The T-shirt says it all

Just after I arrived (to find all the work done by the morning shift) a couple arrived from Pymble to adopt Bailey. They are experienced cat owners. Their last cat dropped by to eat for 16 years but lived next door most of the time except in the winter when he came for a warm lap. The husband walks with a walker but is alert. The wife is super capable. Bailey will have lots of love and a garden.

My friend GIna arrived 10 minutes later to meet him. I sent her his photo a couple of months ago. She was going to come last week but couldn't pick up a taxi on Pacific Highway. It obviously wasn't meant to be.

So I introduced her and her friend Astrid to everybody. It took hours because all the cats were interested and interactive. They both loved Blossom but the ongoing meds could be a problem. And Penny loved Gina.

Penny

Gina will think about it. 

Freda and Ginger are a little better. They have both grown a lot since the last time I groomed them. Ginger was quite clean and not very wiggley. 

Ginger

But Freda is not putting any weight on her front left paw and her tail was a bit crunchy.

Freda

In the middle of the afternoon a young man arrived with three plastic tubs of dog food, cat food, fish and rabbit food. I put the non cat food into one bin in the "office" and filled another with the towels on top of Tammy's condo. If you come across a suspect towel in the washing basket: chuck it out. We have HEAPS of them. (While Bailey was being processed I tidy-up-ed the linen shelved. . . . . LOTS of TOWELS).

Storm moved

Storm in Boarding Row

He has had to vacate the palace condo because we have a family of boarders there until Saturday afternoon. There are 7 of them, tabbies, all the same family which curious names.

I have often thought that we should trawl other languages to get names for kittens. I think these cat's people are Cambodian or similar from their accents. 

Our new Sootie has lost his modesty cloth. He is a friendly old boy (11yrs old) with an interesting history. He was owned by some folk who didn't make too big an effort when he disappeared 8 years ago. He moved in with another family in the neighbourhood. But when they had to move they couldn't take him so he ended up and the vets who found his original owners via his microchip. They didn't want him back again so he is with us.

He didn't eat anything for the first three days. Until it was discovered that he only eats BBQ chicken. On day 4 he ate LOTS of chicken. He had rejected everything that was tried from our considerable store. Just chicken. So those folk who kept him for 8 years spoiled him, somewhat.

Sootie

There are only 4 A kittens left: Archie was adopted. Candace was desexed and looks beautiful in her Eliz collar.

Cooper and Caleb were desexed too. They are crazy cats.

Fred and Ginger have lost weight. They are not well so are still with us. As is Bailey.

Still with us

I got to Safe Haven early-ish because the tennis group folded early because we were one person short, one person with a bad back, one person with a chest infection. Enough already, we said after 2 sets.

So Sandy and Joan were just finishing up and Tim had taken cats to the vet:
         Kit Kat (or Maggie) was checked out to be better than expected.
         Buffy is on antibiotics. Her skin is looking better.
         The D kittens are still off their food. But obviously not REALLY sick.

Sandy and Joan were worried about Freda who is off her food too. She was due to be picked up by her foster-to-adopt person. Her bum was a bit red and sore looking. But she ate her lunch (when Tim got back) and was still passing formed stools. So perhaps it is just a reaction to having been vaccinated on Tuesday.

The family who is to foster to adopt Ginger plus Freda came. The mother loves cats and had them as a child. The husband doesn't know cats so is worried about hairs on everything. The two little girls are just thrilled with the idea of having a kitten. They are about 5 and 7 so if Ginger and Fred go home with them, we will never see them again!

While Freda was having her lunch (she ate well and he polished everything off), Bailey performed fabulously for them. He let them pat, brush and love on him. Personally, I think that he would be a better match for the family but having F & G in a foster home would be better for TIm. They went away, catless with instructions to call on Sunday to see how Freda is and whether she is well enough to leave Safe Haven.

Bailey

My friend Gina was supposed to visit but she couldn't get a taxi in time. I will pick her up at home next week on my way! I think Bailey will be perfect for her too.

I spent time organising stuff.

I put labels on the wheely cages. Tim remembered where the blue labels were so I added them, later.

Angelo inspects the label

And I spent time socializing:

        Blossom: she is much more relaxed since her thyroid is appropriately medicated.

Blossom

Bonnie: who is off her food. She managed to eat two dental crunchies and some mouthfuls of breakfast wet food.

 Bonnie

Candace: who, if you give her enough time, really likes to be patted, stroked and generally loved on. She, and Bonnie, will be desexed next week. Tim and Chris (the vet) hope that the assigned day will be a good one for them because they both still are flu-filled. Candace's purr is deep and rumbly. She wouldn't pass a Corona virus test!

Candace

Big bags

Food was delivered today including a 20Kg bag of kitten chow. I asked Tim if he expected a lot more kittens. He replied that he expected the kittens to eat a lot more.

I had a Sunday volunteer to help clean up so we were finished by 1pm. Thank you. The litters are all in wheely cages except Diana and Danielle one of whom is not well. She isn't eating despite being tempted with every variety of food that we have. I just hope that Dale (adopted on Saturday) is OK. So it is easier to clean them. We will have to remember to disinfect their carry cages and shift them to the top for storage. . . . we need the floor room with the big bags of food!

Five F kittens fit on one square hammock.

 F kittens

The M kittens who are left are Madonna and Mozart. As I was getting out of the lift a mother and cute blond daughter arrived carrying an empty cat carrier. I assumed they were for us so asked them where they were going and escorted them up in the lift. They had come to adopt Madonna. So by this time it will be just Mozart left!

Caleb and Cooper are not on the cleaning list so get missed. Evie is not on the list either because we have run out of bandaids. She behaved perfectly for me. I bribed her into good behaviour by introducing a stratchy pole. She just needs to be distracted.

Bonnie has been upgraded to a Palace condo. She is overwhelmed. Perhaps Candace, across the way is giving her the evil eye.

Bonnie

I tried to unsquash Penny's ping pong balls but saw that she had bitten them, probably when trying to carry them around.  I got her some soft balls to carry around and her story came out. She was spotted by an animal worker being kicked by a man. The animal worker rescued her and took her to the vet who realized she was near her time and when she was put under her kittens were stillborn. So I got her a soft toy. Unfortunately it is a pink and purple bear with big, stick-on eyes. . . . perhaps that will transition her from her need to carry baby cats to a desire to rip a bear to bits.

Penny

 I took a photo of Bailey because my friend might come visit him on Friday (xxxxxx fingers).

Bailey

The other big bag was all the washing from the adoption day at Petstock. Mostly sheets to cover the wheely cages. My neighbour has started working at the local Red Cross and has claimed all the cat sized cloths for me. I may just substitute new for old and bin the dirties.

Adoption Day at Petstock

We had the best spot . . . just inside the front door with space for four wheely cages and one more on top.

The kittens were in the wheely cages. D's, A's, M's and Peanut in with Blake. They got on very well mostly because Peanut was rather overwhelmed especially when the dogs barked. And Blake got adopted first. Of course!

Blake

He was adopted by the partner of a work friend of Joy's who had his heart set on a black and white female. He focused on Dale for a while but then heard that Blake was found abandoned in Marrickville and lost his heart (plus a fair chunk out of his wallet by the time he had bought all the things for Blake). We will hear about his progress through Joy, without a doubt.

Next to go was Dale. Another person determined to get a black and white cat! She had been upstairs to the other Cat Rescue group but was told that she would have to adopt two. We were happy for her to take Dale. We might get stroppy about his sisters needing to go together because they are much shyer. Dale handled being nursed and passed around really well.

Dale

But Caramel was the star of the show. Being on top on the wheely cage, her nose was at nose level to every adult that passed by. And she took full advantage to get strokes and adulation. One person was very keen for a relative to take her. I had to leave at 11:15 so don't know if that worked out.

Caramel

The M kittens were overjoyed to be in a wheely with more space that the condo so were playing furiously. While the A kittens, without their little sister, were quite subdued. She must rev the boys up!

We handed out lots of business cards, and "come and see us" invitations. There was one woman who takes disabled (mental rather than physical) folk on outings. I invited her to bring them to Safe Haven, one at a time.

Can't wait to hear what happened after I left.

PS From Joy
Well the lovely Caramel eventually went after everyone who visited fell in love with her. She must have been exhausted as obliged everyone who wanted to stroke her! The lady who came in early this morning and thought she’d be ideal for her friend came back but she was too late as a mature lady (who lives in a unit in Newport) was there with her credit card and realised that she may be guzumped so that pushed her into swiping her card! I think Caramel will be happy with this lady and vice versa. 

Meanwhile two of the M tabbies went to the English lady with 3 girls but they are on holidays soon so, I think, will pick them up upon their return.

Valentines Day

Kimmy was duly picked up this afternoon. Her new person seems very nice. And his friend will come to us when she needs another cat. I suggested that she get one now so that her old cat could have a companion in her old age. . . . .  worth a try!

Kimmy

Earlier somebody adopted Melody. She will be picked up soon. I feel this is a good omen for her four kittens who should all get homes tomorrow.

Melody (wants out)

Because all the stand alone cages will be needed tomorrow, I sterilized Kimmy's condo as soon as she left it so that Eve could move there. Eve has the habit of swiping vollies. I have been smooching up to her on the other side of her bars. So when it was time to move her, I rolled her stand alone to Kimmy's condo, opened the doors and Eve jumped in. Easy-peasy. . . .  not so happy Evie!

Evie

The D litter is all ready to go: Diana, Dale and Danielle. I don't know who is which. The girl who was desexed yesterday got a huge fright when she discovered that she had a collar on and both her legs were through the neck bit and the collar was chasing her around the condo. It is amazing how much noise one panicked kitten can make! Tim sorted her out but it took quite a while for her tail to collapse from 2 ins in diameter to normal (half an inch).

The C kittens love their new spacious condo. I started to clean their old one but . . . . I left it to soak another day, or two.

Caleb and Cooper

Penny is more interested in what is going on.

Penny

And Bonnie asked for pats. She has come such a long way

Bonnie

 On the home front: I was given a hand woven shawl that I didn't think that a person would use but perhaps a cat might like to snuggle up to. So I got out the overlocker to sew off the fringe (no use to man or beast). And Cody came to say "It is mine. You may NOT take it to Safe Haven".

Cody

It is in his cat cave. At about 7am this morning he exchanged words/yowls with a rotund calico. He was inside: she was in his back yard. I haven't seen her before. Perhaps she is on holiday in Avalon?

Eden adopted

I always thought Eden was a boy: Ed = Edward, Den= Dennis. But Dr Google says that it can be used for either gender and is currently the 146th most popular name for girls. Who knew!

Eden

She will be picked up on Friday as the gift for a 12 year old and her 8 year old brother. The mother and granny came in today to do the paper work. It strikes me that we should take the name and contact details of young adopters, send a Xmas card each year to their cat, and eventually offer them a summer placement with us. That way we would get volunteers who know at least one cat intimately.

Eden will be a very happy cat this weekend.

And lots of our other kittens should be adopted at Petstock in Mona Vale.
We don't have many adults that would be happy in a cage in a shop. But Peanut and perhaps Caramel might go with the kitten litters. I smeared myself all over Caramel (while she cleaned my face for me) so I hope that she will make the effort to clean herself up by Saturday.

Peanut

Caramel

Blake will be a waste of a stand alone cage by himself. He is bound to get adopted first. He may have to be in a carrier.

Blake

We opened the bedroom door for Freda and Ginger. He had a lovely time exploring their new space. Although they are undersized, they play like 6 week old kittens which is very endearing. (As are their clean feet and bottoms!)

Freda and Ginger

A Cody update: He walks without a leash but with my supervision. He is convinceds a lizard lurks in the loose leaves.

Cody

When it rains . . . . it floods

I was late at Safe Haven this afternoon because Babbage Road flooded. I had no idea where Babbage Road was so those signs that flash above you as you drive meant nothing to me. 

I learned that Babbage Road is the bit that connects Eastern Valley Road with Boundary Road. The traffic stopped on my way down to the Roseville Bridge and crawled up the hill. I detoured around the back of High Street to get to SH. To be met by Tim who had had the same problem when he delivered Dale and Danielle to PetO in Brookvale this morning to be desexed. His very clever app rerouted him through St Ives to save half an hour on his way back to East Roseville.

Poor guy has the flu and croaked this story to me plus the info that the kittens needed to be picked up this afternoon at 3:30pm. So I convinced him that he should stay warm and dry and I should drive in the rain. It took an hour to get to Brookvale. And an hour to get back to SH. Should have taken half an hour each way according to my TomTom which is nowhere near as savy as Tim's app.

Dale and Danielle

Nevertheless, Dale and Danielle survived the trip. They were super hungry when they got home.

Before I went I sterilized three Clean Me condos. I missed the fourth because I thought it was an alternative condo for the mixed litter. But was told that it was Felix's condo and he has been adopted. 
. . . . not having cleaned the kittens for a fortnight, I have lost track of them. The smallest of the mixed litter died last weekend. . . little blackie:

 Was Felix the biggest? But what is their relationship with Dale and Danielle who are with another D kitten above?

When I eventually got back, Tim was trying to get Buffy to take her pill laced food. Her skin condition has improved so much since she started on these pills that it is a pity that she has decided to spit out pill flavoured food.

Wendell adopted

He just needed the right stratchy pole to sit on to look super adorable to get adopted.
Emily also was adopted this weekend. I made new hammocks (as the others were hairy and there were no spares. . .. that huge pile at Ingleside has probably been recycled: they were all cotton so will rot and replenish the earth) So Eden has two new hammocks in his enclosure. He chose to sit on the pink one. The other is blue. In Victorian times, boys were dressed in pink and girls in blue.

Eden

 The A kittens got new hammocks too. But there is only room for three on two triangles. I will have to make some square ones. They should all be desexed by next week in time for the big Adoption Day at Mona Vale on Feb 15.

A kittens

A kittens

Elsa had an exciting night. Her litter tray was completely overturned. I noticed, when on the chair to talk to her, that she grooms her bed. You can just see, in the photo, the combed/tongued patches beside her head.

Elsa

Just before we left, a young woman came in and was impressed by Melody and by Peanut. I told her that he was the colour of her hair when he arrived (a slight exaggeration as she is redder than blond). Then Catsie told her what a lovely colour her hair was on her way out. She is to return with the boyfriend.