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.

Home for the Holildays?

It was sort of a good news/bad news kind of week for Simon and Sassafras. The vet clinic the shelter uses for spay/neuter surgeries was short-handed, so they weren't able to get their surgeries last week as planned. They will now have to get them next week, which also delays their being available for adoption to a permanent home. The good news was that they got to spend their last week at my house having fun instead of recovering from surgery.

Both of the kittens were doing well when I took them back on Thursday. Simon was well over four pounds, and Sassafras was right at four pounds, give or take an ounce or two in either direction (he wouldn't sit still on the scale). They spent a lot of their last week at my house playing with a laser light toy they both went bananas over.

Simon remains the most outgoing and playful, but they both warm up pretty quickly to new people and are adorably sweet. Despite the delay in their being available for adoption, I think there's still a good chance both of them will have a home before Christmas.

Happy Thanksgiving!

As I write this, the kittens are enjoying a delicious Thanksgiving dinner courtesy of Purina. Sassafras is grateful to have his appetite back so he can enjoy his half of the can. Come to think of it, his foster mommy is grateful for that too. Now healthy, he has gained back all the weight he lost while he was sick, and is once again growing both in weight and size. He still weighs less than Simon, though, which is opposite of how it was when they first got here.

Simon continues to be his playful and mischievous self. He's very active and energetic, running circles around his more laid back brother. He likes to hop in my lap, but his attention span is something like two seconds, so he'll hop up, enjoy being petted for a second, hop down to play some more, then hop back in my lap again. He's a small part of why I haven't posted an update in so long--I'm having trouble getting him to be still long enough for a picture! (The bigger part of why it's been so long between updates, is of course, the eternal laziness of yours truly).

Sassafras is going through "that phase" where he doesn't want to be picked up or sit in my lap, but he does enjoy being petted. He likes to cuddle up next to my ankle and get his head scratched. Since recovering from the respiratory infection, he has found his inner purrball, and now purrs almost as much as his brother.

The bout with the respiratory infection delayed the second set of shots for a week, so they will be getting those tomorrow instead of last Thursday. If it works like last time, then they will go for their neuter surgeries around December 6th then come back here for a few days before going back for good to be made available for adoption.

Freedom!

Sassafras has been released from the "hospital" so to speak. Last night he ate a little dry food on his own while I was watching, and sometime during the night he finally pooped. Those were the two things I wanted to see before letting him out of the cage. So, he gained his freedom first thing this morning and re-joined his brother who immediately gave him a big hug...er...well, actually it was more like a big tackle.

Both of the kittens seem to be finally getting over the respiratory infection. The sneezing is dramatically better today than it has been, and Sassafras has even started purring for the first time since I originally brought them home! They'll still need to take the antibiotic for several more days to make sure the infection doesn't come back.

Sassafras still isn't eating with the amount of "gusto" that is normal for young kittens. He's not showing any interest in eating the canned food on his own (maybe he's a little spoiled by the extra attention he gets taking his food by syringe at this point?). I'm hoping he'll start following Simon's lead a little on this. In the meantime, I'll keep a close eye on his weight, and continue to syringe feed him as necessary.

Simon was obviously happy to get his brother back. He tackled him several times in a row trying to initiate play, but Sassafras still isn't interested in that much activity at this point. (Also, I think his personality may be a little more laid back to begin with). However, by this afternoon, Simon had settled down a little, and both kittens enjoyed napping by the cage that I'm still leaving set up for now in their room in case I end up needing it again.

Quick Update

No photos tonight, just a quick update. Sassafras is doing a little better today. His nose is still stopped up and he still refuses to eat voluntarily, but his breathing seems a little better and he seems to have more energy. More importantly, he's stopped losing weight and has actually gained back a few fractions of an ounce since yesterday afternoon. Using the syringe, I was able to feed him a full dose of the Nutrical paste the shelter gave me for him, plus he took some Gerber chicken food and even some canned food. It's all through the syringe, though. He's still not showing any serious interest in eating food on his own, although he did at least sniff at the dish of soft food before stepping past it to get to the water. I left some on a saucer for him in case by some chance he decides to give it a try later on tonight.

Simon, meanwhile, is going stir crazy for attention. He's got a much milder case of the infection (assuming his sneezing isn't just allergies), and it hasn't slowed him down one bit. He eats everything in sight, and is a bundle of non-stop energy. He's been a good control case on all the various foods I've tried to get Sassafras to eat. Simon has instantly scarfed down every one, so I feel better knowing it really HAS been good-tasting stuff I've tried to feed his brother.

For now, I'm continuing to keep Sassafras isolated in the cage when I'm not in the room. He's really not up to keeping up with Simon's energy right now, but mainly it's so I can know for sure once he starts eating on his own and pooping again. As soon as he does that, Simon will get his playmate back, and no one will be happier about that than me.

Meet Simon and Sassafras

My latest tiny houseguests are two orange tabby boys. They've been in my home since last Thursday. They are probably between 9 and 10 weeks of age.

At first glance, they look nearly identical, but it's easy to tell them apart by their personalities (well, that and the fact one of them is having a nasty bout with the respiratory infection that seems to be some kind of necessary rite of passage for young kittens. More on that later). Both of the kittens were a bit shy at first, but that wore off in all of about five minutes for Simon. He is very outgoing and affectionate. He's full of energy, and a constant purrball. Sassafras not so much, although it's hard to tell at this point how much of that is due to his personality and how much is due to his being ill. Oddly, he started warming up to me when I trimmed his toenails--after that, he immediately stopped running from me when I'd try to pick him up, and seems to enjoy being held and petted, although he hasn't purred one time that I've heard. So that's two firsts for me. I've never had a kitten start trusting me because I trimmed his toenails, and I've never had one that refuses to purr either.

But it isn't a refusal to purr that has me worried tonight. It's a refusal to eat, most likely due to the respiratory infection blocking his sense of smell. Both of the kittens were sneezing a little when I brought them home, and over the weekend, it became obvious that it wasn't just allergies. The shelter gave me an antibiotic for them on Monday, and Simon is almost completely well now. Sassafras, however, did not respond to the antibiotic, and has stopped eating altogether since at least yesterday. He's lost seven ounces of weight, about 20% of the 34 ounces he weighed when I brought them home. Last night I separated them to confirm what I already suspected--Sassafras isn't touching his food beyond sniffing at it, although he is drinking plenty of water at least. I took him back to the shelter today for further treatment and advice. They gave me a stronger antibiotic for him, as well as a kind of nutrition paste. He seemed to respond well to it at the shelter (I get my first try at giving it to him tomorrow). I also syringe-fed him some Gerber chicken-flavored baby food tonight. The fact that sentence even needs to be said is an indication of how stubborn his refusal to eat really is--normally kittens go absolutely nuts over that stuff. Case in point: Simon tried everything he could to steal some when I was trying to feed it to Sassafras. I finally gave in and put some on a saucer for Simon and he lapped it down in about 30 seconds flat. So Sassafras must really not be feeling well to refuse even the baby food. Hopefully, the new antibiotic will knock out the infection so he can start breathing freely and smelling again. It would be a shame for him to miss out on enjoying a treat that seems to be like candy for kittens.

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.

Sad News

I have both recent and belated sad news to report tonight.

The belated news first--I've put this off far too long already. Last year in the middle of my relocation to Las Vegas, we found out little Chewie (formerly known as Dwayne on this site) had FIV, the feline equivalent of AIDS. My sister returned him to the shelter in the hope he might be placed in another home (to avoid spreading the disease to their other cat). Unfortunately, he was very sick by that time. The shelter took good care of him, but he never recovered enough to be adopted, and ultimately, the decision was made to end his suffering. Chewie was one of my first two fosters. I still remember those wide eyes, and the way he was absolutely fearless around children of all ages, despite his own tiny size. It seemed so unfair that he was born with a disease that prevented him from having the chance for a long healthy life.

Now, a little over a year later, my sister once again has to comfort my niece and nephews over the loss of a pet. Their Egyptian Mau, Shadow, escaped their home over the weekend while they were away on vacation. He was injured and passed away in a neighbor's yard before he was found. Shadow was an awesome cat. He was friendly with every single person or animal he met. He even managed to make peace with my grumpy cat, Pablo, while he was boarding at their house during my move last year. Their home won't be the same without him.

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.

On Hiatus

I am taking a break from fostering kittens for now to give my resident cat a much-needed break, and myself some time to get work done on my house. It is possible I will foster again in some capacity, perhaps later this spring, if I can find a way to do it that doesn't stress Pablo out so much. In the meantime, visit me on my recently-revived other blog, Shutter Journeys.

Home Stretch

They say time flies when you're having fun. Believe it or not, Vegas, Phoenix, and Sedona are already just about ready for adoption. They will be at my house one more week, then they will be scheduled for their spay and neuters sometime late next week. In the meantime, they are enjoying some new-found freedom as I have begun to give them free roam of the house for a few hours each day.

With the antibiotic--as well as the vaccinations--over, Sedona remains shy, but she has regained most of her pre-respiratory infection progress. She still shies away from my hand at first, but once I start petting her, she's actually the quickest one of the bunch to purr. She's become a lot more playful the past week, and came very close to being the first of the three to make it over the gate in front of the door to their room. To date, none of them have gone over, but she was the first to attempt it, and nearly made it.

Vegas has emerged as the most social one as well as the most active. He still likes to play, but more and more, he is starting to really enjoy being petted and held. He even shows a bit of a jealous streak. If I'm petting one of the other two, he'll start making little "ack" sounds to remind me he's there.

Phoenix is still the bravest of the three, but as he's become more active, he doesn't seem to enjoy being held as much as he once did. I think it's more of an attention span thing. He doesn't want to sit still very long these days.

As their time in my home nears an end, I find myself wondering if these three kittens might be my favorite fosters to date. Probably not--way too much competition for me to pick favorites. However, watching Vegas, Phoenix, and Sedona come out of their shells has been very rewarding. They're not all the way there yet. Strangers still scare them, although they get better each time they meet one. Even Mommy still scares them when she accidentally moves too fast, or has to pick them up when they'd rather not have it. Chances are they won't be 100% over their fears by the time they go back to the shelter. But they are light years ahead of where they were three weeks ago.

Squeaky and Fluffy Adopted

I am happy to report that Squeaky and Fluffy have been adopted. They were adopted together, so looks like they'll get to be best pals for life. I saw them about a week before they were adopted, and they looked great. They seemed to remember me, and Fluffy especially was very sociable. It's nice to know they have a permanent home.

The Respiratory Infection Strikes. Again.

It seems to be a necessary rite of passage that at least one kitten out of every litter I foster ends up coming down with a respiratory infection at some point. Sedona got tagged with it this time, which is unfortunate because she was finally getting over her instinct to hide whenever she saw me coming. Now, she doesn't know if she's going to be petted, fed, or be given some icky-tasting medicine when she sees me, so she assumes the worst and runs. Since these infections are obviously a common problem for young kittens, I wonder why they can't figure out a way to make a medicine that tastes like chicken or tuna?

Vegas and Phoenix have to take the medicine too, but so far, it hasn't affected their progress in becoming sociable kittens. But Sedona truly hates it. She acts like I poisoned her when I give her the medicine! Fortunately, they only have to take it a few more days, so hopefully Sedona will regain her ground quickly. She was really doing great before this.

The kittens did catch a bit of a break, though. They were supposed to have their vaccinations yesterday, but that got postponed until after they're done taking antibiotics. I'm sure they're not too upset that they didn't have to go in for shots this week.

Everybody Loves the Shoes

I'm not sure what it is about sneakers that fascinates kittens, but they can't seem to get enough of them. Phoenix, Vegas, and Sedona, just like every one of their predecessors, love to climb on my shoes, and especially, to use them as a scratching post. Of course, that second thing is a habit I'll be trying to break them of very soon, but for now, I'm taking it as a good sign that they're comfortable enough with me to crawl around on the size 10's and even scratch them a little.

The kittens continue to improve their courage daily. They still scurry away sometimes when I reach out to pet them and catch them off guard, but more and more, they have started to stand their ground. The two boys even approach the door now when I come into their room, and Sedona usually comes out very soon after. The little Samsung cell phone strap that provided hours of entertainment to Benny last year was a critical tool in helping them become more comfortable with my hands. I could get all three of them chasing it while I dragged it around the floor, and every so often, I'd sneak in a scratch behind the ears. That exercise was especially helpful to Sedona, whose social skills are finally catching up to her brothers'. The last three sentences were written in past tense for a reason, by the way--the Samsung strap has mysteriously gone missing. Apparently, one of the kittens has hidden it!

Too bad for them that they didn't think to hide the toenail clippers too. Clipping their toenails was something I was really dreading, but they needed it desperately, and so did my feet, which were getting scratched up when they "missed" the shoe. I didn't want to undo all the hard work of gaining their trust, but it finally just had to be done. They actually did better than I thought they would, and I made sure to feed them immediately afterwards so they hopefully would remember "yummy food", not "mean Mommy clipped my toenails"! They don't seem to be harboring a grudge, but their toenails have grown back so fast, that I'll probably have to clip them again before the end of the week.

Speaking of food, I have cut them back to just one soft food feeding a day. With their gorging on the dry food between feedings, they were having diarrhea from over-eating. Since the shelter wants them mostly on dry food anyway by the time they're ready for adoption, it didn't make sense to backtrack and cut out the dry food. But we make the one soft food feeding count. I give it to them from a saucer on my lap. It's helped them become more comfortable sitting there, and in the last couple of days, they have started to linger around a little after their feeding for some cuddling. Sometimes they'll even come sit in my lap when I don't have food.

Now that the kittens are fairly comfortable with me, the next step will be to introduce them to some other people. Hopefully, I can enlist my neighbors for some help with that.

Really Big Baby Steps

Given all the hissing, growling, and cowering in the corner the kittens did when I first brought them home, I am amazed at how far they've come in such a short time. They are behaving a lot more like "normal" kittens now, playing and wrestling with each other, and in general just seem a lot happier than they did on Saturday. The keys to breaking the ice with them have proven to be food, playing, and apparently, giving medicine. Little Phoenix, who I expected would be the last to warm up to me since I was having to put medicine in his eyes twice a day, is actually the leader of the pack when it comes to being brave around the big scary human. He still gets shy when I'm standing up, but otherwise, he has almost completely stopped shrinking away when I reach for him, and even comes up to me now on his own, whether I have food with me or not. He likes to sit right in front of me, and seems to really like being petted. He's quickly becoming Mommy's favorite.

Vegas enjoys being petted too--in fact, once he gets going, he's the best of the three at really getting into it. He still tries to run away when I first reach for him, but if I catch him off guard and start petting him, he purrs, and even rolls over on his back so I can scratch his belly. Both he and Phoenix will sit in my lap now occasionally.

But what Vegas really likes to do is play. Now that he's coming out of his shell a little, he's becoming active and adventurous. Teasers, balls, little pieces of paper--anything he can find he'll play with. The boxes that I have never gotten around to unpacking from my move have provided hours of amusement both to these kittens and to Squeaky and Fluffy. I may have to purposefully leave a few in there permanently. It's way too cute watching them stand on their hind legs on top of a box looking out the window.

Little Sedona is learning quickly, but she was, and still is, lagging a bit behind her brothers. She's had a very good day today, though. During their last socialization session, she apparently got tired of watching Phoenix and Vegas getting all the attention and decided to find out whether there might be something to that petting thing after all. She let me pet her and even purred. Hopefully, having a pleasant experience with it will be a bit of a breakthrough for her. Until today, she took off running if she even thought I was going to try petting her.

So far, half so good on the litterbox usage with these three. They've got poop down pretty well. They all use the box, and even cover it up afterwards. They're not even kicking much litter out of the box. However, at least one of them still needs to work on wee-wee a little. I keep finding puddles of it on the painter's tarp I covered the floor with (at least they're going on the tarp and not the carpet!). I finally put a second litterbox in the room today over the top of where they've been going. So far, as near as I can tell, they're using it, or else the puddles on the floor are drying before I get there. I did spot one of them going in the box today, so maybe they'll all follow his example.

Meet Vegas, Phoenix, and Sedona

My latest tiny house guests are three brown tabbies between four and five weeks old (I'm guessing closer to five). Their original shelter names were Sun, Sunshine, and Sunset, but that was way too confusing. So, I stuck with the sun theme, but renamed them after three of my favorite sunny places in the US. From left to right they are Phoenix (male), Vegas (male), and Sedona (female).

Vegas is the biggest and also the bravest of the three, but that's very relative. All of them are extremely shy and afraid, and even seem a little sad. They probably miss their mommy.

Phoenix has an eye infection, which unfortunately means I have to get off on the wrong foot with him a little by giving him medicine twice a day. So far, he just sits motionless in my lap while I'm giving it to him, but that's likely a sign of fear, not fondness for the situation. He did seem to enjoy having his chin scratched a little, but he still shies away from initial contact.

Sedona is the smallest and shyest of the three. She's adorably cute, but spends most of her time hiding when she's not eating. Hopefully, she'll get tired of missing out on all the fun soon.

When I first got them home yesterday, the kittens wanted nothing to do with me. Phoenix and Sedona even hissed and growled at me if I got too close. They have made a tremendous amount of progress, though, even just in one day. They have already started to associate my presence with food, which is the first step in earning their trust. I was able to get all three to eat food from my hand, and even got them to play a little with the feather teaser. Vegas, especially, was into that. Underneath his shyness, I think there may be a personality similar to Squeaky in there.

Vegas, Phoenix, and Sedona obviously have a long way to go with their socialization, but it looks like they're going to be fast learners. Because the camera frightens them, I will probably not take any more pictures of them until they are fully comfortable with me, which may be a couple of weeks.

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.