Adoption Tails: Couch potatoes Bean and RIcki

 Bean
1 day: The owner will keep Bean's name and he is settling in as well as can be expected. He is eating and drinking - good news. He has found a little cubby hole that he feels safe in. Bean is still using the carrier borrowed from SAFE. The owners will be patient and let Bean go at his own pace.

no 1 week response

 
1 month: Bean has changed and become a really playful and loving pet. The owner's wife ADORES him. He is a very happy cat. Bean now lets nearly everybody in the family pat him and get up close. He does have "a moment" or two, every now and then. The owners could not be happier with him.

 

Rikki

Ricki day 1

1 day: Ricki is doing very well. She got used to everything very quickly and already feels at home. They are going to keep her name. She lets them pet and touch her. She hangs out in the living room most of the time rather than in her safe room.

Ricki day 1

1 week: She is very much feeling at home. She has some scratchers but chooses to use the sofa so she’s working on fixing that with her owner.

1 month: She knows how to use the scratcher now and fits really well into the family.

Ricki 1 month

 

Rabbit luck

 We heard the good news yesterday that Diego has been adopted by a woman who lives by herself so can give him all the attention and love that he needs. It was especially welcome news on Joy's birthday.

But nobody told me about the rabbits. They have both gone. I noticed the lack of their hutches as soon as I walked in the door but had to wait until Tammy (wrong spelling) arrived. She told me that Lily was adopted and that Coco has gone to foster. The fosterer emailed this morning to say that she was worried that Coco isn't eating and pooping enough. She sent photos of a very happy rabbit who spends most of her day out of her hutch (so I suspect that she has found somewhere else to poo.)

Coco

She sent other photos including one of Coco lying on her chest. She is Japanese so I gave her Mariko's email address and they can chat about rabbits. Mariko has been trying to plot how she could have Coco in her flat without the landlord knowing. Perhaps she will get visiting rights.

Nobody else noticed that hutches were gone. Not even Mariko who brought in greens and a bit of carrot! 

I have, of course, reorganised. Somebody put the hooded litter trays from the top of the stand alones to where Coco was. I put them where the Coffee shop kittens were. So now that wall near the entrance is all merchandise. I moved the Coffees to beside Linda and Yoko and moved the trolley to where the hutch was. Natalie did a fabulous job of cleaning and tidying it and Sandy threw out the plastic bag sausage and it's contents. Hurrah!

Later, after Mayka's play in the play place with Sandy, I swapped her and the Coffee's. She looked so much happier being out of the corner. The Coffees will just be happy not to be in the doorway and getting roused on for throwing litter all over the merchandise.

We have a new Diego on Naughty Row. Who has a Dora (should be Delores). I don't know who is who but both of them have bob cat tails! And are very friendly.

There is a Kiki where Ziggy used to be, on high. He must have got adopted too. And Chloe is back. She wasn't happy in her adopted home. She has hidden under the furniture for the past 6 weeks. But she seemed pleased to see me.

Chloe

Abby is where Theodore was. So he must have got adopted too. Abby is desperate for love. She tends to take your finger into her mouth. . .  not biting it, perhaps trying to suck. Skeley has cleaned herself up and is trying to get up the courage to be friendly.

Skeley

For the first time today Linda and Yoko shared a hammock. I was beginning to wonder if they are truely bonded but am now convinced.

Yoko and Linda

Somebody rang to say that they are coming to adopt Bean on Sunday.  . . . . OK!

Bean and bestie

Midsummer's big day

 I picked her up from Catsie's at noon. She snoozed in the car all the way to Safe Haven. Jayde claimed cuddle rights as soon as we walked in the door. (Midsummer lived with her when she was first found as a newborn on the street). I sent them to the play place where Florence was stretching her legs. Midsummer and Florence remembered that they didn't like each other. So Flo went back to her crate.

Midsummer is four times as big now

Then her adopter arrived. She asked if she could do the paperwork today and her sister would pick her up on Monday! What? The deal was take her today because we are full. We have no space for her. She could have stayed at Catsie's until next week. The adopter was convinced to take her today for which I am very grateful because Tim was there to guide me through the Shelterbuddy maze. It seems to have lots of quirks that weren't on the practice version. . . . just press refresh (F5) says Tim.

She got the fancy cloth carrier and a bag full of litter, food samples and paperwork and set off to Burwood by bus and train, then another train and another bus. I am glad she had a run around with Florence and some lunch before she set off. 

Then a couple arrived to investigate the possibility of trying out a kitten. He was keen. She is allergic to mites and remembers sneezing mightily when she slept with a pair of long haired cats as a child. The dry food we feed the cats is supposed to decrease the allergic-ness of cat hair and dander. Will it work for her? I suggested that they foster to adopt to try it out but Tim says we don't have any cats suitable at the moment. So they talked and talked and will probably be back tomorrow to adopt Bart. He really wanted Maggie but she hasn't been desexed yet because of her heart murmur.

Bart and Lisa

Then a pair of folk came to inspect us and our procedures to make sure we are a safe place to work. They wanted to know all about our fire escape plan, if we used safety harnesses when working more than 1.6 m off the ground, if our power tools were all safety checked, etc, etc. Amazing amount of paperwork for a one roomed establishment on the first floor of a fairly new building. While she ticked the not applicable boxes, he decided that he needs a tuxedo kitten like Bean or Dynamo

Dynamo

to go with his small grey and white kitten. He might be back tomorrow too. He really fancied Oreo but somebody else might want her.

Oreo f

Or there is Violet.

Violet

Not to mention Yan and Yin. We are spoiled for choice of tuxedos at the moment.

I thought that Yoko and Linda were adopted yesterday because they disappeared from the website. But it turns out that they don't have microchips.

Flu largely gone

It worked . . . . either my blog title from last week or the antibiotics . . . . but we are largely free of flu at the moment. Ginge and Sabrina are still sneezing but Florence is clear headed and full of bounce. As is Ricki. And all the snufflers in Welfare, including Dynamo, are much better. But we almost lost Star on Saturday. Terry was in today being, as usual, our hero by delivering a full load of litter from Arundel Park. He said that at 5pm last Saturday, Star suddenly couldn't breathe. Luckily Dr Kim was in her surgery and dealt with the problem. Star is on very fancy antibiotics and looks well today. All bar one of her kittens are off flu treatment.

Akela or Rafiki

Now that these kittens are getting used to us and more friendly, I must figure out who is who.

As usual, I didn't get around to taking any photos. Luckily Joy was in. Her photos are much better than mine because I use a camera and she has a fancy phone.

Bean

Cocoa (left) and Mocha

Latte

 The coffee shop kittens were in the play place when I arrived. (Thanks to the poo bag fairy who only left 5 bags for me to schlepp out to the garbage cans). They hopped back into their wheely cage for breakfast and spent the day supervising from the front door. 

Fern, Linda and Yoko, Mayka had turns in the play place before the Coffee kittens went back overnight.

Nobody was adopted over the weekend but Myrtle and Wanda went earlier this week. Myrtle went with an older man who came in a couple of weeks ago. His was a considered choice. Myrtle came out of her shell very well in the interim. And Wanda was adopted by an older woman. Almost all of the cats in Welfare are available for adoption now. There are 36 cats and one rabbit listed on our website!

And today, there was an emailed enquiry about Coco, the rabbit. Somebody wants a companion for their lop ear boy who has lost his mate recently but plays nicely with the puppy, has full run of the house and is getting the garden rabbit proofed! Sounds perfect. So I gave her extra cuddles today . . . just in case.

Flu begone

 I arrived around midday to a busy scene: there were new vollies being trained, lots of regular vollies and Geoff trying to get odd jobs done before having to leave, Helen came in to be trained in the new computer system. We will all have to learn how to log on when we come to do our shifts. . . . yet another password to remember!

The coffee shop kids had been in the play place since the day before. I sat with them to have my lunch. The tuxedo, Bean, was very keen to share my salami. The others had to be tempted with tiny fragments. But when it came time for chicken, 3 of the 4 jumped into their stand alone to get their share. I had to carry the last, reluctant tabby and white one in. Will have to learn their names.

Now Caramel can have a turn. She is staying an extra day or two because her people's travel plans have been delayed. That's no trouble for us as she is a sweetie.

Caramel

We are fully booked for the school holidays which start next Friday. And every condo is occupied. Baby was moved out of the big stand alone in incoming. Her flu is much better. She LOVES chicken so she will get the leftovers today. Bubbles and Cheena have been moved in to her big one because their condo in Boarding was a mess of splatters. One of them has an ear that needs to be "drained".

Dymano is looking better but definitely not dynamic.

Dynamo

Diesel accepted seconds of chicken (Joy's instructions) without a sneeze. And Oreo, below him, is a girl. Our previous Oreos have been boys. Perhaps Orio for a girl. Or Oriette, Orea, Oray. . the possibilities are endless. One of the vollies spent so much time with her at the end of her shift that I was tempted to check her bag as she left!

Oreo-f

Suzie is looking much better too. So this has been a mild, albeit highly contagious strain of cat flu.

Suzie

Even the supermodel kittens have got over it. And, because of the extra attention and medications, they are much more friendly. . . . . or was it the chicken?

Cindy, Kate, Naomi

And Helena upstairs is more wary because she has had more stuff put into her eyes.

Helena

Sandy's bad day

 She came early. In time to give a cat a cuddle. I had just put Tommy back into his and Mia's stand alone. Tim mentioned yesterday that he feeds Mia inside with her antibiotic laced food and Tommy on the floor outside otherwise Tommy will eat Mia's flu drugs before she has a chance. (She is a delicate little thing and he is a chunky, muscular boy). Sandy enjoyed the weight of him in her arms so much that she forgot to close the cage door. Who'd have thought that Mia would escape! 

Luckily she was just under the adjacent trolley. But, because of our inept capture techniques, she decided to scale the wall and hide on top of the blue condos. So we had to move every carry cage down to the floor while she retreated into the far corner. There we hemmed her in with cloth carry cages one of which was her escape route. I couldn't quite reach her to guide her into it. Luckily Sandy has a couple of extra inches and Mia was safely in the carrier.  In the meantime, Tommy was complaining loudly that he was inside the stand alone while Mia was out!

Then we put all the carriers back.

Later when all the cleaning was done, Sandy noticed that there was some loose litter beside their tray, went to tidy it up and Tommy jumped out. She reached over to grab him and lost her footing to end up on the floor. Tommy was out in Boarding inspecting the laundry shelves. He was easier to pick up than Sandy was!

Tonight when I fed him outside and Mia inside, Tommy decided to go meet Po who is in Peanut's condo. 

Po

He didn't appreciate being picked up and put back in with Mia despite the extra hammock that I installed.

Other new cats are Jackson where Blueberry was. He is a scardey cat. And black.

Jackson

In Incoming there is Dave, a black kitten, very friendly.

Dave

And Mocha, Cocoa, Latte and Bean. . . . don't know who is whom as they are a little hissy.

Mocha, Latte, Bean or Cocoa

The really good news is that Mr Magoo was adopted over the weekend. We have already heard from them:

 

Day1: Yeah he’s absolutely fine. Like a duck to water. Eating and drinking, doesn’t seem scared/hesitant at all, very confident. Used his litter tray too. We named him Bob (or big Bob)

 

Let's keep our fingers crossed that he doesn't turn into Big Bop.