THE DIFFERENCE OF A WEEK

Addy has been here a week today. Wow, how time can make such a huge difference - she's begun settling in nicely although the boys do tend to make her quite nervous. She really hasn't ventured off the upstairs part of the house except to use the litterboxes in the basement, or to explore at night once Rocky and Silly have gone to bed.

She's also determined that she loves my pillow for sleeping on during the day. So sweet except when it becomes time for Rocky to come to bed, since that spot is his and all he has to do is simply lift his head and growl at her and she's gone like a shot, no questions asked. Thank goodness that so far she hasn't tried to challenge him for anything (that would be so bad).

Once again I have a foster that just soaks up all my attention so I'm loving having her here. That said, I just submitted her pictures and write up for the rescue's website; I guess in the hopes that she'll be adopted quickly so that neither her nor I become too attached. It's the only way I can keep doing this work; keep pushing forward, keep saving.

A LITTLE LADY AMONG US

Our new foster's arrival hasn't been without it's share of stress - at least initially. After picking her up last Saturday, we settled her in here at Safe Haven and began the welcome. Lots of attention, petting, soft, reassuring voices, and even some brushing; but through it all she was pretty much absolutely terrified. So much so, that she was in desperate search of somewhere to hide in her room, but we've constructed things in a way so that there's no access under the bed and the closet remains closed. She was forced to resort to digging herself a trench under the pillows on the bed (where she was spending a great deal of time), or squeezing herself in between the bed and the nightstand with her face to the wall. I don't know about you, but there's something about a kitty that is so afraid as to press themselves face first into a wall, that really disturbs and saddens me.

Added to all of this was non interest in food. I don't mean a small disinterest, I mean a large one and by Monday it was growing increasingly concerning because with heavier cats there is a real danger of liver issues if they haven't eaten within 48-72 hours. We must have tried 4 different types of wet, 5 different types of dry, cooked chicken, tuna, tuna juice, Temptations treats and the result was always the same - nada. So a call into the rescue determined that a vet trip was in order, A) to rule out anything serious and B) to try and get some food into her. Again, another car ride to another strange place took it's toll on our girl, and not only did she cry the entire way, she was also scared enough that she couldn't hold her water and ended up peeing all over herself.

The vet determined that she was dehydrated and the recommendation was made to keep her overnight at clinic to provide fluids, encourage eating, and get to the bottom of what was going on. Twenty fours laters, the tests run determined absolutely nothing physically wrong with her, she had to be force fed in the morning, and was now hydrated. We decided to bring her home (this time with appetite stimulants), and pray for a turn.

Our little girl turned alright! - 180 degrees. Within two hours of being home Tuesday night, she'd eaten, used her litterbox, and was one of the happiest kitties I'd seen in a long time!! She was purring, prancing, rubbing up against us, and just totally transformed in behaviour. Her appetite is now totally back on track, she is settling in nicely and has done really, really well with the boys. Although quite unsure of them both and somewhat terrified of Rocky (who isn't?), she's been as good as gold and is enjoying free run of the house!!!

So here she is - our little beauty who we've named Addy or Miss Addy if you will..........I think she was suffering from a broken spirit in some ways, losing your home, and your securities at 10 years of age, only to find yourself in a shelter is not conducive to a happy cat - we're just SO THANKFUL that she's realized quite quickly that this palce isn't so bad afterall.

SATURDAY MORNING ERRAND

We received word yesterday that there was a female at the shelter who they were hoping to rescue. They asked if we'd be willing to welcome her, and even though Rocky doesn't do too well with females as a rule (he's too dominant and they also normally like to be the boss), I couldn't help but say yes when I learned that she was 10 years old and an owner surrender.

So we were up early and off to the other end of the city we went. We made a pit stop on the way back at the vet since we wanted to ensure that she wasn't beginning the full throes of a URI, and if she was on the verge, that meds could be picked up which would help to ward it off. Turns out she has a fever but no other outward signs of the dreaded respiratory illness so common in the shelter world, so home we came.

And here we are. She's very nervous at present and very unsure of what's going on around her. She's a big girl, with a coat that is sorely in need of some TLC but nothing that can't be remedied while she's our guest here at the Safe Haven...........after all, I think it's safe to say that pampering is our specialty. :))

SETTLING IN

Buster's new Mom reports that he's doing well. Eating, relaxing, taking in all the new sounds, sights and smells, hogging her bed at night AND slowly becoming acquainted with his new housemate Blueberry.

Given that they have only been together a couple of days, they are doing really well together. In the meantime, N shared this picture of Buster with us this morning - how nice to see that he looks as though he's been there all along.

I guess this means it's time to re-clean the guest room and get ready for our next arrival..........

AROUND THE NEXT CORNER

We had an adoption call for Buster late last week. I didn't make any mention of it simply because I was somewhat hesitent given that this enquiry was coming from someone who let their current kitty outdoors. In all fairness, this person did indicate that the backyard had been "kitty proofed" to an extensive degree, and that the resident kitty had never escaped and yet still, there was something about this situation that made me very nervous.

But despite my misgivings, I agreed to allow "N" to come and meet Buster tonight and explained that we'd see how it went. N showed up 15 minutes early and came with a new toy in hand for Buster...........which he loved and couldn't stop playing with once it was given to him. I also was struck by how much he seemed to instantly like our guest; rubbing up against her, meowing to her, and coming back time and time again during the course of their visit, to show her affection and to allow her to show him the same.

After an extensive discussion, I soon realized that not only does this woman love her current cat a tremendous amount and would do anything to keep him safe, she is also extremely caring and protective where all kitties are concerned and the long and short of it is that I had a feeling came over me that let me know she was going to make Buster a fantastic Mom and provide him with a dream forever home. She was instantly taken with him, showed me pictures of her own boy Blueberry (who is white/black just like our boy), and talked about her previous kitty that had lived to be 18.

What started out as a skeptical meet n' greet, ended up being an adoption. By the time our visit was up, I was this young woman's fan, and was so thankful she'd stepped forward to offer Buster his 2nd chance. As unprepared as we were for him to leave us tonight - I'm indeed thankful that his departure was to a future filled with so much love.

GUEST.........WHAT GUEST???

I looked down from the dinner table tonight to find Buster displaying all his best bits without even a shred of embarrassement.

Did someone forget to tell this kitty that he's not supposed to be acting this at home, on Day 3 of being here?

He slept with us all night last night. I can tell you already that he snores alot, when he's not snoring he's purring, and when he's not purring, he's talking up a virtual storm!

Buster gives a whole new meaning to the phrase, PERSONALITY PLUS!!

NOT A SHY BONE

Buster spent pretty much all of yesterday either beside me, on my lap, or on my chest, and seems to have decided that our bed (much to Rocky's chagrin) is the perfect place to situate himself while he becomes acquainted with us. He's giving Rocky a very wide berth............so wide infact that he's pretty much staying upstairs and Rocky is staying down.

I wasn't quite sure how last night would go, given that Rocky's routine is to sleep above my head on an extra pillow (and heaven help any cat who tries to mess with that). Just about the time I was ready to fall asleep, Buster had nestled himself between hubby and I and then I heard the limping footsteps - Rocky is heavy on his front feet due to his cerbral hypdisplasia. He was already growling by the time he reached the threshold of our room, so instead of waiting for things to escalate, I simply scooped him up, placed him on his pillow and laid back down; somewhat holding my breath waiting for the dreaded freak attack.

Thankfully all was quiet once Rocky realized his spot wasn't being messed with. Don't get me wrong, he's not happy that Buster is in our room, let alone on our bed, but his attitude is the typical one of: as long as you keep that thing away from me.........
However, Rocky was off the bed early this morning, did not return for his normal snuggles and cuddles, and can now be found on the back of our couch looking totally ticked.

I think for tomorrow it might be a good idea to put Buster away in his guest room while we're at work.

IS IT AN OREO?

I don't know about you, but everytime I see a black/white kitty, all I can think of is oreo cookies. Rest assured however, our new friend here isn't going to get slapped with the name Oreo (my hubby would veto that in a heartbeat!), he already comes with a name since he too is sadly another owner surrender to the shelter.

Buster is his name and he's approximately 5 years of age. Two pieces of great news are that because he and his friend Baxter (yes unfortunately we had to split these guys up to save them both), weren't in the shelter system that long at this point I don't see any signs of a URI rearing it's ugly head. Of course it could make it's appearance at any time and since he's only been here not even 24 hours yet, I could be eating my words sooner rather than later, but fingers crossed we can escape it just this once.
The second bit of good news for this sweet boy is that his dental exam turned out to only be a cleaning - no extractions! I was so happy for him!!!.......

< He also BEGGED to be let out of his room this morning so I relented after he managed a pretty good escape (okay so maybe I wasn't that stern about it). He had a couple of hours to walk around, did amazingly well in meeting the boys, but alas, an hour of Rocky's growling and stomping was all it took, and he happily went back to the guest room of his own accord where he's now down for a much needed nap I'm sure.

So far, he's nervous and uncertain but I'd would be too if I'd been ripped from my home, separated from my friend, and found myself somewhere totally foreign.

All things considered, he's doing really well.

Let's see how the rest of the weekend unfolds.