Unexpected Events and Future Forever Homes

Out of the blue on the 20th November I was struck down with unusual pain. After some confusion and several trips to the doctors I was rushed to hospital an hour away to have my appendix removed. Close call.

On the day I was discharged my friend had planned to come and visit Loki with her fiance (now husband) just to fully make sure it was a good fit. She killed two birds with one stone being able to check in with me as well.

Who knew simple tasks were so hard after major surgery?

As I expected Loki was a hit and they made plans in the near future to do his adoption paperwork and pick him up but had to wait a little while for when they both had time off so they could handle the integration with their other cat Nelson. I was happy to hang onto him a bit longer.

Loki's getting pretty good at cuddles.

I'll claim this lap as mine ~Loki

Zzzz Zzzz ~Loki

On the 25th of November my brother braved the wrath of Sugar and managed to get his hands on the kittens.
White with grey (bigger patch): 457g

There is absolutely every chance I'll have this one and the twin mixed up

So far as I know this is the one with the bigger patch of grey on his head

White with grey2 (smaller patch): 410g

I believe this is the one with the very slight bit less grey on the head.

Grey: 457g

Easy to pick this one, a little girl

White: 397g

Sugar really hates us picking up this one.

For the smallest she's sure got a epic set of lungs

They're only three weeks old this coming thursday so Sugar MUST be named for the calories in her milk and not her undeniably sweet nature...hah.

Loki booked in for his pre-adoption neutering. So after thats done its just waiting on paperwork and for his family to be ready. Very happy that I'll be able to keep in touch as he grows and his color develops. Has odd striping on his body thats very light but appears it might get darker as he gets older...

I mean he's totally beautiful now (and he knows it)

Since my brother has never been one to really understand the meaning of No, Sugar's tactics for getting us to back off don't seem to work with him and therefore we're able to handle the kittens a bit. Sure there might still be a few war wounds but its like once you get your hands on her babies she's like 'oh you were after them and not me, alright just keep your distance and don't take them too far away'

Loki is a bit quiet following his surgery but that's to be expected. I'll get some extra cuddles while he's not always on the go.

I mean can he really get any cuter?

Uh Oh we've embarrassed him...

Kills me with the cute 

Cuddles and Not So Cuddly

Loki is providing me with lots of cuddles. Had to get up to date with his vaccinations but he's a healthy boy, eating up a storm and slowly getting more used to his surroundings.

Seems to have cuddles sorted

Whats This? ~Loki

Kitten season is coming in full swing. Had to say no to three little five week old kittens. I technically have the room but with unvaccinated tiny kittens it's a risk bringing anything in to share the same room. Weighing the options of having already taken on Loki I couldn't keep adding more and stressing out Sugar more.

Of all the good things I could say about Sugar the biggest thing is her attentiveness to the kittens. Mostly because she only ever hops out of the box to eat or use the toilet they have close access to the milk bar at all times and even without weighing them I know they're thriving.

The bigger the kittens get however the more Sugar does to protect them. I'm having to distract her just to change food and water and she's occasionally fully coming out in a semi charge for the door all angry-mother.

Trust you? You're dreaming

I wish she'd realize I'm not going to hurt her. Seems her instincts and behaviors are deeply ingrained so I fear for her future when she's weaned the kittens. (and yes part of it is maternal instincts).

Despite itching to no one has handled the kittens yet, all appear fat and happy so there's no point in stressing them further. I'd love to also give her a new bed and give the cage a full clean but at this point even getting my hands on her seems to be impossible. Why mess with something thats so far working?

On the up side we have little peepers opening.

Tiny peepers and plinking ears

Loki is a little joy to have around crazy little thing. Trying to teach him to just 'chill' but he is always on the go.

He can be a wriggle worm when he wants to be...

And a cuddle bug

All with a very short attention span...

The Sweet Battle Continues...Another Kitty

Sugar hates me

I don't like you ~Sugar

She doesn't like being patted
She doesn't like me handling her food (but she will eat if I'm not there)
She is extremely clear in the fact that if you touch my babies you will die.

How can a cat so sweet looking be such a challenge to get through to?

I mean so far she's not full out charging the door
She does come forwards with intent
She does swipe with claws out
She does a really good 'back off' growl
The worst however is when she 'spits' it not quite a hiss its a very quick release of air after the room has literally been silent beforehand. Cute in a kitten, scares the absolute bejeebus out of me when she does it because its usually the spit and swipe at the same time.

Come any closer, I dare you ~Sugar

From observing outside the cage, we have two whites with tiny splotches of black on their heads (thinking Salt and Pepper), one grey one and I originally thought an orange and white but now its all dry we've found its pure white (Maybe Splenda?). Names wont be official until I can get my hands on them to find gender and that could take a while.

Kitty mosh pit, adorable grey face

Sleeping kitties

Little White face

Those two with the black/grey patches will be hard to tell apart

Four little babies all belly up

On 12 November 2014 I got word of another foster kitty in the making. A month or so ago my cousin's cat had four babies. My cousin was going to keep one as he was absolutely gorgeous I didn't blame her.

Way too cute, so in love

Having two cats already and a bunch of young kids the poor kitten was growing but not fitting in with the other cats getting beaten up by the other male. Needless to say in a moment of stress the cousin handed my mother Loki and said she'd have to surrender him.

So my mother brought home the kitten and I talked over the details with the shelter manager on what the process was. I was happy to immediately begin fostering him and within a few seconds of putting his picture up on facebook he had a home with a very good friend of mine that was in the market for one of my future fosters.

Can see a charmer in the making already

I totally don't blame her either. If I didn't have Leo I would have adopted Loki on the spot too. Oddly I've found we don't get very many color point kittens at the shelter. Maybe bigger cities may get more of them but in all my time volunteering I've seen siamese and burmese that were surrendered when they were adults but only once before had I ever seen a kitten. (Typically a week or so after adopting Leo I saw Starlight (no I didn't name him and he went on to be renamed Edward because the family already had a Bella....I think Twilight was a big thing back then and he was a pretty boy).

The one that got away...

I mean seriously....

Who could resist this?

Or this?

So Loki had his paperwork all done but had to wait eight days before he could be adopted. I was happy to hang onto him and actually have a kitten to play with considering Sugar was no fun with letting me have kitten time with hers.

Human! Coming over to say Hi again

Sharing the kitten room however seemed to make her slightly more protective so her spitting and swiping has increased as the days go on. Its a battle not to jump and spill her fresh water everywhere when its time to change it...

Cuddles with the new kitty

The Long Wait...Or Maybe Not...

I have no experience with semi feral cats.

I didn't know if it was tough love and make them deal with contact or a more slow and steady approach of making them accustomed to your scent and behavior.

I suppose my thought process is a bit like what I've read on taming a wild horse. If they associate you with food and water you can begin to gain their trust...

Sugar doesn't care whether I sit in with her eating breakfast, she'll wait until I leave before she'll get out of her box to eat...

At least she doesn't growl the whole time I'm in there with her...

Also began offering dried treats and boiled chicken. Sugar loves it and I can get to the point where I can pat her. Thankfully she hasn't bitten me yet but she has some serious warning growls and makes a point to say "I do not like this thing with your hands on me, give me more treats and piss off"

On the 6th November Sugar has been a bit more hissy than normal and has actually swiped at both me and my brother.

Her behavior made a lot more sense when late this afternoon (on the 6th) she decided it was time to have her kittens.

I had thought it was two weeks or more but nope just doing my own thing in the lounge when I hear a high pitched meow. Thought nothing of it, hearing things, no kittens in this house at the moment...hang on a minute....

Rushed into the kitten room to be growled at by Sugar and to see something wiggling in the box beside her. Kittens!

I'm watching you human ~Sugar

Sadly what was the ideal scenario didn't happen.

Oh Sugar was fine, she popped out those babies within a few hours (four of them) cleaned them up and happily allowed them all to nurse making me think this isn't her first litter...

Four wet little newborn babies...Welcome Little Legends

She didn't however change her behavior to people and instead is worse. Very growly, very swipey and to the point even changing her food and water is a battle of who'll get clawed...

Now that they're dry...

Belly up to the milkbar

See the look in Sugar's eye? I think this was pre-hiss...

I guess we're in for the long haul now either way. Six to eight weeks to prove to Sugar and her babies that we really aren't that bad.

These are my babies, don't make me come out there ~Sugar

After A Long Time Away: Meeting Sugar

Since I started my facebook page Legends of the Little Furballs I seem to check that more than here but I can't say I update it on any specific timeline either.

So I decided to try and revive my blog...(shall see how that goes)

There was quite a gap between saying goodbye to Tiny and getting my next batch of kittens.

On the 30th of October 2014 I got my first foster for the 2014 to 2015 season.

I got off work to a message from the shelter manager wanting to 'talk'. Usually that means something bad. I was in the hopes that it was something good.

The Shelter Manager took me out the back and pointed to a white cat. She was pregnant but there were conditions as to whether I'd take her on.

Sugar was a beautiful girl. They guessed maybe she was around 2 years old, pure white with gold eyes and NOT DEAF. It was assumed this was her first litter.

Unhappy Sugar

There are always two sides to a coin. The big problem was Sugar hadn't been socialized in whatever home she had come from and she was absolutely terrified of humans. The other two that had come in with her, one was completely wild and the other was beginning to come around.

Sugar was in between. She didn't outright attack but she shook like a leaf and pressed herself in the corner trying to get as far away from people as possible. She flinched whenever a hand was laid on her. Poor baby.

Then I got the bad news.

At this stage Sugar would fail a temperament test. Her life and the kittens lives hung in the balance of one decision. Its always hard to balance life and death especially on the brink of kitten season. One has to weigh up the best outcome for the animal but also follow the written regulations of the shelter.

In summary, Sugar had been in quarantine for her eight days. She would most definitely fail a temperament test at the present.

The Shelter Manager is a beautiful person with a compassionate heart. She brought me in to ask if I'd take Sugar on in hopes that when her kittens arrived there might be a temperament change for the better. Considering I'd have Sugar at least six weeks (preferably eight weeks) it would give Sugar more than enough time to find we aren't such horrible creatures.

This was her chance.

I was more than nervous. I'd never taken home a pregnant cat, majority had all their kittens born before I took them on. Scenarios of emergency cesarean and dead kittens flashed through my mind.

In the end I'm all about giving chances. Sugar had turned up first and she needed me. So home she came (definitely not happily).

Probably the one picture I have where she doesn't look terrified

I set her up in my big cage found a cardboard box and made it into a nice bed. In the box she went and that's where she stayed if anyone was in the room with her.

"I'm watching you" ~ Sugar

I never got any thanks from her. Just hisses and growls. When I persisted with trying to pat her she would flinch like I was hurting her so I mostly fed and watered her and made sure no kittens had popped out.

From how big she'd gotten in the week that she'd been at the shelter they had assumed she was about two  weeks away from giving birth or maybe longer....

So the wait begins....

The doors open, I'm preparing to squish myself in the corner of this box...~Sugar