So many kittens.. It's kitten season

Since April we have been busy. SO busy I haven't been posting anything. We have had 10 fosters since April and I almost don't know where to begin!
I guess I can go back to May and Marco.

Well, May and Marco, as hard as I tried, just didn't like us. Or our home. Or our cats. They never lost their wild fear and panic of anything human as much as I tried.
They were just too old when I caught them it seems or possibly, as my vet suggested, they have a genetic disposition for being wild.

We had them both fixed (trapping them was terrifying in order to get them to the vet) and thought the best option for them was to re-release them where we picked them up. Any shelter would have put them down within 10 days for lack of adoptability and being too feral. I hate that I was unable to successfully socialize them but then once I came to my final decision, I was glad that they hadn't lost their wild instincts.

So after having them fixed we caught them both back into our cat carrier (which was difficult and terrifying, if I hadn't mentioned that yet) and took them outside. We went to the bushes where they had lived as kittens and where we caught them. We put down the carrier and waited a few minutes for them to smell their surroundings and get their bearings.

May was right at the door and shot out like a rocket once it was unzipped. I watched her run along the bushes and then across the small parking lot towards the other bushes in front of our apartment. I tried to keep her in my sights but to no avail.
Jaywon was watching as Marco slowly walked out went under the building and then back into the bushes where we fed them when they were kittens.

I saw them two nights later and every night for the week or so after that, May following her mom around the parking lot, hopping from rock to rock she seemed very happy.  I have been feeding them and I continue to put food out for them, seeing them now every few days. I know they found each other and since they are both fixed, they should stay together, hopefully for the remainder of their lives. Not a success, but the best possible outcome given the circumstances.

Just before letting May and Marco out, their mom (who I know had given birth a few weeks earlier) came to me for food one afternoon and while she was eating I peeked in the same bushes where Marco and May used to spend time with her. I spotted a white kitten, then two. Probably about 3-4 weeks old. I instantly called Jay to see what his reaction would be. He was encouraging me to get them if I could, so, it began again.

I went up to get the cat carrier and a towel and when I came back I found not two but four kittens. I was able to grab them all quickly and easily, putting them in the carrier and rushing them upstairs to a box with a towel. Luckily they were at that perfect age where they, if necessary, could begin eating wet kitten food. They sucked it for the first few days, getting covered in their food from face to chest to stomach. For a week at least, they all smelled like tuna until they learned to eat without being so messy.

Did I mention Mr. Peaches? There was also a week of a very wonderful man (young cat, 8 months?) who came up to my husband outside and laid at his feet. Mr. Peaches went to a wonderful family who was so excited to adopt him after just one week in our home.

Then there was June. At the beginning of June my husband was again on his way to work and heard a horrible crying. He found this kitten in the drizzling rain, alone and heaving with sobs. As other commuters walked by my husband leaned down and picked this baby up. He used a half day of work that day to stay with the kitten until I came home from work and met at the vet when they opened. Jun was so sick and weak, he lived just a few days and died at the vet two days later. At least he had some comfort and love before he passed on.

And I guess that brings us up to present. A house of 6 cats/kittens. Some pending adoptions and a new kitten in the back room.

I get to that next time. Photos to come.

An update soon to come...

May and Marco are both in our home and I want to talk about them.
Soon.

But since I have little time right now I will just add that another cat has found us. He walked up to my husband on Friday morning on his way to work and laid down on my husband's feet.

He is so sweet we had to bring him in.

His name is Mr. Peaches. He is a "peach" as far as attitude and he is fluffy and the colour of a peach.

More to come soon!

April's last day

Well, just before sweet, beloved April went to her new mommy's, we were able to catch April's grandmother's new kitten. One of the two. Of course we named her May. But before I get to that here are some photos I took of April and I before she left! 

And here is April's grandmother eating with her two kittens near the bike racks outside our house. 

This is a photo taken just before I was able to snatch up "May". More on them to come! 

One more week with April!

What a cute face!

She found her toes!

April, when she takes a break from playing, loves to sleep on my chest! 

April will be moving in with her new mommy next week! It's going to make the house feel very empty again, but allow us to open up our house to other rescues. April's grandmother (Little mommy's mommy) had a litter about the same time and has two tabby's we just found last week that are about the same size as April and tabby striped the same way, but a bit more brown than gray.

They have come to our doorstep almost with their mom and haven't shown too much fear. The mom will actually close her eyes and nap as I sit in front of her kittens while they eat.

I will post next week, maybe with new kittens but definitely with the farewell to April! 

Little Mommy is home safe and April is amazing!

So Little mommy was only gone a few days, but I was so relieved when I saw her back again and every day since, eating breakfast with her brothers. I have a feeling a Tom got to her and there is a chance in 60 some odd days we might be meeting another little one of hers.

April is just adorable. She is finally eating wet food and hasn't had a bottle in a few days. She doesn't seem to miss it at all! Also, I feel like she has to eat less frequently now that she is eating solid foods.

April is so funny when she is tired she just walks herself, her tiny, tiny self, over to her bed and takes a nap. Then when she is done she stumbles out on her own, eyes squinted from sleep and walks quietly into the living room.

April is still to small to get up or down from the bed or couch but loves being picked up and played with. She likes to spend hours a day playing now, with us, alone, or with Gorri or Biya. Gorri is a good big brother. Biya could care less about the little girl right now though I see her give April a lick from time to time.

So "Boxer" might be "April" and where is her mommy?

So to finish about Boxer and his mom and uncles. "Boxer" was born in this box. It's a box I gave them in the beginning of the winter to huddle together in. Now that spring is almost here, his mommy gave birth to him in here. You can see he was just born. I think I heard and found him maybe hours after his mom gave birth. The blood looked fresh and there was some fresh blood on the path. So I was excited but worried about her being so young (10-11 months old herself and small for her age) and that she only had one kitten so it might be more demanding. 

After hours of searching for her and the baby one night after a heavy rain and noticing she had moved him from the box my husband and I found him in a dirty hole under the building. She must have stuck him there. She kept checking on him, but it didn't look safe and he wasn't moving or making too much noise. After a call to the vet and much deliberation over what would be best for us all (little mommy, baby and us) our vet said his chances are very good if bottle fed and so we decided to take him in. He is bottle fed baby number 2! (Homer was number 1). 

I gave "little mommy" extra tuna for the next week and she didn't seem stressed or even to notice that anything was different in the following days. She might not have understood where the little guy had come from in the first place! 

 Surprise! 

 Cute when sleeping! 

Learning to walk! 

Napping on a mouse I crocheted. 

The rest of the family checking him out. 

Well...  as of today we went back to the vet (4 weeks) and had Boxer's claws cut (I can't do it alone and Jay is in Chile on business) and they informed me that "Boxer" might be a girl! 

So Boxer would be "April" since we picked her up on April 1, 2013. 

But also, I was out to feed his family, I mean her family last night when I heard some cat screaming and climbed over a fence (at 24 weeks pregnant no less) to get to where I heard it and I called to the cats. Then I saw his I mean "her" mommy, small and white and sweet, jump out of a bush with a gray, tabby Tom right on her heels. 

Luckily they went in different directions but I haven't seen "Little Mommy" since and I am worried that she might stay away out of fear or be hurt. 

I know I might also be exaggerating and that they often come and go and hide, but if it goes more then a few days, I WILL begin to worry. "Little Mommy" is a morning breakfast customer in rain or snow or shine, even if one of the brothers aren't there, she is. Speaking of rain, there was quite a lot of it this morning. I saw "Little Mommy's" "Mommy" this morning where she used to always eat by this one wall and she was drenched! Maybe "Little Mommy" just stayed wherever she slept to keep dry? It was clear and sunny by noon.

I hope I see her in the morning! 

A new baby! Just two Weeks old!

I will post more later, but "Boxer" is here. Since I am living in South Korea right now, I'm going to post more later after all this has settled over the weekend. 

So here is Boxer! 

Boxer came to us after much deliberation.

 I have been taking care of a family of cats since last July. I had noticed a mother near our apartment nursing 5 babies outside a nearby apartment. They were too young to take away from her but as soon as they grew some, they were too afraid of me.  After a month or so there were only 3 babies. I walked past the place they lived everyday under an overhang of an apartment. So from last July until this very day I have been feeding them. The mom has moved on and I still feed her closer to my building. The 3 litter mates come to me when I click my tongue and meet me at 7:30 every morning when I am walking past to go to work. They love their big breakfast. There is an all black male, a beautiful tabby (I think male) and a sweet, petite, white and tabby girl. 

Here is Tabby on the path I walk next to the building he lives under.

Little mommy looking at me through the trees.  

 .

Little Mommy (Boxer's mom) eating cat food. 

 Blacky, walking in the snow. He reminds me so much of Zero and they were about the same age. Blacky has so much personality and makes me laugh. He runs so fast when I call to him and comes right up to my hand to eat, though he would hiss and scratch if I tried to touch him. 

Tabby, hanging out after eating out of the dish of food I give him everyday. 

I hate to see them in the winter, but these 3 siblings stuck it out together and never left each other. They are almost 1 year old and still spend all their time together. It's a strong bond I haven't seen with cats on the street. 

More to come.... 

It's been a while

It's been a while since I've posted to this blog, not to make excuses, but we are expecting our first child (due at the end of August) and our house has been so quiet with only our two cats. I am waiting for some very old photos of the first couple cats and kittens we saved to be safely removed from my archaic, barely hanging on, makes strange buzzing and beeping noises when I turn it on and throughout usage, 2005 Mac Book so that I can begin the promised process of paying homage and tribute to all of the kitties that we have rescued since we began in 2009.

I worry that if I don't have patience and wait for my husband to make the time to safely move the photo files (I think there were over 4,000 images to be preserved and emancipated) and I try myself, I might just do the wrong thing and loose all of the photos I still have stored on that dinosaur of a laptop.

Once this is completed, and I promise it will happen by mid-April, I will begin the reminiscent journey through kitty rescue tales.


One other thing I suspect may happen soon (or by mid-summer) is the rescuing of some new friends. Every female cat that I take care of outside in our neighborhood is bloated with babies right now. It's almost spring, the weather is a bit kinder and they are all outside during the day sunning themselves, belly's out and I know, after the first month or so that they will keep the babies safely hidden from humans, those babies will begin to let themselves be seen. I think this might be a very large kitten season, I know of at least 5 pregnant moms out there and I know there are more in our neighborhood alone. That makes for at least 10-20 kittens by summer! We might be able to help out and home one or two, if they let us.

Till next time, I will continue to grow our own baby while the cats outside are growing theirs!

(Oh my if you could only hear my boy cat snoring right now!! He could wake a sleeping bear with that racket!)

Meet the kitties...

The house has been quiet. Not a bad quiet, but I can notice a difference since Zero left us. Our two Siamese, Gorri and Biya have been loving the little bit of extra attention fewer cats provides, but I can tell from Biya's behavior, she is a little bored and lonely.

While I have some extra time freed up since the "lap occupation" of Zero I am going to begin to take a look back at all of the kitties that we have had the pleasure of meeting and rescuing.

There stories are all so different, and each one was so special.

I will begin by first, making a list of the kitties, so I don't forget anyone.

Let's see, I think it began in 2009? Must have been in late winter/early spring.

The first two kitties came from a shelter. We couldn't bear to leave them there.

Teddy (a fluffy little boy) and Kara (looked like she was wearing mascara).

Then.. Teddy we don't know what happened to him, he escaped from his foster home.

Teddy -?

Kara = Meko- Sarah Snyder (USA)

Daisy = Beatrice- Na **

Outside cat- Korean woman

Mamma, orange, gray baby = Tai Lung- Korean man, Brett and Korean girlfriend

Homer = Chingu- Tessa (USA)

Sweetie Petey + litter of babies- Kate ** (??)

Sunday- Kiran  **, (returned) Korean girl

Dirty- Caitlin ** (eventually USA)

Blackie, Hissy, Scotter, Carmel = Bunny, Boots, ? , XX– MM, Amanda **, Matt  (USA, USA, eventually USA)

Big mama- Korean girl

Pepper- XX

Merry- XX

Wilcox= Feivel – Heather *** (eventually USA)

Zero and Hana- XX, Jasmine

Callie- Matthew (Military family, eventually USA)

Parker= Gus- John and Brittney (eventually USA)

January- XX

I'll be pulling up photos and covering each cat, post by post, story by story. 

Stay tuned! 

Later that night...

After many more attempts to get Zero to eat or drink and watching him try to stand on his own and fall over, we decided ( it took hours of deliberating) that Zero would benefit most if we let his spirit soar that night. I didn't want his body to feel what starvation felt like, but he wouldn't eat. I know he was purring, but I think cats will purr to cover up pain and to help relieve stress and pain. I can't say that he didn't feel any pain in the end, but I wanted him to go while I still thought he might be happy and not suffering horribly. 

We took him up to the vet just before their closing hour. This is when they perform this type of operation. It allows the pet and pet owner to spend time together and not feel rushed. 

We put Zero up on the table, wrapped in the towel he had been sleeping in all afternoon. The vet sat across from us talking to us for a little while while we stroked Zero and talked sweetly to him. 

After a while she asked if we were ready and we reluctantly nodded. She left the room.  I could see a reflection in the open glass door leading to the operation room where the vet and vet tech were making preparations and I saw the vet tech crying and wiping her face with tissue. Then I began to hear the soft sobs she was letting out. 

Jaywon and I could tell how much everyone, not only us, loved Zero and how he affected all of our lives.   

We rubbed and massaged Zero as the vet returned with some shots and a machine to allow us to hear his heartbeat. She asked us if there was any last words we would like to say and I thought. There wasn't anything I could say to Zero now that I hadn't told him one hundred times each day as we lay together. So I leaned in and kissed his back and told him I loved him. 

The vet told him to go well in Korean "Jal Gayo".

Then she gave him the shot to put him into a deep sleep. 

 I continued to rub him and caress him and tell him I loved him. 

We love you, Zero. Your life touched us in an incredible way. Now go play in the catnip fields! 

Zero's last two days...

Little, dear to me, Zero spent his last two days curled up on my chest or on my lap. He was happy and purred up until the very last day. This is what I wanted for him. I didn't want him to become too sick to still enjoy life. I didn't want him to suffer or feel any pain and since he hadn't ate any food and wasn't drinking water for the last 2 days, I knew his body would begin to suffer soon.

Here are some shots of his last two days.. I will always remember these days of warm, snuggles and all the love that him and I shared.

He was such a wonderful little man. A fighter from the start, with a team behind him cheering him on. 

I think he is tired..

We are going to take him to the vet tonight, unless he suddenly stands up and meows he's not ready  but he can't stand up at this point, and he is starting to express discomfort in being gently picked up or moved.

Zero, I have loved being your mom and was blessed to have you in my life!

For now, let's sit a while longer, you on my chest and across my shoulder.. I think we both like this.

Zero's long road...

May be coming to an end. I have spent the last 3 days carrying him from room to room in the house, from litter box to bed. I have also spent the last 3 days washing sheets and towels and blankets because Zero has lost control of his bladder.

Since last night, when I pick him up, he cries a little, as if it hurts. I don't want him to suffer, and he is starting to look tired and deflated.

To be continued..

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Well it's become apparent that Zero is having much more difficulty walking than he was a few days ago.
He's walking a few steps, stumbling, sitting down so that he doesn't have to stumble anymore and having a difficulty getting in and out of his litter box.
When I came home from dinner with a friend this evening there was some kitty urine in the area where he was under the blankets in his cave, ( I love that the in the past few days he brought back his little kitty cave).
I just helped him go to the litter box, carrying him to the litter box, putting him in and taking him out and when I put him down on the ground he had a hard time getting stable on his back legs.
Then he took a few steps, sort of fell over and then rolled on his back. He looked up at me with a look that said "I meant to do that".

He still purrs every time I give him a little kisses on his head and on his body so I don't know when it will be the right time to let him go. 

I don't I know if he is in any pain and I really hope that he isn't, but I also don't want his life to become too stressful for uncomfortable.
We are so lucky to have had such a long time with Zero since finding out about his FIP. I have to appreciate that and know that I have appreciated every day with him.

Paws crossed for Zero!

Update on Zero

Zero is as lovely and loving as ever, but his legs are still wobbling and may be slowly worsening.

Today, I noticed he is getting a white spot in his fur... It's cute!

I need to update these posts with more photos plus I have photos of January from the night before he passed.

Tomorrow, I'll be doing that.