Weekend Onesie: Kitten Smitten

Weekend Onesie: 

Kitten Smitten

Time to give you all an update on what happened with the mother cat and her four kittens that The Boyfriend and I were fostering since mid-June.

Last Nursing Day

Go here, to learn all about how this wonderful opportunity befell us.   

Having a tiny house filled with four adult male cats, one Momma cat (who is still a bit of a kitten herself), and four tiny kittens for seven weeks turned out to be a  lot of fun and very stressful. The four male cats, all fulltime residents, were not having any of it. 

Tuxedo

Tuxedo, the feral cat we'd coaxed inside two years ago, hid under the bed  for a month and a half. We had been making a lot of progress with him up until that point. Good news is - once the kittens were adopted, he actually came out of his shell a bit more than before and is a tad more social.

Theo

Theo spent most of the days during the kitten occupation hiding in this tiny haunted house we have on the dining room table.

 

Wonk

Wonk, who is 21 years old and not having any of  it, spent his time hissing at anything that came within six inches of whatever space he was occupying. 

LeRoy

Only LeRoy, who would watch Momma and the kittens through the windowed door that leads to the sun porch, engaged willingly with the new boarders. On several occasions we caught him giving the kittens little nose rubs and kisses.

For the first two weeks we kept the two tribes separated. Then we opened the borders (the door between the sun porch and the rest of the house) allowing all the citizens of the household to flow freely throughout.

The kittens immediately claimed all toys as 'theirs' and the male faction of the house was in no position to offer any opposition. Each kitten had a very distinct personality and at different times I was certain that I was meant to keep each one of them.

Momma developed some issues. She would chase the other cats if she saw them, and not in a fun way. She once chomped down on my calf muscle when I was standing in front of her trying to pick up one of the water bowls and would not let go. She ate non-stop and demanded more all the time. It was then that I came to realize that she was barely more than a kitten herself. 

How she ever managed feeding herself and four kittens on her own for those first three or four weeks before we found her? Well, of course she was stressed out and starving then - and was now simply exhausted and terrified. 

And that's when I got over my fear of her and began to give her lots of affection and lots of room. She responded well. And we decided to simply give her the food she was telling us she needed, especially in light of the fact that the kittens were still nursing. 

At the eight week mark, it finally came time to find all the kittens homes. We placed a notice on a local neighborhood site with photos of the kittens and Momma asking folks to set up a time to be interviewed. We had plenty of responses. 

It got a little weird at times. 

One lady rescheduled three times before I told her I thought she was simply too busy to take on a kitten at that time. Another wanted to get a kitten to give to her sister who had just lost her cat and I was like... no. Pets are not gifts. A kitten is not a small appliance or a new scarf. They are not something you drop on somebody unexpectently. The person adopting needs to bond with the animal from moment one, choose them, and then be ready emotionally and physically to welcome a member into their household. 

We had one lady show up with a cat carrier, like she was going to cart them all off that day. We put the breaks on her real fast. Turned out she was a nice lady, but absolutely reeked of cigarettes, so that was another no. 

We were very impressed with one lady. She was really nice and initially agreed to take on Maynard and Bernice as a bonded pair. We really liked her and trusted her. However, once the weekend arrived when the owners were supposed to pick up their new charges... she wouldn't commit to a time and then proceeded to ghost us. We waited a week  and never heard from her. We still haven't. 

A lesbian couple came. It was instant trust. And one of the kittens, Chomk, who hadn't shown an interest in anyone, took a real shine to them. They really wanted Maynard, but we'd already promised him to that first lady, so they were more than happy to take on Chomk and Misery. It's funny, because initially the woman who contacted me was very defensive and angry and I thought... oh, no way am I letting her have one of these kittens. 

Her emails and texts were very abrupt. At one point she wanted to meet somewhere neutral because she didn't want to get shanked in a house in North Minneapolis. I assured her we lived in a nice neighborhood and there would be no shanking. Then she got mad when I said there was no adoption fee. She was like... people feed kittens to pit bulls. I was like... ummm, I hope not, but we are very aware of the terrible things people are capable of which is why we want to meet and get to know any prospective adopters. I told her to bring her partner with her so she was more comfortable.

In person? She was a delight and so was her partner. On the day we asked them to pick the kittens up they were there on time and well prepared. They even gave The Boyfriend a bit of cash to offset the vet bills. I know we made the right choice there. 

A week later, Maynard and Bernice found their forever home, too. A woman had contacted me after we'd already given away all the kittens. She had a three year old cat that she did not want to be alone all day. She was about to return to the office and her daughter was returning to school. I explained that the cats had found homes. But the more I thought about her, the more I felt like I should have waited for her. When she sent me a picture of her three year old? She looked exactly like Momma Rose, only well-fed and a bit older. Because of that, I never deleted her emails. 

When the woman who was to take Maynard and Bernice ghosted us, I contacted her immediately. To my surprise and delight she was still looking for a friend or two for her three year old. She and her daughter came over to the house the next day and... that was that. 

Surprisingly, Maynard and Bernice kept their original names. The woman who adopted them thought it was fitting to honor those who rescued them by keeping the names. She sent us a picture and they sure do look happy.

Bernice and Maynard

We've heard from the new owners of Chomk and Misery, too... or rather Gio (Grigio) and Luna.

Gio (Grigio) and Luna

I'm happy for everyone involved, especially the kittens, as I think they all landed in the best of worlds.

And I'm happy, too. Yes, Momma Rose is a terror, but she's learning to be a kitten again. We had to put some weight on her before we could get her fixed. She had her procedure this week. Fingers crossed. She loves being held and kissed. She loves to eat. And she loves sleeping on top of the stove. Once her hormones adjust, I have a feeling I have me a new lap cat. Maybe. She's also very secretive and independent. 

Once the kittens left, I worried Momma Rose would miss them. Not at all. She called for them once and when they didn't show up? She seemed relieved. Four kids are a lot of work. 

And they took up so much space and created so much energy. The house felt like a ghost town for about three days once they were all gone. But gradually the other cats realized the kittens were gone, so they started reclaiming their territory - especially Tuxedo, who isn't 100% sure of Momma Rose, but will take her solo over four rambunctious kittens any day.  

Me? I'm okay. Now. Initially, I was awful sad to see those kittens go, as was The Boyfriend. But we know we did the right thing by them and the best thing for them. 

And, yes... I would do it all over again, or will do it again, if I have to. 

Although I hope life has the common sense to give me the rest of the summer to recover. 

For those of you who foster animals on a regular basis? My cap off to all of you. That's hard work, stressful and emotionally draining. A hug from me to all of you for the great work you're doing everyday. 

So, the polar ice caps are melting, the Delta variant is turning back the clock in all the wrong ways, folks continue to do terrible things in the name of religion, and some people still seem to believe that might makes right and that winning is more important than the truth. 

And I do find all that very upsetting. 

But I am sure glad that life let me have this one, tiny, relatively insignificant win. 

This happy ending? 

Well, it's given me the strength I need to face those bigger battles. 

Thanks, life.

Cool For Cats - Squeeze