yep. i'm a sucker...

so...looks like lola will be staying. she's just too sweet for words. she's settled herself in nicely here and gets along with everyone swimmingly. she's purring her head off in my lap right now and i'm smooching her face after every sentence i type.

this is supposed to be a blog about fostering, but i've kept two of the four cats i've featured here.
sheesh.

but there shall be no more keeping of the cats. have to be realistic about things 'round here. heehee.

there will, however, be more fostering in the new year. and a new blog about an animal sanctuary that myself and two friends are currently working to get up and running. our goal: to get animals out of high kill shelters and into loving homes. also to give 'unadoptable' senior animals a place to live out their days.
and for that (until we have a proper facility), we'll need a network of foster homes.
want to be a foster home for us? please send me a message or post a comment here.

until next year!

lo lo lo lo lola....

lola has been confined to the spare room for the now since one of my cats (martha) has been unwell. after xrays, a two day stay at the vet, and various costly tests, i still don't know what caused her health issues. but of course, after being home and seemingly fine for a few days, martha has now come down with a serious case of upper respiratory virus and has been sneezing her head off for the past week. she's currently on a couple of different medications and is slowly improving.
i don't want to stress her out more by introducing a new cat to the clan right now, and don't want to expose lola to martha's virus...so poor lola is still spare room bound for the moment.
i love spending time with lola though. she's pretty much the perfect cat. all she wants to do is sit on your lap and purr. that's it. she will bat a little at her toys, but she really just wants to get comfy on your lap, or your chest if you're laying down, and hang out there until you get up. she's very, very sweet.

turns out she wasn't spayed, so that has been done. how does someone have a cat for six or seven years and not have her spayed?? living with a cat in heat for just one year would be bad enough, but seven? crazy.
anyway, while she was under for the spay she had one of her funky toes removed (it was a dead one just hanging by skin...ew), she had the last of her shots, got a microchip and had some tartar build up scraped off one tooth. she came through it all with flying colours. big thanks to the cat clinic in hamilton for doing all the work. dr. o'brien is a serious champ for the kitties.

speaking of getting fixed...tippy was fixed a couple of weeks ago at the low-cost spay/neuter clinic in newmarket. thought it might calm him down a bit, but no dice. he's still nutty. um...yeah. hehee. i was right about his fur too. there are only a few light grey flecks in his tail and the rest of him is solid dark grey. he's growing up to be a handsome man.
photos of him, and lola soon...

but for now, enjoy the video of the song that inspired the title for this blog.



danny michel. so good.

good news...other news...

good news:

oliver has gone back to the kitty sitter's to be fostered until his original adopter is settled into her new home. should only be a couple of months. makes me so happy that he won't be spending those couple of months locked in our spare room. he's got a nice big condo to wander around, and according to the kitty sitters, he's lounging around the place like he's always lived there. i miss him, but i can visit often. i'm just so glad i know there will be a permanent place for him to go soon. let's hope when he's settled, it can really be his 'forever' home.

other news:

i went to hamilton animal control last sunday, and brought home lola (formerly kiara.) these are her petfinder.com photos from when she was in the shelter.

she was a stray kitty who came in with another cat, who they put to sleep, only because he was black. (i know...i can't believe it either.) she's about 6 or 7 years old, and is polydactyl, meaning she has lots of extra toes. i just love how her feet look like bear paws, or baseball mitts. so adorable. the other cat they killed was neutered, so they assumed she was spayed, but when i took her in for a check up, my vet couldn't find a spay scar. she has an appointment to be fixed and get the rest of her shots on wednesday. they may open her up and find she's already spayed, but it's better to be safe than sorry. lola is a very, very sweet kitty. she is a lot like oliver in the affection department. not sure what she's like with dogs or unfamiliar cats as i haven't introduced her to the other animals yet. i'll let her recover from her surgery for a spell before i see how it goes with everyone here. if she does well, she can stay, but if not, i'll be looking for a home for her.

the employee who does the rescuing for the shelter didn't have the heart to put her to sleep, so she had been at the shelter since august. she's one of the lucky ones.

i posted some photos i took of the other 'lucky ones' on flickr, and below is what i wrote for the description. it's a disturbing and sad story...

Normally, all animals at HAC are put to death unless they are claimed by their owners, or taken in by a private rescue service. HAC does not offer adoptions from their facility.

When the split happened between the SPCA and the city (they actually built a wall straight down the middle of the building they shared) HAC signed a "non-competition" agreement with the Hamilton SPCA for adoptions. The original idea was that the SPCA would get their animals for adoption from HAC. For whatever reason...this doesn't happen. It is a rare occasion that the SPCA shows its face on the animal control side. As of today, the SPCA hasn't taken a single animal from HAC since April. That means straight through spring, summer and early fall (the busiest times for any animal shelter) not one animal has been removed from HAC and taken to the SPCA to be put up for adoption.

The SPCA says they are a 'no kill' shelter, but they are directly responsible for the deaths of thousands of animals by not following through with what they agreed to do when the split happened.

A very kind employee at HAC is trying to save these doomed animals by setting up a Petfinder site for them in hopes that they can be adopted through a third party rescue. When a cat comes into HAC, it has 72 brief hours to be claimed, or rescued. Otherwise it is euthanized. This means cats (and dogs, and rabbits etc) of all ages, sizes and temperaments, needlessly killed because of overcrowding, and a misguided agreement between two facilities who are both supposed to be there to help the animals.

Euthanasia takes place every Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning. A vet is paid to come in and perform this duty.

When it comes down to it, the sheer number of animals is what overwhelms any shelter, but Hamilton seems to have a particularly high volume of strays and "owner surrenders." The only solution to this is spaying and neutering. Unfortunately, the cost for this procedure at most vets is beyond the means of the average pet owner, so it is put off, and more and more kittens are born every year...only to produce kittens of their own, who produce kittens of their own...and so on and so on.

The Hamilton SPCA built a small vet clinic on their property, but for some unknown reason, the clinic is not open to the public. They use the clinic for their own animals, and nothing more. If someone wants to have their animal fixed at a discounted price, they have to go all the way to Newmarket to the OSPCA Low-Cost Clinic. Quite a hike from the hammer. If there is a city anywhere that could use a low-cost clinic, it’s Hamilton.

I could suggest all the usual things to try to make changes in a system that is clearly broken, (writing letters or petitions, protesting etc) but when it comes down to it, those animals need to be out of the shelter, and into loving homes.

Take a look at the Petfinder site, and you'll see the current animals that the HAC employee is trying to save. Check back in a couple of days, and most of the animals you saw will not be on the site anymore. After 72 hours, they will be dead, and there will be a whole batch of newcomers, waiting for their deaths.

Lola was an exception, as are a few other cats you will see on the site that say “Urgent” next to their names. The kind employee there just doesn’t have the heart to mark the X on the cards of those cats. But their time is slowly running out…

Petfinder site for Hamilton Animal Control

Petfinder Pet List for Hamilton Animal Control

still waiting...

still trying to find a new home for oliver. thankfully, he had a break from the spare room for a couple of days while we had a guest at the house. i was hoping the cat sitters would fall head over heels for him and decide to keep him. they certainly did the first part, but not the second, so he's back with us. i know the perfect home is out there somewhere. hopefully it comes along sooner than later...

going through changes...

back in the first blog post, i wondered about the kitten's coats because their colour was so unusual. well..tippy is changing colour almost daily. his face is entirely dark grey now. he still has the lighter shades in the rest of his body though. my prediction is that his body will eventually turn the solid grey colour that his face is. the vet thinks he's going to be a big kitty when he's an adult. i agree with her. his feet are huge! he's turning out to be a very handsome little man...

below is tippy with his 'sister' martha.

still trying to find a home for oliver. i'm continuing to flood the internet with his story and video, but no takers. he's such a wonderful cat. if people could just look past the virus he has and see that, he would have found a home ages ago. so sad he has to be stuck in the spare room. breaks my heart...and his. i'm working on a new video of him that i'll post here when it's done.

even though it's almost autumn, animal shelters are still full of cats, kittens, dogs, puppies and small animals in need of fostering. if you have the time and space, please contact your local shelter and ask about their fostering program. i can guarantee they will be overjoyed that you are willing to take in some wayward critters.

squirrel visit

the shelter where i work called asking if i could transport a baby squirrel to a wildlife rehabilitator. i had 'significant other' pick this little guy up from the shelter and we had him for the night. he was fed and kept warm before being delivered to the rehabilitator the next morning.

a short visit, but it counts as temporary fostering i guess.

sorry the photos aren't the best, but he didn't sit still for very long, i didn't have the best lighting. and, he was covered in fleas so i didn't want to spend loads of time trying to take his picture. heh.

oliver is still looking for a home. i've basically flooded the internet with his story, but no takers as of yet. he's really not happy being stuck in our spare room. he wants to be hanging out with everyone giving love all the time. poor oli.

tink was spayed at the OSPCA low cost spay/neuter clinic. the surgery went well and she's settled in nicely to her new permanent home. her new owners are smitten with their new kitten. yay! i can't thank them enough for taking her...

and tippy is growing like a weed. he's completely nuts and keeps us highly entertained. our cats are getting some serious exercise with him around.

fun times...

oliver

so...jury came back. tippy stays.

first time in thirteen years that i've kept a foster. not really my decision, but hey...he's cute. i told hubby i still want another persian (i'm slightly obsessed with the one we have now and would like to have a herd of persians) and he's okay with that. so all is right with the world.

now, meet oliver.

he's now occupying the spare room. same day tink left, he moved in.

he originally came from the oakville humane society where he spent a year in a cage. while in the shelter, he was diagnosed with feline leukemia. it's hard enough to find homes for healthy cats, and not having a proper quarantine area for cats with these types of viruses, he was marked for euthanasia. he was honestly the most friendly, affectionate cat i'd ever met, so i intervened, took oliver home and started the campaign to find him a home. (i would have kept him myself, but the virus is contagious to other cats)

after spending a short time in my spare room, a friend of mine saw the video i made of him (below), and decided she wanted to adopt him. she had oliver for about a year when her living circumstances changed and she was forced to return him to me. so, he's back in my spare room, and is again looking for his forever home.

here's a video of oliver that i made when he was still in the shelter.

you can see how friendly he is.

if you know anyone who might want to adopt him, or you would like to open your home to a super amazing kitty who truly deserves a good home, please don't hesitate to get in touch.

i'll get some more photos and some updated video of oliver soon. he's even more friendly now if that's possible.

home...

tink went to her new (hopefully permanent) home this morning.

i'm keeping my fingers crossed that it works out...especially since another foster is coming here later today to take over the room she was in.

i'll be picking tink up from her new home in a couple of weeks to take her for her spay, so i'll get to visit with her a bit, which is nice.

pretty mama

tippy has the run of the house now, and is pretty happy about it. he's a nutty one. fun to watch him booting around and playing with the other cats. i was going to start looking for a home for him, but my significant other has expressed an interest in keeping him. hehe.

that's not a bad thing, but it wasn't the plan when we brought these guys home.

the jury is out on it at this point....

though he is super extra cute....

waiting...

there has been a bit of interest from possible adopters for both mama and kitten, but nothing solid. i don't mind keeping them here, but i'm anxious to know if they have homes to go to.

and if those possible homes don't pan out, i need to start harrasing everyone i know. hehe.

i think tink is probably tired of being cooped up in one room. poor girl.

unfortunately, tink's spay appointment was canceled by the clinic (equipment problems apparently) and has been rescheduled for next month.

tippy is doing well and seems to have almost entirely gotten over his wobbles. he gets to spend some time out of the spare room and he has been introduced him to my cats and dogs. he handled it very well. it's fun to watch him explore all the new surroundings in the house.

please read this blog. it's the same shelter these guys came from. i'm doing my little part by fostering from there, but this woman is going above and beyond to save otherwise doomed animals. many kudos to her.

more video...

the cuteness continues...

we've decided kitten's name is going to be "tippy." because he is, and because that was the name of my grandparent's dog when i was growing up and i've always liked that name. it seems to suit him.

pretty sure tippy does have CH, but it seems fairly mild, which is good.

he's got the 'crazy kitten' thing going on now...it's hilarious.

video of his little spaz outs coming soon.

getting bigger...

kitten is doing well. but i have a sneaking suspicion that he may have a condition called cerebellar hypoplasia. i'm probably wrong and it's too early to be worrying about it, but you can see in the video that he's a bit wobbly.

only time will tell, and it's really not the worst affliction in the world. i had a cat with CH and she was just fine other than tipping over every once in a while.

here's a video of a cat named charlie with the condition.

thankfully, mom's swollen face got better the next day.

she's got an appointment to be spayed at the end of this month at the ontario spca spay/neuter clinic. check it out. it's super cheap. once she's spayed, she'll need a new home. if you know anyone who might be interested in a sweet kitty, please let me know.

until next time...

seems to bee

poor mama.

think she may have tried to eat a bee or something stingy that got into her room somehow. the side of her face is suddenly swollen this afternoon. if the swelling doesn't go down by tonight, she's off to the vet again.

she's still happy and purring and feeding baby though. probably mostly uncomfortable. poor thing.

here's more photos of baby, just because.

he's starting to tentatively walk around and is learning to play, which is fun to watch.

and he just keeps getting cuter...

video...

music: "tumble down" by janine stoll from her cd melancholia

www.janinestoll.com

tink and baby had a trip to the vet the other day. they both got a good bill of health, despite the fact that mom isn't producing a lot of milk. might be why she lost the other two babies. i'm giving baby some formula to supplement what he might not be getting from mom. he's not really into bottle feeding though. heh.

the vet confirmed my suspicion that the baby is a boy. still haven't named him. waiting till he shows some real personality.

more to come...

the hardest part...

noticed this morning that smaller kitten wasn't doing very well. she was weak, and was away from mom every time i checked on them. despite my best efforts with a heating pad, electrolytes and formula in a bottle...smaller kitten passed away this afternoon, wrapped in a blanket in my arms.

this is the part of fostering that really sucks.

but...at least she had a chance. not sure why she died, but it wasn't by a needle in the shelter. it was mother nature who decided she wasn't made for this world, and as sad as i am right now...i can at least be thankful for that.

with my eyes wide open...

bigger kitten

just when you thought they couldn't get any cuter.

p.s. check out marnie mains song "eyes wide open" and her other amazing tunes:

http://www.marniemains.com/

so much for a "weekly" update

tink

i know i said i would update weekly, but i couldn't resist taking more photos today.

they're all just too sweet not to capture on camera.

i took some video today as well, and i'll upload it here once i get my technical issues sorted.

smaller kitten

you can't tell in this photo, but his/her head is a little bit bald.

kinda looks like yoda.

smaller kitten

still wobbly...

bigger kitten

those little eyes will be open for the first time very soon.

the cuteness continues...

tink and her funky babes

this sweet mom and her three kittens were marked for euthanasia at hamilton animal control. the kittens were born in the shelter on june 7th, 2010. i brought them home on june 9th. the smallest kitten was already showing signs of being unhealthy, and 12 or so hours after bringing them home, i found him/her dead in their kitty bed. the other two are doing well so far. tink is a wonderful mom.

they'll be here until the babies are old enough to go to new homes, and i'll have mom spayed and find her a home too.

the babies are a very unusual colour. i'm curious to see what their coats look like as they get bigger.

i'll try to post photos or video here once a week or so.

it's always fun to watch kittens as they grow.

if you have some extra room and some extra time...please consider fostering for your local animal shelter. it's very rewarding for you, and the animal you are helping.

and please, please, please (!) have your pets spayed or neutered. thousands of animals just like this kitty family are put to sleep every year because of lack of space in shelters and lack of adoptive homes. these kittens would have been put to sleep at the tender age of five days old and their mother would be dead because her irresponsible owner: 1. let her outside 2. didn't come looking for her when she went missing and 3. didn't have her spayed.

euthanasia in overcrowded shelters is a sad reality. but we created it, and we have to take the steps to change it.

special thanks to danny michel for the blog title idea. please check out the song 'feather fur and fin', and the rest of his amazing music here: http://www.dannymichel.com/

here's a super cute kitten picture to tide you over until next time...