12:57 PM One had flown the coop

Yesterday Charmin went to live with her new "dad." I was so proud of her. She behaved beautifully at the Adopt a Pet while waiting for her adopter to arrive to take her home.

This morning I received a text message from Charmin's new home saying that she spent all night last night in the lap and purring away. So I believe she is blissfully content. I'm very happy about that. Now we just need to get Lucey Lot squared away with her family.

And now for a picture update. I have a new laptop, so I am able to upload images at home now. Finally!

2:56 PM We welcomed a houseguest

Sunday was a fruitful day for several cats. We had 4 go out at "foster to adopt" meaning they are taken home by a prospective family that adores them but isn't sure how they will fit in with the other furry housemates and thus they're not sure they want to commit to an adoption if things don't work out with the current menagerie. We actually encourage this with a lot of people. It gives them more trust in us and they are less stressed about the cat coming home with them and the "what if it doesn't work out".

But we also had one adoption. Target (pronounced "Targ-jhay" think the fancy schmancy way of pronouncing Target) was adopted by a young man and his mother. But she needed her last round of shots and her final combo test since she was finally old enough. So last night she came home with me so I could drop her off with her vet transport today instead of her having to stay cooped up in a carrier all night at the shelter since all of our cages are occupied at the moment.

What a DOLL! Target had no fear about the new surroundings. She hissed at Maizy Once and then was totally ok with her. She slept on my lap until I went to bed and then she followed me up on the bed. All of the other cats were a bit upset wtih me over bringing her home, so it was just she and I on that bed. And by this morning she and LuceyLot were playing with one another as if they were long lost cousins or something! Watching she and Lucey play made bringing her home well worth upsetting a few other cats for a day. See, Lucey was put on hold Sunday for a family who has other cats. Lucey would be for one of their younger sons who is ready for his own cat. I was afraid she'd be a little anti-social or would play too rough as Nimue does exactly that with both Charmin and LuceyLot. Well, Lucey was very happy to play like a normal kitten with Target! Charmin, not so much. She pretty much hid from Target like the older cats did. But that's ok. Charmin's home will be with a man and no other cats. Now that I've seen this behavior, I am 100% at ease over her being by herself.

So now that both girls are on hold and just waiting to be spayed and delivered to their families, I just have Nimue and Roz to focus on adopting out. They're both tough sells, but we can do it. Eventually.

5:26 PM And now for LuceyLot

LuceyLot also has a serious inquiry for adoption now. I guess my apt will be Grand Central for Meet and Greets on Sunday.

Now to just get some brave soul interested in their crazy mother...

12:48 PM Charmin might have a home after Christmas!

I just put her and LuceyLot's profiles on Petfinder yesterday and today we've already got a hit on Charmin. I just left a message with a guy who has lost all of his animals in a Divorce and says he cannot function in life without a cat. He wants to meet Charmin soon. She and Lucey are scheduled to be spayed on the 23rd of Dec, so they can't go home with anyone until a week after, but he seems to be ok with that as I put that information right in their profile. Y'all keep your fingers crossed for me that when we meet he's a good candidate! Frankly, I'm a little shocked that Charmin got an inquiry before LuceyLot did. Lucey's pictures are way cuter. But you know, I'm glad either way. Frankly, it's harder to adopt out a brown tabby, so I'll be tickled pink if she goes first!

11:10 AM Dirt Cheap Spay and Neuter for Cats! Please spread the news.

PETCO and KITTICO CAT RESCUE are offering your cat(s) a very special Christmas present: $9.99 SPAY OR NEUTER

Please forward to anyone you know who might be interested. This deal is especially helpful for those who have many strays/ferals in their neighborhood who continue to reproduce. Information is below. Make sure you specifiy this offer otherwise they may ask that you donate $55 for their services.

Location: Richardson PETCO at 1401 E. Spring Valley Rd., 75081
Date: DECEMBER 11, 2008 (Thursday)
Drop Off Time: 6:30 to 8:00 a.m.
Pick up Time: 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
Appointments; appreciated, but not necessary.
Contact Celia at 469/865-4438 for more information.
No food after midnight. All cats must be in separate clean carriers with large towel or newspaper in bottom of carrier. Traps accepted also; please cover trap to keep cat calm. .Kittens must be 10 to 12 weeks old or 2 pounds.
For 4 in 1 vaccination, add $15.00

$9.99 THAT¢S RIGHT!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!

This is a Fantastic Deal! If anybody needs to have a cat altered, I'd jump on it Quick as in DO make an appointment so you know you can get it done. And you know, even if you forget to mention the special, $55 for a spay or neuter is STILL a steal!

4:19 PM Petfinder bound

Well, it's official, the kittens each have their own Petfinder listing. They're not spayed yet, but we're expecting to do that soon. I'm hoping that the online exposure before Christmas will get them a good home soon. It would be wonderful if they could be adopted together, but I'm not holding my breath on that one. I got Incredibly Lucky with Lyra and Draco adopting out together. I'm not so sure that lightning will strike twice.

8:58 PM Surprises and Reunions

Today was a day of firsts.

Nimue went to her first Adopt a Pet.

Roz was outfitted with a harness for the first time because we ran out of cages for cats. She slunk around a bit at first, but eventually began to walk a little with it. Although honestly she was more concerned with getting back into her carrier than anything. Then when Cactus Jack went home on a "foster to adopt" Roz got a cage.

Then Nimue was able to come out of her carrier to see how she would act. So I put the harness on her. She didn't fight me first of all. Then she allowed me to hold her for the LONGEST stretch of time EVER! Then when I put her down, she didn't freak out. Well, she did roll a little and wiggle one of her arms half free, but she behaved Much better than I figured. Honestly, I thought she would be a case of total Tazmanian Devil evilness at Petsmart. That's why I had the vet go ahead and tip her ear in case we needed to re-release her back to my courtyard.

So anyways, a day of firsts.

Also of note today, I was introduced to some wonderful Pit Bull ladies and thusly Covered in sweet bully kisses! I just love pitts!

And finally, I was reunited with a kitten I fostered about 3 years ago. Marvin was one of two little black kittens I fostered when I lived in the loft. Some of you who read my Live Journal may remember that my boyfriend at the time had quite a connection with him. However, his brother wasn't having the cat. He was quickly adopted by a Russian chick and her boyfriend. Unfortunately, he was returned about 6 months later. Allergies was the excuse. Tonight I was putting away cats from the Adopt a Pet. I've not done that in over a year. I knew that "Starvin" Marvin was returned to the shelter and probably still there as he's one of about 3 handfulls of black cats in the building who all remove their name collars on a regular basis. But I hadn't seen him since he was returned as when he was returned he reverted to his skittish behavior. Well, tonight, I saw his face, that indisputable funny face and I knew it was him. And for the first time I actually was able to hug and cuddle with him. He never let me cuddle before, so this reunion was also a first. He really is a sweet boy once he gets to know you. He's just a little afraid at first. I so wish I had a home to place him in. I just hate that one of my kids is back in the shelter. And he can't come here. Firstly, I'm full. And secondly, Dunbar will not likely allow another young male in the house. I'm glad I recognized him though. Tomorrow he will get a new name collar when I go to the shelter for a couple of hours to tag everyone who has lost their tag. So now he will be able to start going to adopt a pets again. So there is a silver lining. Now let's just pray for a perfect home.

10:48 AM Old cell phones?? Turn them into something good.

http://www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com

This charity takes phones and accessories and sells them to refurbishing companies then turns around and uses the funds to buy phone cards to ship to the soldiers. Each phone will buy a 1 hour phone card for a soldier to call home. This charity even has drop off points all over the nation if you have trouble mailing the phones in. Just click the "find a drop off point" tab across the top of the website and you'll be taken to a place where you enter your zip code and Voila, Drop off locations will appear mapped on your computer screen.

This is a great means of recycling cell phones instead of letting them sit in a dump and this time of year is a Great time to help our soldiers connect with their families. So many of them will be away from home over the holidays.

1:05 PM A plea for Mercy

A friend posted this on her Live Journal today and I am re-posting it here because it's a point of view on Gay Marraige which I wish everyone could consider.

It's an MSNBC piece and I know that MSNBC has lately been lauded as a Liberal counterpart to Fox News and I really hate that kind of reporting, but this piece really isn't about partisanship. It's a plea to hear out the Gays and for everyone to think with their Hearts.



Honestly, I don't want Gays to have Marriage rights. I want everyone in America to have Civil Unions as far as the legalities of the state/nation/benefits are concerned. Marriage should be governed by religion. And each religion should govern its own marital beliefs and services. The legalities of a commitment between those who love one another are the matter of government. We are a nation who was wise enough to begin with a determination to separate religion from governance. We should not turn out backs on that. We should only strive to continue on. Allowing the religious sector and our religious beliefs to determine what the government does is in direct opposition to that notion.

For me, this is not a matter of spitting in the face of one's ethics and religious beliefs. For me, this is about equality. It is about Civil Rights. A religious couple can have both a legal ceremony and a separate spiritual ceremony if they like. It is not about taking the spirituality out of Marriage, it is about giving Marriage Back to the religious sector and letting them have it. It is about putting the government in charge of the right to legally bond with another person. A separation in such matter is exactly how it should be if we are truly going to be a nation of benevolence and kindness and even true to our words of being Just.

8:41 AM Thoughts and prayers please.

Last night, well actually early morning at 2:00am, I dropped off Nimue, LuceyLot, and Charmin at the shelter for their very first visit with a veterinarian.

This morning is Spay Day for Texas Pawprints. About once a month we load up any fosters and new captures and send them off to our shelter vet for an all day marathon spay day. I'm hoping with lots of crossed fingers that at least Nimue is ok'd for the spay surgery today. Eventhough I separated her from the kittens to start the weaning process, she's still producing milk. This may be an issue for the vet, the shelter says it depends on how much milk she has. I also sent the kittens. Some vets are spaying and neutering right at 8 weeks old now. This particlar vet does it on a case by case basis, so he'll look at them and decide whether he's comfortable doing it or not. I'm almost resigned to them coming home in tact, and that's ok. I can handle them waiting a little longer. I just really Need Nimue to be spayed today!

So, please send us good thoughts, prayers, crossed fingers, energy, whatever your belief, we'll take it. Not only do we need help with Nimue, but we need safe surgeries for All if they're all accepted for the procedure today. I never take spay and neuter surgeries for granted anymore. Not after the loss of little Virgo two years ago.

In other news, I have a Darling medium haired torti girl loving me up right now. Her name is Lavinia and her foster mom couldn't bring her to the adopt a pet today, but she has a family scheduled to come and meet her for possible adoption. Let's all send her good thoughts, prayers, crossed finers, etc. She is a Doll and a half! I sure hope this family falls in love with her and takes her home. Seriously, she is one of those sweet cats who it would be Easy to fall desperately in love with.

11:08 AM Happy Halloween!!!

Says the girl with the kitty ears.


Also, if you're a Buffy fan, there's a new Fan community in town. Please check out the grand opening of The Circle of the Black Thorn!

5:41 PM Free gift with purchase!

Charmin and LuceyLot commandeered a shopping bag of fabric last night for their napping spot. I couldn't resist.

9:00 AM I have a dream

No, it's not to have my children's names in Lights with nothing to hit but the heights, hehe.

I have a dream of a nice little house with a large backyard where I can grown enough vegetables for myself and also to make a small dime off of. I have a dream of working from home in a career where I can manage my time however I choose so that I can cultivate those crops and write to my heart's content as well as have the ability to still nurse a few wayward animals to health and proper homes.

Yes, this dream will likely require a Large lottery winning to attain, but it doesn't stop me from dreaming it.

In fact, I've already begun to put part of my dream to use. I am nursing a few wayward animals to health and proper homes and I am also beginning to be a gardener. I may be an apartment dweller at the moment, but I have guerilla'd a spot in my building's front lawn for a bit of a container herb garden. I figure I'll start there and see how things go over the winter.

Spring and Summer were pretty good to me. My basil flourished. Although I let it go to seed. Next time I'll remember to harvest those leaves a lot earlier, man when one branch went to seed it seemed like the whole thing burst into flowers! Although I will say that the honey bees sure liked those flowers! And honestly, even though they say that the flowers will stop the plant from producing more leaves, I think that's only true for each branch that has flowers. Because my plant has continued to sprout new branches even after the mass flowering. So letting the plant flower wasn't All bad. In fact, it was rather enjoyable to see the flowers there and the bees going to town on them.

Next Spring I plan on attempting a technique called Square Foot Gardening. With my small little area I have quadranted off, I think I can get away with building an Attractive (meaning I'll have to pretty it up) little raised garden box. My hope is to plant some of the things that I buy the most at the grocery store, like green beans, peas, and lima beans, more herbs, and maybe some garlic and onion and carrots. Mmmm!

And also I found out that there are some fruit trees that come in Dwarf varieties. I actually Found a Dwarf Pomegranate! And if I can find a dwarf Fig tree to keep potted, then I will be in HOG HEAVEN! All I would need else-wise for fruit would be grapes, and blackberries. Both would be awesome on a trellis!

I'm getting excited already just thinking about it!!!!

10:34 AM LuceyLot and Maizy Loo

My dog, Maizy is a very forgiving dog. She's never been a fan of other dogs, but when it comes to cats she's been pretty bombproof. Below is a series of photographs starring Miss LuceyLot and Maizy illustrating just how awesome she is with the kittens:

Hehe, these are my favorites





I'z Going to Eat U for Dinnerz!!!!

Lucey is really beginning to come into her own in regards to playtime and silliness. Charmin's still quite a bit ahead of her in the silliness dept, but Lucey is nearly as fast tearing across the apt as Charmin is and she scraps just as dirty when they wrestle. And as you can see, she's a bit of a biter when it comes to vanquishing a foe. She gets that from her mother.

9:59 PM International Day of the Nacho???

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nachos

Damn. If I had known, I'd have celebrated. I Lurves me some Nachos!!!!! Mmmmm!

8:40 PM Cleaning up old places

It Grew!!!

Don't be alarmed. I've just imported some old blogs from another location where they didn't belong anymore. I'm cleaning some things up and you may soon see a different layout or new gadgets or something.

Upgrades feel lovely.

11:39 AM Pictures out the Wazoo

As you all know I am Way behind on my picture posting for these darling kittens. They're growing like weeds and thus I have many pictures to share.

LuceyLot!


Charmin!


Playtime!




Those photos were the first I took when I got home from a weekend away. I was just Shocked at how much they had grown in three days!

My bells seem to be a favorite toy.

Last night Charmin discovered - The Couch! She was launching herself at it and velcroing those little claws on the side, so I brought her up to sit with me. Then she decided she wanted to play on the top. I have NO idea why it was so much fun to Spazz out on the top of the couch and disappear behind it and then come back up, but she went so crazy with it that Taquita even joined in a couple of times until she remembered she's not supposed to claw my couch. I really need to get Charmin used to Not doing it either as it's a bad habit. It was just so cute last night, I couldn't help it.








And now I give you *gasp* THE FINGER which must be vanquished!!!

9:58 PM Milestone!!!

I just caught Miss LuceyLot TEETEEING in the Litterbox!!!!!!!!

Yaaaaay!

I had figured she was doing it as there weren't anymore puddles on the floor, but since I knew that Nimue was disposing of the poo once we were over the evil diarrheas, I just couldn't be sure.

But I was in their area and Charmin took a potty break and then shortly thereafter Lucey joined her. I was so excited I did the "teetee in the potty" song and dance. Yes, there is one! Any of you moms to Human children know you have one too.

And just to up the cute ante, after Lucey teeteed, she made a Huge show of covering it up. It was some sort of digging game in which she dug and covered and rolled over and dug while on her side and then leapt up. Silly girl. I wonder if this came from her mother's propensity to fling litter far and wide when she's in there.

In other funny litter news, Charmin will use the little box in their area, but much like her mother, she prefers to go use the Big Kitty Boxes in the regular cat closet as soon as I come home and let them out of jail/the bathroom. Those girls sure are silly.

12:21 PM Huge Kitten update!

So much has happened in the last two weeks its rather hard to find a place to start. I guess firstly we'll start with the bad news.

Where once there were four kittens now there are two. Little Miss Matchstick passed away on the 1st of October. I woke up and she was normal, but by the end of my getting ready for work she was fast sliding down into a Very worrisome state. I've taken care of many kitties through this shelter and only once before have I had cause to classify a cat as "lethargic and on death's door." Matchstick was the 2nd cat ever I was that worried about and it happened so quickly. I dropped her off to the shelter director on my way to work knowing it would take a miracle. And by around 1 pm I got the call that she didn't make it. We don't know the cause of her death, but we think she just was unhealthy to begin with and wasn't able to absorb any nutrients. She never had any signs of the reason we lost the 2nd kitten.

Which brings me to the 2nd kitten. On Sept 26th, the evening after my last post, Charmin started having some motorskills problems which progressed to very little movement. Our Shelter Director came by to check it out and we decided Charmin needed to spend some time with her to get put on antibiotics and have some extra fluids. Then around 24 hours later both Sir Lancelot and Guenivere started having diarrhea. I picked up some Albon for their issue and crossed my fingers that I was simply dealing with the one symptom and not more of what Charmin was going through. Sunday it was still just the one symptom so I had hope. Then Monday morning Guenivere was lethargic and very hot to the touch. I made arrangements for our Shelter Director to get her from me at my work. Over the next several days there were ups and downs with both Charmin and Guenivere and just to be safe I put both Matchstick and Sir Lancelot on antibiotics.

By Sept 29th, Charmin was improving quite a lot and Guenivere was making very Small strides, but we were hopeful. That night Charmin actually came home to stay. She was mobile and simply needed her antibiotics which I was already giving to the other kittens, so we hoped she'd begin nursing again and continue thriving. We got our wish. Guenivere, however, stayed with our Shelter Director so she could receive the care and bottle feeding she required. On the day we lost Matchstick so unexpectedly, I actually received good news of Guenivere improving to a point where she was walking and her bowel movements were even attempting to improve.

By Oct 3rd, Little Guen had improved enough that we were going to try a weekend at home with Mama Nimue. Her mobility was improving so much and she actually attached herself to Maizy, so hope was still looking better and better. Unfortunately that was short lived. By Sunday morning, Oct 5th, Guenivere was back to being lethargic. I tried to bottle feed her multiple times, but I wasn't having any luck and I could tell she was uncomfortable again the way she was acting. Since I was in the middle of filming work at my home, I couldn't rush her over to the Shelter or to a vet. The Shelter made arrangements for someone to come pick her up. Guenivere stayed with our Shelter Director and was up and down with improvements for the whole next week. But by the 8th, things were looking dire. I stopped by the Shelter to speak with our Director that evening and to drop off my extra key for a fellow foster who was going to tend my herd while I was out of town for the weekend and she just looked terrible. She was still getting fluids and antibiotics and Albon and everything else we could do for her, but she was not improving. Then the next day I saw her again before I packed up for my trip and she had literally just passed away before I arrived.

So we're down to one original kitten from the litter and one orphan. I guess two kittens was going to be the number no matter what. We sure miss those sweet babies anyways.

But there's Good news!

Sir Lancelot and Charmin are eating whole food! They both get KMR and Wet food twice a day and they're eating like crazy. They're still nursing of course, but they're getting lots of food in their tummies! Charmin even tries to eat the dry food in her momma's bowl from time to time. I wet down some of that for her and Lancelot in thier own separate dish from the wet food and they do eat some of that at times as well.

Anyways, as a result, they're growing and playing and beginning to roughhouse. Charmin's favorite game is "vanquish the human's leg." And Lancelot tries to hold her own wrestling with Charmin. Oh, and Lancelot is Most Assuredly a Girl! So henceforth I will probably be referring to her as Lucielot (Loo-cee-lot), or Lucey. I was supposed to change her name to Morgana if she was a girl, but I just can't do that now that I'm so attached to her as a Lancelot. Lucielot is a good compromise and I'm pretty positive that it's odd enough to be Original for the shelter, which is hard to come by these days!

Nimue is doing well. She's getting more and more comfortable in the apt with the other cats every day. Maizy is still the devil and gets slapped from time to time, but I can't really help that. Nimue met a little girl the other day and bonded with her, which was a SHOCKER! She used to live with a tiny child who supposedly terrorized her, so I was watching really closely and listening in case I needed to deflect a slap in the face. But she really wanted to smell the little girl's face so she just jumped right in her lap and leaned in. It was funny, we were conducting an adoption there for a fellow foster and the whole apt gasped when it happened.

I think that's about it for a full update. I DO have pictures! I just need to get it together to upload them and post.

7:57 PM Growing and learning

Well, this evening the real food adventures of Charmin and Matchstick weren't as successful as this morning. I need to keep working on them. Matchstick knows she wants to eat any food on my finger, including my finger, but she hasn't made the connection yet that the food is in the bowl. She also hasn't discovered the litterbox yet. I need to teach her how to climb out Somebody tinkled in it this afternoon though. I can only guess that was Charmin as I witnessed Matchstick tinkling outside of the box on my lunchbreak home.

But in addition to food and litterboxing there is another development. Charmin is "running". I put that in quotes because it's sort of a pounce, wobble at the moment. But the point is that she's moving faster on purpose and that's Fantastic! I think she may have even attempted to play with some fuzz. She's the middle child of the group, almost a full week younger than Matchstick and almost a full week older than the original litter. But she's the most advanced health and skills wise. Matchstick is just a touch behind. Although Matchstick is trying to socialize with the Torti Girls, Nabisco and Taquita. Part of me is amused because it's the Attraction of the Tortis, hehe, "Torties Unite!" But then again, Roz and Dunbar Flee in Utter Revulsion at the sight of any of the kittens coming their way, so it could just be that the Torti Girls are the only ones acceptable. It is cute, though. I caught Matchstick shadowing Nabisco a minute ago.

9:38 AM Excitement in the house

I have so many pictures to post I'm just going to have to wait until the weekend to wade through them for posting.

There's so much going on with the kittens its Insanity!

First, we have a 2nd orphan. Wednesday the shelter brought over a little Torti girl who had refused bottle feeding, had refused at least one mother for nursing, and refused being syringe fed. So we tried her with Nimue. Of course she decided she liked Nimue. She's 3.5 weeks old, so she's got teeth. Nimue is adjusting to that. Her babies are only 2.5 weeks old and so she wasn't prepared for that. Charmin is 3 weeks old and she is only just now getting teeth to break through her gums. The new orphan's name is Matchstick.

Little Matchstick is doing pretty well with the rest of the household. I'm proud of her. She drank a little water this morning out of the water bowl, but she's not yet shown any interest in the cat food. I'm going to see what I can do about that this weekend. Maybe if I douse some food in KMR she might show some interest in it. Although I suspect that due to her Already showing some of that Torti characteristic hardheadedness, this will not go as planned. It never does with Tortis after all. I'm supposed to be coming up with a better name, but I kind of like Matchstick. And here she is:




I just mentioned above that Charmin is teething. How do I know? Well, I caught her gnawing down hardcore on Nimue's food bowl this morning. That is the bowl, not the actual food Then after that I caught her trying to chomp on the dry food in the bowl. So I put out her own shallower bowl and watered down some of the kibble to make it soft and even put some wet food in the bowl. She slurped the water in the bowl with the kibble and licked a little at the wet food. So I think we are fast on our way to eating food and not nursing so much. This will be great for Sir Lancelot and Guenivere as they seem to always be hungry right now. Especially Sir Lancelot. I think he's getting pushed out of the food bar during nursing time.

Speaking of Sir Lancelot, he came to visit me this morning. I was attempting to do some Pilates in the living room and he decided to come explore. And cry. And explore. He came straight to me (aw) and tried to nuzzle me Everywhere. He as in my hair, in my armpit, in my elbow, in my side, in my face. He was hungry of course. But it was sure sweet of him to come to me when his mommie didn't want to nurse. I think it's possible that my morning floor exercises could be regularly interrupted on a regular basis now.

Sir Lancelot is a very vocal guy. He cries about everything. Last night I got home and noticed that Maizy had scooted the kitten barrier out of place and the kittens had discovered the escape route. So as soon as I came in the door, the Mewing was Deafening. I had to make a phone call to the shelter about Matchstick and I could barely concentrate on the conversation due to the sheer volume of the mewing. The person on the other end laughed. And as soon as I got off the phone with her I called my mother and let her hear what it was like to live at my house. She laughed too.

Guenivere is hanging in there. She's moving along at a normal rate. She is rather unassuming. She doesn't cry all the time, she doesn't demand attention, she gets her spot at the bar for feeding time and she's wandering around a little although she's not a serious explorer. She's still just as cute as a button, she's just not a squeaky wheel. Sir Lancelot holds that title all on his own.

3:46 PM Um, Surprise!!!

I have a LOT of pictures from the weekend, including a Nabisco "look at me!" dance. I wish I had time to put them up today. Maybe tonight during Heroes commercial breaks.

But I couldn't let the day go by without posting the latest news and at lease One picture. My foster cat is a foster mom. Yep, Nimue took in an orphan. Just one, her name is Charmin. She was named before she got to me, so no Arthurian connections. She's 2.5 weeks old, so about 5 days older than Nimue's real kids.

So, here's Charmin:

12:49 PM I need a video camera!

I'm over in the cat closet looking for an inspirational sewing DVD and I hear this Loud Mewing. I turn around and Sir Lancelot is in the Living Room! And Nimue is trying to figure out how she's going to get him back to his closet.

Gawain is about a day behind in development, so he's trying to explore, but is a bit timid and can't go as far.

But it's official, the kittens are Bustin' out! And they do NOT like being redirected when getting into a corner.

Whoops! Maizy just got a whack on the nose by Nimue for putting her nose in too close. Again, Maizy has shown just how good she is with the fosters. She barked just a touch, but didn't make any move to defend herself. And in fact, she bark she gave Nimue was nothing short of the backtalk I used to get from her as a puppy when she would be told "no" or the "hurry up, I've got to PEE" talk I get sometimes when I come home from work.

I just placed the kittens back in the closet. They were clearly looking for lunch and Nimue was too frazzled to let them nurse in the living room. This litter is most definately Not like Flo's litter. By this time, Flo had taken up residence with her kittens on the couch and they were not allowed to move off the couch. I had to line the floor with pillows just in case any of them went overboard, haha!

I took pictures of the adventure today, but my iphoto is acting funky, so uploading them to the blog will just have to wait until Monday when I can do it at work.

8:27 PM Great News for Nimue!

She had her combo test today and she is Negative/Negative for FIV & Feline Leukemia!

This is wonderful news!

Not only does this mean that she has two less hurdles to jump for adoption, but it Also means that our current feral cats in the area may Also be clean. You have no idea how happy that makes me!

2:46 PM Sir Lancelot's 1st Day Out

Oh what a momentus morning we had today! As we have seen over the last two days, Sir Lancelot's eyes are opening. Well, as of this morning all but the bitty outer corners of his eyes are opened now. I'm sure they'll be fully opened by the time I get home. Anyways, with Sir Lancelot's new eyes, he managed to escape the crate this morning and send his mother into a rather confused frenzy.

I have, of course, commemorated the moment with pictures.

Here's Sir Lancelot and Gawain hanging out near the edge.



And here we see the progression of Sir Lancelot "thinking" about it.







Whoops! There he is! Outside of the crate!



And here's where he's wobbling around worrying Mom.






At this point it was just too much for Nimue, she had to get out there and try to bring him back.




But apparently he was too big for her to figure out how to get in her mouth, so she went into protective mode, which also doubles as wrestle/play mode. I'm tellin' ya, she was very confused. One minute she wanted to relish the room to play with him and the next she didn't want anybody to see him and she kept getting up and laying down and overall just had trouble making up her mind what to do.







Roz wasn't sure either.




And all this time "still blind" Gawain stayed in the crate like a good little boy



Sort of. He TRIED to come out, but he ended up going right back in because he just couldn't see, but he could hear Sir Lancelot crying and going for breakfast, so he decided breakfast was better for now. Gawain's eyes are Starting to crack open. I'm sure he'll have his eyes fully opened by Sunday or Monday.