Saturday, December 28, 2013

The Half-Pipe Kittens, from Bushwick, are looking for homes!

3 kittens in a back yard in Brooklyn made their way into Big City Little Kitty's foster home. I had gone to do recon, but they were not well, and at the age they really needed socialization, fast, so I took them home
 I treated them, worked with them, and when they were well, had them vaccinated and tested. They are all negative for FIV and FELV, so we just had to work on getting to know each other better. 
 If you're familiar with Big City Little Kitty, you understand one of the stages of socialization/growing up for kittens is isolation, and here that takes place in the bathroom. This means a lot of play time in the "half-pipe" (the bath tub). The kittens were named after human halfpipe champs, who also happen to be vegan! 
Teter, friendly from the start (in the pipe below), was named after Hannah Teter, an amazing snow boarder. Oki, the tortie, was named after legendary skateboarder, Peggy Oki. Drei was named after skateboarder Andrei "Dr. Drei" Buckareff (the "Dr." is for his Ph.D;)
Here, Oki and Drei are preparing to drop into the halfpipe.
 This was their favorite thing to do, and tossing the ball to them and having them chase it around as it bounced up and around the sides helped me get close to them. 
 They played 'til they dropped!
 Drei and Oki were, and still are, pretty skittish...
 but once they learned I was handing out free massages, they started voluntarily coming closer.
 After a proper isolation period, it was time to start slowly introducing them to the locals. Raptor introduced herself.
 She met her (cross your paws) possible future sister, Oki!
 They took it slow, but Raptor was curious and the kittens were very good to her.
 Then this happened.
 And then this happened. A woman is interested in adopting Raptor and Oki together, it seems they will do very well together. Cross your paws that when she meets them, it's a love connection.
 Considering Raptor's past fear of felines, she was doing incredibly well! She was like their big sis! My smile went ear to ear and my heart melted.
 Oki is still skittish, but a total sweetie when she comes for snuggles. She climbs in bed with me at night and purrs on my chest.
 Drei is also still a little skittish, but a MUSH once you get the first pet in! He falls over, purring, and soaking up the love. He's doing great.
 And this one, Teter. She was handled by the people who lived in the house, so she was already socialized and has had absolutely no problem transitioning to a home.
 Drei was a little too curious for the photo shoot I had intended to do for adoption pics...
 and he was totally into the heat from the light!
 Teter did OK, but it's hard to get kittens to sit still.
 So it was off to the playroom, I mean my bedroom. Teter caught the string...
 repeatedly.
 Drei just kept running around like a 3 month old kitten and curiously charging the camera.
 Oki may have her home all lined up, but Drei and Teter are looking for a home. They said their new human can fit right there in the middle of them! They're ready for you!
Drei and Teter will be at North Brooklyn Cats' adoption events on Sundays, from 2 to 6 pm, at Muddy Paws in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Come meet them and fall in love. If you have a little room in your home and in your heart, these two can fill it will fun, love and purrs. 
If you can't adopt, please share on your social media networks!
Thank you!
Big City Little Kitty

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Studying...with Cats.

So I turned off my facebook accounts for the final showdown of finals and papers to eliminate ONE distraction. There are plenty of others right here I have to contend with daily...Here's SOME of what you missed.

What, ma? You can't see?
No, Eko, I can't see!
 Is this better?
NO!
 OK, hold on a second. Let me just...
 OOO! Marker. I should knock this off the desk. 
OK, ma, how's this?
NO! Can you, please, just sit on my lap or go somewhere else? 
 I got it! How about this!
Nope, you're still on my book.
 Jeez, ma, it was just one paw and it was in the margin. Is this better?
No, Eko, I can't see my other screen.
What other screen?
 Hi mama. Look, I'm sitting on top of the cat scratcher.
Good job, Raptor.
 Oh, this screen. Are these flash cards?
Yes, Eko, they are flash cards.
 Hmm, I think this one's wrong, ma.
Which one's wrong, Eko?
 This one right here. This one's wrong.
 Hi mama. 
I caught a mouse, get it?
Yes, Raptor, very funny.
 Tigra? What are you doing?
Smelling your feet. 
 Mom, there's a lot of cats in here. 
I know honey, it's temporary. 
 LOOK! I'm a bridge!
 Mama, I don't like the studying and paper writing, when is it over?
Soon, Raptor. 
 I just want hugs, kisses and snuggles.
I know, Raptor, almost over.
 Mom, do you want some help?
 Yes, Tigra. Thank you.
Hmm, Eko's right, that one was wrong.
 And then I let the kittens out...
BUT, finals are over and papers are submitted. I have a lot of snuggling to catch up on and kittens who need homes. 
Stay tuned!

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Reunited

North Brooklyn Cats offered us one of their spay spots at the clinic on Tuesday, so off we went Monday night to go get the rest of the family.
The resident cat greeted us and we headed out to the back yard. 
 This was one of the fastest trappings ever. All three were eating in the drop, but the little charmer walked out. I figured we'd get him later and pulled the string to get the other two. Sure enough, the little guy ran of scared, but was back within minutes heading straight for the owner of the house for some cuddles. Sarah simply placed him in a carrier and we were on our way. Mama will be spayed today, Tuesday, the kittens will have to wait. 
Here they are, ready to be reunited with their little sister.  
 This is the charmer. 
 This one is a little shy,
and adorable.
 These guys are much bigger than we had anticipated, this kitten weighing in at 2.9 lbs! The other black one was 2.8 and the little girl was only 2.1. 
She was happy to see her litter mates. The two shy ones hung out in the back, and the charmer was front and center.  
 I hear we may have some foster/adoptive homes lined up. These two will need some socialization. Wish them luck!
Thanks to everyone involved: The residents of the house for caring for these guys and allowing us to bring a shelter for mama so she can remain there and keep warm, the construction crew for feeding, reaching out to Sarah and networking for placement of the kittens, Sarah for coordinating, connecting everyone and transport, Lisa, of North Brooklyn Cats, for offering us a spot at the clinic and recovering mama, and the foster/adoptive homes who stepped up to help these kittens. I love when communities work together like this. Sometimes we each only have a small part to offer, but when everyone pitches in and all the parts come together, we succeed. Nice job guys. 
Excellent example of how anyone can do TNR.