Sydney and friend!
Yes, this year the adoption gods have smiled on us! This girl just went home with her mother, brother, and their two new kitten friends! We have been blessed this year with the best adopters EVER!!
Kitten season: approached with anticipation and dread. Will we be up to the task? Will we be able to do right by all of them, as we must?
We had twelve needing homes this year: eight babies, two mothers, and one presumptive dad. Last year we had four moms with babies, so, piece of cake, right? Still, we worry...
But we had lots of time to find adopters: the babies were just six weeks old. I wait as long as possible to let babies go, especially if they are with their mothers. I want them to be twelve weeks old. Out of the vulnerable stage.
So we posted them everywhere...and don't discredit craigslist...three GREAT adopters came from CL. The screening process is the same, no matter where folks come from! Folks came to meet them and choose (was tough) their faves, then left a deposit and signed the adoption contract. Everyone appreciated that the babies should stay with mother as long as possible...and were happy to wait! I said that July 10 they'd be ready to go. Our first adopters had the wisdom and grace to choose the mom and the odd-numbered baby of seven, knowing that most folks want kittens, and that the mom might be overlooked. Mother Kristina is actually a stellar cat in every way! She kept her seven babies alive and healthy (!!) in an extremely bleak situation...under a freeway overpass...she's a treasure!
Kitten season: approached with anticipation and dread. Will we be up to the task? Will we be able to do right by all of them, as we must?
We had twelve needing homes this year: eight babies, two mothers, and one presumptive dad. Last year we had four moms with babies, so, piece of cake, right? Still, we worry...
But we had lots of time to find adopters: the babies were just six weeks old. I wait as long as possible to let babies go, especially if they are with their mothers. I want them to be twelve weeks old. Out of the vulnerable stage.
So we posted them everywhere...and don't discredit craigslist...three GREAT adopters came from CL. The screening process is the same, no matter where folks come from! Folks came to meet them and choose (was tough) their faves, then left a deposit and signed the adoption contract. Everyone appreciated that the babies should stay with mother as long as possible...and were happy to wait! I said that July 10 they'd be ready to go. Our first adopters had the wisdom and grace to choose the mom and the odd-numbered baby of seven, knowing that most folks want kittens, and that the mom might be overlooked. Mother Kristina is actually a stellar cat in every way! She kept her seven babies alive and healthy (!!) in an extremely bleak situation...under a freeway overpass...she's a treasure!
Kristina was the best possible mother, young as she was! (eight months?) As you can see, the little ones nurse long after they begin to eat solid food., and the other surviving baby of three (all five were left on our deck in a crate) had both mother and (presumptive) dad, and so was a happy girl. She got spayed of course. In this photo you can see where she'd been shaved.
Above are five of Kristina's seven. Their adopters have been great about letting me know how well they are doing in their new homes...happy, all!
Patrick!
Carmella!
Percy!
This sweet family was left on my deck, in a cloth crate they could have gotten out of! The (presumptive) father, in the foreground here, was moaning in fear. It took them a very long time to decompress, to relax, and to begin to trust us. There had been three babies, but two did not survive, alas.
They were elegant and intelligent...admirable cats! Their fur was silky and soft. They were in good health. We had mom and dad neutered/spayed, of course. I would not have relocated them except that mother was not comfortable with the other cats here. But I would not split the family up! Amazingly, a woman adopted all three...we really miss them!
And so all thrived, and starting on July 10, went to their new homes, one pair each day, and on the last day, the little family.
They were elegant and intelligent...admirable cats! Their fur was silky and soft. They were in good health. We had mom and dad neutered/spayed, of course. I would not have relocated them except that mother was not comfortable with the other cats here. But I would not split the family up! Amazingly, a woman adopted all three...we really miss them!
And so all thrived, and starting on July 10, went to their new homes, one pair each day, and on the last day, the little family.
Wise and handsome DA!
Da with the original three
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