Adoption Tails: Misty, Eric

Misty

1 day: So far so good with Misty. She's a very friendly cat, the owners have her settled in the master bedroom. She's found a few hideyholes but comes out often. She's eating well and seems happy with the litterbox. They're planning to keep her name. Misty is adjusting really well to her new environment. All so far really has gone without a hitch. She's since discovered the living room and that's quickly become her favourite place. The owner is especially pleased she gets along well with his son, loving to just lie next to him on the couch.

1 week: Misty seems to be very happy exploring the apartment. Her favourite spot remains looking out of the window in the master bedroom but her favourite relaxing space has become their living room couch.

1 month: Things are going great, Misty is well adjusted.

 

 

Eric

1 day: He is settling in more than well. Used the litter tray, ate, drank and is overly affectionate. He already tried sneaking out of the bedroom. He also used the scratching board. He woke the owner up at night but then settled until 5:30am, the owner tried to push out brekky but then gave in. After that, he fell asleep again. The owner will try not giving in so soon but didn't want to be so hard on him on his first night at home and he is hard to ignore when he is roaming around your head.

3 days: The owner is concerned that Eric might not drink water. She has yet to see him drink water from the bowl and has tried to lure him to the bowls a few times. He is having wet food for dinner which gives a bit of hydration. She will start adding some extra water into his dinner too.

1 week: He is doing great. The owner's friend spotted him drinking water the other day when his bowl was moved into the living room. The owner has also been putting water into his wet food too which has helped lots. Eric was allowed out of the room to explore a few days after he came home for short amounts of time over the week. At the 1 week mark, the door is open for good and the litter box has been resituated. Eric so far enjoys being around the living room but is still cautious at times and runs back into his safe space. He is cuddling with the owner in the living room right now. The owner is hopeful that he will gain more confidence over the next week or so and won't be too irritated by unexpected noises. "He is absolutely adorable, I am so in love with him!"

 

1 month: Eric is doing fine. A couple of things the owner is working with him on is his scratching on the carpet and he is a really good eater despite having his daily food split into 4 smaller meals. He's still gaining trust from the owner before she is confident in removing the couch cover. He has been weighed and he is definitely getting enough food. He loves attention and is still very affectionate but the owner has noticed that he is sensitive to noises or sudden movements at times. They're hoping this will settle over time but also not really worried about it. He loves looking outdoors and is even eager to get outdoors. The owner is thinking that Eric will start off with a harness around the courtyard since building an enclosure might not be an immediate solution.

1.5 months: The owner feels that Eric might be a little bored. He can be quite talkative at times and needy for attention. She is playing with him and gave him plenty of options. She will also consider doing some DIY food puzzles/games with Eric. He loves floppy balls even though he never brings them back. The owner is also adding a few shelves to the wall so that he can climb more and get used to the harness before going outside. "My neighbour says it's like a seven star hotel for him here." The scratching is still a work in progress but he is definitely using the scratchers provided. The owner and Eric are working with each other on trimming his nails. He is pretty comfortable with her playing with his paws but not when the clippers are out. 

2 months: Eric peed on the couch last weekend when the owner was away, probably too long for his taste. The owner has given it multiple cleans but still caught him wanting to mark the same spot again twice. She's started to give him treats on the same spot, hopefully to associate the spot with eating and reward. A second problem is that Eric meows a lot, especially at night when the bedroom door is closed. When the owner goes to bed, it does not last that long but in the early morning, he can go for one or two hours. Eric is so food driven and keeps meowing in the afternoon although he knows when dinnertime is, particularly when the owner is doing things in the kitchen. He is most definitely getting enough food, weighing in at 4.9kg. Last problem they're working on is outside time. Ever since she started letting Eric out for about 10minutes under supervision, he keeps wanting to go out. Going forward, she is harness training him and may consider a small enclosure. 

Update: Since the weekend, the owner has started leaving the bedroom door open overnight and even had a friend sleep over whom Eric knows quite well. He did meow quite a bit at the courtyard door the next morning, wanting to go out. However, during the night he was pretty good - slept with the owner under her quilt which was very cute. What was not very cute was that he will try to wake her up by petting her face when she wants to sleep. Though the bright side is that he has stopped scratching the carpet in front of the bedroom door. The owner definitely recognises how needy Eric is in terms of attention. On the inappropriate toileting issue, the owner did catch him peeing on the couch again after going into his litterbox twice without doing anything. She is getting a second litterbox and may be putting that in the living room. 

Mr Garfield, aka Ziggy

1 day: He is doing very well. Eating, drinking and using his litter tray. He was quiet overnight and has been very affectionate and engaging with the family. They will be changing his name but not sure to what yet. "He's a delight!"

4 days: Mr Garfield (now Ziggy) has had bad diarrhea and vomiting for the past few days. He seems a bit better today. The owner has taken him to her vet this morning and they will do a stool sample. Since then, he has picked up this afternoon and his appetite and stools have improved. No more vomiting too.

1 week: Ziggy has had his last dose of baycox in the morning (done at the vet as the owner was not able to administer it). He still had some bad diarrhoea last night and vomited. He did eat a piece of cheese that fell on the ground yesterday at lunch time (which is not ideal). The owner is currently giving him small portions of food to reduce any load and probiotics. He's perky and not lethargic today.

1 month: Ziggy had Nexguard last night (not a huge fan of it!) but it was successfully applied! He's doing super well, seems to be relaxing and now sleeping away from his safe spot, which is lovely to see. The tail is still a work in progress after a volunteer has trimmed it after his diarrhoea episode at SAFE. Neither Ziggy nor the Border Collie like grooming much!

 

 

Slow trigger finger

 Life at a cattery is full of "just missed it" photo opportunities.

This afternoon Lola was curled up on the couch with her head tucked upside down which cats do when they are really relaxed. By the time I grabbed my camera she was in the brick position with her head up.

Lola

Then I walked past Chad and he was curled up in the fleece lined litter tray that I have often wondered why is under the shelf in his condo. By the time I pulled out my camera he was on his way.

Chad

And on my way out I decided to say goodnight to Yin and Yang who were sharing a fluffy bed. Silly me to disturb them. They will probably worry all night.

Yin and Yang share an igloo

But the good news for the day is that Misty has been adopted. A man (Dutch and large) and his son (I assume) came in earlier in the week to look for an adult cat. They needed to confirm that their new apartment allowed a cat. Having got permission they came to decide between Gigi, Misty and Cindy (Clawford). I got to hold her two remaining kittens while they communed with her. . . it is a hard job, but somebody has to do it. Gigi was thrilled to see them again. And Misty was gracious. They chose Misty who must be the easiest cat I have ever put into a carry cage. Her new owner works from home so I predict that she will get fat like he is and live a long, happy life.

Misty

PS I tucked the red and white towel in the carry cage with her. It is covered with her hair and will comfort her in the place of new smells . . . . . and not clog up my washing machine!

Fingers crossed

 I was a bit early today. . . for a change. But I still didn't get to eat my lunch until a quarter to three. There were adoptions.

Salt was adopted, perhaps in the morning. Pickles is delighted to be all alone in a double condo. 

A couple came in to adopt Salt whom they had chosen from the website. So I showed them the other availables and they chose Little and Rory. I told them that it is a much better idea to get two kittens because they can play with each other at 4am without waking up their people. They believed me. I was so pleased that I gave them a litter tray (the green, wobbly one with curved edges that is a pain) and loaned them a carry cage to take the boys home in. Rowen will be devastated next Friday. They were his favourite cats being so easy to cuddle.

Then a woman came in to adopt Jade from foster. We filled in the paperwork. It is to be a holiday thrill for her children but she agreed that Jade should be in her own room so that she can have time away from the kids.

Then another woman came in, having been sent to us from Jiji's (the cat cafe on Eastern Valley Way). She checked the website and came to see Jade! Mostly because she wants a "tabby". So I showed her our tabbies. . . which come in ginger, grey and brown. She rather liked Eric who was being his shy, retiring self. She said she would think about it. 

Misty is a tabby

 So I feed the cats their chicken.

Lola has appointed herself the doorcat. Maybe she saw Marissa take her Azlan out to walk the corridor.

Lola

The new cats on Better Row, Miz and Riley seem more comfortable. What is their story?

Miz and Riley

Josie's kittens are getting big and bold.

Josie is the lowest face

While I cleaned up Sebastian and Peebles condo (they had knocked their water bowl into their litter tray in the excitement of seeing me with dinner coming towards them) Irene answered the phone. The woman who came in and met Eric wanted more details. She found the right person to ask. Irene could give her details that I had never heard. They chatted for ages, eventually in German! So I hope Eric has found his forever person.

PC rearranged

 It struck me this morning when I had fed the cats that the stand alone beside the filing cabinet and the cleaning trolley might change positions to make the hand disinfectant accessible and make the cleaning stuff more central for the enclosure cleaning. So I moved Gemma across. Then I had another thought, Martin would prefer watching the comings and goings through the door while Gemma would rather be in a quiet corner. So I swapped them around. I think it works well. But will be interested to see if it is still so arranged by Friday. 

Later in the afternoon PC came out for a wander. Sue cleaned his eyes and I gave him a good brush which he LOVED. He looks so much better than he did when he arrived.

PC

Ms Claws only has one kitten unadopted. Dasher was picked up today. She and Dancer were in the play place together overnight. I put Dancer back in with her mum, disinfected the play place and put Henry there. He keeps saying what a big boy he is, so I thought he would like it. He hid most of the time.

"Thought I'd got rid of them" said Ms Claws

Mariko came. . . a little late because her bus from Chatswood station didn't arrive. She asks how long does it take to walk? I don't know. But she noticed the Freya's tummy is hard. I noticed that her nipples are becoming bald. Sue said that she was thought to be pregnant when she arrived. Not very then, but quite noticably now. But remember how long it takes some mums to drop their bubs.

Freya

Betty had seven kittens by Saturday morning last week. They are doing well and tend to lie beside each other in a row. 

Joy took some photos. Her brief it to take a photo of each cat in the cattery so that there is a good one to upload when they become available. Tough job, but somebody . . . . . 

She had a cat named Misty. Wonder if she looked like this Misty.

Misty

Joy noticed that Rory and Little have symmetrical face markings. Merged they would have a white nose and two white cheeks.

Rory and Little

Tinkerbelle has been desexed. The collar is too big and has to be folded back for her to eat.

Tinkerbelle

Adoption tails: Blockbuster weekend

 So many cats were adopted from Safe this past weekend:

On Saturday: Honey, Mini, Mixa, Patches with George, Sock

On Monday: Misty, Pooh

Misty

 

Pooh, Piglet and Tigger

 

Misty was still in Incoming last Friday. And I didn't get around to sorting out the Wind in the Willow kittens. It will be easier now there are only two left.

And remember the delightful Bailey? He is one happy cat now.

"Do we have to get up?"

"There is enough room for us both here"

 

His person's daughter is going to adopt Emerald who has been living with Irene and family.

News of Harry and Harley after a week in their new home:

They’re doing good. Took a little longer for Harry to come out from under the bed, but by the end of the week they’ll both play with their new owner. They also took their first steps out of the bedroom and have been exploring the rest of the apartment. 

Sudden noises or larger movements do make them retreat to the bedroom but they come back out shortly after. The owner can get quite close to them as long as s/he doesn’t touch them and they are comfortable enough to eat in the human's presence and outside the bedroom.

New Faces

There were still only 52 cats at Safe Haven this morning but there are new faces to replace those adopted since last Friday: namely Santa Maria, Norma, Petite (separately) and Valentino yesterday. Plus Casper has disappeared --- into foster care, I assume. Her previous fosterer/rescuer rang today to ask how she was getting on. There are lots of new faces in the outer office. Can't call it quarrantine any more because all of the cats are healthy. Fawny is a particular delight. Her fur is extremely soft and she chirrups rather than meows (when she is not eating).

Thelma and Louise are together again and have been moved to the jewel condo (ie where Amber, Jet and Opal were)

Misty is a pretty girl, if a trifle confused.

And in the cat room we have Lasagne who is a bit smelly.

A man arrived to meet Honey. He and his wife had decided that they want to add a cat to their family and chose her from the web page. I asked who else was in the family. A 2 and a 5 year old. I did not recommend Honey with her history of biting. But suggested Snowy. He was delighted and took a photo and video to show his wife. He may be back tomorrow. A woman phoned to say that she had talked yesterday to Katie about Mixa and was OK with his FIV status but then thought that she would probably want to get another cat because she has always had two and hers had recently died. So could she come in and see Honey. I said "Of course" and that she had bitten a couple of vollies but with an experienced cat owner we agreed that wouldn't be an issue. She came. Mixa smiled at her. Honey was a little stand offish. For contrast I introduced her to Dolly and she agreed that she didn't want a cat that was that friendly perhaps. I showed her Lord Dudley and she thought he was lovely. She went away to think about it. She got as far as the car park and after 10 minutes rang back to say that she had decided on Lord Dudley. Then she came upstairs with the biggest cat carrier! Just made for Lord Dudley. After we did the paperwork, I hoisted him to his feet and he strolled into the carrier as though he had done in a hundred times before. I think she will be back for a friend for him because she works long hours as a nurse and feels that a single cat could get lonely. (My sister tells me that the Lord Dudley is a really nice pub in Paddington. Perhaps she trained at Crown Street at some time).

Lockdown = Adoptions

Joy tells me that Coco has moved in and taken over her friends' Barb and David's lives and appartments. They can't believe that she is 9 years old. She is so active. Since she was adopted on Friday, Dudley, Luke and Rosie, Misty, Rosco, Sylvi, Sprinkles, Ken, Kosta and Murphy (today) have been adopted as well. A group of teenagers came (with parental approval) to get a small boy and Murphy chose them. It is amazing how much teenaged boys love kittens. But they have no idea how to hold them or cuddle them. I had to teach them. . . . its a hard job. Then an older couple arrived with their autistic, adult son. He had chosen Chloe from the web site. The parents thought they should come see. Chloe hid as far away in the play place that she could get, of course. Cooper was interested. After I went in and picked him up, cuddled, handed him over, he was quite happy with them. But the son was fixated on Chloe. So we looked at all the other young adults available. They took photos of the ones that he liked. They have gone away to think about it. Such a nice family group. Then an Indian family arrived looking for a dog/puppy. I told them to email Steph. Which got me to 3:30. I threw dinner at the cats and brought my sorry, cold infected bones home. With all the adoptions there have been movements. Lucky is below Ebony. She is not in the carrier, which is a surprise. And Joy said that she didn't spit when cleaned up.

Valentino is next door and wants to step into the arms of anybody who opens his door.

The lovely Riley remains in Incoming. He has lost his terror but is still a little shy. Joy has discovered that he loves playing with a ping pong ball.

Diagonally below him is a new young cat, Daisy who is a love. She has a suspicioulsy swollen belly.

The kittens in Quarrantine are Spot and Smudge. Don't know who is who as they both have spots. They have been in a foster home and are super friendly (and hungry).

Musical condos

Stop the music when Prue is exhausted. Because Pearl went to the vet this afternoon, Irene, with Tim's approval, instituted a major move of cats. All those who are available are out front, those who need more time are out back and only boarders are in Boarding, except for Kendra. Kendra and her kittens are on special diets. Kimmy was very flat today so was put into the sick bay in the outer office. She yelled so loudly that they brought Kate to keep her company. It perked Kimmy up.

The person who adopted Sage came back and adopted Sugar as well. How sensible is that! And a nice man came in looking for a black and white cat (not a kitten) and was talked into Sammy. So two wheely cages were free. I moved Roscoe into Sammy's and Whiskey and Socksie into Sage's. They were delighted to be out of the outer office. And first thing they did was to introduce themselves to their neighbours. Later Steph came, with lashings of litter, and spent lots of time giving them all cuddles which was exactly what they (both 2 and 4 leggeds) all needed.

And Coco the 11 year old Burmese arrived. She is in Celeste's condo. I don't know where Celeste is . . . . I hope in a foster home. Strange that we have two Burmese cats in residence and they are both called Coco. This Coco will not be with us for long, is my guess.

I moved Baxter into Roscoe's condo. Pearl went into Baxter's condo out back when she got home from the vets. I moved Misty into Pearl's condo and then Romeo and Juliette into Misty's condo (that was an exciting job as Romeo decided not to be picked up but did a runner from the carry cage that I had enticed him into with chicken. He ran into Myuki's condo mid sterilization and I cornered him into the carrier to deliver him to his girlfriend. Neither seemed very thrilled.) A lovely couple came and adopted Mako. He was posted on Facebook and Instagram and created a positive storm of interest. The new owners are experienced with shy cats and I think he will settle well with them. I moved Myuki into Mako's condo and then Anthony and Cleopatra into Myuki's condo. In between each move the condos were sterilized, of course. I am knackered. But I did manage to update all the sheets that tell which cat is where.

Replacement cats

I did a nose count this morning and there were 81 cats including 1 boarder (who went home at lunchtime) despite all the adoptions over the weekend. New on the scene is Apricot who is quite shy.

Roscoe is anything but shy. Don't know what his story is but he is around 6 months old and very loving.

And Misty is very friendly too. I had to hold her while her condo was being cleaned and it was not a hard job at all. She had wee'd under her litter tray. We hope it was just a mistake not a habit.

Sammy and Sandra are in a stand alone which I put where Lily was because they seemed overwhelmed being beside the desk with all the people walking to and fro in front of them. Don't know their story either but they seem sweet.

Catsie dropped by and was soon in the play place to try to humanise Silky's kittens. They did learn to play but kept one eye on me, the feeder, at all times. I tied a hook to the cross bar by their door so that you can keep the door closed from the inside instead of bending your fingers through the bars to try to get to the bolt. Try it.

Magnus had his diseased eye removed yesterday. Today it was a bit swollen below the eye but the vet expected that. It didn't seem extreme by the end of the day and he was happy enough to be fed and made a fuss of. He does like a good pat. Joy will probably take some good photos of Cooper, Chloe and Lily who arrived last week. They are a bit shy and Lily has a squeek rather than a meow. It may just be nerves. One of the others has a lump on his/her left ear that Joy will need to document.

Sabrina's kittens were desexed today as was Skylar (who weighted in at 1.04Kg this morning). Sabrina's boys went crazy when they got home. They exploded the water bowl so that everything was saturated including themselves. We dried them off, put the water bowl into a small litter tray. And then they did it again! Sabrina and Rosie just sat and watched the crazy critters. One potential adopter came looking for a boy kitten and decided that Mia was for her. She will phone Tim tomorrow to see if she can go and Bella stay.