The State of the Fosters
Things are chugging right along here in foster land. Last weekend, we rearranged our den to allow us to fit a third kitten cage in, since Anya's family is now big enough to move downstairs. We both really like the new arrangement - it makes the den feel bigger, and allows us to open one of the French doors, giving a lot more airflow!
Anya's kids, recently dubbed the "A-Team", are no longer fur slugs in any way. We are working now on weaning them. One or two of them have got the idea that food is good - we've even seen Abby eating dry food - and the others are beginning to come around. It's none too soon - they're drinking poor Anya dry! She's eating like a horse, but still losing weight as she tries to support these enormous babies. I'm hoping we'll have them fully weaned in the next week or so. Abby is the largest and most advanced of the five, developmentally speaking. The other four are one girl (Amber) and three boys (Arnold, Archie, and Andy. I hope you don't mind having a kitten named after you, blumsha!) They're now living in the upstairs apartment, which is fully lined with choroplast. They've discovered the wonders of the cat climber, wrestling with siblings, and batting around jingle balls. They've also started pulling themselves up on the edge of the choroplast, giving us Kilroy Kittens.
Abby, Arnold and Amber in Kitten Wrestlemania:
Andy and Archie demonstrate Kilroy Kittens (if blurrily):
A VERY patient Anya and babies at feeding time:
Anya herself has proclaimed herself queen of the downstairs, and takes no crap from ANYONE that would dispute the fact. She's mellowed enough that we feel safe giving her some more freedom, but anyone that's not human and gets near her babies had better watch out! She's also found her voice - quite literally! And discovered that the downstairs bathroom echoes nicely! She's taken to giving operatic concerts in there at random intervals - you'll hear her in there yelling to herself. She's spending less time with the babies these days, though she's still nursing for now.
The Pterodactyls continue growing steadily. Posy is fighting an upper respiratory infection, but it doesn't seem to have slowed her down any. She is eating and playing as enthusiastically as any of her siblings! She is on doxycycline to clear that up. She's still the most fearless cat I've ever seen - she's completely unafraid of the vaccuum, playing with the wand as I clean out the kitten cages. All four kittens are just adorable. They are quickly approaching the 2 pound mark, at which point it will be time to go back to the shelter to find permanent homes! I don't expect it'll take them long - the three girls have lovely personalities and extremely unusual coat patterns, whereas Piper is just a little snuggler. He's a first-class shoulder kitty! They'll go in tomorrow for more shots and to get their FIV/FeLV tests.
Piper, Penny and Peanut nap in the sun:
Penny snoozes:
Piper shows off a stripey kitten belly:
Synchronized sleeping! (Mostly!):
Our two feral kids, Neville and Nellie, are coming along, if more slowly than we'd like. Nellie is pretty close to tame now. She behaves more like a shy cat than a feral. Once she's picked up, she snuggles and purrs and headbutts like any other kitty. She was spayed last week and all of her tests came back good. She will need to go into the vet, though, since there's some indications of problems with her incision. Hopefully it's nothing major, and she'll be good as new in no time! She is a stunningly beautiful cat, with thick, glossy black fur and the cutest black-and-white stripey toes on her front feet!
Nellie is still unsure of this whole "taking her picture" thing:
Showing off her stripey toes:
Pretty girl:
Neville is taking a little more time. His is still very hissy and growly when approached, and does his best to avoid being picked up. We had an adventure earlier, when he accidentally got loose. I was able to track him down to the guest bedroom and recapture him without too much trouble, though. Fortunately, he's putting on weight. He's a tough customer to tame, however, since he shows little interest in either food or play, making it difficult to find something he wants to offer him to help with the taming process. We are making some progress - he's clearly more comfortable moving around his cage when we're in the room, and he will relax and purr when held, but it's still going to be a while before we stop seeing airplane ears every time we try to pick him up!
Neville KNOWS what HE thinks of this whole "taking his picture" thing:
Overall, everyone's doing really well!
Anya's kids, recently dubbed the "A-Team", are no longer fur slugs in any way. We are working now on weaning them. One or two of them have got the idea that food is good - we've even seen Abby eating dry food - and the others are beginning to come around. It's none too soon - they're drinking poor Anya dry! She's eating like a horse, but still losing weight as she tries to support these enormous babies. I'm hoping we'll have them fully weaned in the next week or so. Abby is the largest and most advanced of the five, developmentally speaking. The other four are one girl (Amber) and three boys (Arnold, Archie, and Andy. I hope you don't mind having a kitten named after you, blumsha!) They're now living in the upstairs apartment, which is fully lined with choroplast. They've discovered the wonders of the cat climber, wrestling with siblings, and batting around jingle balls. They've also started pulling themselves up on the edge of the choroplast, giving us Kilroy Kittens.
Abby, Arnold and Amber in Kitten Wrestlemania:
Andy and Archie demonstrate Kilroy Kittens (if blurrily):
A VERY patient Anya and babies at feeding time:
Anya herself has proclaimed herself queen of the downstairs, and takes no crap from ANYONE that would dispute the fact. She's mellowed enough that we feel safe giving her some more freedom, but anyone that's not human and gets near her babies had better watch out! She's also found her voice - quite literally! And discovered that the downstairs bathroom echoes nicely! She's taken to giving operatic concerts in there at random intervals - you'll hear her in there yelling to herself. She's spending less time with the babies these days, though she's still nursing for now.
The Pterodactyls continue growing steadily. Posy is fighting an upper respiratory infection, but it doesn't seem to have slowed her down any. She is eating and playing as enthusiastically as any of her siblings! She is on doxycycline to clear that up. She's still the most fearless cat I've ever seen - she's completely unafraid of the vaccuum, playing with the wand as I clean out the kitten cages. All four kittens are just adorable. They are quickly approaching the 2 pound mark, at which point it will be time to go back to the shelter to find permanent homes! I don't expect it'll take them long - the three girls have lovely personalities and extremely unusual coat patterns, whereas Piper is just a little snuggler. He's a first-class shoulder kitty! They'll go in tomorrow for more shots and to get their FIV/FeLV tests.
Piper, Penny and Peanut nap in the sun:
Penny snoozes:
Piper shows off a stripey kitten belly:
Synchronized sleeping! (Mostly!):
Our two feral kids, Neville and Nellie, are coming along, if more slowly than we'd like. Nellie is pretty close to tame now. She behaves more like a shy cat than a feral. Once she's picked up, she snuggles and purrs and headbutts like any other kitty. She was spayed last week and all of her tests came back good. She will need to go into the vet, though, since there's some indications of problems with her incision. Hopefully it's nothing major, and she'll be good as new in no time! She is a stunningly beautiful cat, with thick, glossy black fur and the cutest black-and-white stripey toes on her front feet!
Nellie is still unsure of this whole "taking her picture" thing:
Showing off her stripey toes:
Pretty girl:
Neville is taking a little more time. His is still very hissy and growly when approached, and does his best to avoid being picked up. We had an adventure earlier, when he accidentally got loose. I was able to track him down to the guest bedroom and recapture him without too much trouble, though. Fortunately, he's putting on weight. He's a tough customer to tame, however, since he shows little interest in either food or play, making it difficult to find something he wants to offer him to help with the taming process. We are making some progress - he's clearly more comfortable moving around his cage when we're in the room, and he will relax and purr when held, but it's still going to be a while before we stop seeing airplane ears every time we try to pick him up!
Neville KNOWS what HE thinks of this whole "taking his picture" thing:
Overall, everyone's doing really well!