krazycatlady’s blog

These are my two mama-kitties this summer.  They and their kittens are ready for adoption, just a matter of time to wait for someone to choose them!

 

Butterscotch came in as a pregnant kitten - she was only around six-months-old.  One of her babies didn't make it, but that's not a surprise.  Her two kittens were very small and we waited longer to spay them to make sure they were big and healthy enough.  Butters will be a small, petite cat.  She's around ten-months-old and weighs around five pounds.  A lot of the cats from where she came from are petite, so she'll stay that way.  Very sweet and loving and ready to stop being a mom and start being a kitten again.

 

Here's a new picture of Bluebelle, a bit more relaxed!  This is right before I took her to PetSmart where she's anything but relaxed, poor kid!  I'm actually on my way up there to visit her and check to see if she's eating.  I know she's so scared, but it's the best way for them to find a home!  Hopefully with those gorgeous blue eyes it won't take too long!

This beautiful boy was adopted out to a nice family when he was a 4-month-old puppy.  He recently got lost and it was his microchip that got him home quickly. 

We got a call from a local vet saying that someone had brought in a stray dog with a rabies tag, but the phone numbers registered on the tag were disconnected.  They were able to find his microchip which was registered to us and so being the sucker I am, I went and picked him up and drove him to his old foster mom's house.  He was an amazingly sweet boy!  Just a doll.  I wanted to keep him and briefly entertained the idea of 3 dogs (briefly).  His foster mom fell in love with him as an adult too!  She did all the right things and called local animal control to let them know that we had the dog in case anyone was looking.  Later that day, we got a call that his mom was looking for him and he got to go home!  The gate in his fenced-in-yard had gotten open and he slipped out.  She thinks he figured out how to open it!

This story has a happy ending, but it almost didn't!  She had moved and didn't update her information with us so we couldn't let her know we had her dog!  So put ID tags on your pets and keep the information current! 

The 4th of July is a scary time for a lot of pets and their fear of fireworks can make them run off.  Double check that your pet is wearing their collar with current tags and make sure that they are microchipped!  The Pet Adoption Center on MidRivers Mall Dr offers discounted microchipping. 

Also due to the 4th of July being on Saturday, we won't have dogs available for adoption this weekend.  It's just not a good night to send a dog to an unfamiliar place.  We will have plenty of cats and kittens at PetSmart, so please send your friends up to get a kitten!

Dogs: Seamus - lab/setter mix, Gator - shepard mix

Cats: Rascal - medium hair gray kitten, Sonja - brown tabby, Spartan - brown tabby, Elliot - gray and white, Stubbles - orange classic tabby, Frisky Whiskers - orange medium hair, Pumpkin Patch - medium hair calico, Thistle - black tabby, Sunshine & Shadow

Let's all give big cheers for Sunshine & Shadow!  Recently I put out a plea for someone to take them home for the summer so that they could stop living in a cage and get to be real cats for awhile.  Their guardian angel came through and did one better - a real home!  The plan is for them to live in a bedroom for while because she has a 17-year-old cat with health problems, but Sunny & Shadow won't be complaining.  They have a king size bed to nap on and a patio door for soaking up the sun.  She already sent me pictures and it's so good seeing them in a home again!  And I'm so glad that I stuck to my guns and got them a home together.  And I'm so glad that their new mom decided not to wait to adopt.  It's so hard losing a pet and having an empty home.  She's already grieving knowing that the days are numbered for her beloved kitty, Sunny & Shadow will help ease that pain the same way that Jimmy helped heal my heart when we lost Jake.

And just in the nick of time - their cage at PetSmart was in need for lots of kittens!  If you find yourself up there you'll see kitten-palooza!

In other really good news, someone else took me up on the idea of a summer sublet and Milo, my FIV+ foster is taking some time off at a new friend's house!  She adopted Porter from us and he is also FIV+.  She has returned to the area and wasn't able to take on a permanent addition at this time, but was more than happy to let Milo hang out for awhile.   Milo gets to stay in the office until he is adjusted and friends with Porter.  They also have a beagle, so we'll see if Milo still likes dogs!  We're just so happy that a sweet boy like Milo will get tons of attention!

By the way, Porter (now Pasha) looked great.  He is a lot more orange.  That is common with siamese cats - their colors darken as they age.  He's just gorgeous still and as happy as can be!  Still the friendly boy who was eager to greet company and happy to let me love on him for a bit. 

After taking Milo to his new home, I stopped by a friend's house who had adopted Annie!  She is a sharpei mix with some major allergy issues.  The last time I saw her she was beet red again, but she's on prednisone and looked so much better!  Her new mom just did some allergy testing and is waiting for the results.  Annie is so happy in her new home and just loves those kids!  She is spoiled - to the point of getting doggie sunscreen on before going outside.  Her white coat is pretty sparse from the allergies and they don't want to take any chances!

Think outside the (recyclable) box: What's an Act of Green someone might be surprised to learn about?
Sponsored by One Million Acts of Green brought to you by Cisco.

I usually don't get to answer the "Questions of the Day" because they're usually geared for individuals and wouldn't fit in with this blog very well, but I'm so excited that today's question applies!

Most people are blissfully unaware that cat litter is very bad for the environment!  The mining of the clay is bad, the dust is bad and there are reports that the dust is actually a carcinogen!  Add to that the fact that clay doesn't break down in our landfills - we should just leave it where it started in the first place!

There are green alternatives - but you'll have to work that one out with your cat.  I like Feline Pine (scoopable).  There are other litters made from wheat hulls, recycled paper and other renewable resources.  I'm not sure of the environmental impact of the crystal litters, but my cats like those as well.

As far as working it out with your cat - remember that kitty math says the formula for happy cats is number of litterboxes = # of cats in a home + 1.  So leave one box with whatever they're using now.  Then try alternative litters in the other boxes.  If the cats use those boxes, you know you have a winner.  If they don't, then you'll know that it's a good thing you didn't go "cold turkey" with a new litter! 

Remember every little bit helps, so if you can add some greener alternatives to compliment what you're doing it will make a difference.  One of my cats loves Cat Attract which is clay based, so I buy it for him.  But that's one of the 4 boxes.  Max, my old man cat, love Cat Attract Senior, which is a crystal type litter.  They also have Feline Pine and The World's Best Cat Litter.  The World's Best is awesome stuff if your cat will use it.  Mine only use it once in awhile, but I've had other foster cats that loved it!  It's lightweight and does a great job absorbing and very dust-friendly.

Also, a quick reminder that cats like clean boxes, so the biggest factor in successful litter box use is you!  If your cat avoids the box, a vet check is in order, then make sure the boxes are clean, that there are enough, that they're in a good location, that it's litter they like.  Cats are clean animals - they'd rather go in the box, we just need to do some detective work to figure out why they stray.

So this is the only time I'll advise cats and their owners to think outside the box! 

These are Butterscotch's kittens - getting spayed today.  I have to leave to pick them up soon.  I got this shot quickly before they left this morning.  I have a client who wants a "scene" backdrop for her pet portraits - I've never done anything like that, but luckily I have several models available for practice!

I was sitting back last night thinking about the pictures I had taken.  I had gotten a comment from one of my former photography instructors simply saying "BEAUTIFUL".  I replied to her with my criticism of the effort and wished that I could see the black kitten better.  He had started out in the middle of the group and was very visible, but this was the shot where all the kittens looked the best. I wished I had changed out the background color so that Grasshopper could be seen, but then I had the EUREKA moment!

Black cats and dogs don't get seen in shelters.  This is what we face everyday.  So now my less-than-stellar photographic experiment could turn into a public service announcement!   Now it looks like I put them on a black backdrop on purpose!  Shh, don't tell anyone that I didn't plan it - our little secret.    

This is the formal portrait of the kittens that I'm babysitting.  How much fun to get to play for a couple of days, practice my new lighting set up with them and then give them back!  They look a little different than the picture I took of them on Saturday, where they're all hanging out in a crate at adoptions, some of them hanging from the ceiling!  One was camera shy so only 5 of the 6 are in the picture.

Steven was camera shy, so here he is in his own picture.  He was fine as long as someone was rubbing his tummy!  This kitten will fall asleep on you so we were shocked that he didn't want to play for the camera.

The black boy is Grasshopper, he is so brave and very playful, always ready to pounce on the feather toy!

Rori is a beauty, she is a soft gray with white socks!  She also has a splash of dilute tabby coloring.

Cinderella is a solid gray female.

Nova is another girl with classic tabby markings

The last kitten is the most striking, a gorgeous Torbie named Digger

 

I'm working on updating Titan's picture for the website.  I still need to edit more pictures and make a decision on which one to use, but gosh, he sure is handsome!  I'll post more pictures tonight. Unfortunately I have other work calling my name, so no more time to play with kitty pictures for now.  I was just excited that he decided to cooperate.  At first he wanted nothing to do with posing, then he agreed to lay down for me, but wouldn't look up.  I was throwing things at the ceiling trying to catch him  with his eyes upward.  He made me work for it, but there are some great shots coming!  He's so gorgeous, it's been killing me that I've had this cat so many times and never captured the way that I see him in a photo.  Sleek, handsome, stunning, powerful and intense, yet gentle, curious and kind. 

Titan's Post - Part 2

Ok, I couldn't wait, had to play with the pictures (I would do a little bit of work in between editing each shot!)

Here is his new website picture:

 

This picture shows his markings from the other side.  I was really hoping for a nice, long stretched out pose so that you can really see his swirls, but this was as good as he was willing to be, so that's ok.

 

For those of you who know Titan, a sleeping Titan is a good Titan, because he's a quiet Titan.  Titan hates dogs.  He'll attack dogs.  So at my house he has to live in the basement.  I brought him upstairs for the photo shoot (put my dogs outside to potty for about 15 minutes while we did the shoot) and now he's standing at the basement door meowing because he wants to come back up.  He's a very loud and vocal boy!

 

  And this picture just made me laugh, it's so Titan, Mr. Cool and aloof while being completely the center of attention.  He was "making biscuits" with his paws and scent marking the side of the table with his head, just the master of the situation.  He's kinda like Fonzie, where ever he happens to be is the cool place to be.  And if he wants something, he gets it.  His personality is just so intense yet child-like; he's a cool cat!  I wish he'd fit in here as a forever kitty, but we're not the right home for him even though I love him. 

Things were busy this week!  Guess lots of men became new pet dads this weekend.

Dogs: Rascal: terrier mix, Cookie: lab/beagle mix, Nicoh: woodle, Champ: min pin mix, Sadie: lab, Moe: Schnauzer

Cats: DJ: orange and white kitten, RJ gray tabby kitten, Ivory: buff older kitten, Morris: buff & white, Valor: tabby, Faith: gray tabby, Snickers: gray, Sedna: tortie, Annabelle: buff & white, Taramind: black kitten, Squill: orange tabby, Chynna: siamese mix kitten

notes:

DJ & RJ went home together!  The family took a very long time to choose but I think they got the right fit.

Annabelle: can we just say "Finally" - it's a mystery how such a young, sweet and pretty cat took so long to get adopted.  She gets to have a 9-month-old buddy who is looking for a wrestling partner!  Perfect!

Ivory: all of our cleaning volunteers are grateful to hear this!  We all loved Ivory, she was so sweet how could you not like her, but she was so "busy" in her cage, always greeting people and playing and it caused her to constantly knock over her food and water dishes. 

We have someone very interested in Sunshine & Shadow!  Absolutely the most perfect home for them, so everyone join me in crossing your fingers that this will be their forever home!

Milo: we also have someone interested in letting Milo crash on her couch for the summer!  She's working on the paperwork and hopefully Milo will get that extra attention he deserves!

Speaking of cats crashing on couches - I have a few guests staying the night.  One of our foster moms had a family party to attend today and so she dropped her kittens off so I could bring them to PetSmart.  Too bad none got adopted!  So they'll spend the weekend here, having a wild party!

Here's an attempt to get a group shot where they're standing still

 

 

This little girl has nice swirls of color!

This is one of Laurie's kitties, he kept cracking me up with how he'd be laying, so I kept taking his picture!  He's still looking for a home too.

 

Here's the mama of Kit Kat, Skittles & Taffy.  I tried getting a picture of her in the morning, but she wouldn't sit still, so this was taken after she got home from her spay surgery.  She sat still, but didn't want to look at me. We'll try for another one when she's feeling better. 

 

 Here is the last of her kittens - Taffy.  She has one green eye and one blue eye and the cutest little cow-spots. 

Here they are when Bluebelle was a proud new mama!