Friday, August 28, 2009

Foster Friday

Squishy is still getting better. He and Little Guy have been pretty snuggly ever since he got out of confinement, no surprise! As of now, we want to adopt them out together.

Little Bit is now hissing whenever they try to nurse, except for one or two times a day, so she's finally weaning them.

Sorry for not blogging a lot today; my back has been hurting for the last week and a half.

Feral Friday by the Trailer Kitties

Food bowl rollcall:

Shadow, Spongebob, Siamese from the next street over, Precious

The porchlight has been out this week, so the humans can't see who comes when it's dark. Someone knocked over the bags of pop bottles on the porch, obviously climbing up to see in the window into the house. We're not telling who, but we're pointing paws at the more curious pet cats in the neighborhood!

Precious is pregnant! She looks like she has a couple more weeks to go. The humans hope that they can catch the kittens and possibly her as well once she lets them come to the bowl.

Photo Friday: Seaside


Me at about age 5 at Cannon Beach, OR, USA.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Squishy's better!

Squishy writes:

Yesterday evening, there were NO squishes on me or around in the bathroom two hours after Foster Daddy gave me a bath! They were both so impressed! They checked me again in another two hours, and still no squishes!

So, I was let out into the rest of the house. It's now about 12 hours since I was let out, and still nothing! :) I've been sleeping a whole lot. My brother was trying to get me to play first thing, but all I wanted to do was inspect the house to make sure it was the same as when I left it. I even crawled under to check that Starla was there. Then I curled up in the chair for a good three-hour snooze, because I'd spent most of my incarceration screaming to be let out. I was a very tired boy!

This morning, I'm playing with my brother. Foster Mommy is giving all of us the FortiFlora now, for good measure.

She's taking me right now to the groomer for a real bath and a trim on my pants.

UPDATE: Squishy just went diarrhea, but it was in the box! So he has a little way to go until full recovery, but is getting soooo much better!

UPDATE AGAIN: Just got back from the groomers' at PetsMart. He squished on me there, but I think that's because he didn't have a litter box and needed to go. He did awesome with being brushed and toenails clipped, screamed during the bath, and tried to run away from the shaver. Now he's home playing and eating.

Oops, we ate it! A meme.

We got this meme from Milo & Alfie, who wrote the instructions down for us:

If yoo take part in the The Oops I Ate It meme, it means you hafta blog about food you have stolen when your humans weren’t watching. Don’t try to pretend yoo’ve never done that ‘cos we don’t believe yoo! If you want to join in yoo add the logo of this award to your blog (optional), then yoo nominate at least 5 other furry blogs and let them know by leaving them a message on their blogs.

Anyone who has read our Catster pages knows we run a restaurant group there, so we have to make sure our food is the best, don't we? ;)

Here's a couple of our stories:

Little Bit wrote here about taking a tater tot off Mommy's plate, complete with a picture of her with it!

We all mob Mommy when she makes her rice dish for dinner.

Skylar once ran away with his Mommy Erin's food and took it under the bed!

We like peach yogurt (real or soy), soy milk from cereal, Wheat Thins (Little Bit only), anything potato (fosters only), hotdogs, cereal (Carbon and the fosters), oatmeal (Skylar and Tabby), hamburger, ham, tuna, cheese (real or soy), taco meat, fish, chicken, rice, and strawberry ice cream (real or soy).

We tag the first five cats who read this who haven't written this meme, and invite any foodie cats (or dogs) to join our restaurant. You don't need a Catster account; you can use your e-mail.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Award! And update on Squishy

First our new award! We have been awarded the 2009 Cool Cat Site of the Day award from Pet Supplies Place! Thank you!

NOTE: We do not know how legitimate the above site is, because it looks like they just opened shop, have no products on their site, and don't even have their website properly set up yet. We personally would not order anything from their site until they have more up and tell about themselves (like maybe put an address, phone number, and have products in stock). But it's cool they found our blog and liked it enough to try to promote their new site with this award. :)

Ok, now for the news around here!

Squishy writes:

I'm still locked in the bathroom and still squishing. Foster Daddy went and got some special food for me and other stuff from the doctor, then Foster Mommy came in and gave me another pill. I take my medicine just like I've seen "Uncle" Skylar do! I don't even complain, just let her pop it right in. Then she opened a packet of very yummy-smelling stuff and let me sniff it. I immediately wanted in the packet and tried to bite the top of it! She said it was called FortiFlora, and it's a probiotic to help my intestines deal with things better. I get a packet of this a day until I have solid poops again. She poured the powder on my food, and I chowed down, not even stopping to rush the door when she left the room! I love the FortiFlora!

The result of the fecal test came back negative, but Foster Mommy saw a tapeworm segment on me and the doctor says that's probably what caused this in the first place. So that's why I got the pill. Now it's just getting my system back to normal again, so the FortiFlora plus a bland diet should do the trick in a few days. We all certainly hope so!

Foster Daddy's worried that my time in confinement might psychologically scar me because I scream now whenever I hear voices, wanting out or wanting them to come in to give me attention. Foster Mommy thinks I'll probably be ok, but is worried too. The only other option besides confinement in the bathroom (where I can't see or hear the other cats) is to put me in a medium-sized plastic carrier (dog crate), but then I would have to be bathed two or three times a day at least because I wouldn't have room to rest except where I squish. So Foster Mommy thinks the bathroom is better than that. Foster Daddy wishes they had an area where I could have the room I need but be able to see the others so I wouldn't feel so lonely.

They come in during the day and night and clean my butt, clean the floor where I've squished, and pet me, but I still call for them and everyone. My mama cat came in today and inspected every inch of my new living quarters while Foster Mommy was cleaning it. I think she approved, because she used my litter box and licked me, let me nurse for a few minutes, then told Foster Mommy she wanted back out again. When I cry, she doesn't come running to the door to see what's going on, but she gets to check on me once a day. Foster Mommy and Foster Daddy both make sure that my room gets cleaned so that there's only a few spots before it's clean again.

I can't wait until this is all over and I'm back with the rest of the household! I also have to wait until I'm better before I can be put up for adoption again. :P

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Squishy squished :(

Squishy writes:

I'm stuck in the litter box room! Foster Mommy and Foster Daddy won't let me out, no matter how much I tell them I want out! Mama and brother aren't doing a thing about it, either; they're playing like nothing is the matter! They came in to check on me once, but now they are acting normal!

Foster Daddy first noticed me squishing (what they call diarrhea) on Sunday afternoon. He didn't think anything of it then, except to clean it up. By the time Foster Mommy got up from her nap, her comforter had to be washed because I was up there. She put me in confinement!

A couple hours later, Foster Daddy gave me a bath. It felt so good to be clean, and I was very well behaved during my bath. But then it started up again. :( I can't help it, and can't feel when it starts, so I don't use the box for it except sometimes.

Foster Mommy gave me a roundworm dewormer and will get tapeworm tabs today. She took me to the vet and I got to meet all the nice people there. I also got to meet the cat I am named after! He's so big and fluffy! He only has one eye, but he's so nice; he sniffed me and I sniffed him, then he sniffed me some more. The receptionist got a few pictures of us together and will e-mail them to Foster Mommy when she gets a chance. They all were so happy to meet me: Squishy Jr., and to know that their Squishy has someone named for him! Dr. Bob had my fecal sample (which I gave while waiting for my appointment) sent for testing, and will have the results sometime today.

Foster Mommy writes:

We learned something with this! Do not put a cat (especially a kitten) with diarrhea in a room with a clay-litter-filled box. They will get it stuck in their fur, paw pads, everywhere, and it will take a good bath and stiff brushing to get it out! We stopped on the way back from the vet to get World's Best litter and switched the box immediately upon arriving back home. Now the others have the clay litter in their box and the bathroom box has the corn.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Vote for us!

Voting is now open at the "Do the Q" contest, and we've entered! Please vote for your favorite entries for all categories. Carbon, Rori, and Cloud have all put in their entries.

Photo Friday: School (posting one day late)

This is the preschool toy shelf of our children's room at the Sons of Norway lodge where I volunteer. I'm the teacher for the "Barnehage" preschool program there, which is one Saturday morning a week and taught in both English and Norwegian.

Photo Friday

Friday, August 21, 2009

Foster Friday

Little Bit, Squishy, and Little Guy are still here. No one has called or e-mailed about them yet! Squishy and Little Guy are now 13 weeks old, and having a blast! The couch disappeared and a recliner now has taken its place, so Skylar, Starla, and Little Guy spend a lot of time curled up together on it (with or without Daddy/Foster Daddy). Little Guy will seek out Skylar for cuddle time; it's so cute!

Little Guy's advertisement is going to be changed, because we think he'd be perfect for training as an emotional support/service cat and/or a therapy cat. He's got the personality for it, checking up on everyone and everything, snuggling, not vocal unless he's playing, using "soft paws" instead of claws when touching humans, etc. All the hallmarks of a good service animal or a good therapy companion pet!

Kai's new mommy has updated pictures on his Catster page. He's obviously doing well there.

Cloud has learned to ride around on his new mommy's shoulder! His page will be transferred to his new mommy once she responds to the e-mail.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Tater Tot Thursday

Little Bit writes:

See the tater tot I snagged off Foster Mommy's plate while she was giving Skylar his medicine? It smelled so good, so I jumped up on the office chair and got it, then licked the salt off it. I only wanted the salt, not the potato part. She came back and took the picture, so I guess she wasn't too mad at me for it! I spent the rest of her dinner time trying to snag another one, but she kept putting me on the floor by this one instead. My kids tried to figure out what it was, but neither of them ate it. Funny, because we all love fries.

(Foster Mommy says pardon the state of the floor in her pictures. They pulled the carpet up, but then Foster Daddy had knee surgery and they never got around to fixing the floor once he recovered.)

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Wordless Wednesday

(Mommy went to a dance workshop & performance last Saturday. This is everyone doing a silly children's Grand March!)

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Our friend Jake has gone to the Bridge!

Our dear friend Jake of Jake & Micah has gone to the Bridge today! We first met him on Catster, and became friends with him and his family quickly. He passed naturally, with his mommy and daddy beside him, not wanting to wait until the mobile vet came. Please stop by their bloggie or his Catser page and leave a note; I know his mommy and daddy would really appreciate it. They are so sad right now; Jake was his mommy's light in the world. He is with his brother Micah now, waiting and watching over them. Peace to his family in this tough time, and our prayers are with all of you!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

PhotoHunt: Low

Tabby crouching low to the ground, trying to figure out when to pounce on the camera strap.

World Cat Day 2009


Let us all celebrate ~ World Cat Day.

Celebrate kitties in your own special way.

Those here and near, and those now above,

all the kitties so dear, all the kitties we love.
Saturday, August 8, 2009

During the last year, we've had so many cats & kittens come and go through the household, and some stay to become forever friends with us. So, this World Cat Day, we are celebrating connections: with our friends in the CB who have read, shared, and commented on the trials and tribulations of Little Bit & her kittens and the joys of every new visitor to the Trailer Kitties' food bowl; with our fosters and former fosters; and between those of us who are the resident cats.

Boo-Boo Kitty's family have all gotten homes this year except for herself (dumped in Troutdale), Little Bit (still adoptable), Squishy (still adoptable), and Little Guy (still adoptable). Smokey is doing great with her new family after moving to their new apartment a few weeks ago. Boo & Michelle are having a blast with their teenage sister and brother, and their new mom loves "the girls". Kai is traveling everywhere with his new mommy and sleeping in her purse so she won't forget to bring him along. Cloud is still getting used to his new home, but loves his new mommy so much that he climbs up into the bed to snuggle with her every night. Starla, Little Bit's cousin, is having a hard time adjusting to her new forever home with us, but she is now playing with her kitten-cousins. Everyone is either fixed or going to be fixed, so this family's story now has a happy ending. All the adoptees found homes through ads placed on Craigslist plus links to their Catster pages, and we hope that the three who need homes will find them that way too.

Our lady of the house, Lydia, left us last October, just before her 9th birthday. Our "permanent foster", Sara Princess Kitty, followed in January. Mommy wrote the hub article "Cats who have Owned Me" in honor of all of us in the household, plus the two angels.

Trailer Kitty Tux came back home in June, possums and raccoons came by and had their pictures taken, and life in the back yard continued. The ferals come and go, drop by when they need supplemental food and human semi-contact. The neighborhood cats come around and bring their friends. Moms of all species bring their babies to the porch bowl and teach them manners and how to get along well with the rest of the crowd. Mommy wrote "The Joys and Perils of a Feral Cat Caretaker" in honor of them all.

Then there are those of us who are the current inside residents: Rori, Skylar, Carbon, Tabby, and Starla. Mommy and Daddy take good care of us and we are their babies. We also care for them. Skylar snuggles with Daddy just like his sister Lydia used to. Rori is now big kitty of the household and watches out for everyone. Carbon still gets into everything, but has become a snuggle kitty, sitting with Mommy every day for at least a half hour and sometimes even sitting with Daddy. Tabby has an important job as a therapy cat for a nursing home, and models in her spare time. Starla was mentioned above, and spends most of her time underneath the dresser. She comes out to go potty and play with Little Guy & Squishy, but she has her food and water bowls under the dresser plus a ball to play with. It's a self-imposed "fortress of solitude" where she can defend herself from all comers (namely Tabby). She also sometimes comes out to snuggle with Daddy when he gets home from work.

It does our hearts and souls good to know that when we write something, it is read, and when you write something, we can read it and share in a little bit of your life as well.

Thank you all for being our friends!

Therapy Cat Tales

Tabby writes:

Yesterday, I had a great visit at the nursing home! We hadn't been out for about a month because of the heat, so I was really excited to be going! I even let Mommy clip my claws yesterday morning without fussing, which is very exceptional. :)

Mommy took me to visit five people in their rooms, and three people in the hallways stopped to visit me, plus the nursing staff. I wanted tummy rubs from most of them, so we had a great time! In two of the rooms, the residents had guests, so the guests got to pet me too. They all thought it was great that I came to visit their relatives.

Just as we were leaving, a huge English Sheepdog came up. He was outside on a potty break. His mommy is a resident, and he's a Delta Society-certified therapy dog who works with Dove Lewis' AAA/AAT group (animal-assisted activities/animal-assisted therapy). He usually visits on the weeks we don't, so there's always someone furry to greet the people on Fridays, but his human brother/handler brought him yesterday to visit his mommy and the other people on the floor. Once his human brother saw me in the stroller, he brought Oddard (the sheepdog) over to see me. Mommy held me up a little, because I was kind of falling asleep already, and we sniffed each other. Oddard has a topknot because his "bangs" are way too long. His fur tickled me when he snuffed at me, and I wrinkled up my nose! But I was a good girl and let him sniff me all over, and I sniffed his long fur.

As if that wasn't enough of an adventure, on the way back we went through downtown and saw a man on a board and stretcher with a neck stabilizer! It looked like the EMT's had just put him on the board, and were checking his recall and eye movements. A few blocks later, we saw a man in a wheelchair trying to go down the curb instead of the curb-cut. He fell over, taking his chair and his groceries down with him! Mommy put the brakes on my stroller, and she and another woman ran over to see if they could help. The other woman picked up the groceries, then came to stand by my stroller so nothing would happen to me. That was so nice of her! Then another woman and a man came over and they and Mommy helped the man get his wheelchair upright. The man who came over to help asked a few questions of the man in the wheelchair to make sure he was alright, then Mommy wheeled him over to the curb-cut. She pushed me across the street when the light changed, then put the brakes on and was going to help the man get across (he had limited use of his feet, and was "walking" the chair across slowly). When she turned back, a couple who had just crossed had also turned back and the guy handed his bag to the girl and helped the man across. Thank you, God, for the kindness of people!

Friday, August 7, 2009

Photo Friday: Cameraphone Shot

A push-me-pull-you truck? Trick of the camera? Neither!
It's actually two trucks parked end-to-end in a parking lot!

Foster and Former Foster Friday


Kai's obviously doing well at his new home!


His new mommy says the purse is his favorite spot, and she takes him everywhere in the car with her, so no wonder!


And tucked in bed, snoozing away. He also does his share of playing with her and following her around the house, of course!


Cloud is adjusting well to his new home now that his new mommy consolidated his world to just the upstairs. He was having a hard time getting used to all the space and two floors! He got dewormed, and was so relaxed that he fell asleep at the end of getting his claws clipped for the first time! So he's definitely in his forever home now!

We don't have pictures of Boo and Michelle at their new home, but they're doing fantastic and have been permanently adopted by their family! They play all day and snuggle all night with their new human sister and brother.


Little Bit's enjoying her "me" time now, but she continues to nurse Squishy and Little Guy (even though they're now 11 weeks old)! She's taken to snuggling in bed with Foster Mommy at night, purring up a storm. She also has started pushing against knees to be picked up again, and playing more. She loves playing with a shoelace when one or both of her boys are at the other end of it, and they all will play for about 30 minutes like this! Last night, she love-bit and groomed Foster Mommy's hand as she was going to sleep, and fell asleep purring with her mouth around Foster Mommy's thumb.

Squishy (picture last Wednesday) is growing into such a handsome boy! His nose is starting to grow longer, but still looks kind of persian-like. He's got more white around his ruff than we thought, which makes him look like he's wearing a grey-tipped collar, and is reminiscent of his Auntie Michelle's white fur spots.

Little Guy (pictured with Cloud last week with the bucket) has become quite the leader. He's definitely learning from watching his "auntie" Rori and "uncle" Skylar! He follows his foster parents everywhere, and won't let Foster Mommy get ready to go someplace (climbs up her jeans leg for attention, which behavior we're trying to stop).

Little Bit, Squishy, and Little Guy are still up for adoption. We hope to have some serious inquiries by the beginning of September.

Feral Friday by the Trailer Kitties

Food bowl rollcall:

Shadow, Spongebob, big-head Tom kitty, Precious, Siamese cat from over the fence, Marble, raccoons.

Newsflash: Mama raccoon had three kits around the time Little Bit had her kittens, and she brought them last week! Mama raccoon was very watchful as her kits played around the porch, but it was broad daylight and they were all enjoying the sun. :) The baby raccoons are now about 13 or 14 weeks old, and probably about the size of a large cat.

Monday, August 3, 2009

Happy birthday to me!!!!!


Thanks, everyone, for my birthday wishes! I've had a great day, just chilling on Mommy's hamper (my new favorite place to rest). The fan is fixed now, so no more things falling out of the sky (thank you to Daddy for that)! We've got a/c, so the house is staying cool, but it's been over 100 F here for the last week. That's Mommy's excuse for not updating our bloggies, haha.

It's strange to be 2 years old! I've been watching the little foster kittens; why don't I feel like playing like that anymore all the time? Sometimes I do, but sometimes I just want to watch and I get all hissy when they come over wanting me to play.