Parting Shots

With this being the kittens' last night here, I fully intended to let them enjoy the entire day without any camera flashes disrupting their play. But then they started doing cute things...

...like this:

...and this:

...or posing perfectly still and looking at the camera:

...or doing more cute stuff:

...and of course, checking out the size 10's:


It has been a pleasure looking after these little guys the past three weeks. They have been a lot of fun, and have made my first foster experience a very rewarding one. I've watched Dwayne grow from 14 ounces all the way up to nearly two pounds. I've seen Benny transform from a shy and withdrawn little fellow into a playful bundle of endless energy. Most importantly, two kittens who had never met before are now best friends and brothers.

Less than 24 hours from now, Benny and Dwayne will begin the next part of their life's journey which hopefully will lead them quickly to a permanent home. Once they're back at the shelter, you'll be able to check this page at Operation Kindness if you think that home might be yours.

Photo-palooza!

It’s hard to believe that it's been nearly three weeks since Benny and Dwayne became pint-size house guests in my home! As the kittens near the end of their stay, I have been trying hard to get lots of photos to remember them by. These are a few of my favorites in the last couple of days:

Here is Dwayne showing off his pretty eyes. He's grown a lot since he first came here, but his most striking feature is still that wide-eyed innocence.

Benny's not a big fan of having his picture taken, or even sitting still long enough to have his picture taken! This was a rare moment where he was a) motionless long enough to be something other than a blur, and b) not blinking at the flash! Isn't he a beauty? He hardly resembles the scrawny little all-legs and all-ears thing he was when he arrived.

Speaking of changes, I purposefully took a shot of Dwayne that was similar to one I took his first day here. Look how nicely he's filled out!
09/04/08	09/23/08

I'm having a very tough time getting a photo of the kittens together when they're both awake and actually looking at the camera. I'm not crazy about this one, but it's the best I've been able to do so far.

Here is Exhibit A in the difference of personality between the two. Dwayne has a case of the sleepy's (in my lap, of course!) while Benny still wants to play.

I'm re-posting this one because it's still my favorite. Dwayne smelling the feather "flower".

Benny Wants a Foot Massage?

Last night Benny somehow managed to turn on my foot massager. He jumped about a foot in the air in surprise when it first came on, but then stood there mesmerized by it for a good five minutes. After I turned it off, he kept batting it with his foot, I suppose to turn it back on again. After all that romping around, maybe he wanted a foot massage!

I missed the moment he first turned it on, but here he's staring at the machine while it's running, then later trying to turn it back on.

Playing Together

As I mentioned in an earlier post, Benny and Dwayne have bonded like brothers in their time here. They play together constantly now. Unfortunately, their favorite activity together is still chasing each other down and ending up in a wrestling match. They're just "being kittens", but it's something that, out of context, might leave a bad impression on video. Benny's superior agility, strength, and quickness give him a huge advantage in the matchup. So, most of their wrestling matches end up with Benny looking like the mean big brother to poor little Dwayne who cries out in protest. Of course, immediately after freeing himself from Benny's headlock, the first thing Dwayne does is chase down "big brother" and pounce on him to start a new round. In other words, they behave a lot like human siblings--the younger one instigates the fights and the older one looks like a bully when he fights back.

And so, it was with great pleasure that I was able to finally capture Benny and Dwayne on video doing something together other than this endless feline game of "Uncle". The toy they're playing with here is called a Star Chaser Turbo Scratcher. It has a little ball that blinks flashy lights and rolls in a circle around a cardboard scratching area in the center. You can get it at PetSmart. Obviously, kittens love it!

Mr. Energy

I mentioned in my earlier post today how Dwayne is the photogenic one. Well, Benny is definitely the "videogenic" one, to make up a word. He has boundless energy, and is so entertaining to watch that my DVR is filling up with shows I've recorded, started to play back, and ended up pausing to watch the live show going on in my own living room!

Here's a really quick video of Benny playing with that same feather wand toy Dwayne was taking a sniff at earlier today.

Sweet Like a...Feather?

This may be my favorite picture of the kittens so far, and it's not even the shot I was trying for. I was trying to get a shot of Benny playing with the feathered wand. He's not fond of posing for the camera unless he's playing with something!

Instead, I ended up with a picture of Dwayne smelling the wand like it was a rose. Yes, I'd definitely say he's the most photogenic of the two--at least when it comes to the still camera. But Benny runs circles around him (literally!) on video.

Growing up

The kittens are continuing to do well. Dwayne hasn't sneezed once in two days, and Benny's eye is completely back to normal now. They've also really started to grow! They're now taking three cans of food between them per day, and finishing every bite. When they first arrived, they weren't even finishing two. The latest weigh-in puts Dwayne at 1 pound, 5 ounces, and Benny just shy of two pounds. Here's a look at how the tiny little tabby who was barely bigger than a mouse when he arrived has grown to the size of a large rat!

A very cute rat, of course...

Finally a Video!

Here is Benny kicking around the Steak 'n Shake bag last week.

Feeling Frisky

I think we have a winner! Benny's eye looks much better today, and Dwayne has just about stopped sneezing altogether. Clearly, the antibiotic is kicking the tar out of that respiratory infection. They aren't even putting up much of a fuss about taking it either. Maybe they realize it's making them feel better?

Both kittens were little bundles of energy today. Here's a photo of Benny playing with what has somehow become his favorite toy--a strap that came from some Samsung device (maybe a cell phone?). Dangle that thing in front of him and it drives him bananas! You can also see Dwayne sneaking up behind him to join in the fun.

Playing Catchup

Today marks the halfway point of the kittens' stay at my house. A quick survey of the photos and video I have taken up till now tells me if I try to do a post for every day they've been here so far, I'll still be working on their first week by the time they're due to go back to the shelter! So, here's a summary of my notes and photos for days 1-11. I'll post some of the videos at a later date.

Day 1 - Arrival (09/04/08)
Yeah, we're cute.

Day 2 - Settling In (09/05/08)
Eating? Check. Drinking water? Check. Using the litterbox? Check.

Dwayne has a slight runny nose, and seems to be very quiet and sleepy. Benny mostly hides although he did come out to play a bit. Possibly they're both just adjusting to new surroundings. After spending most of their lives in a shelter cage, my house must seem overwhelmingly enormous!

Day 3 - Dwayne vs. the Tapeworm (09/06/08)
I've been wondering why Benny is so much bigger than Dwayne, and seems much further along developmentally. Supposedly, they're both within a day or two of being the same five weeks of age. I chocked it up to them being different breeds, but perhaps it's because Dwayne has been sharing his meals with tapeworms! It's a good thing he spends so much time sitting in my lap--I spotted a worm when he "pooped" it out right onto my shorts! (Ewwww)

So, a trip to the shelter for the wee one to see the on-site vet technician. Poor little Benny had to get treated too. Dwayne clearly isn't feeling well, whether from the worm or the car-sickness he got on the way back home. At least he's finally eating again, thanks to a brilliant suggestion from the shelter's hotline to try giving him Gerber chicken baby food.

It's been a rough day.

Day 4 - Benny the Entertainer (09/07/08)
Dwayne is feeling a lot better today. He's eating regular kitten food again, and it's obvious that he kept down enough of the worm medicine that it did some good. He's even playing and purring some today.

It's becoming obvious that the way to Benny's heart is to play with him. It isn't all the neat little kitten toys the shelter sent home with me that piques his interest, though. It's items like a paper bag, a plastic cup, or a little strap that came off some unidentified Samsung device that was lying on the floor of my office. Here's a shot of him going after a sock. As my sister says, it's just like with kids. You buy them all kinds of neat toys, but they really want to play with the box.

Day 5 - 90% Pint-Size (09/08/08)
I got some food scales and weighed the kittens tonight.

Benny: A very squirmy 1 pound, 6 ounces
Dwayne: About 14 1/2 ounces. He's not even pint-size. he's only 90% pint-size!

Day 6 - Benny vs. the Steak 'n Shake Sack (09/09/08)
It was worth blowing my diet for all the fun Benny has had with the paper sack my calorie-packed dinner from a couple of nights ago came in.

Coming soon: A video of Benny kicking around the bag like a soccer ball.


Day 7 - Becoming Brothers (09/10/08)
I have to admit I was skeptical at first that Benny and Dwayne would bond as brothers. Their personalities just seemed so different when they first got here, and Benny's standard response to Dwayne's attempts to make friends was to either growl at him or hide. But in the last couple of days, I've caught them sleeping next to each other a few times, and since the worm medicine got Dwayne feeling better, they've even started to play together some. Their favorite game seems to be pouncing on each other and biting until one of them cries "uncle"!

Dwayne, being the smaller and less coordinated one has slipped into a little brother role in the relationship. He seems to look up to Benny as a role-model, and has even started trying to wash his face after he eats like "big brother" does. In today's photo, an unsuspecting Dwayne relaxes on top of the infamous Steak 'n Shake bag while Benny is sneaking up behind him to pounce.

Day 8 - Officially Pint-Size (09/11/08)
Dwayne now weighs a full 16 ounces. Benny has picked up an extra ounce too.

Day 9 - Meeting the Niece and Nephews (09/12/08)
The kittens met my niece and two nephews today. Benny was a little shy, and reverted to hiding when all three were on the loose. He seemed a little more comfortable, though, once he was safe from the four-year-old wielding the tennis racquet! Dwayne didn't seem phased at all by the smaller version of humans running around. He tried to make friends with all of them. Based on this very short, completely unscientific experiment, I would say Dwayne would be fine in a home with children of any age, while Benny would probably prefer his human companions to be six years or older.

Day 10 - Matter of Perspective (09/13/08)
It's been a lazy afternoon, spent sitting around following the latest news on Hurricane Ike, catching up on some work, and setting up this site. I did take a quick photo of Dwayne standing next to a tennis ball and volleyball my four-year-old nephew dredged up (I swear that kid has "future professional athlete" written all over him!).

Day 11 - Sleepyheads (09/14/08)
We had another trip to the shelter to see the veterinarian today. Turns out Dwayne's sniffling nose that's bothered him since he got here isn't an allergy after all. He has an upper respiratory infection. Unfortunately, the delay in proper diagnosis means that Benny has caught it too. Both kittens were bounding about like nothing was wrong this evening, but not before sleeping off the post-vet-visit miseries in my lap.

Meet Dwayne and Benny (from 09/04/08)

I now have two small house guests for the next three weeks!

Dwayne is a teeny orange tabby who's barely as big as my hand. He has an outgoing personality, but at the same time seems pretty laid back and quiet. The first thing you notice about him is his eyes. He stares at you with these wide-open eyes and an expression that makes it clear his heart is far bigger than his physical size.

Benny is a bit of an enigma. One one hand, he's shy and went looking for a hiding place right away when I let them out of the carrier. On the other hand, once he gets comfortable, he's by far the more playful and "developed" of the two. Benny likes to talk too. He makes these little "Ack!" sounds. Maybe sometime in the next three weeks, I'll finally figure out what those mean.

Welcome!

I recently signed up as a volunteer to foster kittens for a no-kill animal shelter here in the Dallas area. This was something I had been thinking about doing for a long time. I chose Operation Kindness because I like the way their foster program works. Since they have an actual shelter, it's easier to know how long the kittens will be in my home so I can plan around vacations, family get-togethers, etc. In fact, this was the main thing that pushed me over the edge from "thinking about it" to actually deciding to do it. And so, on September 4, I officially volunteered my services as a kitty foster mom.

Operation Kindness put me to work right away with two five-week old kittens that need a home until they're old enough to be adopted. Less than an hour after I brought them home, I was already thinking "gee, I bet it would be fun to write about this experience". A busy week has kept me from setting up this site until now, but not to worry. I've been jotting down a few thoughts just about every day, and have hopefully captured lots of cuteness on both video and still camera.

So, the first few entries will be catching up on the kittens' time here so far. After that, I plan to make regular updates whenever I have foster kittens in my home. As for the name, Pint-Size Gazette, it's in honor of the tiny tabby whose picture is at the top. He finally made it to 16 ounces--a full pint--a couple of days ago.