Fly free, Little Bit!

The PDX pride mommy writes:

On May 19th, we put our Little Bit to sleep.  She had been unable to contain her pee and had been having "rolling pees", where she would roll and spray while biting her side or her leg.  At first we thought she had "hot spots", but then we realized it was something more serious.  This had been going on for years, but had gotten way worse the past few weeks.  Our whole family, including Mommy S., Mommy Erin, and the kids, said our goodbyes. The PDX pride daddy and I bundled Bitty up and took her to the emergency vet.  He agreed that she was most likely having a series of seizures that had been going on for years.  I held her and petted her while she drifted away.  All the cats gathered around her body when we got back to the house and said their goodbyes, then the PDX pride daddy buried her in the backyard.  She was 10 years old.  April 1, 2008 to May 19, 2018.

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.

Happy 8th Birthday to Little Bit!

Little Bit writes:

Today's my 8th purrthday, and my sister Smokey's as well!  Smokey lives with Mommy Erin and is celebrating with her today.  We were born in SE Portland to a sweet black kitty named Boo-Boo.  She and our cousin Starla (Boo-Boo's sister's kitten) belonged to neighbors two doors down from the house that my purrents lived in then.  Boo-Boo and Starla used to go over to eat with the ferals in their yard, so they brought us over as soon as we were able.  We had another littermate sister, Baby Chiba, but she got eaten by our people's puppy when she was a kitten.

My dad-cat is Spongebob, who lived with a neighbor across the street.  He's a huge Maine Coon!  No one knows for sure who Smokey's dad-cat is, and Baby Chiba's dad-cat was Outdoor Fluffy Buddy.  She looked like his "mini-me"!

From left to right on the porch:  Starla, Little Bit, Smokey     From left to right on the steps:  Outdoor Fluffy Buddy, Boo-Boo Kitty     Summer 2008

Baby Chiba and Starla     Summer 2008

Little Bit     Summer 2008

Smokey     Summer 2008

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!

Yummy Treats!

Little Bit:  Freya, what do you have there?
Freya:  They're some new treats that we got in the mail!  The nice folks at Chewy.com sent us these new Greenies to try!
Autumn:  Fun paper, Auntie Freya, can I play?
Freya:  Yes, Autumn, but don't spill the Greenies.
Little Bit:  She can't; they're resealable.  See the top of the bag?  That keeps them from falling out and keeps them safe from kitten paws.
Autumn:  But not kitten teeth!  Can we open them yet?
Freya:  Better let Mommy give you some, rather than trying to bite the packet.  You know she doesn't like when we help ourselves, because then we tend to eat too many at once!

Rori:  They sure smell good!  What flavor are they?
Mommy:  They're tuna-flavored and salmon-flavored.  The tuna flavor is the SmartBites Hairball Control formula and the salmon flavor is the Healthy Skin and Fur formula.
Rori:  Does this mean that they'll help with my matting?
Mommy:  Yes, but you still have to let me brush the shed fur before the mats start.
Rori:  Do I get these treats afterward?  Please?
Mommy:  I can do that!

Sherbet:  Are these even food?  They taste too good to be real food?
Mommy:  They're called treats, Sherbet.  They're special, not part of your regular food.
Sherbet:  I think I like treats!

Disclaimer:  We were given the Greenies by the people at Chewy.com in exchange for a review.
  All opinions are our own and not influenced by the sponsors.

Under!

Carbon under the blinds at our house in Portland

Squishy (one of Little Bit's kids) under the blinds, trying to imitate Uncle Carbon

Kai (one of Little Bit's kids) under a scarf at his new mommy's house just after adoption

Rori under ponies just after we moved to our current house

Starla under the big chair (with Spooky 2 up top and Skylar in the middle)

Carbon under chart paper just after we moved

Rori being a bed lump

Rori and her brother Knut as kittens at our old house, in the basket under the stroller

Rori under the table but on the chair

Miss Marble under the chair (and one of the twins on it)

Tabby:  Get off of me, Little Bit!

Heimdall checking out Tigress

Freya under the covers

Panther thinking he's hiding under the table

Tigress under a chair

Knut under a blanket at his new mommy's house

Missy under wrapping paper

Sherbet under Daddy's dresser

Adoptable Autumn (and Happy Birthday to Little Bit)

We are pawticipating in the A to Z challenge this year!  This should be fun!  Today, our post is written by foster cat Autumn.

 Autumn writes:

Hi, everyone!  I'm the youngest here, and I'm about a year old.  I am a petite young lady, spayed, and current on all my shots.  I've been here for almost 6 months now, learning how to be a grown-up kitty in a family.  I'm very well-behaved, except for I think the bathtub is a place to pee.  One of the other kitties here, a special-needs cat named Starla, does that, so I've started doing it, too.  My foster parents are sure that I will learn how to use the box for pee when I'm in a home with a well-behaved older cat who would like an energetic playmate.

I'm looking for a new foster family or a forever family in the Portland, OR, USA, area.  I love this foster family, but I need a home where I have a consistent role-model for using the litter box.  I am an inside-only kitty who needs plenty of playtime and snuggle time.  I give hugs with both front paws and sleep hugging my foster daddy's tummy.  I love the laser pointer and feather toys, as well as milk rings and springs.  I also love running around with the other kitties here, and always jump on Tabby to try to get her to play!

I came from a backyard breeder on Craigslist and was sold to a young couple.  They thought I was a little boy!  I had a different name back then.  The couple broke up and the lady couldn't take care of me anymore, because she was going to live in the dorms, so she asked my foster parents to take me instead.  My foster parents named me Autumn, because my head looks like it has an orange autumn leaf on it!

If you would like to foster me or adopt me, please leave a comment on this blog with a link so that my foster parents can contact you.  You can also e-mail them by clicking on our profile in the sidebar, where it says "PDX pride".  Hope you have a great first day of April, and keep checking every day for more letter-themed posts!

Do you think I should wake up Little Bit to tell her happy birthday?  Nah, I think I'll let her sleep!  She'll have the rest of the day to pawty!

It's International Box Day! Yay!

We love our boxes!!!  Here are some of us in boxes from this last year:

 Missy loves to hide and then attack unsuspecting passersby!

 Dare says:  "Is this close enough to being in the box?"

We got the box from Mommy's Christmas present, and it was big enough for all of us!

From front to back:  Heimdall, Freya, Little Bit, Tabby, and Dare (on the chair)

Happy Birthday to our Little Bit and Mommy Erin's Smokey!

Little Bit writes:

It's my birthday!  My sisters' birthdays, too!  Yay!  *runs around in excitement, playing THOE with Dare*  I'm now 6 years old!  I don't feel like I'm 6 years old.  I've still got all the energy of a kitten!  My sister, Smokey, acts like a grumpy old lady a lot of the time, but she still has the energy of a kitten when she wants to play.  She lives with Mommy Erin, so I don't get to see her since they moved out last year.  Here's a picture of her, though!

Our other littermate, Baby Chiba, is at the Bridge.  She was a kitten when she died.  We're thinking fondly of her today as well!  We don't know where our mama, Boo-Boo Kitty, is, but we remember her well!  She was a good mama to us.

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.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tabby is thankful for her family, friends, those she visits, toy springs, food, water, and Mommy and Daddy.

Carbon is thankful for windows that he can look out, Mommy and Daddy, and a long hallway to run up and down.

Rori is thankful for a closet to hang out in when she wants to be by herself, snuggles with Mommy, scratcher, and her family.

Little Bit is thankful for toys, scratcher, the office chair, and Daddy.

Starla is thankful for her cave under the sink, food, medicine for her anxiety, and a family who understands her needs.

Missy is thankful for the printer to lie on, snuggles with Daddy, a warm home, and her family.

Freya is thankful for scratcher, toys, sockies, Mommy and Daddy, her brother, Tigress, and the rest of her family.

Heimdall is thankful for snuggles with Mommy, his sister, the bathtub with fresh shower water, scratcher, toys, food, water, and the rest of his family.

Dare is thankful for the couch to snuggle on, Foster Mommy and Foster Daddy, a home and foster family, toys, and food.

Panther is thankful for an inside foster home and foster family, Foster Mommy and Foster Daddy, Tigress, toys, food, water, the litter box, and health.

Tigress is thankful for the warm house, the ability to go in and out the door, food, liquid water in the house, her inside family, and Mommy and Daddy.

We are all thankful for YOU, our friends!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!