BATTLE OF THE SEXES

I've been fostering my current batch of kittens for two months now. They received their vaccinations today (which went ideally, according to the vaccinator), but I just found out that who I thought was a girl kitten is not a girl (Ukulele) and who I thought was a boy kitten is not a boy (Piccolo). The vaccinator examined the kittens from head to toe to ensure that the kittens looked healthy enough to vaccinate, but mentioned that the genders were wrong on the kittens. 

When kittens first come into the care of VOKRA, they can be too young sometimes to determine (with absolute certainty) their gender. I never thought to check that their intake sheets were correct. I just assumed that they were.

So, now I have to re-train myself to refer to Ukulele as a boy and Piccolo as a girl.

Bongo (rear), Piccolo (front)

Bongo, Piccolo & Ukulele

Ukulele and Piccolo have already been adopted by VOKRA volunteers. We just have Bongo to get adopted now. I'm sure he'll be adopted in no time flat as there is a wait list for these kittens.

Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association

https://www.facebook.com/VOKRA

Adoption application:

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

BATCH #19 HAS ARRIVED - FINALLY!

Waiting for foster kittens is tough sometimes.

This batch took 7 whole months of waiting to arrive!  But that only means that VOKRA's TNR program is working amazingly well.

Tuxedo mommy and her three Siamese kittens landed on my doorstep (actually, I went to pick them up at Ops) on Monday.  O.M.G. are they ever cute!  Three Siamese 4-week old kittens.  Somebody mentioned that they look like ragdoll Siamese kittens, but they don't have the temperament of ragdoll kittens in that they don't really like to be held.  Nonetheless, they are adorable and I'm hoping that they'll soon be amenable to me constantly picking them up and kissing them ALL.THE.TIME.

Mommy is "Shadow"

Ukulele

Shadow came to me with her name already, but I was allowed to name the kittens so I chose whimsical musical instruments.

Aren't they the cutest?!?

Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association

https://www.facebook.com/VOKRA

Adoption application:

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

A LITTLE VISIT

Do any of you believe that when your beloved pet crosses over the rainbow bridge that they go to heaven?  And for those of you that do believe that, how many of you believe that your pet can come back over the rainbow bridge to pay you a visit?

I'd say that I'm pretty middle-of-the-road type person when it comes to this kind of stuff.  I don't necessarily believe in aliens, ghosts, heaven or hell, but I don't completely discount any of these things either.  You never really know unless you've had first-hand experience to speak of.

But this morning, my middle-of-the-road beliefs were given a great, big shove into the 'I believe' side of the road.

These are pictures of my husband and my much-loved and spoiled cat, Hobbies.  Hobbies may look like he adores my husband in these photos, but he definitely was my cat and had greater affection for me.  Hobbies passed away at the age of 16 years old in February 2013.

Now, let's cut back to this morning.

My husband had just gotten out of bed at approximately 7 am to make breakfast for out-of-town guests and us.  I stayed in bed to get a few more minutes of shut eye.

All of a sudden, I could feel (as what most owners of cats feel when their cat is walking towards them on the bed to snuggle) little paws walking on my comforter towards me.  I quietly asked, "Hobbies?" to which I distinctively heard a little meow and purring.

Mind blown right?

Well, then I opened up my eyes slightly to see the faint outline of my beloved cat sitting next to me by my head. I gently reached my hand out to pet him and said "Hi, baby". And then he was gone.

I don't know what to think.  Was I dreaming?  Was I in a lucid state and imagined it?  Or did my darling cat come back over the rainbow bridge to visit with me?  I was both so happy and so sad at the same time.  So happy that he had come to visit with me and so sad that he couldn't have stayed longer.

Hobbies, I miss you terribly ... more than words can ever say.

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

https://www.facebook.com/VOKRA

Adoption application:

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

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

https://www.facebook.com/VOKRA

Adoption application:

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

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

https://www.facebook.com/VOKRA

Adoption application:

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

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

https://www.facebook.com/VOKRA

Adoption application:

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