A wonderful update on Mike and Gus (who are now Topher and Dorian)! I swear, when I opened the email and saw those pictures of the boys, I SQUEALED, I was so delighted to see them!
Updates on our beloved Mike & Gus (we’ve successfully
switched Gus’s name to Dorian now, but still occasionally call
Topher Mike out of habit)
They’ve both warmed to us. Mike, especially, is SUCH a HUGE baby!
I’ve never seen a cat that dog-like in his desire for attention (in a
good way). He turns into a loud purring machine as soon as we get
close to him, and purrs nonstop while we pet him. He’ll actively
climb onto us and roll around like a baby, aggressively rub his head
and nose and cheeks against our hands and just BASK in love with this
blissful look on his face, it’s so funny! Dorian, on the other hand,
fits his new name perfectly. He’s a beautiful, graceful, and an
exceedingly inquisitive creature. He likes being near us – he’ll walk
over to us, rub our legs with his magnificent fur, and grace us with
his presence. Mike, on the other hand, will climb onto us, put his
head under our arms and flip over asking for a belly rub. He even
drools sometimes when we pet him, and then rub his drool-y cheeks all
over our hands! Is that adorable or what! Dorian, by the way,
LOVES to play. Mike does too. Mike plays in this cute clumsy way -
he’ll chase and chase and jump but just not quite catch the jingling
feather teaser. Dorian, on the other hand, will stalk, watch, and at
the right moment pounce, sprint, leap, and catch the teaser with dead
precision in midair (the teaser is moving rapidly in midair, mind you,
it’s not like we hold it still for him) with his claws and mouth, flip
over, land, and hold on to it tightly while growling and looking
around. I love watching Dorian play, he’s amazingly graceful and
precise in his movements, and the speed with which he sprints! We
play with them multiple times daily and we’re still impressed by him.
Here are some pictures of them we took. I apologize for the lack of
action-pictures. My camera is shitty and action pictures generally
turn into a blur, which is just too bad because they do the cutest
things when playing.
Beautiful Dorian and Topher napping on our couch.
Topher, HUGGING Dorian as they napped.
Dorian, showing off his leg. I couldn’t resist taking
this picture because it looked like a heart-shaped kitty nappy
position.
One of Dorian’s favorite hang-out places. My bookshelf.
Another GQ shot of Dorian, this time endorsing a lens cleanser.
We noticed today that Topher’s super long “eyebrows”
have twirly ends! How did that happen?!
Dorian, being a successful jingling-feather predator.
Jan 24, 2010 | | the Wonkas
Yesterday, Suzanne (who’s helping with the fundraising for Misty, the kitten who needs surgery for megacolon), said:
Robyn…you have my utmost appreciation for posting Misty’s story for all to see. In less than four days we are almost at goal…thank you for taking the time to spread the word. Between you and your friends, you are going to make one little kitty a very happy and blessed girl…healthy too!! My thanks to everyone who contributed, almost 50 animal lovers…AWESOME!!!!!!! With respect and best wishes to all, Suzanne
But then, later, I got an email from her. It turns out that there was a miscommunication (or lack of communication) from the charity aiding Misty’s owner in raising funds for surgery, and the surgery will cost more than the $1,000 they originally thought. Suzanne said, on the ChipIn page, in part:
So we contacted the vet with the awesome news that we had reached our goal of $1,000…she’s completely in awe that we collected that much in donations in only four days…
But…Uh oh…not so fast…apparently our goal number is so far off!!
The Birmingham vet bill will be closer to $2,000…so we have gone ahead and changed our goal to $2,200 and we will continue to “solicit” donations until we can reach that number.
I am so utterly sorry for any confusion. This is what happens when you are not completely in the loop. I (Suzanne, the fundraising queen) get pulled in by groups and people other than my core volunteer groups (SNAP and Forgotten Felines) and so I don’t talk with the vets on a personal level. I rely on the information given to me by, say, No Greater Love, and it’s leader.
So we thought for a little while yesterday that the goal had been reached, but as it turns out, it hadn’t. The goal has been raised on the ChipIn page, and thus far they’re 55% to goal. So keep spreading the word, if you would.
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Awww, look what I found on my memory stick!
That’s Mike, mid-yawn, next to Hydrox, with Gus in the background!
Mike, Hydrox, and Jake, sharing a bed (and doesn’t Jake look thrilled about it!)
It was a nice surprise to unexpectedly see their little faces again!
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Yesterday, every time I walked into the foster room and sat down, Fagen made a beeline for my lap. It took coaxing to get him actually up in my lap, but he ended up there every time. Steely Dan would sit up, stretch, look at me, and go back to sleep, but Fagen would roll around in my lap and purr and purr. I told Fred last week that although Steely Dan was the friendlier of the two, I thought that Fagen would end up being more of a lapcat. He clearly wanted so badly to be held, even as he was skittering away from us.
Don’t get me wrong, they’re both still skittish, but it’s nice to see Fagen slowly overcoming his fear to come and get the love he craves!
Chomping on the camera strap.
Atop the cat tree, Steely Dan decides whether coming down for petting is worth it.
Considering.
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It’s da Newt. (And thus ends what turned out to be the Week o’ Newt!)
Jan 22, 2010 | | Cookies, Permanent Residents, Steely Dan & Fagen, the Wonkas
