She Likes It! Hey, Moondust!

Ember (on scratcher ramp), Moondust (in scratcher ramp), and Shadow (on track). 

Okay, a kitten taking her first taste of non-Mom food may not seem like a huge deal, but since we've been worrying for weeks about the kittens not wanting to eat, it's a pretty big deal around here.


The kittens are six weeks old, and still not weaned. Most other litters we've fostered have shown interest in food by around four weeks.

"What's this stuff?"

Of course, all kittens develop at different rates, and our current crew--Shadow, Ember, and Moondust--were smaller than usual at birth, with a very young mama cat. We even think they might have been slightly premature. One kitten in the litter, little Dusk, only lived one day.


But they are growing well, and they are beyond any doubt active, playful, and healthy. Still, we couldn't help worrying: were these kittens ever going to eat?

"She likes it! Hey, Moondust!" 

Today, Moondust, the smallest of the three, took the plunge. She came out from her new favorite hidey-hole in the scratching ramp to investigate a dish of KMR (Kitten Milk Replacement)--and she decided it was worth a taste. Once she got started, she licked up nearly the whole dish!

We're hoping her litter-mates follow suit. And we're pretty sure Mama hopes so, too!

Official Kitties!

Cute little tortie Ember

Great news! Miri's House Cat & Kitten Rescue, Inc., is now an official nonprofit corporation in Massachusetts. Thanks to everyone who supported our GoFundMe drive so we could file for nonprofit status, and a special shout-out of thanks to Lori Bradley of iAnimal Southcoast Pet Rescue, Inc., whose work for animal welfare is a huge inspiration.

We've been really fortunate this year to receive donations of kitten food, a cat carrier, and several scratching posts and toys. High on our wish list: some cat trees to create more vertical space for both our fosters and our resident cats and a screened porch to give the kitties a chance to get some fresh air in a safe enclosure. We're hoping that someone will offer to donate materials and labor to help us build one.

Sweet tortie Shadow

In the meantime, our current crop of kittens are growing up and will soon be ready for their first set of shots. They will be meeting some potential adopters this weekend, and should be ready to go to their new homes after their second set of shots in October. Mama will need to be spayed, and we hope that we can find her a great home as well. She has done a wonderful job raising her girls.

It's amazing how quickly these little kittens grow up--and how cute they are in the process!

Kitty photobomb: white calico Moondust with a guest appearance by Ember! 

Campaigning for Kittens!

Here at Miri's House, we've always been a nonprofit--in the sense that none of our rescue work is done for profit, and any donations we receive go to feeding and caring for animals--but we never applied for official nonprofit status. It seemed complicated, and possibly expensive.

But now we've gotten some good advice from other animal rescue workers, and we've found an accountant who will donate his time to work with us, and we're going for it.

When we went to file our initial paperwork online, though, we realized that we didn't even have enough money in the checking account for the filing fee. Let's just say that with one of our two volunteer kitten carers out of work since May, it's been a difficult summer for the rescue AND the rescuers.

So we've started a GoFundMe campaign, and we have just gotten our first donations! Soon, we'll be able to file for nonprofit status, and then all donations to Miri's House Cat & Kitten Rescue will be tax-deductible.

We'll keep you posted. In the meantime, BIG PURRS to all our donors and supporters!

You can support our GoFundMe campaign by visiting, sharing, and donating at

http://www.gofundme.com/mirishouse. 

Good Morning, Moondust!

Good morning, Moondust! 

Learning to Play

Happy birthday, kittens! They are one month old and learning to play. 

They're starting to understand what toys are for--but they know a sibling is just as fun.

Kittens are rolling, wrestling, and chasing. 

And then stopping to pose adorably, just because they can. 

Ember

Shadow

Moondust

You can sponsor one of our kittens or Mama Cat! Your donation of $15 will feed this little family for a week. Additional donations will help with litter, toys, and the first shots they will need very soon. Thanks for following and for helping our rescue! 

Shadow Leads the Pack!

Today was weigh-in day for Mama Emily's kittens.

Sweet, small Moondust is the most petite kitten, but still growing well at 13.4 ounces.

Moondust

Little tortie Ember is in the middle: 14.3 ounces.

Ember

And our other tortie, Shadow, is the first kitten to pass the pound mark--she's in the lead at 1 pound, 2 ounces!

Shadow

Ember has a little skin swelling that could be a bite from roughhousing with the other kittens. We're keeping an eye on it and hoping she doesn't need a vet visit like Leo, our fluffy orange kitten from two years back.

Tortie Times Two! 

But other than that, everyone seems healthy--we've only heard a few sneezes, everyone's eyes are clear, and they are all active, alert, and relaxed around people. We think they're going to grow up to be great cats!