Ebony and ivory...
Update on the kitten front:
I adopted out Sierra, the only girl kitten, to a friend of a friend in early August. I knew she'd be the first to go; everyone who saw her fell in love with her because she was not only pretty but also spunky and sweet. The guy who adopted her had gotten a mom and kitten a couple of years ago, and the mom cat caught a lung infection a few months ago and died very suddenly. He wanted a companion for the remaining cat, now about 2.5 years old. He sent me a picture of Sierra and his cat a week or so ago: The big orange-and-white male cat is asleep on the back of the sofa leaning against Sierra. So, yeah, she's doing fine.
The three males and the mom have been a challenge to find homes for. It was, according to every rescue group I've talked with, one of the worst summers in recent memory for animal adoptions. Every single rescue was full--not that I was looking to turn the kittens over to one--and all but one of them was very reticent when I asked if I could bring the kittens and Smoky to their adoption events. Finally, a chance encounter in Petsmart a few weeks ago led me to a group whose leader agreed to let me bring them but warned me that a. it's usually hard to find homes for black cats because they're considered "plain" or "common," which I already knew from doing rescue work years ago, and b. it's hard to find homes for larger kittens and adult cats when there are smaller kittens available, which I also knew. Nevertheless, I took Smoky and Charlie to the adoption event today. Tango was supposed to go, but he refused to be caught. Well, I caught him, sort of, but had to let him go when he scratched the daylights out of my hand.
To everyone's shock and surprise, they both found homes. Charlie went with a cute, 10-week-old, white-and-buff kitten to a home with--believe it or not--4-year-old triplet boys. I only spoke with the mom--the dad stayed in the car with the boys--and she's had cats before, although not since the kids came along, so she seemed to understand that the kittens would be frightened and shy, at least for a while. I got her email address and sent her a message a couple of hours after I got home telling her to please contact me if she had any questions or problems with the kittens. I'll feel better when I hear from her, and I've got my fingers crossed that Charlie will adjust OK and they won't want to bring him back. I'll take him back in that situation, of course, but I'd prefer for things to work out.
Odd thing that made no sense until I met the dad: After picking out the white kitten and deciding to get two that day (it's kitten season, so there was a discount if you took two) instead of waiting a few months to get the second one, the mom said she specifically wanted a black kitten. I thought that was a little strange--why a black kitten in particular--but Charlie was the only one there, and she held him for a few minutes and decided to take him. I helped her and another woman take the kittens out to their car and was introduced to her husband. Turns out he's black, she's white, and the kids are mixed race. Picture a little light-bulb going on over my head when I saw the husband.
Smoky went to a great home: 20-something woman who hasn't had a cat for about 5 years and was definitely ready to have one again. Her birthday is next week, and this was her gift to herself. I think Smoky will do well as an only cat; she's dominant by nature, and she's very focused on her person, to the point that she would follow J, the neighbor who was keeping her, around like a dog. I feel very good about this adoption.
The woman who runs the rescue was amazed that the two of them went so quickly (and went at all, honestly), and told me I have to come back next weekend because I clearly have the golden touch. I will definitely be back with Tango, providing he'll let me catch him, and I'll probably keep working with them regardless, because everyone I met was very nice and caring toward the animals without being really uptight about it, which you find in some rescue groups.
So...four down, one to go. But then, it's September, so who knows. The last two Septembers in a row, I've found kittens, so that number may change.
I adopted out Sierra, the only girl kitten, to a friend of a friend in early August. I knew she'd be the first to go; everyone who saw her fell in love with her because she was not only pretty but also spunky and sweet. The guy who adopted her had gotten a mom and kitten a couple of years ago, and the mom cat caught a lung infection a few months ago and died very suddenly. He wanted a companion for the remaining cat, now about 2.5 years old. He sent me a picture of Sierra and his cat a week or so ago: The big orange-and-white male cat is asleep on the back of the sofa leaning against Sierra. So, yeah, she's doing fine.
The three males and the mom have been a challenge to find homes for. It was, according to every rescue group I've talked with, one of the worst summers in recent memory for animal adoptions. Every single rescue was full--not that I was looking to turn the kittens over to one--and all but one of them was very reticent when I asked if I could bring the kittens and Smoky to their adoption events. Finally, a chance encounter in Petsmart a few weeks ago led me to a group whose leader agreed to let me bring them but warned me that a. it's usually hard to find homes for black cats because they're considered "plain" or "common," which I already knew from doing rescue work years ago, and b. it's hard to find homes for larger kittens and adult cats when there are smaller kittens available, which I also knew. Nevertheless, I took Smoky and Charlie to the adoption event today. Tango was supposed to go, but he refused to be caught. Well, I caught him, sort of, but had to let him go when he scratched the daylights out of my hand.
To everyone's shock and surprise, they both found homes. Charlie went with a cute, 10-week-old, white-and-buff kitten to a home with--believe it or not--4-year-old triplet boys. I only spoke with the mom--the dad stayed in the car with the boys--and she's had cats before, although not since the kids came along, so she seemed to understand that the kittens would be frightened and shy, at least for a while. I got her email address and sent her a message a couple of hours after I got home telling her to please contact me if she had any questions or problems with the kittens. I'll feel better when I hear from her, and I've got my fingers crossed that Charlie will adjust OK and they won't want to bring him back. I'll take him back in that situation, of course, but I'd prefer for things to work out.
Odd thing that made no sense until I met the dad: After picking out the white kitten and deciding to get two that day (it's kitten season, so there was a discount if you took two) instead of waiting a few months to get the second one, the mom said she specifically wanted a black kitten. I thought that was a little strange--why a black kitten in particular--but Charlie was the only one there, and she held him for a few minutes and decided to take him. I helped her and another woman take the kittens out to their car and was introduced to her husband. Turns out he's black, she's white, and the kids are mixed race. Picture a little light-bulb going on over my head when I saw the husband.
Smoky went to a great home: 20-something woman who hasn't had a cat for about 5 years and was definitely ready to have one again. Her birthday is next week, and this was her gift to herself. I think Smoky will do well as an only cat; she's dominant by nature, and she's very focused on her person, to the point that she would follow J, the neighbor who was keeping her, around like a dog. I feel very good about this adoption.
The woman who runs the rescue was amazed that the two of them went so quickly (and went at all, honestly), and told me I have to come back next weekend because I clearly have the golden touch. I will definitely be back with Tango, providing he'll let me catch him, and I'll probably keep working with them regardless, because everyone I met was very nice and caring toward the animals without being really uptight about it, which you find in some rescue groups.
So...four down, one to go. But then, it's September, so who knows. The last two Septembers in a row, I've found kittens, so that number may change.