Planet litter

 For some reason the stand alone in Incoming had been rotated by 90 degrees so that the door was against the side of the desk. I moved it back to it's usual position to give them lunch. Some of the planet litter have been desexed and have collars on. The boys may well have been castrated as well. But they don't need collars so don't get the sympathy. Now I have photos and names:

Neptune, the tabby

Venus (tabby white nose), Saturn (tabby brown nose), Mercury (black girl), Jupiter (black boy)

Mateo is to go to the Cat Show at Olympic Park with Tim and other vollies tomorrow. Tim wanted him in the pink, sparkly harness to show visitors how easy cats are to train. So we popped it on and let him run around. He didn't like the lead much . . . or the harness, but got used to it. 

Mateo in pink

Don't know who else it to go. Ishi and Apricot would enjoy an outing.

Ishi, Apricot

Jasmine and Alladin would not like to go anywhere. Alladin is looking a bit snuffly.

Jasmine and Alladin

 

Bent Lily

I refer to the Gymea lily growing in front of Block 1. It has bent over to face level in an attempt to get more sunlight. So, next time you come to save, walk past the mail boxes to get a close up view of a lily that is usually 3meters up in the sky. 

Another spectacular thing is that we have adopted out 2 dozen cats/kittens so far this month. But we only have 71 cats in residence at Safe Haven because we are expecting a deluge of kittens shortly. September is traditionally the beginning of the kitten season. But we have had a steady trickle of kittens all year.

Cats who got adopted since last week include Mickey who has been on our books for ?3 years.

Mickey

And Pixie a kitten who's sister Ecco, the last of that litter, was chosen by a woman today. She has to convince her husband that their Siamese cat needs a friend.

The man who came in last week came again and will return tomorrow to adopt Meika and Loki!

I did one adoption today of Garfield to a couple who picked him up from the foster home.

And the man who surrendered two of his family's 17 cats (!) was in tears this afternoon after visiting them. The cats, Heffer and Ginger, weren't happy either.

Heffer

Ginger

A busy day. Cherish got a bath and has moved to Darcy's condo. Darcy in next to Bass and Julie in an enclosure. I tried to take her photo but she is one wiggly cat! Ishi and Apricot got baths too. Sue and I got scratched. They are still in Isolation, waiting for a suitable condo in Welfare.

We have two new cats in Incoming. Sunflower and Rain. Neither of them ate much last night or today. I wonder if they came from the same place.

Sunflower

Rain

Not like Lola whom I caught snacking on the kitten's MBC food this afternoon.

Naughty Lola

Where for art thou, Romeo?

 Soon after I arrived this afternoon, a couple came back to adopt either Greta or somebody else. Eventually they chose Greta who accepted their cuddles quietly. They have 3 kids: 14, 11 and 3. The three year old might be the problem but they are both experienced cat owners so will deal with it.

Then a man came in to meet Pirate Pete. He likes to adopt cats who have problems. So the lack of a foot appealed to him. After lots of cogitation and discussion, he decided that Pirate Pete would get on with his other cat who has the wobbles.

Caudelia and her two (China and India) have been moved to the stand alone in Isolation. They do have ringworm.

Cordelia, India, China

 Likewise with Ishi and Apricot.

So does one or two of the Spagetti, Pixie, Ekko condo in Welfare.

Not us! We are Choc and Chip

Next to them are Dixie and Pepper. Don't know their history.

Dixie (1-2yo) and Pepper (2-3 yo)

The "unbonded" pair in the condo below Tilly have been adopted too. 

And I brought home Romeo for some R&R.

Romeo

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.

Adoption Tails: Gigi, Ash, Jade, Jasper and Apricot. And Lucky

 Gigi

Gigi's owner would not like this adoption shared but rest assured that she is very well settled in and is a little foodie!

Ash aka Winston

3 days: Ash is doing really well. He’s homed happily in the master bedroom with litter and food separate. He’s eating his morning and evening meals and is drinking some water. “There’s lots of beautiful purrs and sleeping. We’ve renamed him Winston after much family debate.” While their resident cat has been locked in another room, Winston has been out to explore and smell before returning to his safe room. “Both cats now aware of each other and we’ll look at having them on the same floor later in the week.”

1.5 weeks: “Winston is doing amazing.” The introductions went well and both cats are now living alongside each other. “Our older cat just watches Winston play and run around with toys. We have a large cardboard box that they both sit in and peek out of which is super cute.”

Tigs and Winston

 1 month: “Winston is doing great. Loves playing, is eating really well and has beautiful loud purrs when snuggling.” Despite having separate sleep blankets in the lounge, he sleeps next to their older resident cat Tigs.

Jade 6691

1 day: "I'll say it right now Jade is the perfect kitten." She's confident, playful and so affectionate. She followed the owner's son around all night and spent most of the evening hanging out in his bedroom chilling. The owner left her in her quiet room to sleep the night because she started to get more and more playful as it got later and they wanted her to have her rest. Jade had her breakfast this morning at 7am and came back to burrow into the owner's bed to sleep some more together. She's used the litter a few times and loves her food. The family won't be changing her name as she seems to be responding to Jade. "We definitely won the lottery with her."

1 week: Jade's really settling in well. Definitely has her energy spurts especially since the family were away all day for work/school but the owner is working from home on Thursday and Friday so the two are enjoying each other's company. As soon as she switches the lights off at night, Jade settles down and either cuddles up for a sleep or goes off and does her own thing but settles quickly. She's still food crazy so they're just controlling that. Otherwise she's wonderful.

1 month: "We are totally smitten"

Jasper & Apricot

No follow up as adopted by foster carers.

 

Lucky

2 weeks: Lucky is happy. He is eating and using his litter box. Lots of rubs and purrs for the owner but he doesn’t like her husband much. He mainly stays in his owner’s room and sleeps on their bed. He’s still cautious about going into other parts of the house and is starting to play as well.

2.5 weeks: Lucky is settling in and making baby steps towards being confident. “Loves his food!”

 40 days: He lets them pet him and play. He sleeps on the bed and “eats like a horse”. He won’t let them pick him up. He is getting used to the rest of the house and loves his sunbeams. He’s settling in but his owners wish he would be more cuddly.

 

 

Fifty barrier broken

I counted noses this morning. There are only 49 cats in residence! As I was counting, I saw that Buddy and Petey's door was open. They were sitting primly in their condo, side by side, as though butter wouldn't melt in their mouths. A little while later I went back to their corner and Silky's door was open! She looked at me as though to say "I just made it easier for you to feed me." Her sliding bolt could be a cm longer. But since Friday's clearance "sale" the following cats have been adopted: Bridie, Sabrina, Bobby, Candy and Apricot. James, who hasn't been in since last Wednesday was shocked. So I gave him this blog addy so that he can keep up, kind of. Welcome James. And Daisy, the pregnant cat has disappeared from Incoming. In her place is the marvellous Sir Dudley.

And the miniscule Billy who only does meals in bed.

Megsy is still with us but wants to break out of condo confinement. He lead Robyn a merry dance when she tried to clean his condo.

Another of Santa Maria's kittens ventured out of the box this afternoon. She is pretty. The two who are out most of the time (five kittens do not fit into one Purina box) are very friendly. I got kisses on my forehead.

Another still in hiding one is named Ginger: no prizes for guessing what colour he is. And out back, Honey, she of the two yummy kittens in Boarding last month or so, is back. She has had her flank shaved. There is a little cut with no stitch. I can only guess that it was a tubal ligation via keyhole surgery. But why shave such a swath of fur? She is not in the best of moods and bit Joy who was just trying to be friendly.

Tom and Jerry and co are in the play place. They were having a lovely time when I arrived good and early but then slept the rest of the day until I enticed them with milk. A trainee spent some time with them and only the fluffy boy would play nicely with him. The rest rested:

Begone the other Coco

We got our Covid tests on Thursday morning and by Friday morning our results came back negative. But at Safe today, everybody wore masks. Including Joy's friend Barbara who came to choose a cat. Irene and I twisted her arm and she chose Coco who has just become available over Miyuki who tolerated being held by me but skedaddled to her upper shelf when Barb tried to take over and Peggy who was prepared to be patted by Irene but gave Barbara THE KEEP AWAY LOOK. (Peggy is available now too). It was a no brainer and they will live happily every after. We will get regular updates from Joy and in the meantime Coco (of C & Mason) is happy to be the only Coco at last.

Sandy reports that Ashleigh finds all the narrowest, darkest places to hide in her room. She will take a long time to realise how lucky she is now. Belle is looking much better. She is almost plump. I gave her a tiny bit of chicken this afternoon because she usually misses out. Let's see if it upsets her tummy.

And Apricot is getting friendlier. After her bit of chicken I picked her up and felt stitches. It is ages since she was desexed. So Tim removed them and let's hope that she cleans up the scar which looked a bit scabby. Chilli and Murphy had a great play in the play place followed by Sabrina's two. We decided that she would be happier to have their condo all to herself. She actually enjoyed getting ALL THE CHICKEN.

Tortie corner

Barb Webster gave us a cat clock. Today, I finally got around to installing it with Rod's help (after I dropped the one, tiny screw and we put the battery in the right way round). I put it over the feeding table so that the cats out back can enjoy it's wagging tail and sweeping eyes. Buddy and Petey were enthralled.

I also dangled feather toys from the ceiling in the outer office to give the cats there something to look at. They only like them when they move. There is a tortie corner there with a new Harley. As a tortie she is obviously a girl and by the look of her tummy, she was recently a mum.

Joy spent time smooching with Apricot, yet another tortie, who really does like to be loved on. (They both do!)

Don't know what happened to Max, son of Misty but there is a bonded pair in the perspex place. They are Bobby (friendly with a squinty left eye) and Doel (below).

Don't know what the outcome of Pearl's vet visit was. She is happy in her new condo and even happier with a new bed (sans poos and hair balls). Her nose looks a little less encrusted.

Rod gave Mixa a clean bed which he loved too.

No adoptions today but a Chinese family will be back with their 15year old son on Saturday to see if he likes Oscar as much as they did. The kid will fall in love.

The charm of Valentino

We were down to 72 cats when I arrived this morning. And then Terry came to take Kendra and her four kittens to Mona Vale. And I took Apricot to Beaches Vet in Manly Vale because Tim forgot to take her yesterday. Down to 66 when I got back in time for breakfast.. . . except I was really LATE for breakfast according to the cats. Since last Friday only Bonnie and Sandy have been adopted so it must be the boarders going home that made all the difference. And today a lovely couple who live locally and just happened upon us adopted Button. They have a quiet older, black cat and a rabbit so wanted a younger friendly, chatty kitten to perk up the house which has three kids including an HSC candidate. It was the husband who made the decision. The wife would have taken the smallest kittens who happen to be Sylvi, Sylvester and Dudley (he has white on his face) who are in the stand alone cage next to Sugar. (Sage was taken home yesterday.)

During the day a woman rang to adopt Valentino. ???. By a process of elimination, I guess he is the ginger boy in the stand alone in incoming. He has a shaved area and a red spot on his jaw. Seems a sweet boy. She said that she knows him from his foster home and wants him. I told him to phone Tim tomorrow (my standard response).

Max across the way is just as good looking.

But the most charming, delightful thing I discovered to day was . . . . . the store room which is clean, tidy, with shelves. THANK YOU Irene and Peter and whoever else helped.