Monday, June 29, 2009

Mini Mancat Monday

Foster Daddy with Cloud, Cousteau, and Boo.

Boo is obviously a girl, as is Michelle, but Little Bit's kittens are all four little boys. Introducing... Cloud (grey kitten with white paws), Cousteau (tabby kitten with white chin), Squishy (black kitten with "pushed-in" nose and faint grey markings as "sideburns"), and "tabby boy" (who needs a name).

Cloud is an investigator and a snuggler. Pick him up and he starts purring, finding a place to cuddle in. He will climb up your leg to have some one-on-one time if he decides he wants it.

Cousteau is the most adventurous. He was the first one to climb out of the nesting box, and the one who never would stay in afterward. He figured out that the bathroom had water so he thinks everything in the bathroom gives water, so he makes a mad dash in there when he's thirsty but stops to try to eat the litter. Yesterday, he climbed up Foster Daddy's sweatpants on the inside, hooking his claws into the fabric. Foster Daddy let him climb to see how far he'd go, and let him out at the waistband!

Squishy is a go-getter and loves to play. He will stand right in front of the other kittens and bat at them, trying to get a reaction. He is the largest of the kittens, and still pushes the others away from his chosen place at nursing time. He follows Foster Daddy and Foster Mommy around the house, and has tried to dash out the door (but not made it that far yet).

The other little tabby boy likes to play with his littermates and the older girl kittens, but is more of a follower than a leader. He has not shown a distinct personality yet. We will keep you posted on him, and will give him a name when his personality emerges.

Tuxie Mancat Monday

Tux writes:

Today, I saw my man and lady drive past the house where I've been spending a lot of time. I was lounging out in the front yard. The truck slowed down, and they both pointed and waved at me. I looked right at them, so they figured I'd seen them and maybe recognized them.

I still eat at their bowl at least one day a week, but I spend most of my time at a house across the street and south of them. They think maybe the people there are the ones who have been taking care of me these past three years.

I won't tell! ;)

Saturday, June 27, 2009

PhotoHunt: Flags


Norse Hall, the home of the Portland, Oregon, USA, chapter of Sons of Norway.
Photo taken on Norway's Constitution Day, May 17, 2009.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Photo Friday: Debris



Just south of Long Beach, Washington

More Photo Friday posts

Foster Friday

We're just going to let the pictures and video speak for themselves today! Little Bit's kittens are growing so fast, and the two older kittens are enjoying the company and trying to play with the little ones as well as everyone else.





Boo


Carbon with Boo and Michelle

Michelle











Little Bit's babies are eating the crumbs from the big kitty dry food now! They're still suckling too, but being weaned well. The ones who are eating the dry food are learning how to drink water out of the bowl by watching the rest of the crew. This morning, Mommy got woken up by Rori and the bigger kittens trying to tell her something, and came out to the kitchen to find Skylar with his best "What's going on?" look. The kitten pictured above was sitting in the food bowl eating! So now there is that bowl with the crumbs, and another one with the regular-sized pieces for the adults and older kittens.

We have figured out the sexes of all but the tiny black kitten. The others are three boys.

Daddy has cut a door in the nesting box now, and the kittens are taking full advantage of their freedom: running around the house, sleeping in the cherry bed, and following everyone (cats and humans). Little Bit still prefers to nurse in the box, but will let them suckle elsewhere if she's already sitting down.

Feral Friday by the Trailer Kitties

Food bowl rollcall:

Possum, raccoon, Shadow, Spongebob, Chubby, Precious.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Wordy Wednesday

Another kitten has learned how to climb out of the box! It's the other tabby kitten. He/she climbed out yesterday morning, and had a good walk around the kitchen and living room. She even played with a zip tie! The others are trying their best to get out, too. The black one made it to the top of the box, only to come face-to-face with Rori. The kitten quickly backed down; I don't think it was expecting a giant cat to be there!

We're not sure of the sex of three of the kittens, but the first one to climb out (on Monday) is definitely a boy. It's tough to tell when they're so small.

Rori's taken quite an interest in the tiny babies. Whenever one is trying to climb, she's right there watching. I think she thinks of herself as a second mommy to them, so she's stepping into the auntie role quite well.

Starla has decided it's ok now to zoom out from the bedroom dresser to the living room couch now, making a stop at the litter box on the way. She is followed by the older kittens, of course, so we put special food and water bowls under the dresser for her.

Speaking of the older kittens, Michelle and Boo now are playing chase and toys with Tabby. We see and hear them running all around the house three or four times a day! The favorite game for the three of them is to run from the hallway through the living room to the kitchen, at which point Tabby jumps up on the dishwasher and the little ones skid to a halt just before the door, looking up at her until she jumps down to start the game again.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Rough & Tumble Babies



Little Bit's babies were playing this morning! So, here's your "cute" for the day. :)

Monday, June 22, 2009

Mancat (in training) Movie Monday: Late-Breaking news for baby boy!

Mommyday


Little Bit writes:

My babies are growing so fast! They are much better at walking, and can almost cross the whole box by themselves without falling down. I have been encouraging them to climb the box by sitting outside meowing them on, while they try to scale the side to me. My grey girl and one of the tabbies have succeeded once, but only got about 6 inches away from the box before I saw them. They know the humans, and cry at them when they see them above the box, because they like being petted. The humans, who I'm learning now are called Foster Mommy and Foster Daddy, have even held my babies. Of course, I have to supervise this, and get anxious after a couple minutes so they let me have my babies back in the box after that. But they are very gentle about holding them, and it's good practice for my little ones to be on human laps. I myself am now allowed on the couch and on the computer chair to sit with the humans.

I don't like being in the green house, and I've rung the bell to go outside many times. Somehow, the doorbell trick doesn't work like it used to. Very confusing! I resort to meowing at them then, but they say I need to stay in with my baby kids.

The other cats in the house are interested in looking at my baby kids, too. Rori sits on the kitty tree staring down at them. Skylar walks by and peeks over the top of the box, as does Tabby. Carbon sniffs at the box. My little sisters look over the edge with their front paws on the top, trying to see the baby ones. My cousin Starla is afraid of everyone, and usually stays under the dresser in the bedroom.

My grey girl and my boy (one of the tabbies) are the most adventurous and the loudest.

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Happy Father's Day!


Comments by ZingerBug.com



Happy Father's Day to everyone! We love our Daddy soooo much! And, no, he doesn't sleep all the time, but he hates getting his picture taken so Mommy has to sneak pics when he's sleeping. ;) That's Lydia (now an angel) and Carbon napping with him.

Friday, June 19, 2009

PhotoHunt: Creamy


Starla's main color is a creamy-white.

Feral Friday by the Trailer Kitties

Food bowl rollcall:

Little Bit (before she came inside permanently), Boo-Boo Kitty (before she got dumped), Shadow, Spongebob, Chubby (the orange kitty), raccoon, Precious, Tom, Marble.

Tom actually belongs to a man on the street behind the green house. The lady found that out when she was talking with the neighbor about the kittens, because one of Boo-Boo's grey kittens went to him.

Of course, the big news is Little Bit, Boo-Boo, and all the kittens. See previous posts if you missed that!

It's getting to be only Shadow, Tux and the grey kitten that are true ferals; all the rest are friendly neighborhood cats or strays. We're still going to post them all for "Feral Friday", though.

International Box Day!

This post is dedicated to International Box Day! We love, love, LOVE our boxes here at the green house! Mommy is an independent Avon sales rep., so we get boxes every two weeks. Yay! In addition, sometimes we get surprise boxes from things Mommy and Daddy buy, or at holidays (like Christmas and birthdays). So here are some of our box pictures, past and present, with captions below each picture.


Little Bit and babies in their box on their first day as fosters.


Little Bit's babies on their first day as fosters.


Little Boo today playing in a box she found.


Rori on Avon delivery day.


Carbon on Avon delivery day.

Skylar taking catnip-scented tissue paper out of Carbon's Christmas box, December 2007.


Foster kitten Spooky asleep, 2007. He loved to sleep this way!


Foster kitten Spooky discovered after he climbed into the empty laundry basket through the handle holes! Early 2008.

Catster.com: Picture of Trailer Kitties, a Breed Unknown cat on Catster

Carbon on the Trailer Kitties' Christmas package, Dec. 2007.

Catster.com: Picture of Tabby (Tabitha), a Domestic Shorthair/American Shorthair cat on Catster

Tabby and Lydia with their Christmas box, Dec. 2006.

Catster.com: Picture of Tabby (Tabitha), a Domestic Shorthair/American Shorthair cat on Catster

Tabby investigating the Christmas box and contents, Dec. 2006.

Catster.com: Picture of Lydia (10-26-99 to 10-13-08), a Domestic Shorthair cat on Catster

Lydia choosing her favorite toy out of the Christmas box, Dec. 2006.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Very, very, VERY thankful Thursday!!!

Mommy writes:

Yesterday morning, Carbon woke us up talking very loudly and for a long time, which he never does! We had no idea what he wanted us to know, but it was outside because he kept on looking at the door and sniffing it like someone was out there. His daddy opened the door, but there didn't seem to be anyone out there or on the street. We finally just had to tell him we didn't know what he wanted and went back to sleep, ignoring his continued meows.

At about 4:15 pm, the lady who owns the dog & puppies, Boo-Boo, and Little Bit came over and asked to see me (my husband had answered the door). She was holding these two adorable kittens:


Michelle (formerly Michael)


Baby Boo-Boo, nicknamed Boo

They are Boo-Boo's kittens! We had no idea Boo-Boo had been pregnant, but we hadn't seen her for a bit until about a week ago. Now we know why. These adorable girls are between 7 and 8 weeks old.

The lady said that she and her husband were given an eviction notice (which is what we had guessed), and had to move to a place where they didn't allow any pets (Thank you, GOD!!!!!). They had packed up these two girls, Boo-Boo, Little Bit, and Little Bit's four kittens (yes, they survived!), and tried to take them to the humane society. The humane society said they would have to euthanize them if they took them, so the people decided not to do that.

They then drove to Troutdale to the pound, which told them the same thing. They drove a few blocks away and dumped Boo-Boo! Then they went to Wendy's near where we live, and went through the drive-through. The man rolled down the back window, and they thought Little Bit jumped out the window, so now they had all the kittens but no mommas!

That's when they decided to come over and ask me for help. At this point, my husband had to go inside because he wanted to slap the lady (he never would, but that's why he went inside). I was so angry, if it weren't for the kittens I would've ordered her off our property. I took the two black kittens and gave them to my husband, and asked them to bring over the four in the box.

When the man went to take the box of kittens out of the van, he found Little Bit in there! She had just climbed in the far back, not escaped. So, I went over there to get her, because she was so scared of them at the moment, but she ran and the man was able to catch her.

So, we now are fostering two 8-week-old black girls (Boo-Boo's kittens), Little Bit (just over a year old), and four 3-week-old kittens (three girls and one tabby boy).

Anyone want a kitten?


Little Bit with her kittens

The middle one of the three on the left is the boy, and the rest are girls. Looks like two are tabbies (the boy and the one on the right), one is mostly black, and one is grey with white paws and faint tabby markings.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

OMC, we won!

Skylar writes:

Our family won the overnight stay for one cat at the Pet Smart Hotel! The one that's the prize from Skeezix's/Catster's/The Cat's Meow contest for the travel series!

Now, to decide who gets to use it. What, Mom, you say we might all get a vacation stay? But there's only one free one. *looks confused* Oh, you'd pay for the rest of us? You have to talk with Dad first? Ok!

Mom says she and Dad might go to the beach overnight sometime and have us stay at the pet hotel.

Tabby's Birthday Tuesday


Tabby writes:

Happy birthday to meeeeeeeee!
Happy birthday to meeeeeeeee!

*runs around the house singing*

I'm four years old today! Mommy says that later on she'll take me out for a birthday stroll around the neighborhood before she goes to teach. Yay!

Thank you to Lilly-Rose and family for my picture!

Sunday, June 14, 2009

(No longer) mommyday

Little Bit writes:

My kittens should be 2 weeks old now, but I don't have any more milk. The man and lady in the green house haven't talked with the people in my "real" house, but they fear that my babies have died.

I've been coming over to the green house a lot more than I did last week, and have been crying, crying, crying for attention. I can't decide whether I want food more or attention more! It just makes them so sad for me!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Feral Friday by the Trailer Kitties (one day late)

Food bowl rollcall:

Little Bit, Boo-Boo Kitty, Shadow, Spongebob, Marble, Orange kitty (Chubby), Grey striped kitten, Tom (big-headed black kitty).

The man in the green house has named the abandoned orange kitty "Chubby", which is a strange name for a starving one, but it's because he looks like a cat the man had when he was growing up who had that name.

The neighbors with all the puppies, Little Bit, Boo-Boo, and the kittens have gotten an eviction notice personally delivered by the sheriff. There has been a moving truck outside their home now for two days. Let's hope and pray that they do something halfway responsible with the animals!

Because of all the commotion and the moving, Little Bit and Boo-Boo have been over at the green house most of the time, except we think Little Bit's been going back to feed her kittens.

Little Bit came in the green house last night and was being petted when the lady found a baby slug on her! It was only as big as the lady's thumbnail! She went around showing it to all the inside kitties, who sniffed and ignored it. So, big deal, there's a baby slug? The lady put it out on the porch so it could live outside.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Mancat Monday: Carbon's Birthday

Catster.com: Picture of Carbon, a Domestic Long Hair cat on Catster

Ack! Mommy tells me that today's my 4th birthday! Do I look that old? I'm starting to get a few grey hairs, but not too many. Is four too old to still run around with the kitten crazies? I sure hope not, because that's one of my favorite things to do!

I don't remember too much about where I was born, just that I was with my kitty mommy and furblings and then some humans took me and placed me in a cage. Daddy tells me that I was born in the same town he was born in. Tabby was born there, too. It's called Clatskanie, and is midway between Portland and the beach along Highway 30.

I already know what I'm getting as a present: flea medication! To some kitties, that wouldn't be a good present, but it sure is for me! I hate the scabs I get from those nasties, and I know the medicine makes it better, so I'm always glad to have it. I know the smell, and I don't run from it. So Mommy and Daddy are getting some for me. I also get a new toy. I'm hoping it will be a crinkle ball.

Friday, June 5, 2009

Feral Friday by the Trailer Kitties

Food bowl rollcall:

Orange kitty, Little Bit, Boo-Boo Kitty, Spongebob, Shadow, Tux, grey striped kitten, raccoon, Precious.



Tux is back! Tux is back! Our Tuxie is finally back! We hadn't seen him or his brother since June of last year (when the above picture was taken), so we thought maybe they'd moved on or something had happened to them. But Tux is back! We saw him at the food bowl a couple nights ago: fast-moving black body with white feet. We couldn't get a positive i.d. then, because he moved too fast. The man saw him this morning, though, and it definitely was a bobbed tail on the cat that ran from the backyard to the house across the street.

The orange kitty from down the street is now homeless. His people moved and didn't take him. He let the lady pet him, and was meowing at her, happy. He's SO skinny; he was starving! We'll watch him and make sure he gets enough to eat when he comes by.

It was thunderstorming yesterday: a BIG storm warning and tornado watch (the watch went away, though)! It's been SO hot lately!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Carbon's Cat of the Day!

Carbon writes:

I'm Cat of the Day over at Catster! Wowweeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm going to enjoy my day by snuggling with Mommy and watching everyone out the window. Oh, and maybe tagging along behind Tabby when she gets in trouble. That's always fun, and then I don't get in trouble but I get to watch.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Mommyday

Little Bit writes:

Well, I was trying to keep it a secret from the people in the green house until the kittens were older, but they found out where I was keeping them and how many I had. There are not two, like they thought, but 5 kittens, and they're at my "real" house.

I'm not the only new mommy at my "real" house, either. The doggy girl who was born around the same time I was (so she's just over a year old, too) had 8 puppies! That's a lot of babies underfoot (or underpaw)!

The people at my "real" house know about the low-cost spay & neuter programs in our area; they just think it's too expensive to do. That's what their sister-in-law said to the lady in the green house. The sister-in-law just got two dogs fixed, using the low-cost programs. With this many mouths to feed, spaying would've been cheaper. That's why I'm eating over at the green house's food bowl for a while.

For those who find it hard to keep everything straight, the green house is on the north, the sister-in-law's house is next to it going south, then my "real" house. The sister-in-law has two dogs: Seven and Buddy. Seven is Buddy's and Kiera's mom. Kiera is the one who just had puppies, and lives at my house. Boo-Boo Kitty is my mom, and also lives at my house. Then there's myself and my little ones.

The lady at the green house is spitting mad at my "real" people for not fixing any of us, and for not understanding that it's cheaper in the long run to fix animals. The people at the green house will probably end up feeding all my kittens as well. They fed me throughout my pregnancy. The way Boo-Boo and I act, they think our "real" people don't pay much attention to us at all. There's nothing the people in the green house can do about it other than feed us and pay attention to us, because we're "technically" not being neglected. If there's a shelter for us and a place that gives us food, and our "real" people know that, then that's the minimum under the law around here.

:P :P :P :P :P