That First Day of School Feeling ...

Hello, World!

It's September. That time of year when the temperature turns from hot and humid to cooler and crisper (soon, we hope!) and when those cute "first day of school" pictures start showing up all over social media. It's the start of something exciting and new--but also, for parents, a little bittersweet, as they watch their babies pass each new milestone on the way to growing up.

It's like that with each new litter of foster kittens. Somehow, seeing them start out as tiny, helpless fuzzballs, it's always hard to believe they will ever grow up to be fully grown, independent cats, but it happens every time.

Put your paws in the air!

We can see it happening now, with Opal's kittens. They're still clearly kittens, and ridiculously adorable kittens at that, but they're starting to look less like babies and more like little cats. They've lost that wobbly, tentative walk. Now they're racing wildly around the room, leaping fearlessly from the backs of chairs to the floor, and scaling cardboard boxes with ease. Even the most reluctant holdouts, our mama's boys Onyx and Jasper, now come running for cat food instead of demanding mom-serve. They're mastering the litter box, too.

There are other signs. They no longer sleep in one big kitten pile. Now we find them here and there, paired off or sleeping solo. They no longer cry when you pick them up, and some of them are even considering future careers as lap cats.

Sunstone, just chillin'.

Today, Opal and her kittens were separated for several hours as the kittens went for their first vet visit. (All six are healthy and thriving!) They all handled the separation well, and the kittens took their first car ride without crying. Instead, they just seemed curious--waiting for the next step, when they join their new families and take their first look at a new, wider world.

The good news is: all the kittens AND Mama Opal have already found great homes. :-)

And the bad news is: that means they'll be leaving soon. :-(

Dinner, family style.

During the kittens' last few weeks, we are still in need of donations. In addition to their vet exam and immunizations, which were nearly $300, there are the regular weekly expenses of food, litter, and other supplies, which are growing with the kittens. If you can, please consider making a donation of any amount or sending a gift from our Amazon wish list. Thanks from Opal, Onyx, Jasper, Sandstone, Sunstone, Mica, and Galena!

Sponsor a foster cat or kitten!

Kitten Vet Visit $80.00 USD 1 Case Kitten Food $30.00 USD 4 Cans Kitten Food $5.00 USD

You can also go to PayPal and send a donation of any amount to mirishouse@gmail.com. If you'd prefer to mail a check, please email us for our address.

Ten Weeks!

It's hard to believe they're growing up at last. It seems like they were just born, just opening their eyes.

Moondust

Now they're off to the vet. And in just a few weeks, they will be heading for their forever homes.

Shadow

The kittens are becoming more adventurous and independent. But they still need your help! If you can, please donate through our PayPal or GoFundMe to help sponsor the kittens' check-up and vaccinations.

Thanks and purrs to all our supporters!

Ember

Looking for a foster--or forever--home!

This sweet little lady looks an awful lot like our former foster kitten, Luna. A neighbor found her huddled outside in the snow, trying to keep warm.

We don't really have room for another foster kitty right now, so we are looking for someone who can take her in, either temporarily as we search for an adoptive family, or permanently. We think she's about 6 months old. We need to take her to the vet and have her checked out.

We will post updates soon, but in the meantime, if you can foster, please send an email to mirishouse (at) gmail.com. And if you can, please send us a donation to help with her vet care.

Off to See the Vet (Again)!

 So, today I felt like the biggest meanie in the world.

I had to take these two warm, cozy, sleepy, happy kittens away from their chosen sleeping spot in the laundry hamper and put them in the cat carrier, despite the protesting meows of Mama, and carry them outside on a chilly November morning, and then take them on a car ride while they blinked at me reproachfully as if to say: "All this and NO BREAKFAST?"

Yes, today is the day when Leo and little Rue are getting their neuter and spay surgeries.

And even though we humans know all about the benefits of spaying and neutering companion animals, I'm sure all Leo and Rue know is that they got left alone in a scary place with funny smells and strange people and animals.

I'm sorry, kittens. We will make it up to you, I promise.

Right now, I'm waiting for the call back from the vet. Please keep a good thought in mind for Leo and Rue on their surgery day. If you'd like to help, you can make a donation toward the kittens' medical expenses through PayPal. Thanks, and we'll update soon!

The Heat is On

Runway is rolling. She's stretching. She's posing. She's chirping and meowing and making that long, low, sultry mmmmrrrrawwwwrrrr sound. She's suddenly a lot less interested in her food, and a lot more interested in getting out and meeting cute guys.

In short, Runway is behaving like a teenage girl at a boy band concert. She's a force field of hormones, on a mission to fill the world with kittens.

Runway is in heat.

We've seen it in other mama cats we've fostered, and although it may sound funny, it's really painful to watch them go through it. We were hoping to avoid it this time, and we almost made it. Runway's spay surgery is scheduled for Friday of this week.

In the meantime, we'll need to be especially careful about keeping her away from doors (she managed to slip outside today--and, perhaps coincidentally, or not, there was a strange red-and-white cat in the back yard), and we may need to keep her separated from the boy cats. In the past, the resident hot mamas have always shown a preference for Ian. (Not that we blame them!)

But we know Runway will be happier and healthier once she's been spayed, and she can go back to being a playful, carefree young cat again and focus on finding herself a new, loving home.

If you'd like to make a donation to help cover the costs of Runway's surgery, please send your contribution through the PayPal link below. If you can't contribute money, please send your good wishes for a trouble-free surgery and speedy recovery for this brave little mama!

Rue and Runway: Mama's got a Mini-Me!

Gale: Bitten Kitten!

Good news for Gale! We were worried about the strange bumps on his forehead, especially when they seemed to get bigger almost overnight. They were side by side, just above his eyes, in the middle of his forehead. It almost seemed as if he was growing little ... well ... horns! 

Should we start calling Gale "Hellboy?"

 At first, we thought Gale might have bumped his head, but since there were two lumps, and since they had changed size, we started to worry. What if this sweet little guy had a tumor?

Gale didn't act like a sick kitten. He still ran around, jumped, and played with his litter-mates, still had a good appetite, and didn't seem to have any hearing or vision problems. Still, this just didn't seem normal. So, even though funds are tight, we decided that another trip to the vet was in order.

As before, we decided to load the whole kit 'n' kaboodle into the carrier so that Mama wouldn't stress out over her missing kittens, or vice versa. Also as before, the awesome staff at Acoaxet Veterinary Clinic all gathered round for their dose of floofy kitten cuddles.  But this time, instead of Rue, it was Gale in the hot seat. Dr. Hall examined Gale and didn't find anything wrong, but he could definitely feel two bumps. We'd  hoped they could avoid shaving his head, but unfortunately, it looked like Gale was going to get a mini-Mohawk.

Whatchu lookin' at? I think Joe Strummer rocked this haircut once.

 Poor Gale! When the vet took him into another room to shave his head and aspirate the wounds for biopsy, he made his displeasure known, vocally and VERY loudly. Poor Runway was frantic, running around the room and chirping at the door: "I want my baby back!"

When Gale returned, he had a new punk haircut and two clearly visible red bumps. We couldn't help but comment on his resemblance to the comic character Hellboy. And there were further indignities to endure: an antibiotic shot and worm medicine, which he proceeded to spit out all over the examining table. We couldn't really blame the poor guy. He's had a bad day.

"I gots boo-boo!"

The good news is that Gale's bites, while serious enough to need antibiotics, should recover within a week. We'll need to keep an eye on his boo-boos, apply hot compresses twice a day, and make sure his siblings don't go all True Blood on him again. We don't know who the biter is, but we strongly suspect Peeta, who was the very first eater, and has already used our hands and ankles as chew toys.

Just another day at Chez Kitten. We will be keeping an even closer eye on the growing clowder, moving them into a bigger room to give them more room to play as they move into this new, more active phase of kittenhood.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to Gale's medical expenses. They were higher than we expected ($128.62), but we've already raised one-fifth of the cost through donations, and the vet has graciously given us until Friday to pay off the remainder. If you'd like to help sponsor Gale, or any of the Hunger Games Kittens, just use the link below to donate. Thanks for following our story, and stay tuned for more kitty adventures!

And remember, your brother's face is NOT a chew toy!

Image credit: "Hellboy and Kitten" by Kory Bingaman, retrieved from elfwood.com.

Brave Little Rue!

15-oz. Rue faced her captors bravely.

What kind of birthday is this?

The kittens are one month old today. They are growing, romping, meowing, and starting to get braver and more playful. They're ready for adventure!

But going to the vet? That's not really the kind of adventure poor Rue had in mind. Rue was showing signs of an eye infection, though, so she went for her first car trip to see the kind and cat-loving people at Acoaxet Veterinary Clinic. And just so she wouldn't be scared at being all alone, Mama and the rest of the kittens came with her.

The other kittens weren't all that happy about having to go in "the cage" to a strange building, even if they did get to have lots of strangers ooh and ahh over their amazing cuteness. The vet techs had a hard time figuring out which kittens were male and which were female because they were "just too FLOOFY," but Dr. Mailloux blew the floof aside and determined that we have THREE boys and only one girl--little Rue. So Gale, Peeta, AND Katniss are all boys, which means we may need to come up with a new name for Katniss. Any ideas?

Meanwhile, Rue was very brave through her ordeal, even though she had to have yucky yellow dye put into her eye and have the vet examine it under a bright light. The good news is, she has no scratches or structural damage. The bad news is, she does have an infection, so she's now on antibiotic treatment. So far, none of the other kittens show signs of anything, so we're hoping that by catching and treating it early, we'll make sure the infection doesn't spread.

Orange (Cat) is the New Black:
Felines behind bars!

 Through it all, Rue was a real trooper and barely made a peep. We can't say the same for Peeta, alas. He screeched loudly whenever anyone dared pick him up: Mama's boy all the way!

We were hoping to get the kittens dewormed today, but they're still too small, so we'll have to wait and give them their medicine after they pass the 1 1/2-pound mark. Here are their official one-month weights:

Katniss:  1 lb. 4 oz.
Gale:      1 lb. 4 oz. 
Peeta:     1 lb. 1 oz.
Rue:       15 oz.

The vet scale, I'm sure, is more accurate than the food scale we've been using to weigh them. But it's all good. According to Dr. Mailloux, one-month-old kittens should weigh about a pound, so everybody's right on target, and they all look healthy. And cute. And, of course, FLOOFY.

So, as the vet said, "Good job, Mama!"