Squeaky and Fluffy Available for Adoption Soon

Squeaky and Fluffy returned to the Nevada SPCA for the final time this morning. They are scheduled for their spay and neuter today, and I'm told they will be available for adoption as early as tomorrow. After having run of the house the past couple of weeks, they're going to hate being cooped up in a single room (albeit a rather larger room) while they're awaiting their permanent homes, but they'll have lots of friends their age to play with. Somehow, I don't think it's going to take these two long to find that special family. They're very sociable and playful.

Squeaky and Fluffy made good use of their final week at Mommy's house. As is obvious from the picture at the top of this post, they discovered the cat tree. Squeaky also discovered the Starchaser--a toy that consists of a big plastic circle with a ball that rolls around the outside and lights up when moved. I have a funny (and very brief) video clip of him playing with it. He accidentally moved it across the tile floor and it made a noise that startled him. He jumped off and ended up jettisoning the Starchaser across the room.



Squeaky is without a doubt the most adventurous kitten I've fostered to date, and he was at it to the end. Yesterday, I was making homemade brownies, and saw Squeaky climb onto the nearest object he could find to get a good view (which happened to be the TV stand). He stood on his hind legs contemplating whether he could make the leap from the TV stand to the counter. At first I wasn't worried because I thought "no way he tries that". But next thing I know, there's a kitten on the counter quickly making his way over to see what I was stirring in the big bowl. I put him back on the floor and resumed brownie-making, but he immediately repeated his jump, and after a couple more iterations of this, I gave up and just moved to a different counter that he wasn't able to jump onto (yet). He definitely has a very outgoing personality, and isn't afraid of anything or anybody. He's also got a snuggly side. When he finally got sleepy, he'd settle into my lap for some snoozing.

Fluffy got very sociable there at the end. She never could sit still long enough to fall asleep in my lap, but she would "visit" me on the couch over and over again throughout the day, and would usually purr the second I touched her. She does still have a shy streak, though, especially around people she doesn't know well, and she was a lot more timid than Squeaky about trying new things (like the cat tree). The up side of her timidness is that I never had to rescue my cooking from her! She still doesn't like to be picked up, even by people she knows well, but if you sit there and be patient she'll eventually make her way over for some attention--or just dangle a toy and she'll come running. She loves to play.

Squeaky and Fluffy were in my home for 12 weeks. They were probably about two weeks old when I got them, making them about 14 weeks old now. It's amazing how much they've grown and how different they look, especially Fluffy. She's now a gorgeous silver beauty with golden eyes and faint tabby markings that give her a rather exotic appearance. Quite the change from the porky, carpet-fuzz little thing she was when she first arrived. Looking back at a photo I took of them on July 21, she's not even recognizable as the same kitten!

Squeaky's physical appearance hasn't changed as dramatically, but his personality sure has. When I first got him, he was timid with the bottle, and I ended up using a syringe to feed him to make sure he got enough to eat. Now, he goes after everything in life--including food--with reckless abandon and joy.

As I mentioned in my previous post, Squeaky and Fluffy have lived in my "new" Las Vegas home almost as long as I have. When I mentioned how sad it was for them to be leaving after being here so long, someone at the shelter asked me if I'd ever considered adopting any of my fosters. The answer is: Yes, every single one. But I remind myself that if I were to adopt every kitten that stayed in my home, I would eventually no longer be able to foster. Because Squeaky and Fluffy are moving on, my home is now available to three five-week-old youngsters who have been waiting around in a cage at the shelter for the kind of one-on-one care and socializing that only a stint in someone's home can provide. Their story will begin in a subsequent post, but for now, here's wishing Squeaky and Fluffy a quick recovery, and a safe and happy journey to their next destination on life's train.