Wednesday 12 December 2018

AND THEN THERE WERE NONE

Batch #18 all left as quickly as they came into my home.  I had them for exactly three weeks.  As soon as they were old enough to be vaccinated and adopted out, I was able to arrange for two separate families to come on the same day that their viewing requests dropped into my inbox.


ADOPTED! Pandy - Dec. 5/18


ADOPTED! Grumples & Tumbles: Dec. 8/18

Picture perfect kittens

I knew the minute these families met my fosters that they would absolutely love them. And, of course, I was right as immediately after the viewings, Pandy was adopted by a lovely couple who were adopting another single VOKRA kitten to be buddies together.


Pandy just about to pounce

Crossed paws are so cute!

Looking like a muppet in this picture

Grumples and Tumbles were adopted as a pair to a family who had just recently lost their long-time feline companion and their dog was missing his friend. Here's hoping that Grumples and Tumbles (now Neo and Trinity) will make a smooth transition to a home with a canine resident.


Baby Tumbles, she will always be

Everybody is looking at the camera ... a first

I'm going to miss his sweet, little face

Christmas is a few weeks away, so I'll be kittenless until 2019. But, I have so many pictures to look at and videos to watch to keep me (somewhat) content until my next batch of fosters arrive.


Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association

Adoption application:

Saturday 17 November 2018

BATCH #18 HAS ARRIVED

It seems like forever since I've had foster kittens. Of course, it's only been three months, but I'm prone to being a bit dramatic when it comes to kittens (or lack thereof).

I received an email from my Foster Coordinator about three 6-week old kittens that needed to be moved from another foster as the bathroom space they were living in was not quite roomy enough for these spunky little guys. Although my bathroom is not grand by any stretch of the imagination, they have a bit more space to frolic as my walk-in shower has a sliding door that gives them a few more feet to play in.

When I picked up the kittens from VOKRA headquarters, they were already 7-weeks old, but definitely were not the size of 7-week old kittens. You can't tell in these pictures, but they were no heavier than 2.25 lbs.


Pandy (male), the heaviest at 2.25 lbs

Grumples (male), 2 lbs


Tumbles (female), 2 lbs

Each one of these kittens has an unusual marking.

Pandy has grey hairs running all around the back of his body. He's only 8 weeks old and is already looking like a grandpa! 

Grumples has what I can only describe as a 'slobber' mark running down the left side of his face. 

Tumbles looks like she has all her calico markings completely on the right side of her face.

These kittens are not total lap kitties like my last batch, but they definitely come running to me when I open the door to visit with them. Grumples and Tumbles will jump onto my leg to be picked up. It's bloody adorable!


Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association

Adoption application:














Saturday 25 August 2018

ROCK STAR KITTENS

Whenever I receive a batch of kittens, it is normally my plan to see them right through until adoption. But, sometimes work (or travel) comes between my plans and I have to move my foster kittens to another foster home.

This litter is case in point. I only had the Spice Kittens for two months, but boy did they grow up in that time! They never did get away from suckling on each other, so their homemade 'no suckling' shirts stayed on whenever I was not in the bathroom with them.

I'm sure the kittens weren't thrilled about wearing their 'no suckling' shirts, but they definitely looked adorable in them!


The cover of their album: "The Pussy Cats"

Mesmerized

Have I also ever mentioned that black kittens are by far the most affectionate and loving kittens out there? Well, I'm saying it again. This batch was SO.DARN.LOVING!! Paprika was always jumping into my arms for love and all three kittens would pile onto my lap whenever I went into the bathroom to visit them (which was often). I swear, my legs would go numb after the amount of hours I sat on the bathroom floor accommodating them while they napped on my crossed legs. Thank goodness for Candy Crush. I spent all those hours (yes, hours) playing Candy Crush while the kittens snoozed away on me.


All queued up with nowhere to go

The kittens were always staring at me

***

My little nephew (who was very stand-offish with animals) stopped by for a visit to check out the kittens. It's obvious from this picture that the kittens won their way into his little heart. He was so excited to hold them!

A new kitten lover is born!

I have been informed that all the Spice Kittens were adopted into loving homes (separately), with buddy kittens to play with.


Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association

Adoption application:

Saturday 11 August 2018

A LITTLE HELP PLEASE

VOKRA has a large network of volunteers that take care of their kittens/cats through until adoption. Once in a while a volunteer will ask the network for advice or help ... the latter of which applies to this sweet face you are looking at right now. A volunteer asked for help giving this 6-week old kitten and her litter mates their 1st deworming pill and I was more than happy to oblige. How could I miss the chance to meet this cuteness in person!?!

Aranea

Look at her unusual coloring!

While I was showing their foster dad how to give these kittens their deworming pills, I noticed how incredibly sharp their nails were. So, being the busy-body I am, I quickly clipped their nails after giving them their pills. As I did not know this litter's temperament, I thought it prudent to just purrito them to get the job(s) done!

All wrapped up!

A very rare moment when a kitten looks directly into the camera

Templeton, the ultimate lap kitten

Wilbur and his boom box

Aranea and her sister, Nellie

Sleeping torbico kittens (Aranea, Joy and Nellie)












































As you can see, there are three (what I would call) tortoiseshell kittens. But there are sub-categories of this coloring of kittens that I am just discovering. Here is a color breakdown and their associated names:

(A) Torties:  solid BLACK, mixed w/ORANGE tabby
   - Calicos:  same as Tortie, with white spotting

(B) Torbies:  BLACK/BROWN tabby, mixed w/ORANGE tabby
  - Torbicos:  same as Torbies, with white spotting

Then there is what they call "Dilute" colorings:

(A) Dilute Torbies
(B) Dilute Torbicos
(C) Dilute Calicos

Kittens with 'dilute' colorings have the dilute gene and white spotting genes that dilute their coloring.

Okay, clear as mud? I thought so too. I'll probably never remember all that, but at least I have it here for reference sake.


Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association

Adoption application:






Saturday 21 July 2018

BATCH #17 - THE SPICE KITTENS

It's been a while. Or at least it seems like it's been a while since I've had foster kittens in my home.

But the day has come where I found that always-exciting-to-receive email in my inbox informing me that there are baby kittens currently available for fostering!

I went to VOKRA's Operations Center to pick up my three 5-week old kittens today. All black kittens and all so cute ... and bouncy! They literally bounce around like those little baby goats that you see on YouTube. Oh my goodness are they ever so cute.

They do, however, have a nasty little habit of nursing on each other, so I had to put a stop to that and made them little 'no nursing' shirts out of a pair of my old socks. The two boys got the white pair of socks, while the little girl got the single black sock that has been sitting in my sock drawer (probably wondering where its other half has gone to all this time).

Without further ado, I introduce to you the "Spice Kittens":


Paprika

Cinnamon

Cayenne
These kittens are very much lap kitties and are always jumping into my lap when I sit down to play with them. Or, they climb me like a tree if I'm standing over them.

And look at little Cayenne in his 'no nursing' shirt. He looks a bit startled here as he wasn't sure what to make of his new attire.

Once he got used to the fact that he was going to be donning this outfit, he was not too impressed.

Take a look at his expression! 

Kittens are awesome.







Not impressed at all

Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association

Adoption application:

Monday 11 June 2018

ADOPTED: HARRY POTTER KITTENS

It was a whirlwind of viewings with potential families and the kitties.

The first family came by with their 3 children to view the baby of the litter, Hermione. They already had a kitty at home named Leo that needed a buddy, so this family had to be put on the wait list for a single kitten to become available for adoption. VOKRA likes to adopt kittens in pairs, so it takes a little longer to find a single kitten for adoption.

Of course, with Hermione's sweet nature, the mother fell in love with her almost immediately (I mean, who wouldn't?! Just look at that sweet face!!)

ADOPTED! Hermione - May 1, 2018
(Photo by Courtney Tran Photography)

The next family adopted both Harry and Ron together, and they had 4 children to entertain and play with the two kittens. I knew this family was a perfect fit as these kittens were the typical rambunctious boys and the children had equal parts energy to keep up with these kittens!

ADOPTED! Harry & Ron - May 4, 2018

I don't think I've had so many people in my home to view kittens as with this batch. The first family was a party of 5, while the second family was a party of 6.

All the kittens have been renamed. Hermione is now Mimi (with her own Instagram account: Leo.and.Mimi), while Harry and Ron are now called Nino and Junior respectively.

Mimi's family literally lives a block and a half away from me. So, when it's a nice day out, I can always stroll past her new home and maybe catch a glimpse of her sitting at the window with her brother, Leo. Her mom tells me that she loves to watch all the wildlife that comes and goes in front of that window. Or, I could always check her Instagram account. Mimi's new mom is a professional photographer and thus has produced some beautiful pictures of Mimi. I'm always looking forward to seeing updated pictures of her.

Nino and Junior's family has a family Instagram account, which is private, but they do not actively post. So, I'll check in with them in another 6 months or so to see how big the kittens have gotten.

Looking forward to seeing these sweethearts as cats!

Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association

Adoption application:


Tuesday 24 April 2018

LET'S PLAY DRESS UP

I have a friend who is an avid Harry Potter fan. She's a talented knitter as well.

"When you get three kittens, you should name them 'Harry', 'Hermione' and 'Ron' and I'll knit them little Gryffindor scarves!" <-- Her suggestion to me.

After a 6-month fostering hiatus, I was (coincidentally enough) given three kittens to foster upon my return, whom I named (you guessed it): 'Harry', 'Hermione' and 'Ron'. Because the name 'Hermione' was already taken by another foster kitten, 'Hermione' was shortened to 'Hermie'.

May I say that getting three kittens to keep a little scarf on their necks, while keeping them still in front of our props was a Herculean task! But the results are so darn cute:

Harry Potter

Hermione Granger (aka Hermie)

Ron Weasley

I was told that as cute as the kittens were in their little scarves, VOKRA likes to only have profile pictures of their kittens sans costumes. I guess they don't want the costumes to distract any potential adopters from making a choice between one kitten or another. 

Fair enough. 

But I can still dress them up for my blog!

Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association

Adoption application:

THE VARIOUS STEPS OF FOSTERING

In the normal course of fostering, there are many things that need to be done to ensure that kittens are all prepared to transition from their foster home to their forever home.

These are the things that I normally do when I first welcome a batch of kittens into my home:

1.  CLIP THEIR NAILS - most kittens come to me with unclipped nails and they are like daggers!  One nail in your skin can be very painful and if a sharp nail catches on a piece of clothing, it can easily ruin it.  Most kittens are fine with having their nails clipped.  The ones that protest are put into a "purrito" (swaddled tightly into a towel or blanket) and then I just pull out each paw and then clip them quickly.  If the kitten still protests, then I just let them go and try another time ... or even when they are sleeping.




2.  BATH TIME - I don't always bathe my foster kittens.  It all depends on the condition they are in when they arrive.  Some kittens are perfectly fine and I just let them groom themselves.  Other kittens may come from not-so-ideal conditions (living outside or hoarder conditions), and so I give them a quick bath.  I'm lucky enough to have an enclosed shower stall, so I just get into the stall with the kitten and we both have a little shower together.


Opalescence, Alexandrite, Onyx & Miss Amber

3.  DE-WORMING - kittens are given a deworming pill (1/2 on the day I receive them and the other 1/2 exactly 15 days later).  Most kittens are good about taking their pill.  I just open their little mouths and put the 1/2 pill at the back of their throats.  I quickly close their mouths and touch their noses so that they lick it, which results in them swallowing the pill at the same time.  I always open their mouths again to check that the pill is indeed down their throats.




4.  VACCINATIONS - this is always the part that I dread having to do to kittens.  Not only because I have to hold the kittens down while the vaccinator puts a needle into the kittens, but also the potential side effects that might happen after the vaccination.  Fosters are instructed to monitor their kittens for adverse side effects from the vaccine as these can be harmful, and in some cases may cause long-term issues and even death.





WHAT TO LOOK FOR AFTER VACCINATION
  • Lethargy (shows little interest in anything, has little to no energy, etc.)
  • Diarrhea and/or vomiting
  • Lameness in limbs (Is the cat limping or having difficulty walking?)
  • No appetite
  • Fever
  • Withdrawn behavior (Is the cat huddled, crouched with head down, or has its eyes closed for a long time?) 
  • Any vaccine that has dripped out of the wound – in this case please wipe the area with warm water  NOTE: Avoid using an alcohol pad to wipe off any dripped vaccine as this neutralizes the administered vaccination




The runt of my litter, Hermione, showed some of the above signs: diarrhea, vomiting and no appetite.

I quickly emailed my foster coordinator, the vaccination team and put in a medical form into VOKRA.  I was swiftly told by my foster coordinator to call Karen, the co-founder of VOKRA, for further instructions.  They don't mess around when it comes to sick kitties!

Karen asked me to check the kitten's gums - where they white and pale?  No, they were not (whew)!  Was she drinking water?  Yes, she was drinking lots of water.  Apparently this is a good thing.  With Hermione vomiting and having diarrhea, she would have become dehydrated very quickly, so the fact that she was drinking water was a very good sign.  Was she lethargic?  No, she was actually playing and purring up a storm in bed with me.  So, with that checklist done, I was told to watch her through the night to make sure that she didn't take a turn for the worse.

Hermione and I played in my bed until almost midnight before I turned off the light so that we both could get some shut eye.

I'm so happy to report that although Hermione did not use the facilities or eat all night, she did wake up looking fine and even had a bit of breakfast this morning.

Hermione (aka Hermie)

5.  BIOGRAPHIES & PICTURES - After getting to know the kittens and their personalities a little better, fosters have to write a bio for each kitten to go onto the adoption page (http://www.orphankittenrescue.com/ready_to_adopt).  I always try to take a ton of pictures of each kitten to accompany their bios.  Pictures can say a thousand words, so the better the picture, the greater the chance (I think) that my kittens will stand out amongst the crowd.


 











 


6.  HEALTH UPDATES - VOKRA has a database that keeps track of all the kittens/cats that come into their care.  As fosters, we must assist VOKRA to keep that database up-to-date.  So, I am routinely updating the database with kittens' names (I love naming my kittens!), photos, type of food and litter they use, when they were given their deworming medication and vaccinations, if they required defleaing medication and on the odd occasion I have a mother cat, when I've had her spayed and tattooed.

7.  VIEWINGS - Once one (or more!) of my kittens is/are chosen by a prospective adopter, I must make arrangements with that adopter to come to my home and view/play/get to know my kitten(s).  I've had viewings last as short as 15 minutes, to viewings that have gone up to 2 hours.  Usually the ones that last hours are first-time pet owners, so they have A LOT of questions.  I try to answer each question as best I can.

After all that, it's just a waiting game.  I hope that the stars align and that each one of my kittens find their perfect forever homes.

ADOPTED! Being picked up by their new mommy
(Chattanooga & Choo-Choo)

Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association

Adoption application: