It's Hard to Do the Right Thing

Whiskey is old enough for a new home. As always, it's practically impossible to find someone who needs a cat. We thought we had a home for him but that fell through.

I would really like to keep him. I feel like he is mine (because I bottle fed him or because I would fall in love with any kitten?). I look forward to coming home because he will be the first to greet me. I scoop him up and cuddle him under my chin. He purrs; I melt.

I have lots of room in my heart for another cat. Technically, I have room in my house for another cat, but "just one more" usually leads to a little regret later on when there are vet appointments to make, litter boxes to clean, food to buy, pet sitters to schedule.

I need to find Whiskey a home.

With the other cats that I foster - they come from the shelter, and I know they have to go back to the shelter in order to be adopted. But Whiskey - I bottle fed him - I can't take him to a shelter. I told my husband that I absolutely cannot take him to the shelter. I respect the shelter, but I can't take him.

Luckily, a niece came to visit, and she and her husband like cats. They adopted January and August from my first batch of foster kittens. They have decided to take Whiskey home and see how it goes. They are coming for another visit in December and will bring all 3 cats with them so I get to see my Whiskey boy again!

I know it was the right thing to do, but I sure do miss him. :(

Nightshade's Point of View - New Name

This is the life!

This guy says my name should be Whiskey (short for Whiskers but maybe the drink too). My mom thinks that if everyone calls me Whiskey then he will let her keep me. Keep your paws crossed.

I like to pat her lips while she smooches at me. Later, I will wrestle with her fingers and hands until I am completely worn out and will need a nap in someone's lap.

This pretty girl likes me a lot.

I am good at Angry Birds. I like to help mom get 3 stars on each level. For some reason, mom says that I mess up her game when I put my paws on the screen and cause a bird to slingshot in the wrong direction. They are birds, I am a cat; it's what I do.

One of the best laps in the house.

I am adorable. They can't stop taking pictures of me.

You Can Lead A Horse to Water...

But you can't make him drink.

Remember I said that I would tell the story about how Nightshade learned to drink water? Well, it's time to tell the story, and I'm glad there are no pictures for proof.

Nightshade (although I call him Mr. Scampers and Shadow more often than not) was bottle fed until recently. Due to the vet's recommendation, he is now eating canned cat food exclusively. From day one, I have made fresh water available to him even when he was getting a bottle.

Now that he is on canned food, it is important that he drink water too, but I never see him take a drink. I see him stare at the water and look very interested in it, but I've never seen him take a lap of water.

I've given it a few days because he may drink water when I'm not watching. Who knows? Also, he sees my other adult cats drink water all the time so he has plenty of examples to follow.

One day, he was staring intently into the water bowl. He would tentatively dip his head and just when I thought he would stick his tongue into the bowl, he would raise his head again. I was worried because he seemed thirsty.

I finally decided to take matters into my own hands. After all, I am pretty sure he thinks I am his mom. I got a different bowl, a human one with no cat germs, and filled it with water. I will regret telling this part...........well, you can probably figure out what I did, right?

Short story is, he now knows how to drink water from a bowl.

Random Pictures

Playing with a sunbeam.

Our favorite activities - reading, relaxing, having a kitten in our lap.

He was really excited that I let him have a little adventure outside.

Guess What?

This is just a teaser post. In the next post, I will tell the story about how he learned to drink water.

Night Shade

As usual, my cats do not like a new cat on the premises. With other foster cats, I have had to keep everyone separated. But since this little guy has no mom and no siblings, he gets to hang out with me quite a bit.

Angel is curious about him but keeps his distance. Baby is indifferent and keeps her distance. Little Man despises him and hisses at him or in his general direction at every possible opportunity.

But Friday; Friday seems to like him. Could it be that they are the same color? It's an interesting theory.

The kitten, of course, likes ALL the cats. He would LOVE for one of them to be his mom. As much as he likes the kitten formula, you can tell he would love to nurse.
I would love to invent some sort of substitute cat belly, equipped with nipples (that work) for feeding abandoned kittens.

One thing I did when we first brought him home was find a stuffed animal that he could rest on while I fed him. I also put the stuffed animal in bed with him. Not sure if this has any benefits, but it seems like a good thing to do. (It's a black and white cow.)

Abbie named him Night Shade. She loves the "Warriors" book series and says she remembers the name from one of those books. I've been calling him Shade for short. Sometimes, I call him Shadow. Not sure which name will stick.
Notice in the picture above, Friday is reaching for the kitten's tail. Do you think he likes him or thinks he is prey?

Our Ears Finally Grew

Lily finally has some ears. She is expecially lovable and likes to be the first to greet me each day.

This is Lily and Poppy's first time in the den. They enjoyed smelling the carpet.

Hello, Miss Darling. I need to find a first name for you.

"Hey, I don't like the flash." says Cosmo.

Hawthorn says, "I smell another cat."

Did I mention that Miss Darling is a great mom? The foster kittens are lucky to have her. She likes to get in my lap and knead her paws and get undivided attention while her babies are scampering around.

What's In A Name

I like a theme. This batch of foster kittens are going to be named for flowers. This little lady is Poppy. Not long after she was born, her eyes started getting matted together. She is the only one who had this problem. I started getting worried about her. Every day, twice a day, I took warm, wet cotton balls and cleaned her eyes. Poppy is all better now!

The two boys are named Cosmo and Hawthorn. I pretend to know which is which.

This is Poppy before her eyes got better. The other little lady (the gray one) is Lilly.

I still need to come up with a few more names.

These foster kittens have especially beautiful eyes. Right now, their eyes are blue. Hopefully, they will stay that way.

Foster Kitten Pictures

Since the foster kittens are so small, they sleep a lot and spend most of their time inside the crate. Abbie decided to join them!

Maybe I just have a bad memory, but this set of foster kittens have seemed to do everything earlier than the last batch of foster kittens. The Darlings have opened their eyes already.

6 foster kittens = 5 orange kittens, 1 gray kitten, 4 girl kittens, 2 boy kittens

"We're identical!"

The Darlings

Until we come up with names, I've been calling her Miss Mama. I've been so lucky to get such sweet mama cats. She is very tame and lovable. After her meal, she starts purring loudly to let me know that she is ready to be petted.

Look at those little ear nubbins! This is the only foster kitten that is this color - similar to the mom's coloring but yet a little lighter with more orange.

There are 5 orange kittens - I cannot tell them apart! This is my pretty niece who is going to help us name the foster kittens.

TA - DA!

We've given the foster kittens a last name - Darling.

Day 2 with New Foster Family

I've got to come up with a last name for the new foster kittens.

Not much to report today - no pictures either.

I started feeding the mom canned food today. THAT really makes her happy! The kittens look fine. I've been to visit them several times today, and they are always asleep in a heap. I like their new set up - the shelter had the foster kittens in a huge dog crate, and they let me bring the crate home. The crate keeps them off the cold concrete floor, and there are several thick layers of blankets in the crate. I checked - by crawling in - and it's warm and cozy in there.

I can't wait until the kittens get more active.

Second Foster Family

Meet our new foster kittens!

This, of course, is the mom.

Today, we drove to the Unicoi County Animal Shelter to pick up a new batch of foster kittens. The babies were born on October 26, 2009 so they are about one week old.

We haven't named the foster family yet. I don't think the shelter named the mother yet - if they did, they didn't tell me.

It is actually difficult to say yes to host another batch of foster kittens. I was a little hesitant to say yes this time. Not sure why.

But once you get to the shelter and SEE the foster family, all the doubts fade away. A sense of purpose and happiness floats in and digs itself in your heart on the drive home.

While I was at the shelter, Paul was at Lowes buying the supplies we would need to make a better enclosure for the foster kittens and to keep our cats away from the family for now. Mother cats don't particularly like strange cats - especially males - around their kittens. For health purposes, we also need to keep everyone separated.

The mother cat is sweet and agreeable. The foster kittens are tiny and one or two are starting to open their eyes. Last time, we had five foster kittens. This time, we have SIX foster kittens. So far, 5 of the kittens appear to be the exact same color - I don't know how we'll tell them apart. One kitten looks just like the mom.

I'll keep you posted!

TGFF, Part 2

Yesterday, I got the good news that Miss Dora (the real furry mother of the foster kittens) finally got adopted. I am so relieved! I had actually been talking about her to a friend on the same day that I got the news. I hope she has gone to a happy home.
Today, August and January left my house to go to their permanent home. They got a lot of kisses from me today. I was sad to see them go. :(
I am positive that the house is much quieter now that January and August are gone. Friday, their brother, is still fostering with me, but he sure is a quiet little guy. I'm not sure I've ever heard him meow. I think he will miss his brother and sister, but he has my 3 cats to keep him company. I think I still have Friday because there is a special home for him out there; I just need more time to find it. He's a special guy.
TGFF - thank God for Friday!