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

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! 

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!

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!"