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Hello!  Welcome to The Kitten Mama!

I started this blog in July of 2009 when I my husband and I unexpectedly ended up caring for a litter of four day-old kittens (Spock, Magnus, Tabitha and Napoleon).  You can read their full story HERE.

By visiting the "Blog Archive" and "Labels" sections to your right, you can see the pictures, videos, and stories from my journey with these kittens.

A few of my favorite posts are HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.

As the kittens began to find homes, yet another kitten showed up on my doorstep!  You can read all about Buick's story HERE.

By December of 2009, all five kittens had found wonderful forever homes!

I couldn't have been as successful with this kittens as I could have been without the help of the
Carol Manos, Jolyn Clark, Stephanie Meaney and the entire Carol's Ferals team.

Carol's Ferals does wonderful work for cats and kittens in the Grand Rapids community.  I am thankful to Carol for setting me up with food and meds for the kittens, to Stephanie for all of the advice and assistance -- she is the TRUE kitten mama having raised hundreds of kittens herself!   And to Jolyn for her assistance in socializing the kittens and helping me get them adopted.

You can learn more about Carol's Ferals HERE, HERE, and HERE.

It took me a long time to figure out what to do with this blog once the kittens left, and I considered shutting it down altogether.  I've decided to leave it here as a resource for others, and to provide the very occasional update to those who have followed the kittens since the beginning and are interested in how they're doing now.

And of course leaving this blog up means that if I end up taking in more kittens this spring, or any time in the future, I'll be back in action here at The Kitten Mama, sharing my stories with you all. 

Until next time, thanks for reading!

Updates!

All of my fosters are settling in / continuing to do well in their new forever homes!

Ozzy (formerly Magnus) is having a wonderful time with new parents Anthony and Nicole -- and growing into a big boy!  5.5 pounds at his November vet appointment I believe - so I'm sure he's even bigger now!

Spock continues to enjoy life at my parents' house with his new best pal Felix.  Spock enjoys climbing into boxes, sleeping on my Mum's sewing table, knocking over trash cans, and snuggling.  He's a long and lanky cat with an extra long tail!

According to new parents Dick and Joyce, Mac and Cheese (formerly Tabitha and Napoleon) enjoy watching the birds and the squirrels through the window at the bird feeder, watching TV, and playing with the computer  mouse and with each other.  Mac is Dick's best bud and follows him around everywhere, while Cheese is Joyce's girl.

Although still a little skittish around new people, Xena (formerly Buick) is turning into quite the lap kitty with new parents Karen and Chuck.  She is very affectionate with them.

It's so nice to hear about happy endings!  I'm expecting photos of several of these feline friends soon - and will share them if / when I get them!  : )

Happy Endings for Tabitha, Napoleon & Buick

Yesterday all three of my remaining fosters went to the Carol's Ferals adoption event and all three found homes!

Buick enjoyed hanging in a cage with her buds Jola and Cristal (seriously - have you ever seen a cuter picture?!)...



...before she headed off to her forever home with new parents Karen and Chuck. Buick is going to be the single pet... and I think that will suit her perfectly. I have a feeling she is going to be spoiled rotten!

I was so thrilled that Tabitha and Napoleon found their forever home yesterday - and they got to go together! While I think they would have adjusted to being split up, it's a best case scenario for them to stay together because they've been two peas in a pod for so long. They will love living out their lives together.

Their new parents and Joyce and Richard - who are newly retired and looking forward to having "his and hers" kitties on their laps! They have lots of time to spend showering love on Tabitha and Napoleon and all of us at the event were thrilled to know what a great home they are going to have.






I was proud of myself for holding it together when Buick got adopted. I think because I didn't have her for very long and because she'd been out of my direct care for a few weeks it helped make goodbye easier.

It was tough to say goodbye to Tabitha and Napoleon though - that's for sure. Both Travis and I loved them very much. I'd be lying if I said I didn't shed a few tears!

But the thing that outweighs any sadness is the assurance that all three of my babies went to WONDERFUL homes today. I couldn't have asked for better adopters! Thanks so much, Joyce, Richard, Karen, and Chuck! Please keep me updated! I (and The Kitten Mama followers!) would love the occasional update!

So now, what's to come of this blog?! I have a few ideas I'm mulling over -- stay tuned in the next few days for an update... : )

Travis is NOT a cat person...

... obviously! : )

Adoption Event - Carol's Ferals

Today all three Buick, Tabitha, and Napoleon went to an adoption event held by CAROL'S FERALS at the Centerpointe Mall in Grand Rapids, MI. Sadly, none of them found their forever homes today - but there were a lot of people interested in them!



Tabitha and Napoleon adjusted to the bright, noisy mall very easily and greeted people through their cage, while Buick had a bit harder time and spent most of the time curled up sleeping!


Although Buick, Napoleon and Tabitha are still searching for the right homes for them, FOUR other cats and kittens were adopted today. Hooray!




Carol's Ferals will be holding another adoption event this upcoming Saturday (December 5) at the same location, from 10-5pm. Come see us and all the wonderful adoptable cats and kittens!

Bye Bye, Buick!

Great news!

My girl Buick is over her upper respiratory infection, is round-worm free, and is heading to Carol's Ferals & Friendlies' adoption program today! She'll be in the kitten room with many other little furry friends to play with and keep her busy until she is adopted into her forever home.

Ironically enough, I ran into the gal who helped me rescue Buick that day a couple of months ago at a local coffee shop today! I gave her this blog address so she can see how well Buick is doing. Hi, Sierra! Thanks so much for helping give Buick a second chance!

Buick sure has come a long way since we first found her in the engine of a car... what a little ragamuffin she was!


For a couple of weeks there it was really hard to see her feeling so unwell. That upper respiratory infection really got her down and she'd just want to lay in your arms, purring her congested sounding purr all the while. Poor thing.


Now she's all better and has character for days. She's super active and LOVES people. She's the most vocal kitten I've ever known!





So with a little sadness I say good-bye to sweet Buick today - but know that she will be well-cared for, and (hopefully soon!) be a wonderful feline companion for someone. She is a special girl!

We love you, little Bu-ster! : ) We're so glad we were able to help give you a second chance!

Buick meets Bella...

A note from Ozzy (formerly Magnus) and his new humans!

Hey Joanne...

Lots of new stuff to tell you. Ozzy went to the vet for his first visit there. All of the nurses fell in love with him. He got a clean bill of health and found out that he weighs 4.2 pounds!! He's getting SOOO big!! He goes back to the vet on the 19th of this month to get his next shot :)

Ozzy now has run of the apartment when we are gone. The bedroom doors and bathroom doors are still closed, but the rest of the apartment is his. He's been such a good boy too. No problems, accidents or torn up carpet or furniture. It appears that he sleeps the majority of the day and keeps us up all night. We've let him have run on the bedroom at night as well, although this might change soon. He has this great game he plays at night called "pounce on Anthony's head". He does it because he can hear him snoring and Ozzy thinks that Anthony is playing with him. I got him a bed to sleep in, but he doesn't seem to want anything to do with it.

What else...OF COURSE!! Buddy and Ozzy. On the weekends, Ozzy goes to my parents house. Ozzy LOVES to pounce, bite, and paw at Buddy. At first, Buddy was not happy about Ozzy being in HIS house, but now they seem to play quite nice together. Ozzy has this game where he hides on my parents chairs at their kitchen table. Buddy will walk by and Ozzy jumps off of the chairs onto Buddy's back. He then rides the back of Buddy like he's a horse. He loves to go to Grandma and Grandpa's house and play with Buddy on the weekends :) Grandpa is so in love with little Ozzy too!!

Ozzy seems to have an OBSESSION with the bathroom. He was in one for the first few weeks that we had him when we were gone, and now he won't leave them. We have to close the door otherwise Ozzy will spend all day and night hanging out in the bathtub! He doesn't seem to mind water too much. He doesn't like to be IN water, but he loves to go and explore the bathtub after someone has gotten out of the shower. The other night I gave him his first bath here too. I got a wash cloth and got it wet with some soap and gave him a scrub down. He seemed to not mind it too much, but he did groom himself for at least an hour after trying to get himself dry.

He's been so much fun!! Never a dull moment with him and he loves to greet me when I come home buy jumping up on my leg until I pick him up. I'm 100% sure to get lots of Ozzy kisses first thing when I come home and I look forward to it every day!

-Nicole, Anthony and little Ozzy-

Ozzy loves to sit on our window and look at all the ducks outside. I'm going this week to get him a window perch (my parents have one for Buddy and Ozzy will sit on it for hours and look outside)


Ozzy thinking about how to pounce on Buddy :)


Ozzy and Buddy behind the couch. Ozzy looks like a boxer and is having a blast taunting Buddy.


Anthony and Oxzzy on the couch sleeping.

Spock Update

Spock, the first of my kittens to be adopted (by my parents, no less!) is doing WONDERFULLY!

Here he is (above) with new best friend Felix, just relaxing in my parents' living room.

My parents report that Spock and Felix are almost always together... and that Spock has an unbelievable amount of energy that wears 2 year old Felix out sometimes!

What a great match this was between my parents - Felix - and Spock! I can't wait to see Felix again for myself in just a couple of weeks!

Drumroll Please...

... Buick tested NEGATIVE for feline leukemia and FIV! Woo hoo! Her spay surgery went well and she recovered very quickly.

Unfortunately though, she has round worms. This isn't a huge deal, just means she needs to rehab with me a little longer until the worms are taken care of and she can be in contact with other kittens.


She is an incredible little girl - and I can't wait to find her to find her forever home! If you are interested in adopting Buick, feel free to e-mail me (joanneroehm@yahoo.com) for more info.

Sorry it's taken me so long to update - and thanks for those of you who have been thinking about Buick! This week I hope to have updates on Spock and Ozzy (formerly known as Magnus) and some great news for Napoleon and Tabitha. Come back soon!

Buick Update #3

For real this time, Buick went for spay surgery and tests today. Here are a couple of shots of her as we were leaving. Fingers crossed all goes well and that she checks out okay. I'll be picking her up tonight!




PS) I swear I'll be back with Napoleon / Tabitha news soon. Those two crazy kittens! : )

Buick Video Update - October 30

Pardon the Interruption...

... I've been hit with a nasty flu bug and have been in bed for the last few days. I hope to return to blogging by the end of the week...

I did want to let you know, however, that while Buick was too sick to go to intake and undergo surgery as planned, she is doing MUCH better and showing great improvement...

We're BOTH working on getting better!

Buick Update #2 - A Snotty Mess

Poor baby Buick. She is not having an easy time.

After he mucous-y eyes cleared up quickly after starting eye drops and antibiotics I was feeling positive about her progress. Unfortunately, it hasn't been smooth sailing since then.

After a couple of different bouts with diarrhea, her stool is consistently normal at least. That's a good thing.

Her eyes have been super weepy, just clear drainage though not mucous. And her nose has been draining constantly and she's been sneezing all over the place. WAY more than when I first got her.

I did talk to kitten expert Stephanie, who does a lot of kitten fostering for Carol's Ferals and worked with me when I was raising my litter of kittens, who said that clear drainage is much better the mucous, and that the antibiotics will cause the mucous to break up and drain out, and that she has to sneeze it out.

This makes perfect sense. A lot like a human cold, right? You have different stages.

So I'm hoping that the antibiotics have been working and that this upper respitory infection is just running its course. The boor baby SOUNDS like she has a cold. Her purr is all raspy and stuffed up.

She's also had a hard time eating and drinking the past few days.

I just feel so bad for her!

Good news is that tonight she FINALLY gets to go to the vet! So please, send good karma and thoughts Buick's way tonight. Let's hope with all our might that she can get treatment she needs, checks out okay on other fronts, and after rehab-ing (with me, of course) can go into Carol's Ferals' adoption program. She is SUCH a sweet girl and I'd love nothing more than to see her find her forever home. She deserves it after all she's been through!