Grass for treats

The rain has made the grass in pots grow. So I took a box of pots to Safe Haven this afternoon to give as treats for the cats. They were not as keen on grass as they are on chicken. And one box of pots doesn't have enough grass for everybody. So I had to play favourites. Of course, Billy got his pot first. He has decided that I am "alright" and accepts pats willingly. Marmalade, on the other hand, is still unhappy that I am not Tim. Same with Soxy and Buddy/Petey. What is this boy/boy thing. The kittens are unaffected it is just the adults. It might just be that they are shyer and like the hand that feeds them most often. When I came to take a few photos, I got the "flat battery" message, again. So I will add some old photos. Candy and Collette were not feeling well this afternoon. They didn't leap out of their condo when the door was opened with a food offering. They just lay at the back of the very hot box. They were desexed earlier in the week and still have their collars on.

Sapphire is wearing a collar too. She, and Tiny Tim will be adopted on Sunday. Big Tim is counting the nights he still has to take them home with him.

Octavia is still with us but has moved to the outer edge of Quarantine. Gracie has moved out to the condo below Dobby (whose nose is getting stuffier every day in the stuffy condo). Daphne and the 3 little d's are in a wheely cage where Octavia was. I have talked my cat Cody into being brushed every day. He rather enjoys it. But he doesn't purr as loudly as Tara did when I brushed her today.

I roll the fur I brush off him into balls. I would much rather these fur balls that the ones that he vomits up.

Rita report plus

Irene heard from the folk who adopted Rita. They say that she is the BEST cat that they have ever introduced into the family. She leans into any hand that is stretched out to love her. May they be happy together foreever. Elona has come back. I think we/the cat got in the middle of a perennial mother/daughter tussle. Elona was very happy to get some chicken this afternoon and happy to be patted. (She might not have been given breakfast before she was returned which may explain her eagerness for food. But I prefer to think that she is happy to be back with us.) And Lane, one of Luna's kittens was returned.

For him, the timing was perfect. One of our Friday volunteers adopted another of Luna's kittens. She has loved being woken up at 6am with an invitation to play footsies under the doona. (She is under the doona and the kitten is on top of it). Today she realised that what her kitten needed was a brother to play with. So Lane's feet hardly touched the condo floor before he was whisked away to PLAY. Someone has booked the Palace for Easter. So I had to move Dobby back into the condo that he shared with his mum and clean (the snot off) the Palace.

His nasal congestion has improved since he has been there. It will be interesting to see if it returns when he doesn't have so much airflow. I replaced the large scratchy pole there with another from on top of the condos. It is called a "Bono Fido". Doesn't that mean "Good Dog". What a strange name for a cat scratchy pole company.

Sapphire is booked in to be desexed on Monday. I imagine the person who is keen to adopt her and Tiny Tim will be in on Tuesday to take them home.

Joy and Vi dropped by to check on Billy and she took this photo of TT and S which was much better than mine. They were more focused on chicken when I tried to photograph them. I had lovely, fresh BBQ chicken to share. Everybody went wild. Petey mistook my finger for chicken and bit me. This is Tim's finger who demonstrate how much Petey loves him, and the probably not ring worm lesion on his face.

We had a delivery of "free" food today so Irene took off the slightly out of date kitten kibble for the woman who feeds a cat colony. It will be better for them than cold noodles.

Engaging Ebony

There was a hole in the mesh of Wasabi's condo before she moved in. (Star's kittens did it). Her kittens have just learned to poke their heads through the hole. Within days their bodies will follow. So I patched the hole. Unfortunately there wasn't any of the thicker mesh left so it is a temporary fix. But whatever it was, Ebony was fascinated.

She gazed and gazed. While Wasabi tried to hide in her bed because my hands kept coming into her condo.

And her kittens went to sleep in a carry case that kept them from escaping all over the place.

Tim has listed lots of cats and kittens availble so that Terry can get them all adopted tomorrow. The list includes Coco, Cola and Pepsi who had a lovely time this afternoon in the play place while Silky's kittens were off getting desexed. Charles and Christopher are available. The "I am adopted" sign on Elona's condo that had Charles written on it was a mistake. Elona is to be picked up tomorrow. And perhaps the interested person of Wednesday will come by for Charles. Zelda is back on the available list and is desperate for cuddles. Steph's kittens Dash, Flash, Bear and Chip are bound to go quickly because they are such love bugs. Dobby, at last, is available with his loving snot.

As is Windsor with his old man's morning cough and hack.

Talking of which, why is Sunny's nose brown? He is available.

And Salam. We tried to get a good photo but he kept wigglying with the joy of being out and with people to love on.

Despite the drip he got the snip

I didn't get to do much animal behaviour-ing this afternoon because Anna arrived with a pile of donated stuff. And later another woman came by with even more. It all had to be sorted and sterilized. Then found places for. We may well make more out of this "get rid of the cat stuff in your garage" drive than the fun run last year. I did spend time with Silky's kittens who are still in the play place. They responded beautifully to food.

Later Tim added a couple of the black ones to Silky's condo. She was NOT HAPPY, JAN! Previous to that she almost smiled at me when I walked by. But she has definitely had enough of her kittens who are now almost as big as she is small. After sterilizing the donated items I decided to give Salam some attention before cleaning up Quarantine corner. He is definitely a lap cat. He didn't want to move off my lap as I sat on the floor. And everybody else looked at us.

The four new tiny kittens who were poorly on Wednesday evening were full of beans today.

And the other tiny kittens, closest to the front door are named Candy and Colette. They are crazy for Babycat.

Dobby got desexed today despite his pesistant sinus infection. Dr Kim "did" him late this afternoon. Here he looks a bit stunned but still hungry.

Happy Year of the Ox

Unfortunately we don't have any oxen ready to adopt. But the lass who came in on Wednesday brought her mother to choose a "special something for Chinese New Year". We introduced mum to all the cats but she, reluctantly, admitted that black cats are unlucky for Chinese. Mum fancied Sapphire. . . . . the smallest kitten. But daughter settled on Leaf. By next Chinese New Year, he should have grown into a beautiful TIGER. He pulled out all the cute stops to engage them both. I think they will be happy together. I asked about favourable names for cats in Chinese families and they said that anything to do with good luck or money is irrestible. So expect names like Euro, Billion, Dollar, Megabucks, Jackpot. If anybody can come up with a list send it to us before the next kitten season which we hope will be an all tabby season (unlike this years mostly black and white season). We have a new mum parked in boarding. As she is our 500'th cat I decided that she should be called D, or something starting with a D. (I admit that we had to Google which letter was Latin for 500, but I knew that there was one). Tim decided on Daphne after rejecting my suggestions of Darling, Dearest, Dearsley. . . . Either way, she is a honey. And her kittens know a beam of sun to lie in when they find one.

Last thing Robyn brought in (Isa)belle and her kittens. Can you believe that she has had them for almost 6 weeks! The kittens had such a lovely time exploring their new digs while Belle relaxed upstairs.

Second to last thing, a family came in to surrender their two cats. Don't know why. . . yet. They are Bud and ?

They are in Luna's old condo out back. She is up front and ready to go now that I patted her so hard that most of her hair fell out. I brushed out the rest.

And Salam is where Dobby used to be

Because Dobby is in the Palace

From whence he can breathe fresh air and sneeze snot on Irene in the morning from several yards. In the afternoon his nose was much better/clearer. So we hope that Florence Nightingale's method of fresh air will cure what ails him. In the meantime, he got to watch Irene clean the play place.

Well done Irene.

A stream of unmasked visitors

First Dr Kim came by to talk to Tim about the rent. I didn't listen because I was busy brushing the great pile of hair out of Rosie's rear.

I had noticed on Wednesday that she had hard, tufty spots over her hip bones. Today I got a comb and got them all out. She is now half of her original size. Dr Kim toured our cats looking for one suitable for a friend who's Himalayan-type has died. She rather liked Rosie, for a change, thinking that he would want an older cat. Then a young woman arrived to meet Mimi and Macy. Tim attended to her. They took their time, and proceeded with the adoption. Hurrah. While that was happening the woman who raised the three tuxedo's closest to the front door arrived to spend time with her "babies". Tim shut her in the play place with them. It was the kitten's first time there and they had a fabulous time. . . . hardly noticed her at all. It didn't stop her sitting and chatting with a kitten clutched to her breast. (She named the boy with most white on his face "Fiesty.") The vet students from Dr Kim's arrived to check us out, I thought. I did the tour, introducing each cat. Eventually the girl vet student confessed that she was interested in a companion to the male adult that she adopted from Sydney Dogs and Cats ("who don't have as many cats as we do"). He sleeps all day long. . . . as you do if you are a cat. She loved Zelda. By this time Tim was packing up Mini and Mia to take them to Dr Chris while he picked up Snow Pea. Mini has a suspicious bard spot on her tail that Dr Chris decided is not ring worm. Hurrah! Mini has a sore paw which we have been treating with antisceptic. Dr Chris says that it is probably chronic and not dangerous. Get her a home that doesn't have a hard floor and she will be fine. Hurrah! While Tim was away I offered to feed everybody. Working from out back to up front, I got to Star's condo. They all rushed out, as usual. When I put their food in their condo, they rushed back, as usual. But there were only two kittens. The sign on the condo said Star + 3. I looked under every thing that had a kitten sized slot. Watched the cats to see where they were focused which is usually a sure fire way of finding a kitten where it should not be. No third kitten. I checked the diary to see if a Star kitten had been adopted. There wasn't anything there. I chewed my fingernails until Tim arrived back to be told that another one of Star's kittens has been adopted. I really don't like this no name system. Dr Kim arrived with her two students and the client who wants another cat. She steared him towards Star (because she is fluffy). The girl student didn't point out that Zelda was fluffy too. But he decided that he is not ready for another cat yet. And the girl student muttered that Dr Kim said that if you have one cat who is happy in your home you should think twice about getting a second cat. . . . . REALLY

Lillian's kitten who I encouraged to play with thetoy.

C kittens:

The only girl below Salt and Pepper who spent some time this afternoon grooming her collar.

Dobby who doesn't have upstairs neighbours any more.

So/unny who would rather not hide with his mum, Sally.

Hungry Bears Crossing

I went to take a photo of Lillian now that she is better settled into Dolly's condo. Only to find that my camera battery was flat. Again. My phone takes lousy photos so you will have wait until next week for a good photo of her. Her upstairs neighbour, Salam, has settled in nicely but his eye looks worse and Lynda gave him a chin rub and felt a lump. Tim has been told. But Tim was busy collecting his mum from a hospital test so may need to be reminded. The drama of the day was that the tin of paint that we use to prop the balcony door open developed a leak. White paint spread over the blah grey tiles to make a very modern looking tile design. But . . . . . messy possibilities of white foot prints being tracked into the cattery. We moved the many poo bags onto towels and I washed down the balcony with buckets of water, in the rain. On Wednesday when there was a strong wind that kept pushing the door closed despite a bag on poo on top of the can of paint, I found a cat leash that looped around the railing and the door handle to keep it open. That will be the new way of letting real air into Safe Haven. The woman who adopted Sam came to talk about fostering Billy, to adopt. After a long chat with Tim, she decided to wait and see. Billy enjoyed the attention. We were disappointed. But the woman has Sam to go home to and he is "a delight".

The good news since Wednesday is that the woman that I spoke to then convinced her husband that Dolly should go live with them. He was involved in feeding her when she was a street cat so it wasn't a hard sell. There is a 6year old at home for Dolly to deal with but we know how well she can control the little ones.

Dobby should be desexed soon and will be easy to find a home for. He is a smoocher. Sue came in and while she was there I pointed out the cat sofas on top of the condos. (The new step ladder gives a new perspective of Safe Haven). She agreed that they should be sold. When we got them down we discovered that they were covered with dust. So it was decided that I should take them home, clean them and send photos. There are zips that take off the covers. I wonder if I will ever be able to get the covers back on again. I doubt the fabric was washed before the covers were made. They might shrink.

Chicken magic

We need to make a recording of Tara's purr. It is distinctively lovely. Anybody who heard it would be prepared to take the probable months that she needs to settle into a new home. Dobby thought my finger was part of the chicken treat and bit down on it, hard. Luckily it was the finger next to the one that I sliced while cutting up the chicken. Having bandaids on consequitive fingers took me back to childhood. Suki loved her chicken. She is actually putting on weight and growing so much hair that it needed a brush. I found the softest one I could because she must still hurt from all her weight loss. She doesn't scream so loud since Gracie moved to quarantine corner. This seems successful now that there is a sheet of cardboard behind her wheely to stop the escaped kittens (from both sides) running under the cage. Peggy liked her chicken until I got too friendly and she swiped at me. Luckily she missed or I would have had a slash to match Tim's cheek. (More later). The chicken worked magic on Rosie who actually stood up, got out of her igloo, wanted to be stroked and made loving eyes at me. She has forgotten, perhaps that she is heartbroken at being abandonned with us and will give love for chicken.

Tim's cheek was the take off point for the back legs of a kitten who is (probably with a friend) in the condo above the computer. I didn't see inside because they have a modesty cloth. Next door to them are three tuxedo kittens (black and white is definitely the colour of 2020/21). I think we got them by mistake but they look sweet.

Tim weighted kittens to work out a desex schedule. He doesn't like the naming part of this job so Katy and I helped. Katy had brilliant ideas for names. I have forgotten them but Tim wrote them all on a bit of paper . . . . . .

Coincidence or Psychic?

Around 10:20 this morning I thought "I should phone Tim to see if there is anything I can pick up before I go to Safe Haven this afternooon". Five minutes later he rang me to ask if I could come in early because the third vollie did not show up. I asked if he wanted anything on my way. He answered "No thanks." Soon after I arrived a family came to find a companion for their difficult cat. Irene, eventually, handed over Dobby who played beautifully with the young girl. They went away to think about it. It was a good thing they didn't put their noses into Dolly and Dobby's bed box. They were moved to below Mimi and Macey yesterday. In that time they managed to poo twice on their bed and saturate it with urine. That pretty, pink, fluffy bed is now in the rubbish. No way was it going into my washing machine! Shortly after the family, the woman who rang about Hera on Wednesday arrived with her daughter. They were going to come as soon as a parcel was delivered. It didn't come until 5pm. Hera was not very friendly until I offered her some crunchies. In the meantime the chatty couple met all the other cats available. They have been following the webpage closely and were pleased to meet Apricot's brother Marmelade.

Marmie, of course, is not interested in anybody but Tim. They loved Macey and Mimi because they are so pretty. The daughter especially spent lots of time playing tootsies with Macey. They, eventually, went away to "think about it". They know there are lots of kittens in the pipeline but want a more mature cat for the elderly mum who wants a companion who won't bolt out the door or get underfoot. And Lauren arrived with Miles to adopt one of the cats that she has been fostering. Miles was a great help keeping Mimi/RubyG's kittens inside their condo while I cleaned them.

Even the boy came back from the vet with a collar. (I put them in their carrier cage on Wed morning before being savaged by the littlest). ((My thumb is fine, thank you)). Eventually all the visitors left and I could continue to clean condos. A couple of boarders had play time in the play place. They are big cats so appreciated being able to stretch out.

I cleaned Rita and co. Only the little silver and white tabby is still poorly. The other three are full of beans. I made some towelling cloths to line their hammocks out of left overs from sewing some new hammocks. Being germy from cleaning them up, I left at my usual time.