HILARIOUS!!!!!!

Normally I try to keep all my posts fostering related, but I saw this next one on a volunteer organization's page and I just couldn't resist adding it here. Hopefully it makes you smile (and maybe even laugh), as much as it did me!

How many of us have come across our own kitties in very similar moments and think this caption sums it all up perfectly...........I know it does for my house. Needless to say, the next time I catch the furry kids here locked together like this, I hope I can stop laughing long enough to break it up!!

RAY OF SUNSHINE

On a cold, damp, dreary, rainy day, I find myself with a little friend whose never far away from my side (in this case she's practically right on top of me as I work!) *L*

I ask you, is this not one of the prettiest kitties you've ever seen? She takes a lovely picture and I'll keep snapping them and posting about her until someone finally steps up and wants to make her apart of their family. This little girl has literally come back from the brink of death - she deserves all the attention and the accolades.

They just don't get much lovelier than this.......

A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE

I decided it was high time I went in and did some filing in my picture folder. You can imagine how many shots I've taken in the 10 years we've been fostering.......that's alot of kitties!

In doing so I came across some that made me smile and some that brought a tear to my eye as my memory went back in time and I thought about when they first arrived in our home, and their stays with us. I thought perhaps some of you might like to see as well - so I hope you enjoy this look back.

DO MY EYES DECEIVE???

I opened up the shower curtain this morning to this and wondered for about a split second if perhaps I was in the wrong house!

To some this might not seem like such a big deal, Rocky allowing Flossy to lean on him (almost to the point of cuddling)........but to others (and especially to me who knows him better than anyone), it's a VERY BIG DEAL. He doesn't have nicknames like Stinkerboy and Rotten Rock for nothing; and I have NEVER seen him allow another cat (not even his brother Silly) to do this.

But before you or I get too excited about what might appear to be a softer side finally emerging in our little crankmeister, I should be sure to mention that infact Rocky's favourite place every morning as I get ready for work is in front of the heat register in the bathroom and that just happens to be the exact spot that Flossy beat him to this morning. He had already hissed and growled at her when he came upon her there initially, so I would safely assume that this spot he took up..........was only to ensure that once she removed her prissy little self, he could assume control and his territory in one swift motion!

UNFAIR DISADVANTAGE

I'm writing tonight about the frustration I feel toward the people who overlook Flossy (and other kitties like her - sometimes labelled "Special Needs"), because of the fears and apprehensions they have toward adopting a kitty that they see as being too expensive.

I fully realize that the biggest factor in Flossy having been in foster care for the past 15 months is due largely in part to the fact that she suffers from food allergies and thus, must have allergen free food that can be deemed by some to be too costly to take on as a responsibility.

Don't misunderstand.........I fully respect a person/s right to deem what is acceptable for them in terms of the responsiblity they can assume when adopting; and I appreciate the forthrightness with which they state their position. But what I don't understand and find very difficult to appreciate, is when potential adopters (upon learning of Flossy's condition), will share with me the fact that they won't consider her for adoption because, in their words, "They wish to seek out a cat without any medical conditions who is perfectly healthy and will cost them less money in the long run."

What I want to say to these same people (and never have - up until now), is that that seemingly "perfect" or "healthy" cat you prefer to adopt from your local humane society, rescue group, pet store, or via an online ad, may present as perfect as perfect can be upon meeting, and even upon taking home, but because it is a living, breathing, creature, it like us humans, can become sick or be diagnosed with a "condition" at any time - today, tomorrow, next week or next year.

The health of a person or animal is never guaranteed, ever. Things can change in a heartbeat and while you may think that you are securing something by overlooking or passing by rescued animals that already present with some type of imperfection, in reality all you are really doing is searching out that which can never really be attained.

TUG OF WAR ANYONE?

Very early on in my getting ready this morning, I laid down Flossy's towel and invited her to join me (as she usually does), in what has become one of her favourite spots. I'm not sure if she was being finicky or just picky, but she was a little slow in getting there, so Silly decided he'd get up and make himself comfortable.

Well low and behold, that's all it took. Next thing I know Flossy has hopped up and squeezed herself onto the very last little piece of towel left; and Silly's ears and facial expression were enough to make me want to laugh out loud (he was so ticked off!). Then to add insult to injury, if Baby Girl doesn't then decide to reach over and give him a little lick (he hates it when she tries to groom him).............of course I knew better than to think she was trying to make friends - she's wise enough to know from all the head swats she's taken, that he hates to be groomed by her and this was her subtle way (or not) of trying to make him get down so she could have the whole spot to herself!

Once again the peaceful moment hung in the air, dangling by a very thin whisker. In the end Silly forfeited, but I'm sure not before he muttered to himself about how her forever home can't come soon enough! *LOL*

CREATURE OF HABIT

**Update On Garage Kitty**

My husband told me last night that the garage kitty was VERY upset yesterday. Pacing around, meowing constantly, and seeming very unsettled. When he asked one of the other workers what was up with him; the worker replied that he thought some of the other guys had had to move his bed and feeding dishes to another area of the garage due to some work that was going to get underway; and he'd been acting like that all day.

Well it's obvious that this cat (like most), does not appreciate the disruption to his home and is letting everyone know about it! He even turned his nose up at the treats my husband had taken to work to feed him.............seems at present as though no amount of spoiling can appease him and I can't say I blame him!!

They are going to see today if his things can be moved back soon in the hopes of settling his ruffled feathers - my hubby is going to look into it personally. :)) I think this cat has found himself another guardian angel.

Oh and btw, he is neutered; having turned up that way - obviously another abandoned kitty in our midst :(

PS: I hope for new pictures of him shortly to share but the lighting is very bad at this location which makes getting good quality ones abit more difficult - stay tuned.

YOU & ME

One of the questions I'm asked continually by friends, acquaintances and potential adopters alike is, how do you make it work at your house with your own cats when you bring in a new foster - isn't there fighting, jealousy, bloodshed?

The simple answer is yes and no (well at least to the first two.......I'm delighted and relieved to report that there has NEVER been any bloodshed at my house) and Flossy is somewhere in the neighbourhood of our 59th or 60th foster since we embarked on this foster parent journey close to 11 years ago now.

Our experience has been that cats are much like people. They have their likes and their dislikes, their good days and there "not so good" days, and they love and irritate one another regularly, all of it just like we humans do. Except for one or perhaps two instances since we began fostering, I can honestly say that anyone we have brought into the Safe Haven, has eventually found their place among our two boys - and they have learned to co-exist.

Case in point.......this next photo; taken just moments ago. Flossy and Silly have just finished playing downstairs, only to both follow me up to our home office and proceed to find their way onto my desk as I set about to do a little work. What 5 minutes ago was friendly and fun, has turned into abit more territorial as they both vie for my attention, and posture to see whose going to end up in the infamous cat bed.

I'll let you guess who won. :))

PRINCESS PERFECT

No matter how many posts I post, or how often I speak about it, there are truly no words that could accurately convey the beauty and delight that is Flossy.

I've written before about just how long it took for her to begin emerging from that shell which she'd created in order to protect herself from the horrors she endured while living outside; but if all the months leading up to now were emerging, than I would have to call now her blossom, because that's just what she's done.

She not only LOVES to lay across our laps now, purring so loudly she practically vibrates!, but she seeks us out constantly for love and affection, and is truly her happiest and most content when she's with us. To see her come trotting down the hall with her bowa like tail high in the air, and her green emerald eyes lit up like little diamonds, to greet us after we come home, is so heartwarming. And then there is her morning ritual now.........to perch herself on the toilet seat (after I've laid down a fluffy towel for her highness) while I ready myself for work; purring so loudly, and kneading her paws in the air, gazing up at me lovingly as if there is truly nothing better - and I have to ask myself if this is what kitty heaven looks like on this side of the veil.

My wish is that every kitty could know such contentment.

BLUE COLLAR DEVOTION

You can imagine my dread when I came home this afternoon only to have hubby share with me the news that there is a resident kitty on his latest jobsite.  Initially, as soon as he said "Hey there's a cat at work"!, I think I literally shouted back (before he even had a chance to finish) - "Is he neutered?"

Three times he tried to tell me the story and share a photo, and there I was interrupting him continually with, "Is he neutered, Is he neutered, IS HE NEUTERED!!!!!!"

Turns out that this little guy has full run of a heated garage, complete with his own wicker basket bed, 2 meals a day, fresh water every morning, AND is under the watchful and protective eye of approximately 10 electricians who adore him.  He's evidently been there for the last three years and is as friendly as friendly can be.

I hope to have a better pic at some point this week but I just had to share another feel good story about a bunch of "tough guys" with tender hearts. 

Oh yeah...........and I'm on a mission to find out whether he's neutered :))

WONDERFUL WONDERS

I recently kitty sat for friends who were going to be away over the holidays.  A couple of weeks prior, they had adopted Martin (now affectionately known as Martinius) from the Vaughan Animal Services where he had been living since last April in a caged environment.

At four years of age, and having a black and white coat, history tells us that this boy wouldn't have stood very good odds of being adopted out of this environment any time soon (if at all). But that's where this wonderful family enters the picture (never having owned a kitty previously), and felt that Martinius was just the one for them...........age and coat regardless!

He is a total suck and a sweetheart and I was honoured to make his acquaintance. His new family are already spoiling him rotten and it just does my heart a world of good to know that they all received the best Christmas present ever - each other.