Coco and Hera sitting in a tree ...

KAY EYE ESS ESS EYE ENN GEE





VIDZ!

And we're back!

The adoption event went very well. We got a few nibbles of interest. Hopefully someone found their forever home today!

Come visit us today @ Petsmart at Patterson Place

We will be there from 1pm-4pm!

Come say hi.

I enjoy tight spaces.

I cram my body between these two wicker baskets under the table.

OH NOES MAH BALLZ

I LAYD DOWN FER MAH NAP YESTARDAI AND WHEN IZ WOKE UP MAH BALLZ WERE GONE.

WHERE DIZ THEY GO?

CAN HAZ YOU HALP MEH FINED THEM?

Can I make the jump?

I love this picture. Athena is saying : "I can make the jump, I think I can!"

Coco is just staring at her like : "Do it wimp, the chair is the gateway to the windowsill, the windowsill is the gateway to sleeping."



And Apollo is showing you his butt....

The saga continues

First of all the eye infection that kept us from petsmart is gone. I'm continuing the treatments for the full 10 days and hopefully it will be gone forever. :)

So we have been letting the kittens run around the rest of the house for an hour or so each day and they seem to really enjoy it. Dido is not afraid anymore in fact she is even playing with them. When one runs directly at her she still gets a spooked look and runs away but if allowed to engage on her own terms she seems to really enjoy herself.

Anyway last night it took us 15 mins to wrangle Athena. That girl really likes her freedom. This morning she jumped over the gate once I opened the door to feed them their morning wet food. Little did she realize as she escaped that I was bringing wet food. Once she heard the *nom* *nom* *nom* from the wrong side of the baby gate she lept back in to join in on the dining experience.

We will not be at the adoption event tomorrow.

Sorry anyone who was planning to attend, but we have a little eye infection (currently treating with eye drops from the vet) and everyone thought it was best not to put stress of seeing new people until it clears up.

They should be at next week's meet and greet tho... I will keep you posted.

Fun on the windowsill

That coco sure is fun to play with. I'm already learning that windowsills are AWESOME!



-Lady Athena

INVESTAMIGATE TEH BEDROOM

MEH FINDZ TEH CLOZE DOOR



KITTEH INFILTRAITUN SQUAD NEXT MISHON

TEIM TO RALLEH TEH TROOPZ

HAI SISTAR DIDO

I SEES HER



YAAAAAY!!!

Big Update + Media

So things are going quite well with the kitties. Events are progressing positively. First of all, Dido, while being still a little scared and not quite ready to degenerate into kitten plaything is warming up to the kittens. She has been nose-sniffing them, and batting at them in a playful way. The greeks are understandably wary of her, but they don't let dido get in the way of their fun. Dido can't hate them too much seeing as she keeps jumping over the bottom baby gate when we have the middle one open to go see them.

Then we had a big step last night... we let them out into the rest of the house for an hour. Its funny, they are afraid of the stairs (especially with a human standing on them) and so they have sort of self confined to the kitten room and the master bedroom. We have a "cat pueblo" in our master which Coco loves to sleep in and the Greeks absolutely LOVE it. They are still too small to be left to their own devices but occasional forays are definitely good for them. The downside is they try twice as hard to escape, but when they do escape we are not as worried.

Pueblo:



As a side effect to our "hour on the town" Coco kept my wife up all night because she was in such a good mood. Being around the babies is turning on her kitten instincts again. We have a little fluffball of rabbit fur that she loves and last night she kept becca awake because she was playing with it, carting it around in her little mouthie, and trilling with pleasure so much.

Back to the Greeks! I clipped their claws not 30 minutes ago. It was a little bit of a struggle, but this being the second time I think I've finally convinced them that I am the momma cat of the house. This is important as a foster parent as declawing is inhumane and not allowed in the IAR adoption agreement. It is best if kittens learn that their claws are being clipped and there is nothing they can do about it. Hera I had to scruff between each of the first 6 front claws but then the last 4 I think she realized who was in charge! One or two more clippings I think ....

Today we are making a journey to the vet to get them all microchipped. Yay for microchips! I will let you guys know how it goes.

Without further delay: Here are some pictures I took during house explora-toring session.
Vids will be on another post.

Meet the Kittens

Come see us! We will be at Petsmart at Patterson Place in Durham this Sunday the 23rd.
3615 Witherspoon Blvd Suite #101, Durham, NC

From 1pm until 4pm.

I CAN HAZ GROWED

WHEN I GOED TO SHADY SPRING MEH WAIT WAZ 1LB 15OZ

MEH DADDEY WAIT MEH TUDAI I SO BIG 2LB 3OZ

MOMMY DADDY BOTH WER SO HAPPY

:)

Three baby gates does not equal one kitten gate.

So needing eventually to introduce the kittens to Dido (which you might have seen poking around and likely hissing) we decided that having the door closed all the time was prob not a great idea. So we bought three baby gates and have stacked them one above the other.

Now while we COULD create a toddler internment camp that would rival Alcatraz, you would think this would deter something smaller than my left foot from climbing all of them and jumping down the other side? Not Athena. So what we had to do is cut off a piece of screen and attach it to the top baby gate and use pushpins to secure it to the wall. Thats right, we now have an immobile baby gate covering one of the doors. On the bright side if we take out the middle one the door closes so we can thankfully close the door while we are sleeping.

Apollo and Hera will actually now sit laying against the bottom gate and sleep. Coco is there constantly also laying against the gate. Dido actually has started jumping into the room to investigate. She has been pretty brave and now that she is constantly seeing the kittens I think she will adjust just fine. Dido is never hostile only afraid-y-cat.

Nose in the tea

I was in the kitten room having my morning cup of tea. I turned my back to refill the water bowl and when I came back Hera's face was in my mug. Then she let out a big sneeze right into the tea. Yum! Maybe she's a Brit :)

-Becca

Oh so warm

I really like blogging. First of all I get to sit on the computer, which is very warm because its processor is usually at 75% or so from broadcasting the webcam. My foster daddy has been teaching me about things like the task manager which can close windows that are open on the computer already.


I'm also learning how to open new windows and order lots of expensive electronics. Daddy said if I did it Mommy wouldn't be so mad at him when the plam-sa screen arrives. I don't know what a plam-sa is but Daddy got really excited! He scritches me under my chin and on my back just right so I like to help him when I can!

Well that is it for now.

I'll post again next time Daddy forgets to close the laptop cover.

-Lady Athena

P.S. Mommy and Daddy tell me I'm big enough to go to a forever home soon, and that I'm the perfect size for adoption. I'm going to some place called Petsmart at Patterson place in Durham this sunday from 1pm-4pm. I'm kinda scared and I'm hoping lots of people will come to see me and make me feel happy.

Escape!

Finally my devious plan has been brought to fruition. Quietly I lay in wait at the door, and just as my foster daddy opened it... I bolted. My initial two attempts failed, but as they say: third time is a charm! I made it all the way into the master bedroom and tried to hide under the bed. Much to my surprise there was a gigantic orange kitty under the bed. She hissed at me and started growling, but I don't really know why.

Unfortunately I was distracted long enough by this "Dido" for someone to grab me by my scruff and put me back into my kitten room.

Note to self: Next time go down the stairs, the bedroom is a trap!

Also I have figured out which button shuts off my foster mommy's computer. This is very important knowledge. She should be paying attention to me, not the computer. This way I can just shut it off when I want to get petted.

I am planning another escape attempt. I don't want to give you any details right now as I'm not entirely sure this is a secure line....


- Athena "The Unjustly Confined Cat" Kitten

A little background.

Here is a picture from the couple who are feeding the cat colony where the kittens were born. The top two cats (gray tabbies) are the two possible mothers of the kittens. The white cat is their grandmother and the bottom cat is a possible father (brother of the two mothers). All are now spayed/neutered and happily living outdoors.

And as a special treat a picture of SUPER BABY APOLLO



Special thanks to Anne who sent the pictures and whose email basically wrote the blog.

Becca:2 Nick:1

Last night I got the first double kitten lap sit. Apollo and Athena could not resist the cuddliness of the blue crocheted blanket as I watched the Red Sox game. So that's another point for me!

Apollo is developing into quite the ladies man. Yesterday as I was trying to leave the room he jumped up on the bed and gave me love eyes until I came back and started petting him. Then just this morning he spotted me on the bed and gave me several tiny meows to tell me he was coming to join me.

Apollo and Athena have both been very brave while meeting Coco. This morning they even gave her a couple of licks and Apollo had the gall to play with her tail. Coco has been very calm so far almost as if she doesn't care they are there.



-Becca

They have discovered the keyboard.

I'm using a laptop to broadcast on the webcam and I had been leaving the cover open. So far the kittens had not jumped up on the chair or the desk that is in the room. UNTIL TODAY

Becca and I came in to check on them, lo and behold Apollo was on the computer blogging. I double checked and yes, indeed, all of the cats know how to type altho Athena seems to be blogging at a higher grade level. I guess I will have to leave the laptop open so that the little munchkins can continue to give you updates.

I will have some more picture posts with their progress. I've taken a lot of pictures and I'm using the best for the blog, but on the left there is a new widget which will cycle thru every picture I've taken (bad or good) via the Flickr connection.

-Nick

Chew Chew Chew

AYE LUV MAH CHEW TOY




ITZ GREEN

ME HAZ FIFTEAN PINK TOEZ AND ONE BLAK TOEZ

-APOLLO TEH SUN GAWD O KITTEHNZ

Introducing Coco Tonight

The kittens seem to be very comfortable in their environment already. They used to be in a foster home with 15+ other cats before we took custody and didn't seem to be bothered by it. We will be seeing how coco reacts at 4pm today. You can check it out on the webcam : http://www.ustream.tv/channel/ss-kitten-cam

As always, anyone interested in adopting these wonderful babies please go to http://www.animalrescue.net/adoptionform

Dear Apollo, thank you!

I do suppose than I might join you in this wonderful bed.



These siblings of mine... who do they think they are LOLCATS?
All of this incorrect grammar and unnecessary capitalization is driving me crazy. As the big sister I suppose it is my job to teach them proper English. Hopefully they will let me proofread their next couple of posts.

-Athena

P.S. I'm super friendly. I love cuddling with my foster parents. Maybe you would like to adopt me??? http://www.animalrescue.net/C-09-222

Webcam Online!

Live streaming video by Ustream

SUPAR SEKRIT TECH

I FUND A SAWFT WERM SLEEPIES PLACE




SHHH DONT TELL MAH SISTARZ

-APOLLO SUN GAWD OV KITTEHS

Becca-1 Nick-1

So I got the first jump-into-lap-and-get-petted thanks to little Athena who I have been calling thena-tina (which becca hates). Becca got the first i-scoop-you-up-and-you-lay-down-on-my-chest-in-bed-and-start-looking-for-nipples from Apollo.

We're tied at one apiece with Hera to break the tie soon. She is still a little afraid of her new surroundings. Also we are convinced that she was a different litter because she seems much more kitten-like.

Athena definitely gives me googly-eyes now that she knows who I am. She has an instant motor-boat purr the second either of us starts petting her.

-Nick

I CAN HAZ MAED DISKOVEREE

MOAR UPDATEZ WHEN I FINDZ MAH WHEY INN


-APOLLO TEH SUN GAWD OF KITTIES

Imma so hungries!

Iz teh littlest kitty so i needz most food to grew biggar!

NOM NOM NOM

Iz furst finden teh wet food!

Iz furst finden teh dry food!

Iz eatin it all!

Meh brudder halpin meh!

NOM NOM NOM

Can't post ne moar need to eat!

-HERA

The kittens have arrived.

So the first thing they did of course is hide under the bed.




We were eventually able to coax them out with some wet food.




Then they played in the kitten cubes for a while.




They eventually found the litterbox...




... dry food and the water.



Hera and Apollo have something to post so I'm going to let them on the computer for a few minutes now that they are done sleeping.

-Nick

Welcome to our Kitten Corner

Hello everybody, my name is Nick. My wife, Becca, and I are fostering kittens on behalf of the Independent Animal Rescue (IAR) http://www.animalrescue.net and the purpose of this blog is to document our lives and our new kittens' lives. My hope is that the additional information and pictures which we will provide might spur some of you to consider adopting one of these little babies.

First order of business, a little introduction:

We have two adult cats that are ours.

Dido (Female DSH Orange Tabby)



Dido is a Diva. She loves us, but other people frighten her quite a bit. Sometimes she likes to be carried around and cuddled and other times not. She doesn't like sitting on laps, her favorite sleeping place is a windowsill in the sun. Dido is funny, she is very friendly but only on her terms. Pick her up and sit on the couch, and she will jump away. Sit on the couch with a blanket next to you and ignore her for a second she will jump up and be very affectionate.

Dido is the cat we worry about during the foster introductions. She has never been aggressive towards other cats, only afraid of them. Our guess is that dido will hide under the bed until she gets acclimated to having cats other than her biological sister around


2. Coco (Female DSH Tortoiseshell)





Coco is a lover, not a fighter. (so to speak) She loves everybody and everything. She has met other cats and just wants to play and cuddle. We think she doesn't quite understand what a hiss means because other cats have hissed at her and she just gets this look like "what does that mean?" and seems confused that everything isn't as loving as she is.

We're not worried about her and the new fosters.

We have painstakingly setup a new "kitten room" in our extra bedroom.






There are about 50 cat toys on the small house. There are two kitten beds and the tree. You can see in the tub we've placed blankets in it and viola instant gigantic kitten bed.

The kittens we are fostering we've named after greek deities.

Apollo: http://www.animalrescue.net/C-09-218



Athena: http://www.animalrescue.net/C-09-222



Hera: http://www.animalrescue.net/C-09-221




They will be arriving in an hour and a half or so from the time of this post.