The Inevitable End and The Firestarters

Well the foster journey for Cleo ended on a lower note than I'd hoped. In the ideal world I thought throwing her face around on face book, being honest about her positives and her negatives and changing them as she grew more comfortable with humans would end her leaving foster care and going directly into a forever home.

Not so.

Maybe its because fostering advertised kittens in a small town no one has the time to wait for me to drive maybe 15 minutes to look at a cat. I mean if it was meant to be someone could wait that long...

Either way I received no calls about her at all. No matter if she was plastered as pet of the week in the paper or all over face book. Sure people commented on her, wished they had the time and finance to take her on but not one meet and greet.

I eventually had to ask the shelter how long they wanted me to keep her for. I was happy having her for longer but she didn't need any further socializing and she was getting just a tad too comfortable here (to the point of claiming everything Leo sat on or harassing the living daylights out of him). I am pretty sure Leo got sick of her flopping all over me and giving him a look saying 'this lady is mine now'. (not that he's much of a lap cat himself).

The return to the shelter didn't go as smoothly as I'd hoped. Cleo took it fine. She was a bit shy when strangers (only one other shelter worker) popped in but she never ran and hid. The little fur ball tried her hardest to convince me to take her home with me being extra clingy, alas not possible.

So it wasn't her adaption to living in her sale room at the shelter, it was more the fact that there is still sneezing going on out there. Cats with flu now get treated with one course of medication, if that medication fails to help them then they get put to sleep (if it fails to help they're in a miserable suffering condition anyway so at least they now get some form of chance at treatment first).

In the end I've just got everything crossed hoping she's out of there sooner rather than later as the longer she's there the higher the risk of her contracting that horrible bug.

I did ring the shelter today (mostly to see if my new recruits had names) and Cleo had done well overnight and still wasn't cowering in the corners. She got given an adult cat roomie today so.....

I still miss the ever loving shit out of her (excuse the cursing). I'm not overly fond of fluffy cats but I got to know her quite well in the month plus I had her and feel a lot like a mother hen hovering and pestering the shelter until she's sold. This is a reason why I'm reluctant to take on singletons...

Totally my favorite picture of Cleo

******* The Firestarters********

Alright. The bigger reason I didn't resist the need to return Cleo is that there were a few other kittens in need of a bit of work.

So they came in without names. I was inwardly groaning at this. I mean if I really hate the names they come with then I tend to give them nicknames anyway but starting from nothing...eep

I have 3 girls and 1 boy. A grey and white female, a black female, a grey female and a grey male.

Knowing my aunty (different relation to the one that adopted JoJo -now Millie) wanted a solid grey cat I mentioned this and before he even goes through some socialization he'll possibly end up with a home. I allowed said potential owner to give him a name to save changing it at a later date.

She chose Smokey for the grey boy.

I may have a home already? But I just got here...

I had been tossing around fire related names anyway but was having trouble finding feminine sounding names.

Well we now have Sooty as the black female,

Stop following me with that clicky thing

Ash as the grey female

Not quite sure why she looks so surprised here...

and Cinders as the grey and white.

Wishing she was outside as a wild kitteh

There's been a bit of hissing since they're all 3 months (guesstimate) old so they appear more like young cats than kittens. Their fur is a strange mix between short hair and medium hair but I believe when they reach adulthood they'll have a thick short looking body coat and maybe a flume like tail and also a bit of a mane. I'm not sure though.

They were in separate cages with 2 in each so reintroducing the 4 was going to take a little time. This afternoon they were getting along well enough to all sit on the same bed. Good signs.

I scooped them all out and let them run on the floor (I wanted to put shelves in their cage). None of them really liked being picked up and held but all do allow pats and all readily purr.

I sat with them, mostly to try and get some pictures to send to Smokey's potential adopter. I also brought in a little container of cat mince. I'm so glad I fed them off a fork instead of by hand.

Unlike Cleo who would NOT dare touch a human in the beginning these four kittens have no such qualms. They were all over me reaching for the container. Smokey who appears to be the smallest of the bunch was actually the most into it and stealing it off all the others.

So things are looking up, I doubt they'll ever be full on laid back and don't have a care kitties but they certainly are open to new things especially when food is involved. Listening to all those motors going and its only partway through day 2 of having this group and I can only hope they continue adding to their potential adoption with things they 'will' do rather than things they 'wont' do.

Until next time.

Video's as promised

I left the last post saying I'd update with videos the next day. I wasn't sure how much traffic would trot on over so I've left it a few days hoping the big pimp out about how special this kitten is might get some calls.

NADA, NOTHING, ZIP, DIDDLY SQUAT *WHY!!!*

I mean I get that she's now quite a bit bigger than a little 8 week old kitten but she is still kind of small and also becoming more and more of a cheeky little devil (Sweetheart).

I'd still rather she found a home sooner rather than later. She does get along with my cats fairly well but the newness of another kitty has worn off and both Leo and Terra are beginning to get a bit over her. They seek time out on the upstairs side of the house since she prods them whether they are awake or asleep and often has to be hissed and swatted at to stop pestering them.

*It also does not help that despite best upbringing both Leo and  Terra are quite the nervous, whimpy 'ooh-a-small-fluffy-kitten-is-annoying-me! MUM!!! help me!' kind of cats. If anything I think she's helping them build some character.

Along with this Cleo has kind of decided that I'm hers. She's got one rude awakening coming because Leo's my cat and he doesn't share...well not forever. She now constantly follows me around (when she's not pestering Leo and Terra or playing with toys), She seeks out my lap and despite best attempts to train her to Laptop etiquette she's determined to add her own flair or press buttons that should not be pressed.

She is still a bit concerned around males but she will play with them and often grudgingly lets them pat or pick her up. She'll play with anyone who'll drag string around.

If you feed her you quickly become her best friend and she makes it difficult to walk anywhere weaving between your feet.

Here are the previously promised videos.

In this one Leo's like NEW KITTEN (Flirt) and all 'play with me'. This one gives a rough idea of her size compared to a ever getting closer to 3 year old resident cat.

Cleo getting a bit of the stares from Leo and Terra. Early video when she was interesting now the two bigger cats couldn't care less and often walk the other way.... Sooks.

Cleo showing her cheeky semi-submissive (only while you're looking then I'll prod you when you look away). Another early video of the introduction of these kitties.

Cleo being in a cuddly mood early on voluntarily hopping up onto my lap, purring away and then persistently trying to eat whatever's left in my cereal bowl on the side table despite being told no....


Hope you enjoy, please spread the word. PLEASE. Cleo needs her forever family so she can truly bond with someone that's not already owned by a cat. I believe she'd be fine with other cats but also fine by herself. She still does need an adjustment period but in three-ish weeks she's changed so much that I'm sure she'd adjust to every situation.

Please call the Portland RSPCA and inquire about Cleo or Kim's Foster Kitten. I'm happy for them to call me and arrange a meeting at the shelter. She is spayed and microchipped so if you decide she's what you're after she can go home once her adoption fee is paid.

*Fingers Crossed*

Major Changes

Well despite being in the local newspaper over the weekend, no one has stepped forward to claim this cute bundle of fluff (also known as Cleo).

She's such a pretty girl...

She has begun to exceed even my own expectations. Cleo is also stating quite loudly that she's quite happy being where she is currently and becoming more accustomed to life in our household. Unfortunately she has a rude awakening as we cannot keep her. Three cats is enough and I think Terra and Leo would go insane if we kept her permanently.

About three or four days ago now Cleo began making a break for it every time we opened the study/foster room door. She'd long since conquered the half door. I usually freaked out and blocked her not wanting her to interact with Leo and Terra.

Then I figured what the hell if she had to deal with us and strange noises and other cats it might expand what home she'd be ready for. So I let her wander out fully expecting her to freak out upon seeing Leo and run for cover of 'her' room.

Nope.

Cleo wandered around the house and barely glanced at Leo who was thoroughly interested in the newbie. He was being a flirtatious idiot rolling around and also hunting her through the house. I thought if she returned to cowering and hiding or if they got into a tussle I'd put her back in the study. Nope.

Sure there was chasing and some dark looks from Leo but if she overstepped her boundaries she just ducked down or rolled over or fled until Leo stopped chasing her then turned around and continued shadowing him.

Cleo ~ I surrender (only while you're looking at me)

So it became a daily thing while someone was home to let her wander. She is one cheeky little girl. She hears someone in the kitchen she thinks they're getting food for her. She'll get under your feet chirping and peeping and often my mother will cave and find something to give her.

Cleo has investigated the noise of a vacuum cleaner (from a distance), checked out the noise a mixing beater made (from a distance) and has begun tormenting the life out of sooky, wimpy resident cats Terra and Leo. She wants to play, they now say nick off. She pokes and prods and runs about the house freely following Terra and Leo until they hiss at her.

Only today she's popped up beside me to seek out company. She even climbed on my lap. On her own choosing. That I never thought would happen. (She is currently curled up asleep on my lower legs, I do have a fluffy blanket over said legs but once upon a time she'd do everything to avoid any human contact).

Cleo ~ Hey, what's this?

She is still iffy with men. My brother, although old enough to know better often doesn't listen when I say she's not happy being picked up and carted around. Sometimes she'll let you pick her up for a little bit, Sometimes when you pick her up she'll attempt to bite your hand (gently never drawn blood and I call this being a brat more than fear now) and sometimes she'll flatten her ears and nearly resume her previous 'I'll freeze here unhappily until you put me the heck down' I don't like her reaching the point of discomfort with people but even when she is held against her will she hasn't gotten aggressive and attempts to dive out of arms if given the opportunity rather than shredding someone to pieces.

Cleo ~ I'm top kitty in this house

Leo ~ But Mum! She stole my bed!!

Dad is all for an overly confident kitten that will interact well with him and not show fear. While Cleo does have a very cocky and cheeky personality that's coming through she still gets nervous and unsure if someone comes directly at her. Loud, Big, Scary man coming at a still pretty small kitty is often a bit too much for her to handle. Thankfully Dad has toned back and reached Cleo through playing with string toys.

The pictures dont really show how little she is. She isn't a gangly kitten anymore but she's still less than half the size of Leo and most of that is fur.

A few more photos and I'll try to upload some video's tomorrow.

Cleo Mid-wash. I couldn't resist adding it (laughs)

Spread the word, the sooner this kitten has a home the sooner she can settle in to somewhere permanently. I'm quite happy keeping her until said home turns up or until kitten season returns. If kitten season does return and Cleo hasn't got a home she'll have to put on her big fur boots and try sell herself through the sales rooms at the shelter. I feel worst case scenario she'd learn to adjust there but it could take some time and she could take a few steps backwards.

Cleo is such a fitting name, look at those eyes and how on earth has no one called about her?