ADOPTED: ALEXANDRITE & ONYX

This past Monday, I brought Alexandrite and Onyx to *VOKRA Headquarters to get their booster shots. I had been telling Karen (the co-founder of *VOKRA) how Alexandrite had been laying with our black Lab, Hockey, in his bed lately. My dog wasn't thrilled about having to share his bed, but having that picture of Alexandrite and Hockey on the *VOKRA website sure helped! It seemed like as soon as the updated pictures went up, I had a viewing for the two kitties that very evening! Call it coincidence, but great pictures can do wonders to focus interest on your foster kitties.

Hockey having no choice but to share his bed with Alexandrite

The family adopting Alexandrite and Onyx have a teenage son that was very excited about getting two new kitties for Christmas. He noted that both kitties had Christmas trees on their noses. How cute is that?!

Christmas tree noses!

The family had already decided that they were adopting the siblings even before they saw them in person, but just wanted to come by and meet them. They are hoping to pick up the kittens in a day or two, which is just in time too! We are headed off on a 3-week vacation next month.

Hopefully there will be kittens to foster upon our return in January. We'll just have to wait and see.

ADOPTED! Onyx - Nov. 24, 2015

ADOPTED! Alexandrite - Nov. 24, 2015

Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association

https://www.facebook.com/VOKRA

Adoption application:

http://www.orphankittenrescue.com/adoption_application/

COLDS BE GONE!

Colds have their way of affecting a whole litter once one kitten catches it. Alexandrite was the first kitten to show signs of a cold when she first started sneezing.

Little Alexandrite sick with a cold,
with her trusty companion, Baby Hockey

Resting up

Alexandrite's sisters, Miss Amber and Opalescence, then caught it and finally her brother, Onyx, succumb to the dreaded cold.

Onyx, Opalescence and Miss Amber pre-cold attack

Miss Amber and Opalescence had been adopted and picked up by their new family when they suddenly started sneezing, so when I checked up on them a week later, I was told that they were getting worse and were sneezing all over the place. *VOKRA gave them antibiotics for their colds, so I'm sure they are all better now.

Onyx never got a full blown cold like Alexandrite, but he was constantly sneezing and was very wheezy. The first night I let the kittens sleep with me, every time Onyx would sneeze, he would wait until he climbed up to within inches of my face before he sneezed right into my face. After the 5th time of getting sneezed on, I thought it would be best to put them in their room ... and then I went and washed my face off.

I was alarmed to see a few days later that Onyx had a bloody nose after he sneezed so I immediately spoke to Maria (co-founder of *VOKRA) to ask if this was a huge concern. She told me not to be worried as all the sneezing was causing Onyx`s nasal passages to be irritated and inflamed. She told me to put Onyx into the bathroom and steam up the room so that the steam would soothe his nasal passages. I immediately did that, but realized that I did not want to waste too much hot water keeping the room steamy, so I plugged in my stand-alone clothes steamer and left it in the bathroom to keep the room steamy. I also opened up a jar of Tiger Balm and put it high on a shelf so that the kittens could not get to it. I also gave Onyx the balance of Alexandrite`s Azithromycin medication, which (surprisingly enough) only took 2 days to be effective. They are now both back to their regular cute selves, so onto the adoption website they go!

Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association

https://www.facebook.com/VOKRA

Adoption application:

http://www.orphankittenrescue.com/adoption_application/

SNEEZY KITTY

Poor little Alexandrite has caught a cold. She had been sneezing here and there since she came to me, but I thought it was just random little kitty sneezes.  It was only when her eyes started to water did I realize that she actually had a cold.

I separated her from her litter mates so that she would have time to rest, but she started to cry. I had to bring in a stuffed toy dog to keep her company.  The stuffed toy resembles my black lab, Hockey.

Alexandrite stopped meowing and relaxed when I put Baby Hockey next to her. I guess any company is better than no company.

Alexandrite and her trusty companion, Baby Hockey

Hockey

I went to *VOKRA to pick up some medication for Alexandrite in the hopes that she will get over her cold more quickly:

AANGAMIK - supports immune system function and better utilization of oxygen at the cellular level.

ACONITE - shocks the illness and brings rapid recovery.

AZITHROMYCIN - an antibiotic that attacks bacteria by disabling its ability to reproduce.

NOSODE - homeopathic remedy used to immunize the body against a viral or bacterial infection.

TOBRAMYCIN - antibiotic used to treat eye infections.

It's only been a day and a half, but Alexandrite is already getting better. She still sounds a bit stuffed up, but she's eating, drinking and even playing now. I'm glad I nipped this cold in the bud before it got any worse. We need to get Alexandrite and her brother, Onyx, adopted!

Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association

https://www.facebook.com/VOKRA

Adoption application:

http://www.orphankittenrescue.com/adoption_application/

ADOPTED: OPALESCENCE AND MISS AMBER

As we approach the fall and winter months, the amount of kittens available for adoption drops as cats normally come into heat in the spring and summer months.

Batch #7 already had a viewing lined up even before I could get their bios into the database.  The adopters had been pre-approved a week and a half ago, so as soon as the *VOKRA coordinators knew that my batch of kittens were ready to be viewed, an appointment was set up.

I met with the lovely adopters tonight and they totally fell in love with Opalescence and Miss Amber.  They were initially thinking about only adopting one kitten, but were informed that adopting two kittens was better.  Firstly, the kittens would keep each other company while their owners were at work; and secondly, a lonely kitten can make a lot of noise meowing if it is left alone at home for too long. 

It`s always a happy day for me when two siblings go to their furever homes together.

ADOPTED! Miss Amber - Nov. 1, 2015

ADOPTED! Opalescence - Nov. 1, 2015

Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association

https://www.facebook.com/VOKRA

Adoption application:

http://www.orphankittenrescue.com/adoption_application/

BURRITO STYLE

"Burrito Style" is my method of keeping kittens calm and restrained and the easiest way to accomplish any one of the following tasks:

1.  Administering their de-worming medications (or any medication, as a matter of fact).

Milbemax de-worming medication
(first dose: 1/2 pill, second dose: 1/2 pill - exactly 15 days later),
together with 8-10 of the Nux Vomica pellets
to help clear toxins and waste products in the body 

2.  Giving them manicures/pedicures without getting scratched to hell and thus bleeding to death.

These things can cause a lot of damage

Case in point - my friend had to get
a tetanus shot after her cat scratched her

3.  Cleaning their eyes and mouths (and face in general) as a result of them face-planting into their food at meal times.

If you wrap the towel snuggly enough around the kitten's body, you will be able to accomplish any of the above with the greatest of ease and without the kitten hating you afterwards.  I usually give each kitten kisses and snuggles after releasing them.

After they are all cleaned up, groomed and made presentable, then we take beautiful pictures of them for the *VOKRA adoption page!

Family Portrait

Using his sister as a pillow (Onyx on top of Opalescence)

Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association

https://www.facebook.com/VOKRA

Adoption application:

http://www.orphankittenrescue.com/adoption_application/

BATCH #7

Batch #7 was patiently waiting at *VOKRA Headquarters for me .  I had to wait until all the kittens from Batch #6 were picked up by their new families before I could go and welcome Batch #7 into my home.

These kittens are 9 weeks old today, but hubby noted that they looked bigger than our last batch of 9 week old kittens.  They look more like the size of a 10 week old kitten.

The first thing I did when I got them home was to get their claws clipped - they were eagle-talon sharp!  After doing that, it was then safe to take each of them into the shower with me to clean up their fur.  Luckily, I have an enclosed shower, so the kittens did not have anywhere to run once the shower head started.

Nowhere to run

I must say that these kittens were really good with having their claws trimmed and getting cleaned up.

Fresh out of the shower

However, I think they wanted to teach me a lesson for taking them into the shower with me by attacking my roll of toilet paper.

Take THAT foster mommy!

I knew that I wanted to name this batch after semi-precious stones, so here they are:

Alexandrite (Female)

Opalescence (Female)

Miss Amber (Female)

Onyx (Male)

Once I get them all using the kitty litter properly, they will go up onto the *VOKRA website for adoption.  I think I will have them litter trained in a week (two max).

Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association

https://www.facebook.com/VOKRA

Adoption application:

http://www.orphankittenrescue.com/adoption_application/

UPDATES

I am always looking forward to updates from my previous foster kitties' adopters.  I love to see that each of my little fur balls have grown up to be majestic, beautiful cats.  Here are a few updates:

SLATE (now Radagasts):

Slate (Batch #4) as a kitten

Re-named "Radagasts"

Adopter's Update:

A bit about her since she's grown up.

- She loves belly rubs, being kissed on the head and cuddles.

- She watches you when you take a bath and gets upset if you put your head under the water because she thinks you're drowning so she will paw your face until you come up for air.

- She loves watching the electric kettle boil. 

- She sleeps in our arms at night and when we're on the couch.

- She loves her big brother Tali and they spend most their time together.

- She has learned that the peddle on the sewing machine makes the needle move so sometimes she likes to sit and push on it and make the sewing machine work (its very amusing).

- Both Slate (Radagasts) and Tali are friendly to visitors. 

- She loves rubber bouncy balls and has a bin of them, the light up ones are her favourite.

- When Radagasts wants to play she drags her feather stick across the floor and drops it on your lap, even if its 3am.

- She is the boss of our boy cat Tali and he always let's her eat first.

- She loves her cat house.

- She likes us to carry her around the house in a fabric grocery bag and she meows and sits in the bag until you pick it up.

- She is very smart and understands a lot of vocal commands and always comes when called, sits and understands 'drop it' as she is a thief of our friends personal belongings.

- She has figured out how to partially lift the toilet seat and likes to slip my hair ties in the cracks of the toilet seat, so we are frequently fishing them out of the toilet. 

- She has a toilet paper fetish and will grab one end and unroll it as she walks around the house.


All in all, she is the most intelligent cat I've known and she constantly surprises us with new tricks.

***

PENEE (now Willow):

Penee (Batch #5) as a kitten

Willow and her Starbucks

Willow is leash trained!

Getting a bird`s eye view

A much loved cat 

Adopter`s Update:

Willow has completely won our heats and has taken full control.

She's very smart, and SUPER nosy! She investigates everything, and loves sitting in the window spying on our neighbours. 

It took a while (and lots of treats and playing) but she wears her halter with no problems, and is still learning that the leash will tangle up when she cris-crosses around chair legs, but she loves stretching out in the sun on the deck.

She's also very good on car rides now!

***

Still named PEAKABOO

Peakaboo came to me as a mother cat with her two 10-month old kittens. The adopter who took Peakaboo home initially wanted a kitten, but ended up with Mommy instead!

Peakaboo (Batch #3) always posed pretty for the camera for me

Waiting patiently for her new mommy to serve her dinner

Comfy bed

What do you see there?

Relaxed

Adopter`s Update:

No matter how much I feed her, Peekaboo won't gain any weight.

Sometimes I look at her and she totally just looks like a kitten.

Her face is so small and her whole frame is pretty petite. I guess that's what happens when you have kittens when you're still a kitten!

She still plays like a kitten too, which is nice. And she tolerates me trimming her nails. Whew!

Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association

https://www.facebook.com/VOKRA

Adoption application:

http://www.orphankittenrescue.com/adoption_application/

TOGETHER FUREVER!

Didn't I say that Penfold (aka "Little Ewok") would be snatched up right away? Well, it was sooner than I thought.  When the adopters for Little Snowball found out that Little Ewok was the last kitten left in the litter, they only took 2 hours to decide to adopt him as well to keep his sister company!  So, I am ecstatic to say that Little Snowball and Little Ewok will be living together furever!

ADOPTED!
Little Snowball and Penfold (aka "Little Ewok")
Oct. 17, 2015

Little Ewok kissing his sister, Little Snowball

Just waiting to be picked up

Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association

https://www.facebook.com/VOKRA

Adoption application:

http://www.orphankittenrescue.com/adoption_application/

ALL BUT ONE

I've had a flurry of viewings today and after all the meetings with potential adopters, their significant others and their families, all the kittens except one (Penfold aka "Little Ewok") have been adopted.  Now don't you go feeling sorry for him as I have no worries that Little Ewok will be adopted as soon as he goes back up on the website as he is such an adorable, easy going kitten.

ADOPTED!
Little Panda & Mavis (aka "Little Twinkle")
Oct. 17, 2015

ADOPTED!  Little Snowball - Oct. 17, 2015

ADOPTED!
Shirley & Colin (aka "Little Masquerade" & "Little Cuddler")
Oct. 17, 2015

I am so happy for these kittens as their respective adopters are such wonderful people. These kittens are so lucky to be going to such great homes!

... and then there is Little Ewok ...

Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association

https://www.facebook.com/VOKRA

Adoption application:

http://www.orphankittenrescue.com/adoption_application/

VACCINATION

The kittens were due for their vaccinations today and normally a *VOKRA vaccination volunteer would come to our house to vaccinate each kitten, but it worked out better that I took them all to *VOKRA Headquarters and had them all vaccinated there.

Stay very still little kitty!

Feline Vaccine

The kittens were all such good sports about their vaccinations.  Karen (the co-founder of *VOKRA) administered their shots and noted that there were no "drama queens" in this batch of kittens.  They didn't hiss or scratch Karen (or her assistant) while the needles were going in.  I think I heard one little meow from one of the black kittens, but the rest sat there and took their medicine like the good little kitties they are!

The adoption fee covers the kitten's vaccination, but also includes complete deworming, flea treatment (if required), spay/neuter, up-to-date shots and post-adoption check-up.

I was told that the kittens might be a bit lethargic and sleepy when I took them home.  That's probably why I was able to get a half-decent picture of all the kittens resting on top of their kennel.

A bit sleepy after their vaccinations

Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association

https://www.facebook.com/VOKRA

Adoption application:

http://www.orphankittenrescue.com/adoption_application/

I SEE THE LIGHT

Kittens wouldn't be kittens if they didn't chase a laser light, take down the feather toy or bat an aluminum tin foil ball all around the house.

The 'Little' kitten batch definitely prefer the laser light.  I can have the 6 of them galloping up and down the hallway with a single red beam from my trusty laser pointer.  Some kittens run faster (and jump higher) than others, but for the most part, they are all equally interested in bringing down that impossible-to-catch red ball of light.

(L-R) - Little: Snowball, Panda, Ewok, Cuddler and Masquerade

Little: Panda, Snowball and Twinkle

Little Snowball holding onto the light

***

After several facials, I was able to get most of the food stains off of the white kittens' faces.  Their faces are not as pure white as I would like them to be, but they are definitely looking better than when they first arrived.

Little Snowball and her messy little face

... after a few scrub downs

... all clean and presentable!

Little Twinkle

... cleaned up

... now pretty as a picture

Little Masquerade and her dirty snout

... getting antsy about bath time

... looking good now!

Little Panda is lucky she has a black nose

Little Cuddler all smug about not needing a bath

Little Ewok all relaxed in my hands
Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0E-JPn-eXJI

The kittens will be getting vaccinated this Saturday and then they will be ready to go up onto the *VOKRA website for adoption!  My guess is that Little Ewok (Penfold) will generate a lot of interest because of his beautiful mane.  I'm sure he's part Persian ... I've never fostered another kitten with such thick, luscious fur.  I will have to wait and see!

Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association

https://www.facebook.com/VOKRA

Adoption application:

http://www.orphankittenrescue.com/adoption_application/