New Kitten Condo

I had a bunch of boxes around and decided to make the foster kittens a little playground. It is obviously a bit ghetto-looking, but it is sturdy (gotta love the duct tape!). And maybe I'll get around to adding some fabric to it someday. At least the kittens seem to like it. Unfortunately, right after I built it, Misty came home and told me that these kittens are going back to F.A.R.M. to be put up for adoption (or moved to the "you can adopt me soon" cages at the Feed Store anyway)...because we will be getting MORE NEW KITTENS! I believe the next batch has 4 kittens that will need bottle-feeding. There is even bigger animal-related news that Misty called me about today, but I'll wait until I have a photo of it before posting.

Bye everyone - time for our kitten naps now!

We saved a squirrel

[above pic is NOT of the squirrel we found; we didn't have a camera with us] On our nightly walk with the dogs yesterday, we came across a squirrel in the grass. He was lying on his side not moving and we thought he might be dead. Misty flipped his tail over with a stick and there was still no movement, but we could then see that the poor thing was breathing. A friend of ours in Animal Control lives nearby, so Misty ran to get her help. We put the little guy in a cage (using gloves since you never know why he might be unresponsive).

He did perk up while in the cage, which gave us a better sense of his condition. One of his front legs was badly injured, probably broken, and he had a bloody nose. He may have fallen/been knocked out of a tree or hit by someone on a bike or something. We'll never know. Our friend called the local wildlife rehabilitator to take the squirrel. Even if the squirrel is too injured that it needs to be put to sleep, it will be done much more humanely than being left on the side of the road for a random dog to attack or something. So, we feel pretty good about helping him out.

They Have Names!

This is not the greatest photo, but she just wouldn't sit still. We have the same split as last time - 2 girls and 3 boys. We can tell Si ("sigh"; above) from Am (below) because Si has a half-pink nose. They both appear to be mixed with Siamese (not their faces, but their bodies are silvery in color with dark tails).

Am has a full dark nose. The names "Si" and "Am" come from those troublesome Siamese in the Lady and the Tramp movie. Si fits the bill - she's our little mischievous devil. Am, however, is much calmer.

This is Honeybee, so-called because she is such a needy little thing. She's constantly crying in your face for attention. She's the other girl and also a bit of a trouble-maker, picking on her fellow kitties.

The next two twins are a little harder to tell apart, especially since they are both boys and have similar personalities. Misty named them both in favor of her favorite Red Sox. Above is Fenway, whose markings are a bit darker.

Finally, here is adorable Tito (apparently some Red Sox player). His markings are softer and he has more orange on the side of his face.

Five More Kittens (Pictures/Names Soon)

We are all FAR too tired to give you a long post introducing our newest visitors, but we promise to do so soon. There are five new kittens. They were rescued about 1 week ago and are about 5 weeks old, so they will not need to be bottle-fed but will need lots of socialization training. They may or may not be littermates. We again have 2 girls and 3 boys; 2 appear to be Siamese mixes [their faces aren't pointy enough, but they have that silvery coloring (that doesn't show well in photos) with dark tails and a sleek body]. You'll meet them soon, I promise.

Last Look at 1st Fosters of 2007

My, haven't our little beauties grown? Misty took them back to F.A.R.M. today to be put up for adoption (can they really already be 8 weeks old? wow, that time flew by fast!). This will be your last look at these guys...unless you are in Harford County, MD and want to adopt them. Above are our twins, Reeses and Jinx. They are both girls and we *think* the darker one is a little larger and should be Reeses (looks more like peanut butter than her sister).

Above, Nestle is playing with our cat Peach. Peach had been entertaining the little guys by sticking his paws under the door, so he'd already been exposed to anything they had. Nestle is the big guy of the 3 black male kittens, distinguishable because he does not have as much of a white beard under his chin.

Here's Utah with...hmmm...Reeses I think. Utah and Vegas both have little white spots under their chins, but Utah is much calmer than our wild child Vegas. He's the one that likes to curl up in your lap for a quick nap and the one most likely to be perched on the bed observing the other kittens destroy our room (instead of joining in the melee).


Lastly, we have our terror Vegas...apparently a crowd favorite. If you want a kitty with attitude, Vegas is your boy. He's the all-night partier, the room destroyer, and the heart stealer. We wish them all well and hope they find good homes quickly.

Tasha Survives Pet Therapy

We aren't allowed to take photos of Tasha "in action" as a Pets on Wheels Therapy Dog, so we'll have to go with an "after" shot. Tasha had a big day Sunday: we had a pets festival for several of the organizations we work with (F.A.R.M., Pets on Wheels, Luna's House, etc.) in the morning, which tuckered her out. She met a LOT of other dogs. Then, she had her very first Pets on Wheels (PoW) therapy visit.

Tasha did remarkably well for her first time. We are taking her to the Bel Air Health & Rehab Center. She didn't jump on anyone and she did a nice sit when we asked her to (which we did every time we met a new person; this prevents her from jumping and puts her in a nice position to be petted). The senior citizens loved her! We heard stories of their own pets and saw the effect a dog can have. Faces were brighter and some residents with obvious mobility difficulties made the effort to pet Tasha. They especially loved her eyes (she's a bi-color husky) and the fact that she's 14 years old and still so healthy/vibrant.

Way Overdue on Updating

I am hideously behind on updating you all, so this is a picture of my cousin Sammy from Memorial Day weekend. You will notice that he is sporting the mohawk look. This is not some Angelina Jolie fan reaction, but rather a result of an all-too-close encounter with gum. You've been warned. Kitten and/or dog pics to come soon...