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.