Busy afternoon

 There were three adoptions.

First a woman rang to ask if we had any grey kittens. She wanted to replace her ferret who died aged 8 after a hard start recovering from being shaken by a dog. She saw George on our website. George played hard to get, of course. I introduced her to Princess the not-ready-yet big fluffy grey in Boarding. She chose George who was surprisingly easy to get into her carrier. So I feel they will settle down together nicely.

The couple who adopted Bear instead of George might be surprised when they pick him up on Monday.

Then a woman came from her apartment in Sussex St, Sydney to do the paperwork for Onyx who is in foster.

Then a young man came for a quick look at the cats at 3:45pm. It wasn't a quick look. But because he had such a lovely Scottish accent he was forgiven. (His accent is just like Sean the Shepherd's on YouTube. . . great viewing if you like to watch dogs herding sheep and ducklings). He fell in love with Tank, the first kitten he saw. (Lilly's kittens were all being desexed in Fairfield at their donor's expense). Tank liked him too.

Tank

 Then he spotted Pip Squeak who is in Luna's condo. Pippy was his charming self. 

Pip Squeak

 Pikachu was interested in meeting him but a bit shy.

Then I introduced him to Shadow and they had an instant relationship. It is amazing how Shadow has taken to people in the last month.

Shadow

He will be back on Sunday to make his choice.

More names needed

 I got to the cattery before the Willoughby collection. So gleefully planned schlepping out bags to fill others bins. But, the trolley was obstructed by boxes and bags of litter so I decided that I would wait for the Cousins bins. Which we did before lunch. And the Willoughby bins were still not emptied. They were by the time that I left. But even though the store room had been somewhat cleared, I decided not to get out the trolley into the pouring rain. Sorry tomorrow. There are bags on the balcony.

We had 3 lots of adopters this afternoon. One couple came to adopt Bear. They had been in on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Initially they wanted George because he is grey like their previous, much beloved cat. But George is Shy and Bear is liquidly loving. They did the paperwork despite a computer malfunction. They will collect him on Monday because they are going away this weekend.

The next couple had been before as well. They are in love with Ryan of Lilly's litter in Enclosure 3 (the one out of which 5 kittens explode at every meal time). But somebody else has bagsed him . . . if we have the correct kitten. They don't have microchip numbers in the computer so it is difficult to tell them apart from the tiny photos. This couple will return.

The final couple came to look at George. Of course Bear came up for cuddles. I showed them other kittens. They were entranced. I showed them adults. They were enthusiastic. They decided that an adult would suit them better and had trouble deciding between Shadow and Luma. Shadow was very friendly. 

Shadow

But Luna was loving. So they chose her. Done! I think it is a very good match for all three of them.

In the meantime, Claire took photos and videos in Incoming. She has named the six fluffy kittens in the stand alone:

Fluffy tabby (white diamond): Choux

Fluffy tabby with white moustache: Souffles (with a grave on the e)

Fluffy tabby: Mont Blanc

Fluffy tabby with left beauty spot: Brulee

short hair tabby: Kingston

tabby, short hair and orange: Monte Carlo

 The last kitten is probably a calico so is female. Perhaps she can be Monte Carla.

 Peache's kittens are all well and have moved to Incoming to Shadow's condo. They don't quite know how to jump up the levels. They are used to scrambling up the wires of the stand alone or swinging up the hammocks. They need Peachy names.

Peaches kittens

Aziza's girl kittens have been desexed. So next weekend should be a bumper adoption weekend. And there is still an Adom.

Aziza's girls

Adom

You can tell from the quality of the photos the Joy is back. Hurrah!

Adoption Tails: Oliver and Billy, Sooty, Clyde

 Oliver and Billy

1 day: “They are quite skittish but eating and drinking well. We are not sure how much Oliver is eating as he is very shy and Billy is more dominant. They have used the litter tray and we are not renaming them.”

1 week: “Billy and Oliver are settling in very well”

2 weeks: “Billy and Oliver are making themselves very comfortable.”

Oliver and Billy

1 month: no response

Sooty

2 days: “Sooty is still a little bit nervous as expected. She's been eating really well and used the litter tray this morning as well. We will be keeping her name as Sooty, we really love her”

1.5 weeks: “She is doing so well. She's been walking around the house a lot now. Her favourite thing to do is get zoomies at 6 in the morning every single day”

photogenic Sooty

1 month: “Sooty is doing very well. She loves to follow us around the house and is very curious always looking through the window at the birds and making little chirp sounds at them. She is very cuddly and likes to sleep up by my head every night but is still a little apprehensive with being picked up for a cuddle. She's much better at interacting with new people that she meets as well. She's doing her regular cat activities such as eating/using the litter tray with no problems. She's even started meowing which she hadn't done yet which is really lovely to hear. She's the sweetest cat and we all love our little buddy very much. She's very photogenic”

Clyde

1 day: “Clyde settled in very quickly. He started eating 2 minutes after going into the house, and he ate 6 pouches in the first hour.”

Clyde

1 week: “Things are not going great, sad to say. Clyde doesn't much like me, and only will interact with me to get food. He eats so much it is unbelievable. He won't sit or lie down with me.”

Clyde

1 month: Clyde is very settled. He has a fenced-in yard so he often goes outside during the day. “He likes going outside. It keeps him occupied and interested in the surroundings. He doesn't sit on my lap or sleep on my bed though. He asks for a lot of food, then doesn't eat half of what is in the bowl. Yesterday was the first time that I have ever seen Clyde drink any water. Clyde is a friendly cat, and he never complains when someone pats him. He will stay with us as he is a good addition to the household.”

Moving kittens

 Six kittens arrived this afternoon with black robed girls. One was thought to have possibly had ringworm. It was inspected and passed inspection so all were accepted.

In anticipation white mother (Lily) and her the kittens (3 ginger/whites and two white) had been moved to an enclosure in  Welfare. As soon as they are desexed they will be adopted. The 4 boys will go quickest.

The new kittens need names. They already have much better manners than the previous lot.

 

Cordelia's kittens are out of the sleeping box all the time now. They need names too.

Cordelia's kittens

Cordelia looks a bit sick of being a mum.

Cordelia

While Yahtzee is still looking after most of her kittens with Tim's help with the little tabby. They need names too.

Yahtzee and co

Aziza's Aki was desexed and is in the condo next to Cordelia. Don't know where Panda is.

Aki

I moved Tank to where Alaska was, he has been adopted. Irene moved his mum Lilli  and got scratched.
Aimee who I moved earlier to the condo above will have fun downstairs neighbours.

Half beat the truck

 I got 19 bags of rubbish out into other folk's rubbish bins this morning before the Willoughby truck rolled around. There were at least a dozen left on the balcony. But they went into the Cozens bins. So the balcony is empty. Long may it remain so now that most of the boarders have gone home.

Ginger Megs was the last to go from next door. His owner is an old lady so brought her granddaughter to help get him into his carrier which he is well known to NOT LIKE. After a kerfuffle to find the key to next door (the label fell off between 18 and 19 this morning so there was a moment of deep panic when it wasn't obvious in the drawer. It was there but without the frail tag on the paperclip. There is now a curly blue ribbon securely knotted to the key with a pink tag with "18"). Granddaughter and I went to get him. He was sitting in his carrier. So I quickly shut the carrier's door. Done!

Good thing the grand daughter was there to help carry him. He is a big boy. 

Oscar who is available

 We had a rush of visitors in the late afternoon. A couple's cat died before Christmas and they are looking for another. They went to Petbarn in Chatswood (as they did the last time they needed a cat). There were no cats for adoption there. They did a Google search and found us. Liked the look of Luna on line because they had a black and white Lunar in the past. Came and liked her. Turned around and spotted Pikachu. 

 

Pikachu (my photo not Joy's)

They used to have  a white Pikachu in the past as well! Whoooo to choooose.

They have gone away to think about it.

At the same time was a family (Mum and 2 adult children) wanting perhaps a pair of cats. They couldn't decide. Too many members of the family to make a decision. They had left dad at home because he "would have wanted to adopt every cat."

Mickey

And this was after a family arrived with a plan to adopt or foster a cat or a dog or a couple of cats or a couple of dogs. I, shamelessly, referred them to Irene.

Why not Turbo and Hiccup who are now available. (And both boys which surprised me.)

Turbo (R) and Hiccup (L)

 So, nobody left but there is potential.

Joy came and took the photos.

This trio in Incoming are sneezing.

Four adoptions = no time for lunch

The first one was done and dusted before I arrived. Storm has gone to his happy place. And every person who came in the afternoon was looking for Storm!

The first woman works from home, is a beautician as well as an internet person, wants a friendly cat. She eventually chose Bonnie. While she was deciding three other groups arrived (to adopt Storm) and spent time with the cats either inside the straight Top Cat enclosure or watching. So I had a good audience when I went to put Bonnie into the stylish, black, cloth carrier, kitten sized. She objected . . . strongly. But I held on and we popped her into the carrier that was in her enclosure. Her new mum will bring it back. 

Bonnie (sorry old photo, no time to get my camera out

 

Although I had an audience for my bandaging, I think it is a match made in heaven.

Next to go was Zoe. Her new family knows all about arm biting cats. We gave them her "distraction" toy as well as a sparkly wand. Tim vaccinated her before putting her into their carrier. No fuss, no claws. . . which proves that she will grow up to be a sweet thing.

Zoe

 Valentina will enjoy not having a noisy upstairs neighbour. (Her pillow needs to be washed. . .or chucked)

Valentina

Then it was Koa's turn to join a family with four kids, 2 dogs and 4 female cats. (They have been in before to meet and play with cats so this was a very considered choice -- of second best after Storm).

I wish somebody would choose Roisin. She put on a great show chasing after a ping pong ball. Even better than playing with Janine last week.

Go Ro!

One of Yahtzee's kittens is very thin, all gummed up with the flu and has been taken home by Tim for bottle feeds and fluids. The others seem to be OK.

Z and her kittens before the little tabby got sick

Happy Easter.

More adopters tomorrow!

Flat tyre

 I started the day with a flat tyre. Luckily the NRMA came a full hour before anticipated so that I wasn't too late for the breakfast feed. Although I did miss filling other folks bins because the Willoughby truck had come and gone by the time I arrived.

Several empty condos including Dylan's which will please Irene on her return. And Petal has been adopted. Mario and Luigi were picked up and I moved Annie and Lola into their place. They are next door to Bonnie who is  a gloriously soft and friendly cat. I will get a photo of A & L when they settle in.

Bonnie

Adom has been moved into Lola's stand alone. He has also mastered the wobbly bottom door latch and bursts out on occasion.

Three separate photographers tried to get photos of Bagherra and co in the the play place. The shy ones are impossible to get and the non shy ones won't sit still. It doesn't help that they are mostly black.

This is a good way of getting kittens to sit still. But not much good for telling them apart if they are black.

kittens in the Incoming Stand Alone

Their mum is still without a name. There must be some famous woman well known for being a chatterbox. . . .

Their mum.

Tim suspects that the father of the dirty grey kittens is either a Siamese or similar because the edges of their ears are getting darker by the day.

There is a new trio in Incoming from the Collaroy Vets. Chip and Cookie are friendly. But Chuck is a scaredy cat. He seems younger as well.

Chip and Cookie (? L - R)

Chuck

We had some lovely clients. A girl and her mum came to "visit." The girl would love a cat but by the time she'd spent half an hour with us her nose was stuffing up and her eyes itching. I mentioned the anti immunogenic food that we used to have. 

Then a couple came looking for a grey cat in the play place. They were happy to meet others as that lot is not quite ready yet.

Incoming flu

 There may be some sneezers in Incoming. 'Tis the season!

Yahtzee couldn't get up to eat what was just outside her bedroom. But stood up to eat when I put it in with her and her kittens.

Yahtzee plus 4

And Cordelia left food in a bowl. Although her two kittens seem fine (so far).

Cordelia plus 2

Bree's kittens seem fine too as does she (on the other side of the aisle). They are venturing out of the "birthing box" while mum stays inside.

Bree's three

All these kittens need names.

I talked Tim into changing Oscar, in Boarding although he isn't a boarder, to a wet only diet. He doesn't eat his crunchies and is soo hungry all the time. Look at his long socks and his fabulous furnishings (hairs in his ears)!

Oscar

Another non-boarder has been moved into Welfare: Bonnie. She was hiding in her carrier because nobody had installed any hammocks. She is very friendly. And has lovely green eyes.

Bonnie

I put the small, triangular scratchy into Pikachu and Blaze's condo . . . just to get it out of the way while moving scratchy poles around so that kittens could play within the Top Cat boundary. And Pikachu immediately adopted it. And after running around she went straight back into it. I wonder if triangles appeal to cats?

Pikachu in triangle

Blaze (? her brother) is perhaps trying to make the box into a triangle?

"Two triangles when I get more food"

Fun was had by Roisin and new day manager in training Janine.

Go Ro!

Pork does the trick

 I perhaps can take a little credit that Casper was adopted today. 

A young couple who live in a flat came in looking for a cat who would suit her need for a lap cat and his preference for a cat exactly like Billy who was just like the cat he had as a kid. She didn't fancy Billy. . .. . 

Billy

 I'd say that one of those characters in the family is enough for any working girl. She was torn between Casper, Petal, Roisin and Storm. She eventually decided on Casper who I had softened up at lunchtime by sharing some of the pork from my salad with him. 

I am sure they will be happy with Casper.

So I cleaned his stand alone. Moved Prime into it because you just couldn't see him, a black kitten, in Lola's stand alone. Cleaned that one and moved Qui Qui into it. That name is mispelt according to Tim W who named him. It should be Qiu Qiu which means ball of fluff and is pronounced Chi Chi. He is the last of the Mateo batch of kittens that was in the stand alone in Incoming.

Tim W with Lilli's boy kitten now called Tank

 

There is a new family in there now. The mum is very vocal and all white. She has 5 kittens who are quite big and friendly. They, fortunately don't have Mateo's siblings' habit of leaping out of the stand alone onto your shoulder as soon as the door is opened. I will get a photo on Friday.

Dylan Did

 I offered time in the Top Cat to Darcy after Annabelle and Emily (who are in the condo below his) showed him what fun it can be. He declined to move out of his safe space.

Darcy didn't

So I moved the Top Cat to Dylan's slot and opened up to Petal and Koa who had a lovely play. Once they had had enough, I put them in and opened Dylan's door and out she came.

Dylan did

I wish I was quicker with my camera. On my way out this afternoon I checked the water bowls. Zoe had wrapped herself up in her blankie. So cute. But by the time I got the camera out of my pocket, she had untangled herself to greet me.

Zoe

Yahz

Do you remember Lola who was where Sunny is now several years ago? A friend of mine adopted her and they get on very well because Gina knows that she is number 2 in the house. Gina sent me a photo of Lola who is wearing one of our Elizabethan collars because she has a rash on her tummy that she keeps on licking. (As Gina gave me the fabric that I used to make the collars, I think that it is entirely appropriate that she can have a collar for her/our cat).

What is she thinking?