Adoptions!

It has been a good weekend for adoptions. 

My orange cat Gandalf who has been living up at PetSmart found a home last week.  This also means Babette, the Persian cat who always glares at me, got to go stay at PetSmart so she can hopefully get more attention and find a permanent home soon!

Michaelangelo and DaVinci, two brothers who have been waiting for a home for awhile, were adopted together!  If two big black cats can find a home together, it gives me hope that someday Simon and Sampson, my two foster cats who need to stay together, will also find a home!

Four other cats were also adopted this week - Gidget, Sweetie, Toby and Cody! 

And most surprising of all is that Emma, my Labrador Failure Extraordinare, was also adopted!  She's on a two week trial adoption to see how she gets along with her new sibling cat, so I'm cautiously hopeful it will work out for her. 

Ziggy, on the other hand, was not adopted.  He had two different families come to see him, but he was not on his best behavior.  I am afraid Noelle got to him without me realizing it.  Not only was he extremely mouthy and difficult on Saturday, but he was extremely cuddly and sweet with me all day on Sunday.  That's exactly what Noelle used to do to make me fall in love with her and adopt her.  But this time I'm wise to their tricks - I'm not falling for it.  So Ziggy goes back to an adoption event next Saturday to try again!

Update on my fosters

Yep, it's time for another update.  Sort of like introducing the starting line-up of a sports team... or not. 

First up, the dogs. 

Zara - 16 week pit bull mix puppy, sister to Ziggy, very sweet, very friendly, extra-large ears, no manners whatsoever but listens well.  Cute brown spots on her back.  I'm hoping she turns out to be smart and learns quickly.  Time will tell.  Did I mention the giant ears?

Ziggy - 16 week old pit bull mix puppy, brother to Zara, deaf, full of energy and enthusiasm, loves attention, no manners whatsoever, eager to communicate.  That's a code term for either "barks a lot" or "very demanding".  Or maybe both - I'm not telling.  Has a short attention span and a love for his sister, all humans, and food.  Not necessarily in that order.

That's it for the dogs.  I still have a few on a "waiting list" but for one reason or another the time hasn't been right to bring them home just yet.  I'm hoping to not bring in any new dogs until at least sometime after Christmas.  Which is less than a week away.  Yikes - I really should start my Christmas shopping soon. 

Now for the cats...

Scribbles - Good news - Scribbles is improving!  I now can leave her door open all of the time, and she often comes into the other rooms when the dogs aren't around.  And if she sees them, she's not outright attacking them, unless they get too close.  This also means she's living with several other cats (who apparently like her room better than their own) and she is doing fine with them as well.  She still spends most of her time in her room, but she does come out for some extra petting and attention every day. 

Artemis - Unfortunately Artie has been moved temporarily to solitary confinement.  I am pretty sure he's the one who seems to have forgotten his litterbox manners lately.  I'm not sure if its because of the stress of meeting new cats, or something else.  But the first step is to segregate him and make sure he is the guilty party.  Figuring out which cat isn't using the litterbox and WHY is not easy. Someone please remind me of this next time I say "I'll foster that cat!" 

Orca - She is the sweetest little cat.  She is my almost-constant companion at home.  She likes to sleep under the covers, and she settles on my lap every night and just purrs even if I don't pet her.  She gets along with all the other dogs and cats - although occasionally she meets a cat she doesn't know and if she feels threatened she starts growling like a dog.  Her brother Penguin did the same thing - it's very cute coming from such a little cat.  I wonder if her sister Puffin ever does that.

Gandalf - This guy is settled right into the old routine.  He is buddies with my cat Merlin, and I'm constantly seeing an orange cat and calling him Merlin when its really Gandalf, or vice-versa.  I'll be putting him back on the website in the next few days and he'll be ready to once again try to find a forever home.

Simon and Sampson - The Salmon brothers are still happily hanging out in the sink, although they do come into the bedroom to sleep at night.  One of them, or maybe both, spends his day by carrying stuffed animals from a shelf in my bedroom to the bathroom.  So far I've found a stuffed dog in the cat crate, a stuffed monkey in the middle of the floor, a stuffed buffalo in the cat bed, and another stuffed dog in the shower.  Seriously, I've never had a cat do something like this before.  It's very intriguing. 

And that is it for cats!  Hopefully I will have no recent returns, and will be able to get a cat adopted eventually - it's been awhile.  Not that I'm complaining - I've had phenomenal success with dog adoptions lately, and I really like all of the cats I have right now.  Yes, even Artemis. 

Oh, in case you're wondering, Blitzen and Comet, my two adorable orange kittens, went back to the St. Charles Pet Adoption Center, who I was fostering them for, when they were old enough to be adopted.  They have a big adoption event today, so if they haven't been adopted yet, they probably will be very soon! 

Re-Introducing Gandalf

Remember this cat? 

He's back. 

Apparently he missed me.  Which is okay, because I missed him too.  I am sad that his last adoptive home did not work out for him, but its nice to have him back.  It's like he never left - he is right back to shoving his face into mine to get my attention, and sitting on my keyboard anytime I try to type.  I will have to add that to my growing list of challenges I face as a foster parent.  Returns - and cats who refuse to sit anywhere except on top of the keyboard. 

Gandalf was adopted!

Gandalf, my orange kitten, found a new home on Halloween.  He went home with a very nice couple and their son, and he's going to love being in a home where he gets all the attention and doesn't have to share with so many other pets.   




Several of my other foster pets got some interest on Saturday, although none of the rest were adopted.  I'm hopeful that some of the people who expressed interest will be contacting me later this week.  Since it was Halloween, I took some candy to give out, and would have loved to dress up my fosters in costumes but they're expensive!  So I decided since most of them were orange or black anyway, it was good enough.  I had Gandalf the orange cat, Chenille the orange Pomeranian, Dodger the white Poodle/Daschund mix (his fur is kind of tan/orange in places, so I guess that counts), Orca and Penguin the black/white kittens, Lizzy the black dog, and Artemis the black cat.  I was mostly surprised that Orca and Penguin didn't get any applications on them since they're so small and cute.  Plus they had no other black cats to compete with!  Many rescue people prefer to leave their black cats or black/white cats at home on Halloween, or in some cases for the entire month of October.  They're just looking out for the cats, because they fear someone will try to harm the cat or adopt it for nefarious purposes.  Personally I tend to agree with the school of thought that people who want black cats for nefarious purposes will be more likely to grab one off the street or get one from someone giving away free cats through the paper or craigslist.  They don't really need to pay to get a fully vetted, spayed/neutered cat that requires a long adoption application if they aren't planning to keep the cat very long.  Unfortunately its relatively easy to get a free black cat around Halloween, or any other time, without a problem.  Since I don't want my cats to miss an adoption event where they might find a home, I just screen extra-carefully and if I had any concerns I would just hold the cat until after Halloween, so they still had a chance to get adopted.  This year it may have paid off bringing my black cats on Halloween since I did have two people interested in Artemis and someone is coming back next week to see the kittens again.   I'm hoping for a good week, and I'm already looking forward to next Saturday where my foster pets will get another chance to find a permanent home with a family who will love them.

Update on my fosters - Part 2

As promised, here is the update on the cats currently living in my house. 

Merlin - My orange tabby cat - I still think he's the best cat in the world. Sometimes he comes in my room at night and sleeps on my pillow, and sometimes he doesn't, and I really miss him on the nights that he finds better things to do. I found out he's afraid of children. So he has something in common with Lizzy. The only difference is when he sees children, he runs away and hides, whereas Lizzy, well, Lizzy doesn't.

Gandalf - Another orange tabby cat. He looks like Merlin, but he's not Merlin. He's very affectionate though, and he likes to stand on my keyboard and nudge my face so I can't breathe, until I pet him. If you ever get an e-mail with something like this in the text: ae;oq12a f, that was most likely Gandalf's fault.

Artemis - A gorgeous black cat. Artie is doing very well - he's finally used to all the dogs, and comes upstairs to hang out all the time. He still likes to sleep in his "cat area" downstairs though. He is the only cat I've had that my husband actually likes. I caught my husband Dave petting Artie the other day, and Dave said "Why couldn't you adopt this one instead of that other one." And it was obvious from the tone of his voice what he thought of "that other one" (Merlin).

Scribbles - My crabby cat has been getting braver lately. I feel so sorry for her in solitary confinement that I've started leaving her door open recently. So she comes out and hisses at the puppies, and then runs back to the safety of her room. The puppies are safe from her in their ex-pen - lucky for them. I never heard from the people who inquired about her, so I guess she's still waiting for someone to want her.

Orca, Penguin and Puffin - The little tuxedo kittens just don't want to grow. They have to be two pounds before they can get spayed/neutered at the vet, and last night I weighed Puffin and she was 1.91 pounds. She's so close! I've been giving them canned food every day, and they always have dry food out, so I don't know what else I can do. Well, someone suggested tying little fishing weights to their collars - but I thought that might be cheating.

 
So that's the story on my animals.  For now.  I have plenty of cats, a few too many dogs, and no space for emergency returns.  But Artemis and Dodger should be moving on to other foster homes soon, and hopefully the puppies will be ready for adoption by next week, so that will help.  I will be taking Lizzy, Dodger, Gandalf and Artemis to adoptions this weekend.  I don't have high hopes for any of them getting adopted, but stranger things have happened, and it's worth a try to find them their very own homes.

Introducing Gandalf

Orange kittens are cool.  I like Merlin so much, I decided to take in another orange one just like him.  I've named him Gandalf.  He has shorter hair than Merlin, and he's not quite as outgoing, but he's still very sweet.  I like his orange stripes. 

He'd be easier to adopt out if he didn't have to compete with this guy.  I still think Merlin might just be the cutest kitten ever. 

 I can't stand to be around him without picking him up and squeezing him.  Fortunately he seems to like that, and he purrs non-stop.  I love this guy.