Gemma and her Extended Family

Introducing Gemma, a very young gray/calico mother who had 4 kittens of her own, but as she was too young and the kittens were too malnourished, only one survived. Gemma previously went by the name Green Eyed Momma for her intense peridot green eyes, which I shortened to Gemma (jem-MA) and is a wonderful, outgoing and friendly cat who seems like she once belonged to a human who may have dropped her off when she got pregnant. Gemma's surviving kitten - who still needs a name - is a pretty brown calico/tortoiseshell. When the need arose to find a nursing mom for some other orphans from different litters, Gemma happily accepted them into her family.  Gemma is very protective of her kittens so hard to tell if she'll be ok with other cats after her babies are gone, but currently is not good with dogs.

Gemma's baby (no name yet) is a pretty tortie girl who is wide-eyed and boisterous.  She is the youngest of this extended family so gets beat up on a bit by her adopted siblings, though she holds her own, despite battling fluid in the lungs since birth.  We've taken her to the vet twice and her tests and X-rays all turned out fine.  The culprit is probably from aspirating during birth (Gemma may not have broken her from the sack fast enough) or possibly from drinking mom's milk.  The vet thinks she'll be fine, she just has to grow out of it as long as she's closely watched.

Dancer is the handsome striped tabby boy with white socks and a wide, slightly squished-in face. He has a strong, well built stocky little body and very expressive face. His strong stripes are very distinctive, but not nearly as much as his personality. Dancer is one of those no-fear cats who wants to play with everything and everyone he comes into contact with. I think he is trying to audition for a Friskies Kitten commercial, but he is also a sweet and cuddly lap kitty who mellows out when he can snuggle next to you or on your lap. He gets along very well with other cats and is quite tolerant of dogs.  He doesn't mind at all when a 100 lb German Shepherd comes up to give him a lick.  He comes out of the studio sometimes to play with Bindy, the black kitten from the last kitten-cam litter, whom is still available for adoption.

Tomi is the gray and white kitten who looks like Tom from Tom and Jerry. Its hard to tell right now if its a boy or girl yet, though I'm starting to lean towards girl. This kitten is part of a litter of 3 gray and gray/white kittens, with the other two being nursed by another adoptive mother at another foster's home. That momma cat also took on a couple litters that were not her own so we had to split up the gray ones to ease the burden on the two mothers. She is recovering from the sniffles but should be ready the second weekend in June.

Video: Playtime with Billy, Bindy and Bitsy

Adopting the Right Cat For You: Adopting a Cat? Read This!: Cats

Adopting the Right Cat For You: Adopting a Cat? Read This!: Cats

Adoption weekend success

Thanks to the kitten cam, the litter of cuties from the Palm Beach School for Autism all found loving homes without having to spend any time at the cattery or in cages. So happy about that! Nelly and Nike went to a home together, and Natalie and Neila each went to separate homes. Momma kitty will get her surgery soon. I had hoped the new kittens would have taken a liking to her and partaken of a little of her momma milk (nothing compares to momma's milk for nutrition and immune system boosts) but the new ones don't want much to do with her. They prefer the dogs. Oh well. I want to give momma a few days to get over her grief about losing her kittens before subjecting her to the trauma of going to the vet for surgery. Its not a fun outing for a friendly cat, but for a feral one who will fight it every step of the way, its downright traumatic.

A sneak preview of what is to come: By the end of the week another momma who has adopted kittens from 4 different litters may be arriving at the kitten studio. As long as we can get the adoptions done at as fast a pace as we did with the first 4 kittens, then we can really do a lot of good for a lot of kittens and cats. Kitten mania!

Introducing Bindy, Bitsy and Billy

Adoption weekend has been going well for the Pam Beach School for Autism kittens. Nelly and Nike went to a new home together (yay! I love when litter mates are adopted together!) and Neila goes to a great home tomorrow where she'll get lots of loving. Natalie, our medium long haired beauty is the last one of the first litter.

The new additions to the kitten room are three orphans rescued from the parking lot of CBS in Fort Lauderdale. They were rescued from a parking lot right before a severe thunderstorm would have surely killed them, and nursed back to health by several people, a caring person named Karen scraped together enough temporary fosters to keep them warm and bottle fed until another foster, Margee, could take them for a few weeks. Margee did an amazing job socializing these babies and now they are precious, cuddly little bundles of love who adore people. Margee's house also had dogs, so they are also dog friendly. Margee needs to get some medical care this coming week, so we did the kitten hand-off Friday night. They are about 7 weeks old so Billy, Bindy and Bitsy they should be with me now for another week or so to get a good, happy kittenhood before being split up. A good kittenhood makes for a happy cat. No one should ever adopt a kitten less than 8 weeks old unless its difficult circumstances and its the kitten's only shot at life (like at animal control).

Billy, Bindy, and Bitsy are very vocal! They didn't like the other kittens much and still growl and hiss at the momma cat, who I was hoping would nurse them a bit, but that doesn't seem like it is going to happen. I'll give it a couple more days and then get momma spayed and released. Thank you to those who donated! We have enough to spay her, and she's going on antibiotics for a possible UTI now that most of her nursing is done, but in case she adopts these guys, its worth it to leave her be a few more days. Nothing is better for a kitten than momma's milk.

Toilet training: Day 1

My CitiKitty toilet training seat came yesterday. I bought it while watching the company owner on the ABC show, Shark Tank, a week ago. That show is quickly becoming one of my favorite shows because it promotes smart people and smart business and the products are usually pretty brilliant. I'm determined to teach my own cat, Angel, and my one-eyed foster kitty, Lucy, to use the toilet, thus making cat ownership easier. I'm somewhat allergic to cats, and pretty allergic to cat litter, so this whole fostering thing isn't exactly something I'm genetically predisposed to do. Toilet training will help me, and most of all I think it will help Lucy get a home. She's a very sweet 10 month old cat, one that would have gotten adopted like her extremely outgoing siblings. I was there when Luke, Louie and Lea were adopted. Their personalities quickly won over anyone who gave them a chance as they were 11's on a 1-10 scale of friendliness. Lucy is the same way, but she had a very bad eye infection when she was young and it left her left eye scarred. She can still see out of it and probably doesn't even realize anything is different about her, but she isn't as attractive as other cats so its hard finding her a home. A toilet trained cat, though, should make up for any cosmetic shortcomings. For step one I put the flushable litter, "The World's Best Cat Litter" in the pan, put it on the toilet, and hoping they use it. I use that litter for the kittens, too, so I didn't have to buy any special kind. Now I watch and wait, ready to praise them when they use it. I'll post updates to tell you if it works.

All girls!

Even experienced animal rescuers can get the sex of a kitten wrong. We've got 4 little girls. So Nate is becoming Natalie and Niles is now Nelly. Fill out your app today!
http://www.asecondchancerescue.org/info/adoption

Kitties are at the vet

I hope I got their sex determinations right. Sometimes its easier to tell than others when they are that small. Dr. Fox of Riverbridge Animal Hospital will confirm that. Momma will get her surgery another day. Trying to do them all the same day and capturing the mom would have made the experience too stressful for all.

Btw, are you looking for a vet? Support vets who support rescue organizations!! The more involved they are with a rescue, the more experience they may have dealing with all kinds of crazy pet ailments, and it shows they care more about animals than just making money.

Twas the night before surgery...

The babies are all over 2 pounds, so its safe for them to get spayed and neutered so they can go to new homes. They can't eat the night before so I had to separate momma by trapping her in the crate. I used a string attached to the crate door and ran it out of the room, under the door, and far enough in the hallway so I could watch from the old school security camera I have set up to watch them without having to be online, hogging bandwidth. When she took the bait I pulled the string which shut the door. She'll be fine in there for tonight. She'll get her surgery later in the week then she'll get let go. I know she loves her kittens but does NOT like being held captive. Not the kind of cat that could be rehabilitated. She's a wild animal that will go back to the wild and do her job of keeping the rodent populations in Florida at bay.

Did you know that feral cats are a fantastic defense against rodents? As my friend, the owner of a prominent extermination company in West Palm Beach has told me, if you don't allow the feral cats to live in your neighborhood or around your restaurant, home, or shopping center, then you will undoubtedly have to pay someone like him big bucks to keep the rodent population under control. People have no idea how bad the rat and mouse populations are in this country, especially places with feral cat colonies, as the cats are out doing humans a valuable public service and keeping us from having to see how many creepy crawlies there are out there.

Video

This is from 5/14/2011 in the morning. They do some fun spins.

The Litter from the Palm Beach School For Autism

3 of 4 still available for adoption through A Second Chance Puppies and Kittens Rescue. (note they are not on the site yet as available as they have not had their surgeries). Should be available May 14-15, but reserve them now by filling out an application online)

Donations needed for the mother!

Network for Good

The mother is feral (very, very feral and not in the LEAST bit friendly) but she managed to have 4 amazing, cuddly, friendly, outgoing, and really beautiful kittens. As long as she continues lactating we may try and introduce some orphans to her to see if she accepts them, but if not then she will be spayed and released back to where she was familiar and comfortable. Donations to go towards the cost of her spaying can be made through Network for Good. Please mention "Momma Cat from Kitten Cam" in your designation description. The goal is to raise at least $75. Based on the frequency she is peeing I think she may have a UTI, so we may need more to treat her before let her go. We want to minimize her stress so we will vet her and take care of her issues all at the same time.

As a sponsor, we will send you photos and updates of the babies and how they are doing as we get them! Thanks for watching, sharing, following, donating, and getting the word out. The more viewers we get, the better chance we have of finding them a home asap!

New videos- Fun & Feisty

Recorded May 8, 2011

Live Kitten Cam!!

Live Kitten Cam got its own page!

The Kitten Cam Kittens:

4 DSH's rescued from the playground of the Palm Beach School For Autism. They were found when they were just 2 days old and were in such a dangerous spot that Animal Control was going to have to come get them, but a caring teacher worked to keep them safe from the kids, trap the mom and find a foster home. They surely would have been put down at ACC.

Natalie: (available) Female Domestic Medium Hair (DMH) Fluffy, black with some white on feet, neck and face. Fluffy fur is salt-and pepper (not true black).

Nike: (adopted) Female Domestic Short Hair (DSH) White & Black (mask and cape coloring) with black spot on her chin

Nelly: (adopted) Female Domestic Short Hair (DSH) White & Black (mask and cape coloring) white chin

Neila: (adopted but homed on Sunday) Female DSH Cream/ Seal Point coloring