Remember Me Thursday

Little Bit writes:

Today is Remember Me Thursday, lifting up shelter pets and those who didn't make it.  It's unfortunate that many shelters and humane societies in the U.S. and around the world are kill shelters.  The main ones in our area are no-kill or close to it, but that still means that around half of the shelters in our area do euthanize adoptable pets.

Today, the world comes together to remember, help, and adopt those in shelters.  164 countries around the world celebrate Remember Me Thursday.  Think of how many pets are being helped today in various ways!

So, how can you help?  You may think, "But I'm just one!  How can I make a difference?"  You do make a difference, every day.  You can be an advocate for animals in many ways.

• Speak up about pet adoption!  If someone you know wants to adopt, share information on shelters in your area.  Along with the many "Heinz 57" pets like me, there are purebred cats and dogs just waiting for a loving home and family to belong to.
• Share information on kill and no-kill shelters.  Get to know the shelters and humane organizations in your area and advocate for them.  Even being against pet euthanasia, we still recommend kill shelters as well as no-kill shelters to people looking to adopt.  Why?  Because they might find their forever pet there, and save it from the needle!
• Foster a pet or five.  Our family fosters and adopts out cats that people bring us.  Right now, we have three fosters:  Dare, Autumn, and Panther.  Dare came to us from a friend, as did Autumn.  Autumn was a "Craigslist kitten", probably from a backyard breeder.  Dare and Panther, who showed up in our yard as a socialized feral, lived outside before finding people to take them in.  I, myself, was saved from a kill shelter, along with my four boys.  I'll tell you more about that later.
• Make or buy blankets to warm the floors of the cages for pets waiting adoption.  Grammy created the "Read Me a Blanket" program:  children read books, crafters sew, knit or crochet blankets, and for every book read, a blanket is donated to the humane society.  It's a wonderful way for the community to come together to help shelter pets.  The blankets are not only placed in the cages while the pets wait; families are encouraged to choose one blanket when they adopt their forever pet, giving the pet a connection and a safe place at their new home.  Many families then use those blankets when transporting their pet to and from the vet.  Think Linus' security blanket!  Other organizations make and donate blankets as well.  Many shelters also take clean towels to be used in the cages.
• Donate something off the shelter's wish list.  Many animal rescue and adoption organizations have a wish list on their website.  Any item you donate from that list is appreciated.  It could be a can of pet food, a toy, or even an office item like printer paper.  Everything helps.
• Spread the word!  Share this post, others like it, and the Remember Me Thursday website on social media with the hashtags #RememberTheRescue and #RememberMeThursday to add your voice to the movement.  We all count!

Little Bit and her 3-week-old boys, first day being fostered

I was one of the lucky ones, and my babies were even luckier.  Who can resist three-week-old kittens?  Well, apparently one animal control center can.  My original people, upon finding out I was pregnant, didn't know what to do with us.  They hadn't bothered to spay any of their pets, so they had two litters of kittens and one litter of puppies all at the same time!  They packed up the kittens and mama cats and set off to find a shelter for us.  Two of my mama's kittens had been adopted already, but she still had two and I had four.  The animal control center told the people that, if they took us in, my kittens would be euthanized right away.  It was the start of "kitten season", and they knew they would be soon overrun with litters needing cages, permanent placements and foster homes.  They simply didn't have the room for us.

Carbon with Little Bit's kitten sisters, first week of fostering

The people left the shelter with us, packed us all into the car, and drove two blocks away.  They opened the car door and threw my mama out onto the street!  They then went to eat, leaving the rest of us in the car.  I hid, and the others couldn't climb out.  When the people came back, they did a very sensible thing.  They remembered that the people two houses down were "cat people" and rescued animals, because my sister and cousin were already with those people.  All seven of us who were left ended up at the new house.  That became my forever family, and the nice people adopted out my two kitten sisters and all four of my boys.  One of my boys later on had to be euthanized because of a genetic intestinal issue, but he had a good foster family, and even a forever home for two weeks.

Please help spread the word and be a force for shelter animals!  "Opt to Adopt" is not just a campaign slogan, but a way of life and a way to save lives.  Please share the message with the hashtags #RememberMeThursday and #RememberTheRescue and check out the Remember Me Thursday website for educational materials, information, more shareable memes, and a photo contest to benefit rescues.  Thank you for all you do for animals.

When We Were Very Young....

Get ready for cute baby kitten pics, because this is what we looked like when we were very young!  (Yes, A.A. Milne is one of Mommy's favorite authors.)

Carbon and Tabby, Summer 2005

Tabby and Rori, Fall 2007

Tabby and Knut (Rori's brother), Fall 2007

Spooky 1, Fall 2007

Baby Chiba (Little Bit's sister), Spring 2008

Starla, Spring 2009

Smokey (Little Bit's sister), Winter 2008

Little Bit, Winter 2008

Little Bit with her boys (Squishy, Kai, Tiger, and Cloud), Spring 2009

Carbon with Little Bit's baby sisters (Boo and Michelle), Spring 2009

Baby-Tuxie, Summer 2009

Baby-Dot, Summer 2009

Spooky 2, Fall 2009

Freya and Heimdall, Summer 2010

Tigress, Summer 2011

Leopard (the feral kittens' mom), Hemming, Miss Marble, their brother, Summer 2011

It's World Spay Day!

Do you have an unfixed cat?  At what age can you get your cat spayed or neutered?  What are the benefits to fixing your cat?  The purrfessionals here at the PDX pride will answer your questions!

Happy World Spay Day from all of us!

Rori here!  As the Big Kitty of the household, it is my solemn duty to inform you unspayed or unneutered cats of the blogosphere to get your acts together and schedule your fixing surgeries!  It's an important step in your independence as a cat-of-the-world to get this done!

1.  Spaying and neutering prevents unwanted and/or "surprise" litters.
2.  Spaying before the cat goes into heat for the first time greatly decreases a female cat's risk of breast cancer.  To learn more about breast cancer in cats, please visit our friend Sugar at her website:  Sugar Rub!
3.  Neutering greatly reduces a male cat's "nuisance" behavior, including spraying, yowling, and territorial marking, as well as makes the urine smell less strong.
4.  Spaying and neutering reduces the number of adult cats that are dumped, killed, and given to shelters.

I was spayed while I was in heat for the first time, which is more expensive than spaying while a cat is not in heat.  My yowling was intolerable, so that's why I was spayed while in heat.  However, this can create other health problems, such as weight gain.  I am now a very chunky girl!

Friends do not let friends go unspayed!  No, I am not having s*x with Smokey!  She went into heat for the first time, and I decided to discipline her by scruffing her.  I let her know that going unspayed is not tolerated in MY household!  She was much calmer after being spayed, and got adopted to Mama Erin soon after.

A happy, healthy, spayed Smokey!

Starla here to say how glad I am that I got spared the rigors of teen pregnancy!  My aunt had three kittens very young, and the boys were chasing me as well.  Somehow, I never got pregnant at that time, but most female kitties get pregnant their first time.  The next time I went into heat, my people had already scheduled my spay appointment through the Spay and Save program in Portland, Oregon, one of many low-cost spay and neuter programs around the country.

I was very lucky to get my spay when I did, because there were three male cats that were trying to get me pregnant.  If I hadn't had my spay, I'm sure I would have ended up a teen mama with a litter to find homes for, like my cousin Little Bit and my aunt Boo-Boo Kitty.

Hi, Little Bit here, and this is what happens when you don't get spayed!  I'm Smokey's sister, Rori's half-sister, and Starla's cousin.  My dad Spongebob (also Rori's dad) is an unfixed male who roams the neighborhood and has befriended all the ferals within a three-block radius.  His friends also included my mom, Boo-Boo Kitty, who had a litter of three.  My other sister, Baby Chiba, had a different dad and died as a kitten.  Yes, cats can get pregnant by more than one male in the same heat cycle, so the kittens in a litter can have different dads!

When I grew up, my original people didn't want my forever family to get me spayed, and so I remained intact.  My original people were not responsible pet owners!  They only decided to give me to my forever family after a tragic thing happened:

1.  My mama cat, Boo-Boo Kitty, got pregnant again and had a litter of four.
2.  I went into my first heat cycle just after my mama cat got pregnant and had a litter of four.  My kittens were born when I was five months old, just a kitten myself!  Two of my litter had the same dad as I, which is not unusual for cats.
3.  The dog my original family owned got pregnant by another of the same litter (the dog's brother, who was a neighbor) and had a litter of 10 puppies.
4.  My original people got an eviction notice because of the amount of animals in their house.
5.  They decided to take all of us kitties except two of Boo-Boo's kittens (who already had homes) to the humane society.  But after driving around to two humane societies, they were told that it was the middle of "kitten season" and the kittens would be put-to-sleep if they were surrendered.  The people didn't want that to happen.
6.  After hearing this from the second shelter they went to, they stopped by the side of the road and threw Boo-Boo Kitty out of the car, then drove away!  I still don't know what ever happened to her after that.
7.  They drove to a fast-food restaurant, rolled down the window halfway, and went inside to eat.  Mind you, this was with my two 8-week-old baby sisters, myself, and my litter of four three-week-old boys in the vehicle.  When they got back out to the vehicle, they didn't see me and drove off anyway.
8.  They went back home and brought my baby sisters over to my forever family, two houses down, and told them the story I've just told you.  My forever daddy human was so mad that he took my baby sisters inside and left my forever mommy human to talk to the lady.
9.  My mommy went to get the box with my kittens in it from the lady's vehicle and found me in there as well!  She brought all of us back home with her.
10.  My new family found homes for all of us, but only I stayed with them as part of their forever family.  Everyone else who came with me on that horrid trip found wonderful new homes!  One of my babies had a birth defect, but even he found a forever home for the few months he lived.

I went into heat again a few days after we got to our new family's home.  Yes, I was nursing my three-week-old boys at the time, and continued to nurse.  I could've gotten spayed while I was still nursing, but my people chose to wait until I'd weaned the kittens to spay me.

I'm Tigress, and I was a teen mom as well.  However, my family chose to have my kittens spay-aborted because I was a feral kitten at the time of my pregnancy.  I was spayed through a trap-neuter-return program run by the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon, which provides low-cost or free spays and neuters, first vaccinations, and humane trap rentals.  If I hadn't had my spay, there would have been at least two and possibly as many as five more feral cats that would have needed socializing, feeding, trapping, spaying or neutering, and adoption.  I got pregnant at the age of 4 months.

Please don't wait to get spayed or neutered!  Tell your humans to schedule your surgery today!  If your humans need financial assistance, it is available in most areas of the U.S. and Canada, and in some other countries as well.  If you are a feral cat, please tell your human to visit the Alley Cat Allies website for more information.

For World Spay Day events in your area, check out the official website.

Former Foster Friday

Little Bit and all her kittens have finally found good homes! We are pleased to report that, although Squishy is still having poopy problems, he has found a home with people who are willing and able to care for him and pay his vet bills so that he gets consistent medication (which stops the problem). Little Guy has changed his name to Tiger, and is living with a neighbor of our friend Erin. His new daddy also had taken Squishy, but couldn't provide the needed care after he started squishing again, although he was also the one who found the new home for Mr. Squishers. Tiger will do just fine being an only cat, and Squishy will adjust all right to being an only cat once he figures out no one else is there. Tiger loves to watch tv, and sits with Erin's son when she comes over to clean the apartment.

Cloud has grown to be a big guy! He still has his bobcat-like face, but has almost grown into his paws. He loves snuggling and playing with his mommy, and running around the upstairs when he gets the kitten crazies. He is starting to get used to downstairs as well, and treats the carpeted steps more normally.

Kai is doing great in his home, and had his neuter surgery just fine. Boo and Michelle are still charming their family, and are scheduled for their spays soon.

Little Bit is living with her sister Smokey, her new mommy Erin, and human brother Jarek. It took about a week for Smokey to figure out that Little Bit wasn't going to challenge her right to be alpha cat, but after Erin went on vacation for a day and left them by themselves in the apartment they sorted things out and have been pals again ever since. Little Bit is going to have her spay soon, when we can schedule it. It may not be until the beginning of the year. We're going to help Erin out with that. Little Bit still loves to talk, and comes rubbing up and purring to Erin whenever she sits down for a second. Most of the time when I talk with Erin on the phone, Little Bit's trying to get in the conversation as well!

So, kitten season's over, and a good one it was this year! Have great lives at your new homes, everyone! We'll have periodic updates on Smokey, Little Bit, and maybe Tiger.

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.

Boo and Michelle have been adopted!

Boo and Michelle went on an extended home visit to their new home yesterday! Their new people have some questions (mostly because of having had a bad kitten experience before/feral kitten they didn't know was feral), so we're treating this like a trial period for now, but we think that once everyone settles in they'll love them so much that they'll decide to keep them. If not, then they'll come back to us.

From Boo:

Foster Mommy and Foster Daddy brought my sister and me to our new home this morning! We rode in the truck in a carrier bag, but didn't like it. We kept trying to get out, and Foster Mommy kept saying, "No." We got there early, so Foster Daddy and Foster Mommy let us out in the truck so that we could stretch and explore (and relax).

Our new people were out getting the last of the supplies they needed for us. When they came back, they parked next to the truck. When our new lady saw us, she knew exactly who we were and smiled!

Foster Mommy and Foster Daddy brought us inside and handed us to our new family. They liked us right away! They petted and held us for a while, then set us down so we could explore. We could smell that there had been another animal there, but couldn't tell exactly what it was. The people said it's something called a ferret. We've never met a ferret. We followed its scent trails all around the house. I went up the stairs and got lost, so I called out to the humans. The lady came and got me, carrying me back downstairs. She said I was in the teenage girl's room. All I knew was it was somewhere I didn't recognize.

Our new people are happy to have us here, but still getting used to us. That's fine, because we're still getting used to them! It will take a bit to settle in. Michelle already wanted to play-bite, during the visiting time, and both of us tried scratching the couch. We're kittens, so that's normal for us to try. We didn't get very far, though. These people know to snap their fingers to teach us what to not do, just like our foster parents did.

From Foster Mommy:

Their Catster pages are still being kept by us until this adoption's permanent. You can visit Boo here and Michelle here.

Foster Friday/Photo Friday: Eyes

Cousteau and Tabby Boy write:

Being twins is fun! No one can tell us apart (except our mama cat) unless they look at our noses. Can you tell us apart?










Cousteau is the top picture and Tabby Boy is the bottom picture! Our personalities are different, but we look identical (except for a little line on Tabby Boy's nose, and slightly different shade of fur).

Cousteau writes:

I'm going on my home visit today! Foster Mommy and Foster Daddy are taking me to visit the lady and her roommate who want to adopt me. I don't know if I'll like the truck ride, because the other time I was in a car/truck was when I went on the horrific ride to the shelters and back, then to my foster home. I hope I'll like the lady, and she'll like me! I'm coming back to my foster home for another two weeks with mama cat, even if the visit checks out. All of us little boys are now 6 weeks old, but Foster Mommy and Foster Daddy want to wait until we're 8 weeks.

Little Bit writes:

All of my kids plus Boo and Michelle either have home visits scheduled or are in the process of having them scheduled! That's such good news, but no one has asked for me yet. I'm glad my kids will all have good homes, and that my little sisters will also, but sad that no one wants me to be their kitty yet.

My babies are being litter box trained at the moment, and I supervise every time Foster Mommy picks one of them up to put him in the box. There's two extra boxes set up now, each where they have been going potty. They're an Avon box lid and a tv dinner tray, with litter in them. Someone went poop and pee in the tv dinner tray one, plus others have gone pee right beside it (on a lap pad that's set up there). Cloud is adamant about using a spot underneath the couch, so Foster Mommy may set up another box there.

Boo and Michelle write:

We're going to a home together! We have a home visit scheduled a week from Saturday, and we're so excited about it!

Cloud and Tabby Boy:

We're going to have a home visit at the end of the month, and will go to a home together! We're glad we'll have each other to play with at our new home.

Squishy writes:

Foster Mommy hasn't heard back on times for my home visit, but she's got someone else lined up for me if the first lady doesn't come through.

Photo Friday

Foster Friday

Cloud writes:

I've learned where Foster Mommy sleeps! Yesterday, Squishy and I followed her after she used the human litter box, and she went into a room we'd never been in before. She climbed up this big white thing, so after a while when I wanted to snuggle I climbed it too. I found her feet, and walked on her until I got to her shoulder. She felt me, so she put her hand up to pet me. I settled right down for a snooze. After a bit, I wanted to cuddle under her chin like I do with Foster Daddy, but since she was on her side I couldn't. So I tried something different: sleeping on her head. Human hair is slippery! I slid off first one side, then the other. Foster Mommy laughed and kept me from sliding completely off, then put me up over her head on the pillow. I settled right down again and napped there for a while.

We all napped on Foster Daddy later on, all four of us tiny kittens!

I have a lady interested in adopting me! She is in L.A. at the moment, but she will get back around the time I'm ready for my new home. Foster Mommy and Foster Daddy will meet with her and see if she has a good home for me. I hope she does! She might also adopt one of my brothers (either Cousteau or Tabby Boy) to keep me company.

Tabby boy writes:

Our foster parents still haven't figured out a name for me yet. I'm such a little cuddle-bug and a licker. I snuggle with feet instead of climb up to them, and I love to groom anything and everything that moves that comes close (kittens, kitties, and humans). When I'm sleepy, I find someone's feet or I go cuddle with my brothers or my mama. If anyone has an idea of a name for me, I would appreciate it. Right now, I'm being called "Little Guy" and "Brother".

Boo writes:

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(I typed that all by myself!)

Squishy writes:

I have two people who want to adopt me! Foster Mommy and Foster Daddy are going to schedule a home visit with the first lady in the next couple of weeks. If she looks like she has a good home for me, then I will go to her when I'm ready. If not, then they will meet with the second lady.

Cousteau writes:

I adventured into the bedroom as well, and met the big white cat who lives under the dresser. She didn't want me under there with her, so she backed out and hissed at me. Foster Mommy couldn't figure out who she was hissing at, so she took the bottom drawer out to see. I was all the way in the back corner under there, and Starla was curled halfway out trying to get away from me, growling very low! Foster Mommy says she doesn't quite know what we are, so she is afraid of us. How can she be afraid of little me? I wouldn't hurt her! I was just trying to see who she was! I went under there again, but Foster Mommy caught me and brought me out with my brothers.

Michelle writes:

Boo and I have had a lot of fun with the cardboard tube from a paper towel roll. It makes a funny sound, and we can bat it all over the living room!

Little Bit writes:

I'm working on weaning my kittens more and more each day. Squishy decided he wanted to play with me while I was feeding my smallest tabby boy, so I pinned him down and groomed him. That way, the little one could eat in peace. I'm letting everyone nurse still, but getting up and walking around after they're about half-done so they'll get the idea. I then lead them over to the food bowl. I'm letting the littlest one nurse more than the others, though. He needs it more than the others.

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.

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.

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.

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

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

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

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