A Gotcha Day anniversary, a Bridge Day anniversary, and a new angel

The PDX pride mama here.  This post is not one that I wanted to ever write.  I'll start with the good thing.  Today is Freya's & Heimdall's 12th Gotcha Day anniversary!  After Skylar went to the Bridge 12 years ago (that was on the 23rd), I was looking at kittens online at Salem Friends of Felines and saw Heimdall's picture.  I showed it to Scott, then he saw that Heimdall had a sister.  We knew then that they had been sent to us by Skylar & Lydia, because they looked so much like them.  Freya & Heimdall were 3 1/2 months old when we got them.

Now, the sad news.  Only Freya is here to celebrate.  Heimdall went to the Bridge on the 23rd, so he now shares a Bridge Day date with Skylar.  In April, Heimdall came down with a really bad double ear infection.  We took him to a vet we hadn't used before (mistake #1) instead of our regular vet because we couldn't get in to our regular vet in a decent amount of time.  The other vet diagnosed his double ear infection, gave us medication (actually four different ones) and we were told that he had a "mass" in his right ear that would continue to grow and had ruptured his eardrum.  Mistake #2, because the "mass" was actually an ear polyp which ended up shrinking back down without damaging the eardrum.  We were told that he would have chronic ear infections, a head tilt, and awkward gait for the rest of his life.

Because of this (mis)diagnosis, we didn't get him rechecked more than once after that initial visit (mistake #3).  He started going downhill fast the last three weeks.  He was very lethargic, had given up, and wasn't interested in food (although he was still eating, just more because he thought he should rather than because he felt he needed to eat).  He shakily climbed up onto the futon to snuggle with his daddy the last couple days of his life.  He wasn't grooming himself at all, even when he fell down in the litter box, since we took him in to that vet in April, and he started to resent me trying to clean him up.  He had litter caked in-between his toes that he didn't take care of, so his daddy and I had to.  We made the appointment to put him to sleep.

At his appointment (with our regular vet), we were told that his eardrums were intact, his ear canals had a lot of debris in them but that the vet could see the eardrums which didn't look damaged at all.  The vet said there were small polyps (probably what the other vet had called a mass) that were not impeding the ear canal at all.  However, because his sinus infection had blown all out of proportion due to being untreated (because we had thought the symptoms were from ruptured eardrums and the mass), his poor body was so weakened that he would've had a long, uphill battle to regain his health.  I made the decision to not put him through that and to put him to sleep instead.  I held him while the vet gave him his shots.  He growled at the vet and stuck his tongue out when the vet put his paws back onto my lap, but then he put his head down on my hand like he loved to do and was gone.

We brought his body back, opened the box, and let the others say their goodbyes.  Freya curled up in the box lid, so we had one dead tuxie twin in one side of the box and one live tuxie twin in the other.  She's kind of lost without him, since they have never been apart since they were littermates.  I had to lift her out of the lid twice so that I could hand the box with Heimdall's body to his daddy.  He buried him by the roses under the cedar tree in the backyard, near where Carbon and Rori are buried.

I just finished writing an e-mail to the other vet, telling them what happened.  So many mistakes on their part and on our part.  We feel so guilty for letting our boy down by not taking him for a second opinion.  We should've done more for him.  He should be here to celebrate today with his sister.

Heimdall with his favorite toy, a fishy potato chip clip

Heimdall Skylar

March 24, 2010 to July 23, 2022

A Very Special Gotcha Day Anniversary!

 

Rainbow writes:

Hi, everyone!!!  I'm glad to meet all of you!  Mommy didn't introduce me when I first came to live here, but I've been here a whole year now!  What a year it's been, too.  I'm so glad to have found my forever family.  Daddy took the picture above, because I am awesome!

This picture was from March 5, 2020, the day I was adopted.  I look a little out-of-it because I had just woken up and was also still recovering from my spay the day before.  I'd also just moved to the Oregon Humane Society from Bonnie Hays Animal Shelter.

*takes a deep breath to slow down a little*

Ok, I'll back up a bit.  I was born in September 2019 somewhere in Oregon, probably in Washington County somewhere.  Things are blurry until someone brought me to Bonnie Hays Small Animal Shelter in January or February of 2020.  I had a really bad upper respiratory infection and had to be in isolation for a long time.  Once I finally recovered from that, due to the awesome care I got there, I was transferred to the Oregon Humane Society.  I wasn't around other cats there, either, because I was only there for a day before finding my forever home!

The night before I was adopted, Mommy and Daddy were looking at kitty pictures on the OHS website.  They had picked out a senior cat with some special needs so they made plans to go meet him, but they were also looking at all the profiles to see who else was there in case their first choice wasn't right for them.  They saw my picture, and it said that I wasn't yet available and my adoption fee was more than the senior cat's one was because I was still a kitten.

Well, the senior cat needed to be in a home that was a lot calmer than here.  He wouldn't have done well in a home with other cats, especially not ones that can get as rowdy as we like to be!  After looking at all the kitties in the public adoption area, Mommy went to the display with pictures of other adoptable kitties.  There I was, and this time it said I was adoptable!  Daddy has always wanted another calico, since he had one when he was younger and loved her so much.  Mommy didn't have to do much convincing to get him to say yes to adopting me!  They went to a meeting room and the person brought me in.  At first, I wanted to stay around him, because I knew him and didn't know these two strangers who were in the room with us and who were trying to reach out their hands to me.  I finally went over to them and got petted, so I claimed them (as you can see from the picture above)!  That's Mommy that I'm claiming, and Daddy got claimed, too, and I was purring so much because I knew I had people of my very own!

I will share other photos of my adventures this last year, but it's almost time for my treat of wet food for my special day!  I'm going to share with everyone else, especially with my bestie, Shadow, who is only a little older than I am.  Oh, and I'm the "big kitty" (alpha cat) here now, despite being the youngest!  Panther told me I could be, once I learned how to be, and he says I've learned well enough.  I think I'm still kind of in training, though, because I know there's a lot more to learn!

*paw waves*

Oh, and I forgot to say that my name now is the same as it was at both shelters.  It totally fits with my coloring and with my journey, because Mommy and Daddy are sure that aunties Tabby, Rori, and Starla sent me to all the right places to find this home!

Happy 14th Gotcha Day to Tabby!!!

Tabby says:

It's my 14th Gotcha Day today! I made it! I'm fading every day, but still hanging in there. I spend my days screaming, hanging out with my purrents, and watching Shadow. He's the new kitten, a new family member, and only 2 1/2 months old so he zooms around a lot. I think he looks a lot like my brother, Carbon, but he definitely smells different, so he's a bit confusing. And, yes, that's me on the top of the scratching post in this pic, and that's Carbon looking up at me. This was just after we got home to Daddy's from the cage on the front porch of the feed store in Clatskanie, OR. I was 4 weeks old and Carbon was 5 weeks old.

Yes, I did say THE NEW KITTEN!!!  Can you tell I'm excited?  Mommy and Daddy were going to wait until after I passed to get another family member, but then they thought it might do me some good to have a job to do again, in whatever time I have left.  I love him!  They went down to Salem Friends of Felines, the same shelter that Freya and Heimdall came from, also the same one that JJ's Scamper came from, originally to look at another kitten but that one had already been adopted.  They thought that Shadow looked so much like Carbon!  He loves ball toys, and he keeps on pawing the jingle ball over to me to bat back to him.  He also likes following me around the house.  We all are learning to love him, and he's so much fun to watch exploring and figuring things out.  We're all a bit happier because he's here, although everyone still is spending a lot of time trying to help me feel better by snuggling with me.

He was born on April 26, 2019, and we adopted him on July 6, 2019.  His shelter name was "Shrek," but he's not green or an ogre, so his new name is "Shadow," which suits him better!  Yes, we've had a Shadow before, the main semi-socialized feral girl at the green house in Portland.  I think she'd like that we have another Shadow who will live as an inside-only cat.  I've taught him to ask for pets like I do, and like I've taught everyone else to do!  He's so smart.  Here's a few pictures, including one of me watching him play with the Crazy Circle, and a video.  More pics to come, as both Mommy and Daddy are shutterbugs!

Happy 7th Gotcha Day to the Twins!

Happy Gotcha Day to us!  Can you believe it's been seven years since we came to live here?  I'm glad we got a forever home together, and new names.  Freya and Heimdall are much better names than Furkins and Fonz, don't you think?  We love our home and our family, and wouldn't trade them for the world!

What Starla Did on her Gotcha Day!

Starla writes:

Today was my Gotcha Day Annifursary!  I can't believe it's been seven years already since I was adopted by Uncle Skylar!  The piccy above was me on the first full day (the 4th) I was a member of this household, when Smokey and I both got spayed.  I came inside the afternoon before, so on the 3rd, which is why we celebrate the 3rd.

I was just shy of my 2nd birthday when I was adopted, at least that's why my purrents think.  I'm not telling for sure!  They didn't know me as a baby kitten, only after I moved in two houses from them in Portland.  My mom-cat and Little Bit's (and Smokey's) mom-cat were sisters from the same litter, making me cousins with Little Bit.  The same people had Little Bit's mom-cat who had me, because they took me from my feral mom-cat when they moved with Boo-Boo Kitty (who they had adopted).

I became a semi-feral, semi-socialized young cat, then I found the green house.  It had a nice, warm, dry basement that I could get into from the outside, a porch with a food bowl, and sometimes the humans would bring me inside.  They made plans to foster me when they were told by "my" humans that they could.  My spay was scheduled.

They brought me inside the day before, and told me I would be staying.  I didn't know what that meant, but it sounded nice.  The next day, Smokey and I went to the vet and got spayed, then came back.  We got chilled, even though we had a fleece blankie around us and one over the stroller, so Uncle Skylar hopped up on the couch to snuggle me warm.  He looked at the humans, curled around me, and that was that!  We were besties from then on.  I miss him a lot.

Slowly, I got used to the other cats in the household, and now I'm friends with everyone.  I still worry some about Carbon, because he likes to be threatening, but I don't hide.  I mainly spend time on the dishwasher in the kitchen, but I also like the sun puddles in the dining room, if Carbon's not easily seen.  I still have anxiety issues, and have to be "flown" in or herded in to the bathroom for potty time.  I use the tub still if I make it in there; otherwise, I use the kitchen floor and then Mommy cleans it up.

Mixx doggy and I are still besties!  I'm "his" kitty and he's "my" woofie.  We both get big smiles when we see each other, and happy ears!

Have a great day, friends!

Happy Mew Year, Gotcha Day, and Purrthday!!! Whew!!!

Missy writes:

First of all, Happy Mew Year, everyone!!!!!!!  Purrayers for a year filled with treats, love, happiness, family, warmth, and all good things for you and yours!

Yesterday was my Gotcha Day!  Thanks to those who left messages yesterday.  I like to write a three-in-one post for all three things on New Year's, in case you were wondering why I didn't have a post up yesterday.  It was the annifursary of the day that my humans adopted me, even though I'd adopted them a while before then.  I found them at Mommy's work, a few days after a big parade there (May 17th parade for Norway's constitution day).  The parade was scary, but I realized that there were more people around than I thought.  I wanted some of them to help me find food.  I lived in an industrial area by the Franz bakery, and the bakery employees fed me sometimes, but I was getting very hungry.  I walked down the sidewalk, calling out for help.  Mommy was teaching and the whole class stopped so that she could go find me and see what was wrong!  She picked me up and held me while someone else went to get Daddy, who was inside the building talking with other friends.  They put me in the car and Mommy finished her class.  I escaped when Daddy opened the car door, and it took them a long time to catch me again, because I hid in someone's backyard behind a fence!  Finally, Daddy got me and we all drove to my new home.

It took me a long time to purr for Daddy, but now I purr a lot for him, and sometimes for Mommy, too.  Daddy's my human, though.  When they took me to the vet for the first time, they were thinking that I was a kitten still because of how tiny I am.  Nope, I was 2 1/2 years old at that point!  That's when I got my shots and got checked for diseases.  I was (and still am) a very healthy adult cat, and I sat in the vet's lap when he sat on the floor!

It took a while for my purrents to decide to keep me, but they did.  I bonded with Daddy too much to be adopted out to anyone else!  Besides, I'm a socialized feral, and we make the best snuggle buddies!

The vet had assigned me a purrthday of New Year's Day, and I'm glad, because I get to see the fireworks and hear the cheering on my purrthday!  I like looking at the pretty lights in the sky and on tv!  I'm going to snuggle with Daddy while he plays his computer game now.  Happy Mew Year!

Happy 9th Gotcha Day to Rori!

Rori writes:

Believe it or not, I was once this small!  That's Mommy Erin with me at 4 weeks old, when I was first brought in to my forever home.  Nine years ago today, Mommy Erin came running into the house, saying "There are kittens crossing the road!  There's kittens in the neighbor's yard!"  Sure enough, my brother, Knut, and I had crossed the road by ourselves at 4 weeks old and were having a grand time playing in the tires in Dale's yard.  Mommy and Mommy Erin climbed the fence and saw us disappearing around the corner of the house.  They chased us around for a bit, and my brother ran off, but I hid in a tire.  I thought they wouldn't be able to see me there, but they saw my eyes!  Mommy picked me out of the tire, which was on its side on the ground, and handed me to Mommy Erin.  Mommy Erin brought me inside and handed me to Daddy, then both mommies went out to get my brother.

They had to entice him into a carrier by putting a can of tuna in, then shutting the door while he was munching!  After we had a bath, we snuggled together and got warm, then ate some KMR.  It wasn't our mama-cat's milk, but it was pretty good!

My brother got adopted out soon after that, after he was old enough.  I became Mommy Erin's kitten!  I especially loved sitting on her laptop keyboard after she was done using it, because it was warm!  When JJ was born, Mommy Erin asked if I could stay with Mommy and Daddy because she had her hands full caring for the new baby.  Of course, that worked out just fine, and I became a permanent member of their household, then soon became the Big Kitty (alpha cat).

Eight years and a lot of household changes later, I'm still Big Kitty and loving it!  We have two other humans staying with us temporarily, and I just now am letting both of them see me and semi-interact with me.  They still don't get to pet me, though!  I snuggle with Mommy and Daddy sometimes, and keep tabs on my auntie, uncle, half-sister, cousins, nieces, and nephews.  The only one I'm biologically related to is Little Bit.  We had the same dad, but not the same mom.  My mom-cat was a feral named Rachel, and our dad-cat was a pet cat named SpongeBob.

Happy 5th Gotcha Day Annifursary to Freya & Heimdall!

Happy 5th Gotcha Day Annifursary to us!  Five years ago today, we were kittens at Salem Friends of Felines in Salem, OR.  We didn't know it then, but our lives were about to change drastically, and for the better!  SFOF is a wonderful no-kill shelter, and they have kitties in rooms where the public can come in and socialize with them, plus foster homes for those who need more direct socialization.

We loved being part of the kitten room clowder, but we were 3 1/2 months old and the oldest in the kitten room.  We really dreamed of a home of our own, like our other two siblings had.  They were adopted before our new purrents met us.  Instead of our current names, Freya was Furkins and Heimdall was Fonz.  Do we look like those names to you?  Our siblings also had names starting with F.

The day before we got adopted, Mommy had seen Heimdall's picture online on the Save A Cat game on Facebook.  It's a game that uses real shelter cats' profiles from Petfinder and donates ad-based revenue to the participating shelters.  She and Daddy had been thinking about getting one or two tuxedo kittens, but it was only two days after Skylar had passed and they weren't thinking about doing that right away.  Little did they know what Skylar and Lydia had planned for all of us!

Anyway, Mommy saw Heimdall's picture and noticed how much he looked like Skylar.  She went running out to Daddy and showed him the picture, then he searched for the rest of our biological family on Petfinder.  He found Freya's picture, and noticed right off how much she looked like Lydia!  The rest, as they say, is history!

Mommy and Daddy went down the next day and met us.  At first, we didn't want to interact with them, but then they found our favorite toys (a fleece wand and a feather wand) and played with us for a bit.  We were surprised, though, when Daddy came back in with a carrier and the lady who volunteered there.  The lady picked us up and put us in the carrier, with Daddy reassuring us and Mommy watching from outside the room.  We cried a bit, but once we got into the car Freya put her paws through the carrier mesh the whole way home.  Heimdall curled up against her in the back of the carrier.

We got our new names on the way home.  Mommy named Freya and Daddy named Heimdall, which is kind of cool because Daddy is Freya's person and Mommy is Heimdall's person.  That's the way everyone knew it was going to be, too, because Mommy was Skylar's person and Daddy was Lydia's.  So why wouldn't it be expected that the same would be true for us?  Freya is the Norse goddess of war and beauty, and Heimdall is the Norse god who is the guardian of the Rainbow Bridge.

Once we got home, we came out of our carrier with our tails and heads held high, exploring our new home with all the excitement and wonder that comes with kittenhood!  Our new family greeted us like long-lost friends, and we've been here ever since!

Happy 10th Gotcha Day, Tabby & Carbon!

Happy 10th Gotcha Day to Tabby and Carbon!  This is a picture of them when they were just a few weeks old, after they came to live with Daddy.  They were in a free kittens cage in Clatskanie, OR, where Daddy grew up.  He and Mommy were driving through on their way to Long Beach, WA, for their first beach trip together, and Mommy saw a sign on the feed store billboard:  Free Kittens.  All the way down and all the way back, Daddy kept asking Mommy to help him remember to stop.  Sure enough, there were two little kittens in the cage on the porch!  Carbon was 5 weeks old and Tabby was 4 weeks old.

Needless to say, the rest was history!  Daddy picked up Carbon while Mommy picked up Tabby, then they switched after a few minutes.  Carbon threw up on the way home, but Tabby loved the trip, even looking out the side window and trying to climb on Daddy (who was driving).

Once at their new home, the little house in SE Portland, Tabby dove headfirst into Mommy's cake while Carbon curled up in Daddy's work boot for a nap!  Later on, after playing, eating, and using the litter box, it got really quiet in the house.  Daddy and Mommy noticed and started looking for the kittens.  They looked everywhere, to no avail, until Daddy had a brainstorm.  He opened the top two drawers of his dresser, and four blinking, sleepy eyes, along with two big yawns, greeted him!  The kittens had climbed up the back of the dresser using the drawers as stairsteps!

Happy Gotcha Day Anniversary, Starla! Also PhotoHunt: Brush

Starla writes:

It's my Gotcha Day Anniversary today!  I remember when I was gotcha'd.  It was such a nice feeling to be wanted, instead of being abandoned!  My original people took me from my mama cat when they left their apartment complex and moved to a rental house.  They took my auntie cat, Boo-Boo, as well.  I thought life was going to be better, since I'd learned to snuggle with them and sleep on a human bed inside.  Things didn't turn out that way, though.  Soon, they were letting us fend for ourselves out in the new yard.  My auntie got pregnant and had three kittens.  I, thankfully, never got pregnant, although I had the boy cats chasing me as soon as I got my first heat cycle.  Spongebob showed me where to go for food and shelter, so I started staying in my new purrents' basement/laundry room.  Washer and Dryer were my friends, and so was Water Heater, because they kept me warm.  During the ice storm, there were a bunch of us holed up in there, even one of the ferals and an opossum!  My purrents brought Smokey, Little Bit, Boo-Boo, and me up in turns to their house and let us warm up inside.  It was sooo cozy!  I made friends with the inside kitties, although I was still scared of them if they ganged up on me or if they sniffed me too closely.

After the ice storm, my purrents talked with the other people about all of us.  The other people agreed to adopt Smokey and me to my purrents!  My purrents originally thought they'd foster both of us, but they only ended up fostering Smokey (then adopted her to Mommy Erin).  That's because, the day that we came home from being spayed, Uncle Skylar decided he wanted to adopt me!  That's right:  I was adopted by another kitty!  I was snuggled up on the futon, and Skylar jumped up beside me.  He'd lost his sister, Lydia, a few months earlier (October) and was severely depressed.  He absolutely fell in love with me, though, and I immediately played tails with him.  He curled around me, helping me regulate my body heat as the anesthetic wore off totally.  When our purrents asked him if he liked me, he looked at them with such hopeful eyes and started purring his motorboat purr!  They asked him if he'd like to keep me, and his purr got louder!

That was six years ago.  Skylar passed away a few years back, and now my best friends are Dare, Autumn, and Tigress.  My favorite person started out as being Daddy, but now it's Mommy.  I love everyone, though!  I still am leery of getting boxed in, don't like or trust unfixed male cats, and all the important things (food, box, water) are in the bathroom.  However, since my illness a little while ago, I have become even more social with the other kitties and with humans!  My favorite toy is the string/ribbon on mylar balloons, and my favorite snuggle spot is on the couch in the living room.  I love being petted and scritched, especially on my back.

I'm soooo grateful for my forever home and family!

Did I mention I love being brushed?  We all do!

Are you a photohunter?

Happy Gotcha Day & Birthday to Missy!

Photo credit:  Erin Dublin

Missy writes:

"How I spent my winter vacation"

Hmm...no, that's not right.  Let me try again.

"Enjoying Christmas at my forever home"

Yep, sounds about right to me!  Yesterday was my gotcha day anniversary!  I can't believe it's been four years since Mommy and Daddy made the decision to officially adopt me!  It's actually been 4 1/2 years since I came to live here at my forever home, but I wasn't "official" for a few months until Daddy decided he couldn't part wth me.  I love my daddy!

I remember when I found my family.  It was May, and I was hungry.  There were some people who had been feeding me, but they weren't around because it was after their work time.  I went looking for someone to help me, but couldn't find anyone.  I was worried because it was starting to be evening, and there wasn't much prey in the industrial area I called home.  I lived outside, finding what shelter I could.  I walked down the sidewalk, calling out for someone, anyone, to come help me.

Mommy was teaching her class, and the whole class stopped to listen to me.  They could all hear me from inside the building!  Everyone turned to look at Mommy, and she put down the chalk she'd been using.  She all but ran out the door to look for me!  She found me and picked me up after letting me sniff her hand, then asked a few people if they knew where I belonged.  Then she asked someone to go inside the building to get Daddy.  He came out, took one look at me, and put me into the car!  I knew right then that this was the family for me!

I escaped from the car when my new purrents opened it to go home.  I'm very quick!  It took them another 45 minutes to re-catch me, because I decided to hide in the lot across the street.  They had to earn my trust enough to lure me out the side of the fence and catch me again.  I rode by Daddy the whole way home!

It took me a while to trust them completely, and about a year and a half to purr for them, but I'm so glad I chose this family!  I love my auntie, uncle, cousins, nieces, and nephews as well.  They are my play buddies, entertainment system, and companions.  For a kitty who grew up on the streets without siblings, I've come a long way!

The interloper, aka Autumn, has been taking over Daddy a lot lately, though.  I think it's fun to play with her tail as she walks by my chair, so she's not all bad.  Actually, she's a fun kitten, but she has this annoying habit of tackling when she wants to play.  I have to watch when I'm coming out of the bathroom door after using the box, because she likes to try to ambush the rest of us at that corner!  I've actually played with her a few times, and even snuggled with Daddy at the same time as she, but not often.  I do like watching her from the top of the chair or from the file cabinet!

Photo credit:  Erin Dublin

Mommy Erin, JJ, and Coriel came over last weekend and we had a wrapping paper party!  I got all the paper, and there was a lot of it!  JJ gave me every piece off his presents, and made a fort around and over me.  I played in it for a while, and then walked off with a piece of the paper still attached!  I made a big deal of shrugging it off, and everyone laughed.  Very fun!

Today's my 6th birthday, too!  Does that mean I get more wrapping paper to burrow in?  I sure hope so!

Happy Gotcha Day Anniversary to Rori!

Rori writes:

Mommy says she may give me some nummies like I'm eating in this picture today, because it's my Gotcha Day Anniversary!  Cool!  The last time I got some wet-food nummies was when Grandma gave us some of her TOONA.  Mommy and Daddy don't eat that stuff, but they promised to give me some of a can of wet cat food.  That's just fine with me!  Yummy!

In case you missed it, the big family news was on our bloggie yesterday, about Grandma.  I'm still not used to not having her around, but things are getting better around here.  Grandpa came by last night and I actually let him see me!  Not only let him, but wanted him to follow me down the hall and into the room where my cave is!  I didn't want him to pet me, but I did want him to see where my cave is.  My purrents were so happy!  That's a big step for me, because I'm actually the shyest one of the clowder, even though I'm the Big Kitty of the House (read:  alpha cat).

It's now 7 years since I first met my forever family!  Did you know that that's how old Mama Lydia was when I first met her?  Mama Lydia was Uncle Skylar's sister, and she was Big Kitty before me.  She taught me everything about being Big Kitty in the year that I knew her.  She even let me snuggle with her!  I can't believe I'm as old as she was then!  Of course, she was sick at that point and I'm relatively healthy, so that makes a lot of difference.  The only major health problems I have are my weight and the cataract taking over my left eyeball.  Those don't stop me when I really want to do something, though, even climbing up the ladder to the bunk bed to snuggle with Mommy while she naps like I did last week, playing with my little sister Little Bit, or keeping tabs on the household.  I just keep on keeping on!

My brother was gotcha'd to be a foster kitten here at the same time I was gotcha'd, but then he was adopted out.  I got to stay!  My first human mommy was Mommy Erin, who lived with us at that time.

This is the first picture of me, right after Mommy picked me out of the middle of a spare tire in the neighbor's yard and handed me to Mommy Erin.  Mommy Erin had seen my brother and me crossing the street and ran in to tell Mommy and Daddy.  Of course, there was no question what was going to happen!

Panther got adopted!

Sunday, we had an exciting visitor!

 
Tabby: I'm going to miss you, Panther!
Panther: What's a forever home, Tabby?
Tabby: You'll find out very soon!  That lady who was just here wants you to come live with her and her other cat.
Panther:  Really?

Monday, she came back, and Panther was ready!

Foster Mommy says it's time to get ready for going to my new home!

Down the ladder I go!

New life, here I come!

Now where is everyone? I want to say goodbye first!

Goodbye, Tigress!  Goodbye Tabby!  Anyone in the living room to say goodbye to?

Goodbye, Foster Mommy!  Goodbye, Foster Daddy taking the picture!  Now, could you put me on the floor again, please?

New mommy Cai came over and Missy wanted to horn in on the attention!  After she realized Cai was focused on me, Missy decided to leap up to the table tray.  This is her getting ready to launch herself off to the table tray.

Hi, new mommy Cai!  I like how you pet my tummy, but I'm not sure about coming closer for attention right now.

Missy:  What do you mean, I have to move?  Didn't she bring this portable cave just for me?
Panther:  Nope, it's for me!  I'm the one leaving!  If you go, then who will snuggle with Daddy when he sleeps?
Missy:  Oh, I didn't think about that.  I don't want to leave my daddy!
Mommy:  *scruffs Missy and pulls her out, with Cai's help to keep her from holding onto the sides with her claws*
Panther:  Ok, now my turn!
Mommy:  *makes Panther get in the carrier by putting him seat-first through the door when the carrier is on-end*
Panther:  *cries*  Why did you have to put me in there like that?  I do want to go to my new home, but the car ride is a little scary and I don't like being cooped up in this carrier.  *scrabbles at the sides and door, trying to get out*
Cai:  It's ok, Panth!  I'll let you out to explore once we get home.

I have a new brofur!  His name is Beastie, and he's a fluffy white kitty.  He swatted me once to tell me that he's the alpha cat in the household, and otherwise hisses or ignores me.  Within two hours, I was snuggled at Mommy Cai's feet while she and Beastie took naps.  I actually took a nap, too, because all this excitement wore me out!  I like my new home, but it's weird not having the others here.  I looked for them and called to them, but they didn't come out of hiding so I guess it's just the three of us here at this new place called a forever home.  I like my forever home!  I've been sticking to Mommy Cai like velcro, following her from room to room and talking non-stop.  This bothers Beastie, so he's been pouting, but Mommy Cai gives him a lot of attention, too, so he feels included.  She says this is the best transition she's ever had for a new kitty!

Mommy Cai is friends with Foster Mommy on Facebook, so Foster Mommy can share updates on how I'm doing.  Everyone's sure that it won't be long until Beastie and I are great friends!  I love you all, and thank you for being friends with me!

Mommy Cai and Foster Mommy told me that I'm a very special kitty who was sent to Mommy Cai for a reason.  Mommy Cai had a black kitty "visit" her, walk down a hallway, and disappear.  That was a couple months after I got over my pneumonia and became available for adoption, so Foster Mommy told Mommy Cai about me.  Mommy Cai had another kitty, Spot, but Spottie was really sick so he needed round-the-clock care.  Mommy Cai couldn't bring a new kitty into her life (and the household) while she was providing hospice to Spot.  After Spot died, Beastie cried for him for hours on end.  While Mommy Cai and Beastie are still grieving for Spot, I hope I can help ease their grief and lonlieness.  I can also provide playtime for Beastie!

Happy Gotcha Day Annifursary to the Twins!

Hey, Sis!  Did you hear that?  It's our 4th Gotcha Day Annifursary!  Remember when we were just kittens and Mommy and Daddy came to Salem Friends of Felines to get us?  They said we looked just like Uncle Skylar and Auntie Lydia and they wanted us to be their very own kittens!  I remember being excited and scared at the same time and hiding in the back of the carrier.

What was that, Brother?  Oh, yeah.  I remember being at Salem Friends of Felines in the kitten room.  We were the oldest kittens in there, and I took over as the foster "mom" to the littlest ones who needed someone to mentor them.  You were the only one I let pretend nurse on me, though, and that was only because you're my brother.  I remember that ride to our new home.  I didn't want to leave the kitten room at all, but once we got in the car I wanted out of the carrier and kept reaching my paws through to hold onto Mommy and Daddy.

When we got home, I remember that we explored everything, with our new family trailing along behind watching what we were doing and trying to get to know us.  That was an adventure, and a fun one at that!  I'm so glad that Mommy saw your picture and Daddy saw mine, so that we found a home together, since we're littermates.  I'm glad we found this home to call our own!

Happy 9th Gotcha Day Annifursary to Tabby & Carbon!

Tabby and Carbon:  Mommy?  Daddy?  Please tell us the story about how you adopted us!

The PDX pride mommy and daddy gather the two nine-year-olds onto their laps and begin to tell the story, petting the purring kitties as they talk.

Nine years ago, two little kittens were waiting in a wire cage on the porch of the feed store in Clatskanie, Oregon.  One was striped and swirled, and one was all black and long-haired.  The tortoiseshell was a little, 4-week-old girl and the black one was a little, 5-week-old boy.  They were from two litters that had been dropped off to be given away, and were the last ones left.  It was a hot, summer day.  The kittens had a litter box, a water bowl, and a bowl of dry food in the cage.

A man and lady drove past.  The people were going on a date to Long Beach, Washington.  The lady saw the sign on the feed store that said "Free Kittens".  All the way down to the beach and all the way back, the man kept on telling the lady, "I want a puddy.  Remind me to stop on the way back so we can look at the kittens!"  The lady was going to adopt two adult cats of her own, but the man wanted a cat or cats, too, because he loved kitties and had always had them in his life.

When the people stopped, the feed store was about to close for the day.  The lady smiled as she saw the cages for a bunny and for the kittens, because she'd had a dream years before that had that exact scene in it!  The man rushed right over to the kitten cage and scooped up the little black kitten.  The kitten crawled up his chest and curled around his neck.  The lady took the little tabby kitten out, and she snuggled right into the lady's elbow.

After a few minutes, the people traded kittens and went inside.  The clerk brought out a cardboard box with holes in it and put the kittens inside.  Once in the truck, the people opened the box to pet the kittens.  "What are you going to name them?" asked the lady.  "Tabby and Carbon," answered the man, smiling.  "A friend has two that look like these, and I helped pick them out, so these two are going to be named after them."  Tabby spent the trip looking out the window, trying to climb the man, and trying to explore.  Carbon got sick in the box and the lady cleaned it up for him.

The people stopped at a pet store to get supplies for the little ones, since the man had not planned on coming home with any furry friends!  When the box was opened at the man's house, the people lifted the kittens out and showed them where their new litter box, food, and water all were.  Carbon hopped into a smelly work boot and fell asleep!  Tabby wanted to investigate and was especially interested in the strawberry cake the lady was eating.  The lady put her on the couch, where she promptly took a nosedive into the cake!  Carbon woke up and helped the people clean Tabby up.

The people settled on the couch to watch a movie and watch the kittens play.  Some time later, they realized the house was too quiet.  Where had those kittens got to?  Not under the bed!  Not in the spare room!  Not under the couch!  How about in the dresser?  There, in the top two drawers, were the kittens, fast asleep!  They yawned and blinked at the people when the drawers were pulled out.  They had used the backs of the drawers as stair steps!

Happy Gotcha Day Anniversary to Starla!

Starla writes:

Happy Gotcha Day Anniversary to me!  I remember the day I was gotcha'd by my forever family!  I had wintered out the ice storm in their basement and it was finally starting to be spring.  I was coming inside to visit them frequently, along with the rest of my biological family (Smokey, Little Bit, and Boo-Boo Kitty).  Smokey and I were both in heat, so my forever purrents asked the people who actually owned me (two doors down) if they could adopt us, and the people said yes.  Smokey became a foster, and was then adopted to Mommy Erin and became her forever kitty.  I was going to be a foster, but something wonderful happened!  Besides getting spayed, that is, which in itself was a wonderful thing.  Not the surgery, but the fact that I didn't have to worry about that anymore.

The wonderful thing that happened was this:

I was brought inside so that I could have my surgery the next day.  After my surgery, Skylar curled around me on the futon and looked up at our purrents, pleading with his eyes for permission to keep me.  How could they deny him this wish, when he'd lost his sister a few months before, and we'd all lost Sara Kitty a few weeks before?  Of course, they told him that he could adopt me as his kitty!  Yep, that's right!  I was adopted by another kitty!

Here we are snuggling together, just after Skylar asked Mommy and Daddy if he could keep me!

He and I were best buddies until he went to the Bridge a few years ago.  Now, my best buddies are Rori, the twins, and Panther.  I live in the bathroom (yes, I "graduated" from my isolation room due to the Prozac helping my anxiety) and have my own special cave in there under the sink cabinet.  And, guess what?  I don't even need the Prozac anymore!  I haven't taken any for the last month and a half!  I'm going to celebrate my gotcha day anniversary by going to eat with the other kitties in the dining room, venturing into the living room to use the scratcher, and greeting Grandma in the hallway when she gets up!  Grandma gave us tuna a couple days ago, and I even went out to eat it with everyone else, sharing a plate with Dare!

Happy Gotcha Day Anniversary to Missy!

Missy writes:

*Opens one eye and then both eyes in amazement*  Oh, hi, everyone!  What a nice surprise to wake up to messages on our bloggie for me!  Yes, today's my Gotcha Day anniversary.  Three years ago, Mommy and Daddy decided to adopt me!  I'd been living with them for a good part of the year by then, but that was my official adoption day.  I first came to live with them in the middle of May, 2011, after walking down the sidewalk outside Mommy's work yelling for food.  Mommy stopped her class to come find me, caught me, then she and Daddy put me in the car.  Later on, when they opened the car to get in after Mommy's class was over, I escaped and hid from them.  It took them 45 minutes to catch me again!  That time, I stayed caught.  I rode home in the space between Daddy's door and his seat while he drove, and he petted me the whole time to help me relax.

I was feral but socialized when I found my purrents, and this year they found out that I'd been spayed somewhere along the line.  I may have had a home as a kitten, or I may have found a kind human who got me spayed but couldn't keep me.  I was fed by the guys at the Franz bakery across the street from where Mommy works, and I caught my food as well.

Tomorrow's my 5th birthday, so double happiness for me!  Stay safe tonight, everyone, and out of the way of fireworks.  Tell your humans to stay safe if they're partying, too!

Happy New Year!  Here's to a great 2014!

Foster & Former Feral Friday: Panther & the Box

Panther writes:

Hi, everyone!  Remember when I wrote that I was having trouble figuring out why I was supposed to do my business in that box thing?  Well, I figured it out yesterday!!!!!  I've been in for almost 24 hours now, and I was a good boy using the box for both pee and poop!  I even demonstrated it for Mommy when she came home, although I already had demonstrated it for Daddy earlier in the day.  Both of them are so proud of me, and my foster aunties and uncles are so proud of me, too.  They even followed me into the potty room to make sure that I was using it properly.

Thanks, everyone for your comments and suggestions, but I ended up figuring it out all by myself!

Rori writes:

Wow!  It's my Gotcha Day anniversary already?  Mommy and Daddy can't believe that it's been 6 years since the day that Mommy Erin came running inside yelling about baby kittens crossing the road!  You can see me in the picture with Panther above, but the picture below is the first one of me, when I was 4 weeks old, with Mommy Erin.  She was my first mommy, then Mommy and Daddy adopted me when Mommy Erin wasn't able to keep me after she moved out.  She still loves me, though, and finds me to say hi every time she can.

I had hidden in an old tire in the neighbor's yard.  Mommy Erin and Mommy went into the yard and picked me out of the tire, then brought me into the house to have Daddy watch me while they went to get my brother.  Here's a picture of us after we'd been cleaned up and fluffed up:

Happy 3rd Gotcha Day Anniversary to Freya & Heimdall, and a Panther Update!

Freya writes:

It was three years ago today that we came home for the first time!  Mommy had seen my brother's picture online in a Facebook game called "Save a Cat", which helps shelter kitties.  She showed the picture to Daddy, and he looked for any littermates that were still at the shelter.  I was the only other one from our litter of four.  Just the two of us left, because our brothers had already found homes and our mama cat was an owned pet.

I look and act like Lydia, who owned Daddy, and my brother Heimdall looks and acts like Skylar, who owned Mommy.  We both fell into the appropriate roles so easily, it was like we'd always lived here!  Of course, we also have our own personalities, but the similarities are striking.  It's obvious to anyone who knew Skylar and Lydia that they sent us to our family!

Heimdall writes:

It's been three years since I adopted Mommy!  Well, and my sister adopted Daddy, and they adopted us!  When they went to Salem Friends of Felines, the place we were, they found us in a room full of kittens.  We were 3 1/2 months at the time, and the oldest two in the kitten room.  My sister had the role of substitute mama cat to the younger ones, and I was the main play friend.  My sister didn't want to interact with our purrents when they tried to play with her, but I did.  However, once we were in the carrier on the way to our home, I curled up in the back of the carrier while my sister cried and put her paws through the door of it, wanting reassurance.

When we were finally home and the carrier was put down on the floor in the living room, out we came with heads held high, tails held high, ears forward, and eyes bright.  We were on an adventure, and we knew it!  From that moment on, this has been home.  We're looking forward to many more years with our family!

Now, an update on Panther.  We still don't know where his home is, because no one responded to his collar tag or the ad Mommy put on Craigslist asking if anyone knew where he belonged.  Our purrents took him to the vet to have him tested, and he's negative for any diseases.  That's a great thing!  He also got all his shots, since we don't know if he had any before.  When they all came back from the vet, we got to meet him nose-to-nose!  I, of course, went right into the carrier to investigate it and him, because it was our carrier that we came home in.  He touched noses with me, then pushed by me to get out of the carrier.  I let him, then went in the carrier the rest of the way.  I don't really fit in it anymore, so my tail was out.  Mommy said that's exactly what Uncle Carbon did when Freya and I came home!  Panther wanted out soon after he met everyone, so Daddy let him back outside.  But now we can let him in when he wants in, and we can start trying to find him a home!

Happy 8th Gotcha Day Anniversary to Tabby & Carbon!

Eight years ago today, Tabby and Carbon were rescued from a wire cage outside the feed store in Clatskanie, Oregon, the hometown of Daddy.  It was a very hot day that day!  Carbon was 5 weeks old, and Tabby was 4 weeks old.  Mommy and Daddy were on their way to Long Beach, WA, when Mommy saw the sign on the feed store advertising free kittens.  All the way down to the beach, Daddy kept reminding Mommy to remind him to stop on the way back.  They finally got back just before the feed store closed for the evening!

Daddy picked up Carbon, who immediately climbed him and sat on his shoulder at his neck.  Mommy got Tabby, who snuggled into her arms and took a nap for a few minutes.  They then switched and each held the other kitten, after prying Carbon's claws off Daddy's shirt.  The lady at the feed store got a cardboard box and poked holes in it.

Tabby didn't want to stay in the box on the way home.  She wanted to look at the cars going by out the passenger window and also wanted to help Daddy drive!  She still is a good car-rider!  Carbon got too hot and threw up in the box.  Mommy cleaned it up.  To this day, he freaks out if he goes anywhere.

The picture above was taken a few days after they were brought home.  As soon as they were let out, Carbon found one of Daddy's boots and took a nap inside it!  Then they played for a while.  Mommy cut a piece of strawberry cake with whipped cream frosting, and Tabby wanted to know what it was, so she climbed onto the couch and made her wobbly way to Mommy's lap.  Tabby fell headlong into the cake!  Mommy and Daddy laughed and cleaned her up, with Carbon's help (of course), then got another piece of cake.

After a while of watching the kittens, the house was quiet.  Mommy and Daddy got up and turned the house upside-down looking for them, finding them asleep in the two top drawers of Daddy's dresser.  They'd climbed up the back and into the drawers!

Tabby writes:

Today, I'm getting to be out in the early morning!  Usually, Carbon and I sleep in the back bedroom at night, letting Starla be out, then switch with her when our purrents wake up.  But last night, when Starla came out of the room, Carbon hissed at her so he got put into the room.  I was good and stayed where I was, then lay down, so I got to stay out!  I have to go into the room when Mommy goes to sleep, but I can stay out until then.  I didn't know that Starla follows the same routine when she comes out that Carbon and I do.  We all use the scratcher, then head to the food bowls and have a meal.  Then we greet the others, including our purrents.

Carbon writes:

Phooey!  Tabby told on me!  Yes, I'm dictating this from time-out in the back bedroom because I was a naughty boy.  However, I did go into the room like I was supposed to after I hissed, so I will still get my Gotcha Day treats with Tabby when we get let out in the late morning.  I'm glad I won't miss out on those!  I've been a pretty good boy when I see Starla when we switch rooms, but this time she walked right by me.  I wanted to let her know that I am higher-up on the totem pole than she is, but it backfired.  Oh, well.  Nice try, I guess.