final 4

Holiday looks startled.

Well, I don't KNOW if this will be the final four for the season, but it sounded good, so I am sticking with it!

Ziggy flops in a lap for the Fleecy String.

As you can see, Ziggy and Holiday came back after my Thanksgiving break, but you may wonder why Twinkle is back. She was totally ready for spay, and she got it. What they discovered during that operation was that she had one very large kidney. They left it alone, and decided to send her back to foster to make sure she was ok. So far, she seems fine. She is a very sweet little girl. I hope this doesn't make it hard for her to find a home. I would totally adopt her. (except of course I already have 4...and 3 is my limit!)

Twinkle is back, and seems to be fine.

The new face is Georgina. She was in another foster home, and needed a new place to stay. She is just under 2 pounds, so she will be around until after Christmas along with Ziggy. Holiday is already at 2lbs, 8 oz, but she and Twinkle will probably be here until Ziggy is to weight. That's fine. After having 8, 4 is a break!

Looks like a smile to me.

When I picked up Georgina, and dropped off Gary and Gabby, I checked in on the others. Butters was adopted with another buff colored kitten. When I went to see him before, he reached out of the cage to grab me, so I am sure he charmed someone completely and was snatched up quickly. Axel and Grace were still there then, but I heard grace had been adopted. I was surprised Axel was still there, after being featured on ArlNow.org...So I sent them a note that he was ready to be adopted, with a photo and a link to the AWLA website. It was posted, and when I checked it, it had 39 comments! Oh, and Axel is not on the site anymore, so I think it worked! ;) Now I need to find someone to adopt the crazy Gabby. Looks like Gary was adopted already.

Georgina is a beauty!

chillin'.

Fleecy String!

More Fleecy String!

You can see Twinkle's shaved belly from her spay.

 So, we will have 4 kittens through the end of the year I suppose. That's OK. These guys are pretty low key, and after the craziness of the 3G's (Gary, Gabby and Grace) it's a nice chill time. No Gary screaming as soon as he hears a step in the hall! No Gary and Gabby bouncing off my back like a springboard to the bed when I sit on the floor. They did get a chance to come out of the room and run around though, so now that ALL want out as soon as the door opens. Even 4 are hard to contain on that front. Eight was a hopeless cause.

Ziggy got a taste of freedom.

And had some fun with the packing peanuts.

Ziggy gives the packing peanut the what for.

Ziggy seems all better after his sickness. He was very dehydrated when I got him, and it took some time to get him up to speed. He's fine now! And a handful. Well, at 1 pound 8 oz, he's barely a handful! He is a funny little guy, and not afraid of Bentley, or any of the other cats here. Gary was very cute with Bentley, rubbing all over him whenever he was waiting at the door when I was going in. Ziggy just runs under his legs. Gary had to stop and give him some love.

This photo doesn't have a cat in it, but it's funny. My neighbors kids. They ALWAYS get in Bentley's bed! And look at Callie with his Nylabone! He's such a good boy!

Neighbors take over Bentley's bed...and toys!

heading out for the holiday

We are going to be out of town for Thanksgiving, so the Crazy 8 will be heading out to another foster home for the weekend. I wouldn't saddle 8 kittens on just anyone, but I know who they will be staying with, and she is about as crazy as me, and can handle this group.

The whole crew.

So, they are all doing great, and actually Butters, Axel, Grace and Twinkle are already to weight! Unfortunately, there was no room on the schedule for this week, so they miss out.

Axel cooperates by sitting on the scale for his weigh in.

Axel poses, and you can see his eyes were changing color in this photo.

Gary is a BAD kittah! (Not really...just a crazy boy.)

Butters dares the mouse toy to move.

Butters eyes were changing too.

 

Gabby take a sniff while exploring the closet.

Grace poses for her calendar picture.

Holiday always looks a little like she is startled.

Twinkle peeks over my leg.

And prowls the hall.

Ziggy see a target...

And moves in!

I think I will be getting them all back on Sunday when I get home, and will probably be keeping Holiday and Ziggy for a few more weeks at least. If they have any more little ones, I guess I will be getting them too, since I will be home for Christmas.

Ridiculous. Am I a sucker? You betcha!

So, I had the 4 Halloween kittens, and a couple of days later, I got an e-mail. "Can you take a couple more?" Well, being the sucker I am, I said sure. Then, they said, "Can you take 4 more?"

Yes, I have 8 kittens. (Not counting my own 4, and Bentley the dog) Talk about a full house.

So, besides Twinkle, Grace, Gary and Gabby, we now have Butters, Holiday, Axel and Ziggy.

Axel was found by a local firefighter under his truck, on the axel. He was pretty shy when he first got here, but he is quite lovable now.

Axel

Butters is the big guy, and very sweet. Looks an awful lot like my Buck too.

Butters (The big guy on the right)

Holiday is the shyest, but likes attention. She's not a big fan of being held though, and I have never heard her purr. (Update, she DID purr for me today)

Holiday

Ziggy is a tiny little guy. I think he was sick when I picked him up, but had not shown any real signs. We have since gone through the not eating, sneezing, runny eye and subQ fluids and antibiotics. He seems to be on the mend now, but only weighs 14.6 oz.

Ziggy

I am pretty sure Butters and Holiday are related, but I know the other 2 are not. It's interesting the patterns you see. For instance, they both stand on the rim of the water bowl to drink. No one else does. Is that hereditary? Who knows?

Holiday gets a drink

Everyone got to go see the visiting vet today, since at least 5 of them have some digestive issues. 5 kittens with loose to liquid stool is not a fun time, let me tell you! Speaking of that, I need to put in a load of towels!

Ziggy had a clump of matted hair behind his ear, and when they started to investigate, they found a pretty nasty sore under there.

Neck wound looks worse than it is

Not sure he was given much of an exam before he came to stay here, but they do try to get them out quickly. He is better off here, believe me. (Even fighting for attention with 7 others) He got some good attention for the last couple of days, and got to hang out with me while I was working.

Snoozing on my desk

The original 4 are all crazy as ever. They have really turned into purr machines. Twinkle is not related to the "G" kittens, and she is not a purrer either. (but today must have been a banner day, as I got her to purr for me too!) She is a funny girl, who loves shoestrings, and is happy playing by herself. She also likes to climb up my pants leg. Trying to break that habit now.

Gary goes all Catzilla on Grace

Size difference between Ziggy and Holiday

Hopefully, now that they are all on some meds it will help with the poop issues. Normal poop makes for a much more pleasant kitten experience!

Halloween kitties

No more is fall the end of kitty season. I sent back my last kittens when I went on a 10 day vacation, assuming I was done for the season. Nope. I picked up 4 more kittens on Sunday. Meet the spooks.

What's Halloween without a black kitten? OK, Grace isn't totally black, but she is a striking little girl.

Gabby has a bit of black, but she is a cow-cat, with big black spots on a white coat.

Gary is the only boy of the bunch, an orange tabby with tons of energy.

Twinkle is a single that was adopted into the other litter. She is sneezy, but it hasn't slowed her down one bit! She is a tortie, with a short little tail.

It's hard to get a picture of them, as they never slow down. They took about 3 minutes to settle down, and start to really show off the major purr boxes. Grace has the loudest, and was the first one to actively search out a scritchy scratch.

They all seem to be fat and happy. Hopefully we can keep them that way.

but wait....there's more!

I took Angel to the shelter for spay day 2 weeks ago, And a quick check of the website shows she is already adopted. (Unless she is in sickbay). She is a total spaz. I wish I had been able to get a video of her when she was full throttle, but I never had my camera in hand.

All the fun bunch have gone back, and the only one left here from that group is little Seamus. (AKA Squeaker) He is tipping the scale at 2 pounds 10 oz. now, but he has been dealing with an ear infection the last 2 weeks. It seems to be clearing up, but he still has a very pronounced head tilt. Otherwise, he is fine.

Seamus has a head tilt, but it doesn't slow him down.

Don't worry. Seamus isn't alone. When I took the fun bunch back,  I picked up 5 more kittens. They are all very cute, and look similar, but not like Ashley and Mary Kate similar! I can tell these guys apart pretty easily.They are all going back on Sunday, since I am heading for a vacation on Wednesday.

We have the big boy, Dasani.

The exotic colors of Fiji.

The goofy orange head of Aqua

The relatively normal colors of Vassa (Although I don't know that brand...Maybe they meant Voss?)

And the really striking looks of Evian.

Oh, and these guys have a mom, up for adoption at the shelter. Her name? Aquafina, of course.


Seamus and Dasani are ready for neutering, but the girls may still need a few days more, so they will go with another fosterer until they make weight. Normally, I would not expect any more kittens this late in the season, but the last few years have been all over the place, so I will just wait and see what's going on when I get back.

In the mean time, I am hoping someone adopts Penny Lane and Martha! Both of them are still there. I don't understand why people don't adopt black cats. Martha is so full of personality, and yet she is the last of that group to go. Penny Lane is not so kitten like anymore. I someone will come along soon and see all her charms...Both of them!

here we go round in circles...

Shamus explores

Back to the vet yet again! The kitten formerly known as Squeaker (now known as Seamus) was dropping weight. This morning, liquid stool, and a few others obviously had some loose stool. Everyone sneezing AGAIN, and that's a trip to the vet for everyone!

The normal look...screeching!

Seamus is the bitching-est kitten ever. As soon as he hears ANYTHING in the hall, he starts. Then Martha get's going. It's bedlam! Anyway, Seamus is on Metronidazol, and I will keep an eye on Angel, as she was a bit dehydrated too. Seamus got fluids this morning, and Angel got some at the vet. Other than that, they are still crazy, playful and sweet kittens.

Martha found one of Bishop's mice

Stewart and Trinket both went back to the shelter for Spay/neuter last week. We were gonna try for Mary Kate, Ashley and Martha this week, but the sneezies put a damper on that. They will most likely be here for another 2 weeks now. They are ready to be adopted. I wish I could move them along, but I will keep 'em here. Maybe Angel and Seamus will be closer to weight by then. They both have to go back by October 4th. We will be taking a vacation for 10 days, so someone else will have to host them if they aren't up to weight yet. I am fattening them up as fast as I can! Damn diarrhea!

I know my shoes are big, but Angel is pretty small

My dog has cat toy issues

They got to play in the living area this week, and Bentley and Ashley had a major attraction to each other. I can't always tell Mary Kate and Ashley apart, but Bentley sure could. He loves Ashley, and it sure looks like she loves him too.

This looks like love...and exactly how Bentley and Buck play

Seamus checks out the deck

After about an hour of playtime, I gathered them up, and put them to bed. I am sure when I go up tonight, Seamus will hear me, and start the squawking all over again.

Bosley watches from a safe distance

Such is life here with Elephants upstairs.