Wednesday, June 11, 2025

Mateo has gone home

 His person is absolutely bespotted by him. He has the biggest cat carrier. We formed a farewell queue to see him out. He will be back.

I made it to Safe before the Willoughby trucks did. So there are no bags on the balcony and room in one of the Cousins bins. Because I was so early I got to see the full moon setting on my way to Safe. And I saw it again rising on my way home. How often does that happen on a Wednesday?

We had visitors this afternoon. The sons of the family who brought back Teddy visited to say goodbye properly. Their explanations about why he was returned were more along the lines of "realized that we need to travel, not a good time, etc, etc". 

But this afternoon he was adopted to a woman who visited yesterday and left her T-shirt in his hammock for him to get used to her smell. (I didn't know about that and had chucked it out by the time she arrived because I thought one of the sons had left it). Never mind. He has gone to a better home.

A couple rang to say they wanted to meet Pirate Pete and came in about 3pm. P Pete wasn't very friendly. Charlie dropped off her foster kitten Mylo this morning and said that he was super cuddley. He didn't want anything to do with this older couple.

Mylo
So I introduced them to Emma. I had to drag her from her upper shelf. But she soon settled into my arms and when I handed her over to the woman, she started to purr. They have gone away to think about it and may be back tomorrow (at 10am).
Emma

Then another couple (mother and daughter) came in. They had phoned after looking at our website and wanted to meet Pikachu. They spent quite a bit of time with her. And she liked them. They are both dark skinned, dark haired women so perhaps she can see them more clearly. They will be back tomorrow to adopt her.

Pikachu

And another woman came in to adopt Alfie, a kitten from foster.

Recently Lola has taken up residence on Tim's chair or on his desk. Not exactly convenient for Tim. But good for Lola to stroll over to the feeding station. Today one of the vollies suggested giving her a box. There was a black box that looked conveniently small. I put it behind Tim's screen. And she climbed in, curled herself into a tight ball and went to sleep.

Friday, June 6, 2025

Mateo is boarding

 He was very pleased to see me. And got lots of cuddles from his faithful admirers. (After they F10'd themselves, of course).

And Teddy is back. It didn't work out in his new home. The teenaged son was very sad to loose him but the mum wasn't coping at all. Teddy looks thoroughly pissed off. He is in Prime's stand alone so will probably enjoy the attention and busy-ness once he gets his equanimity back.

Irene was in this afternoon and made up the files of all the potentially available cats. There should be lots more posted by tomorrow. We were down to just over one page of available cats. She spread herself all over the desk so gave me the phone to answer. I popped it in my pocket where it stayed quiet. Eventually Irene got suspicious and realized that it was out of juice. . . flat as a tack. Hence it was a quiet afternoon despite the lack of Janine and Geoff. 

You'd think I'd have time to take some photos. But I didn't. So back to Joy's of last week.

Darcy always appears when he hears Irene's voice. She intends to take him home when they get back from their next trip.

Darcy

Flynn, Greta, Ebony and Frankie should be on the available list this weekend. They were vaccinated this afternoon.




Tommy will be happy when Geoff gets back. He needs another bath.

Tommy



Wednesday, June 4, 2025

Prime news



He got adopted this afternoon! He gave the perfect demonstration of how food driven he is: I put a few crunchies in a cat carrier and he climbed straight in!

Quite a few other cats were adopted over the weekend including Mr Bigglesworth and Aimee. I moved Emma (one eyed Emma) into Aimee's condo. And Zorro moved into the condo above Mr B's because Sunny and Hilda have been moved to Isolation because of the ringworm spot on Sunny's ear. We are being especially careful to not cross contaminate cats. Which means: no cuddles after the cleaning work is done.

Zorro happy to be out of Iso.
 We got cats from Collaroy Vets: Bella and Pippin are older cats, (12 and 10 yo rspvy). They are not necessarily bonded.

Bella and Pippin
And Pirate Pete who looks like a sweetie even though he is missing one of his back feet.

Pirate Pete
We have an enormous ragdoll boarder. He is in the Palace and makes it look small.


Saturday, May 31, 2025

Adoption Tails: Aitkins, Elsie and Eliza; Paul; Rosina

Atkins, now Denver

Atkins 1 week
2 days: “He is perfectly fine”. He has been eating and drinking and has been renamed Denver.

1 week: “Denver is doing great. The whole apartment is his safe place. He is a very good boy. And very happy. Has a lot of toys and just enjoying his life. He is living his best life”

7 weeks: “He is a very sweet boy. He is 100% settled”

Eliza, now Chloe

2 days: “She’s doing really well and settled in nicely. We’ve renamed her Chloe. She’s fine with the litter tray, eating and getting on well with our mature cat.”


1.5 weeks: “All going well”
1 month: no response

Elsie, now Miso

2 days: “We’re so happy to have her! She’s settling in well from what we’re observing. She peed out of the litter tray twice when she first got here but she’s since peed and pooped in the litter tray. She’s eating and drinking too and gets excited for food! We’ve renamed her to Miso”

1.5 weeks: “Miso is doing great! She’s been doing well out of the safe room and hasn’t been toileting out of the litter tray since the first day. She’s super playful and loves her toys and is eating well”

5 weeks: “Miso is doing really well and growing up so quickly”

Paul

1 day: Paul is doing so well, he is eating fine 3x a day. Loves his treats, especially lamb and salmon. He is building more and more confidence everyday. Still a little easily scared at times but as a majority he is happy and relaxed. He has been exploring the apartment and seems to be confidently curious!

1 week: Paul is going great, he is coming out of a his shell slowly but everyday getting more comfortable. Very curious still but definitely very food driven. He slowed down a bit after his vaccination yesterday and is coming back to himself today but was definitely lethargic and not really himself.

Paul

1 month: Paul has definitely explored every nook and cranny. He is doing amazing! His affectionate side has definitely come out now and loves cuddling up on the couch with the owners now.

Rosina

1 day: Rosina has a good appetite and has even tried stealing a hamburger from the owner and gone to the litterbox twice. She has warmed up to the owner and is no longer wary of her. The resident cat did hiss at the sight of Rosina and her smell but did not puff up so it's safely assumed to be warning hisses. For now, Rosina and the resident cat will be separated for a week and let them get used to each other's scents around the house.


 

1 week: Their resident cat no longer hisses at Rosina so that's great. Unfortunately Rosina is a bit of a messy eater and got some acne on her chin from clogged pores because she keeps getting her chin area dirty. The owner can see it's red and did some general cleaning and ordered some wipes. They've also made the switch to shallower plates for her food and hopefully Rosina's skin will clear itself.

 1 month: Rosina had her final vaccination recently and the owners will get to registration soon. Their resident cat Tabitha still will give her warning smacks but have noticed that she will not go out of her way to antagonize Rosina so that is a good sign. Rosina is comfortable in the whole house now and will sleep in most places. She's a very good eater. The owners think she might outgrow Tabitha in the future.

Friday, May 30, 2025

A new bin

Tim is back and took Sunny & Hilda and Julie to the vet. 

Sunny does have ringworm. Hilda doesn't. Being a white cat is not fair. Not only are you more likely to be deaf and you can easily get skin cancer from sunbaking in true cat form but, it seems, you are more susceptible to fungus infection. The potential adopters from Mudgee have been put off. S & H have moved to Isolation.

Julie may have a kidney issue. Blood was taken for testing. She was not happy.

Incoming S/A kittens

Willoughby Council delivered a new rubbish bin. So I brought it upstairs and filled it up. there were 3 bags left on the balcony. Together with maggots! In winter!! I realised that the bin didn't have our unit number on it, so I added sticky labels with 19 written in whiteboard marker (which doesn't dissolve in water/rain I guess.) And took it down to the basement. 

 Then Irene rang to say that it needs to be on the sidewalk so that the council can add their label. So I schlepped it out to the roadside as the council said they would do it within 2 days. It is full so nobody else can add any rubbish.

Vovo

Velvet

Princess and Sylvie are available for adoption in Welfare. An interested woman will come tomorrow to make a hard choice.

We put Ishi and Apricot in the play place for a run around. It didn't stop their madness at dinnertime.

Apricot

Ishi
Thanks for the photos Joy.



Wednesday, May 28, 2025

An interesting day

 Firstly, the balcony was piled high with rubbish bags.

Secondly, Rascal let himself out of his condo after breakfast. I warned all the vollies to be extra quiet and efficient today and to keep an eye out for him. Nobody saw him until all the work was done and Romeo went on his escorted walk without his cone on. (Just to make sure that he doesn't scratch himself or eat food that he shouldn't). He often talks as he walks. His escort noticed some faint meows coming from the food selves. Sure enough. There was Rascal. It was easy enough to move boxes of food out of the way, insert his carrier into which he walked without any complaints. The carrier doesn't have a door so manouvering a sheet of cardboard over the door way was tricky. But I managed it and Rascal was put back into his condo. Doesn't really look glad to be home.

Rascal

Joan did the paperwork to adopt Storm. She lusted after him when he was available around Easter but was pipped at the post, so to speak. So when he was returned last week, she cleared a space for him at her home.

Joan and Storm

He already has a place in her heart as you can see by the photo. Mickey's nose may be put out of joint just when he is seeking her company and cuddles.

And the folk who said they might be interested in Hilda and Sunny got in touch to say that they are ready and can come from the other side of the mountains to pick them up this weekend. Then a suspicious lesion was noticed on Sunny's ear. She may be taken to the vet. There is a sign on their condo.


 Mano (who is a female cat!!) was moved to Welfare after being vaccinated and deflea'd. She is a sweetie and should go quickly: perhaps to be the 41st cat adopted in May.
Mano
The laundry shelves were restocked. Thanks to washers.

And the verandah was down to 3 bags thanks mostly to Helen who took off a car full of bags, again.

The council now knows that we are one rubbish bin down thanks to Irene.




Friday, May 23, 2025

Storm is back

 It didn't work out for his family. He seems sad.

Storm

He is in Roisin's stand alone. We moved the four skitty kittys from Boarding to where Aziza and co were after the thorough disinfecting on Wednesday. They were not easy to move. Three boxes and a cat carrier were needed. But they settled down well with the help of a modesty sheet over their door.

Greta liked the hammock
Ebony hid on a shelf

Franky was wary

And Flynn wanted to know if he could have some more of that nice tube food. . .  please.

Princess will be glad that the noisy downstairs neighbours have moved. She went for a hormone test today because we do not have any proof that she was desexed.

Princess is too discrete to tell
Shiro and Momo are ready to go. But who is whom and are they bonded? A family came in late this afternoon because their daughter wanted Ava. The son wanted to be a pest and said he preferred Shiro or Momo. We sent them off empty handed to come to a decision at home. The father is a dog person. And Tank didn't like the kids.
Shiro and Momo

They will be back tomorrow, probably early. 

Tank




Wednesday, May 21, 2025

Bree needs a scratchy pole

 For such a small cat she is remarkably quick. So am I. But she is quicker at catching my thumb with her claw as I hand in her bowl of food, six times a day. She usually only gets me once. Today when she got me, I got her claw. . . stuck in my thumb.

But the good news is that Turbo and Hiccup were adopted today. A nice couple came in looking for a replacement of their dearly beloved female cat. They live in Darling Harbour, have two balconies and work most of the time from home. So, two cats would be better than one. But he loved Teddy who was in smooch mood. And they both loved Mr  Bigglesworth for his relaxed style. And Hank, of cource, because he is a luv bug. 

So I sent them next door to have a coffee and a chat at the cafe there. And they came back having decided to take T & H. They got their carrier as well. And will have a happy life with one cat for both of them.

Another lady came in looking for a kitten to replace her old cat. She has met everybody and will return. 

The woman who adopted Milly brought her in because she has the dreaded ringworm. Just one spot on her ear. She is settling in very well at home. She and the pug get on well. She was reluctant to leave Milly with us for 6 weeks of ringworm treatment. So we told her all about the cream that you can put on the lesion daily and she decided to take Milly home and treat her there. We may get more returned kittens.

We did get two traumatized kittens from a hoarder via Willoughby Vets. (I named them Will and Lobey). They each have very strange, large round red lesions on each side of the back of their necks. They seem terrified of people. . . possibly with good reason. 

Because of the ringworm in the enclosures and coccidia in Isolation, a lot of scrubbing and redecorating took place. Many thanks to Joan for scrubbing the wall behind the stand alone in Isolation. It was decorated with poo that probably was put there by Peach's kittens when they had the coccidia. A lession for  us all . . . don't forget to sterilize the wall!

Cookie (adopted), Chuck and Chip (still with us)

Some random Joy photos because I didn't have time to take any today.

Codie who needs somebody to love her

Cheddar1

Ash who has been adopted

Sunday, May 18, 2025

Adoption Tails: Fiona, Billy, Pebbles

Fiona

1 day: Fiona is doing very well. She's ate, drank and used her litter tray already. She's also already daring enough to venture outside of her safe room (despite the owner's attempt at stopping her) and explore the rest of the house. She looks less bothered than the resident cat!

1 week: Fiona and the resident cat are getting along great now! They're chasing each other around the house and grooming each other already.

1 month: Fiona and the resident cat are getting along great, the owner thinks they're good friends now. "Thank you and the SAFE team for being so accommodating and having taken such good care of her!"

Billy

1 day: Once the owners got home with Billy yesterday, he hid under the bed throughout the rest of the day. Once the sun set, he came out, explored the apartment and even allowed the owners to pet him. He even sat on the floor near them to watch TV for a fair bit. He ate, drank and used the litter tray after dark (the owners could hear him shuffling around all night) but retreated back under the bed when the sun came up and hasn't come out since. The owners have been giving him his own space and leaving him to it.

 1 week: Billy is doing well and is starting to get a bit cheeky. He is comfortable roaming around his new home and likes playing with the family. Very happy to sit with them for pats and scratches. Billy doesn't hesitate to meow for things he wants, even at 4am. He is still adjusting to the toddler but they have been keeping a respectful distance with each other -- they just stare at each other for the most part. The owners won't rush the adjustment.
1 month: Can't believe it has been a month already. Billy is definitely a lot more comfortable at home and is showing more of his character! He likes having his fur brushed, playing with the cat toys and perching on the armchair to look out the window. Their toddler loves Billy though Billy is still a bit cautious around smaller humans -- he is happy to be in the same room as the toddler. The parents haven't forced Billy to accept pats from little hands yet, they're letting Billy take his time with this! "Thanks again for looking after Billy before we brought him home with us!"


Pebbles

5 days: “I absolutely love her to bits, she is the perfect little companion (as well as my soul mate). We're like 2 peas in a pod! She's doing amazing & loves her new home”. She’s such a beautiful, affectionate girl." Her owner is keeping her name as it’s cute and suits her. She loves the dressing gown and is currently snuggling on it. “She’s the best”

1 month: “She's doing amazing!! Love my girl so much”

Friday, May 16, 2025

Geoffless Friday

 As will be the next three. Tommy is sulking.

I didn't have time to take any photos today so will use some of Joy's from Wednesday.

Yahtzee has become much tamer

And her kittens are healthy and playful

Their names are Battleship (brown tabby), Dice (white tail tip), Scrabble (black) and Bopit (all cream).

The photo of Pikachu on the Safe website is not good. She is getting more confident now that she is not in the busy lane. I am not sure how much she can see.

Pikachu
Lola's stand alone has been filled by a cat called Aldi. No prizes for guessing where he was found. He was brought in by one of our cat "rescuers" who is going to retire.

There may be a couple of adoptions tomorrow by separate women who came in to scout our collection. One was looking for a kitten for her 5 year old son. Then she met Shadow and fell in love. I could almost hear the thump as she fell! It was mutual too. Shadow even got out of his bed box to continue their love-in. She will be back tomorrow so that the son can choose the cat.

The other woman will be back as well. Good luck.

 I changed Trude and Prue's upper hammock for a clean one without the damage on the underside. They were not happy to be disturbed. I wonder how long it will take them to try the new one.

Teddy the cat who was surrendered on Wednesday and put in the celestial condo has been moved to where Raven was below Peaches in Welfare. If cats get adopted over the weekend, there will be more movements.