Very Exciting News!!!

Miss Marble writes:

I've decided that I like to be petted!  I come up to the glass door and stand up on it, putting both front paws as high as I can reach, asking to be petted.  The man or lady come and open the door, then reach down and pet me as I rub against them.  I am a bit bitey, but it's just love bites, not hard bites.  I've also learned how to lick their fingers to groom them!  My sister and daddy can't figure out why I like being petted, so they stay back and watch, but they accept that I like it.

My brother Hemming is doing really well at his new home, the mommy says.  He sleeps on his new mommy's face and shoulder at night and is "aggressively affectionate".  We're all so glad that his new home is working out that well!

Missy Kitty writes:

Guess what?!  This thing called Christmas has boxes!  It also has ribbons, which are big strings.  But, the most important thing about Christmas is that it means that I'm in my forever home!  I got adopted officially by Mommy and Daddy today!  And, my third birthday is tomorrow:  New Year's Day!

Happy New Year from the PDX pride!

Wishing you all the best in 2012!

Therapy Cat Tales from 12/28/11

Tabby writes:


Wow, our last visit of this year!  Mommy had a nasty sinus infection for most of December, so we didn't go visiting the rest of the month, but she's feeling better now.  Since we didn't get to visit before Christmas, I wore my "Santa Baby" dress and had the little Christmas lights blinking on my stroller handle today!  Everyone loved all of that, even people on the buses and the MAX light rail train.

It was really cold and rainy, typical December weather for around here, so I wore my raincoat.  I'm so glad I have my raincoat, because the wind was so strong it turned the umbrella inside out!  Don't worry; Mommy had a coat, too, so we both were nice and dry except our heads.  The top of my head got rained on, so I made the coat into a shell, like a turtle, and hid in it from the rain.

On the MAX, a family petted me as soon as they got in, and told us a few stories about trying to harness-train their cat.  Their cat was scared of parks!  Not me; I love the grass and wide space, and all the smells.  On one of our buses, the people a few seats away from us talked about cats the whole ride.  It was fun eavesdropping on their conversation.

When we got to H., Mommy took my coat off and I put my "Santa Baby" dress on.  I love my dress!  It's slinky and form-fitting, so it feels like a light blanket:  so cozy!  I posed for these two pictures, then hopped down.  We went into the office and gave S. and R. the Christmas cards we'd brought for them, then got our list of friends to visit.  S. went with us for a few minutes, but then had to go take care of her husband.  He was sick today.  Some of our friends were sick, too, so our list showed which rooms to not visit because of illness.  That way, no one gets sick from petting me when someone else sneezed on me, or anything like that.  Plus, if there's anything that I could catch, I don't want to get sick, either.  There are some things that humans get that I could get also.

A couple of our friends took pictures of me in my dress, and one family member of a man we visited took a picture of me, too.  They all loved the stroller lights, as well!  One of our friends, C., who works at H., was telling a couple people about my Facebook page.  They thought that was funny but good!

E., who has a kitty neck pillow, loves to see me each time I visit.  She talked to me and petted me, fixing my dress so that it was smooth, then showed me her neck cat.  I sniffed it politely (it smells of lavender) and purred.  G. is a new friend and she has a cat named "Kitty".  Kitty has come to visit her at H. a couple times!  :)  >^..^<  G. had a snowman stuffed toy that she wanted me to see, but I wasn't really interested in it.  Mommy showed it to me, and I just looked at her, wondering what I was supposed to do with it.  Then, Mommy made it touch its nose to mine, so I rubbed my head against it and sniffed it, making friends with it.

The most amazing thing that happened today was visiting a lady who was in a big room with soft music playing.  Her daughter and son were there, sitting in chairs.  We wondered if they would like to visit, but didn't want to disturb them.  They waved us in when they saw me, and told us that the lady didn't have very much longer to live.  The daughter said that it seemed like she was waiting for someone or something, then looked at me and asked if maybe she was waiting for me!  I looked straight at the lady in the bed and stared, concentrating on her.  Mommy felt a wave of peace come over the whole room, like angels were there in the room.  The others said it was ok to put me up on the bed to see the lady, so Mommy wheeled me over and told the lady she'd brought a kitty to see her.  The lady's breathing changed; she made a sound and held her breath, then breathed normally again.  Her right hand moved up and down a little.  Mommy lifted me up on the bed, and I gently stood next to the lady, still staring at her.  I looked at Mommy, wondering why the lady wasn't responding by petting or talking to me, but then it kind of clicked in my brain that it was like when we waited with my auntie Lydia kitty on her last weekend.  This was the same thing, but with humans!  I wanted back in the stroller, so Mommy let me jump down.  I went over and got pets from the daughter and son, sniffed the son's shoe (he has kitties at home) and jumped up on a spare bed that was in the room.  Mommy talked with the others, then brought me over to the other side of the lady's bed one more time before we left the room.  I sat right against the lady's leg, and once again she let out her breath then started breathing normally.  We thanked the daughter and son for letting us visit, and they thanked us.  It meant so much to them to be able to have me visit their mom.  The lady will probably not be there for much longer at all, but we're so glad we got to meet her.

A. and G. were coming to watch tv, so we went in with them.  I sat between them on the chair arms and got pets from both of them.  I was interested in G.'s cookies, but she said they were hers and not for kitties.  Darn!  She didn't have any fig newtons today, either.  Hey, at least I tried!  She loved my dress, and said I was dressed up with nowhere to go.  When she said that, I got down on the floor and lay down!  Well, if I didn't have anywhere to go, I might as well lie down, right?  Everyone laughed at that!  I played tails with G.  She and I love that game, where she tries to touch the tip of my tail and I twitch it for her.  It's a game I learned from my uncle Skylar kitty when I was a kitten, and Mommy and Daddy play it with us, too.


H. (a friend, not the place) had family over to visit today.  He's a new friend, and they were playing cribbage on his bed.  They all love cats, so I hopped onto one of the offered laps and settled in, getting lots of attention.  After a couple minutes, I hopped over to the bed and lay down by the cribbage board, letting H. pet me.  One of his relatives saw my tail move and mentioned it, so H. tapped my tail.  He plays tails, too!  We played tails for a few minutes, while everyone looked and smiled.  H. tried reading my dress, but he was reading it upside down so it was an incomprehensible jumble of letters.  Someone else figured out what he was doing and corrected him, then he read it correctly.  They are a Jewish family, but they liked that I was dressed up for the holidays and that the stroller was decorated, too.  That's what's good about the holiday season.  No matter which holiday you celebrate, you can find joy in other people's celebrations as well.

I visited P. on the other floor.  It was definitely a day for playing tails, because she wanted to play tails, too!  She's almost blind, so she can only feel where I am and not see me, or at least not see me very well.  That means, if I'm walking on the floor and she has her hand over the chair arm, she can pet me but "loses" me when I flop over for tummy rubs.  If I'm close to her feet, though, and flop over, she can find me and give me tummy rubs!  When she was younger, someone in her family had a cat who took over a baby buggy!  The cat slept in it and took rides in it.  P. was pleasantly surprised to hear that I have one that I use for the same things!  She felt my stroller and got an idea of what it looked like.

After we were done with our visits, we went to Furever Pets.  They carry the big bags of Felidae, which is a very yummy food!  Mommy says it's good for us, too.  I said hi to my friends who work at Furever Pets, and they gave me some treats to eat.  I don't like some of the treats, but I did like one kind.  They gave Mommy the rest of the package to share later, too!  We got our two big bags of food.  They even helped wrap the food bags up with a big plastic sheet so that they wouldn't get soaked in the rainstorm!  Thanks, friends!  It worked really well to have the food bundled up like that on the top of the stroller, and kept it safe and dry all the way home.  We were all worried that it might slip off, but it never did!

When we got back home, there was a box waiting for us from Canidae, the pet food company that sponsors us.  It was a tin of popcorn for Mommy and Daddy, a Christmas card, and some nice t-shirts and polo shirts for Mommy to wear when we visit!  Thanks, Canidae!  We love you, too!

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year to everyone!

Merry Christmas!

All of us at the PDX pride would like to wish you a

Merry Christmas

and all the best wishes for a

joyous 2012!

Miss Marble's Breakthrough!

Miss Marble writes:

I'm so cold out here, and I miss my mommy-cat.  Daddy-cat Tux and my sissy Striped Girl and I all huddle together in a kitty pile to be warm.  Hunting helps warm us up, too, but there's white, cold stuff on the grass that Daddy-cat calls frost.  He says it will get colder still before it warms up again.  Brrrrrrrr!

It's warm inside that house!  There is always heat radiating from the open door when the mommy leaves it open so I can play paws and touch noses with the inside kitties.  I like just sitting in front of the door even when it's not open, watching the inside kitties and being just a little warmer because of the heat from the glass-door.

Tonight, when the mommy came to feed me, I wanted to get a bath from Tabby.  I stuck my head and shoulders inside and purred very quietly while she groomed my head.  My front paws were inside!  I did it again with Freya, then touched noses with Rori, while the mommy watched.  Then, while Tabby reassured me with gentle headbutts, I walked inside all the way!  I greeted Tabby, Freya, and Rori, then explored the dining room a bit.  The mommy closed the door most of the way behind me, but I didn't know that.

The inside kitties were following me, sniffing me, and one of them was too close.  I think it was Little Bit, but I'm not sure about that.  All I knew was that I suddenly wanted back outside.  I flew toward the door, but I couldn't get through anymore.  I cried and jumped up the door, then ran down the hall as the mommy came toward me.  She opened the door a little more, so I could tell it was open if I came near it again.  Then, she went to see where I was.

I had run into the bathroom, because I remembered being in there when I was inside recovering from my spay a few months ago.  I was up on the window sill, but the window in there is permanently frosted over and wasn't open anyway.  The mommy talked gently and softly to me, asking if I would let her pick me up and take me to the open door.  I talked to her, still scared, but something in my eyes let her know it would be ok with me if she did that.  She petted me slowly and carefully, then gently picked me up and scruffed me.  She didn't hold me close, but held me securely enough so I didn't feel like escaping.  She carried me over to the door and set me down, still scruffed, then opened the door wide enough so I could get out.

I'm now sitting in the middle of the deck, collecting my thoughts about what just happened!  I'm not sure that it was bad, but I'm not sure that it was good, either.  The mommy and the inside kitties think that it's very brave and very good of me to come inside, and I think I'll decide that as well after I'm over the shock of everything!

Hemming got adopted!

The PDX pride Mommy writes:

Well, Hemming's at his forever home now!  He did really well, but kept calling and looking for the other cats.  He let Kayla pick him up and snuggle him, and played for a couple minutes with a feather wand.  He investigated the covered litter box and scratched in it, so we know he'll be fine with using that.  We cautioned them about the garland and ornaments on the lower branches of their tree, so they'll be moving things up on that.  But, all in all, it seems like a great home for him!  When he came out of the carrier, he didn't scoot or run, but walked out and investigated things, then made his way around the edges (walls) to the bathroom and hopped in the tub.  He looked at windows, trying to see his sisters, and looked at the mirror, thinking his reflection was another kitty.  By the time we left, he had rubbed up against Kayla also and wasn't as stressed.  He'll do just fine there once he gets used to it and gets used to being an only cat.

Lots of changes and a Christmas tree!

Hemming writes:

Whoa, what is that thing up there?  It's got shiny balls on it, pretty ribbons, and lots and lots of branches.  It looks like a tree, but what's a tree doing inside?  It doesn't smell like my apple tree outside, the one I used to use to trim my claws.  In fact, it smells like plastic, not like any tree I've ever smelled.  It certainly doesn't smell like the forest I was born in, just a few yards away from the house, where there are trees that look like this one.  But if this is a Christmas tree, then I guess that's what it is.  My foster uncles and foster aunties all say that it is one, even though Uncle Heimdall and Auntie Freya only saw a little tree last year in this house.

The tree went up a week ago, with all of us investigating and "helping" put the branches into the trunk, then watching in surprise as Foster Mommy put the top on and put a cloth around the bottom of it.  Freya and I batted at some of the ornaments and were told "no".  Foster Mommy took some pictures of the tree and of us gathered around looking at it (and tasting it, batting at ornaments, etc.), so I'll post those here in a slideshow:

This free digital slideshow personalized with Smilebox

What is this thing called Christmas?  Foster Mommy and Foster Daddy say that I'm a Christmas kitten for my new mommy.  What's a new mommy?  I thought I already had two mommies:  my momcat and my foster mommy!  I'm going to meet this new mommy and this place called a forever home this afternoon.  Everyone's excited for me, and the others are saying this is special, but I'm not sure about it.  I think once I'm there, I'll hide like I did at that other place.  I'll find a good hiding spot to watch what's going on in this place called a forever home.  My foster parents say that's ok to do, and that my new mommy understands.  Good!

I wonder if she'll have a Christmas tree?  If I'm a Christmas kitten, then don't I belong under the tree as a present?  That's what Auntie Tabby says!  After our tree here was up, Foster Mommy supervised us for a while then went to sleep.  She woke up because she was dreaming about playing ping-pong.  Well, guess what the ping-pong ball was?  I had an ornament and was playing with it, down the hall, into the bathroom, bouncing it against the tiles!  All the ornaments are kitten-safe plastic and cloth, so she laughed as she went to retrieve it, wash it, and put it back on the tree.  Soon, I was at it again!  A few days later, she found one of the bows in the middle of the hallway.  Guess who?  Yesterday I tried to climb the tree, but it fell over!  I guess it's not for climbing.  When Foster Mommy was editing the tree pictures on the computer, I tried to get to the tree!  Yep, I'm a tree-obsessed kitten!

I'm also 7 months old today!  Wow!  I told my sisters that, through the window while they looked at the Christmas tree, and they love that we're all a month older!  They don't know what this Christmas thing is either, but as long as it involves food, water, and talking to the inside kitties through the window, it's ok with them!

Tabby's Cyber Monday sale!

Tabby Cat 2012 Calendar by TraceElements
More Tabby Calendars

Tabby writes:

My new calendar is out!  Some pictures are from last year's calendar, but there are some new ones from this year as well.  Zazzle, the site we use to sell our calendar, cards, and other products, is having a Cyber Monday sale and will give you the code once you are at their site.  You can click on the calendar (above) or the Christmas card (below) to get there.  There will be a "Catmas Greetings" stamp available in a day or two that matches the card, plus other winter and holiday products that are available now.  Thanks for looking!

Kitties with Christmas Tree Greeting Card by TraceElements
create a card designs on Zazzle

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at the PDX pride!  Tabby is thankful for family, furmily, her friends that she goes to visit, and her fans.  Rori is thankful that all in the house are safe and happy.  Starla is thankful that she can be out with everyone for half days and sit with Daddy while he sleeps.  Missy is thankful that she is inside this fall and not outside in the cold and rain like she was last year.  Freya is thankful for giant fuzzies (aka Mommy's robe) that she takes and tries to drag up into chairs to make nests out of.  Heimdall is thankful for snuggles with Mommy and with his foster nephew Hemming.  Carbon is thankful for clean litter boxes, water bowls, and catnip scratchers.  Little Bit is thankful for family to run and play with.  Foster kitten Hemming is thankful for his foster family, for warmth in the house, for being dry and having lots of food and snuggles, and for the promise of a new home in a few weeks.  Feral Miss Marble is thankful for food, clean water, a sheltered place to rest, and friends to talk with through the crack in the door when it's open.  Feral Striped Girl is thankful for food, clean water, and a sheltered place to rest.  Feral Tux is thankful for the inside home for his son Hemming, for food, clean water, and shelter, and for a place to bring his girls where they are taken care of and loved as well.

The PDX pride Mommy and Daddy are thankful for their furmily and for all their friends in the Cat Blogosphere!

Blessings to you all!

Mini Mancat Monday: I coughed up a monster!

Hemming writes:

I coughed up a monster in the litter box!  It was icky, squirming, and bad-smelling.  Foster Mommy said it was something called roundworms and my half-eaten food.  Whatever it was, I wanted it gone and buried, so I buried it!  Foster Mommy scooped it out of the box right away and threw it away, along with the poop that I was doing when the monster came out of my mouth.

She then took me into the bathroom and gave me a big pill to swallow.  I tried to get rid of it, but she said I had to swallow it.  I finally did, but my eyes got really big when I swallowed!  She said that pill was for tapeworms, but I had to take it because I had a flea on me also.  Just one flea, and I had to take that big pill?  What would have happened if it had been more than one flea?  Foster Mommy says that the flea can have tapeworms, so I needed the pill.  Good, because I don't want more monsters!

After I swallowed that pill, Foster Mommy gave me some liquid medicine.  I had the liquid medicine before, a few weeks ago, but obviously I needed more.  It didn't take care of all the monster wormies the first time, so we're trying it again.  I kind of like the caramelly taste of the medicine, but I don't like it for the time it takes me to drink all the liquid.  It's too much after a while.  Foster Mommy tried mixing some of my food in, but I wouldn't eat the food after the medicine soaked into it.  She looked for a syringe or an eyedropper, but couldn't find them.  Finally, she got the idea of a straw!  I love straws, and will carry them around the house.  She put it in a mug, then poured my medicine into the mug.  I played with the straw while she did that, and sniffed the contents of the mug.  Then, she put her finger over the hole in the top of the straw and trapped some of the medicine in it.  She lifted it up for me to drink!  Wow!  I got to drink out of a straw!  Boy, did I ever lap that up.  I got most of the medicine that way, so she thinks I got enough to kill those bad roundworms.  I drank most of it myself, but she had to put the straw into my mouth for the last bit because I was done with that flavor.  She said I was a good little boycat, though, taking my medicines!  I just hope the nasty roundworm monsters are gone this time.

Therapy Cat Tales from 11/15/11

Tabby writes:


Mommy got to go to H. twice this week, but I only got to go once!  She got to play with rubber stamps there on Friday, and a lot of people asked where I was.  I would've gone, too, but Mommy had to go to work after that, and her work won't let me go there.

When I went to H. on Wednesday, though, I had a lot of fun!  The leaves are falling from the trees here, and one hit me on the nose as we were walking through the park.  I looked up, surprised, because it had woken me up from a nap!  The leaf was gentle, but it still surprised me.  I sniffed it, then looked at Mommy and she removed it from the stroller.  Since I was awake anyway, I kept a lookout for more leaves.  No more fell into my stroller, but I saw a lot falling around us.

It was definitely a day for looking up!  Actually looking straight up!  Besides the leaves.  A man was fixing the ceiling at H., right across from the office.  I saw the ladder first, and then saw the man's shoes on the ladder.  I thought that was funny, so I looked up to see the rest of the man.  He was moving a ceiling tile, so I could see his arms and shoulders but not his head!  Then he looked down, and I stared at him.  Why was he up there, and what was he doing with the ceiling?  Why was there a hole in the ceiling?  I never did find out why.

At the floor we visit most, I looked up at the ceiling the second we got out of the elevator.  It had all its pieces, no hole and no man on a ladder.  Good.  I like when things make sense.

Most of my friends were awake this time.  I met some new friends, too.  B. is a new friend who broke both ankles, so she had both legs wrapped up.  I didn't know what to do about her legs, which were sticking out from under the blankets because she had been doing her exercises.  I didn't know whether or not it was ok to lie down on her legs, so I lay down beside her.  She talked to me, and to Mommy, for a while.  Then she said it was time for her to continue with her exercises.  I chose that point to climb onto her stomach and curl up.  I didn't want to leave her!  She let me snuggle for a bit like that, but then it was really time for her to do her exercises.

T. is in a wheelchair now instead of a walker.  She invited me to sit on her lap, so I did while she cooed at me.  She always tells me how much everyone loves me, which just makes me happy and purry.  T.'s roommate, P., had grabbed my harness and pulled last time I visited, so I didn't know what she was going to do when she wanted to touch me this time.  P. was very gentle this time, though.  She wanted Mommy to move her hand for her so that she could stroke my fur with the side of her hand.  She went for my eyes, to pet my face, but that kind of scared me because I thought she was going to reach for my harness again.  I held very still, like Mommy said to, and was a very good girl.  P. didn't hurt me this time (although I know she didn't mean to hurt me when she pulled last time), and she just petted me for a bit.  That was fine with me.

We had a few people to visit on another floor, so we went up to that floor.  On the way up, someone suggested we visit someone not on our list.  We knocked on her door, and she answered after a few minutes.  She wasn't wearing any pants, but she was holding them up next to her.  She had just gotten out of bed to answer the door, so she was wearing her nightgown but no pants.  She liked the idea of me visiting with her, and let me come in, but Mommy stayed out in the hall and held my leash.  I rubbed up against her legs and she laughed, talking to me.  We'll visit with her next time, if she's awake.

I wanted to go visit my good friend I., but Mommy reminded me that I. wasn't there anymore.  I tried to head down to her room anyway, certain that she was going to be there.  Someone saw me do that and said that a lady had moved into I.'s room that day from another room.  She suggested we visit V., so off we went to I.'s room.  V. was supervising the hanging up of clothes in her closet when we got there, but she said to come in.  She sat on her walker and I hopped up on her bed.  It was weird being in I.'s room and having V. there instead.  Everything was different, because it was V.'s room now.  I kept looking around at all the new things.  The ladies putting the clothes in the closet were careful not to move the clothes too near me, although I sniffed a few that were on the bed next to me.  I like V., and she loved seeing me.  She told us all about cats that she'd had, and she found where I like to be petted and scratched.  I rolled over for tummy rubs, and she loved that!

On one of the buses back home, a lady from OHSU (Oregon Health Sciences University) helped Mommy brainstorm places to ask about visiting.  Of course, those places will have to wait until we have either a little more free time or a car available, because right now we're only able to visit on one day a week.  If one of the places would like us to visit on alternating weeks with H., we could work that out, though.  We'll just have to see.

Happy 6-month Birthday to Hemming, Miss Marble, and Striped Girl!!!!

Hemming writes:

Foster Mommy just told me it's my 6-month birthday today!  Wow, I'm a half-year old already?  Right after she told me that, I ran into the bathroom and pawed the treat drawer!  It's my birthday, so do I get treaties?  Foster Mommy said I do!

I got a special half-birthday gift a few days ago.  Someone named Kayla wants to adopt me!  She's going to move close to where I live, so she'll be here on the 28th.  After she's unpacked the major things, my foster parents and I will go meet her.  I hope she's nice and has good hiding spots for me in her house!  My foster parents made sure that she knows I will hide at first, and she said she's willing to take the time that I need to get used to her and come out of my shell.  In fact, she was looking for a cat who would need extra love and attention, so she sounds like she'll be a really good mommy for me!  I hope so!

Miss Marble writes:

I'm 6 months old?  Wow, that seems old!  I'm still a kitten, though, right?  I can still play and have fun?  My daddy, Tux, says I can.  He even still plays, and he's a lot older than me!  I sleep in the rose bushes under the humans' bedroom window now, with my sister Striped Girl, so I hear when the humans wake up and know that it's going to be food time soon.  Then, I go over to the window-door and wait on the deck.  I meow when I see them, talk to them to tell them that I'm ready for food, and then they come out to refill the water dish.  They go back inside and get the food, then put two scoops of food on the deck.  That's the cue for my sister to come running from the rose bushes for her breakfast.  Sometimes our daddy joins us, but sometimes he's off hunting or doing other important things.

In the evening, we wait until it's time for the human daddy to leave in the car.  Then we wait on the deck, patiently, until they see us.  I go right up to the glass and meow again, but this time the human mommy comes over to the glass and talks to me.  She puts her finger on the glass, and I put my paw on it.  Then, she gives us food and water.

Striped Girl writes:

Are we really 6 months old today?  Really?  I love being outside with my sister Miss Marble and my daddy Tux, but I miss my mommy Leopard and my other littermate.  My other littermate would be 6 months old today, too.  I wonder where they are, and if they're still alive.  It doesn't bother me much anymore, but it's in the back of my mind sometimes.

My life is pretty good right now, but the air is getting colder and it's getting more rainy.  I don't like being wet!  I hide under the deck in the big rainstorms, but most of the time I like being in the rose bushes.  I used to hang out in the backyard or behind the fence, but it's too muddy back there.  I sink down in the marshy grass!  As long as I have my sister and my daddy, plus food, water, and someplace dry, I'll be ok.

Happy birthday at the Bridge to Skylar & Lydia!

Happy birthday at the Bridge to our angels Skylar and Lydia!  Missing you both so much on what would've been your 12th birthday.  We love you both forever!

Wordless Wednesday

Tabby got her sponsorship!

Tabby writes:

I'm now being sponsored by Canidae, which makes the cat food Felidae!  :)  >^..^<  I'm featured on their website, and will be doing some publicity for them.  I love their food, so I was thrilled when they asked to sponsor Mommy and me in our therapy work!

Halloween visit to H. on 10/19/11

Tabby writes:


I got to wear my candy-corn witch costume to H. on Wednesday!  It was our last visit to H. before Halloween, so S. suggested that we both dress up in our costumes.  Yep, that's right!  Mommy dressed up in hers, too!  She and I have matching candy corn witch costumes.  :)  >^..^<

We got a lot of attention on the bus and MAX train.  But there was someone way more worthy of attention who was riding our first bus.  There was a mobility puppy-in-training on her first bus ride ever!  She was soooo well-behaved, lying down under her trainer's seat, although she got up a couple times to sniff my stroller.  I just stared at her and went back to sleep, and she settled right back down.  She's going to be a good service doggie for someone who needs her help!

There was another service doggie, fully trained, who got on the bus after the puppy got off.  The guide dog wanted to pay more attention to me than to his person, which was a no-no.  I know it's more important to pay attention to your person than other animals, but that doggie needs some more training on that.  He wanted to sniff me the whole time he was on the bus, so his person had to keep him on a very short leash and hold on to his harness to make him sit down.  Mommy and I felt sorry for the person!  Most service doggies are more well-behaved than that around me, so I think this one just hadn't been trained around kitties originally.

On the MAX train, we sat next to a man who spoke a few words in Hungarian and one who spoke Vietnamese.  Everyone was talking about words and translating them into those languages, English, and Norwegian (which Mommy knows).  That was a fun conversation to listen to!  I learned that mao is Vietnamese for kitty and cica is Hungarian.  Norwegian is katt, and I already knew that one from Mommy.

We stopped at a store to get pencils to do reverse trick-or-treating.  In normal trick-or-treating, you go around to people's houses and collect candy or other small treats.  Reverse trick-or-treating is not usually done, but Mommy likes to do it to surprise friends!  Instead of getting candy, she gives people something small as a treat!  Since people at H. are sometimes on restricted diets, we chose to give out Halloween pencils instead of candy.  :)  >^..^<

H. was all decorated for Halloween!  There were fake spiderwebs over the vases in the lobby, pumpkins on shelves and tables, and indian corn next to the pumpkins.  It looked great!  We went into the human litter box room, because Mommy needed to use it, so I sat on the couch while she did that.  All the ladies who walked by were exclaiming over me, making a fuss over how cute my costume looked and how well-mannered I was.  I loved all the attention and comments, and the petting, too.

 S. took a couple pictures of Mommy and me together, in our outfits.  Mommy's kneeling because I didn't want to be held in her arms when she was standing up, but she's got striped long stockings on and black shoes.  I wore my hat for the pictures, but I don't like wearing my hat.  It's got a chin strap that I don't want.  I wouldn't mind it so much if it just sat on my head or ears, but I want that chin strap off.  After the pictures were taken, I glared at Mommy until she took the hat off me again.  S. thought I was a chicken originally, because the hat was almost over my nose!  *giggles*  Nope, I was a candy corn witch!

We got our pictures taken again once we got to the floor we visit.  One of the nice nurses there (everyone's nice there) took our picture with her camera phone.  I forget the nurse's name.  That's not the one that's posted on my FB page.  My friend Crystal took the picture that's on my Facebook page when we saw her after I got done visiting.  :)  The other one, the one that was taken while we were visiting, is of Mommy standing and holding me.  I wanted to get down and walk, though, so I kept looking away from the camera.  Sorry, lady who took the picture!  It's just so much fun to walk down the long hallways there and see all my friends!

I visited with some of my friends, but others were sleeping or off doing other errands while we were there.  I'm glad I got to visit with some of my friends, though.  I went into the physical therapy room, where the bike and a mirror are.  I thought the bike pedals were interesting when they moved, so I started toward them, but then I saw myself in the mirror.  Wow, is that what I look like in my Halloween costume?  I just had to admire myself for a few minutes, while J. and the others watched me watching myself!  Then I went over to one of the ladies for pets and to look out the window.  J. rolled over a small stool, and I thought it was some kind of a monster!  I'm used to rolling things, but I'd never seen something that small roll before.  I walked past it once it stopped moving, looking back at it to see if it still was stopped.  Then I disappeared behind my stroller to hide from it!  I didn't stay scared for long, once there were more people to visit, though.  Mommy handed out pencils to everyone who wanted one, which they all liked.  Many people thanked me for their treat, and I purred at each of them!  You're welcome, everyone!  Happy Halloween!

After we were done at H., we went to "my" store:  Furever Pets!  That's the place the Halloween party was at last year.  We won't be able to go to the party there this year, because we've got things scheduled for that day already.  Furever Pets has a video showing on their tv screen of last year's Halloween party, and I'm on it with my costume!  A couple times, because there's one of my costume and then one of the doggie sniffing me!  It was very strange to see myself on the screen.  The lady there said I was famous because I had the picture on there.  Really?  She also said that I was the only one allowed to try out the scratching posts, because I don't scratch them.  I just sit on them and admire the view.

I got a new, pink harness!  I'm outgrowing my old one, and so it doesn't fit right in the shoulders anymore.  The new one is very comfy, and easy to wear.  Once it got on and adjusted, I started purring to let Mommy and the lady know that it was fitting properly.  Then I got to wear it home!

On the way back home, we listened to stories of a cat and kitten who are being harness-trained.  The mama cat slips out of the harness, but the kitten likes wearing it and keeps it on.  The mama cat knows where home is and always comes back, but the kitten likes climbing trees!  So it's good that the kitten is the one who likes the harness.

Happy National Feral Cat Day!

Miss Marble writes:

Happy our day!  I'm proud to be a fixed, eartipped feral girl!  When the lady opened the window today, I was right there waiting.  I curled my tail around my paws and sat pretty, a foot from her, just like my momcat Leopard used to, and waited for the lady to put food out for us.  I talked to her the whole time, telling her how happy I was, and she talked back to me.  Then, I called to my daddy Tux and my sister Striped Girl and they came to get food, too.  I could see my brother Hemming through the window, and he was eating from the inside plate with the inside kitties.  He and I talk and play through the window a lot, but we're both happy with our separate lives.  He says he may have another home soon.

Hemming writes:

Happy our day!  I'm proud to be a fixed, eartipped, former feral kitten!  I have a good life inside now, and hope to have a forever home soon.  I'm still up for adoption, and no one else has passed my foster parents' tests for forever homes, but I'm still hopeful.  Until then, I've got my foster family to play with, the humans to snuggle with, and my family to watch out the window.

Missy writes:

Happy our day!  I'm proud to be a former feral who chose to ask for help from humans.  I was out on the streets by myself in an industrial area, then all of a sudden I had foster parents and foster siblings!  I still bite occasionally, but I love snuggling and playing with everyone.

Rori writes:

Happy our day!  Yes, I was a feral kitten!  You wouldn't know it to look at me now, because I came inside at 4 weeks old and am fully socialized thanks to my family.  My mommy-auntie Lydia and my auntie Tabby took care of me and taught me, and my uncles Carbon and Skylar played with me and taught me.  Mommy, Mommy Erin, and Daddy helped me grow and become Lady of the House and Big Kitty of the House.  Feral kittens can make great inside kitties if you catch us when we're little enough to learn how to be inside kitties!

Happy National Feral Cat Day, everyone!

Therapy Cat Tales from 10/05/11

Tabby writes:


I have been visiting, but haven't been writing about it because I've been busy taking care of Daddy.  His back is really hurting him.  Something about a crushed disc.  Is that a cat toy?  I have a disk that I like to play with.  Is it similar?  Whatever it is, it's hurting Daddy so he wants it out of his back but can't have surgery yet.  I snuggle on the couch with him and purr to help him feel better.

Mommy and I went visiting to H. today.  It's fall here now, after a short summer, so it's rainy again and starting to get colder.  I wore my fleece raincoat that I got last year, and people on the bus liked it!  I met two new bus drivers today, and one had never seen a stroller like mine before.  She had to call C-Tran to see if it was approved to be on the bus, and of course they said it was.  One bus rider was mean, though.  She thought someone had pooped on the bus, then she covered her nose with her scarf and walked to the middle of the bus, loudly complaining.  Everyone else on the buses were very, very nice to me and to Mommy, though, and some even told her about their cats!  We love hearing stories about other people's kitties.  Today, we heard about a litter of kittens that were born in February a few years ago, on a deck to a first-time mama cat.  The cat's human saw the newborn kittens, picked all of them up, and took them inside to rub them warm and feed them.  All of them survived, but some of them had brain damage.  Another person told us about a kitten that his roommate almost ran over with the lawnmower!  The roommate stopped the mower as soon as he saw movement, picked up the kitten, and brought it inside.  The now-grown cat now freaks out at different things, but is a good cat.  I'm glad people were so nice to those kittens!  That makes me purr with happiness.  :)  >^..^<

At H. I saw my friend T. and met a friend of hers who had come to visit her.  Her friend didn't stay long, because she didn't want to interrupt my visit with T., even though Mommy told her that we were only going to be visiting for a few minutes.  T. was singing and talking to me, and I was lying very nicely on her walker seat, my favorite place when I visit with her.  I didn't even roll off this time!

B. was delighted that I visited with her today, and gave me ear rubs while smiling the biggest smile I'd ever seen from her!  S. came down from the next floor up just to see me, and said that I was the highlight of her day.  I met a new lady who had fallen a few days ago and needed some extra care to heal.  She had a very strange towel that I didn't like.  It was rolled up and duct-taped together!  Mommy said it was to help the lady's ankles.  I didn't want to lie down on the bed until Mommy picked up the strange towel and let me sniff it, explaining to me what it was.  Then it was fine to be on the bed.  G. is another new friend who had a crocheted blanket over her.  I hopped right up on that blanket and snuggled in, very relaxed, and let her pet me for a while.  I could tell she loves animals, although she said she prefers dogs.  She did say that I was the nicest kitty she's ever met, and that made me purr even louder and longer for her!  She's one of the nicest people I've ever met, too.

One of my friends, I., wasn't there today.  We go to her apartment to visit her, on another floor.  When we got to her door, S. knocked but there was no answer.  S. opened the door and peeked in, and I. wasn't there!  Why wasn't she there?  S. closed the door and I hopped out of my stroller.  Walking over to the door, I put my nose right up to the crack between it and the frame and sniffed, trying to look in.  I looked at Mommy, then at S., then back at the door, and sat down, very disappointed.  Mommy picked me up and told me that I. was probably out on an adventure.  Not fair!  I wanted to visit with her!  I got back in my stroller, curled up, and pouted.  :(

When Mommy was signing us back out, I ran as fast as I could to catch up with and pass S. so that I could get into the office to say hi to R.  I made it to the door before S. did!  I can run very fast when I want to, even though I'm a big girl!  I said hi to R., but I can't stay long in the office because she's allergic to me now.  At least I got to see her, though!

On the bus home, we met a very nice family with three girls.  I was playing peek-a-boo with the almost-2-year-old!  She was funny!  It started raining just as we were walking the last bit of the way to the house, but Mommy let me walk along the side of the house anyway because that part was dry.  I rode the sidewalk part, though, where I usually walk.  I stepped in a puddle and made wet paw prints on the sidewalk in front of the house!

Thanks for the birthday wishes for our daddy!

Thanks for all the birthday wishes for our daddy!  Every one of the comments made him smile.  He's having a tough time right now because he's got a crushed disk in his lower back, so he's hurting a lot.  We all curl up with him and purr, helping him to feel better.  He always pets us and tells us how much we're helping him.  He'll have to have surgery on his back, but that will have to be a few months from now.

Missy snuggling on the couch with Daddy

Mommy's grandpa isn't doing well either right now, so she hasn't had the time to keep up our blogging.  We'll blog more in a while, when we can.

Ahoy! It be Meow like a Pirate Day!

Tabby writes:

Ahoy there, Mateys!  It be Meow like a Pirate Day for all this fine day!  We be sailin' for calm seas, as it be too rainy here for the likes of me and the rest of the crew.  Cap'n Rori threw Carbon in the brig this mornin' for tussling with Starla in the bedroom doorway while switchin' rooms.  I barreled in to try an' stop the fight, but became part of it, so I got myself outta there an' remained on the edge offerin' comments.  Cap'n Rori stood alongside me an' bopped Carbon on the head each time she saw him.  Mommy clapped, an' Daddy barged in an' grabbed Carbon by his scruff.  Mommy got Starla from under the dresser and then the switching of the rooms was completed without further nonsense from any of the crew.  Starla is now in the crow's nest on the kitchen counter, while Carbon will be confined to the brig in the bedroom until sunup.

Missy keeping a watchful eye belowdecks.

Hemming update: I'm back home!

Hemming writes:

I'm back at my foster home, with my aunties and uncles!  I'm so happy to be back here!  I've been running around for the last half hour, getting reacquainted with everything and getting lots of loves from my foster family, humans and other kitties.

Foster Daddy and Foster Mommy came over this morning to get me out of the wall behind the basement stairs, but I wasn't hiding there!  I found an even better hiding place!  It was still in the same area, under the stairs, but I was hiding behind and under a shelf in the pantry area under the stairs.  I'm very proud of my hiding skills that my momcat and my dadcat taught me!

Foster Daddy and someone from the house took a mini fridge out, then moved the shelf.  The man from the house called to me, and I came running out.  I ran around the living space, up on the fireplace hearth, then ran around the living space again.  Foster Mommy stood by the stairs to catch me if I ran that way, but I ran mostly around the open space.  Foster Daddy followed me, and finally pinned me down as I ran by the couch.  He called to Foster Mommy, who brought the carrier over and they put me in it.  Foster Mommy took me into the bathroom and petted me through the carrier while Foster Daddy and the man put the pantry area back in order.

I cried the whole way home, wanting to be let out of the carrier.  I hate cars!  I did lick Foster Mommy's finger and put my paws against Foster Daddy's hand, headbutting his hand, but mostly I cried and tried to dig my way out.  When we got very close to home, though, I smelled my marsh!  I calmed down right away, started purring, and kneaded away at the carrier with a big smile on my face.

I'm going to be here for a couple weeks, then Foster Daddy and Foster Mommy are going to talk with the other people interested in adopting me.  They are going to e-mail the other people sometime this week and tell them what happened, then see if the people who wanted to adopt me are still interested and if they would work with me if I hid again.

Hemming's too smart for his own good!

The PDX pride Mommy writes:


I just talked with the lady who has Hemming, and it turns out he's gone in the trap a few times, but hasn't triggered the trip plate because he hops over it, eats the food, then hops over it again and goes back behind the stairs!  He's soooo smart!  So, she's going to line the bottom of the trap with newspaper and put a towel or blanket over the top of it, per our advice, so that it doesn't quite look the same, and re-bait it.  Hopefully that works, but if not, then we'll go over there at 10 am tomorrow and dismantle the fake wall (plywood barrier) to get to where he is and get him out of there.  They've already removed the mini-fridge that was there, so it'll be easier to get to the partition wall.

In the trap and out again. :(

The PDX pride Mommy writes:


Well, these people just don't know how a semi-feral acts, apparently.  :(  Hemming went upstairs last night, tried to get some dry food out of the closed food box, and used the potted plant as a litter box.  All good things!  However, he did get trapped but they couldn't bear to see him so sad so they took him into the bathroom for some cuddling.  Of course, the second they went to leave the bathroom, he was out the door and back down into his hiding place.  The lady felt so bad that she had let that happen again!

The trap is once again baited, and she will call me the second he's back in it.  I'll go get him right away this time, rather than waiting until morning.  She had thought it was too late in the evening to call me last night, so I reminded her that we're night people and she can call at anytime during the day or night when he gets in that trap.  So, keep your fingers and paws crossed!

We will never forget

We will never forget the events of 9/11.

May the lessons live on.

Lessons of courage,

sincerity, brotherhood,

community.

 Faith is not a weapon.

Faith in your neighbor,

your brother,

your sister,

your friend.

Faith in your community,

shared values,

the belief that there is something worth living for.

Those are the lessons of 9/11.

May they live on.

Hemming will be coming back here

The PDX pride Mommy writes:


Baby Hemming will be coming back here as soon as he's in the trap again.  :(  He did go in the trap last night, and they brought him into a smaller room.  He was all lovey, rubbing his head on their chins and wanting as many pets as they could give him, so at least they saw his sweet side!  The second he saw the door open, though, he was out and ran to his hiding spot again.  He's just not happy there, so they baited the trap again and will let us know when he's trapped.  We'll go get him probably tomorrow and bring him back here.

I'm just so discouraged, because we really thought he'd do ok with another family!  Even though he was born feral, he's just so social that we really want him to have a family of his very own.  :(  I guess he just needs more time.  I think we'll ask the next people on the list if they want to come over here and meet him after another week or so, to give him time to get used to them in an environment where he feels secure.

Foster Friday: Hemming and the Stairs

Hemming writes:

The people in this strange house saw me!  When I was let out of the carrier after my people brought me to this strange house, I ran all around the first floor, then ran downstairs and into the basement.  I found a very good hiding place!  I'm under the basement stairs, where no one can get to me, but I can listen to everything that's going on.  At night, I went back upstairs and found what I think is the kitty food box, and tried to get into it.  That's when the person saw me.  She said I was at the right box for the food, but I just couldn't get into it by myself.  When she saw me, I ran downstairs again and hid in my hiding spot.  She followed me to see where I went, then got a plate of something yummy called tuna and put it down by me, along with a bowl of water.  I waited until she left, then I came out to eat and drink.

Yesterday, the lady at this house called my people and told them where I'd hidden.  My people came with a trap and called for me, but I was sleeping and barely heard them.  They put tuna in the trap, put it near me, and then left.  I don't know whether to eat the tuna or try to get in the food box upstairs again.  If I eat the tuna, it means going in that trap, and the last time I went in there I took a nap and went to the vet!  I don't know if I want to do that again, but the tuna smells really yummy!  I heard something about being put in a smaller room if I go in the trap, and that sounds like a good idea.  I also heard something about maybe staying here and these new people being MY new people?

Note from the PDX pride Mommy:

The new family does want to keep him, so once he goes in the trap he'll be put into a smaller room with a door.  They'll get him accustomed to being in there, being visited by his new family, then slowly introduce him to the rest of the house, then to the puppy.  I'm so glad they still want to keep him, even though he's scared in his new surroundings.  They totally understand that it's because he was born feral and doesn't really know houses yet!

Hemming's at his potential adopter's

The PDX pride Mommy writes:


We brought Hemming to his potential adopter's house this afternoon.  As soon as we let him out of the carrier, he scooted around the house and then hid somewhere.  He hides well!  We couldn't find him, even after an hour of searching!  The family has had many, many cats and now has two cats and a 10-week-old German Shepherd puppy.  Their cats mainly live upstairs, so they wanted Hemming as a playmate for the puppy.  The pup is adorable, well-mannered, calm, and happy, so when Hemming emerges and starts figuring out the house and its inhabitants, he's going to love playing with the pup.

We talked for a while with the family, told them Hemming's life up to this point, and gave them his paperwork from the clinic.  They're going to call us when he emerges from his hiding place, and we're going to talk with them in a week to see how it's going and how he's adjusting.  If he isn't doing well, then we'll take him back.  If he's doing well, then the adoption will be official.

*blush* Forgotten Gotcha Day!

Rori writes:

*blushes*  Everyone forgot my Gotcha Day!  Including me!  We're celebrating today instead, so I'll get my Gotcha Day anniversary treats today.  That's ok with me, because I'm glad for the reason we all forgot.  The reason is that we've had Baby Hemming inside and are all getting him ready to go to his forever home.  He's come in the bedroom to visit with me at least twice every day, and he behaves himself so I give him some licks on the top of his head and sniff his butt to make sure he's cleaning it well (which he is).  He loves saying hi to me, then pouncing on the big bed for a while.  Then, after about 5 minutes, Mommy comes in and takes him back out to the rest of the house.

I've decided to make the bedroom my space for a while.  I enjoy just hanging out in here, either on the bed or behind the curtain that hangs down alongside the bed.  My goopy eyes (kitty cold/herpes virus) have been getting better, but they're still an issue, so Mommy is going to take me in to the vet in about a month when she gets paid.  I don't like the eye gel, but it's at least better than having goopy eyes.  Mommy cleans my eyes for me at least twice a day and I tell her when I need it done by pulling the door so it bangs.

I can't believe it's been four years since Mommy Erin saw my brother and me running across the road at our old house and she told Mommy!  They both went to get us, and found us in the neighbor's yard playing in the old tires.  My brother ran away at first, but I was too scared so I hid inside one of the tires.  Mommy and Mommy Erin picked me out of the tire and took me into the house, then caught my brother using tuna fish as the bait.  We were only 4 weeks old, so my mommies and Daddy bottle-fed us and helped us learn to clean ourselves.  Tabby, Carbon, and Skylar all taught us how to be inside kitties, but I mainly watched Lydia and learned from her.  She was already getting sick, although none of us knew it at the time, so she didn't play a lot.  Since she taught me how to be the Big Kitty of the house, that's why I don't really play.  I like to play, but I think I'm not supposed to because I'm Big Kitty.  Mommy and Daddy wish that I would play more, because I need to lose weight, so I sometimes play to oblige them.  I like bouncing around on the bed while Mommy's trying to sleep after it's light outside!

Thanks, everyone, for the Gotcha Day anniversary wishes in the comments on the previous blog post!

Good news from Hemming and Miss Marble!

Miss Marble writes:

Hi!  I'm much happier back outside with my sister and my daddy.  Yes, my sister!  The striped kitten is a girl.  The lady says that those trap things will be back out in a couple weeks to try to catch my sister and my daddy.  I'm going to tell them to stay away from them!  Well, maybe not, because I do feel better now, so maybe those traps were good things after all.  I am glad I'm back outside, even though I see my brother enjoying being inside.  I also am much more interested in those cats on the other side of the window, now that I've had a chance to watch them more closely.  I love my outside life too much to be inside, though.  I'm much more comfortable hunting and sleeping under the deck.  Thanks for letting me be part of the outside family, lady and man!

Hemming writes:

Hi!  I miss my sisters and my daddy.  I go up to the window and watch them, calling to them, when they come eat twice or three times each day.  They say hi to me, but we all understand that I'm an inside kitty now.  I don't even try to escape when the lady puts food out.  Freya and Heimdall play chase, ball, tails, and a lot of other games with me, so I love that!  My favorite games are crazy circle, throwing a ball around, and chase.  I've been out with everyone for two days now, since my tests came back negative.  No diseases, yay!

And the big news...I've got two people who want to adopt me!  We're going to visit one of the homes on Wednesday, and meet the family and the puppy who may be my sister.  Wow!  If all goes well, I'll stay there.  If not, then I will meet with the other person later.  I'm hoping that everything goes well with this first family.  I'm so excited to meet them!  I love meeting new people.  I love people, sitting on laps, and being petted.  I just am not used to being picked up high, so I squirm around and want down.  Once I'm on a lap, I curl up and purr, after giving kisses!

The release part of tnr, and the socialization part

The PDX pride Mommy here:

We sent Miss Marble on her way outside again. :'( I always choke up when we release a feral back into the wild. It's such a bittersweet moment! It's where she belongs, though. She just was freaking out too much inside. She bounded off like a rabbit, straight to a hiding place she and the rest of the family use, under the cedar tree (surrounded by rosebushes). Then, when she saw us wave at her and realized we could still see her, she bounded off to another favorite place, through the back fence into the wilderness of the wetland behind us.

Hemming did very well with his testing today!  We are sooo proud of him!  There were a lot of dogs waiting in line, and one other cat who looked like him, only female and a little older.  This was his first experience being around dogs, and he aced it.  He meowed the whole time we were waiting, while the dogs barked.  I really wish more dog owners would put their dogs through obedience courses, or at least train them properly.  Two barked and lunged at a lady wearing a straw hat, another dog kept nipping at its neighbor in line, and a lady made her dog walk right down the line to the end rather than walking around a different way to get to the end.  Maybe the owners need obedience training, too?

When we got checked in, and were in line again waiting for the vet, a big dog who was behind us in line came over to the carrier and sniffed Hemming through the bars.  Hemming sniffed him back, and put one of his paws up to the mesh door like he was asking the dog to play with him!

The vet and vet tech who did the blood draw couldn't barely believe that Hemming was born feral and that we'd only had him a short time.  They both said he looked and acted like a tame kitten, and were quite impressed with him!  He was so calm for his blood draw, even came out of the carrier nicely after the vet tech scruffed him.  He flinched and tried to look at his leg when they poked him, but he didn't mew in surprise!  Afterward, he walked right back into his carrier on his own, after the vet tech redirected him from wanting to jump down off the table.  We get his test results back on Tuesday, but are fairly certain that he doesn't have any bad diseases.

He's now in our office at home with the door closed, but free to roam in here.  He absolutely loves having a room of his own!  He walked around for a bit after I showed him his dishes and put him in the box to show him what that was, then I put him on my lap and petted him for a bit.  The first lap he's been on!  He wanted to climb, so he climbed up the door to the carrier, onto the top of it.  Then, after getting down from there, he climbed up the back of the computer desk onto the CPU tower and is very happy in his newfound nest.  Snuggly, purry, smiling, the picture of contentment!

Both kittens came through surgery fine

The PDX pride Mommy here:

Both kittens are recovering.  The marbled kitten turned out to be a little female, so her new name is Miss Marble.  She scratched, bit, and took off running through the house when I was transferring her to a carrier from the trap.  Not a good idea for her!  I'm alright, she's recovered from her scare, and she's in the carrier with food and water.  The polydactyl tabby/white kitten is a male, but had only one testicle.  They thought the other one might not have dropped yet, so they did an exploratory surgery, and it simply wasn't there!  His new name is Hemming.  He let me pet his paw pads, stretched his foot through the mesh on the trap, and put his head in my hand with his tongue sticking out, wiggling the tip of his tongue in nursing fashion as I was petting his nose!  He's taking a bit longer to wake up completely, and still hasn't woken up completely even though it's been about 6 hours.  I'm kind of worried about that, although he's looking at me when I talk to him.  He'll sit against the side of the carrier, then slowly start to tip over the other way, then correct himself.  He likes sitting better than lying down right now, for some reason.  Both kittens have eaten and had some water.

Tomorrow morning they go in to the mobile clinic at Petco for their FeLV/FIV testing.  They got their rabies shots today and first boosters.

At this point, we are pretty sure that Miss Marble is going back outside after the weekend's over, given her run around the house this afternoon.  Hemming seems like he wants human contact, so he's a good candidate for socialization, depending on how his personality is when he wakes up fully.

 Sleepy little boy Hemming in the carrier

Miss Marble says, "Leave me alone, woman with the flashy box!"

Two trapped!

The PDX pride's Mommy here:

Two of the kittens are trapped and inside!  We made the decision not to try for more, because we can pay for the neuter fees and then next week get these two tested for diseases.  If we trapped any more at this time, we wouldn't be able to get them tested, and we'd much rather know if they are clean before trying to socialize them.

At around 4 pm, the polydactyl tabby/white boy made his way into the trap after the canned food, got trapped, and started screaming his little head off.  He couldn't understand why he wasn't allowed to go back out the way he came in.  He kept going to the door of the trap and batting at it, trying his best to make it open.  I brought him inside, where my husband and I gently talked to him and the inside cats all came to talk to him and investigate him.  Heimdall is turning out to be the best babysitter in the world, another reason why he reminds me so much of Skylar!  He lay down right next to the baby and started purring, which relaxed the baby considerably.

About an hour later, the marbled boy was trapped.  He made quite a ruckus in the trap, pulling the newspaper lining over his food, sticking his paws out the top, and turning around and around in the trap.  When I brought him inside and placed his trap alongside his brother's trap, they both calmed right down and started trying to play paws through the mesh with each other!  The inside cats went over to see the marbled boy, too, and were very interested in the rearranging he'd done with his trap paper.  He finally uncovered his food and ate, though it took him about two hours to do so because he was so stressed.

Little Bit cannot be around these new ones for a while, because she wanted to clean their behinds for them.  She was a mama cat, after all, with four boys of her own, so she knows how to treat young ones.  She just doesn't realize that you can't clean and groom someone through trap mesh.  Besides, a stranger cat trying to clean them was just scaring the little ones instead of helping.

They're sleeping now, curled up in their traps, with water bowls that they haven't touched yet.  We'll feed them some canned food in the morning, then take them to the feral cat clinic for their surgeries and eartipping.  We'll pick them up in the afternoon sometime and take them back home.  They will stay inside with us for the weekend to heal, and we will try to get them tested for diseases early next week.  They'll be inside until we figure out if they are disease-free, and then we will start to socialize them.  Once they are socialized, we will either make them our outside pets or adopt them out to a good home, depending on the level of socialization.

Here are some pictures from yesterday:

 Heimdall and Tabby greet the poly tabby/white boy.

 Heimdall being a good babysitter and purring to calm the baby down.

 Mr. Talkative!

 Carbon's not afraid of kittens anymore!  Checking each other out.

 Two brothers in traps:  marbled kitten on the left and poly tabby/white kitten on the right.

Tabby greeting the marbled kitten.

Heimdall greeting the marbled kitten.

It's Trapping Day!

It's trapping day at the PDX pride!  Mama Leopard's disappeared, along with the normal-toed tabby/white kitten.  We hadn't seen the striped kitten for a few days, either, but he came back last night!  The polydactyl tabby/white and the marbled kittens have been eating out of the open traps, as has "Daddy" Tuxie, so we're confident that we can trap at least the three little boys and maybe Tuxie as well.  We'll bring them in tonight and take them to the clinic for fixing/eartipping tomorrow.  Here's some pictures from the past couple days, where everyone was learning how to eat out of the traps.

 Tux keeping watch as the striped kitten eats in the left trap and the other two eat together in the right trap.

 Wait!  How come brother is eating in the box and I can't figure out how to get inside?

 Is this how we're supposed to do this?

 Freya:  Yep, I see them both eating in the same trap!

Hi!  Do you have any more of that yummy canned food?