random Fridays

Tostada will be dropped off at 8am this morning for her surgery. We know mom will be a wreck most of the day. Not sure when it will be done, but we will put an update on our facebook page when we know more.

THANK YOU!!! for the purrs, prayers, positive thoughts and donations. Mom stopped by the rescue Tuesday night and the head rescue lady mentioned she had gotten some donations through the website (she was shocked by the Canada thing haha). She didn't know we were going to put it out there. Again - we know things are tight all over and we are SO grateful for those that are giving...and understand that not everyone can give. But keep up the purrs....right now that is most important for our girl.
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kinda a weird form of cat tetris

Nashville headed off to the adoption center on Wednesday night. He sure came out of his shell once his siblings left for the adoption center. He is much friendlier with mom. And boy is he a flirt!! He LOVES the ladies around here....and of course snuggling with Uncle Tim. He wasn't very happy about the car ride....or any part of being left. Until mom put him in a tower with other kittens - he curled up in a hammock with his new "girlfriend" Inge.  :)  (picture on our facebook page)  Hopefully he will go home with another kitten or cat.
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A Moo update:
The Moos are actually are not here at the moment. Mom went to Tennessee last weekend and before she left she noticed that Devon wasn't doing so well. Since mom was going to be gone, Devon and the Moos transferred back to the rescue to be watched over. Devon has mastitis but is still nursing the kittens. They have just started eating canned food on their own, so the plan for now is leave them where they are (being in a crate seems to help Devon remain calmer) and when the Moos are eating well on their own, they will come back to us and Devon will go back to her colony. Mom stopped to see them on Tuesday and Devon hissed (go figure), Mac was busy eating, and Mollie walked right up to mom to register a complaint about something.

However, since kitten season never ends, mom brought home two other kittens on Wednesday when she dropped off Nashville. A lady had a cat that had kittens (don't get us started) and the rescue agreed to help with the kittens ONLY if mom cat was spayed. The lady got it done and we got kittens. We aren't sure if they will be honorary Moos....probably, even though they are about 2 weeks older. They are both black and white so there is that. If that is the case, we are thinking 2 more "M" names. The one on the left is a short hair male and the one of the right is a fuzzy girl.

They were a little hissy and jumpy when mom first got them home, but settled in pretty quickly. By a couple of hours later, the girl was all playful with mom even. We suspect they will figure it out in no time.
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Adoption update:

In case you missed it on our facebook page, Anise, Topeka and Reno were all adopted last week or over the weekend. Topeka has a nice young girl to spoil her. Anise was adopted with another kitten (not one of ours) and mom didn't get any info on Reno. But we are glad it didn't take too long for them to find homes.
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Bee update:
Mom tried to kill them with no luck. She found a removal company and the guy came out yesterday and took the pot, the plant and the bees. There were a few bees left but the guy said a spray would kill them or they should die on their own in about 36 hours. The bee guy did say that these were yellow jackets and they are indeed evil bees and that no amount of spray was going to kill them due to the size of the hive and it's location in the pot. He said he would know more once he froze the whole thing to kill everything, but he estimated the whole hive contained about 3,000-5,000 bees. Gives mom the heebie jeebies just thinking about it.

Tostada needs surgery

Tostada has been back with us for a couple of weeks. Mom noticed right off that the meds didn't seem to be making any difference. So a week ago she took Tostada into the rescue vet. After doing some looking around, the vet decided that it is more than likely a nasopharyngeal polyp. (info from Cornell Vet)

Basically there is a small mass, normally benign, that grows at the back of the throat. It can block breathing and give them a gag type reflex. Mom was gone over the weekend and when she got home Sunday noticed that Tostada was laying in funny positions - trying to get comfortable.

The only solution is surgery. Tostada will go in on Friday and they will sedate her and remove any polyps they find. Hopefully that will resolve any issues and not come back. She will be on meds for a couple of weeks so she will be here for a little while as well.

** from the mom:
Here is where I need to ask a favor. As you know, Tostada is a foster kitten. Like all rescues, Colony Cats runs on donations. And just the day to day expenses are high. Add in unexpected surgery and that just adds to the stress. Come to find out another foster kitten needs the same surgery as well. If you are so inclined, please consider a small donation to help with their surgerys. Just mark "Tostada surgery" on the form. Or if you want, you can contact our vet Health and Harmony and donate direct to the vet bill (614-360-3941). I wasn't sure about asking, but even the price of a cup of coffee helps.

I know I am lucky - I live in an area with low cost spay/neuter clinics. Our rescue vet is great about helping to control costs. But the simple fact is, the humane society here isn't much help - they won't help ferals and kill for space - and any other excuse they can come up with. The other shelter where I volunteer tries to state they are "no kill" but the simple fact is they are VERY limited in the admissions they take. Which leaves small rescues like Colony to step into the void. There are other small rescues that exclusively do TNR. But Mona (the head of the rescue), despite being called names but those who don't know her, has a heart of gold. Which means she will step up to take the hard cases. Look in the windows of some rescues and you see the "perfect" cats for adoption. Look in our windows and you see 3 legged cats, one eyed cats, scared cats and just a few scruffy ones that need time to adjust. We even have a couple of foster homes that are exclusively hospice fosters. But that means our medical costs are higher....even with discounts.

So for Tostada - and every other cat given a chance with Colony they wouldn't get anywhere else around here - we ask for a little support. I know times are tough for everyone. I know not everyone can give....believe me I get it. But for those that can - even just a little - THANK YOU!!!

random Fridays

Cattime.com posted 20 cat facts to share with your kids....it was interesting and mom printed it off to send to the kid.
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Saturday is another adoption event. Mom will be taking Ash and the girls. Calvin and Winston are just too danged snotty. And then up to the adoption center.....

Thanks for all the suggestions from yesterday. Mom is gonna have to do some looking around - and then find a handy man. :)
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Coral and Quartz are right now at the clinic being spayed and mom will pick them up after work. Jet was WAY too snotty to have surgery.

Random Fridays.....

BREAKING NEWS: All the kittens made weight, so by 5pm today (eastern), Triscuit, Samoa, Dorito and Frito will be spayed/neutered and microchipped!! Dorito will go home with his new mom after that.  YEAH!
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Brian posted this great article about Hero Moms and the Petco adoption weekend coming up. We will be at our local store on Sunday.  Hey - that is Mom's Day!!!  If you know anyone in central Ohio looking for a nice kitty, we have a pair of mom (retired - MOL) that are looking for homes. Come meet Cookie and Legacy and the kitts.
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Here is another thing we found: Ohio State has started the Indoor Pet Initiative website. Now, being MSU Spartan fans, we aren't so sure about those Buckeyes, but we can get behind pets being indoors. 

They have sections for pet owners and vets.
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TNR - sorta....  MOL.  Mom got home from the shelter Tuesday night and that big brown tabby boy came out of the garage again. Mom figured this might be the ideal time to catch him. So, she set the trap, baited it and went upstairs. She then heard some cat singing - and looked out the window to see him sitting in the driveway calling. Weird....mom went down thinking someone was in the trap already - nope. So, she went to bed and then Wednesday morning ran down to check (remember our condo is over the garage). Trap door was down. She lifted the blanket - yep that is a cat shape (this is important as she has caught some non-cats in that trap before).  Lifted the blanket higher - and got the look of death from Allie. Drat!!!
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And of course....kitten pictures:

That may be Nasa giving the camera "the look"

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Oh man - the mom is in trouble AGAIN: she forgotted Junior's birthday!!!  We will make sure he gets extra treats. We would invite you over to party, but he will just hide.  :)

Thankful Thursday....

Once again, mom is happy the v-e-t comes to the house....and has a sense of humor. :)

Mozart, Spud and JUNIOR were up this time. And of course Maestro got his 6 months "still going" check up.

Mom swears we misbehave on purpose. We don't - we promise. But seriously - the lady v-e-t comes with pointy things. (everyone but Maestro) was vaccinated. Spud went first and wasn't happy but it wasn't so bad - except for running over Frito as he made his escape. Junior was next - and what an adventure. Yikes.....  he struggled and when he was released from the bathroom he ran out and scared Mo. Maestro was next....both the vet and the tech said it was a nice change to have someone just kinda stand there.  :)  And then Mo. ugh.....  Dr T suggested next time that maybe it might help is mom holds Mo. But everyone is good weight (a little lighter which isn't so bad). Spud and Junior do have ear mites and a minor yeast problem (great - cause there is nothing better than medicating flighty cats).

The snack kittens go in the morning for their spay/neuter appointments. Mom has just about everything crossed that they all make weight. Frito and Dorito will go home that evening if they do.

Frito's after dinner clean up (photobomb by Tim)

Triscuit chowing down (with Tim in the background - notice a theme??)

Samoa

Dorito and his fuzzy buns

Added notes from the mom: our vet charges a one time "travel" fee.....but it ends up being really no more than any other vet visit. And worth it to avoid stuffing cats in carriers.  As to running around to catch everyone, I know when they expect to arrive, so I start shutting cats in rooms well before that happens. In this case, mom and kittens went in my room, Spud was in the bathroom and Junior was in the second bedroom (the cat room) with the door closed. So when Spud was done, we just had a closed room to find Junior (he hid in a bookcase). Mo is easy to catch....just a pain to vaccinate.

Random Fridays and Dr. Suess

It is amazing....

It's a MIRACLE!!!!

Or, as mom says:

prepare for the apocalypse:

Yes - Emma....the brat kitten....the fungus amung us.....

HAS BEEN SPAYED!!!

(and declared fungus free)
All 5 months and 3 pounds of her

Now, we let everyone know she really is available to be adopted and find her a home of her own!!!
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So, once again, mom missed it....Spay Day was Tuesday and she posted early (darned work) and realized later. But....you guys all know how we feel about that. DO IT EARLY AND OFTEN!!!  (snicker)  Oh, and if you haven't read the post from Tails from the Foster Kittens, you need to...
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What is that sound?

It sounds like a hound.

Or maybe a foghorn....

Do the neighbors complain??

(be sure to click on the link - it will CRACK YOU UP!! Both dogs are available for adoption from OBR)
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We gotted a comment earlier in the week from The cat on my head kitties asked about our successes in adoptions. We got lucky with the boys last weekend - it was a HUGE adoption event sponsored by Petsmart Charities and there was lots of ads on tv and the like. Honestly though, mom goes to Petco once per month for events and normally NOTHING happens. Most of the adoptions from that store are just people walking by the windows and seeing the kitties. This store has the adoption cages right next to the front windows, so everyone can see the kitties as they walk by. Wish we had some wonderful advice, but really.....we aren't that good. :)
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Random Fridays.....

Continue to check out the auction for the kitts. Last day to bid is tomorrow....

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Cupcake and Lula went for their lady-gardenectomies on Thursday and stayed at the shelter. There is space on the adoption floor and we hope that they find their forever homes.

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Bourbon was at it again. Mom got up early Thursday morning and found this:

 He must have carried everything out of the living and down the hall to the bathroom door (was he missing the girls??). He was sleeping in the bed when mom saw him, but got up before mom could get back with the camera.

Yep - that is the size difference - Emma vs Bourb

(and no Miss Priscilla, mom says he is NOT staying)

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Emma does not approve of your tv viewing choices

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Our friend Brian is having a commentathon (click HERE). For each comment, a bowl of food will be donated to a shelter....can't beat that.
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Allie update: Allie is the mom to the alcohol kittens. She is feral and really doesn't like people. As you may remember, mom had been feeding her outside the condo but worried about her when it started getting colder. So, after some experimenting, we discovered that she will come in the garage. We have a ptu set up for her to sleep in with blankets and a cover over the top. It was about 35F this morning outside and about 43F in the garage this am, so not really warm, but out of the elements. We know she is in there cause mom keeps seeing paw prints on the car. :)  Mom did have to switch Allie's food to a plastic container as she had been leaving it in a zip top bag and Allie chewed through it.

Anyhow, this morning when mom opened the garage door she saw this:

Mom put out more food and got in the car to head to work. Allie actually started back across the driveway and mom waited to start the car until she saw her again. Then mom pulled out and closed the door, leaving it up about 6 inches. Mom saw Allie head back into the garage before mom made it out of the condo driveway. While we can't make her a house cat, we at least know she has food and shelter and is safe. Mom got this pic from the car as she pulled out. Allie is next to our garage, and as you can see it appears she has her winter pjs on now.

Purrs please.....

Our grandma is having back surgery today and mom and grandma and grandpa could use some purrs. Not sure yet how long grandma will be in the hospital (mom says she hopes through Friday). Grandpa was nervous about being at the hospital all day alone so mom was just going to "show up". But it seems grandma spilled the beans. Mom says she is taking a book and the laptop and hopes they have wi-fi.
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10am: The surgeon said it all went well. Grandma should be in the hospital for a couple of day and then recovery for we aren't sure how long. We will pass along the purrs....we sure appreciate it.

They're back....

Bourbon - slightly hungover

Whiskey - slightly MORE hungover

Bourbon & Whiskey here.....we got fooled yesterday. Dat foster mom lady said we was goin' somewhere funs and she LIED!!!! The vet tech lady did smile at our names - the foster mom lady said that with feral mom cats having kittens outside the door now, it seemed like a good idea. :)  The ladies were nice, but still..... there were stabby things and den we took a nap and den we woke up and didn't feel very good and den the foster mom lady showed up and took us home. AND......Sally and Gin and Moonshine HISSED at us!!!  The foster mom lady said the stabby place made us smell funny and we would be ok soon, but it still wasn't very nice of them. Moonshine was still hissy this morning, but the foster mom lady let us all out of the bathroom and we was playin' when she left for the work place.

Gin: they smell bad - even worse than normal. no likey the boys!!!!

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Mom here: the boys really were feeling good this morning. Last night was some serious hangovers and they were pretty lovey for a while. I did feel bad for Bourbon - that poor kitten. If it weren't for bad luck, he would have no luck at all. Turns out not only are his legs screwy, his is a cryptorchid. For those not in the biz, that means his.....man parts didn't come in (ok - in his case it was one man part), so they had to make an incision up on his belleh and "spay" him. All I can do is shake my head.....

Off to the v-e-t....

Well, Bourbon and Whiskey were dropped off this morning to be neutered. :)  Moonshine probably would have been big enough, but Gin not so much and mom prefers they go in pairs for company. Everything looked good and mom will be able to pick them up tonight. NO ONE was happy about the "no breakfast until the boys are locked up" routine this morning.....there was LOTS of complaining.

Bourbon using Whiskey as a body pillow

Eileen made the comment yesterday that Doc must have been startled by the TV - he did look kind of surprised and ran around trying to find the sound. It was kind of cute...mom wishes now she had grabbed the camera but she was just too darned surprised to think of it.

Ready or not.....

42??  Thanks for the responses - mom had no idea that Mo had been reading The Hitchhikers Guide. :)

Mom laughed when she saw a post yesterday from repositorio da marilia cause she has a very similar picture of Sally. Mom asks all the time how we sleep like this - we aren't tellin'. :)

Well, mom THOUGHT today is the day....Sally made weight over the weekend so she and Doc were headed to the clinic for surgery..... Mom got over there and they brought Sally back up. She weighs 1.8 pounds. argh!!!! Mom took her BACK home and will pick Doc up after work and they will spend a little time in "recovery" before being allowed to run all over again.

Mom is pretty sure the flashy box is dead. Sometimes it takes ok pictures, and sometimes they look like this:

Poor Sally looks like she has some weird disease.  :)

And if you could spare some purrs for Mahoney, that would be awesome. She is hurty and they aren't sure why.....

Now, for your snickering pleasure, the antics of Doc and Sally.....

Let's see......

Mom spoke to her sister-in-law last night. They came up for the week to bring the kid and to spend the week with grandma as she recovers. Grandma had just gotten home from surgery and they were getting her settled. Mom did warn Abby to read the med bottle and not trust grandpa to get it right. :) But it sounds like all went well.

Annie did end up at the v-e-t last night. She is just so little that mom says better safe than sorry. Mom took Sally with for moral support. It was fun to watch them race around the exam room waiting for the v-e-t. OK - Sally raced and Annie waddled along behind her. :) The tech asked when Annie had last peed. Not sure. And then she peed on the floor - well, there you have it. MOL The v-e-t recommended putting her back completely on KMR and on a med called lactulose until her system adjusts. It may have just been too much change and she couldn't keep up. So.....Wild Bill is in with the bigger kittens and Annie is in solitary getting her meds and KMR. At least Bill can't try to nurse on her this way.

Wild Bill likes to sleep ON Doc Holiday

And in other good news, the rescue lady said she would accept this group of kittens into the rescue to get them adopted (when they are big enough).

Oh - and while at the v-e-t mom noticed a spot on Sally's front paw. It was....a TICK!!!! ewwwww  Mom got it off and drowned it in alcohol. And then went over the rest of her pretty well - and Doc when she got home. Hopefully it was just that one (cause mom said she felt like she had the cooties all night).

more invaders....

First - could we ask a favor? Our grandma is having surgery today on her wrist and could use some purrs. They are having to put in a pin and freeze a joint due to arthritis.  THANKS

Also, mom got a text yesterday that made her all leaky. You know our friend Miss Kelly?? She had to help her old mancat Murphy over the Bridge yesterday. He had been diagnosed with the evil cancer about 4 months ago but was taking a chemo pill at home and doing ok. He had a great day outside with her on Saturday while she planted flowers. And then was sick Saturday night and most of Sunday. Mom says she doesn't know exactly what happened Sunday night, but she knows Kelly would have done whatever she could for Murphy. He showed up at her house in college at about a year old as a beat up tomcat and turned out FIV+. He regularly beat up her dog and was the true man of the house. Safe journey Murphy - and we love you Miss Kelly!!!

OK - so the teaser on Sunday....

Mom got a call Friday night. Grandma the cat was moving the kittens. The kids caught two but two got away. They have moved the trap and are going to keep trying, but mom says for all their good intentions, the kids aren't very quiet, so we don't have much hope about catching them. But we got our paws crossed.

Anyhow, mom came home Friday night with 2 more kittens. This crew is officially known as the Outlaws. You have met Annie Oakley and Wild Bill. Here are the two new ones:

Doc Holiday (male)

Mustang Sally (female)

Wild Bill has been spending some time in "time out" since he keeps trying to nurse on Annie (and not in a good way). But, while the "new" ones are bigger (yep, bottle babies just tend to be smaller - those momma cats do come in handy), they are teaching Wild Bill and Annie to eat off plate. And Sally cleans him up some, so that helps too. Friday night they spent in a crate, but they moved to baby jail on Saturday and have been in there ever sense - they aren't big enough yet to escape on their own. Annie is now crated as of this morning. The bigger two smoosh Bill to keep him from nursing. And Annie hasn't pooped in a day or so and mom wants to keep track of her - she may end up at the v-e-t tonight.