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... : )

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...

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

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!

Buick Update #1

I hope that my regular followers don't mind me including little Buick on this blog... I think it's appropriate, don't you?

Buick had a rough first day with us. She had horrible diarrhea (which she would then lay in) and it was just an awful mess.

The good news is that the messy poop is a thing of the past and she's eating and drinking like a champ. She MUCH prefers dry kitten food to the wet stuff which is more than fine by me.

I gave her some de-wormer yesterday and have been giving her some eye drops twice a day. I think her eyes are looking a little less goopy in general - but usually in the morning's they are crusted shut with mucus and I have to pry open her eyelids and clean them up. Poor baby!

Today she got her first real bath - and she was such a trooper! To give you just a little idea of how dirty this little girl was... check this out...


Yup, that's the water after we were done. Gross! I think it's going to take at least two or three more shampoos until we get her truly clean - but this bath made a huge initial improvement. Look!


She's starting to look like a real kitten instead of a dirty little vagabond! : ) I think she's actually going to be quite pretty...

I can't stress to you how super friendly this little girl is. All she wants to do is curl up on your lap and purr away. She really likes being close to people. I couldn't get a photo of her on the ground because she kept jumping up into my lap.

Later today we'll be cleaning ears and clipping toenails - one thing at a time! Bad news is that Carol's Ferals' vet is out of town this week so she won't be able to go to intake until next week. I'm not too worried about her health wise - I think she'll make it just fine until then. That does mean that she's our house guest for a week now... but at this point I can't give her to someone else until after she's seen the vet and I know what's in store for her.


More kitten news coming later today, including updates on Tabitha and Napoleon. Both babies are still looking for homes and need to find their forever families ASAP. Anyone have room for a kitten? : )

These kittens just keep showing up...

.. is this a sign of some sort?


Today Heather and I were running around town doing some erranding after our morning workout when we ended up in the Cherry Hill district of town.

We saw a little bit of a commotion and realized that there was a little kitten running down the street.

We pulled over and jumped out to see what was going on. Essentially this kitten was roaming around by himself, looking a little worse for wear, and no one was able to catch him.

A girl who was particularly concerned and myself tried to catch the little one for at least twenty minutes. It involved him running under a gate into a fenced off parking lot with "no trespassing" signs and the girl hopping the fence to try and get him. No luck.

Suddenly he ran back under the gate across the sidewalk and under a car. I thought "Yes! We'll get him now!" we immediately looked under the car and he was gone - vanished! And then we heard purring.

The kitten had climbed up into the body of the car.

Yikes!

Now I COULDN'T leave. I mean, I had no idea where the cat was in the car and what would happen if the owner came and started the car with the kitten in there.

Heather and the girl went into all the surrounding restaurants and businesses trying to find the owner of the car with no luck.

We went to a local deli and purchased some stinky tuna to try and lure kitten out. No luck.

Finally (at least an hour after all this began!) the owner came back. She popped her hood and there sat our little friend among the engine parts.

Phew!

Heather grabbed him and we wrapped him up in my coat and headed to Brooknelle (rehab facility of Carol's Ferals) to clean him up.

Although very skinny, goopy eyed, with matted fur and flea dirt - the kitten appeared relatively healthy and social. She purred as Heather held her.

Yup, I got a chance to find out that the kitten was a "she" at this point. At least I'm 99% sure she is a she. I don't have a 100% track record on this (poor Napoleon - he was a girl for the first five weeks or so of his life!).

I brought her home and bathed her and fed her and she's contentedly living in my craft room for the weekend.


On Sunday she'll head back to Brooknelle to be checked in at intake and will head to the vet for an exam, and if she's healthy and heavy enough, to be spayed.

Assuming she's healthy - she's be put up for adoption.

I figure the worst case scenario is that - if she DOES have disease for which she would have to be euthanized - at least she would pass away peacefully, after being loved on, rather than in the engine of a car. Know what I'm saying?



So there you have it - another crazy kitten story. Why does this keep happening to me?

Keep your fingers crossed for our girl "Buick" (named after the car she was rescued from... obviously!) and I'll be posting updates here as well!