk to the director about fostering. My dream is to have my own animal sanctuary someday (no-kill), and until then, I plan to start helping now.