Good Morning!

 

Bettina and Paris will be spayed and neutered on Tuesday, and then they will be all ready to go to their forever home.

A Home for Everybody?

Ember and Moondust

Moondust was adopted last month, and she's enjoying life in her new home with her adopted brother--who looks remarkably like her!

Moondust is a Mini-Me! 

Good news for Ember, as well--she had a visit from some adopters and is scheduled to go to her new home next week. She got spayed first, and we planned it so that Moondust came for an overnight and both sisters went to the vet together. We were a little worried that Ember and Emily wouldn't recognize Moondust after two weeks, but they were thrilled to see her. Both kittens came through their spaying with no problems and are doing just fine.

Now we're just hoping for a great home for Mama Emily, too. Please share and help this elegant, sweet little black cat find her forever family for the holidays.

Emily and Moondust--reunited, and it feels so good!

Shadow Knows

Shadow is going to her forever home tonight! We will miss this bright-eyed, lively yet cuddly little tortie, but we know she'll get tons of playtime, attention, and love in her forever home. Goodbye, little Two-Tan-Toes! We wish you the best nine lives ever.

Baby Steps

Our three little kittens are growing bigger and more active every day! They're still in the "kitten drawer" for now, safe in their snug nook under the bed, but they come out for regular play sessions and to socialize with visitors. We also weigh them (in a Tupperware container, on a food scale), and everyone is doing well--just past twelve ounces. Of course, like any ladies, they don't always care to get on the scale!

Hey! Don't weigh me, FEED ME! 

We tried introducing them to wet food yesterday, but no one showed any interest yet. That will come very soon, though--and then they will learn to use a litter box--and soon they will be big enough to climb out of the kitten drawer on their own and start exploring.

Soon I shall escape this prison, and the world shall tremble at my wrath! 

But no rush. Right now they're three weeks old, no longer helpless babies but toddlers, just starting to take their first steps to independence. Good job, Mama Emily!

Mom still makes the best pillow! 

Thank you to all those who have donated to help support our little family. Donations (through PayPal) and adoption requests can be sent to mirishouse (at) gmail.com. The kittens and mama should be ready to go to their new homes around the end of September or beginning of October.

Ch-ch-ch-changes!

Update on the Hunger Games Kittens: most of them now have new names and new homes, and they're growing up into beautiful cats.

Here's Dumbledore (Katniss) in his new digs. His new mom reports that his favorite game is Animal Crossing. He's also happily bonded with his kitty brother and sister.

He's racking up the top scores in the cat crossing category.

 And here's Opie (Peeta), adorable as ever, checking out the dollhouse in his new home.

I can play with this, right? 

And then there's Leo (Gale), who just went home this weekend. He's still getting used to his new home, but as you can see, he's looking pretty comfortable already. 

Leo says: Life is good!

Then there's Rue, the tiniest of the kittens (when she and Leo went to be fixed, she weighed in at just 3.2 pounds, compared to her brother's 5)! Rue is finding her voice (the tiniest, cutest little meow) and getting a little bolder about facing the big cats. She's testing her independence, but happy she still has Mama to snuggle up with on an autumn afternoon. 

Rue, "making biscuits" with Runway

Opie and the Big Bad Receipt

Dos Hermanos

It's hard to believe the kittens are eleven weeks old today. It's funny to see how they alternate between testing their independence and still wanting snuggle time with Mama.

Now that Katniss (AKA Dumbledore) has been adopted, the two remaining boys have gotten closer. We just had to share some adorable shots of their brotherly bonding.

Meanwhile, Gale--whose new name is going to be Leo--had his first meet-and-greet with his soon-to-be adoptive family, both human and cat. Bee, his future cat sibling, did some hissing, but Leo kept his cool. He's definitely an outgoing little guy, and he's already made friends with resident cats  Ian and Duncan (although Molly is still holding out).

As for Peeta, he is not quite as bold, but he's incredibly sweet, the snuggliest of the kittens. If Peeta were in a high school yearbook, he'd be voted "Most likely to be a lap cat."

Look Back in Cuteness

Here's one more picture of playful and adorable Dumbledore, the first of his litter to be adopted.

Dumbledore with his mom, Runway. Have a happy life, Dumbledore!

The rest of the Hunger Games Kittens--Peeta, Gale, and Rue--are going for their first shots on Saturday, and then they will be ready for their new homes. They are friendly, energetic, curious, and well socialized. Watch for their Petfinder pages, coming soon!

If you'd like to make one of these cute purrmeisters part of your family, email mirishouse (at) gmail.com to request an adoption application. If you can't adopt right now, you can still sponsor a kitten by making a donation to help cover the costs of their food, litter, and veterinary care. You can also help by liking and sharing our page. Thanks and big purrs to everyone who has helped!

Peeta, Gale, Rue, and Dumbledore (formerly Katniss).

Goodbye to Dumbledore

The day has come, as we knew it would. The first of the kittens has gone to his new home. Fluffy, wise-eyed, storm-grey Dumbledore--the kitten formerly known as Katniss--has found his forever family.

Dumbledore (sometimes mistaken for a unicorn)

Dumbledore was the firstborn of the litter, and he grew quickly. Originally christened Katniss, after the brave and resourceful heroine of The Hunger Games, he turned out to be a be brave and resourceful  ... hero. He was dubbed Dumbledore by his new family, who were waiting until he was old enough to take him home.

Nom, nom, nom! Can I have some more, please?

Today, as the kittens celebrated their two-month birthday (born July 20, so they're actually just over nine weeks old), a little girl in Cranston was celebrating her eighth birthday with the best birthday present ever: another kitten joined the cat family!

King of the Cat-Tree Mountain

Dumbledore, have a long and happy life with your new family. We'll miss you, but we look forward to seeing pictures and hearing stories of all the fun you'll have growing up and playing with the people, cats, and kittens in your forever home.

Obligatory Kitten Glamour Shot

The Saddest Happiness

Remember the evil character "IT" in the classic children's book A Wrinkle in Time? Apparently IT liked to call ITself "the happiest sadist," and "sadist" was actually pronounced "saddest," not "say-dist," the way I and  everyone I knew had always pronounced it.


Happiest. Saddest. They're both pretty good words to describe how we at Miri's House feel every time a foster cat or kitten gets adopted. Whether we've fostered these animals for months or only for a little while, it's impossible not to grow attached to them.


The kittens are the hardest to say goodbye to. For a few weeks or a few months, these little fuzzy ones were part of our lives. We watched them grow, sometimes from the very moment of their birth. We held them when they were so tiny they fit into the palm of a hand. We saw them open their eyes for the first time, take their first wobbly kitten steps, jump feet first into dishes of kitten food in their first messy but enthusiastic attempts at eating. We watched them climb into slippers and use them as little boats to sail across the floor. We saw them grow from helpless, squealing babies who cried if they were taken from Mama's side to fierce, furry adventurers who raced, wrestled, climbed, and leaped their way into our hearts.


And then, into someone else's.


Because that's what it means to foster. We feed and brush and pet and play with and nurture and love these kittens so they will have every chance in the world to grow up to be healthy, playful, and loving cats. And then we send them out in the world, and hope that the people we send them home with will love and treasure them for the rest of their long and happy lives.


So when they leave for their forever homes, tucked into a cat carrier with their excited new families gathered around them, we smile and wave goodbye and wish them well, knowing that we've saved one  life and enriched many more.


So we're happy.


But I can't say we don't miss them. And I can't say that when we run across a fishie toy forgotten in a corner of the closet, or a long-missing slipper somehow pushed way under the bed, we don't cry.

--Posted by Kate, 9/10/13

Vincent: Man of the House

Vincent, loving the view from his forever home.

Vincent was a neighborhood cat with long, light-orange fur, an I-Own-This-Town strut, and a proud tail. For years, we'd see him around: marching through the back yard (making our cats crazy), playing with neighborhood kids, on the prowl for mice at the edge of the woods.

Surely, we thought, such a beautiful cat has a home. But no one seemed to know just where he lived.  He never wore a collar. And when we started seeing him out at all hours of the night, and begging for food on the back porch, we began to worry. Maybe this gorgeous, friendly cat really didn't have anyone looking out for him.

Our animal-loving neighbors reported that Vincent was one of the outdoor cats they were feeding. He really wanted to be an indoor cat, but another male cat they'd rescued was his sworn enemy. Could we help?

It was February. There was snow on the ground. And there was Vincent: his long ginger fur dirty and matted, so thin that his ribs and backbone stood out, but still purring when we picked him up. As clearly as any words, his beautiful eyes said, "Pet me. Love me. Rescue me!"

Vincent with his come-hither eyes.

We decided to foster Vincent until we could find him a good home, but we knew it wouldn't be easy. He was an adult cat, not a cute little kitten. His origins were unknown. He didn't get along with other cats. Worst of all, a visit to the vet revealed that Vincent tested positive for FIV, or feline immunodeficiency virus. While cats with the virus can often live long and healthy lives, they can be vulnerable to infection, and the virus can be transmitted to other cats through bites. It looked like Vincent would need a home without other cats.

Vincent had a few strikes against him, but he also had some things in his favor. He was an incredibly sweet, friendly, loving guy who loved nothing more than to be brushed and petted for hours. He had problems keeping food down at first, but as he got used to good food and regular meals, Vincent put on weight and gained energy, becoming more playful, and his fur grew even thicker, longer, glossier, and more luxuriant.

Vincent was posted on Petfinder and Maine Coon Rescue, and we put up posters of our "adoptable mini-lion," hoping to find just the right home for him. Then came the call that would change Vincent's life. Linda, a 92-year-old widow from Nantucket, had lost her beloved cat Snacker a few months ago, and she missed having an animal companion in her life. She had seen Vincent's picture, and something about him called to her. Could she meet him?

Vincent in "his" bed (but he does allow his person to share it).

After weeks of phone conversations, we made arrangements for Linda to bring Vincent back to Nantucket. It would be a long journey by car and ferry, but we knew that Vincent had found the perfect home, and a person who would give him all the love and attention he had gone so long without and so deserved.

It's always hard to say goodbye to a foster kitty, and it was especially hard to let Vincent go, but we had a good feeling about his new home, and we were so right!

Linda, Vincent's loving new mom, keeps us up on all his doings. Vincent has explored every room of her Nantucket home and made it his own. He loves smelling the window boxes from his sunny window perch, lounging on the porch, greeting every visitor at the door, and curling up for a nap in a comfy pile of pillows on the bed. Now a fluffy 15 pounds, Vincent rules the roost, and Linda couldn't be happier. "Thank you for restoring my lifeline with the world," she writes. "He makes it all worth living. What a joy he is!"

It looks like the joy is mutual. Linda, thank you for opening your heart and your home to Vincent.  We think he's found his purr-fect match!

Linda and the "Man of the House."