THE SADDEST NEWS

This morning we were notified that Calvin (one of the two sibling kittens we had rescued from our neighbourhood this past Summer), had died earlier today and completely unexpectedly. It is strongly suspected that he had an undiagnosed heart condition of some sort since he was eating and playing and being his lovable little self as the day unfolded today and gave no indication that he was feeling unwell or that there was anything wrong.

Here he is the day after we had rescued him from outside:



And here he was in pictures at 6 months of age - taken just weeks ago:

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Calvin was instantly loving when we brought him in - so adorable, so sweet so good natured, he became even moreso when his almost identical brother Clarence was rescued and joined him. We loved fostering them and feel even more saddened now to think of Clarence without his best pal............

So our thoughts are for Calvin tonight as we bid him farewell for a time until we can meet him again at the Rainbow Bridge.

"PETPARAZZI"

What would an evening be without updated photos of our favourite little angel that reflects how each day just unearths a little more of her beauty. Being around her right now is like watching a flower in the Spring as it begins to bloom - it may sound corny but honestly I wish everyone (especially those who saw her when she was on the street, those that marked her health as "poor" at the spay clinic, those that recovered her in her first few days after being brought inside, and especially those who passed her in their daily journey's and I'm sure thought she was pitiful) could all see her now and the remarkable progress that is unfolding.

Tonight I've learned that when she becomes really relaxed and you're showering her with affection - she drools.

LADY LOVES..........

The weekend started off abit trying with our Miss Flossy, aside from venturing out from under the bed for food or treats, we were finding that she appeared to be withdrawing more from us and becoming more anti social (or so it seemed) - so we decided that the best thing to do would be to block off the bed underneath so she could no longer hide under there and would be forced (somewhat), to interact with us a little more.

To say getting her out from under the bed against her will was a nightmare, is just about right. Not only did she actually begin hissing at us as we attempted to coral her out from under it, but she became so frightened of what was going on, she urinated all over the bedroom floor and then began making the most pitiful sounds I have ever heard come out of a full grown cat. Her meow sounds like that of a 1 week old kitten, it's so disturbing that I hope to never hear it again.

Once the bed was taped off, we decided to provide Flossy with someplace she could feel safe that would still allow us access to her; so we brought in a small carrier (door removed), placed inside some blankets, and situated it smack dab in the middle of the bed! At first she paced the floor and licked her lips nervously as we tried to soothe her, and I think I must have put her on the bed at least 40 times before she finally jumped up on her own and stayed there. It took afew more hours before she would go in the carrier and stay there but eventually she did and it was obvious from then on that she was calming down and felt safe in there.
We continued petting her and talking softly, and by dinnertime last night she was cooing and purring, and seemed to actually be enjoying her new bed wonderfully!

After coming home from work today, Miss Flossy actually came to the bedroom door to greet me (a little shy initially but still!), and I've just spent the last hour BRUSHING HER! Yes you read correctly..............she absolutely loves to be brushed and her coat feels softer than a cotton ball at this point! She even allowed me to brush her underbelly while I cradled her little head in the palm of my one hand - can you say awwwwwwwww???!!!

Here's tonight's picture - sorry it doesn't having her posing beautifully but she's been very busy grooming, grooming, grooming from within her new little boudoir. This little baby girl LOVES her wet food, her chin rubbed, her coat brushed and most of all, she's starting to love being loved!!!!!!!

BABY STEPS

We've decided to christen our latest little houseguest........Flossy. It really seems to suite her and although most of you voted for Miss Cotton (which I think is just so adorable), it just wasn't "sticking" on our little friend and when we started referring to her as Flossy, it just seemed to fit perfectly. You never know, there may be another female angel come our way in the future who will be Miss Cotton through and through.

Even though she has only been here since Sunday, we're making great progress. Her URI is clearing up nicely, she has a ferocious appetite (thank goodness for that!), and her litterbox habits couldn't be more perfect. Most important of all, although she spends the majority of her time under the bed (I think it's because it resembles being under a car or under part of building - dark and quiet), she will emerge for Temptations treats which I use like bait, slowly placing them further and further away from her so that eventually she is completely out in the open and doesn't even realize it! Yesterday I put her up on the bed with me and found that she loves to roll around while I pet her tummy and "coo" to her - she kneads and kneads and seems to almost fall into abit of a love daze. She also discovered the window for the first time and spent about 20 minutes or so gazing out intently at all the goings on - and I'm not sure if her expression was one of "Boy, I wish I could still chase birds" or "A pack of wild horses couldn't get me back out there".
She has also groomed up an absolute storm; literally. Yesterday saw her washing herself for almost 2 hours on and off and her coat is already looking much, much better!

She does still startle very easily, something as innocent as my uncrossing my legs can have her making a bee line back under the bed where she licks her lips in that nervous way they do when they're not sure what's going on, and although it's painstaking work to coax her back out once again, we are increasing the number of times she comes out and stays out longer, and that's the main thing. She has also started to rub up against me for attention and almost seems to want to kiss my face or rubs hers against mine - whoever owned her at some point obviously used to shower her with all kinds of attention.

I took afew photos yesterday later in the afternoon (note the 2nd one where she has her very pink tongue sticking out; something she does when I'm loving her) - just after she'd had a quick cat nap pressed up against me and seemed to be very content. I hope you enjoy viewing them, as much as I enjoyed taking them of her...........this is going to be the slow ride to success but I wouldn't have it any other way, this baby girl needs us in the biggest way imaginable right now.

FIXING WHAT'S BROKEN

Red's been settled with his new family for a week now and doing wonderfully! I knew realistically that it would only be a matter of time before the call came, asking if we could open our foster space for yet another kitty that was in desperate need - I just wasn't expecting it to be exactly one week after Red was gone.

The plea came from a fellow cat lover and rescue volunteer who actually oversees a colony of feral kitties at Cherry Street (please see the link below for a recent article the Toronto Star did on the plight of colonies in Toronto and a video featuring "Robin" - the very volunteer I mention and some of her colony kitties).

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/1069871--controlling-the-cat-colonies

Robin is an amazing lady who along with her husband and other cat lovers like herself, has worked tirelessly (and with a great deal of her own personal money) to help these cats in this area. So when I received the email from her on Sunday morning asking if I could possibly foster a little all white female who they had trapped this past week along with afew others at another colony (this one is in the west end @ Dufferin), and who turned out to be totally tame and not feral at all; my immediate answer was yes!

There is little I can say that would adequately convey what awaited me when I returned from Church on Sunday afternoon. This female was now in my spare room, hiding under a bed, but within minutes I had been able to draw her out with afew Temptations treats and a very soft voice. She is approximately between 4-5 years old, and is infact all white, with a medium length coat and sea green eyes. That's the prettiest picture I can paint since right now she is the most pathetic, sorry looking cat I've ever seen.

For starters, she is filthy. Obviously hiding and seeking refuge under cars, in alleyways, and who knows where else, have left this little angel with grease, dirt, and filth from one end of her coat to the other. Added to that is the fact that she's painfully thin - I mean the kind of thin that makes you cringe as you pet her, feeling every last bone in her body, all too conscious of the fact that it's painfully obvious she's been starving for quite some time. Her eyes are filled with black gunk, her ears are filthy and the one that they ear tipped (doing so before realizing she was tame), shows signs of already having begun to curl from one too many winters exposed to the elements. She is also suffering a very nasty URI which has her so congested, she wheezes when she breathes and her nose is raw, caked with mucus and brutally sore looking. And despite it all, despite the nasiest case of neglect and abandonment I have ever seen, this little girl is affectionate and has a purr that has me petting her in amazement! She cannot get enough attention, and although shy and still quite nervous, already in just the last 24 hrs we have seen little signs that she's feeling safer and wanting the love that's being offered.
Why even yesterday, I had coaxed her onto my lap - brief as it was, it was sure proof that this little darling is starved for love and that there was a time, however brief it may have been, when someone else had showed it to her.

I'm sparing the pictures as of right now because I am so angry every time I look at her. Angry that people just see these animals and simply turn their heads and walk away, never stopping to think of the horrors and fear that come with trying to survive on the streets without food, without shelter, without safety, without love.

This is an outrage and it makes me sick - absolutely sick to think of there being countless more that are still suffering, just like this little girl was, and worrying that we will never be able to help them all. It is a reality that we should all be ashamed of and is disrespect of animals of the highest degree.

So the work has begun to try and help this little girl to heal. It's time to make right what has been an absolute wrong, time to pour out the TLC for this tiny one and add a thousand prayers that the damage done can be undone............

PS: I am trying to decide upon a name - I'm torn between Baby Girl and Miss Cotton............I'd love to know what any of you think of either.

THE BITTERSWEETS

I woke up this morning with that anxious feeling of butterflies swirling around in my stomach - I think every foster parent must know it well; the one you have when an impending "meeting" is about to take place and somewhere in the depths of yourself you already know that this could be "it".
There was a call for Red on Friday and this morning I awoke to a somewhat lengthy email from the female portion of the interested party who not only shared with me abit more about how much they were looking forward to meeting Red this afternoon, but about her past involvement in cat rescue work, AND a picture of their own kitty "Lewis".

Some of you may remember when I wrote in an earlier post about how when the right people came for Red, I might not be able to describe them to you, but I could certainly tell you what they would sound like.............well this email I'm referring to, the one I got earlier today, that was the very sound.

I laugh to myself now as I recall telling the adoption screener on Friday (when he called to share with me the fact that he'd screened a wonderful sounding couple who were interested in Red), how there would have to be a real WOW factor going on for me in meeting them, to let them take Red the same day and not wait the 24 hr period that the rescue normally requests. Oh sure I talk a tough game, but by the time I had chatted with "M" (the female of the party), I already knew this game was half in the bag!!

So here I sit, 6 months to almost the day when I saw Red for the first time, replaying all the days and nights in between as I worried and fretted over his immediate safety and future life. It's a roller coaster ride alright, this fostering gig - one which gives me personally some serious highs, some pretty deep lows, and everything in between.

I loved this little boy and I will miss him more than the keys on this keyboard can adequately express. I'm so grateful that his amazing forever home came for him, but sad that like alot of things in life, our time together went so quickly and before I knew it, I was bidding him goodbye. Here's the very last picture I'll take of him - shot just this morning as I readied myself for Church.

You did good Red boy, you did real good.