Goodbye Willow......

Willow

2006 - 2009

Willow became sick in September and was diagnosed with Feline Infectious Peritonitis. She was on daily medication but this last week the medication stopped working and there wasn't really anything that could be done for her except try to manage her pain. As her quality of life was not good, we decided to say goodbye.

Meet Cooper

Cooper came to live with us two weeks ago........a six week old full of attitude. It took three or four days before he stopped hissing at Sophie and the other cats but now he likes curling up beside Timothy (as he is in this picture). He still doesn't think much of me and if looks could kill, I'd be laid out on the floor.....lol His ears go back when I pick him up and he tolerates me (sort of) if I want to cuddle. He's a tough little guy but I'm sure he'll eventually come around.

Update on Maddison.......

Maddison is a happy little girl and is putting on some of the weight that she lost. Her head is still tilted to one side and I took her back to the vets last week. She has a bacterial infection in her ears and a swab was sent out to a lab so that we can find out the correct medication to put her on. Hopefully we'll get her ear infection cleared up soon.

Merlin's Been Adopted!!!!!

Merlin has been adopted by two ladies, a mother and her 45 year old disabled daughter. Their fourteen year old cat had died recently and they wanted to give another cat a home. Barb from the shelter took Timothy and Merlin over to meet them. Timothy wouldn't come out of the carrier but Merlin, my timid little guy, came right out, took a look around and jumped up on a chair and made himself at home. The daughter fell in love with him and they took him on a week's trial. They called Barb a few days later and said they were keeping him. He must have realized that this was his chance for a wonderful forever home and went for it.

I am so happy for Merlin. I hope that all our cats find wonderful forever homes.

What is Wrong With People?????

Maddison has been returned from her new family. It turns out the couple who adopted her have two children who terrorized her for two weeks before returning her to the shelter. Evidently she was cringing in the back of the carrier when she was returned and didn't want anyone to touch her. Why did it take them two weeks to realize that their kids weren't ready to own a pet?Another foster mom took her home where she developed a severe inner ear infection. She was traumatized from the whole ordeal.

When Barb told me this had happened she hadn't been to the vets yet. I was told that Maddison was walking in circles with her head tilted at an odd angle. My first thought was that the kids had done something to her and she had brain damage. I didn't sleep much that night and the next day she had a vet visit and it turns out the inner ear infection is causing the tilted head and trouble walking. I told Barb that I wanted to be the one to nurse her back to health.

I met Lynne in Orillia yesterday and gave her Bubbles and she gave me Maddison. Maddison was very quiet on the way home but as soon as I got in the door of the house she started meowing and wanted out of the carrier ASAP. I picked her up and she started purring and rubbing up against me and was very excited. She remembered me and the home that she had had for three months before the adoption. She went out in the kitchen and had a little something to eat and then she went and checked out all the cats. It was like she had never left.

She has lost an awful lot of weight and when she walks or runs she loses her balance. Her head is still tilted at an angle but that should go away once the medication takes effect. Winston hisses at her every time she goes near him but I think that's because she was given a bath before she came home and you can smell the shampoo on her. It doesn't stop her from rubbing her head against him though. I'm sure he'll come around.

Maddison did not lose her loving nature while going through that ordeal and hopefully she'll be back to her old self soon.

The Numbers Decrease

This week Timothy, Merlin and Sherry have left to be adopted. Merlin has to be fixed first but Timothy and Sherry are going into PetSmart this weekend. There is an adopt-a-thon taking place at PetSmart this weekend and we are putting older kittens and cats up for adoption. I always have a little cry when the cats leave. My goodness, I had Timothy and Merlin for four months and they became part of the family. I know there's a lot of good people out there and hopefully they're looking for furry additions to their families.

What's Gotten Into Bubbles

Bubbles, the year and a half old calico I took in was getting along nicely with Sophie and the cats until a couple of weeks ago. All of a sudden while rubbing up against Sophie she'd get mad because Sophie wouldn't stay put and then she'd turn on Sophie and give her a swat on her nose. Then last weekend Bubbles bit Sophie on her face and the attacks escalated. I kept a close eye on Sophie and while she stayed clear of Bubbles, Bubbles would seek her out and attack. Barb is arranging for one of the other foster moms to take Bubbles as I want her out of the house as soon as possible.

New Additions

Barb brought me Violet and Poppy to foster for a while. They're five weeks old and as cute as can be. They're hissing at anything that moves at the moment but I'm sure they'll settle down in the next day or so.

Violet and Poppy

Maddison Gets a New Home

Maddison was adopted today by a nice young couple. Hopefully Autumn will find her new home soon.

Maddison

Trauma at PetSmart

I always knew that giving up my foster kittens would be hard but I never imagined how hard it would be to put them in a cage at PetSmart. There was a lot of commotion and dogs barking around our cat cages when I got there with Maddison and Autumn. They were terrified when I put them in the cage and stayed at the back of the cage the whole time I was there. They had no idea what was going on and every time I went over to comfort them, I'd start to cry. Not a good situation. I know the idea is to find them new homes but being out in the open at the back of the store is not the answer. I'll have to stay away from PetSmart for a while and try to develop a thicker skin, although I don't think that's going to happen.

Sherry And Bubbles Come For A Visit

Sherry and Bubbles have been here for a week now and are settling in nicely. Sherry is the more outgoing of the two and is a real lap cat while Bubbles is very skittish and I am still unable to pick her up.

Sherry

Bubbles

I still have the other four kittens. I think they're here to stay.....LOL. Hopefully they'll be going up for adoption soon as they're really growing up. As you can see by the following pictures, they are very "at home".

Sundays are for taking it easy!!!!

Autumn and Merlin

Madison taking a snooze....

Sophie and Madison lounge in the sun!

They look like they're making plans for the afternoon, don't they?

Two More Cats Added to the Mix

Where does the time go? The kittens sure keep me busy. Madison has been sick with an upper respiratory infection. She's on her second round of medication and is doing much better. The other cats are doing great. Merlin is really growing. His coat has changed from a light silver to a dark gray and he's a very handsome little guy. Autumn is still a tiny little girl. The vet has assured me that while she is tiny, she's in good health. He said that she was probably the runt of the litter. Timothy's eye infection continues to get better and I don't think it will be too long before it's all cleared up.

I have two new cats staying with me for a while. They were in another foster home that had a dog that barked all the time and they were totally stressed out. When I brought them home they immediately went under my bed and stayed there for the day. Sherry came out in the evening and was very friendly. Bubbles stayed under the bed until I went to bed and turned out the light. She jumped up on the bed and checked me out, decided I was okay, and cuddled up next to me for the night. She's been very friendly ever since. I'm going to keep them in the bedroom for a couple more days before introducing them to the rest of the clan. I'll take some pictures in a couple of days.

I think some of the kittens might be going to PetSmart this weekend for adoption. I'm just waiting to hear from Barb. Winston's due to be fixed and hopefully that will take place this week. He's almost six months old and getting quite big.

Where has the month gone??????

I can't believe that it's been a month since I last posted. I still have all of the kittens. It's been five weeks - the longest that I've had any one set of kittens and they have sure made themselves at home.



They all love sleeping in this basket but it's way too small for all of them to fit in it so last night I brought out another basket and they took that one over as well.


It didn't take long for Winston to become a member of the family. He loves playing with both Sophie and Willow, although he can be a bit rough with the kittens. His favourite place is at the kitchen window where he can watch all the birds in the backyard.

Winston

Merlin is coming along nicely. He is still timid so I feed him in the tent and when he's finished I spend some time with him. Now he starts purring as soon as I go over to the tent and purrs the whole time I'm holding him. He crawls all over me and settles down on my lap and kneads away so I know he's content. He is still skittish any other time but I am able to get closer to him before he runs away. Winston was the same when I first got him so I know it's only a matter of time before he lets me pick him up at any time. He's really grown in the last five weeks.

Merlin

Autumn and Madison (Calendar Girl), the two little girls, are still tiny and will probably always be on the small side like Willow. We nicknamed Madison "Calendar Girl" because she's so pretty; we think she should be on the cover of a cat calendar. Autumn is a lovely little cat who likes to be held but loves sleeping in the basket the most out of all of the kittens.

Timothy, Willow and Autumn

Madison

Timothy is a wonderful little boy. He's the little guy with the eye infection. It's still clearing up and there is only a bit of film left over his left eye. He loves to play with all of the cats and Sophie. His coat is so soft it's like silk and he likes to spend one-on-one time with me. He loves eating with Willow and Winston so I've given up trying to feed him with Merlin. It means he's eating regular cat food as opposed to kitten food but he's growing like a weed so I don't think it's hurting him.... :o)

Timothy

One thing I can say......All of the kittens I have looked after since I began fostering have been wonderful. They all had a rough start in life but anyone would be lucky to adopt one of them. They are great little kittens. Each one of them is different in temperment and personality but would make a lovely addition to any family.

My Latest Bunch

When Barb dropped Winston off she also brought back Timothy and three new kittens. Timothy wasn't quite ready to be adopted and the three little ones needed to be socialized.

It took a couple of days for Timothy to settle in but now he has decided that he likes Sophie's crate and has moved in!

The other three kittens are eight weeks old and are slowly settling in. Every day I see an improvement. They all come around on their own time. Autumn has settled right in, follows me around and likes to be picked up. Madison is just a little skittish but for the most part likes to be picked up and cuddled. Merlin was very timid and skittish when he arrived. He still doesn't let me pick him up if he's running around but he no longer spends his time under the couch. He runs around and plays with the other kittens and there are marked improvements daily.

I have been giving Merlin medication as he was congested when he arrived and we didn't want it turning into an upper respiratory infection. I have to feed him in the tent so I am able to give him his medication afterwards. I would never be able to catch him otherwise. He is very good about taking it and afterwards I hold him for a while and he always purrs, which is a big surprise as he is so timid. None of the other kittens have purred yet and I thought for sure that he would be the last one to do that. I don't feel that it will be long before Merlin loses all of his fear and allows me to pick him up at will.

Madison

Autumn

Merlin

Merlin is a "Snowshoe Siamese" and has very unusual markings. Snowshoes result when a siamese mates with a domestic short hair. The markings on his face are almost like a raccoon.

Winston's Come Home To Stay

After we lost Simon Willow found it very hard to be by herself. She was so used to having Simon to hang around with that she didn't know what to do with herself.

I found out that Winston, one of the first pair of kittens that I fostered, had still not been adopted. Barb thought that he might have bonded with me and was missing me. When they took him to PetSmart he would hang back in his cage and would not interact with anyone who came to his cage to see him. So he was being passed over for adoption each time. When I heard that I asked if I could adopt him and we decided that I would take him after I returned from a week's vacation.

Well, Winston came home and it's like he never left. He just took up where he left off and he and Willow have become great friends.

Winston has settled right in. He's a lovely little cat, very affectionate and a real purring machine.

A Big Blow

I lost Simon this past week. Last March he got a really bad cold and lost a lot of weight that he never put back on. He slowly lost ground and after blood tests I found out that his kidneys were failing. He was hardly eating and just wanted to be by himself so I felt it was time........


When I got him from the local OSPCA he picked me, I didn't pick him. He wouldn't leave me alone and I thought if he wanted to come home with me so badly, why not let him. He was a wonderful cat who loved me and showed it every day. I am going to miss him so much but he is no longer suffering.

Simon

2003 - 2009

The Three Amigos

Three little kittens arrived last Sunday. Henry, an orange tabby, who has a great set of lungs and doesn't hesitate to use them; he's a real talker. Reggie, a fluffy black and white fellow who likes to follow me and loves to cuddle and Timothy, a shy gray and white little guy who likes to hide behind the throw pillows on the couch.

Timothy has a film over one of his eyes and I am putting an anitbiotic cream in it twice a day. The film has gotten lighter since he's been here but he will probably always have a bit of a film for the rest of his life. It sure doesn't slow him down, in fact he is the most playful and sure can move.

Willow tried to get into the action and grab some of the kittens' food but they weren't willing to share. Willow eats dry cat food so when the kittens' wet food comes out she's ready to chow down.

Barb is coming to pick up the kittens tomorrow as I'm off to the cottage for a week. These three little guys were here less than a week but they fit right in. I'm a pushover for a kitten...lol.

On a brighter note....

Vicky was adopted on Friday. Her brother Winston is still waiting for a new family and hopefully it will happen soon.

Bittersweet Week

Last Sunday Barb brought me a little five week old kitten. Barb and a group of volunteers have been feeding a group of cats in a trailer park in Orillia. There had been an elderly lady living in the park that was taking cats but she did not spay, neuter or vaccinate them. When she died her son let them all go rather than take them to the OSPCA. That was a couple of years ago. Since then the volunteers have been trying to catch the cats to have them fixed but they are having babies at a fast rate and they can't keep the situation under control.

There is a small window of opportunity for the kittens to be caught. They have to be old enough and be eating on their own to be taken away from their mother, but left too long, they become wild and you cannot socialize them.

When I got Gracie she was very skinny and her eyes were really runny. Her eyes cleared up after a couple of days of applying medicated cream and she ate well and drank plenty of water. Unfortunately her immune system was compromised because her mother had not been vaccinated and she developed diarrhea on Thursday. I changed her food and watched her closely and she seemed to be fine but she died Saturday morning.

I knew going into this that there was always a possiblity that I could lose a kitten but I did not think that it would happen so soon. It was an awful experience and I would not wish it on anyone.

But having said that, Barb is going to go and try to catch some more kittens this morning. If she is able to catch them she will bring them to me and I will try again. Hopefully they will be stronger and we will have a possitive outcome.

Simon and Gracie

They're Gone.......

I can't believe it, but they're gone already. Barb called me Thursday night to say that Winston and Vicky were going to be put up for adoption in PetSmart on Saturday and that she wanted to pick them up on Friday.

I thought I could keep my emotions in check because I knew going in that I would not be keeping the kittens, but boy did I ever become attached to them. Friday night was very hard and I had a little cry when I drove home from dropping them off, but they will be going to good homes.

Now, having gone through the whole process, I know that I can be a foster mom. I wasn't sure how I would be at giving the kittens back and, although it is very hard to give them up, I can do it and look forward to the next batch of kittens I receive.

Barb has mentioned that she wants to give me four small kittens (around five weeks old) that were born outside and need to be socialized ASAP or they will remain wild. I'm waiting to hear back from her as to when I'll get them. I sure don't like being "kitten-less".

The adventure continues.......

Fitting Right In

Winston is not the same little kitten that arrived two weeks ago. He no longer hisses at me, is very affectionate and purrs up a storm. He follows me everywhere and comes running in the morning as soon as he sees that I'm up. He's quite the character and he's my little buddy.


Vicky is a sweetheart, starts purring as soon as you pick her up and loves hanging out with her brother.

Sophie thinks that Vicky belongs to her and wants to play with her all the time. Here they are enjoying a "time-out" before their next roughhousing session.

Willow still isn't too sure what to make of Winston and Vicky and for the most part keeps her distance.

Settling In

The kittens are really starting to settle in, in fact, they both purred for the first time today. Winston no longer hisses at me and is following me everywhere I go. Vicky is a real sweetheart and Sophie loves her.

Simon isn't sure what to make of the little ones and is sticking to the windowsills.

The Adventure Begins

I heard back from The Comfie Cat Shelter in Orillia and Barb will be dropping off two 14 week old kittens tonight. A male - Winston and a female - Victoria (Vicky). I have been told that Winston is very timid and will need a lot of socializing. I'm hoping that Simon, Willow and Sophie will accept the little ones.

Well, here they are and Winston (black and white) is very timid. He hisses at me if I go near him but when I pick him up he seems to relax a bit and enjoys being cuddled.

Barb dropped off everything you could possibly need for a kitten and one of the items was this tent that will hold a small litter box so the kittens can be contained. I set it up with the litter box and blankets and Sophie took one look and moved right in.