Katy Adopted!

We've had pretty good luck lately.  The last two fosters we took in were adopted super fast.  Katy went to her first event this Saturday, less than a week after I got her, and she got adopted and went to her new home last night.  Her adopters are super happy with her, she is just too pretty and sweet to linger long in the foster system.

In other news, Caleb had his follow-up vet visit yesterday as well and had X-rays and neutering done.  His leg is healing very nicely and the vet cleared him from cage rest.  He will be attending his first adoption event Saturday, wish him luck!

More Updates

I've neglected the blog for a few weeks - I had a very busy project at my job and was working about 18 hours a day for a couple weeks.  I've spent the last two weeks catching up on everything I pushed aside for work - vet visits, cleaning, etc.

1. Princessa was adopted and went home at the end of September.  Princessa is the first cat I tried to pull from Animal Care & Control.  She was pregnant at the time, and I tried to get her while she was still pregnant so she would have a safe place to have her kittens.  In the time it took the shelter to get back to us about her, she was spayed and her kittens aborted.  She was still healthy at the time and had a chance of being adopted, so we took Rondo instead.  About a week later, Princessa ended up on the kill list with a cold, so we took her after all.  She had to go the the vet straight from the shelter, and she was there for a month before I finally got her home.  She was with us for a few months.  A couple had seen her briefly at Petco and I was in the back of the store - the other volunteers got their contact info and I was able to bring Princessa to their home the next day to meet her in a calmer setting.  She wasted no time in jumping up on their bed and curling up, and that sealed the deal.  She is so sweet, and it was shocking that it took so long for her to be adopted.  

2. Sheri FINALLY got to go home!  She and her kittens finally got rid of the ringworm and I am happy to say it is out of our house now.  Her new owner is so thrilled with her, and she gets along fabulously with her new brother cat.

3. Shirley, one of the cats I originally caught for TNR, was adopted last weekend.  She was NOT with Anjellicle, but the rescue group who paid for her vetting found a home for her quite unexpected.  Either way, I'm still very happy for her!

4. I have a few new fosters: 

Caleb, an 8-month-old cat who fell out of a third-story window and broke his leg.  He had surgery and he is on strict cage rest with us.  He's doing REALLY well and you wouldn't even know his leg was broken unless you really watched him.  He's also very sweet, and I think he'll get along with the rest of our clan very nicely when he's able to leave the cage.  He has a checkup next Tuesday, so we'll see!

Joshua, who was 7 weeks old and a woman found him out on the street alone.  She brought him to Anjellicle while we were holding an adoption event.  He's pretty small for his age, but very lovey.  He has "mommy issues," as we call it, where he tries to suckle on the people who hold him.

Jake, a 4-month-old kitten who has burn marks all the way down his head and back.  I traded another volunteer another kitten I was fostering in order to take him, since she couldn't due to vaccines and such.  Very very sweet boy, and my husband's coworker is actually adopting him.  She is an amazing woman and he'll have a great life with her.  His burns are healing nicely, but he might always have a stripe of missing fur due to scars.

Star, a 1-year-old who was pulled from AC&C but didn't have a foster.  She looks EXACTLY like Dusty, so I asked if I could foster her.  She has already been adopted and is going home this weekend.

I have a new foster coming tomorrow, Katy.  She is 1.5 years old and came into the shelter with a kitten, the owner gave them up because of too many pets.  Spay and neuter your pets, people!  She was on the kill list this past Wednesday and I couldn't stop looking at her, so I asked to pull her.  She gets along with both cats and dogs.  I can't wait to meet her!

Boo & Bobo

Two more kittens went to their forever home today!  Boo and Bobo came to me in the group of 8 kittens I took in over a month ago.  Boo is a male and Bobo is female, they are siblings (and there were only the 2 of them).  They are incredibly bonded and Boo really depends on his sister.  Boo had a lot of interest since he looks like a Russian Blue, but I was hesitant to separate them.  I was thrilled when a couple wanted to adopt them together.  I took them to the couple's apartment for a meet and greet and they spent over an hour playing with the kittens.  Total love.  They were so anxious and happy to take them home today.

Bobo

Boo

Recent Adoptions

After a month-long dry spell, we've finally had a few cats go home the past few days.  All three are doing our foster-to-adopt program, where the family gets one week for kittens and two weeks for adults to decide if the cat will work in their home or with existing cats, etc. before finalizing the adoption and paying the fees.

Hoodie went to a home with a gorgeous long-haired older cat and two kids who will give him the playtime he needs.  We had him for about 2.5 months.  He's very sweet, plays fetch with toys, watches TV, and cuddled in bed with us.

Rory went to a home with two 4-year-olds, and she is tolerant enough to be a family pet.  We had her for about 3.5 months.  If you remember, she came to us with Zigby, who was adopted within a few weeks.  She's an amazing cat, we almost considered keeping her ourselves for awhile!

Last, but not least, Vanessa went to a home with a few young adults who are very excited to have her.  As soon as I let her out of the carrier, she was immediately exploring and checking the place out, but with no fear or anxiety.  She'll be just fine!  She is a medium-hair, very friendly and loves to be held.  We expected her to get adopted very quickly, so I'm surprised we had her for so long - over a month.

Good luck furry ones and I hope the adoptions become final!

New Cat Tree = Happy Kitties!

Oh, What A Month

So much has happened since I last posted, and I was incredibly busy because of it.  I just didn't have the time to post, and then no motivation to, as you'll see shortly.

Sheri

1. Sheri and her 5 kittens have ringworm.  I have been treating them all but this means they have been isolated from everyone else and have been unable to attend adoption events, and that is bad news during this crucial time when they are very adoptable.  The kittens are now 3 months old and getting sooo big.  I really hope they will still have an easy time finding homes, but the ringworm isn't gone yet so I don't know when that will be.  Sheri was indeed adopted by the lady who was interested in her, and this woman is a SAINT.  She has been so patient waiting for Sheri to be ready to come home, even though it's been 4 weeks already.  She just wants her to be healthy!

2. Prize, Chandra, Tibalt, and Hermie all went to their new homes.  Hoodie is my only remaining kitten from this bunch that were together, and he couldn't go with Sheri's kittens for obvious reasons, so he has been staying with Lily in our bedroom.  Hoodie is incredibly sweet now, I'm so happy with how he's turned out, he used to be the most shy of his brothers.  He is also 3.5 months old now and I really hope he'll be adopted soon.  The older they get, the harder it is...

3. We caught 2 females for TNR completely by luck.  We named them Laverne and Shirley.  We found out they were both already spayed, but they got their vaccines and ears tipped anyway.  Laverne was semi-friendly but just not enough to be adopted, so we released her back to her neighborhood, where it looks like people were taking care of them anyway.  Shirley is still with us for now, she is VERY friendly and we didn't have the heart to release her.  We are trying to find her a home and may need to take her to adoption events with the group that I do TNR with.

Shirley

Laverne

4. I wanted to take a few more foster kittens for Hoodie since he would have been alone otherwise.  I originally agreed to 2, then got talked into agreeing to 7, then 8.  Eight kittens = 5 4-week-olds (no names at the time), 2 8-week-olds (Boo and Bobo), and 1 ~10 week old (Sachet).  When the kittens were first brought to me at an adoption event, I noticed they had diarrhea, but figured I'd give it a few days since it could be due to anything, even just the food they were eating.  However, by the end of the week, the diarrhea had not cleared up and several of the kittens were dehydrated.  Sachet ended up at the vet for 3 days, and we lost 2 of the youngest kittens.  It is the first time I've ever lost a kitten, and I know I am very lucky it hasn't happened until now.  We are doing our best for the others.  The remaining 3 are now named: Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup (yes, the Powerpuff Girls!).  Sachet may have an adopter, and Boo and Bobo will start attending events this weekend.

5. Rondo, who was living at Petco now, passed away unexpectedly.  He got very ill very quickly and passed away at the vet before they could drain some fluid from his chest.  They think it was either heart problems or cancer.  I was devastated.  He had just been adopted and was going to be delivered to his new home the next day.  Absolutely horrible news.  The group is thinking of starting a Rondo Memorial Fund to assist with vet costs for cats who get ill so quickly, which is a great idea and I'm happy he'll be remembered that way.  Here is a video from after he first went to Petco:

6. Current count = 25.  We are taking a break - no more fosters for awhile.  Of course we will continue to go to adoption events until the kittens are all adopted, but especially this latest batch of kittens and the ringworm have taken a toll on us and we need a breather.  The adults aren't as time-sensitive to take to events, so having a few adult fosters isn't as bad.  Of course I say "no more" right now, but there are always cats in desperate need of a home.  I'm trying to be serious this time, at least!

Swap: 1 for 6

The very first cat I rescued from the kill list was Rondo, back in March.  He is an incredibly handsome 3-year-old fellow.  He was brought to the shelter as a stray and came to me with a pretty bad cold and an abscess that was draining, but not healing.  After about a month, including over a week at the vet, he was healthy and lovey as ever.  We kept him in his own room for a long time while he was recovering.  A short time after he was finally good to go, he snuck out of the bedroom while the door was open.  Normally we would immediately intercept and put him back, but he had been in the house long enough that he at least knew most of the other cats by smell, so it was a good introduction test.  He crept a few feet, then went STRAIGHT for our biggest cat, the 20-pound Sharky.  It was the first time I saw an actual hissing-screaming-ball-of-fury cat fight, straight out of a cartoon. 

After that, Rondo was separated again.  We got a large cage and put it in the living room and for weeks we kept him there to get used to the other cats, thinking he just needed a longer introduction.  We started letting him out again for short periods of time.  He would be okay for an hour or two, then out of nowhere, he'd corner another cat or just attack one.  He always goes for the back of the neck, so we quickly learned that it's all dominance - he isn't attacking them out of aggression, but the need to be the dominant cat.  We tried so many times, but he is just TOO dominant to be with other cats.  Maybe he would do well with one submissive cat, but he wouldn't be able to work with our clan.

There was another cat that lived in the condos at our Petco location, and I found out she was good with other cats.  I recommended that we switch the two - Rondo could live at Petco and I would take this girl.  Timing worked out well and she got adopted a few days before I was to bring Rondo to Petco this past Saturday.  So instead I got this family in exchange:

 

Meet Sheri and her 5 8-week-old babies, Kara, Kennedy, JR, Juniper, and Justine.  JR is the only boy.  This picture was taken at the adoption event where I was picking them up from, they are in our large foster room right now.  They are all a little ill right now with colds and eye infections, but doing well.  They are ALL very friendly.  Someone is already interested in Sheri, which is amazing, because I'm always afraid that the moms will be left behind after kittens get adopted.

For those playing along at home, our cat count right now is 21 - 10 are kittens, though, and 4 of the kittens have applications and/or already approved to go to their new homes, so the numbers will be decreasing rapidly this week.

As always, Rondo, Sheri, and her babies are available for adoption through Anjellicle Cats Rescue.

Updates

It's been pretty busy around here lately, so here are a bunch of updates:

1. Several kittens went home in the last two weeks: Hudson went to a home that had an adult cat, and Ajani and Tibalt went to a home together with an amazing couple.

2. Speaking of Ajani and Tibalt, Lily's kittens had their retesting done last week...and all four came back negative!  My beautiful, brave, strong Liliana managed to give birth to six perfect babies with NO FIV!  Just Chandra and Jace are looking for their forever homes now.

3. Jezebel, the skinny little stray, went to the vet yesterday and tested negative.  She's been vaccinated and ready for a new home.  She isn't quite ready to be spayed yet though, the vet wants her to gain some more weight for about a month before spaying.

4. RIP Cody.  He also went to the vet yesterday for evaluation and testing.  It was ultimately decided by the vet that he was too old to be socialized, and was taken away from his mother too young to have the survival skills to be put back outside.  They decided it was most humane to euthanize him.  I feel very responsible for this little life having been lost, since I should have started socializing him sooner but just didn't have the proper environment to do so.  I had just gotten him a nice cage and was ready to start, but the timing just ended up not working in my favor.  I don't think I could agree to this decision again if it comes up, but what's done is done in this case.  I'm so sorry, little guy.

5. When I went to an adoption last week with 6 kittens, I came home with 7.  The AC&C van had dropped off a bunch of kittens that the group pulled from the kill list and the director asked who wanted kittens.  We agreed to take a solo kitten who had been thrown out of a car window and onlookers brought him to the shelter.  His name is Prize, though we call him Sir Prize.  He is about 8 weeks old now.  Both he and Hermie have people interested in them!

Path of the Planeswalkers

This post has been a long time coming.  Back in early April, my husband called me with his now-famous line: "Tell me I did the right thing."

He was walking home from the bus stop and saw a pretty tuxedo cat.  Then saw her giant belly.  He immediately picked her up and took her home.  She looked to be VERY pregnant.

First of all, about the names you are about to see, and the title of this post for those who don't recognize it: My husband and I both enjoy playing a trading card game called Magic: The Gathering.  There are different types of cards, and some of them are called Planeswalkers, people with extraordinary abilities, to keep it short.  There are quite a few of them at this point in time.  When we knew we had a litter coming, we knew that's the theme we wanted, and the mother, Liliana, got her name (Liliana Vess).
 
A couple days later, we took Liliana to the vet to get tested and general checkup to make sure everything was going okay with her pregnancy.  We have went through the rescue process many many times.  By now, testing for FIV/FeLV is just a formality to be safe and to have the records to give to whoever might end up adopting the cat.  My heart sank down to my feet when the vet tech came out and said the test was positive for FIV.  They retested her on the spot with a fresh sample, since the tech left the test unattended for a few extra minutes and just wanted to be sure.  Again, she tested very strongly for FIV.  The vet also told us she probably had about 2 weeks to go in her pregnancy, even though she was already massive and looked ready to pop.

It was a scramble to learn everything I could about FIV, especially since kittens would be coming into the world and I had to know what to expect.  Thankfully, from my time volunteering at the animal shelter, I learned a bit about FIV already: that cats could live long lives with it, and that even friendly cats could live with non-FIV cats since it's only transmitted through deep bite wounds.  During my research and talking to several vets, I further learned that it's actually pretty rare for kittens to get it from their mother, they don't get it through the mom's milk, and that kittens could falsely test positive up to 6 months old due to having their mother's antibodies.  So things looked good to have healthy kittens.  Side note: if you have any questions about FIV or want more information, please contact me - I'm more than happy to share what I've learned.

Exactly two weeks after the vet predicted two more weeks, on April 21, the kittens arrived.

We had went out to run some errands, and Lily wasn't even in labor.  She looked peaceful and content when we left (we knew it was getting close!).  By the time we got back a few hours later, she was delivering kitten #3.

This is where the story gets very sad and tumultuous.

Lily gave birth to 9 kittens, but 3 of them were stillborn.  Those 3 are now lovingly buried in our garden and will not be forgotten.  She had a very rough time during delivery and I had to help her out a few times.  Even so, she was a great mom.  Around 1 AM, she started settling down and it had been awhile since the last kitten, so I thought she was done.  However, her belly still felt swollen and possibly like there were more in her - but she also ate a LOT of wet food during delivery, so I thought it could have also just been her very full tummy.  I called an emergency vet just to find out how to tell if a cat was done giving birth or if there were more.  The triage tech assured me that cats usually deliver without any help and she should be fine.  We finally went to sleep.

The next day, Lily started leaving the nest box already and lying on the floor or on our bed away from her babies.  We have been through two litters before and this is unusual.  As the day went on, we started seeing puddles of diluted blood on the bedspread, much more than what I'd expect.  I called the same vet again and spoke to someone else.  When I described how large the puddles were, she advised us to bring her in ASAP.  So we packed up Lily and her 6 beautiful babies and away we went.  She was examined, x-rayed and ultrasounded.  All they could clearly see was gas bubbles in her uterus, which meant she either had an infection or decomposing kittens still in there.  They told us to get her spayed the very next day if we could (they don't like doing spays there since they are just an emergency vet and charge a lot more).

That night, I contacted one of my rescue acquaintances and set it up for Lily to be spayed at their vet the next day.  I had to sign about 4 different waivers releasing them of liability if she died on the table (which they were so sure she was going to, because of the FIV) as well as papers agreeing to take care of the kittens if the mother didn't make it.  The next day, off to the vet she went, leaving us with kitten duty.  I had never bottle-fed a kitten before, and it was a learning experience.  It was a crash course in kitten care.  Around 3 PM, the vet's office called me to tell me that Lily made it through the surgery and was doing great - they had never called me before when I've used them for rescues, so it was a surprise to them that she made it.  It turned out that there were, in fact, 2 or 3 more kittens in her that didn't make it.  That means she was carrying 11-12 kittens - no wonder she was so massive!

We were warned that it would take her at least a day to recover from the surgery, and the vet said she wouldn't be able to produce milk at all.  Still, we were hopefully, based on other research (specifically TNR) that she would be able to take over nursing when she was feeling better.  I made arrangements with my boss to work from home half-days so I could feed the kittens around midday to hold them over until my husband got home from work to feed them again.  We kept the kittens in the box with a heating pad while Lily recovered

Lily snuggling with a stolen kitten. Another is under her arm.

A couple days later, my husband came home and 2 of the kittens weren't in the box.  He found them in the closet with Lily; she had started stealing her kittens back.  Every time we'd put them back in the box, within a few hours, 1-3 of them would be gone again.  She had steel stitches so we were nervous about her having them and trying to nurse, since the kittens could get hurt, but we just couldn't keep them apart.  We put the box back in the closet for her and over a few more days, she was back in the box being full-time mom.  We just watched really closely; thankfully none of the kittens got hurt on the stitches.

Lily never did start producing enough milk for all of them.  She produced a little bit, but just not enough.  They would still suckle on her, but it was mostly just comfort at that point.  We ended up bottle feeding them all the way until about 5 weeks old, something we never wanted to do since we both work full time, but we made it work and survived.  All 6 kittens thrived and are healthy little terrors now.  They are just about 3 months old.

The kittens already went through their first round of FIV testing.  Two of them tested negative right off the bat, which is great news.  The other four tested weakly positive and will be retested again next week; they will continue to be tested once a month until they either test negative, or until they are 6 months old.  At 6 months, if they still test positive, then it is almost certain they have FIV.

Without further ado, meet the Planeswalkers:

Ajani

Chandra

 

Gideon

Jace

Nissa

Tibalt

So far, Gideon and Nissa have been adopted, and it was pure coincidence that they were the two who tested negative already.  Gideon went to a home with another solo kitten, and the woman had an adult cat as well.  Nissa went to a home with three dogs and a gorgeous adult red male tabby.  I'm hoping the others get adopted soon; especially with black cats, the older they get, the harder they are to find homes for.  There are already smaller and more colorful kittens to compete with at adoption events.  They are all very friendly and people-social, probably because they were bottle-fed basically since birth.  They are available for adoption through Anjellicle Cats Rescue.

As for Liliana, Lily, Lilybelle - she will be staying with us for now.  We love her dearly and we aren't afraid of the big bad FIV.  If someone is specifically looking for an FIV cat, we will happily let her go to a new home, but we aren't going to actively seek one out for her.

Jezebel

This past Thursday, my husband sent the following picture to my phone with no explanation while he was working:

Somehow, I already knew what that meant.  I did leave some doubt in my mind that maybe one of his coworkers got a new cat and just brought it to work to show it off or something.

An hour or so later, he called me and gave me the details.  His boss had found this friendly little tortie girl outside his house.  He asked his neighbors if it belonged to anyone, and when it was a resounding no, he called my husband at work and asked if we could take her.  Shortly after, he picked my husband up and brought him and the cat to our house.  My husband told me she was thin, but I had no idea until I got home.

 

Her head is wider than the rest of her body.  I can't say she is the thinnest cat I've ever seen - everyone has seen pictures of cats so starved ALL you see is bone.  But she is the thinnest cat I've ever seen in person.Even the picture is misleading.

She ate so much when she first arrived that her tummy couldn't handle it; she threw up.  Besides the wet food, the rest of the contents was inedible objects - rubber bands, rocks, paper, things like that.  She was eating whatever she could find when she was outside.  It broke my heart.

She is very friendly, though she doesn't like other cats.  If I had to guess, she's somewhere between 6-12 months old.  We already have money set aside for her vetting and spay when she gains some weight, she is too thin for surgery right now.  We aren't sure what we're going to do with her since she's not with a rescue group, but she's safe now and that's all that matters.

Hello There, Little Guys!

Rory & Zigby

A few weeks ago, we accepted 2 adults from the rescue group to be fostered.  They came to us from their owner, who had to give them up due to allergies and moving to a smaller place (the combination of the two).  Usually allergies is an excuse, but I could tell their owner really loved them, and she was heartbroken to give them up.

Zigby is a purebred Ragdoll, who came from a breeder originally.  She has gorgeous blue eyes.  She took longer to get used to us than Rory, and she was ill when she first came to us - she had an eye infection.  Once she started feeling better, she came out of her shell and we started to get to know her better.  She is very sweet, but on her own terms.  She is quite the character - she'd get mad at something one minute, and the next minute she can't help but come looking for attention again.

 
Rory is a beautiful tortie.  She does not have any "tortitude" at all - calicos and torties are usually thought to be very snooty and moody.  Rory is an absolute sweetheart, very affectionate and vocal.  She would have warmed up to us faster than she did, except that she hid under the dresser with Zigby for a couple days just to keep her company.  Unfortunately, Zigby didn't show any of that affection towards Rory.

We wanted to keep them together when they were adopted; especially since it would be Rory's best chance to find a home if she had to go with such a pretty purebred.  It became apparent to me though that Zigby really preferred to be alone; if she had any bond with Rory, she didn't show it.  She also would not have done well in a home with other cats, since it took her a month just to get along with Rory when their owner first brought Rory home.

Two weeks ago, a couple wanted to meet Zigby.  We explained that we wanted to keep Rory with her, but they could only have one cat.  I brought Zigby to the adoption event that week so they could at least meet her; if things went well, then we would discuss adopting her out alone.  It was absolute love at first sight.  Another volunteer suggested letting Zigby roam around in the adoption area so they could get to know her, but she ended up hiding under a cage for awhile and they didn't get much time with her.  They said they would take a few days to talk it over and decide what to do.

In the meantime, I spoke with some of the people from the rescue group, as well as with my husband.  We ultimately decided that if they wanted Zigby, they could have her by herself.  This couple was head-over-heels for her, and just the way they spoke of their former cat showed how much they would love Zigby as well.

Last weekend, they wanted to meet her again and make their decision, since they didn't really get much time with her the first time.  I offered to bring her to their apartment, and if they decided to adopt her, I could just leave her there.  By the time I got there, the decision had already been made - Zigby was staying!  I'm glad my husband came with me for this, because he got to see the kind of life Zigby would have, and her new owners are amazing people.  Rory is still with us, and we will find the perfect home for her as well.  We are happy to have her with us for now.  Here is a picture of Zigby from her new owners, already ruling her castle!

New Arrivals!

There is still one "spotlight" post to be done regarding cat #6, but my husband will be writing that one, since I can't do him justice.

However, the little guys above just arrived at our house tonight.  Another volunteer with our rescue group cares for a colony of ferals out in Queens.  She found these guys coming out of an old factory near the colony and took them in.  She doesn't have room for kittens, so the rescue sent out a plea for a foster home with an extra room to isolate the kittens for a few weeks until they can be tested, vaccinated, etc.  Not many people have the kind of space we do since most of them live in apartments in the city, so we stepped up.

They are 5 weeks old and all boys.  From top to bottom: Hoodie, Hudson (who is long-haired!), and Hermie.  They are soooo cute.

Spotlight: Permanent Cat 5/6 - SHARKY!

When I introduced Sabrina, I mentioned that we adopted two cats from the shelter we volunteer at;  Sharky is the other.  He is about 8 years old and weighs a whopping 20 pounds (not even very chubby - just a big boy!).

Sharky has an old hematoma on his ear, as you can see in his picture.  I've always loved it, it gives him character.

The cat room Sharky was in at the shelter was where they put all their "bully" cats, since they could defend themselves against each other.  Sharky was definitely one of those bullies.  It took me a long time to work up the courage to pet him, and eventually, befriend him.  Let me tell you, when you've earned the love and trust of a massive cat who is, quite frankly, intimidating, it is the best feeling in the world.

He was miserable in that cat room.  He didn't like being around so many other cats, which is why he was so ornery.  He had to go on quarantine for awhile away from other cats, and all of a sudden, he was a sweet boy who loved attention and could be easily handled.  Of course, I already knew that underneath all the gruff was a mush.

Sharky's quality of life and disposition changed so much once he was in our home.  While we do have other cats, the house is large enough and has enough rooms that he can get away from them if he wants.  He ignores others for the most part, but he has never once attacked one of them unless they were accidentally in his way, which would earn a growl and maybe a halfhearted swipe.  He's a lover now and he curls up by me at the computer every night.  He's usually the first to greet us and rub up against our legs.

Just an idea of how large this cat really is (that is my husband!):

I also wanted to mention how many other volunteers have approached me and were thrilled that I kept my word - I always said that I was going to adopt Sharky and Sabrina, and as soon as the house was ours, we did.

Rescue in Action!

I knew exactly what happened when my husband called me at work and his first sentence was "Tell me I did the right thing."  I think it's turned into a code phrase.

On his way back from the bus stop after work, he saw a mother cat and two kittens.  The mom ran, the tortie kitten followed right behind her, but the little fluffy tuxedo boy was disoriented just long enough for my husband to grab him.

He is about 8-9 weeks old if I had to guess, definitely old enough to leave his mom.  We are going to try to catch his sister and eventually trap his mom for TNR.  He's in pretty bad shape; crusty eyes, stuffy nose, etc.  We cleaned him up and gave him eye meds and antibiotics.  Up next: bath time!  More pictures to come as he feels (and looks) better.  His name is Cody Rhodes, since he looks like a mini-Dusty.

Spotlight: Permanent Cat 4/6 - SABRINA!

I wish I had more pictures of Sabrina - I must remedy this.  Sabrina is 12 years old.  She has diabetes which is currently controlled by diet, no insulin.  She has incredibly soft fur and loves to give kisses.

My husband and I volunteer at a no-kill shelter, Pets Alive Westchester, in Elmsford, NY.  We started volunteering there in 2010.  I made a lot of furry friends there, and as you know, we couldn't have more cats until recently; as soon as we closed on the house in January, we went to the shelter and did all the paperwork.  We decided on two cats.  Most of the cats I originally wanted to adopt either passed on or found homes, and my choice will be in the next post, but my husband's list never changed.  Sabrina was always his #1 choice.

After we first did our volunteer orientation, I went to the shelter a few times by myself.  By the time I brought my husband with, I was familiar with the different cat rooms and some of the cats in them.  Sabrina's room was the "senior/declaw" room.  Sabrina happened to fall into both categories.  In each room, my husband would sit down and give love to whoever came over for it.

This room was no different - except that while he was being bombarded with kitties, I noticed Sabrina just sitting patiently away from the group, but staring hopefully at him and waiting for her turn.  I pointed her out to him, and he immediately stood up and picked her up.  It was absolutely love at first sight.  When he found out she was 12, had diabetes, and was declawed, that sealed the deal.  He wanted her.

Unfortunately, Sabrina had a hard time with her insulin a few months after we met her, and they figured out that insulin wasn't the best choice for her, so that is when she went strictly to being managed by diet.  Even more unfortunately, this special diet meant she couldn't be in a cat room with free-fed dry food.  She was kept in a kennel in the infirmary ever since, and shortly after she moved in there, they stopped allowing volunteers to enter the infirmary.  We had to get special permission for the staff to bring her out to visit us, but we still did it.  Every time she came out to visit, she would light up and snuggle contentedly with us.

Over a year after we met her, we made it official.  My husband calls her a "little black dress."

We are technically fostering Sabrina, but it's more of a "forever foster," as the shelter calls it.  They do this for their elderly animals who might have high medical bills that would otherwise dissuade adopters.  I get her prescription food from them, and if she ever has problems with her diabetes, they will care for her.  Thankfully she hasn't had any problems yet, but it is a huge relief knowing I can still fall back on them. 

My husband is still madly in love with her, and every morning before work, he sits on the couch and they spend time just cuddling.  When the bedroom is open (currently occupied by fosters), she always comes in for 10-15 minutes before we fall sleep and just snuggles between us.  I don't talk about Sabrina much on Facebook or to other volunteers/staff/etc. because she honestly would have done well in ANY home, unlike the other cat we adopted, coming up next.  Sabrina is an amazing addition to our home.

Spotlight: Permanent Cat 3/6 - BOBBY!

His full name is Bobby "The Brain" Heenan.  Yes, it was intentional, following Dusty Rhodes.

I wish I could remember the exact time we got Bobby.  It was a few months after we took Dusty in, but it was before I got really into Facebook or things like that, so I have no real record.  It was most likely October or November of 2007.  There were a lot of stray cats outside our apartment building, but most were skittish so we didn't think about it much.  This cat had come up to us a few times, and one day, it was really cold and I think it was raining.  I was walking back to the apartment after work and saw him, he came right up to me and started rubbing up against me and wanting attention.  I scooped him up and brought him inside.  Thankfully it was just my husband, our roommate wasn't home.

We were going to find a shelter to take him to, but in the meantime, we would keep him inside.  For the first few days, when our roommate wasn't home or was sleeping, Bobby would get to wander around our bedroom.  If the roommate was around, we kept Bobby in the cat carrier and in the bottom of the bookcase.  This was before he learned to meow, so it actually worked.

We finally called the Yonkers Animal Shelter and they straight up told us that the shelter was full and if we brought him in, they would put him to sleep.  So we basically told our roommate we would keep looking for somewhere to take him, and he just kind of stayed.

Bobby has changed the most over the years we've had him.  For the first few years, he was just kind of always there; he didn't have much of a personality.  The most we understood about him was that he could balance on his back legs for long periods of time (as in the picture), and that he had to learn how to meow, in which he sounded like a kazoo for a long time.  We were willing to give him to anyone who might want to adopt him and we almost did at one point, I'm glad we didn't now!

When we moved into our last apartment and it was just 3 cats again, I don't know what prompted it, but Bobby changed.  He was seeking attention, he would voluntarily come over for pets, he started playing games with us (we play tag with him!) and he turned into a genuine love bug.  I don't think I ever heard him purr until this.  He fell in love with me and started learning my bedtime routine, waiting for the bathroom for me, then coming and sitting in bed with me for a bit.

Bobby's name has made him what we call "a furry little punchline."  We make all sorts of jokes, like if Bobby was a politician, he'd be Lobby Bobby, things like that.  In reality, Bobby is probably the best cat we have right now.  He has perfect litter box habits, he never gets in trouble, he plays with the other cats, and he's just a very sweet kid.  We also have "Uncle Bobby's Daycare," because he's always very good with kittens and loves having new playmates.  Bobby doesn't seem to like when a lot of people are over; I don't think he's shy, I think he just doesn't like the noise and commotion.