HOLIDAY SPIRIT

We've had an absolutely lovely Christmas as a family - we hope the same for everyone else as well. There's been more a sense of calm here at home as we've enjoyed almost a week's vacation now with the boys.

As we prepare to ring in another new year, we pray for the well being of kitties everywhere and an abundance of love and protection to be showered down upon each and everyone of them. We also pray for rescues and rescue workers who give so much of themselves to help those animals that have sadly been neglected, abandoned and abused - may each of you be blessed with the strength, courage and abilities to assist those who so desperately need your loving arms of protection.

Here are some additional photo's that we hope will make you smile as they did us - Happy New Year!:

STINKERBOY & OREO COOKIE PAWS.......

If you've been secretly hoping that my next entry would have been proclaiming that Buster and The Boys (especially Rocky), have found common ground and all is well at the Safe Haven Hotel - guess again.

Strangely enough, everyone seems to cohabitate just fine all day long. They sleep in their respective beds, all appearing like little angels, content and innocent they seem. Why, they even appear to all take to their feeding bowls (everyone within close proximity of one another) without even so much as a hiccup at the direct line of sight they have of each other - but then nightfall comes and its like the little darlings suddenly become like little demons (and you know who is worse than the others!!).

Last night I had to literally lock Buster out of our bedroom after being awoken 4 times during the night to his bullying shenanigans focused on Silly. No sooner would I fall back to sleep than up he'd come once again, and I'd crack open one eye to find our Silly yet again pinned up against a corner or within the door jam where Buster seems to most enjoy cornering him in. Finally, it was closing our boys in with us, and closing Buster outside, with all being silent just long enough for...........yup you guessed it, for me to just start to fall back to sleep, and then voila! - Buster began crying, scratching, and actually trying to reach the doorknob of our door to get back in!

I cannot begin to figure this boy out. He doesn't seem to enjoy the kids' company at all, and yet he's begging to be let back in around them when I've arranged it so that he can have the whole house to roam! If that wasn't confusing enough, the other morning I came out of our home office to the arch enemies (believe me when I tell you that there is absolutely no love loss between these two very alpha males who both think they are King Daddio), doing goodness knows what!!! You tell me, am I losing the plot or am I being driven there??

KING OF THE HILL

I meant to complete an entry alot sooner than this but with hectic work schedules, the other aspects of the rescue that I'm involved in on a volunteer basis, and of course all the stuff that is apart of the Christmas season (eg: baking, sending cards & parcels, etc, etc), time has gotten away from me and I just realized it was way past time to write!!

Now that Buster has been with us for afew weeks, we have firmly determined that his behaviour has been dominant in nature and that really and truly, this little boy would much prefer to be an only kitty. It's quite literally been a battle of wills between him and Rocky, as two very alpha male personalties duked it out to see who would get to be top cat. Those sparring matches have been many and as we probably could have predicted, Rocky has won virtually all of them. Knowing my little crank meister Rockstar the way I do, if this much time has elapsed and he's not accepted a new foster - well, he's not going to. Believe me when I also tell you that I think I speak for Rocky when I say that he truly hates Buster...........Rocky will not be challenged on any terms and especially on his own turf! As he hisses and spits and postures for the millioneth time, there are moments when his glaring looks in my direction are almost of the "Mommy, would you get this guy out of here already"!!!!! variety.

And what about Silly you might be wondering, well he spends the majority of his time trying to steer clear of Buster when he's on the "hunt" - since it would appear that my easygoing Ambassador hasn't got the guts for confrontation and would much rather just let Buster have his way.

Where is Buster in all this? Well the poor darling is not truly happy here either I'm afraid. He sleeps a great deal of the time and when he's not bugging someone, he almost has this frustrated look on his face - he too really wishes for a place where he can be Numero Uno and feel secure and happy enough to seek out more attention from his human friends.

The good news is that steps are underway to find Buster that one kitty only foster home! We're disappointed that its not working out the way we had hoped, but fostering also requires that your able to accept those instances when the house "mix" just doesn't work and decisions have to be made that are in the best interest of everyone.

Soooo more than likely Buster will be moved in the near future, but I couldn't resist sharing another photo of this handsome boy in the meantime - enjoy. :))

PROGRESS BIG & SMALL...

Buster's stay with us is now into its second week. He's a great cat overall, quiet, low maintenance, easy to handle (he actually loves to be picked up and kissed), and has excellent litterbox and eating habits - always mucho importante when it's your foster's first few days or weeks, and you still hold your breath a little as you evaluate him or her, hoping that physically there will be no major signs of distress or suffering from previous mistreatment.

We are however experiencing some interesting "habits" with Buster that we weren't totally prepared for. It would appear that he's taken a real liking to hubby and I, so much so that it would seem he really wants to um.....uh.....hmmmm....display affection toward us in the not so common manner of - okay I'll say it, humping. Yes our latest houseguest loves to climb up on the bed after we've gotten settled or in some cases, are sound asleep, and proceed to hump our legs (or get "jazzy" as my better half strangely refers to it). We're hoping that we can either A) break him of the habit or B) that he'll grow tired of exhibiting such affection and be content with the old snuggle routine instead. There is a slim chance that it could be medically related to something else, but for now we'll monitor it and see how things go.



Great news in the strides department is that he slept on our bed this afternoon for hours, for the very first time.........the above picture captures pretty well I think, just what an adorable picture that made for. The better news is that so far, he and Rocky are still "working things out" and noone has been injured or maimed - yet! *L*

Never a dull moment at The Safe Haven Hotel.......:))

THE LOVE OF A FRIEND

The one other aspect of fostering that we love equally as much as helping these kitties initially, is keeping in touch with adoptive families who are kind enough to keep us updated long after the adoption is final, and allow us a glimpse into the happiness that surrounds them and their new family member as they embark on a life together.

This evening's entry is a tenderhearted tribute to one such previous foster and his family who treasured him. He entered their lives and has forever etched his pawprint on their hearts.



Jazz was a gorgeous long haired, smokey grey male that was a complete darling in every sense of the word. We fostered him afew years ago, for quite some time before "H's" family decided to adopt him. Sadly, not long after joining them, health issues began to arise. But like the fighter he was, he battled back from all of them and continued to be a loving and precious member of their family. Sadly, his health issues reached serious proportions just in the last few weeks, and yesterday I received word that Jazz's loved ones felt it was time to end his struggles and allow him the peace that he so rightly deserved.

We will never truly understand in this life why it is that some of us live, long healthy lives, and yet others are here for only a brief time and seem to suffer so much. If love alone were the piece of the puzzle that could save all those we care for so deeply, we would never have to find the ways in which to say goodbye to our Jazz's.

We with H's family, are saddened tonight as we come to term with Jazz's passing, but we rejoice in knowing that he was loved and deeply cared for and will forever be remembered for the special kitty that he was. You are missed already dear friend, and we look forward to the time when we will see you again.

Rest well sweet one...........

BUSTER'S SATURDAY

I'm writing again so soon simply because if I don't record what's been going on here since 7:00am this morning, I might be inclined not to believe it myself later on!

Firstly, we've named our new little houseguest.......Buster. It wasn't without its debates, and your suggestions for new names were greatly appreciated and all tried out, however, in the end Buster just seemed to come from nowhere and appears to be the perfect fit!

We decided that having been quarantined since last Wednesday night, this morning was a good time to begin the introductions and see what we were all in for. I'm not even remotely kidding or exaggerating when I share with you what we were faced with after only 30 minutes of Buster's emergence from his "private quarters" (as we like to lovingly refer to them)............



He has not growled, hissed, arched his back in a territorial posture or even so much as hinted at being dominant, aggressive or pushy. In fact, he sauntered out of his room, had a leisurely jaunt through the upstairs of the house, proceeded to the main level and then through the basement, stopped at Rocky's food bowl for a quick bite (why not when food presents itself?), and then oh so naturally proceeded to hop up on the sofa and voila!..........looked at me as much to say "Awwww finally, this will do nicely".



He has greeted Rocky and Silly both with enthusiasm and friendliness and has already tried to engage Sylvester in play (Rocky he's realized will take abit longer to win over). Oh and did I mention that I'm in total shock?, that we are in total shock?......I mean I've had some pretty easygoing fosters in my time, but all this within 30 minutes - I think we've absolutely set some sort of a record here.

Who in their right mind would let go of a cat so handsome and so amazing as this? What a fool who thought that they were getting the upper hand by dropping Buster off at a shelter; clearly he's having the last laugh.

MEET ??????

I'm all for proper introductions but unfortunately at the moment we're at a loss as to what this little boy's new name should be. We'd be happy to take suggestions, so please feel free to let me know if anything jumps out at you name wise as you look at his picture.

He arrived last night after having spent close to 3 months in a shelter cage - I just shudder when I think of it. What always amazes me the most about these darlings, is that in spite of having endured the hell of daily life on death row in a shelter, those lucky enough to make it to the other side can be and often are, some of the gentlest, sweetest, most laid back kitties one could ever hope to meet. This boy is no exception..........so far he presents himself as extremely quiet, calm and extremely easy going - amazing when you think of how rotten they've been treated.

I'll have more shortly as we get to know him better and of course, once he's had full exposure to Rockstar and his jealousy filled saber tooth tiger impression.......I wish there was a way to warn him in advance of what he's in for! *L*

We're so excited to have this new little guy here and hope that he enjoys being with us.