Joyful photos

I was at Safe Haven all day but only found time to photograph Faith and Bud. I made time to give them some serious cuddles because my previous neighbours adopted Sam and Sally from us at Peggy Brown's. Sally died last week. Sam died last year. I needed to cuddle some mature cats in memory of S & S.

Luckily, Joy took some photos. Our most recent arrivals are Cabbie from Cabramatta and his big sibs Uber and Taxi.

Some people have said that my choice of names is . . . lame. . . unalphabetical. . . un-catterly. But, for me, any names are better than no names. For example, when I sent off Rita and her kittens to be desexed today, I had no idea how many of the kittens were girls/boys. So I didn't know how many collars to attach to their carry cages. They all came back bare necked because the vet didn't/wouldn't dress them. I had to check the tummies. Rita has one girl (all black) and two boys. None of whom have names! (Nor photos because Joy had left by the time they returned from the vet). But Joy took a lovely photo of Miss Silky, who is just like her mum.

And of Matty and Maddie who are much happier away from Marigold. She, in turn, is much happier that her kittens have left the building (as far as she is concerned.)

The Soft Drink kids are getting bigger and more strident about meal times. This afternoon one discovered the joy of burrowing into the Kitten Kibble container. It didn't last long, but s/he will remember it.

No adoptions today but some visitors who may return.

Milking it

I sat in the play place, on the floor, to eat my lunch in the hope that Silky's kittens would sidle up to make friends. They circled around me. Sniffed at the fragment of cheese I sucked the salad dressing off. They didn't eat it. The tuxedo stayed on the highest shelf throughout. Not a very successful lunch date. Until I thought to get the carton of cat milk that has malingered in the fridge for some weeks. It tasted OK. . . not sour. So I poured out a bit in four bowls and the kittens came. They let me pat them for as long as there was milk in the bowls. It is a good start. So I gave milk to everybody else who needed a pat. All kittens loved it and got patted whether they wanted pats or not. Some cats, like Billy and Zelda and Star, wanted, and got a pat, before being offered milk. Star has been desexed and the person who wants her will come to pick her up as soon as she is good to go. Even Lucky got milk. She wouldn't let me pat her but at least stopped spitting at me for long enough to drink it.

Pearl wanted what ever everybody else was getting but didn't recognise it when I poured it into her bowl. I am not sure whether she couldn't see the cream coloured milk in her yellow bowl or she couldn't smell it with her stuffed nose. But eventually she found it and enjoyed it. Mixa let me pat her while she drank his (And I thought he was a boy, no wonder he didn't want me to pat him before!) Belle is sick to death of anything to do with milk. Robyn had to trick her into accepting a couple of her kittens to deflate her mammary glands.

We got some more kittens from Cabramatta. One is very cuddleable. I decided his name should be Cabie.

The other two, from the same household are much shyer. They can be Taxi (or Tachi) and Uber.

The really good news is that Rita and family has been deemed un-ringwormed. They have joined us by turning their (wheely cage's) back on quarantine corner.

SH is good for your heart

It gives it exercise in all different ways. For example, when I arrived this morning I quickly went around to check on each cat and to count them (85 but I think I may have missed Octavia and other stand alones). Everybody was in their place. So I took the (17) trash bags out to the garbage bins because Wednesday is the day when the garbos come and there are lots of half empty bins along the street. When I got back the last time the Japanese kittens were running all over the place. They had forced their way through the hole in their screen door that I mended last Friday. I quickly rounded them up and popped them back with a temporary bit of cardboard. That is when I discovered that their mum wasn't there. Wasabi could have been anywhere. Under the food shelves, on top of the condos, over the balcony. . . . Terry arrived and started the search. After about 5 minutes he stopped and said "But Wasabi went home on Saturday". Such a relief for my poor overworked heart. You have got to love Terry. The day proceeded. The vollies arrived and found that we have very few gloves. I asked them to spray their hands with F10, put on gloves, clean cat 1, take off gloves, respray with F10, do cat 2 without gloves, spray hands, put on gloves, clean cat 3, etc, etc. It cuts the glove usage in half. And the cats prefer skin to plastic. Billy positively stroked himself against my hand. He was all about the pats today. Last week he was all over Joy as well.

Amber has two room mates. They are probably her siblings. They are shy as she was when she arrived but I can pat her now.

Sesame has always been all about the pats. She doesn't have any canines so has trouble keeping her tongue in her mouth when she is happy.

Zelda is back and available. Third time lucky, we hope. Especially since I cut an old, dry turd from the tip of her tail!

Windsor is not happy in his new digs. . . . same hidey hole but not as willing to come out for strokes.

Mattie and Maddie have been moved away from Marigold. None of them are happy about it, yet.

But Peggy was happy to have a gloveless pat.

At the final feeding of the day, I gave Marmalade his portion of crunchies and he looked at me with a hurt expression on his face. "Where is my cuddle?" it seemed to be saying. So I reached out and he happily got the caress that Tim gives him every day. Good exercise for the heart. (Plus I walked 9.92 K there today.)

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.

Puddle of Purs

The traffic was dreadful this morning. It took twice as long as it should for me to get to Chatswood. Luckily Terry was caught up in it too so the kittens that he was to take to be desexed were ready by the time he arrived. They were the second pair of boys that Steph has been fostering. The first pair were desexed yesterday and I can only assume that the vet first demonstrated how to shave the bum of a kitten on one of them and let the student do the second. The poor ginger has a shocker of a shave job! He is bare to the hips. But the second pair of boys came back early (the vet gave them lunch) and while I finally got around to sorting out the laundry shelves, there was a puddle of purs coming from their condo. Soooo happy to be back together again.

Further down the Boarding block, Marigold and her kittens are not quite so chilled.

We have a new Japanese family who tend to stack one upon the other.

Wasabi, the mother, is on the right with the large, wary eyes. Her kittens are quite happy to be handled. Wasabi and Inari were desexed yesterday so I had to separate them from the boys to have pain meds. The boys were quite happy to be picked up to check their bald balls. And I put a collar on Inari to make it easier tomorrow. Didn't like my chances of getting a collar on Wasabi. We have a new Peanut-level grubby cat called Sesame. She has problems with her teeth and probably a wounded foot that leeks blood and perhaps a gut full of worms. But she is super friendly. If you try to take a photo of her, she immediately lies down for more cuddles.

Last thing this evening I had a Celeste sighting. Small steps.

Zelda is back

Despite the pep talk I gave her owner last week and the telephone support Irene has provided over the weekend, Zelda's person could not provide her a safe place. Goodness knows why she thought it would be a good idea to have a young cat in a two bedroom flat with a 102year old and her daughter with carers coming frequently. We will find her somebody to love her properly. In the meantime, Belle's kittens are growing fast despite her gastric troubles. There is Baxter.

And Bugsy,

Button,

Bonnie,

And Buffy.

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.