Wordless Wednesday - Play Time - Styx, Acorn and Oakley Edition

 

Mischief Monday - Celeste and The Cosmic Crew -by Lady

 I was away for a few days and the Man had to take care of all things kitten. Overall it was ok, execpt the time Celeste acted like she wanted pets and then put her claws into him and drew blood. I was stunned how big the crew got while I was away. It was only 3 days and they look even more like real cats and they are moving around so much more and playing! 

Thank you to those who commented on the infected eyes. We are aware of this and are working to treat it. We lost a little ground the 3 days I was away because Celeste doesn't trust man like she trusts me and he couldn't treat them safely. I can see in the one day of cleaning, we are already getting an improvement so I hope we can get it all cleared up. It is in no way impacting their play and exploring.

I call this picture trust because Celeste trusted me to pick up one of the crew to treat the eyes. She was a little unsettled but was not aggressive. 

Eclipse

This week we will be introducing litter and food to the crew! Fingers crossed. I can't believe they are 4 weeks old!

Tuesdays with Tigris - The Cosmic Crew

Because I know I am the apple in my people's eye, I will give this post to Lady to update Celeste and the Cosmic Crew.

The Cosmic Crew continues to bring us and those we share with, so much joy! We can't believe how big the babies are. They are moving around now, they are opening their eyes and they are starting to sit up. I have been able to check them out a couple times and I am guessing 2 boys and 2 girls. Time will tell if my guess is right!

Celeste is usually very tolerant of me in her space. There are times she will "charge" at me (sometimes as I enter the room) and she has given me a few gentle nips and gentle swats. To be honest, Styx has bitten me harder when I have been trying to have a lie in. I imagine how scared this poor gal is, to have been in our house for 1.5 days and then to have given birth. I am amazed how well she is doing, and now the kittens are past the age where I feel I need to worry, I am able to respect her boundaries.  I think she will be super hard to say goodbye to when it is time for her adoption. We have shared a unique time together. 

Here are a few random pictures from the past week.

Kittens In The Big House - By Styx

 Hi friends, hi friends, hi friends!

How I have missed you! Lady finally had a quiet day to catch up, up, up. I told her, time to tell our friends about what we think about living with foster cats.

First, for the most part the foster cats are in rooms we don't see. Celeste and the Cosmic Crew are in the foster room, and Acorn and Oakley are in the main bathroom. Once Celeste and Tigris had words under the door, but mostly we just ignore them.

Yesterday Man had an idea. He thought Acorn and Oakley should get some supervised time out. Well they did and it went pretty well. I was the bestest, bestest, bestest boy.

Acorn and I were nose to nose and I only hissed after she hissed at me 3 times. 

Tigris watched it all from the table, not happy but not angry either. 

Lanie hissed, hissed, hissed and growled, growled, growled when Acorn looked at her. 

Oakley got brave and walked around. She avoided us so no hissing occurred. 

It went so well, Lady and Man said it would happen again.

They have discovered the towel laundry basket and were mad when Lady did the laundry

We will see if they make more mischief this week.

your pal, the amazing friend Styxy 

Mischief Monday - Ummm, Some Excuse - by Styx

 Hi friends, hi friends, hi friends!

The Lady promised we were going to have lots and lots and lots of time to catch up with your blogs yesterday and then she got a call to go help catalogue cats in a colony who need to be re-homed and she did that and then spent 2 hours going through the pictures to make a profile for each of the 18 cats. The people say people keep dumping cats near their house and they have been trying to take care of them. 

She said you would all understand. 

Here are some of them. 

sigh! She really is being a crazy cat Lady

Styx

Remeber that Time We Accidently had 12 Cats?

 I turned and said that to the Man last Wednesday, when having newborn kittens was fresh and we were both tired and I laughed and laughed and he gave me the look. 

This is how this happened.

We knew Friendly and Austin were being picked up for their forever homes on Friday the 11th. They stayed an extra few days because Friendly was getting spayed on Monday and we didn't want her to have to move right away. We moved them into my office, to make space for Celeste, Acorn and Oakley, who were coming as soon as they were caught (it took almost a week for this to happen). We knew we would have 8 cats for a few days.

Then when Celeste gave birth, we had to move Acorn and Oakley somewhere and the only space was the bathroom (our house is very open concept). they are staying in the bathroom for now as my office is really not ideal for kittens.

So for 3.5 days or so we had 12 cats.

Tigris, Styx and Lanie

Friendly and Austin 

Celeste and 4 newborns

Acorn and Oakley

I am going to be honest, this was a lot. I do not recommend. 

Friday we said goodbye to Friendly and Austin. We wish them all the best with their new family and hope Austin escapes getting dressed up by little girls (although I don't know if he will).

The first day after spay, she slept on me all day

The Other 2 Fosters

As we mentioned yesterday, Celeste came in with 2 kittens, who were not hers. Originally, they were part of 7 (there mom is very, very feral), 4 the SPCA took and 3 who were left. Sadly, one was killed before it could be rescued.

First up is Acorn. Acorn is a spitfire cat, who is all play and cuddles. Her attention span is a millisecond. She has had a little eye infection that is healing. 

Before the birth

She has the cutest spotted belly

Next up, is the elusive Oakley. We believe she is also female (we only got a quick look during the moving process during the birth stuff!) She had seemed to be coming a little out of her shell that first day (she was actually caught after Celeste and Acorn and brought to us later in the day on Monday). However, us having to chase her around the room to get her out, damaged some of the trust and we are working to get it back. She is starting to come out to play if we are in the bathroom (yes, they are in the bathroom, why, find out on Thursday!) We know she will need some time, but we are here for it.

Before the move

These are the fosters who are requiring play and attention, but overall seem to be doing well. The Man takes them to the vet today as I am transporting a load of cats for a spay and neuter.

Celeste and the Cosmic Kittens

 We interrupt our regular scheduled posts to just catch you up on foster life! It has been a week.

We will start with Celeste and her cosmic kittens.

Celeste (and 2 kittens not hers, who we will introduce  tomorrow), came in to our care on September 7. They had been living on the streets and the person who was feeding them caught them and gave them to the rescue. 

No one knew just how close to birth Celeste was. Tuesday night, just as I was falling asleep, Man yelled, we have kittens.

We were not prepared for this. So after a few minutes of panic (getting the other kittens out of the room, contacting the rescue and the internet), we took a breath and let Celeste do her thing. I must admit was my only help was moving the first born from the box to the tent where she had moved. 

Between 10-11:30 pm on Tuesday, September 8, Celeste welcomed 4 kittens to the world. I stayed with her, dozing on the former guest bed, until about 3:30.  I only knew we had a new kitten when it mewled. Since then, we have been checking in a few times to make sure all the babies appear to be doing well, Celeste is well and she has lots of food and water and to change the litter.

So far, so good! It has been amazing to see how fast these little kittens have grown.

4-5 hours after birth

5.5 days later - pardon the litter, it is not time to clean the room yet

We have finally given them names. It will be hard for you to see as I am respecting Celeste as much as possible. It was hard to pick gender neutral names.

The Cosmic Crew are:

Eclipse (all black one)

Quark (black and white one)

Orbit (grey one with a little white on the side)

Velocity (the other grey one)

While the Man had specifically said no pregnant cats, and I know that likely won't happen again, I am really enjoying this special time and watching Celeste be an amazing momma to very fast growing kittens!

Stay tuned for more kittens!

Mischief Monday - Is It Over?

 Hi friends, hi friends, hi friends!

First, we have not got to visit you like we have wanted to, because we are busy, busy, busy. Lady says we may not blog 5 or 6 days a week for the short term, but you will hear from us a couple times a week.  She says, things overall are just rolling along and there isn't much to talk about.  We are boring, boring, boring, in a very good way. 

Enjoying the last of the summer sun. 

Now, perhaps the most important news for me, your Styxy. The kittens have all been adopted. While some are still in our house, they will all be to their forever homes in the next day or two. 

California is going to a lovely young couple who said goodbye to their calico earlier this year and are ready for another one. 

Austin and Friendly are going to a family who have always had cats. They will live with 3 kids. They will get lots of love and not from my, my, my people. 

Together forever - Friendly and Austin

We have also heard from Phantom's (now Eva) family that she is settling in and they love her already. 

I stopped to look at the kittens yesterday, and I did not, not, not like it. I had to growl, growl, growl at them.  I am hoping having intruders will be over, but I heard Lady tell Man, she is working with the rescue to figure out the best fit for the next cat(s). We will see. I think Lady has done enough with Lanie and these kittens to help the Cat Redistribution System.  She says no, no, no. 

Styx - who isn't sure he likes new cats in his house and wants it to be over. 

Caturday - And Then There Were 3

 We are happy to report that Miss Phantom has left for her forever home! 

For the organization we are fostering the adoption process goes like this. People apply to adopt the cats. After a pre-screening, their contact information is shared with the foster family. The foster family sets up a time for the potential adopters to come and visit. This is relaxed, but the foster family is encouraged to look for red flags/get a sense of the people. The foster family reports their impressions to the person supporting this adoption. If the potential family wants to go through with it, they let the organization know. After 48 hours (to try and stop impulsive cat adoptions), the adopters complete paperwork and payment. Once this is done, the foster family arranges pick up. Each of the cats leaves with a small bag of treats and toys and a quilt that has been handmade by one of our volunteers. 

Phantom is going to a lovely couple with a 12 year old son (who clearly loved to play with kittens) and a 13 year old cat. The family seemed warm and caring and clearly wanted a kitten (the lady admitted to having starting to buy new toys for one), so we know this was not impulsive. 

We will miss her and wish her all the best in her forever home. 

During our short time with Phantom she was playful and cuddly. A bit unsure about new things at first, but after a few moments, happy to join in or check them out. She also gave the most kisses. 

Wordless Wednesday - The Watering Hole

 

Caturday - Foster 4 - Week 2

It has been almost 2 weeks since the fosters arrived. Hopefully, as you read this, all 4 kittens will be available for adoption. Friendly had her follow up yesterday and once she is healthy enough  to get her first vaccine, she will be ready. Her sneezing has improved. Austin was neutered this week and is doing great. 

People have asked why we decided to foster.  First, Man, has been bullied into this. This is not his dream. My dream is actually to foster old dogs, but this was not something Man wanted as I need a co-foster parent for when she works late etc I pivoted to cats. I also have the dream of becoming a crazy cat lady, and this allows me to do so in a more reasonable way. I know I am going to be sad to see them go, but also joyful. How lucky am I to get to be a small part of these wonderful cats lives, even for a short time. 

Here are some of the fun pictures for this week.

When vacuum came out