Adoption Tails: Bambi, Thumbelina, Cypher, Sammy

Bambi and Thumbelina

1 day: Bambi and Thumbelina ate some wet and dry food overnight and are out and about in their room, sleeping in separate boxes. Unfortunately, they peed on the bed. The owner suspects it was because he had put a lid on the bed and the kittens have mistaken the bed as the litter. He has since removed the bed and put in its old place the litter box.
3 day: The owner is pleased to find Bambi and Thumbelina using the litter as intended and have not had any accidents since the first time. He affectionately calls Thumbelina a little "nerd" as she was hiding inside a computer when he was in their room cleaning up and feeding.

Thumbelina the nerd

 He also found her staring for hours at the door leading to the rest of the house when spending some time in the same space as them. The owner has tried to give both Bambi (hiding in a box) and Thumbelina (perched on a windowsill) a scratch but neither were particularly keen though Bambi did accept it. He has provided lots of cardboard boxes as hiding spots for the two and bought a cat tower for them to survey their new kingdom.
1 week: The owner has had a little bit of success with Thumbelina (Lina) when initiating interactions. Bambi is still in hiding when he is around. He left the door open last night and now they are hiding under the couch which is where the owners sit so they are starting to get used to their presence. He will coax them back into their room later.

1 month: The owner has jokingly remarked that Bambi and Thumbelina "hate him" as they still run away from him at times. B&T have made some great progress and have started to wander around the house while the owner is still there, doing his own thing. They still freak out a little when he moves suddenly though. He has recently been able to start picking them up without "getting destroyed" though Lina is still not very keen but Bambi enjoys a little cuddle with petting. Lina is an "absolute food junkie" whereas Bambi just watches the owner throw snacks at her, giving him a good stare. Lina will happily eat snacks out of the owner's hands as long as he does not move much and will not even run away from him as long as he has food. The owner affectionately calls Lina an "absolute creeper" who is "plotting his downfall" with her "terrifying" stare down techniques from a distance. The brave Lina has started to wander down the house behind the owner very recently. She scrams off when the owner makes a move towards her but comes back less than a minute later. Both love to watch the litter robot, especially Lina who will jump up and stare at it while it does its thing. Since exploring the house, B&T have found a little outdoor enclosed area and love spending time there for a little sun baking.

 

Sammy & Cypher

In their foster home

1 day: Both Sammy and Cypher have been eating well and have used the litter tray for wees. They are definitely enjoying the few toys the owner has set up in the laundry room.
1 week: Sammy and Cypher are going really well. they seemed keen to explore the house and they have been let out of the laundry room for a little while and they have since been doing zoomies and playing together. They are the best of friends and the owners find it so sweet. They woke her up at 4-5am playing together and running through the cat tunnel. She is very glad that they have each other and the two are definitely very entertaining. Sammy's purrs are very loud and the owner loves it! She has so much love for them already and feels that the boys have already come such a long way in just a week of staying with her.

2 week: Sammy has started to come out of his shell a lot more recently, shadowing the owner into the kitchen for food and playing with the toys. The boys are doing really well, becoming a lot more comfortable with the owner. They constantly beg for treats (which the owner guiltily admits they definitely get a lot of), playing lots with their toys. Cypher has started to come onto her bed and cuddling when she is half asleep.

cuddle time

1 month: Sammy and Cypher are so comfortable at home. Cypher loves the owner but wants to play constantly with her visiting boyfriend. She identifies herself more with Sammy... a lot more chilled out and want snacks all the time. Both boys always get her undivided attention, especially for playtime. She did not realise how hard it is to entertain two playful kitties. They keep her up some nights being crazy together when she is trying to sleep and waking her up way before she wants to get up. The owner usually gets up and cleans their litter and feeds them, returning to lay in bed for a while until they wake her up again. "Cats are a good alarm clock." The boys have definitely given her a new reason to live since the passing of her previous cat Lilith. Sammy and Cypher are very loved here and she feels so lucky to have given them this second chance to life! She is writing this at 1am because the boys have woken her up for treats despite the endless dry food provided throughout the day and wet food in the morning and night. The owner thinks the boys are a bit spoilt!

play time

An Adoption at last

 Eric and Lucy have been adopted, together. But they are still with us as boarders. They will be picked up next Friday.

Lucy (on left) and Eric

I think the only way their owners will be able to tell them apart is her short tail. (A dog attacked her and part of it had to be amputated. She does not like dogs.) Duke has moved into their condo and is available  but the world doesn't know because the computer system keeps loosing the cat profiles that are "uploaded" to the adoption page. He will sell himself to anybody who comes in, of course.

I moved Sammy, Cyber, Thumbelina and Bambi back to their own condos and gave the play place a good scrub. We have boarders who have paid extra to get play place time. 

empty play place

The tall scratchy pole that the play place was build around is a danger to cat and volunteer. Jeff will try to salvage what he can from it.  The Top Cat structure that he has almost finished was enjoyed by Princess and Precious this afternoon. It still needs a secure top.

Lisa is back with us. Her new owner had a stroke and is in hospital for a week or so. She wants to keep Lisa but her brother, who came from Adelaide to help her, can't cope with the cat. So we will keep Lisa for at least a week. I carried Maggie around to say hello to her mother.  She growled when Lisa jumped down from her high perch.

Lisa

But Lisa doesn't have to put up with Mia's tantrums from the condo below her. Mia has been moved to Max and Gus's condo because they have gone to a foster home! Taylor will have to put up with Mia instead.

Taylor above Mia

 

Who's who in the Play Place

 The usual crowd of four been there since last Friday. At least, turning the tall scratchy pole around has stopped them from toppling it over during their night time partying. I sent Jayde in with the microchip reader to try to sort out who is who:

Sammy (.....594) has large black spots over both ears with a straight, white line between.

Cypher (....599) has large black spots over both ears that meet in a V in back and front. This looks like a white egg timer-shape on his forehead.

Bambi (...118) has tabby markings on her tail.

Thumbelina (...119) has small black spots under her nose that make a heart shape.

Katie and I think that they don't need to go as two boys separate from two girls. They seem all happy with each other although the girls are shyer than the boys.

Lily got adopted yesterday and Kiki has been moved into her condo today. Maggie was then moved to Kiki's top condo because her mum Lisa was adopted yesterday too. She didn't like it much up there initially but will get used to it. Plenty of vollies will give her cuddles. Dan(ger) moved into Lisa and Maggie's condo this afternoon. About an hour later a couple of girls came to look for a cat to be friends with their puppy. Their mum liked Dan best (she was there via Facetime). So Dan when home with them. He will be able to cope with the whippersnapper dog.

Dan's new owners

He may be back over Christmas in boarding. We got Princess and Precious out of the corner of no adoptions to the double under Nada. She must like their smell because she was out lying on the connection door this afternoon. Or was she remembering Diego's visits and discouraging any more invasions with her, not inconsiderable, weight?

Baby is back from foster because she doesn't like to be part of a multi animal home. She wants to be the one and only.

Baby

Skeley has had another name change. First she was Skeletor, now she is Sophie. Whatever the name, she is still a scardey cat.

Sophie = Skeley

After chicken, I went back to boarding and Juliette looked up at me a blinked. More chicken magic.

My Cody is being photogenic. .   he can't help himself.

Foster Fail again

 Three kittens and their mother were put up for adoption this week. When an adopter came to the foster home to choose one, the fosterer was in tears about loosing one of her three babies. Then they couldn't decide which kitten to keep so decided to keep both. . .  plus the mum. It cost her almost a thousand dollars! But she was very happy to be able to keep her family together.

Luckily Tim was there to help me through the new adoption system. . . . I will get it, eventually. In the meantime, somebody might come in to adopt Shelly on Sunday. And there is a new black boy in Incoming from Helen's work colony.

Deigo and Dora/Delores enjoyed a run around in the play place after it was thoroughly cleaned after the coffee shop kittens were there for 2 nights and 1 day.

Diego (in front) and Dora

 

Vollie Leon was worried that Domino had a sore throat. But I think he just has a deep, sexy purr.

Domino

Skeley has been moved to the condo next to Domino. Her eyes are very round and black. I hope Domino's purrs will calm her down as well as the cool vibes coming from Princess and Precious.

Precious (white 4th toe L paw)

Sammy and Cyber have had a couple of nights out, again. The food bags have been attacked, again. Tim thinks that they rattle the door hard enough so that the bolt comes loose and they can squeeze through. Geoff is working on the problem. In the meantime, I put them and Thumbelina and Bambi in the play place together overnight. It might keep them slim.

I hope Abby gets adopted this weekend.

Abby

[Thanks Joy for the extra photos. I didn't think to get my camera out this afternoon.]

No Danger in Dan

 This morning when I arrived Cypher was on top of the main room row of condos. He waited patiently for me to pick him up and put him back into his condo where Sammy sat. I had to remove the litter bin that had been propped against their door to open it. The litter bin was there because on Sunday night they both got out and had a poop party. They tore up multiple bags of crunchies that we had hoped to sell to new owners. Hence the litter bin to keep them in. But it didn't work on Cypher. Somehow???*

Because they have too much energy, I decided that they should go into to the play place to use some of it up. Easy enough. They were both in their doorless carry cage. And I added Thumbelina and Bambi because they are from the same litter and same foster home. Within no time,  Thumbelina was in with the boys. 

Thumbelina

Soon Cypher was out of the carry cage looking for some fun. 

Cypher

 Sammy happily stayed there to "protect" his sister.

Sammy

Bambi hid in full view away from everybody else.

Bambi

I took the opportunity to match their microchip numbers with their photos.

 There is a new ginger boy from a well tamed colony called Danger who is in the condo below Mia in Boarding. Mia has been with us for a week but is still in full savage, unhappy cat mode. Compared to her, "Danger" is a pussy cat. So I suggest that we rub out the -ger and call him Dan.

Dan(ger)

He is next to Cheena (of the middle ear infection) and Bubbles (the shy one). This afternoon they were "sharing" (ie maneuvering for more space each) a small bed. 

Small bed + Cheena and Bubbles

So Sandy and I decided to give them a bigger bed.

Big bed for Bubbles

We have a new kitten, Domino from the fosterer who raised Trixie. He also came in a pullover which I promptly pulled off. . . . . kittens need to learn to look after their own fur. He is a purr machine and anybody's best friend, forever.

Domino

*There was also an "escape proof device" leaning against Max and Gus' door. It worked to keep them in overnight. But during the afternoon, when the front door and the balcony doors were open, I saw a Gus shaped slink moving from the main room to Naughty row. Gus puts his paw through a hole in the mesh and pushes down the door stop. I must fill in the mesh. Luckily, he is happy enough to go back to Max who doesn't put a paw out of place.

Vicky learns to do magic

Bubbles and Cheena have been moved back into boarding which only has one boarder and Theodore who is getting more charming (and less pongy) every day. Suki was visiting today but she doesn't count (until she does a really stinky poo). It seems that Cheena has a middle ear infection which is most unusual in a cat and is why she holds her head on an angle. She is on long lasting antibiotics. She loves to be stroked, even with a comb. Bubbles is not so keen but warms up if you are persistent.

Bubbles (L) and Cheena

 We have a new pair of cats, who arrived together and were put into the same condo (Dynamo's). They didn't appear to get on very well. One, black fluffy, is upstairs and the other, dark tortie, hides in a grey, square igloo. They are Lily and Shelly. . .. no clues about who is who from the names.

Shelly/Lily

Sammy and Cypher have settled down. They were enthusiastic about chicken. Because they got seconds, I asked Vicky who did the chicken delivery service today, to give Bambi and Thumbelina seconds as well. I am sure that they know exactly who is across the aisle from them and if they get special treatment from the days when they were all in foster care together.

Sammy and Cypher

Zac has been moved into Fern's condo (she has been picked up by her adopters). He was a bit shocked at first but the chicken did its magic.

Zac got seconds

Casper and Suzie missed out on seconds. They will remember!

Casper and Suzie missed on seconds

And here is Catsie's cat Tasha's reaction to her bruised temple:

Horrors!

 

Specs and Cocos

 The only photo I took today was of these glasses.

Joy did an extra shift on Saturday and had to put her glasses on to read something and inevitably left them behind. I just want to know if these are her's because I have brought them home to give them to her next Wednesday. Recently Joy and Vi visited Coco the Burmese adopted by her friend Barbara and got sat on.

Coco loves laps

Bambi and Luigi went home today (3 days later than originally booked). They have spent the last few days in the play place and they had a poo party last night. Knowing that the owners were coming today, I put on gloves to mop the play place floor before opening time. Good thing that I did because, on arrival, they immediately wanted to see their favourite cats. Then they, mother and daughter, exclaimed over Coco the rabbit. Having been taught by our intern, I picked her up and put her on the daughter's lap. They had a lovely, long cuddle. Evidently the family has had two rabbits before. One died of a liver complaint brought on by overeating. The other, an entire male, used to come in and out of the laundry door but eventually didn't come back for meals regularly, and then not at all. They have photos and videos to prove to dad that a rabbit is a good addition to their family. Luigi was giving Coco nose bumps at breakfast time. And Coco loves Jacky's dog who visits on Mondays. So fingers crossed.

Rabbit spotted at the library

All was going smoothly until Catsie stumbled coming off the short ladder and landed on the side of her head. The handle of her specs broke off and she has a lump which will develop into a stunning black eye. Sandy drove her home and Catsie's car will be picked up tomorrow some how or other. 

PS Adoptions over the weekend included Courtney, Ginger (never made it onto the website adoption page), McCartney and Starr, Violet and Fern (who is still with us).

Prueless Wednesday

 I  swapped with Tim and Katie for Friday to let them go to a concert. But Joy was there and sent photos.

Juliet may be missing Romeo

Diego testing his new bedroom furniture

Luigi and Bambi are boarding

Thumbelina and Bambi

Lisa and Maggie

Princess and Precious

Suzie

Tip, the boarder

Sabrina and Lulu

Bye bye Baby

 Vicky took home Baby today as a foster to adopt. She has an old cat already and hopes that these two old ladies will get along together. And with the younger Lucky cat. And the dog. But first, everybody had to say goodbye:

I am told it was fairly chaotic this morning with lots of folk coming to fill in paperwork for kittens in a foster home. The last one was processed this afternoon. I wonder if folk have had second thoughts about going away for the school holidays and decided to get a kitten instead. Perhaps all the Coffee shop kittens will be gone by Monday!

Remember when I spoke to the man who surrendered Max and Gus. I thought that he had named them. But it was Katie who named them after her sons. But didn't apportion the names. So I decided today that the tabby is Gus (short for guts. .. . he always wants first at the food and more of it thank you). His downstairs, shyer brother is Max. Now we just have to figure out who is who of the Akela/Rafiki and Diego/Samira family.

Diego/Samira

Rafiki/Akela  one photo does for both of them

Luigi and Bambi are boarding. Bambi has been shaved because he has a skin condition. Doesn't stop him eating Luigi's medicated food. Luigi didn't want it until I laced it with chicken juice.

Luigi and Bambi