Crazy Cat Lady

In August of 2011, the kids and I gave Rick a kitten for his birthday. He named her Chloe O'Kitten after a character on his then favorite TV show, "24". Rick picked Chloe over the other shelter cats because she was so quick to purr. She also loved to snuggle and often fell asleep in his arms.

 

Well, the honeymoon ended all too soon. As Chloe grew into a teenage kitty, she decided that she loved Emma best. She would snub Rick's attempts at affection, crushing his dreams of having a furry BFF. Chloe was deemed the worst birthday gift ever.

Emma and HER CAT Chloe

One day over the radio, the Toledo Area Humane Society put a plea out for foster volunteers to take in litters of kittens until they were old enough to be adopted out. The early summer was causing the area strays to proliferate like crazy and TAHS was out of room. My heart melted.

 

Since Rick was already embittered by the Chloe situation, I worried he would completely shut down the idea of temporarily housing some kittens. I was way off. He supported my crazy idea, so I drove down to the shelter immediately. I offered my services, expecting some kind of screening process and waiting period before I could actually take a litter home. However, TAHS were overrun and needed help right away. Crates of kitty babies were literally stacked on top of each other in the intake area. I went home with a litter of 6, just weaned.

Our sad, scared kittens on the way home from the shelter

I couldn't bring a single kitten into my home without giving it a bath first. These babies came from who knows where and they were dirty. I expected them to put up a fight once they saw the water, but they just went limp in my hands. It was surprisingly easy to get them bathed.  

Meet Sox, named for his white paws

Emma was my helpful assistant in charge of drying and warming the traumatized kittens. They looked so small and pathetic when dripping wet! Jake's job was to set up the kitten room (aka the master bathroom). We always kept the kittens shut in the bathroom away from Chloe and Shelby (the dog).

Wouldn't you feel better wrapped up in Emma's arms? Shaun sure likes it!

Each kitten tolerated its bath quite well, though they shivered themselves dry for a good hour afterwards. 

This kitty we named Gus because we thought he was a boy. She was actually a Gussie

This one we named Pieces (as in Reese's Pieces candy)

This is Reese. She had long hair and a great disposition.

Here they all are: Gussie, Sox, Pieces, Shaun, Reese, and Maddy (the white-faced one)

Yep, that's all 6 kitties snuggled on my lap. This is the moment I officially became the crazy cat lady.

We had that first litter for about 6 weeks. They were so fun AND a lot of work. There was medication to give in addition to the constant feeding and cleaning. We spent a lot of time playing with them and getting them used to people. Just like with human babies, the early stages of kittenhood are crucial the healthy development of a cat. I think our family gave them a loving, secure start. It was hard to give them back though!

After that first batch, we went out of town. We didn't get our second litter until mid July. This time we only had 4 kitties and they were all black and white.

Emma and little Gwendolyn (the runt)

I had a harder time getting to love the second litter because they were so much work. They came to us with digestive health problems (which is the nicest way I could put that). I cleaned A LOT of poo off the tile and off the kittens. Those kitties got baths almost daily! After a week and a half in our care though, they were healthy and ready to be adopted.

Rogue was my favorite kitty of this litter.

Leopold, Cranston, Gwendolyn, and Rogue enjoy an afternoon nap atop their kitty tower

I took the black and white kittens in for their check-up and found that they made weight. I wasn't expecting to give them back that day, so the TAHS workers helped soften the blow by sending me home with 2 new babies. They had no mama and were very little.

Li'l Zeus. He has a white heart shape on his chest - awwwwww!

Li'l Athena

We named this brother/sister pair after the first cats Rick and I rescued from certain death when we first married. We had gone to the Phoenix Humane Society just to "browse". A lady who had tried to surrender an abandoned litter just gave Zeus and Athena to us because they were too little to be adopted out. I guess she had been told by the Humane Society that they would be euthanized. Well, we couldn't walk away from that situation! Zeus and Athena were our first babies.

This litter reminded us so much of the original Zeus and Athena, that we gave them the same names. They turned out to be our biggest challenge yet though! When I started to give them their first baths, I discovered they were covered in fleas. The water was literally rust colored from the blood and flea dirt. After my initial freak out, I rushed them back to TAHS. I was so mad that TAHS would hand over sick, flea-ridden animals like that! (Left untreated, kittens can die from fleas infestation). Fortunately Zeus and Athena were able to be treated. After a 24-hour quarantine, the fleas were gone. (It took me a week to stop having phantom itching spells, however).

It took a long time for Zeus and Athena to come out of their shells. They were very timid and fearful of people. We kept at it though, and they started behaving like typical, healthy kittens. Before long, they too were ready to be adopted.

Zeus got adopted right away. Athena, the shyer one, took a while. I visited her whenever I would go walk the shelter dogs. It pained me to see her in a cage after the freedom and fun she had at our house. After TAHS had their Mega Adoption event though, she was gone too. Whew!

As you can imagine, I was a bit kittened out by the end of the summer. I wanted my bathroom back! Our family also had one last vacation to go on and back-to-school stuff to take care of. We had a couple of weeks with no fosters. It felt a bit empty.

The very day Jake and Emma went back to school, I went down and picked up another litter. I'm glad I did because they are the cutest, sweetest kitties we've fostered yet! They could be Chloe's offspring (had she not been spayed).

From left to right: Jenny, Benny, Penny, and Lenny

Are you convinced? Am I the crazy cat lady, or what? I guess I'm out of the closet now...

Snuggling purring kittens=A great way to spend Sunday afternoon

 

June Potpourri #2

As promised, here are more random bits from June:

 

 

We bid farewell to our beloved clunker, the Santa Fe. She served us well through those years of medical school and residency. I think moving to the snow sped up her decline, however.

 Rick kept her running with his handyman abilities. I'm sure he saved us hundreds, maybe more!

Emma found a new talent. She spent a lot of time watching YouTube tutorials so that she could do her own nail art. Here is a sampling of her work:

I developed (revisited?) some hobbies this summer myself. My dear friend Anita coerced me into running my first 5K. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed the experience! Ever since I quit teaching aerobics, running has been my main form of exercise. I usually view it more as a chore. This was different. I found out running could be fun when the music is blaring and the people are cheering!

We didn't beat any speed records, but we stayed consistent and finished at a respectable time. I do believe I'll try that again some time...

Anita also got me out of my comfort zone with theater this summer. She and her daughter Christy both auditioned for our new community theater's production of The Sound of Music. Anita landed the role of Sister Sophia, and Christy was cast as Leisl. (I was too chicken to even try). Fortunately, the powers-that-be discovered a need for more nuns, so Anita recommended me to the directors. Without having to go through the scary audition process, I got to join the nun chorus - YAY! The down side? I had to sing the low Alto part - BOO!

Though the rehearsals ate up a lot of time, I made some wonderful new friends. The other women who played principal nuns were all teachers of some kind or another, so we had A LOT in common. I already knew a lot of the teens in the cast too because they're friends with Jake and Emma. The best part of all though,was hanging backstage with my bestie!

 

In an effort to advertise the week of the show, several of us nuns wore our habits to visit some of the local establishments. We sure turned a lot of heads, especially when we would burst out in song! Anita and I also made it a point to run to Circle K in costume every day for our Diet Cokes.

When I wasn't joining in the backstage shenanigans, I assisted my beautiful and talented friend Betsy who played Maria. She had about a dozen costume changes, so I got to be her little helper off stage. I enjoyed that role as much as being on stage because Betsy was such a hoot to work with and watch from the wings. Truly, we had an AMAZING cast.

Almost as quickly as it began, it ended. I went through withdrawal for a few days. Thank goodness for Facebook so I can keep up with my Sound of Music family! And, thank goodness for a friend who helps me overcome my fears!