Bethany available

Bethany went back to the shelter yesterday. She's up above her 2 lb weight so she can be safely spayed soon. She's available for adoption and is one of the few small kittens right now (though I'm sure more will be coming--spring approaches).

She is not a very cuddly kitten; she prefers to play. She will, however, curl up and sleep with you when she's tired. She dearly loves toys on the end of strings, but do not let her have them without supervision. She also likes balls. Oh, and she is absolutely fascinated watching video games. She can track the human figures running around on screen.

A very sweet kitten, looking for her forever home! Stop by and say hello!

Bethany's toys

Bethany loves toys. She especially loves them if there is a human on the other end. She's learning to enjoy being pet, but she'd really rather play. Her favorite toy is a small stuffed bird with a bell on the end of a bungee string attached to a stick. She'll play with balls and boxes and boxes with stuff in them and Mr. Dot, but she loves that bird.

The bird is also an excellent example of a toy that is good for supervised play only . When we get tired of swinging it around we set it up to hang off a table so she can keep playing with it. Yesterday Jon heard her noise change to a repetitive mewling he hadn't heard from her before. Turning around he discovered she had somehow wrapped the string around her belly, then around her neck....then the stretchy string retracted and she was suspended mostly off the ground. Fortunately the loop around her belly was taking the weight.

He quickly unwound her and she's fine, but if he hadn't been around that could have been unpleasant. It's an excellent toy--I highly suggest whoever adopts her get a toy with a bell on a string--but it's a toy to be played with with humans around only. Leave her the balls for solo play.

Bethany arrives!

It's been a while since we had any little kittens. Usually they come in groups, but Bethany is all by herself. She is 2 months and was 2 lbs (the magic age/weight at which kittens can be spayed and go up for adoption) but she started loosing weight when she was separated from her mother. So we have her to plump her back up again.

She was treated for fleas before we got her and it seems to have worked, as we've seen no fleas. We also found ringworms in her fecal sample, but since incoming cats are treated for them as a matter of course and the ones we found were dead, she didn't have to go back for treatment. Which we were glad of because the snow is quite deep!

We were told she was "lonely" and that's a good description. She howls if we're not in the room and it's very pathetic. She doesn't demand all our attention if we're with her--she will play on her own and go exploring--but she gets quite upset about being alone. She has a huge range of vocalizations as well. Every time we come in she seems to have a new one. She isn't the most intelligent kitten we've had, but she's lots of fun.

She'll be with us probably until Sunday, assuming she regains her weight.

The first evening she was here I was tired and took a nap on the sofa. She'd had a hard day and curled up and napped with me. It wasn't til the next day we were both awake enough for me to get an alert picture.

Dr. Stone farewell, Josie wants to say hello

We went out to the shelter on Friday evening for a farewell party for the shelter's vet. She will be missed. The shelter is taking applications for her replacement, so if you know someone looking for a vet position please send them to cuhumane.org. While there we walked around and played with the cats.

Josie is still there, to our surprise. She's just as sweet and funny as ever. We took her into the Getting Acquainted room to play with her and all she wanted to do was sit on my lap. Well, "sit" is maybe not the right term--she can't sit still when you pet her but shifts and walks in circles and rubs her face on your hand. She does look a little funny--she's a small cat with a small head but the rest of her is round. She's on a restricted diet because she's round, but she's a very cheerful sphere if someone is petting her.

This week (Feb 8th - 14th) the Society has tagged some animals with red hearts or red bandanna and those animals are half the normal adoption fee. I believe Josie has a heart on her cage, so go say hi!

Roscoe - Follow up, adopted!

It was pointed out to me I forgot to blog Roscoe! He actually went in a day early because of gunk in his ear, and since the URI was clear they kept him. The ear infection was easily treated there. So, we don't have the traditional final picture, but here are some others.

I see today on the web site he's been adopted. Hooray! Darth Vader was also adopted. Sweet Josie is still looking for her forever home, though.

Roscoe Arrives!

Meet Roscoe! He arrived late on Thursday. He does have brilliant blue eyes, but the Illini orange is due to the camera flash. He's 11lbs, very solidly built, but has hints of Siamese coloring. He's a nice cream color with the ears a little darker. Adorable face.

As most of our fosters, he has a cold. A nasty one. Thus, he was choking from time to time, very cuddly, and very energetic. I thought he was an older cat from his behavior, but he's actually only a year--the lethargy is almost certainly due to being sick. Much like humans when they aren't feeling well.

He likes being under things--he lays under the edge of the couch and under the desk. He's not hiding and he was happy coming out to see a variety of guests on Thursday not long after he came, but he seems to prefer something above his head.

Darth Vader is available

Darth Vader went back to the society yesterday and when last we saw him was in one of the crates in the far back room. So, if you've ever wanted your own little Sith Lord, here's your chance!

He is still nippy, but in ways that are very easy to work around. If you want to stop petting him, set him off your lap. If he reaches out with his paws towards your hand and opens his mouth--remove your hand from his head area. He isn't the fastest kitten and gives plenty of warning before nipping. (I am using nip, and not bite, intentionally. He doesn't break skin or bite hard, so bite seems a bit much). He has no front claws so his paws are safe.

He likes pouncing, so with a cardboard box it's easy to play with him without you having to move much. Dangle the toy on one side of the box, wait for him to pounce. When he backs off, move the toy to the other side of the box. He can ignore a toy until it goes out of sight!

He is a kitten so be prepared for exploration. He doesn't make a lot of noise vocally, and he is VERY quiet when moving around.

Now at CCHS!

(While we were dropping him off we went and said hello to Richard as well, who is still available. He's in one of the communal cat rooms and would love attention as well.)