More cats, great and small

There is a new mum below Jaffa's kittens condo. With her FIVE kittens. She seems a bit wary but the kittens are relaxed.

 Lucia was out of her carrier with her fluffy. They will need names soon too.

Lucia

 There is a new surrendered cat, Indiie who looks as though she has been living a bit rough. She really appreciated a brush.

Indie

 Next door is another cat (forgotten his name) who looks thoroughly shocked and horrified at the change in his life.

 Buffy doesn't mind, just so long as she gets more venison.

Buffy

I moved Jaffa's kittens into the wheely cage next to the front door because they have been desexed and they need some socialization. Being stuck in the high condo in the far corner has allowed them to hide. They didn't like the change of quarters much. Jaffa is perfectly friendly now that she is by herself.

Collar refinement

The only "real" work I did this afternoon was to sterilize Midnight and Sooty's condos. That is the Sooty who left a fortnight ago. Not the Sootie who is getting more confident in the condo below Midnight's. (Midnight is settling in well).

But I filled in my time by introducing a woman and her daughter, Jasmine to all the cats. Their dearly beloved Beckie, who was adopted 6 years ago from Ingleside, and who I think may be this one: . . .

Becky in 2014

had to be euthanised 4 months ago because she had a tumour blocking her nose and throat. They are not quite ready for another cat yet but might be happy to spend time (ie volunteer) with our cats. We spent most of our time with the "ready to go" cats who uniformly enjoyed being loved on, especially Buffy and Kit Kat.
We spend time looking at the kittens rather than loving on each one. I felt that that would have taken too long and Jasmine would have enjoyed it too much for her mother's comfort.

This morning I sewed three Elizabethan collars small enough for a small kitten.
Tim put one on Josie who keeps getting her front leg through the neck hole.

Josie

Here is Jenny with smallish collar which looks enormous on her:

Jenny

 And Jaffa in the same size which fits her neck but may be a bit limp:

Jaffa

Back to the drawing board

Angus was taken home for the long weekend by our neighbours. So Nom is our only border. He is not eating his noms.

Midnight adopted

Sue's friend Vann did come to adopt Midnight. Lucky Midnight. She has already been taken to the vet and questions were asked (and answered).

And Angus is the 13Kg cat in boarding. Not a happy chappy. He is on pain meds probably because all his joints ache from the strain.

Angus

Grayson and Giselle will go to the vet tomorrow. Grace (the tuxedo) was only .99Kg today so will have to wait. There is a queue to adopt this lot. With one person wanting Grayson and Giselle, another wants Grace and Giselle and yet another wants Grayson by himself. First come, first serve unless we make it an auction and the kittens will go to the highest bidder.

Jaffa and one of her kittens was desexed yesterday. Poor girl. She doesn't look comfortable with those big titties and the kittens aren't the slightest bit interested in helping her out.

Jaffa

Jaffa's kittens

I am convinced that Tessa's nose is dirty. And cleaned it with a wash cloth. Can you tell which is the before and which the after photo?

Tessa

Tessa

Lucia's kittens are roly poly cuties. They are outside the carry cage and Lucia is inside it. In the meantime, Luca went for a stroll and was quite easy to catch to get back into his condo. Buffy also wandered about and was a snap to catch.

Lucia and bub

Willow's kittens are growing quickly except for the black one who had a separate breakfast. . . and ate, and ate, and ate.

Willow

Second time lucky?

Jewell has been taken back by the folk who returned her earlier this week. I don't know if they were asked to pay a second adoption fee. They should have been asked!
Whatever. . . . her condo needs sterilizing again and her bed went with her.

And a young couple in an apartment came today to look at Blossom. He had had cats in his youth but she was a dog person. He seemed more tentative than she. Sue gave them Blossom's history (of biting an 80+ year old, twice) and they were apprehensive. I strolled over and started to brush Blossom and talk about her history. While I was chatting to them and patting her, the man became bolder and brushed her cheeks (a sure winner with Bloss) and the woman relaxed and told Bloss how lovely she was (another way to her heart). They went off to have a discussion. Came back and adopted her.

We lent them a cat carrier. I put a dark green towel in it for Blossom and said that we don't want it back. When Blossom sits on it and looks up at them they will see how heavenly green her eyes are. Both Sue and I asked them to call us if they have any problems and to let us know how they get on. They will have to return the carrier. Fingers crossed there won't be a Blossom inside it this time.

Chester is out of his carry cage which has been beautifully sterilized. (Thank you Sandy? Irene?)
He is a very lumpy cat. LOVES his soft food.

Chester

I believe this is Grayson. He dominated both double food dishes at the afternoon feed until I moved one down for Grace on the lower level. He was first in the hammock with a full tummy.

Grayson: white stripe on nose

Giselle and Grace

 Midnight has a sign "Save for Vanna" who is a friend of Sue's. She is off medication for her eye.

Midnight

Bumpabet

TIm is back at work . . . . just. He croaks and looks like he needs more sleep. But the cats are happy to have him back. Even Sootie ate all his breakfast.

I asked him if he knew who was who amongst the G's. He thinks that the tuxedo is a girl which will make one of the tabby's a girl and the other a boy. The tuxedo is definitely a lower ranked girl and the tabby girl is usually roughhousing or grooming with the tabby boy. So I propose (by what right?) that the tuxedo be "Grace" and the tabby "Giselle". If I remember my ballet stories, Giselle got up to trouble with the prince.

Giselle, Grace, Grayson

My guess is that Grayson moved as soon as I pointed the camera at them. Which means that he has the white line down the middle of his nose. We shall see in the fullness of time.

I tried to devise a cover that small kittens could use to climb up our stylish wooden ramps. The velcro is not strong enough to support the weight of a kitten on the carpet like pads that the manufacturer sticks to the front and back of it.

I used some of the quilted mattress covers that we were overwhelmed with at Ingleside and put extra bumps so the kittens could climb up it. It is secured with ties that can be tied into bows.

 It took Jaffa's kittens 10 minutes to untie the bows. And they jumped up from the lower to the upper level in a single bound. . . . . . back to the drawing board.

Jewell was returned because the person who adopted her had unrealistic expectations about the amount of time it would take for her to settle in and become a lap cat. Luckily the person returned her bed which she is happily hiding under. She does appreciate a covered cuddle.

Jewell

And Pepi is back and NOT HAPPY.

I made friends with Chester, the 20year old cat surrendered along with his doggie friend last Friday. His person can no longer look after them. The dog is in foster care.

Chester is affectionate but smells. So I got a brush and that interested him. I doubt he has been brushed for years. I could only do his face and cheeks  and when I felt down his flank there was damp. Tim says that he has ulcers all over. Poor, old guy. But he has come to the best place to get some loving attention.

Chester

Catsie and I have devised:

The Bumpabet

We started with an EB = elbow bump, moved to an FB = foot bump. What about the rest of the alphabet?

AB = Adult Bump, only to be done by consenting adults, in private

BB = Baby Bump, which there will be a lot more of in 9 months time

CB = Cat Bump, they can catch it from us but we can't catch it from them so try not to sneeze on your cat

DB = Dog Bump, they don't seem to be able to catch Covid-19 so let them slobber, you need it.

GB = Grandparent Bump, best done over the phone/email.

HB = Hug Bump, what we will do when the pandemic passes

IB=         Ignore Bump. Ignore all attempts at bumping.

JB = Jump Bump. Equivalent to Hi-5, jump up, don’t touch.

KB = Kiss Bump, only if you live with them anyhow

LB =  Long Distance Bump, for faraway friends and family

MB = Mother Bump because all kids need hugs from their own mum

NB =  No Bump. Don’t want to know about bumps.

OB =  Oldies bump are not too hard, they may fall over

PB = Papa Bump because all kids need hugs from their own dad

QB =  Quiver Bump: an exciting bump, indicating a desire for more

RB = Rather Not Bump because we have learned to respect personal boundaries.

SB = Sole Bump for those who are sitting down. The soles of your shoes can't get much dirtier.

or SB = Shout Bump: Don't do it. The louder you talk the more droplets are spread and the further they go.

or SB = Smile Bump: contagious but in a good way

TB = Tickle Bump to be performed on babies by their close family members only

UB = Underarm Bump: only to be attempted by teenagers but NOT NOW.

VB = Virtual Bump: must be an emoji for this

WB =       Wobbly Bump: beware, unsteady bumper

XB =  X-rated Bump: the after-dark bump, for very close friends

YB = Why Bump for pandemic deniers

ZB = Ze Bump pronounced with a phoney French accent

Share it with your friends rather than sharing the virus. And send us more B ideas.

Bon Candy

Candace and Bonnie were adopted today. They have gone to a woman who has had cats before, works from home and has her two peri pre-teen kids every other week. The cats will have a quiet life for one week and lots of fun the next week. Terry was the hero that put them into the carry cage. He dripped blood after Candace.

Then we had a quiet time tidied up. Sorry Tim, you might not recognise the place.

Tessa's kittens are Tommy: black, Toulouse, dark tabby, Tobias: White face, Tinkerbelle: light tabby.

Jaffa's kittens are Jenny: grey tortie, Josie: tortie and Jayda: grey (the one who almost got away on Wednesday)

Stephanie and her partner came by with a 20 year old cat, Casper who has been surrendered. He is in the guest quarters recuperating from his trip in from Cronulla way with an elderly Maltese who is off to be fostered, somewhere close by. He seems a sweet dog but Luca, Kit Kat and Maggie were not at all convinced.

After bandaging, Terry consulted his better half and decided to foster Milly. He donned the gauntlets. She was very vocal about being moved -- first time I have heard a word from her. She will have her own room with a view, three other cats to sniff at under the door and devoted people to love her.

Win some, loose some

The excitement was over by the time I arrived. One of Jaffa's kittens, the grey one, had got out of their upper condo. Initially she couldn't be found and Terry and Joy were contemplating clambering up to see if the kitten was on top of the condos. Then Joy saw a grey ball of fluff move under the food shelves. A happy ending but it delayed breakfast which didn't please the rest of the crew.

Jaffa's grey kitten

Blossom is back and not happy (eating). Evidently she bit her old lady . . . . twice.
After I rearranged her condo to the way it had been before she settled down to breakfast.

Jewell is not there. Her condo has been sterilized. Has she been fostered or adopted?

There is a new dark tortie called Midnight in Peanut's condo. She is friendly but shell shocked. Has she been surrendered? She has the loveliest green eyes. She settled down to her breakfast after a few pats.

Midnight

Another one who needs encouragement to eat is Katie. She really needs hands/brush stimulation to eat.

Katie

The mums have names and Joy has taken some lovely photos of them and their kittens.

Jaffa and three kittens (of 4)

Tessa's kitten (1 of 4)

Tessa

Willow's kittens (3 of 4)

Willow

Giselle, Grace and Grayson 

Terry might take Milly home to foster. His wife came in today to help with the decision.

How old is Katy?

I went to Liverpool in record time. . . . thank you Covid-19. The girls were supposed to hand over two cats but they decided to keep the pretty grey and white boy who was lounging on a chair on the back steps. So I came home with another cat named with a sex-inappropriate name ie a boy's name for a girl. I suggested Linda or Lynette because they are from Liverpool. The girls liked Lynette and Sue said we already have a LInda. So meet Lynette:

Lynette

I sociallized some cats. I brushed Luca which I have wanted to do for a couple of weeks because his coat is rough. It smooths out nicely with attention and he enjoyed it. 

If a visitor comes in the afternoon when all the cats are bored and asleep all you have to do to wake them up is to shake the bag of treats! Instantly they are all talking and bright eyed.

A few treats is a good way to get Eve to accept pats. Diva and Sienna don't go that far but they will get up. And Jewell will emerge from her upside-down bed igloo.

I used the treats to make friends with Katy. Soon she was happily participating in a grooming session. I think she is older than the stated 8 years. Her pupils were wide open and somewhat opaque, and vacant and her fur is not in good condition. Sue has a friend who may be interested so we spent some time trying to get a good photo.

Katy

Then we tried to sort out the mums and bubs. No names there so far. This is the tortie mum:

And her babies:

This is the grey tabby mum:

 And three of her four babies:

This is the dark tortie mum who arrived today. She had made her nest behind a brick wall of a friend of Sue's. The friend took a week to trap her and her kittens. Dark tortie mum:

And her kittens. I had to take a flash photo because it was very dark in the upper, far right condo.

And there is the mum from Liverpool with her two.

Happy days.