KITTENTUDE

I start by apologizing to all you Shakespeare lovers out there.............we've decided to rename Malvolio. It just wasn't flowing off our tongues and more importantly, after 2 1/1 weeks of using it continually, he doesn't appear to know it even slightly. This seems to happen alot we find and we're often left wondering if these same owners ever even used the names they give to their pets? My two boys know their names (and their nicknames even), at the drop of a hat so we're always baffled when rescues come to us who act nameless. That said, we've decided to call him SMARTIE - because whether he's nervous or inquisitive, his eyes become the size of smarties! :))

We also reintroduced Smartie to the entire lodgings here at Safe Haven late last week and in just afew short days, he's doing much, much better. He's still incredibly nervous with sudden movements and certain objects (a real fear of plastic bags is apparent), but he spends more time out now than hiding, and will come running when the food dish is being filled (typical male - always hungry) :)). He is also still easily spooked when being petted but that too is showing signs of improvement, and we've even heard him purring albeit ever so slightly afew times now while having his chin scratched.

The biggest part of this update is that he is REALLY enjoying the company of our boys, loves to play hide n' seek, and has alot of kitten like antics that are just too adorable to watch unfolding. We will absolutely want him to go to a home with another young cat like himself because we suspect that as he's had the boys to observe and has sensed their feelings of safety; it has helped his own. Our boys are too old for all his desires to play but at least it's wonderful to see him engaged and oh did I neglect to mention how chatty he is! - a real talker.

His forever home will need an experienced owner and lots of patience, but we see the light on the horizon and once again it looks beautiful.

SMALL WINS

It's been up and down with Malvolio. The up is that he has a fantastic appetite and perfect litterbox habits, to many those might seem like not such a big deal and to be expected; but when your dealing with as many other issues as we're uncovering with this little guy............those have us very grateful!

It has taken us 11 days to get to point you see above. That's Malvolio content to sleep in the cat bed ON TOP of the fuzzy housecoat instead of using it to bury himself underneath of it to hide. This past weekend we tried giving him access to the rest of the house and our boys. Surprisingly, he didn't do too badly with the latter, but he found his way to the basement on Friday night and stayed in the same spot until Sunday morning - not moving, not coming out to eat or drink, having buried himself in the smallest corner he could find behind a tonne of stuff where we had to take a flashlight to find him. So we got him out of there and back up to his guestroom, where now instead of hiding, hissing, and growling every time we enter the room or he hears a noise, he's now enjoying the comforts of the cat bed and will do so in front of us.

He startles easily, is very freaked out by sudden hand movements, and petting him is an art form because you have to wait until his pupils are not the size of saucers (meaning he's not as stressed), and even then you can start only to find that within three seconds he's terrified all over again.

So here we are celebrating the small stuff and hoping that the big stuff will come.

4 DAYS & PROGRESS

Today marks almost 4 full days since Malvolio came to stay and we're delighted to report that we can now pet him! He's still extremely shy and uneasy, but he does rub against us now and has allowed us to pet his head and I even got an underneath the chin scratch in which he seemed to enjoy.

He startles easily and has taken to laying on one of the end tables in his room behind a big plate I have there - he's party hidden so again I think it makes him feel safer. It can't be comfortable but he seems to like it and it's all about whatever helps him to feel secure in his surroundings. His pupils still become dilated and huge very quickly, so we're being very respectful of his need for slow right now and not pushing the envelope with him at all.

There's a sweet boy in there - it will just take abit of extra time for him to settle in and trust. After all that's happened to him, how can anyone blame for him?

A BUMPY BEGINNING

After all these years of fostering and the countless cats and kittens we've had in our home, Malvolio's arrival has been a very humbling experience because it's reminded us (me moreso), that every animal is an individual and that no two situations are the same.

Malvolio is now eating, drinking and using the litterbox perfectly - thanks goodness since those are always the things you worry after initially once any illness has been ruled out or brought under control. But he is surely one of the most frightened fosters we've had in a very long time.........so much so that you can just see the ticked off look in his eyes. At this stage, he neither wants our company nor embracing our attempts to befriend him - he is some kind of unhappy and mad; and his growling and hissing are clear indicators of that.

For now we're ensuring his guest room is kept clean, he has lots to eat, and his environment is as warm and comfortable as we can make it. We spend afew minutes several times a day going in to sit with him, talking to him gently and quietly, and will continue to reassure him that he's safe and noone means him any harm; hoping that eventually he'll realize and let us pet him.

PS: I was made aware by one of the readers to this blog that Malvolio is from Shakespeare - thank you again to that person for the information!!

EXPECTING THE UNEXPECTED

This poor boy arrived here at Safe Haven in the last hour. Three years of age and recently homeless due to his owner surrendering him over because of health issues (the owners, not the cat). His name is.............Malvolio (say that three times fast). Hate the name, who pins that on a cat as cute as this?, but will hesitate to change it until we can determine if he actually answers to it.

He's here, he's terrified, but at least tonight he's in a quiet, safe place where he can begin to relax.

Just so everyone knows, we'll be fostering only males from hereonin, our boys have had enough of girls - Karma being the last straw. They are too domineering and diva like, and that just doesn't wash here. Of course being a woman - I say that with a smile :))

RELIEF & RELEASE

The young couple interested in Karma came yesterday morning. If this adoption had been based upon presentation, they never would have left here with our girl; blue hair, tattoos, and some rather poor hygiene seemed to be in abundance, but I learned a long time ago and reminded myself yesterday before I opened the door to these two, that I don't have to like them - I just have to know that they will love and care for Karma.

As it turns out, they were both young but also very animal loving and both very smart. The young girl loved Karma almost instantly, and when she took a moment to share with me the fact that her Dad had passed away from cancer when she was just entering her teenage years, and that her Mom had just overcome a bout with it as well...........my thoughts immediately turned to my younger sister Tanya and her two boys that she left behind when she succumbed to cancer 4 years ago this Summer. I would hope that if one of Tanya's boys were in search of a special friend, that someone else wouldn't judge them on appearance, but instead try to see inside on what might lie beneath.

"B" is a lovely young woman who wanted to offer a senior kitty a home because she knows how often they are overlooked. Karma was very affectionate with her and seemed to really like her; who was I to stand in the way?

Here's our girl in her new home.....

THREE'S A CROWD

Life at Safe Haven couldn't be more volatile if we tried. To put it simply, Karma HATES the boys and the boys HATE Karma. It didn't take us long to figure out that the vicious cycle were caught up in has Karma totally picking on Rocky, and then Silly totally picking on Karma. Since the latter is so out of character for our Silly, we can only determine that he's chasing/stalking and pouncing on her because of the way she's treating Rocky. It's okay for him to beat up on his little brother, but nobody else dare.

I also think that after about 5 fosters in a row or so now that have all been females (and all the glorious truths that come with that), the boys are basically saying ENOUGH! - no more bossy, princess, stuck up types. Rocky & Silly have really overall been good as gold when it comes to their home having been turned into a revolving door of strange fellow feline guests, but with their advancing age (Rock is 13 now and Silly is 11 by best guesses), and thus their lack of as many patience as they may or may not have had before; I think they are both giving the sign that strange cats okay, strange FEMALE cats - forget it!

It seems we've all heard them loud and clear as there was an adoption call for Karma as of this morning. Of course we have yet to determine if this is the right fit, but we're all hoping (some more than others), that that is just what it is.

Fingers, toes and hearts crossed..............may our little muffin be about to go home.