Adoption Tails: RIcki, Kenji, Cooper and Tigger

Ricki

Rycki

1 day: Ricki has settled in extremely well from the minute she got in the front door. Taken over eating well, using the kitty litter with no issues at all. Sleeping on the bed at night and very social with the family and visitors. Not hiding at all. They will be keeping Ricki's name. The family didn't need to keep her in one room to start as she came in as if she had been in here for years, has not hidden at all. 

1 week: No problem taking over. Miss Confidence has settled extremely well. 

1 month: Ricki is delightful and has taken over the home. She is very warm in her personality and friendly and loves affection.

Kenji

1 day: He's going really well. Eating, drinking and being super clever and using his kitty litter. Kenji has a nice big room to be in and Poppy (the daughter) is there with him. She's been needing a furry best bud for a while, Kenji is her perfect match! The two are loving playing and sleeping.

 

1 week: Kenji is being a very good work buddy with the owner today. He's going great at home. The daughter was sick last week so Kenji spent the whole week with her which she obviously relished. He's met the resident cat and things are going well, there were even some nose kisses. He loves exploring the house.

 1 month: Kenji is the best! He's helping the owner work again today! 

 

Kenji

He's super social - loves being around people and playing. He is very loved. "Thank you for your wonderful work SAFE does!"

 Cooper

2 days: “He settled into his safe room well, he hid away in the closet and would come out to eat/drink & use the litter. After dinner last night he seemed hungry for some affection so we gave him some pats and the chance to explore the rest of the house - and he spent the whole night going between us and laying on our laps! We’re both so surprised at how fast he’s warmed up to us, we thought it would take a lot longer. He’s such a sweetheart! And he recognises his name so we’ll be keeping it”

1.5 weeks: “Cooper is doing amazingly, he’s pretty much completely out of his safe room and spends most of his time either laying on us or in front of the heater. He enjoys a sleep in and has taken an interest in watching TV (he seems to like cartoons). He’s such a gentle sweet little angel, and he’s so well behaved as well. We feel very lucky to have such a lovely boy in our lives”

1 month: no response

 

Tigger

1 day: “Tigger has settled in well so far. He has found a safe place in my bedroom, but has ventured out to explore a little bit. Tigger has had some dinner but is yet to use the litter tray.” His owner will be keeping his name.

3 days: “Tigger used the litter box last night, and he certainly hasn’t lost his appetite” 

Tigger

1.5 weeks: “I can only describe Tigger as relaxed and comfortable in his new surroundings. He has worked out that Nan (my mother) is a soft touch for treats and happily plays with my support worker when she arrives in the morning. All in all, there are no issues.” 

2 weeks: One issue they’re having is Tigger attacks (scratches) his owner’s support worker when they are helping them put on their shoes. They have given him a ball of wool to play with but he is still attacking the support worker when they are putting on the shoes (he wants to play with the shoes laces). 

5.5 weeks: “Tigger has settled in very well. He is now starting to snuggle up with me at night. I have put strategies in place to avoid repeats of the attacks on my support worker and these seem to be working well.”

 

Ricki gone

 Those folk did come first thing on Thursday to adopt Ricki. I did wonder because she was still on the for adoption list on Friday morning. The system is not perfect (which matches some of the vollies!) And Jerry has an adopter panting for him. He will be desexed next Tuesday. He was in the Play Place when I arrived this afternoon and wasn't very happy with the service there.

Jerry

While Robyn and I sat to tell PC what a handsome boy he is

PC on "his" blanket on the chair that he has scratched and made dirty

since going to the vet and getting a good wash (not to mention an abscessed tooth removed and treatment for his yeast infection), both Yin and Yang got out of their beds, stretched, had a poo (Yin), ate a mouthful and went back to bed. This is frenetic compared to their usual level of activity. They do like pats while in bed.

Yang

The cloth that I dropped down between them and Prue and Trude seems to be working. But I think P & T will breach the barrier unless Geoff can install something less pullable.

"Wasn't me" says Prue about the pulled through cloth

Robyn caught Riley saying "Keeping you up?" to Miz. Or is she saying "I'll bite you with my tooth"

Riley and Miz

They are seeking pats now having got over their sulks at being condemned to a Safe Haven.

And Florence and Fleur were desexed. They will probably be adopted by next week. Too cute.

The proper way to wear an Elizabethan collar as shown by Florence

Coco

 Again, thank you Tuesday for schlepping out all the bags. But Willoughby council only emptied one of our trash bins! The other is full already. I put the empty one in the garage and left the full one where it was put along the pathway down the hill. Who put it there? It was with all the rest on the gutter when I arrived. The mysteries of trash collection!

Coco, our frequent boarder was in the play place when I arrived. She wasn't happy. Eventually I thought that she might be happier back in a condo where she is usually happy. I talked her out of the multi-storey climby thing to somewhere I could pick her up. I think she couldn't figure out how to get out if where she was. The story is that her owner, a SAFE member, had a heart attack on Saturday and Coco was to be with us indefinitely. Later in the day, we had a call from the owner to say that she would pick Coco up this afternoon. She duly arrived and Coco was overjoyed to see her. I held her carry case up to the condo and Coco walked straight into it. Easiest cat to crate in existence! 

Lola kept trying to get into Incoming. Eventually Sue gave her a new bed on the table in Opies Room and she was a happy cat snoozing the afternoon away.

Lola

Josie's kittens have names

Jake

Josh, no longer holding up a sore paw

Several calls came in about Ricki. All from the family of the neighbour of her foster carer. They wanted to reserve her. But we don't do that. It is "first in, first served" at Safe. But by the time I had heard the sad story of the neighbour's lovely cat having died yesterday, and how much they loved Ricki, and that they really could not get to us this afternoon, and that they will be at Safe at 10am tomorrow. . . . I said that if any other customers came this afternoon, I wouldn't show them Ricki. Luckily, no customers came.

Ricki

Sue had me writing bios of the cats who are not available for adoption that she can use when she needs instant bios. It is not easy to do. For example what do you say about Willow except that she has hidden for 4 months and seems to be coming out of her shell now.

Willow

Or about Harley and Quinn who have only been with us for a week and in that week have changed from scardey cats into coy young girls who long to flirt with you.

Harley and Quinn (or vice versa)

Or about Stardust who was one of three crazy cats in the Palace who is now a pussy cat as a single.

Stardust

Short Friday

 I am away this weekend and had to leave Safe Haven early. And where I am staying while it has WiFi the system doesn't allow me to upload photos. I will add them when I get home. In the meantime

When I arrived Cindy Clawford was accepting the adulation of all the vollies. She is an excellent cat to use to teach inexperienced cat handlers how to pick up a cat. She just loves it all and can be held like a baby and passed from arm to arm. (By the time I uploaded the photos at home, Cindy was no longer on the "For Adoption" page of the Safe Website. So I assume that she has been adopted. Also gone from there areDaisy, Pickle and Sandy. . . but Sandy had the sniffles on Friday so she might be on the sick list.)

Cindy Clawford

 I took the time to pat Yin and Yang. They loved it. And they loved the chicken that Arc handed out. He dropped by on his way home just to get a kitty fix.

Yin and Yang

 

We have two new cats in Boarding who are available:

Ricki who is a girl and is very people oriented. Her fosterer rang during the afternoon to find out how she was coping with the move. I held the phone next to Ricki so that her fosterer could hear her purring.

Ricki

 Cooper, in the condo below, is not so outgoing but is a very chill cat.

Cooper

 And Annabelle (in Michelle's stand alone) is available too. She won't last long.

A woman came in to find a cat to go with her collie type dog. Tim suggested Aslan who performed perfectly. But then Tim showed her Mr Garfield and I fear that she fell in love.

The squee kittens in Isolation have got ringworm. Cute, cuter and cutest has become wormy, wormier and wormiest. Such a shame.

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

 

More space for poo bags

 This post is dedicated to Helen who spirits off poo bags on Tuesday so that there are not so many for me to schlepp out on Wednesday morning.

I have brought home the pots of dead grass and put the rubbish bin of dead mops in their place in the corner beyond the clothes rack. This makes more room for poo bags so that they won't be damaged and leak all over the place. (I hope).

When I arrived, Max and Gus's door was open, again. And they were inside, again. The catch is very loose and when it is tightened up, it is either too tight to move or too loose. There is a gap in the mesh beside the latch. It is my belief that the cats stick their paw through the gap to push down the latch. There used to be a wad of sticky tape there to hold the latch in place. . . I think Catsie devised that. I have added some cardboard strips stuck on with gaffer's tape to keep the latch in place. Geoff needs to devise a better way.

Max says "It wasn't me"

This morning, I moved the Supermodel kittens to the Palace. . . . very carefully and one at a time. (They were the kittens who made me bleed dramatically and get a spectacular bruise all down my forearm some months ago). They each went to a different corner of the Palace and stayed there all day. One ignored the bed I put beside her. And they all ignored the food at dinnertime. They have superstar temperaments.

Joy took some great photos.

Ricki didn't enjoy her overnight stay in the play place. She much prefers talking to the people.

Ricki

Zac has settled in to a different place since he moved from Incoming last week. He is a cat who doesn't like change.

Zac

Theodore got one of the new hammocks I made over the weekend. I tried to make some light sides for dark cats  and dark sides for light cats. Ginger cats look good on everything.

Theodore

We tried to get Diego to get into a carrier so that we could give him a go in the play place but he wasn't having a bar of it. Eventually (when he'd had enough treats) we gave up and he got a new fluffy bed instead of the carrier that Joy bought for him.

Diego is where he wants to be

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.

Fork lift

 The day started with a phone call from Rozelle from a retired nurse who is mad for Persians and wanted to come visit Luigi and Bambi. She has had Persians before and especially loves red Persians like Luigi. She wanted chapter and verse about their medical history and I said that Tim would know more than me. "I am on my way anyway" she said. And we hurried to clean up them and their condo which was in the usual state of havoc as somebody had poo'd out of the litterbox and wee'd on it to make sure. Then sat in it. I dried Luigi's legs and paws while Rod scrubbed. We got them looking splendidly fluffy and she didn't turn up. She phoned at 4pm to say that she would come tomorrow because when she set off in the morning the rain was so heavy that she couldn't see where she was going. I doubt they will look as spruce tomorrow but she is very keen.

The day ended with the delivery of something corrosive to next door. The driver called up on the intercom to ask if I had a fork lift to get it out of his truck. No. Eventually we arrived at the compromise that he would drive his truck to the basement entry (too big to drive in), unpack the pallet on which was one 20gallon carboy of 90% acetic acid (that is a lot of salads!) onto our trolley, I signed all the paperwork and trundled it up to Suite 18. I have thought of a good payback: John can come and clean the really high condos. Only he is tall enough to reach their ceilings.

This morning I noticed that Violet's kittens were having trouble getting to the upper level of their condo. She hangs out upstairs. They claw up the mesh to get to her. So I added a stratchy box downstairs and put their fluffy bed upstairs. They had a marvelous time running up and down. Quite exhausted Violet who flaked out on the fluffy bed.

Violet + 4

Wanda has been separated from "her" kittens. She is delighted that she doesn't have to share her food any more.

Wanda says "MY bowl"

She is below Ricki who might be pregnant. There was not signs of any kittens today.

Ricki

Google says: The 'ginger gene' which produces the orange colour is on the X chromosome. Females have two X chromosomes and so need two copies of this gene to become ginger, whereas males need only one. This means there are roughly three males to one female ginger cat.

 

A flat solar system

 Only one adoption today and it doesn't count because it was Lucky who was adopted from foster by vollie Vicky weeks ago and she just did the paperwork today. No follow ups required. He already rules the house, husband and dogs.

Steph brought in a mum and her kittens. The mum, a calico is Star. Her boy kittens are Jupiter (tabbie) and Venus (white). Her girl kittens are Saturn (champagne), Pluto (tortie) and Mars (ginger). They must have all been named when it was too early to tell what sex they were. They formed a very flat universe today when they moved into the Canin condo because some have the flu and one has ringworm. Because they are sick the Canin condo has been rolled back into Incoming and Beauty, Amelia are back beside Jackson.

Star and family

 There is another sweet ginger girl in Incoming, Ricki. Don't know where she came from.

Ricki

And Flo, a tiny kitten below Midsummer who goes home with Katie every night. She was dumped in somebody's yard. (It must be exciting at Katie's because she was flaked out all afternoon).

Flo

Sabrina and Tutu have been moved to boarding.

Sabrina and Tutu

Tigger

Tigger is where Rufus used to be. You can tell that Tigger is upset about the move, there is food in his bowl.

Rufus in above Sabrina and Tutu. He is to be picked up on Monday. I think he liked being close to the roof but he stayed out of camera range.

Rufus

And Jackie is below them. She is not well but we don't know what to do to help her tummy. She did like a little bit of chicken.

Jackie

Coco, who has been on the adoption list for some weeks while in foster, came in because her fosterers are going away. Their other cats came in to board. Coco quickly figured out how to open her condo and passed me while I was sitting close by trying to get mats from Gigi's flanks. I called a warning and when she made a bolt for the front door her fosterer grabbed her. It is never dull at Safe Haven.

Coco