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.

A HIDDEN GEM

Would you believe me if I told you that the above darling (named "Aggie") has been waiting patiently at the Toronto Humane Society since LAST December 9th for someone to adopt her?

Another volunteer within the cat rescue world has made me aware of Aggie and the long wait she's experienced through no fault of her own. Although abit shy with strangers and not terribly fond of other kitties, Aggie is friendly and very playful once she feels comfortable in your presence, and even has a fondness for little toy mice, so I'm told! Noone is quite sure what it is about this little girl that has people simply passing by her cage, but one thing is for sure - no kitty deserves to be overlooked to the degree that Aggie has been and certainly not when their sleeping quarters every night has to be a small little metal cage instead of a soft warm bed or a comfy chair in a cozy livingroom somewhere!!

Aggie is approximately 5 1/2 years old and just look at the gorgeous little opaque pink nose of hers - how could anyone simply pass by her cage without falling in love? If ever I've felt a kitty tug at my heart strings, it's Aggie and I hope that by posting about her plight here, someone may know someone who may know someone (you know how it goes), who may be dying to have a little friend like Aggie to share their home time with.

Please feel free to contact me or to pass along my info so that someone else can contact me, so that together we can help find Aggie her forever home. I know that person/s is out there...........so let's do what we can to help connect this precious kitty with them so that her days of being alone can finally be over.

A WISH LIST

Doesn't he look great? Doesn't this picture just make you want to kiss him to death and cuddle him until he squirms out of your arms? Doesn't his little face just say it all? I've looked at this picture countless times since snapping it this past weekend - and it's one of the cutest I've ever taken I think.

Red is thriving just two weeks after joining us indoors. He's putting on weight, he's settling in and appearing less restless, and he's even begun playing games of tag/chase with our Silly which is always a great sign. I find myself looking at him constantly, when he's sleeping, when he's eating, when he's grooming and when he's laying down relaxed like he is here, enjoying all the things that every kitty deserves to experience - the comforts of a safe, warm, cozy environment. I still can scarcely believe that he's with us and it may take abit more time before it actually sinks in that we were successful in rescuing him.

Now that Farley's future is so bright and full of all things good, I'm completely turned toward Red and his future which awaits him. It's the natural progression of things in fostering for me - once I know that my last little friend is well and on his way, I can then refocus and begin again. I've already had one inquiry for Red and the family visited with him this past weekend but we were all somewhat skeptical that it was the right fit for him and them, so we continue to enjoy his company for abit longer.

One of our fellow rescue volunteers indicated prior to the family arriving, that she hoped they'd love him as much as we do. And then my husband after their visit, said that because of all the odds that Red had to fight against to survive, he cannot go to a home of anything less than one that will cherish and spoil him entirely and wholeheartedly - just the way he deserves. It's nice to hear those words from others because sometimes I think I'm the lone soldier whose the only one to pull out the testing stick of worthiness for potential adopters.

I can't wait to meet the person/s who will open up their hearts so that we can see just how perfect they would be for our Red. I don't know what they will look like, but I know what they will sound like and how they will say it; and it's going to be so wonderful when they do finally get here.

LIKE LIGHTENING!!!!

I got an email earlier this week that indicated there was someone interested in meeting Farley. Except for another enquiry that had come through just the week prior to this one, there hadn't been any interest in our big boy for at least a couple of months. I knew deep in my heart that eventually his forever home would come for him because I do sincerely believe that there is one for every kitty rescued, but I was abit nervous as I typed an email to the interested party, wondering if this could really be them.

They replied to my initial contact almost immediately, and I learned that it was two sisters who had recently lost their beloved companion and were hoping that Farley was going to be their new friend. We arranged a meeting for the next evening and when they arrived, the honest to goodness truth of it is that I liked them instantly! They asked all the right questions, I learned that they had already purchased Farley's current food for him (which is weight reduction I might add and not of the cheap variety), and that they were very experienced cat owners. They loved him on sight and after a visit that lasted about an hour or so, we agreed that they should take him to his new forever home right then as opposed to waiting the 24 hour "cooling off period" that the rescue normally likes to implement.

I don't know that I'll ever become accustomed to just how fast an adoption can take place when the right people step forward to offer your foster a forever home. But in many ways I'm extremely grateful for the speed with which it happens - it somehow helps to ease the sadness that comes with bidding one goodbye. The next morning was especially strange as I awoke and realized that Farley was really gone, I found myself listening for him to come to the food bowl as I laid out breakfast; but there is also the sweetness in knowing that his future is safe, and bright, and full of hope. Already I've learned that he's doing wonderfully and that his new family loves him dearly in just a few short days.



Six months we were together and I wouldn't have traded a single moment of any of that time. He will always be my friend and I will always be here for him if he should ever need me again............someday, somewhere, I'm positive that we will see each other once more.