Update on Our Kittens

All but 2 of our 11 kittens have been adopted. Phoenix and Pebbles went to a home together, Andy was adopted to a loving couple that had no problems caring for him with his medical condition (he has a heart murmur), Autumn went to a home with a couple that fell in love with her beautiful long coat - they had some issues with her not being overly friendly but said they want to keep her anyway and hopefully one day she will love them.  And lastly Rascal (aka Rapunzel) was adopted out - she had a pretty serious condition which stopped her from being adopted from the couple that wanted her. Her foster parent noticed that she had really bad breath and took her to the vet - her gum lining was rotting away and there was bone exposure. She was on med's for a good while but healed up and was back to being a lovable healthy kitten. Lucky for her the same couple that was interested in her still wanted her.

Jinx and Spidey are the 2 kittens left and they are staying at my house until they get adopted. Spidey still hasn't been added to the Petfinder site because he still isn't ready to be adopted. It is taking him a lot longer than the other cats to trust humans - we still cannot pick him up or really get close to him, he is getting better so hopefully one day he will warm up to us and we can get him adopted out.  My husband is falling in love with Jinx so who knows we might end up adopting him ourselves. He is playmates with Amberly so it would be hard separating the two of them.

It is such an awesome feeling knowing that 9 of our kittens have been placed in their forever homes. :)

4 of our Kittens have been Adopted!

Sorry things have been a little busy lately so I apologize for the lack of blog posts. Out of the 11 kittens 4 of them have been adopted - YAY!!!  Four of them are still at my house (Andy, Autumn, Jinx and Spidey) and the other three are at another Cat Shack Volunteers home (Phoenix, Rascal (aka Rapunzel) and Pebbles) - Rascal's adoption is pending, so she might have her forever home very soon!

Our Adopted Kittens:

Amberly was adopted by my husband and I and she is such a bundle of joy.  She purrs nonstop and plays with everything she can get her paws on.  Our 3 other cats are still getting used to her but every now and then I do notice them sniffing each other without hissing, so in time I know they will all be buddies.  Amberly loves to hang out in our bathroom sink; she also loves running water, pasta, bread and pizza crust.  She follows us everywhere and we tend to trip over her since she is always walking in between our feet.  I am so happy that she has a forever home now and everyday that I look at her it reminds me of the cats outside and that soon her life as a feral will be a distance memory.

Bam-Bam was adopted by one of my high school classmates, Kristin.  She recently lost her 5 year old cat Alex because of a heart issue and even though she could never replace him she wanted another companion for her 6 year old cat Bob.  On 12/12 Kristin adopted Bam-Bam and picked him up during the Santa Pet Photo day at PetSmart - she was so excited to bring him to his forever home.  Kristin has re-named Bam-Bam to Sam (she also calls him Sammy) and he is doing very well.  She has posted several pictures of him on Facebook playing with lots of toys, sleeping on the couch with his paws stretched out, and hanging out next to her on the computer.  Bob is still a little unsure about Sam but hopefully soon they will become friends. 

Tyke was adopted last week and even though he hissed at the owner they still fell in love with him and wanted to take him home.  I will get more information from Barb about how Tyke is doing with his new family.

Jesse was rescued back in November and Anne from LVH has given her a loving forever home.  

   

Santa Event at PetSmart

Bam-Bam with Santa

Santa with his first dog of the day

Pebbles and Phoenix

Well, some of you were aware that back on December 12th I volunteered my husband to be Santa Claus at PetSmart in Whitehall for the pet photo day.  He came home one night and I told him that since we didn't have anything going on and we needed to take the kittens to PetSmart for some exposure I volunteered him to be Santa from 11-4pm.  He was ok with it as long as he didn't have to take pictures with tarantulas or snakes.  Luckily he only had dogs, cats and some birds.  The proceeds from the event went to The Cat Shack and it was great to see that we had a very good turnout - Dave did a great job as Santa and made a lot of pet owners very happy!

We took along 6 of our kittens (Andy, Autumn, Jinx, Phoenix, Pebbles and Bam-Bam) to the event and had 2 adoption applications filled out.  It was a great opportunity for our kittens to get some exposure and they really got a lot of attention. 

Jinx at PetSmart

Andy and Autumn at PetSmart

Bam-Bam went along with us because his new owner Kristin was picking him up that day.  After the event was over Phoenix and Pebbles were taken to a different foster home with Barb a Cat Shack volunteer that already had their siblings Rascal and Tyke.

All of the kittens have now been posted to Petfinder and are awaiting their forever homes.

Bam-Bam

11/30

Bam-Bam was trapped on 11/26. It seems we trapped this tiny and adorable tabby before he developed any feral attributes, as he was very easy to handle without any hissing or spitting, right from when we first introduced him. Since then he's come along well, eating wet food (sometimes from our hand/fingers) and sleeping a lot. He's yet to purr despite all of the attention, but he is very comfortable laying next to Andy, Jinx, Phoenix or Pebbles (we think they might be siblings or even possibly litter mates).

He's started to react to things like the laser-pointer dot, though he hasn't begun actively playing. He's still shy and prefers to cozy up to his friends rather than sit with us, but we think progress is being made.

Bam-Bam is so TINY

Bam-Bam tested negative for FeLV/FIV/Heartworm and has been vaccinated. He is currently being socialized but has been posted to Petfinder. If you would like to give this adorable boy a forever home, please fill out an adoption form on his page.

Update 12/13 - Bam-Bam has been adopted!  Out of our 11 kittens Bam-Bam was the first to go to his forever home yesterday.  His new mom Kristin recently lost her 5 year old cat Alex just a few weeks ago and didn't want her 6 year old cat Bob to be all alone.  Her veterinarian recommended that she get a kitten as a companion for Bob.  Kristin is an old Southern Lehigh High School classmate of mine and saw Bam-Bam's picture on Facebook where she immediately fell in love with him because he had the same flat face that her cat Alex had.  She stopped by my house for 2 hours last Saturday (12/4) to see Bam-Bam and knew immediately that she wanted him.  She filled out the adoption application and heard the good news that she was accepted on Friday 12/10.  Kristin stopped by the PetSmart Santa Claws photo event to pick Bam-Bam up and take him to his forever home.  Bam-Bam is currently in the process of being introduced slowly to his new big brother Bob.   

Pebbles

Pebbles first night in her new play-pen

Pebbles and her brother Bam-Bam on 11/30

Pebbles was trapped on 11/25. We were rather surprised as we weren't sure if she was still out there as we hadn't seen her in awhile, but we're glad we caught her. She was slightly resistant at first, but quickly cozied up to her new roommates Jinx, Andy, Phoenix and her possible brother Bam-Bam. 

Since then, she's been eating regularly and has just recently developed some playful tendencies. While she's still getting used to being handled- like the others, she still shies away when we attempt to pick her up and she has yet to purr despite a lot of attention, she has begun to play with bits of string and will chase the laser-pointed dot. Hopefully, its a big step and will lead to further socialization where she now becomes more comfortable outside the cage.

Pebbles has been vaccinated and tested negative for FeLV/FIV/Heartworm.  She is currently being socialized but if you would like to give her a loving forever home she has been placed on Petfinder. Just fill out her adoption form. 

Update 12/13 - Pebbles attended the PetSmart Santa Claws photo event yesterday where she got a lot of exposure.  She was taken to another foster home after the event and was placed in a beautiful walk-in play pen at Barb's house (a Cat Shack volunteer) with Rapunzel (aka Rascal), Tyke and Phoenix.

Andy

11/10 when Andy was really sick

Andy was the 2nd kitten that we trapped back on 11/10 and he had an upper respiratory infection just like Amberly.  We did not have medicine for him at the time so we took him to Anne (a LVH employee) since she already had medicine for one of the other sick kittens (Jessie) that she captured.

Email from Dave on 11/11/2010 - Andy has been hiding in the corner- both in and on top of the carrier. I can't tell if he's eaten anything yet but it's not likely. His eye is puffy and could use some cleaning and if we can't get him into a vet soon, I might throw on a long-sleeve shirt and gloves and try to clean it and give him at least some temporary relief.

Update from Anne (11/15) -  Andy is doing well. I have enough antibiotic and eye ointment for both. I also gave him a Frontline PLUS treatment. We have been calling him "Andy" but won't be able to keep him; too much kitty testosterone in the house upsets all the 'girls'. So, maybe the girl scouts can find him a good home. We heard him meowing for the first time this morning and he jumped from the corner he was hiding in all weekend to the 2nd tier of the cage. He is sooo little! My husband is home today. He said he was going to handle him alot today to get him used to the human touch because he is very scared and tries to flee our arms. I trimmed his nails but they are still sharp enough to leave scratch marks. He is a feisty one and soooo cute. He fits in the palm of my husband's hand.

Update from Anne (11/19) -  Andy is getting better. I've been giving him the same meds that I am giving to Jessie. He is coming along. He is very shy. Maybe depressed? He's not as scared and jumpy as he was last week. Have you caught any of his siblings? I think it would lift his spirits to be with one of them. I hope so because I'm starting to fall in love with him especially when he nestles with me and falls asleep.

11/25 - He is getting better but is still on med's

Update from Anne (11/24) -  Although he is very comfortable with me he is still scared when I remove him from his crate. I sit with him on the bathroom floor away from all the other cats and he curls up in my magazine basket instead of running around. I got 3 meows out of him this morning!

Update (11/30) - On Sunday (11/28) Andy tested negative for FeLV/FIV/Heartworm and has taken his first dose of de-wormer.  He is still a little shy and is not a happy camper when taking his med's (eye drops and clavamox) but we hope his eye clears up soon so he can become the playful kitten we know he is.  He did show some signs of playfulness last night when we showed him the "red dot" that Amberly and Phoenix were playing with.  We will continue to socialize him and get him ready for his forever home.  He has been listed on Petfinder and if you would like to adopt Andy just fill out the application listed on his page. 

Autumn

Autumn over the summer

Finally we caught Autumn!!!  We have been trying for weeks to get this beautiful little girl and she would never go inside the trap for us.  So on Monday night (11/22) we decided to put a trap right next to the box that she likes to sleep in and just wait.  After waiting patiently in the distance I saw her come out from the woods and walk right on by the trap up to dry food next to the dumpsters.  After hanging out at the dumpsters for a little while she slowly made her way down to her favorite box and saw the trap.  She sniffed it and walked around it checking it out.  Then the moment I was waiting for finally happened... She went inside!! 

This is a better box, isn't it?

Then the torture began... The trap did not go off and she just kept eating away! I turned my head to try and get Dave's attention since he was monitoring the other traps further down and then I heard a loud slam. The trap went off and Autumn was inside.  Oh, I was so relieved to have finally trapped this little girl.

She went to NNN today with the 3rd group of cats, so I will post an update letting everyone know how she is doing in the next few days.  If she tests negative for FeLV and FIV she will be placed with the other kittens.

Update (11/29) - Autumn has tested negative for FeLV/FIV/HW and has been paired up in a cage with Amberly and they are getting along just great. Autumn is very shy and we are currently working on socializing her for adoption. If you would like to give her a loving forever home, please fill out an application listed on her Petfinder page. 

Tyke

Tyke's first night & Rascal made him feel at home

So if you've been reading so far, you've noticed that we've caught Rascal and Phoenix but have had some difficulty catching their litter-mate and little orange buddy. He's been spotted several times entering traps and eating the bait while sitting on the triggers themselves, but his tiny little body just wouldn't set it off! Very frustrating, to say the least, and heartbreaking as he no longer had any of his siblings around to hang with.

Tyke, Rascal, Jinx, and Phoenix

On Monday night (11/23), we were fortunate that little Tyke decided to follow a tiger into the trap, and both were trapped in an instant!

We were able to successfully separate the two from the trap without incident later that night and we moved him in with his two siblings and Jinx. Since then, he's been rather terrified, hissing and scratching, but we're hoping that the familiar presence of his litter-mates and the VERY-protective Jinx, who has taken on the role of older-brother will help him adjust and become more sociable. He'll be getting tested soon with his sibling Rascal.

Update (11/29) - Tyke has tested negative for FeLV/FIV/HW and is currently being socialized with his sister Rascal (re-named Rapunzel) with a Cat Shack volunteer in a very nice walk-in play pen.  He is looking for his forever home; you can fill out an application on his Petfinder listing page.

Rascal

11/22/2010

Trapping Rascal Sunday night (11/21) was a very frustrating experience.  She went in one of the large traps and her weight would not set off the trap.  We watched her eat the bait and then the tuna fish in the back of the trap for what felt like forever.  She happened to be with her brother (Tyke) and we thought maybe they would both go in together and grab a bite to eat; that way they would definitely be heavy enough to set off the trap.  Well we were watching from a distance and it looked like both of the kittens were in the trap when it went off and to our surprise only Rascal was inside while the orange kitten ran away.  We were happy but sad at the same time, because now the orange kitten (Tyke) was the last one left in that litter. We tried all night to trap the orange kitten but we didn't have any luck.

Jinx, Rascal and Phoenix

We brought Rascal home and after talking with Theresa she said that it would be best to put Rascal in the cage with her brother Phoenix, so she wasn't lonely.  We are going to have Rascal tested immediately for FeLV and FIV, so we do not harm Jinx or Phoenix; but with all the cats testing negative so far we thought it would be ok for now.

We are slowly trying to socialize Rascal, but she is still very scared.  Rascal is very happy hanging out with her brother Phoenix and Jinx has welcomed the newbie as well, they have all been sleeping together and keeping each other company.

Update (11/29) - Rascal (re-named Rapunzel) has tested negative for FeLV/FIV/HW and is currently being socialized in a very nice walk-in play pen with her brother Tyke at a Cat Shack volunteers home.  She has had several people interested in her since she was listed on Petfinder, if you would like to help her find her forever home please fill out the application listed on her page.

Phoenix

Meet Phoenix! We trapped him Sunday evening while making an attempt to get Jinx. The trap was set and while Jinx was far away, I noticed this little ball of fur make his way out of the woods and hop his way up to and into the trap.

Since that time, we've had him separate until we get him checked out for the usual things (FeLV & FIV) and we're hoping to catch his brothers and sisters (we think there are around four or five others) to keep him company.

This little fuzzball has been rather quiet but is quite the climber, making full use of the entire cage. He will usually snuggle up in the bedding we've laid, hiding away and keeping warm and usually keeping his distance.

This evening, I made an attempt to play with him, using some twine. He eyed me up cautiously, and after a few minutes, the string caught his attention and he grabbed at it briefly. He pawed slightly for a few seconds before huddling back down, but when I picked him up, he was purring quietly. The purring lasted a couple minutes before he finally grew a little antsy and wanted to return to the cage and went back to his little nest.

So, while it didn't last, it was nice to see that he was able to interact and respond, so hopefully this is a sign of things to come!

Update (11/21/2010) - Phoenix has tested negative for FeLV and FIV and is estimated to be about 10 weeks old.  We are going to start socializing him so he is ready for a permanent home.

Jinx

November 13th - Jinx teasing us

Great news... We trapped another sick kitten last night.  He has been sneezing and sniffling for about a week now and every attempt to catch him the last couple of days has been rather difficult.  He would either tease us and walk around the trap sniffing the food and then he would just sit next to it or he would just hang out in the bushes and stare at us.  Last night I saw him in the bushes alone and figured I would give it another shot and set a trap right at the opening to his hideout.  After 1 minute of me walking away from the trap he went inside.  I was jumping up and down with joy since he has been such a little bugger to catch. 

November 16th - Roommates

Since we only have 5 cages in the garage and they are all occupied we needed to place him in a cage with another cat.  He is rooming up with the younger calico and they seem to be tolerating each other just fine; David took a picture of the two of them this morning just hanging out in the carrier together.

He doesn't seem to have the eye problem the rest of the kittens have, but he has been sneezing a lot so we will start to give him Clavamox today.  Next step is to begin getting him familiar with us and start socializing him.  If his health improves this week he will most likely go to NNN on November 23rd.

Update (11/21/2010) - Jinx went to The Cat Shack Clinic today and was neutered and given vaccines; he also tested negative for FeLV/FIV/Heartworm.  He is recovering from surgery and is doing well and we have started the process of socializing him for adoption.

Update (11/29) - Jinx is still very shy but he is really coming along and loves to be scratched behind the ears.  We will continue to socialize him and get him ready for his forever home.  If you would like to adopt Jinx you can fill out an application that is listed on his Petfinder page.

Amberly

Amberly: 2 days ago

Amberly: August 201

Email from Trinka (11/08) - Good news! Amberly, AKA Jaime's calico, is leukemia and FIV negative. Her URI is severe so PAH feels it is better to postpone her spay surgery and I fully concur with that. Jaime, she COULD be picked up today, but it might be better to leave her at the hospital one night to allow them to get her well started on her antibiotic. I would think she will be much improved by the first NNN date so could go there for her spay surgery at that time.

Email from Dave on 11/10/2010: I came home from work last night and Amberly was huddled in the litter box. Jaime informed me that we would have to provide medicine and eyedrops so I suited up in long sleeves and gloves, anticipating a struggle.

There wasn't any. After picking her up, she began purring and nuzzling me, and walking around, chatting away with us. She wants contact and attention and seems to get a little perturbed when you stop petting her or scratching her head. We were rather surprised that she was this social this quickly- we thought it might take a little while. She doesn't struggle when we administer the two forms of medicine nor do the eyedrops bother her- I think the cleaning of the eyes is a bit of a relief.

We were a little worried because as Trinka told Jaime, if a cat can't smell, they may not eat. And she wasn't eating. This morning, when we adminstered the medicine, we noticed she hadn't touched neither wet nor dry food. However, I was glad to recently hear that after I left for work, Jaime did some mild force-feeding of the wet food and it led to Amberly recognizing the food as being edible/good to eat and she began eating on her own out of the dish (and Jaime's hand).

Email from Dave on 11/11/2010 - Amberly is eating more regularly and often and while she's still sniffling and her eye is still having some discharge, the puffiness is going down. She's also as personable and friendly as ever.

Amberly over the summer

Email from Jaime on 11/12/2010 - Amberly is acting like a healthy kitten now. She still has some eye discharge and she is still a little congested but overall she is looking great. She is very playful now and loves her feather wand, ball and string that we have out for her. She is also wanting to explore my basement more and more everyday and is getting curious as to what is at the top of my stairs since she hears my 3 cats up there. She does break my heart when I have to put her back in the cage because she cries and cries, so I am hoping that we can get some other healthy (FeLV negative) kitties put in the cage with her so she has some company.

Original post on 11/12/2010: Amberly was the first of the 10 kittens to be captured. She is currently on medication for a severe upper respiratory infection and I am happy to report that at this time she is doing well. She was taken to the vet on Monday and needed to stay overnight on antibiotics. She was sent home with eye drops, clavamox and an oral paste for nutrition since she wasn't eating. We have had her for 4 days now and every day she has been showing tremendous signs of improvement. She is now eating on her own and is VERY playful. I have a feeling that my husband and I will end up adopting her; she is just so sweet and adorable.

Update (11/21/2010) - Amberly went to The Cat Shack Clinic today with her brother Jinx, where she was spayed and given vaccines. She is estimated to be around 4 months old. I am also happy to report that her severe upper respiratory infection has cleared up and she is a happy playful kitten.