Yes, I know you've been staring at the same kittens since June 10.

Sorry!


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too perfectly cute

How could such dirty little kittens grow up to be so cute? I just scoop them up whenever they zip by and say "AHHHH!!!! You are so CUTE!" Normally I prefer the scraggly ugly little guys. Or the skinny ones with outsized paws. But there's something to be said for kittens that appear to be constructed entirely from pompoms.

Anybody want to borrow them? They need a short-term foster home for four days.

Cats on your bed

Mary sent this photo of Jack and The Leewit taking over her newly dressed bed. Perhaps I should ask the other bloggers reading this to post photos of their cats on their beds?

I can probably get a good one of mine, tonight, while I'm in it. :)

If you do post one on your blog, leave a comment here with a link. Thanks!


Here's one from Blog by-the-Sea (Thanks, Teresa!)

Judy sends a great shot from her page here (which has many more beautiful photographs if you need a pick-me-up on this gray day). Go to that page and scroll down! Hey Judy, did you stumble here from my Open Garden Days post?

Monica sends a bed full of kittens (I'm getting new blogs for my blogroll too. Loving this!)

50 Kittens sends a perfect bedtime reading photo.

More work in the cat facility

It's nice to make improvements in the cat facility. It makes me want to spend more time out there. Tonight I moved Sir Morgan upstairs, since he's been a week post-neuter without any sniffles or other signs of illness. The other cat mostly ignored him. Arthur finally paid some attention when I plunked him up on the table and he noticed there was a new cat in the room.

I bit the bullet the picked up more of these cardboard scratcher inserts for the turbo cat toy. They are nearly $9 for two measly pieces of cardboard at Petsmart. I used to be able to get them for around $6. The cats really enjoy this toy though. I also got two small cans of KMR powder so the kits can still have their bedtime bottle. One is for me, and one for the foster home where the other two are.



The cats really seem to like their furniture. I didn't even have to try hard to get a "cat on each level" shot tonight. Fluffy just fits into the middle level, and he lay their nicely as I combed him.



Molly has been playing well with the kittens, which is good socialization for them. Peek-a-boo with the stair curtain is the current game. Molly is at a disadvantage as she's not allowed upstairs.



This weekend I plan to paint the upstairs of the house, as I really need to get a housemate. I need some regular help around here mowing lawn, spending time with the cats, and house-sitting when I travel, as I will be this fall. It would be nice to find someone who wouldn't mind my cat wandering upstairs, but if not, I can put a door at the bottom of the stairs, and the children will just have to get used to one level life.

It's time to admit that it's just too big a place for one person.

Our own little cat room make over

Petfinder is having a very cool cat room makeover essay contest with furniture from The Refined Feline. Pretty cool stuff, huh? Alas, as an employee I am not eligible. Some deserving shelter is going to have a beautiful cat room!

But there is always...ta dah! The Craigslist Cat Room Make Over! Yes indeed, a few days ago I saw a post for a ton of nearly new cat furniture for ultra cheap.



Wow, huh? The owner of the kitty who possessed these riches decided to relocate to California, and the cost of shipping was too high. I am amazed I was the first one to call, as I only look at Craigslist every few days.



Pickles says "paint the ceiling, lady."



She also apparently feels it's time to put the heat lamp away.

It seems that getting her rug steam cleaned tonight was just not enough work for her. After cleaning the carpet and dragging all this stuff upstairs, I'm beat. However, it couldn't stay in the truck any longer (it's raining, and the cap leaks) and there was no sense in moving it in without cleaning the room.

Now I am waiting for Molly to wear the kittens out, so we can all go to bed.

Rest in peace, lovely ladies

Two friends have lost cats this week. Stephanie, who adopted Zuzu and Jasper, lost Annie to illness:

Valarie and Craig, who coincidentally rescued Zuzu as a kitten and have the Hagadorn Hill colony, lost Smudge, a member of their colony:



It doesn't seem right to post sad news on such a beautiful day. But I guess that's the best way to remember them. In sunshine with birdsong.

Come visit me Saturday, 11:30-2:00!

I will be one of the gatekeepers at the Myers Garden in West Danby for the Open Gardens Tour. It's only $5, and it will be a beautiful day. The West Danby/Spencer/Van Etten yard sales are also tomorrow, so what better excuse to come wandering down our way?

I know, I should have posted this sooner!

See, I actually am involved in things besides cats. Come keep me company for a few minutes, and visit a beautiful garden. The garden is open 10-4, so if you miss me, don't worry, you'll still have a gorgeous visit.

Wickes Lumber is no more

Kat is out of town, so I have to feed the Fast Food Ferals this week. I also needed KMR for the kittens, so when the bell rang for quitting time, I grabbed the lawn mower, mowed a chunk of lawn, then grabbed the dog and headed to Ithaca.

I turned left to the lumber yard, and...whoa.

No more lumber yard. No more building. No more nothing.

And there was my shelter and feeding station, carefully deposited at the edge of the parking lot, just as I had asked. They did not disturb the woodsy area where the cats physically are (although they won't hide there any longer, with no building to hide behind).

I stood and stared for a long while. That place has been a part of my life for over six years.

I was able to get both the shelter and feeding station into the truck (even though the truck was already filled with bags of cat litter, a child's playpen, two traps, etc.) and headed over to the new feeding site...now the only feeding site. And who should be waiting for me but a black cat. He was too far away for me to check for an eartip, but at least one cat has definitely found the new spot.

I trudged around the back of the fence and put a bowl of food at the other corner of the property as well.

I hope Pichou and Vannie are OK, and haven't run for the hills.

"Prescription Diets" in name only?

Did you know that "prescription pet diets" are a marketing tactic...and are not products requiring (and protected by) FDA oversight? Check out Dolittler.

"1) Animal foods do not meet the definition of a new animal drug (indeed, they are not drugs).

2) The container labels for Prescription Diets (notice the caps) do not include the federal legend required by the FDA for prescription drugs (i.e., they have not been approved by the FDA as safe and effective for their labeled indication)

The concept of a “prescription only” diet has merely been a marketing success for pet food companies who label their products as such and somehow manage to have engendered a belief that a product labeled as a “Prescription Diet”...requires a prescription.

But this is NOT TRUE! There is no legal basis for requiring a prescription for a product that is NOT regulated by the FDA as a drug. Shall I repeat that or was it sufficiently clear?"

I have a prescription for a/d hanging on my refrigerator at the moment. Huh!

He needs a name, and I'm running out.

Here is the little orange fellow who came running up on my porch the other night. Oddly, he has been around for well over a month, and would run away whenever he saw me. The other night, however, he came busting right up the porch stairs as soon as I came out. He was frightened off by Molly's yaps, but came running up again when I put her in the house and came out with a bowl of wet food.




He appears to have a detached right retina. The vet will be able to tell more. He is totally friendly, and is still amazed that he can eat all the food he wants.

Fur graffiti....

...speaks for itself.

Adopter photo - Simon!

It must be the week for portrait-quality photos!

Elvis visits the local bar - Adopter photo

I'm going over to visit Elvis's haunt on Sunday. Looking forward to seeing you, Alice!

Portraits of ZuZu and Jasper

Thanks, Stephanie. Sorry it took me over a week to get them posted! I love seeing how happy they are. I wish I had the talent and equipment to get such great photographs.

Ain't it the truth

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sleepy...so just photos....

Leo of the Terrorist Kittens gets adopted...

Yes! An adoption! Leo is actually the shyest of the three when it comes to lap-sitting, but when strangers arrive to visit, he's the only one who comes right out to socialize. He is in a foster-to-adopt, so if his adopters find he is too shy, they can feel comfortable returning him.

I then moved Tinker and Owlie out to the cat facility, as there is an empty run suitable for two. I'm sure they are frightened at the change, but with the racetrack kittens now running around, it was just WAY too many cats in the house. And a dog, no less, even if she is cat-sized.

I love cats, but I like walk into a room and find a chair cat-free, as well, and not constantly hear the thunder of cats romping across the second floor. And my old guys will be so happy to have the activity level lowered, not to mention competition at the treat dish before bedtime.

All four of the racetrack kittens are doing well. The white boy, who is spoken for, seems to be the biggest, uses the cat box, but is still fixated on his bottle. I'd far rather have a bottle-spoiled kitten who uses the cat box, than a bowl feeder who doesn't. The gray kitten still is iffy about the cat box, but she's getting better.

OK, speaking of "cat-sized"...Molly the dog is asleep in a Siesta Bowl near my feet. I wish the camera was at hand, and I wasn't pinned in the chair by Ivan!

Nutro Cat Food Recall

You can check out the Blisstree.com kittyblog for more information.

Speaking of thunderstorms...

I was just out in the cat facilty when the heavens broke loose and the thunder rolled. Storm is terrified of...storms... This normally unpettable cat begs to be held when a storm breaks. So I went in the cat room and picked her up and cuddled her, then put her under a towel to hide. Then I heard two other cats yowling, and went out to find Sparkles, Dustin, and Perci all in nervous mode. You know Perci is nervous if SHE lets you pick her up and cuddle her. Interesting that it was all female cats, although Leo wasn't looking very pleased at all the noise.

Molly the dog just sat on the porch and watched the rain pour down. Nothing much concerns her, that's for sure.

Animal Shelter dog makeovers on the PF blog

Hey Nancy. You'll like this!

Is your dog afraid of thunderboomers?

Then go read this excellent article at Dolittler, including the comments. Heck, read it even if you don't have a storm-shy dog. It's fascinating.

Dirty kittens get cuter despite themselves

I've shipped two kittens off to Angie to bottle-feed. Four was too many for my busy morning, especially given how messy they are. Sticking a bottle in the mouth of a kitten who knows how to work one isn't too big a deal. But tacking on four kitten baths was just too much. I have taken to separating the two remaining kittens at night, with their own separate heating pads, to keep them from slurping all over one another by morning. The rest of the day I can keep them occupied together so they are either eating, exploring, or sleeping. They are both still stained from chewing on one another. I've never run into this before. I've certainly had kittens that have sucked on one another, but not ones that made such a mess.

If you read LOL Cats...

...then you've already seen this. But maybe you checked here first! I like the black cat at the end. Average cats who have smart cats as housemates always suffer for it. :)



And yes, I know this is cheating as far as "blogging once a day." But at least you know I'm thinking of you all!

Shop cat

This one is in no need of rescue. Except perhaps from boredom due to the antics of the strange woman making gestures trying to get him to look up. If I'd realized I was taking my own photo, too, I would have dressed nicer.




After I took the trash to the transfer station, I drove over to Owego to catch the antique/flea market sale, but I must have gotten the wrong day because the place was locked up. So I had lunch in Owego, picked up a few cards at The Hand Of Man, and took a short walk around downtown before coming home to mow, mow, mow.

New alarm clock and stinky kittens solved

I've been trying to figure out how to get myself up an hour earlier (groan). Now that there is a dog to walk, I need another hour before work. And sometimes I work before work.

A problem with "working from home" is that it is quite easy to just turn off the alarm and close your eyes for a little bit longer. When I absolutely have to get up (to catch a plane, trap some cats, get to the vet) I put the alarm clock across the room, so that hopefully by the time I reach it I've remembered that I actually do need to get up.

But doing that every day? Uck.

Well, I finally discovered which of the four kittens is the one who insists on sucking and sliming all the others. It's also that one that doesn't eat as well because (and please, if you are easily grossed out, don't read farther) he's filling up on pee and poop by stimulating the others and...well, you get the picture.

So I put the clear plastic tote in the playpen with a SnuggleSafe heater and separated him out after he has been fed and played with the others. No more sucking on his sibs while they are snoozing and when they wake up hungry.

And--surprise! No more wet kittens, and Little Mr. Messy is eating normal food like a champ. I try to put them all together as much as I can (they are together now), and Messy doesn't seem to be too distressed by the alone time. Hopefully he'll break himself of the slurping habit so they can all be back together again.

And the alarm clock? Well, a single hungry kitten makes a lot of noise at 5:30 am, let's just say. And while he may shut up for a few minutes at a time, there comes a point where he says "I want attention NOW" and the squeaking does not stop.

I'm up! I'm up!

Stinkiest. Kittens. Ever!

I have handraised a lot of kittens, and man, these kids STINK! First of all, they are a bit stupid. If you set them on the floor on a blanket, they don't stay on the blanket. They wander off onto the cold floor. Most wee kittens will stay put. Not these guys.

Secondly, they STINK! Yes, I realize I have used capital letters twice in the same post. It doesn't matter how much you stimulate them to pee, they pee more in their bedding. They never poop when stimulated. They ONLY poop on their bedding. They also suck on each other's fur so they are constantly wet. I had to move them out of their big plastic romper and put them in the playpen because the smell was awful in the confined space. The sucking is a bit improved since I gave them a piece of fur to play with. I may have to take a trip to the Salvation Army to buy an old fur coat for them to nuzzle in. I have given more kitten baths to these guys in less than a week than I normally give to a litter the entire time they are with me. White kittens especially have to stay clean or their fur will stain yellow. I can replace all of their bedding twice a day and walk into the room and it will still smell of urine. Man! I can't wait until they are old enough to use the litter box!

I'm sure Molly enjoys the various stinks. I sure don't!

Zuzu and Jasper cuddle. Adopter photo!

It's always a joy to get photos of Zuzu and Jasper, too. Everyone must be in a picture taking mood this week!