Socks Update

Here is Socks, all grown up.  I shot this on June 27th while visiting at my sister's.

Annual Hiatus

It's that time of the year again--time for my annual hiatus from fostering. Kitten season starts around March, so I should have some new "babies" to look after in a couple of months. In the meantime, here is a picture of Socks at her home in Texas. This was taken a few days before Christmas while I was there visiting for the holidays. Socks continues to do well. She's spoiled rotten with plenty of attention from all three kids as well as her mom and dad.

Homes Sweet Home

Snowball, Socks, and Leo have all been adopted. Socks was adopted by my sister and her family, who were visiting me at the time the kittens were due to go back to the shelter. This was a decision they had already made prior to finding about the tragedy that befell their other cat while they were away. It's unfortunate that Socks never got to meet Shadow. He would have made a terrific big brother for her. I'm told she's doing well, though, bonding with all three of the kids and enjoying being part of a family. I should be able to provide periodic updates and photos of her as she grows up.

As expected, Snowball was adopted right away. I had hoped that she and Leo might be adopted together, but unfortunately, it was not to be. Leo did find a home this week, though, so now all three are home and hopefully happy.

After taking a break for vacation and then taking a week to recover from vacation (caught a bug from someone), I decided I would go ahead and take one more litter this year before all the Christmas stuff starts. I picked up two orange tabbies from the shelter this afternoon. I will have their photos and intro entry up as soon as they're bold enough to let me take their picture.

Visitors

Starting tomorrow, Snowball, Socks, and Leo will get their first taste of what it's like to live as part of a human family. My sister, her husband, and their three kids are coming to visit. While the kittens have had some exposure to other people through visits from neighbors, by far the majority of their human contact since they came here has been with me. They are still a little shy with other people at first, so this will definitely be good for them to get used to having others around.

The kittens have crossed several milestones in the far too many days since my last update. First, they finally broke the litterbox rule--one of them (I suspect Leo) decided to try out one of the towels for a poop instead of going in the box. He was really polite about it, though (or sneaky?)--he folded the towel over to cover up the mess so it was nice and dried on there by the time I found it. Gross, Leo!

They got their second set of shots on October 4. They were still too small to do their surgeries the same week, so they got to stay here a little longer than expected. Snowball and Leo have since gained to over three pounds. Leo has actually passed Snowball, and is now the largest of the three. Hard to imagine, given how rail thin he was when I first brought them home! Socks remains the smallest. She's still under three pounds as of her last weighing.

Around the first of the month, Snowball went through a phase where she didn't want to be held for more than a second or two. It seemed to be an attention span thing--she preferred to play. Now, however, she's back to being the cuddliest one of the bunch. Leo is also very sociable. He still "play bites" occasionally, but he's much more gentle about it now. Socks is now where Snowball was a couple of weeks ago. She prefers playing to cuddling, and has started running away when I try to pick her up. Hopefully, she'll grow out of that in a few days like Snowball did.

The kittens are scheduled to have their spay/neuter surgery on Monday. They will then return to my house for a few days of recovery before going back to the shelter for adoption, most likely on Friday. Rest up, kittens! You have a busy week ahead.

Playtime

The kittens sure are making up for lost time on rowdy play since my last entry! There are loud noises coming from their room at all hours of the day now as they wrestle and play with one another. But it's worth the occasional sleep disturbance to see them behaving like normal kittens. Zestfully playing together is what kittens are supposed to do. It teaches them that socializing with other felines is pleasurable and fun.

My prediction that all three kittens would break two pounds at their Thursday weighing proved to be false. Snowball came close, missing by a measly 1/10 of an ounce. Leo and Socks were both a few tenths of an ounce away. Surprisingly, though, Leo actually passed Socks. It's probably all that energy she expends playing!

Snowball, Socks, and Leo remain the easiest three kittens I've fostered to date. They've continued to exercise perfect litterbox habits, have been illness-free, and despite their feral background, have proven extremely easy to socialize. They even do a decent job of posing for the camera, making it easier for me to get the fodder I need for this blog. Given that they only have another week or so in my home (assuming their weight is sufficient for spay/neuter by then), it's looking likely they'll retain their title to the end. They've definitely been a good bunch to get me back into fostering again after taking so many months off.

Overdue Update

Snowball, Socks, and Leo are making wonderful progress. Too bad their foster mommy hasn't been doing the same on keeping this site up to date!

All three kittens are are noticeably bigger, both physically and in personality. Socks continues to be the most shy of the three, but she's also the most playful. Snowball remains the most sociable with people, followed closely by Leo who needs to work on his "play-nipping" habit, but is otherwise well on his way to becoming the typical male tabby lovebug. They all like to play with the Starchaser, as well as the wand toys, and of course, the infamous Samsung phone strap that seems to be a big hit with every kitten I've fostered. Oddly, up until now, they've seemed to prefer playing with toys to playing with each other. It's only been in the last couple of days that I've heard them chasing and wrestling around with each other. Normally, there would be a steady stream of little "thuds" coming from the kitten room as they butt up against the door in the middle of their wrestling matches.

The two tabbies continue to look a little thin for their age, but they've had a bit of a growth spurt since the weekend, and I'm thinking their weight will be significantly higher tomorrow than it was when I weighed them last Thursday. Last week, Socks and Leo weighed about the same as Phoenix, Vegas, and Sedona did at five weeks old. Snowball's weight was a little more normal for her age, but even she was a little on the light side. However, I'd be surprised if they don't all three break two pounds when I weigh them tomorrow.

Meet Snowball, Socks, and Leo

After a ten-month hiatus, I am three days into what is so far the easiest foster experience I have had to date (jinx alert on). Snowball, Socks, and Leo are three supposedly feral kittens somewhere between 8-12 weeks old. It is clear, however, that they have benefited greatly from some prior socialization, at the shelter or otherwise. They were a bit shy at first, but all three are warming up quickly.

They have also learned their litterbox habits well. Not one accident so far that I can tell, despite them being used to having free reign to go anywhere they pleased when they lived on the streets. So, it looks like I'll get to skip all the messy, poop-everywhere stages, and go straight to the fun part where they like to play, snuggle, and pose for cute pictures. I'm told they are definitely all three from the same litter, despite having one oddball Siamese/Snowshoe with two tabbies.

Snowball is by far the bravest and most social of the bunch. Perhaps her gorgeous appearance has gotten her some extra attention. She figured out early on that being petted is fun, and will now make these soft little mews to get my attention if it's anywhere other than on her. At this point, she seems like a pretty normal kitten, at least around me.

Leo is pretty much a classic brown tabby in appearance. Like Snowball, he's figured out that being petted is enjoyable, but it takes him a few minutes to get the confidence to come close enough to be reached. He seems to be making rapid progress, though, so hopefully he'll be marching right up to me like Snowball does before long.

Socks is adorably cute with her partially white face and feet, but she's the most timid of the three. As of this evening, she's stopped running to hide when I come in the room, but she still keeps a safe distance, watching with those sad little eyes while the other two are being petted and played with. Like most shy kittens, engaging her with a wand toy that puts some distance between her and my hand, seems to be the best way to get her to relax. Eventually, I switch to a smaller toy that puts my hand in reach, and before she knows it, she's being petted and loving it.

The most obvious sign of their feral background is their weight. Snowball seems to be pretty well fed, but Socks and Leo are very thin. They all seem to be eating well, though, so hopefully they will put on some weight soon.