Happy New Year - Reflecting on 2010 - Foster Kittens

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 Where has 2010 gone to? It seems we just celebrated Christmas 2009 not that long ago.

Looking back on 2010:

We fostered 15 kittens from the Teller County Regional Animal Shelter - that is a record for us! We were blessed with some adorable kittens this year. First (in February) were Thelma & Louise (rescued from the helipad in Victor) who had new homes even before we took them back to the shelter in late April, followed shortly thereafter by the nekked as a jay bird bottle fed kitten, Jellybean (found in a trash can at a gas station). Then came Barbie and Kenny and a week later their sister Krissy (all rescued from a trailer park in Woodland Park - Krissy was found almost dead in a trash can). Immediately after Jellybean, Barbie, Ken & Krissy went back to the shelter in July we got Magpie & Raven (found outside at the Children's ARK in Ute Pass - Magpie was a "special needs" kitten). In August we got Black Jack, Blackberry, Inky (who we called Blueberry or "Boo") and Soot (who we called Ace of Spaced or "Ace") all slender little short haired black Oriental kittens. When I picked Ace and Boo up from the vet's office, it turns out Ace had been switched with Espresso (another black kitten who had been at the vet's for neutering that same day - also from the shelter). We kept Espresso because he needed some socialization work. He went back to the shelter in mid December and I was bereft without kittens in the house! Two days later the shelter called and asked if I could take in two more kittens - of course I could!! So we picked up Mickey and Mack and they are still here. I am in love with Mickey but hubby says we already have enough cats and don't "need" another one. Sigh...it is so hard sometimes to foster these little love bugs and then take them back to the shelter when the time comes!

Tomorrow I'll reflect more on what we did in 2010.

 

Thelma and Louise - ADOPTED!

Tuesday morning I took Thelma and Louise to the vet's to be spayed. Yes, Louise IS a female. She looks totally different "down there" than Thelma but she is a girl. The people who were adopting her almost changed their minds because they thought they were getting a male kitten and male cats are generally more affectionate than females, but they decided to get her!

I met my friend Deanna in Woodland Park and she bought me lunch at my favorite Mexican restaurant. She then followed me to Divide to the animal shelter and picked up her new baby girl, Thelma. She picked Thelma up and Thelma crawled up to her shoulder and proceeded to growl at all the other cats in the room. Deanna put her in the crate and Thelma immediately curled up, sighed and watched out the window serenely. I made up a certificate for Thelma - "Certified Diva", graduate of Level I training is Miss Precious' Diva Academy. Its signed by Precious, DMT (Diva Master Teacher). Deanna got a hoot out of it and I had a blast coming up with it!

Thelma is settling into her new home and has already put the dogs in their place. I'm anxious to hear how the night went. Hopefully she was tired enough to sleep through the night without raising a ruckus.

They hadn't picked up Louise yet when we were there at the shelter yesterday so I hope that their adoption is going as well as Thelma's and that they are as pleased with their new baby as Thelma's new Momma is.

This foster period was the longest we've ever had - 10 weeks to the day. It was also the hardest to part with them but knowing they went to excellent loving homes made it much easier. And, kitten season will be here soon so we'll probably be playing with new fosters soon enough.

Munchkin and Moose are distraught that their girls are gone. They spent the entire day and half the night calling for them. Sigh...I know boys, its hard saying goodbye!

Wordless Wednesday

Foster Kittens Update

Sorry, lately I've been posting mostly fiber and yarn and I know some people don't really care to see all of that, but it has consumed my life and my time for weeks and I just had to share!

I decided I needed to update everyone on the foster kittens that we took in three weeks ago. Three days after we took them in, the smallest kitten woke up with one watery eye. The next day, both eyes were watering. The next day he was sneezing so hard he got a bloody nose. I called the shelter and ran in to pick up some antibiotics. He was to be on a seven day course of the antibiotics. The antibiotics were I believe maybe orange flavored - they mixed up orange at any rate - and he hated to take them. I felt so bad forcing him to take the stuff but I knew he had to take it to get better. The next day I thought we were going to lose the little guy because he was so stuffed up and lethargic. Jim gave him Reiki and I cleaned his little eyes, face and nose up several times a day with a warm damp wash rag. Within a few days he turned around and by day 6 of the antibiotics he was playing and eating again. Day 7 he was exhausted - in fact all the cats were laying around the house like little furry rugs and nobody was active. Every other day he was active, followed by a day of inactivity. Now, finally he is eating like a little hog, romping through the house for hours and gaining weight. He also had severe diarrhea when we got him and that has gotten better. Rather than feeding them the Science Diet kitten food that the shelter gave me, I am feeding them the all life stages grain free kibble that we feed our cats, along with scrambled egg, cottage cheese and plain vanilla yogurt to build the bacteria back up in their systems. No, I don't spoil my foster kittens! ;o)

These kittens were named Thelma and Louise but now that they're older we have Thelma and Louis because the "paint" kitten is clearly a male. And Thelma is clearly a female - a DIVA in training! She meows her displeasure at all sorts of things. She loves to snuggle on your lap, but only if it is her idea. If you pick her up and she doesn't want to be held she squirms and meows until you put her down. Several times I've run out to see who was hurting whom and it was Thelma squalling because somebody looked at her wrong. She starts fights and then meows loudly when the other kitten or cat plays too rough. Louis, on the other hand, purrs loudly when you talk to him, pet him, pick him up, etc. Male cats are always so much more affectionate - I should have known from the beginning just from attitude that one was a male and the other was a female!

So, here are some photos I took a few days ago while Thelma and Louis were watching a fly on the ceiling. They are too cute! I have to call the shelter this week and see when they need to go back. Both kittens are at least 2 pounds 5 ounces now - Louis has gained a full pound since we got them and he has surpassed his sister in weight now. Doesn't it look like he's smiling in this photo?!

New Foster Kittens!

Monday afternoon our daughter and her BF came over to play with Lalo and visit for awhile. While we were playing with Lalo I mentioned that I was ready for another kitten fix. The very next day the phone rang and it was the shelter wanting to know if I could take in two little kittens found abandoned on the helipad in Victor. I started laughing and said "Of course!!!" And then wondered if this would also work with winning the Lotto, etc.....I'm going to have a go at that, too; I'll let you know how that works out for me!

Anyway, here are Thelma & Louise, although I think they look like little males so we may have Theodore and Louis instead (remember how Lily became Lalo?!)

Here's Thelma

And here's Louise:

Louise is in constant motion so it was very difficult to get good photos of her. Thelma, on the other hand, is a total ham and very laid back so I got plenty of great photos of her!

Aren't they adorable?!

There is an upper respiratory virus going around the cattery at the shelter so these little ones will stay with us until there are no more problems at the shelter or until they are big enough to be spayed (or neutered if they turn out to be males), whichever comes first.