Growing up Kitten

Every day there's a little change. First his tail started to get longer and then his body needed a few days to catch up to the tail. Then his whiskers grew in really long and he looked like a baby with adult whiskers. Now his legs are growing longer which is making him taller.

We've settled on calling him Jay, although he's had other names: Cutie Pie, Sweetie Pie and Mischiefer.

Both Jay and his mother Beauty, a lovely calico, are up for adoption.

I'm fostering them until we can find permanent loving homes for them.

Whiz, my other foster cat is in his glory.

Finally he has someone with boundless energy that wants to play with him. I reminded him of just that last night when Jay, acting in his mischiefer role, decided to pounce on Whiz while he was napping.

I'm sure Whiz had a few moments there when he regretted wanting someone--anyone of any age--to play with him.

The mommy cat, we call her Beauty, got spayed last week so she's been taking it easy this week and sleeping and keeping a low profile.

She's eating well which is good and hopefully she'll now gain some weight back.

Both Beauty and Jay were very sick when they first came here and for a while it even looked like the kitten wouldn't live.

That was when Amber stopped going in the cat quarantine room. She couldn't bear the thought that they might not make it.

But I told her that regardless of the outcome, it's our job to never give up on them. So we didn't. And they survived.

The kitten has also taken to playing with the bunny. Now this isn't a little bunny, this is a very large Angora rabbit, named Lexi.

Lexi is a bit strange and thinks that the kitten attacks are actually attempts to pat and groom her so she runs towards the kitten and encourages him even farther.... I think I've been so busy with projects lately that Lexi is feeling a lack of attention.

I was glad a few weeks ago to cut off Lexi's long soft fur. I collect the fur to use later to spin into Angora yarn for knitting. I also cut off Margarite's hair, my other rabbit.

(Photo of Lexi before the haircut).

Her hair wasn't long enough yet, but I knew she was uncomfortable and hot and I already had lots of her fur saved. This shorter cut hair can be used for craft projects or put out for birds for nesting material in the spring. Margarite was unusually cooperative with being groomed and having her hair cut off, so that alone showed me how very happy she was to have it removed.

And Tom is doing very well for an older cat. Unfortunately he still thinks he's young enough to defend the property and last night I saw another stray run away when I opened the back door--probably another drop off cat to the subdivision.

Keeping Indoor Cats Happy

If you're like most of us, you're a cat lover with at least one cat and probably a full time job as well. That means there's a great deal of time each day when you're away and your cat is left to entertain itself.

Let's face it, being indoors every day, day after day, can get a little tedious. Even the most lazy cat can find it boring.

Since I'm a foster Mom for stray and abandoned cats, I've got lots of experience with dealing with a clan of cats and keeping them stimulated and entertained. Below are some tips and ticks that I've learned over the years:

1. The best and cheapest cat toy is a cardboard box. You can cut holes in it that the cat can paw through. They'll play and sleep in this box for hours. A paper bag can be used but I suggest you cut any handles so it doesn't entangle your cat. Never use plastic bags.

2. Cat nip. You can grow cat nip in your garden (I believe it's a member of the mint family). Cats love to eat and play with the leaves of fresh cut cat nip. All pet stores offer cat nip toys which can help enliven your cat's day. Cat nip has an analgesic affect on your cat (pain killing) so it can help them if they're suffering any pain or stress.

3. Cat beds are really great for cats to have their own place to sleep, groom themselves, and relax. Cats absolutely love having a perch or cat bed in front of a window.

Cat beds can be purchased at pet stores, or made by folding a towel, blanket, or old sweater and placing in a quiet area. Pet stores even sell perch beds that easily attach to the sash of your window.

4. Cats do enjoy TV and some cats will actually sit in front of the TV and watch, pawing the screen on occasion. There are even bird videos available that you can play on your VCR or DVD when you're not at home. But you can go even better by providing a window space with a perch. Cats watching out the window is the best kind of cat TV and it provides endless amounts of entertainment for them.

5. Switch it up - you'd think that rearranging furniture or their environment would scare or frighten your cats but I find it has the opposite affect. It creates something new and fresh out of the same old boring place and can re-engineer their excitement. Once I left a mattress on it's side in the hall for a few days (I was rearranging furniture). I left it a few days longer just to give them something to play on. They climbed on it and ran behind it and had lots of fun with it.

6. Close off one room or an area during the day. I discovered this by accident and it works wonders for the cats. I close off the basement all day long. During the day they only have access to the main floor. When I get home from work I open the basement door. It's like a fur pile to the basement. They play and run around down there for hours on end. It's like it's new for them every day and because it's "forbidden" during the day, it makes it more exciting for them. In some ways it's like getting to go outside.

7. Offer cat scratching equipment. I have the usual cat brushes and the cats will actually line up for their turn being brushed each night - it's funny to watch the kittens try to butt the line.

In winter, their skin gets so dry that they want extra brushing. I provide a bottle brush toy that I bought at a pet shop. They rub themselves on the bottle brush bristles and they and love it. I love that it's self-serve.

8. Free and cheap toys - paper balls thrown around make great light toys they can bat with their paws. String is good but DO NOT tie it to anything. I have seen a cat get a tied up string wrapped around it's neck and then it panicked - something I plan never to see again (I rescued the cat and it was fine). A really good toy are the soft covered hair elastics. They're cheap and cats love to carry them around in their mouths and bat around with their paws.

9. Cat scratchers - the cardboard cat scratchers that you can buy in pet stores are very popular. What is also very popular for cats to scratch is a tree stump or a piece of wood.

10. Kibble hunt - each night before bed I call out "TREATS" and they all come running. This is an absolute favourite. They know what Treats means. There's a good reason to have this habit. Sometimes you will need your cats to come to you and this is a very effective way to get your cats to come to you right away. I purchase Whiskas (which is really like junk food for cats) and I throw handfuls of it here and there around the room. The cats hunt around to find the pieces. By morning all the bits of food are completely gone.

11. Cat Grass - you can grow oats either purchased from the pet shop or bought at a grain store. This provides cats with a healthy greenery that they will especially enjoy during the winter season.

12. And finally, get your cat a cat. Two cats are much better than one, especially if you're busy. If you are your cat's only companion then he or she expects a lot from you and will be wanting all your attention. If your cat has a buddy, he has someone to keep him company when you're at work or too busy and someone to share life's events with.

Cats - Being a Foster Mom for Stray Cats

One cold and dreary Sunday afternoon in November 2006, I went looking for my precious cat Sweet Pea. She had not come home and I was worried about her. I found my beloved cat on the road. She had been hit by a car and was killed. I was devastated at losing her. She had been a special cat, my fur baby, and she had really helped me through a tough time. I missed her terribly and all I felt was an overpowering need to do some pay back for her somehow, some way. (This photo is of Sweet Pea).
I wanted to show thanks for her life and to make her memory live on. So I called the local non profit organization that fosters cats, Animalert, and set myself up to become a foster mom for abandoned and stray cats.

Within a couple weeks I had a Mom and her kitten. They were adopted quickly and then more cats arrived. Each one has their own unique personality and it was a real pleasure to get to know them as individuals. I'd watch them as they'd bond with the other cats in my home and they'd soon relax because they knew they were in a safe place. (Photo of Tica adopted in 2006 along with her kitten Antonio).


My heart would break a little as each cat is adopted but it's such a small pain and it doesn't last. Instead I'm left with the knowledge that the cat has found it's perfect permanent home. Few things are better than that.

(Photo of kittens Dottie & Smudge and their Mother adopted 2008).

At a recent fund raising bazaar for the Animalert non profit organization http://www.animalert.ca/, I had several people grab me by the elbow to take me aside. Then out came the photo albums and cameras filled with photos of their new fur baby--a cat they came to adopt from my home. That and a followup call always give me closure as I release these precious animals, making room for the next.

The young cats are playful, sometimes mischievous but always fun to watch. They bring joy that outweighs the little things like the chewed corners on my books or the toilet paper pulled off the roll, out the bathroom and down the hall. The older cats are wise and they know they've been abandoned or mistreated. They are extremely grateful and make the most loyal and loving pets. (Bailey adopted in 2008).

I think that's the surprise, the love that's returned. So often we think it's just us that's giving it out. The returns are wonderful and it makes me want to ask why more people don't consider fostering? Maybe it's just a well kept secret?

I hope this secret gets out :)

(This is my cat Gracie who rarely sleeps because she's always busy supervising everyone else, including me).