Adopt a Less Adoptable Week

And it happens to fall during Deaf Pet Awareness Week as well.

We have a couple of great websites for deaf dogs:
          Deaf Dogs Rock
          Dog and His Boy

Our friend Maxwell from A Tonk's Tail is also deaf.

We even have had a deaf kitten here - remember Doc Holiday??

Mom says of course HE didn't know he was different. And of course being young and adorable, he was adopted pretty quickly.

But that isn't true for many pets with special needs - be it deaf, blind, tripawd (see the Tripawds.com site for great info on these pets), FIV or FeLV postive or senior pets. While some may take longer to adjust to a new home, the rewards are so great that you might be surprised. In fact, some of our blogger friends have made decisions to very specifically adoption only senior or special needs animals.

So the next time you or a friend or family member are looking for a new pet, keep an open mind. Maybe the cute kitten or puppy isn't the best bet....maybe you can open your home and your heart to a pet that needs you more than you realize. It may be the best decision you ever make.

Say what???

We are taking a moment of silence this morning for Ann and the girls. Poppy Vic passed away yesterday. We are very very sad for Ann......  zoolatry 
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Geez - didn't we just cover this????

Doc

Yeah, yeah, the cute white kitten was deaf. Why is that such a big deal???

mom: well, some people just don't want to deal with an animal that is different. And with dogs it is harder since they go outside and can get in more trouble if they can't hear their mom and dad.

But Doc was adopted really quick. Must be they fell for the cute.....

This is Miney from Colony Cats.

"Miney was part of a litter born outside to a stray cat. She is such a sweet kitty, but she has a permanent head tilt from an ear infection. It was also determined she is totally deaf. It is hard to tell from watching her, but her cry is really exagerated because she can't hear herself. Miney is waiting to meet you at the cage free Colony Cats Adoption Center."

And hey, there is an advantage to being deaf too...... you can be the loudest pirate on the CB and don't care if anyone calls you out on it.  MOL

Miney got into the spirit and has her own Pirate name: Wild Eyed Emily

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Someone asked us yesterday if the groups mom volunteers for halt adoptions of black cats close to Halloween. The answer is no - the adoption process is such that you have to fill out an application and go through an interview. Both places trust their adoption counselors to be able to ask the right questions and give them the ability to say no if they don't like the answers.

Toesday....

The chair in our living room is oversized and mom's favorite spot. There is a big pillow on it too. As mom was sitting there over the weekend, Bourbon balanced himself in the crack between the pillow and the arm of the chair.....and fell asleep. Mom couldn't resist taking more pictures of his cute self......
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OMC - BREAKING NEWS!!!!!

(no, no one got adopted)

So, we all know that Doc is deaf. Ignores the vaccuum, can sleep through anything (including the cat food cans opening), etc....

But there was a weird event last night. See, mom has seen Doc's ears swivel before - but she wasn't sure if it was habit or whatever. Last night, however, she was watching a special she dvr'd about a month ago. It was about a wolf pack in Washington state (the special was good too). At one point the pack howled.

Now, here is the important part. The TV wasn't overly loud. Doc was about 4 feet away on the floor playing - not facing the TV. And the picture on the screen was just a night shot - the sound was the important part.

An adult howled - a lower sound. And then some pups joined in and their howl had a much higher pitch. And Doc's ears snapped up and his head snapped around to face the TV. And then ran over and was trying to find the noise in the TV.

Mom's jaw hit the floor. So now we suspect he can hear "something" - but it must be above a certain pitch. This is probably the first time mom has truly seen him react to a sound. This won't change his adoption status - he will still be listed as special needs and deaf - with no small kids to startle him. But it is interesting that he must be able to here certain things.....

Thankful Thursday.....

Let's see - the triple threat boys from the bathroom got dropped off this morning for their neuter surgery. Not sure if they are staying at the shelter or not. Normally kittens come back to recover for a few days, but there is a big adoption event on Saturday, so they may stay. They have come out of their shells a whole lot more, but mom is concerned that taking them back to the shelter is going to spook them again. Poor boys....

Breaking news: there was almost an escape!!!! Mom had the boys in their carrier and was about 3 feet from the door to the shelter when.....the carrier broke. She had the handle and the bottom part hit the ground. One kitten shot out the back, one out the front and mom dropped the lid on third. She grabbed him and ran inside for help. The big gray one (red ball in his mouth) was the one in the carrier. The smaller gray had shot around the side of the building and was under a bench. Mom baby talked him and he came to her so she could grab him. She headed back inside and Miss Kelsey from the shelter went the other direction for the brown tabby. Seems he shot under a bush and was yelling that he didn't like it outside. sigh... After this, neutering will be easy for them. :)

However, they are staying since there is an adoption event on Saturday so mom is a little thankful. She put the alcohol kittens back in the bathroom this morning so they can have access to food all day and Tim can stay out of time-out when they are eating. :) Which will make Tim pretty thankful as well. MOL

Mom got the idea for the tray from Robyn at love-and-hisses.
Works like a charm..... best investment of $1 ever....

There were a couple of questions about Doc from yesterday:
   1. What color are his eyes? He is actually bi-colored - one blue and one green.
   2. Aren't white cats normally deaf? Not always - but it is normally tied to blue eyes in white cats. So mom had presumed he might not be able to hear on that side. However, after some observation (that boy can sleep through anything), she is pretty convinced he is completely deaf and not just ignoring her. Miss Beckie though says she has some white cats with blue eyes that can hear and some with gold eyes that can't. So it may be more tied to the gene that makes cats white.
   3. LP - we already have a Maestro - and he isn't very interested in the blinds. :)

 (da old mancat - Maestro)

Mom says it is supposed to be a little cooler in the evenings and we might even get some much needed rain this weekend....maybe we will get some window whiffin in at night again!!