A GOLDEN AFFIRMATION

It's been a little bit of an adjustment for Red to settle into life indoors; we've had abit of crying and pacing, mostly as the evenings start to fall and it appers he gets abit antsy and can't quite figure out why he can't be outside roaming and investigating as he has. He seems to settle down quite abit if we simply shut the windows (boy it's given us a whole new appreciation for what that night air can do to a guy).........and he seems to be abit better every day.

With us just over a week now, I have relished in every moment of realizing and reminding myself that he is now indoors and safe. I still find myself looking for him the morning's as we leave for work in the car and make our way down the street - funny how those habits take some time to break after months of doing it every day. There's also been a little bit of guilt as I've worried over whether he's truly happy inside or whether somehow he feels deafeated. I'm so thankful for the small ways in which it's been affirmed to us that we did the right thing - one being the picture below which just melted my own heart, the other being his having gotten right up in my lap this morning and curled deep down for a sleep there all the while purring up a storm.



Then there's this one..........doesn't he just look incredibly handsome and so at home?

HAVING A LITTLE FAITH

I just got off the phone with Bella's new parents to learn that she's doing really, really well and is settling in very nicely. They've renamed her Princess and it just couldn't be a more appropriate name.........I snickered to learn that she's "taking over" (their words not mine) - so nice to see that her DIVA sense of self didn't falter one iota in the move! *L*

In my last thread I mentioned how hubby and I were planning to head out Saturday morning in an attempt to scoop up Red and finally bring him inside where he belongs. Well...........



We were up at 6:00am yesterday morning and got in our car to head over to the street where we knew Red had moved to in recent weeks. We didn't get 50 feet down our street when suddenly he literally darted right out in front of our car as he ran to the other side of the road. I immediately got out and with my handy kitty catching device, (a bag of Temptations treats), proceeded to walk all the way back to our place with Red in tow, obviously starving and gobbling up the treats, faster than I could actually get them on the ground.

Once inside the house he was abit nervous and unsure initially, but as soon as we moved him up into his private quarters here at the SHH (Safe Haven Hotel), he began to purr, knead his paws and relax. By 5 hours later, he had eaten 2 full bowls of food and was snoozing on his new bed. He's painfully thin having quite clearly lost weight since leaving our street (and why that was we'll never know), and has a coat that is abit dirty, but since yesterday he's eating and drinking up a storm and has been busy for the last hour grooming himself from one end to the other.



I will never forget how awful I felt that morning we put him back outside after his neuter surgery. But with the kittens here and then the emergency care for Bella, it was impossible to consider bringing him in. I vowed to myself that once those two situations were dealt with, he was next to be welcomed. I didn't care what it would take or how far I'd have to go to look for him, I loved this kitty from our first meeting back in April and although I felt as though I had let him down just one month earlier, I wasn't going to make that same mistake twice. But I'll be honest, when we were in the throes of caring for Calvin & Clarence and then Bella, I couldn't see how it was going to be that I could help in saving Red - I really doubted it for a time especially after he disappeared from our street (which I convinced myself was because he didn't feel that there was any hope here of being loved by anyone).
So at a time when I was feeling very stressed and overloaded in the fostering/rescue department, I did the only thing I knew would really help me to cope - I prayed that a way would be found to keep Red safe while we worked to have our current fosters adopted. As you know the kittens have been moved to a new foster home and Bella was adopted just days ago........I'd say that was definetly Heavenly Father's way of letting me know that He was mindful and there.

I don't believe in coincidences and I do believe that everything happens for a reason. This is Red's time and I'm so grateful not only for the blessing of being the one extended the opportunity to share in that, but also that he was watched over until the moment was meant to be.

HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN!!

We're thrilled to report that Bella was adopted yesterday!!!! There were alot of calls, many interested in adopting her, but in the end it was a wonderful couple that were lucky enough to take her home. She has moved on as the only kitty (something I'm sure she'll delight in over time) to be spoiled rotten and treated like the DIVA that she is.

Of course it being early days yet, I can't help but be a little worried about how she's doing in her new home. A call to her new Mommy today indicates that she's eating well but is curently hiding and not being very social. I've reassured them that this is very normal at this stage but that I'll touch bse again over the weekend to ensure everything is still going smoothly.

It's almost hard to believe that just a couple of weeks ago that little angel had no home and her future (immediate anyway), looked very grim. Now, she's living in a condo, pampered and loved - oh how I love happy endings!



On another note, this morning we saw Red again so our mission this weekend is to bring him inside - at long last. Fingers crossed that we are successful and that he settles into living indoors; stay tuned.

SLEEPING BEAUTY

It's been a loooooooong time since we've had a DIVA in the house, but some things you can be reminded of very quickly! Bella is 100% DIVA, she may be small in size but believe me when I tell you that that is about all there is of her that is tiny.

This past week we've come to learn that she hates other cats, and I can assure you that that word hate isn't being used loosely here. I'd like to think that perhaps it's because she's in a house full of males, but having watched her this past week, I think it's safer to say that her Princess like attitude would extend over to other females - infact, I'm positive that if there were other females in the house, there would actually be some serious fur flying!! As it is, she does not allow Rocky, Silly or Farley to come within 10 feet of her, if they appear in the doorway of a room she's laying in, she lets out the loudest, most bone chilling sound that has them pinning their ears back and backing up into retreat as if they'd just met Medusa herself. She can be seemingly relaxed and appearing totally calm only to suddenly lift her head and with one whiff into the air, has a radar that has her able to smell the boys long before they've actually come into her line of sight. All she has to do is open her eyes and glare at them and as soon as they see her, they turn around like their toes are stepping on glass to head as far away in the opposite direction as possible. Rocky has made the mistake twice of trying to approach too closely and win out in a growl duel - she charged him and both times sent our poor sweet boy literally flying. In all the years of Rocky being in our home, we have NEVER seen him afraid of another cat, nor has he ever backed down and kept his distance - Bella (our Baby Girl), has changed all of that.

She is so affectionate and loving, but make no mistake she has her preferences even where petting is concerned, she lets you know if you're not petting her in the manner in which she'd like, and she also has a meow that is very clear in defining her disdain or disgust when things are not just to her liking. :))

But it's so nice to have her here - she's so beautiful physically and such a little darling to love and spoil - okay so she's a prima donna.......I'm just grateful that my hubby already knows all about high maintenance females or else this little girl could be giving us all a bad name. :))

THE POSITIVES IN CHANGE

Calvin & Clarence didn't get adopted this weekend at the adopt-a-thon as we had hoped, but they have been moved to a new foster home where they are the only kitties and already we're getting reports of them having a ball! Their moving on to another home has been hard and we do miss them but it's also provided some much needed relief in terms of how many kitties are in the house and how stressed everyone is as a result.

Bella is also doing really, really well - she's been with us a week tomorrow; how quickly time passes and how amazing it is that only 7 short days ago she was spending her nights outdoors alone, preparing for all the scary aspects of being a Mother and now............well see for yourself, now she's just soaking up every last little bit of love that's coming her way and settling in so nicely - our baby girl.



I think my little Miss Remy would highly approve of the first female to grace our home since her passing in 2004.

**The blanket that Bella is laying on was made by a wonderful friend in Utah who gave me a kitty cat quilt last year for Christmas - she made it entrely by hand; I can't wait to share with her what a wonderful use it's come to**

TEARS & TRIUMPH

Last Tuesday evening, just as I was getting ready for bed, a neighbour from down the street rang our doorbell and spoke to my hubby about a white cat that was sleeping in a baby carriage on her property. Evidently she had been feeding her for the past 3 weeks, and upon learning that we were involved in cat rescue, wondered if we could help (funny how that type of word travels so quickly).........

I was fuming to say the least once my husband came upstairs to tell me of the conversation - I was adament that I was marching down the street to give this person a piece of mind about how we were not going to turn into the "go to" people for every cat that showed up in the neighbourhood, and how rescue work takes a great many resources and FUNDS! and how the neighbourhood needed to step up and begin helping with what was obvously a very serious problem in our neighbourhood.

Twent minutes later I was on my doorstep with "Bella" - I knew what her name was going to be from almost the moment I saw her......



I could not leave her there, laying under the neighbour's car, dirty, with eyes that were weeping with greenish gunk, being so small and seeming so vulnerable - so without even thinking about how we were going to be able to welcome her in, we carried her up the street and into the Safe Haven Hotel she came. I made a call and thankfully our rescue had absolutely no qualms about having her vet checked the next day to ascertain whether she was spayed (or pregnant), how old she was and if there appeared anything else wrong.

The vet visit proved that she had indeed been very pregnant and was approximately 4 years old. I wasn't prepared for how emotional I became upon learning of her pregnancy and knowing that those babies were now gone.........with so many unwanted kittens constantly needing homes; the very difficult decisions have to be made to help control that situation. I was very saddened and just felt horrible - being someone who is very much opposed to abortion, and who takes a very strong stance against it morally, it was the first time I had been directly involved in that. But upon speaking with two fellow volunteers within the rescue who have a great deal of experience sadly in these situations, they helped me to see that there are really no other options, and reminded me that just 24 hours before she could have been having those kittens outside, alone, in filthy surroundings, with the prospect of trying to protect her babies from racoons and other predators, all the while having to forage for food, and ensure their safety. Not happy motherhood for a homeless cat by any stretch of the imagination.

We welcomed her back to our home and set her up in our finished basement. In four days we've learned that she loves wet food, loves to be brushed, has the most beautiful blue eyes we've ever seen, and is incredibly affectionate considering all that she's been through. She is declawed on all 4 feet - what kind of a person makes a cat completely helpless to defend itself but doesn't spay her? We highly suspect that she is part or full Manx since she has a bobtail, the blue eyes and has other physical features that appear in line with that breed.



Calvin & Clarence are at an adopt-a-thon this weekend in the hopes that they will be adopted. They may also be moved this weekend to another foster home who has just had an adoption, where they can be the only two kitties and thoroughly be spoiled rotten by a new foster Mommy. It was a difficult decision to make, the prospect of them not coming back to our home, but 6 kitties in the house with the addition of Bella, would just be too many for us personally (and for Rocky!); and so we've had to consider options that will allow us to help everyone.

Bella is flourishing already - and we're so thankful for the opportunity to help her and see her find a loving forever home that will cherish her the way she deserves to be. To think of where she was this time last weekend makes me shudder - but to dream about where she's headed brings tears of happiness to my eyes.........this is what fostering is all about.........helping those who cannot help themselves.