1-1-26: 2025 in review

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2025 in review.

January

We started 2025 with 3 fosters in residence: Tina, Carmy and Richie. They were all adoption pending – Tina by herself, Richie and Carmy together. We were just waiting for the holidays to pass for their people to come adopt them. And then we were waiting for the weather to behave itself so they could come get them. In the meanwhile, we just chilled out and had a lot of snuggles (and Churu!)

Just when we thought they might have to stay ’til spring arrived, the weather cleared up long enough so that…

Richie and Carmy were adopted! They went home to Lexington, Kentucky, where they joined former foster Meander, former foster Mollie (Millinocket, 2018) and (non-foster, but apparently Meander’s ONE TRUE LOVE) Angus. They have been renamed – Carmy is now Pippin/Pip, and Richie is now Rupert/Rupe.

Tina was an “only child” for a few days (and to be honest, she kind of loved it!), and then…

She was adopted and went home to St. Louis, Missouri! Her name remains Tina.

The foster room needed a deep clean, so I did that as fast as I could, because there were kittens (more teenagers than baby kittens) who were coming to stay for a while. Less than 24 hours after Tina was adopted, I brought home 8 kittens who were 7 – 8 months old.

Ragdoll mixes Helix (boy) and his sister Spiral (7 months old), torti point snowshoe mix Alley Oop (girl, a singleton, not related to the other kittens, 8 months old, 3 inch tail), gray and white Andi (girl, a singleton, not related to the other kittens, 8 months old, tiny nub of a tail), sisters Paper Clip (silver tabby and white), Stapler (black and white tuxie), and Posty (gray and white tuxie) (all 8 months old), and singleton Oakley (silver tabby, about 8 months old.) I called them “the Foundlings” because they’d pretty much all been found abandoned or stray.

Except for Andi, they all had upper respiratory infections, so I started medicating them immediately. Unfortuntately, Oakley was absolutely impossible for me to medicate, and so he went back to Michelle’s house the next day so she could medicate him.

Helix and Spiral were adoption pending (together) pretty quickly, so I concentrated on medicating them and getting them better so they could go home!

February.

We started off February pretty quiet, concentrating on getting the Foundlings healthy (ie, non-sneezy), but then, on February 5th!

All of a sudden we had a new family – I brought home Sodapop and her 3 day old kittens: Moxie and Poppi (girls), and Fanta and Sundrop (boys.) You can read their introduction in this post.

In the February 10th post, I announced that…

Helix and Spiral (now Cedric and Luna) had been adopted!

And Alley Oop was adopted!

This left Stapler, Paper Clip, Posty, and Andi still in the foster room and still available.

After being in the crate for a couple of weeks, Sodapop decided it was time for the kittens to become world (well, room) travelers, and started moving them all over the place. I fought it a little, but ultimately mama’s in charge, so I let her do what she wanted.

The kittens certainly didn’t care either way.

Andi was adopted and went home, joining a kitty named Josie who looked just like her.

This picture of Fanta KILLS ME DEAD.

As February came to an end, the Pops turned three weeks old.

And Stapler (center) was adoption pending, but Paper Clip (left) and Posty were still available.

March.

At the beginning of March, the Pops kittens started motoring all over the room.

And Posty, Paper Clip and Stapler learned that it behooved them to line up properly if they wanted their Churu.

In March 10th’s post, I said that Posty and Paper Clip were adoption pending together and would be going home soon. Stapler was still adoption pending as well, but her people couldn’t come get her ’til early April.

On March 14th I announced that Posty and Paper Clip had been adopted! They went locally here in the Huntsville area, and I delivered them myself. Posty’s new name is Rhya, and Paper Clip is Calypso.

I scrubbed down the foster room and moved the Pops in. They took no time at all to make themselves at home.

Stapler had the run of the house – supervised – during the day, and spent her nights with me. Charlie mostly behaved himself, so we let Stapler have the run of the house at night, too, and it went okay.

Sodapop went off for her spay surgery (and it went just fine.)

As March ended, things were pretty calm, I think – at least in my memory they were! Stapler was doing great and just killing time ’til she could go home. Sodapop and her kittens were doing great, too – a very healthy bunch!

April.

April started out with some excitement – the Pops kittens figured out the climbing wall AND the Luli & Cat pro socialization team came for a visit. Also, Stapler was introduced to the harness because she was going to be traveling quite a way to get home.

The Pops kittens and Stapler had a meeting, and there was a lot of floofing from the little kittens, and also an existential crisis from Moxie.

On April 7th I announced…

That Stapler had been adopted! She went home to Bellingham, Washington which is actually the farthest someone has come to adopt one of my fosters. Her name is now Tui (which is a New Zealand bird.)

I love this lined-up shot of the Pops.

In the April 14th post, I announced that approximately 10 seconds after I’d posted that the Pops kittens were available, they were all adoption pending – Moxie and Poppi together, Fanta and Sundrop together. And in the very next post, I announced that mama Sodapop was also adoption pending… joining a sweet family with a couple of cat-friendly dogs, some cat-friendly kids, and a couple of kittens to play with. (Spoiler: the people who were adopting Fanta and Sundrop decided to take Sodapop as well!)

The kittens went through their spays and neuters (and came through them just fine.) And just a few days later…

Sundrop, Sodapop and Fanta were adopted together! They now live about an hour from here, and their new family includes a very excited little girl, and her little sister, and a couple of cat-friendly dogs.

Poppi and Moxie were with us a few days longer, and managed to keep themselves entertained.

And then…

Off they went! They flew home to California, where they join former fosters Theo Pesto and Sofia Soy Sauce – and if you’re on Facebook you’ve been able to see Moxie and Poppi AND Theo and Sofia on their Facebook page, right here. Moxie’s new name is Biscuit, and Poppi’s is Poptart.

May.

My foster room was empty for a little more than 24 hours, and in May 5th’s post, you got to meet the new guys. The Britty Bunch!

Siblings Monty, Benji and Matilda.

Margarita.

Beatrice, mother to…

Hazel and Nigel.

And last but not least, Sebastian and Clark.

This was a really hard month for me. The older kittens were a little rough in the beginning, but they settled in pretty quickly and were doing fine. But I was tube feeding Clark and Sebastian because they refused to take the bottle. Initially Beatrice was letting Clark nurse, but he wasn’t gaining enough weight, so I moved him downstairs with Sebastian, and had to tube feed them every few hours around the clock.

On May 14th, Beatrice went off for her spay. The plan was originally for her to be spayed, ear-tipped and returned to an outside situation. Ultimately, she ended up staying at Michelle’s house, where she still is today.

Clark got sick, then seemed to be doing better, and then he began vomiting every time I fed him. After an extremely rough night we took him to the emergency vet and x-rays showed that he likely had an esophageal stricture. He was so little that there was truly nothing that could be done for him – and he would have starved to death before we could even locate a specialist who might be able to help. You can read the post about saying goodbye to him here.

In retrospect, I cannot believe that boy was only with us for 2 weeks; my life seemed to be centered around him for so much longer than that. It’s rare that after losing a foster I find myself 100% certain that I did everything exactly right. With Clark, I am absolutely certain that, if I were to do it again, I’d do everything the same. And you know what? Losing him wasn’t any less heartbreaking than losing Natalie last year.

This “TUMMIES FOR MILES!” post makes me laugh.

We lost power for about 24 hours, and I was FREAKING OUT about not being able to warm up Sebastian’s bottle. As it turns out, a candle did the trick. Who knew?

Toward the end of May, I introduced Sebastian to the bigger kittens, and it went pretty well.

June.

Sebastian moved into the foster room with the bigger kittens full time (though I was still supplementing him with a bottle a few times a day.)

Uncle Rocco came to visit and the kittens were not fans.

Hazel, Nigel, Monty, Matilda and Benji went for their spays and neuters on June 16th. Benji was adoption pending and wouldn’t be going home ’til early July, so I suggested to Fred that the other older kittens stay with us ’til then, and maybe they’d get adopted from here without having to go to Petsmart. He agreed!

So when I brought home the newest foster, she went into my office.

Lilia! Very pregnant, very sweet and cuddly.

Then, suddenly!

Hazel and Monty were adopted together!

They were adopted locally; Monty is now Cosmos, and Hazel is Dahlia.

I got a family portrait before they were adopted.

And then…

Nigel and Matilda were adopted together!

They were also adopted locally – Nigel is now Arlo, and Matilda is Emmylou.

On the 29th, Lilia had her kittens (see her birth story here.)

Long story short: she gave birth to 4 kittens. She rested comfortably, then in the early hours of the morning she had unproductive contractions. I got her to the vet, where an ultrasound showed two more kittens inside. They did a c-section, and unfortunately the two kittens inside did not survive. I brought her home a few hours later; she looked rough for a few days (she was insistent that they should nurse, so I weighed them to be sure they were gaining weight.)

July.

I named Lilia’s kittens – the Alphabet Soup Gang – Millie, Owen, Nolan and Patsy.

Starting the month of July off terribly, one of Lilia’s four kittens – Millie – passed away.

Benji was adopted!

He was adopted locally and joined the family who adopted former fosters Obi (formerly Angus), Darth, and R2 (formerly Gustavo and Lalo)! He is now Solo or Han Solo.

The remaining Alphabet Gang did well as July went along. Lilia wasn’t producing enough milk, so I started supplementing with a bottle.

With just Margarita and Sebastian from the Britty Bunch with us, I let them have the run of the entire house, scrubbed down the foster room, and moved the Alphabet Soup Gang into the foster room.

Margarita and Sebastian went for their spay/neuter and came through it just fine. And then!

They were adopted, together!

They went home to Kentucky to join former fosters Jethro (formerly Spock) and Elly May (Janeway), who we fostered in 2023.

They’re now Jed and Daisy, to continue the Beverly Hillbillies naming theme. (When Tammy told me she was going to continue the theme with these two, I thought “Jed… and Granny??” – apparently Granny’s name is Daisy, so that works out well!)

August.

As August came in, the Alphabet Gang started leaving the crate and exploring. Patsy and Nolan had some seriously cool stress coats, making them look frosted.

August was actually a pretty calm month, so I got around to the important stuff… organizing kittens!

Nolan, Owen, Patsy.

Lilia – who had been spayed when they did her c-section – went for her last vaccination, and was officially available for adoption.

The kittens all of a sudden discovered the wall shelves/beds.

September.

September started with good news…

Lilia was adopted!

She went locally and joined a family with a kitten named Nacho who needed a friend. (She remains Lilia.)

The kittens met Uncles Charlie, Khal and Rocco, and got floofy.

I announced that Nolan, Owen and Patsy were 10 weeks old and thus people could apply to adopt them, and just like THAT they were adoption pending! (Nolan & Owen together, and Patsy into a home with other kitties to play with.)

The kittens worked on their leapin’ skills.

And then ALL OF A SUDDEN, we had new fosters. (Nolan, Owen and Patsy had the run of the house and the new fosters took the foster room.)

The Little Dancers – ChaCha, Sashay, Flamenco, Mambo and Tango.

Oh, and also we had ANOTHER foster at the same time.

Esmeralda, who basically showed up on our property and stuck around.

A super sweet lapcat, very friendly – we are pretty sure that people nearby moved and left her behind.

In the midst of all this sweetness (and all these fosters who were doing GREAT), I had to stop and tell you the very sad story about SuzieQ who came to us very pregnant. You can read that post here.

An incredibly sweet girl, who deserved so much better.

Nolan, Owen and Patsy went for their spay/neuters and came through just fine, as expected. Esmeralda went for her last vaccination and her ID chip. Michelle aged her at 18 months, and looked for (and didn’t find) a spay scar. She couldn’t be spayed the same day (there were a lot of cats that needed to be done that day), so was scheduled for the next day. I dropped her off the next morning and surprise! They found a tattoo indicating that she’d already been spayed, so I turned right back around and went to get her.

Also, I announced that she was adoption pending!

The Tiny Dancers started getting their eyeballs.

And then Patsy went home!

She joined a family that includes former foster Cruise (now Lily), along with some other kitties to be friends (and cuddle) with. Her name will remain Patsy.

The next day…

Owen and Nolan went home! They join a family that includes some kitty siblings AND two human brothers. The names of the human brothers? Owen and Nolan! Owen-the-kitten and Nolan-the-kitten got new names – Owen is now Binx, and Nolan is now Jinx.

I posted a very scientific post about tongue positioning in kittens when hissing vs. yawning. (I’m sure I’ll get word any moment about my impending Nobel Prize for this work.)

I announced that unfortunately Andi, who we’d fostered in January, had been returned and was again available for adoption.

(September was quite a hopping month!)

October.

The Tiny Dancers didn’t need ANY supplemental bottles, and that was really nice (for me, anyway. ChaCha was like “You could pitch in here, lady.”)

Esmeralda continued to be a sweetheart.

Good news came in two on October 13th – first, Andi (the kitty we fostered in January, who’d been returned) was adopted!

The new home sounded like a much better fit for her.

And then…

Esmeralda was adopted! She went home to Maryland, where she joined a family that includes former fosters Reggie (formerly Luc), and Frannie (Francesca) & Nacho (Ignacia). She is such a chill girl, she reportedly did great on the flight.

The Tiny Dancers started leaving the crate and figuring out the litter box (wow, that went fast.)

Knowing that Tango and Sashay were ultimately adopted together, I adore this picture of the two of them.

On October 20th, I got the MOST amazing news – Katia, who we fostered along with her mama Kristi (they were both pregnant when they came to us and had 10 kittens between them) WAS ADOPTED!

This was them in 2018.

While they were with us, Katia was totally feral – the few times I “accidentally” brushed my hand against her, she hissed VERY vehemently at me. Once their kittens were adopted, Kristi and Katia went to Michelle’s house. It took Katia a few years, but she went from totally feral to a lapcat. Kristi was adopted once in 2020 but was returned; it just wasn’t a good fit for her. She (and Katia) stayed at Michelle’s until last fall, when she was adopted. And the people who adopted Kristi last fall have now adopted Katia!

ChaCha went for her spay (I always feel like we got one over on Mother Nature when a mother cat is spayed before she can go into heat!)

Tango (green) and Mambo (blue) got their collars because I never in my entire life have had SUCH a hard time telling two kittens apart!

I did some kitten organizing (from smallest to largest!) From left: Sashay, Flamenco, Mambo & Tango.

November.

Beginning in early November, we did a little catsitting for former fosters Muffin (Ouiser), Maple (Dillydally) and their siblings Waffle and Mocha. They got the foster room and the run of the upstairs, and ChaCha and the Tiny Dancers took over the dining room.

Uncle Rocco came strolling by the dining room and checked out the kittens and ChaCha through the glass doors. There was some floofing.

Also, these kittens were VERY jumpy.

I tried putting the weansie (weaning onesie) on ChaCha, but she was so SAD about it that I ended up taking it off her.

The Tiny Dancer kittens briefly met the Brunch Bunch, and floof suits and hissing were had.

I got some great jumping shots of the kittens.

In November 26th’s post, I announced that Tango and Sashay were adoption pending (together), which left ChaCha, Mambo and Flamenco still available.

And then it was Thanksgiving.

ChaCha.

December.

December started with more great jumping shots of the kittens. (What a boing-y bunch!)

In the December 8th post, I announced that Mambo and Flamenco were adoption pending – together! – and would go home after their spay/neuter later in the month.

Sashay and Tango went for their spay/neuter, spent the night at the vet, and then came home the next morning. (They were originally scheduled to be spayed/neutered on the 18th, but the adopter asked if they could possibly be done earlier. And we were able to make it happen!)

Also, ChaCha went from available to adoption pending!

And then…

Tango and Sashay were adopted!

They went home to Sevierville, Tennessee, and joined a family that includes other kitties to play with. They’re now Maverick and Carmelita (which I LOVE!)

A few days later…

ChaCha went home! She has another young kitty to keep her company and to play with, and she kept her name.

Flamenco and Mambo went for their spay/neuters (and came through surgery just fine, of course.)

And then they went home!

Mambo and Flamenco were adopted together. They’re local here in the Huntsville (Alabama) area, and are the only pets. He’s still Mambo, and she’s now Fancy. They settled RIGHT in (which I love seeing!) and are living the life.

In the post for December 23rd, I introduced the new (current) fosters, who we’re calling the Nightcaps. They are…

Rum.

Martini.

Fizz.

Mimosa.

Spritz.

Whiskey.

Reese.

Reverb.

All very sweet, some related, some not. They came to me from Michelle’s house, where they started out. They all had (have) upper respiratory infections, but are on meds and slowly getting better.

Unfortunately, Martini – who hadn’t seemed quite right – went to the vet, where we discovered he was very sick. The vet did what they could, but it was pretty clear he wasn’t going to recover, so we let him go. You can read the post about that here.

As 2025 ends, things seem to be going well. Hopefully the kittens will get over their upper respiratory crud (they are certainly headed that way!) and we can get them headed to their happy ever afters.

2025 was… listen, I’m not going to lie. Every foster who came through here was absolutely wonderful and I loved them with all my heart, but this was not my favorite year. It was too many losses, every one a gut punch, and never when I was expecting it. If I could have 100% fewer deaths in 2026, I would be ever so grateful. It was a rough year with some very, very bright moments.

I am hoping for a better year in 2026.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We had a total of 45 fosters move through this year.

We have 2 former fosters who are at another foster’s house, as of yet unadopted: Beatrice and Oakley.

We have 7 fosters in the house at the moment: Rum, Fizz, Mimosa, Spritz, Whiskey, Reese and Reverb.

We have fostered a total of 589 since 2005.

Here are the sweet faces of the fosters we had in 2025.

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The state of the permanent residents in 2025.

They’re doing well! Alice will be 16 this year, and she’s slowing down a bit but she’s hanging in there and is pretty happy (her daily treat quota has been upped a little this past year, and she’s come to expect freeze-dried chicken whenever she wants it. If you can’t spoil the old lady, who can you spoil?) Khal and Charlie are doing well, too. Hopefully this will be a good year for the permanent residents (and the freeloader.) Fingers crossed!

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I’m just going to go ahead and cut and paste what I’ve said for the past several years in a row because it still holds true (and I am lazy).

As we begin this new year, I’d like to take a moment to thank you all for reading. I know that a lot of you say that you like to start (or end) your day at Love & Hisses, reading about the kittens and the permanent residents. You give me (and each other) advice, ask and answer questions, fall in love with the kittens we foster and our permanent residents, and grieve with us when we lose someone. I started this site because I can’t shut my face about cats and kittens, and to have y’all enjoy the pictures and stories I post means more than I could ever begin to express. I appreciate each and every one of you, whether you’re here every day or just come by every now and then. We’ve built an amazing community here, and I certainly could never have done it alone.

So, from the bottom of my heart, thank you all so very very much!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Previously
2024 in review.
2023 in review.
2022 in review.
2021 in review.
2020 in review.
2019 in review.
2018 in review.
2017 in review.
2016 in review.
2015 in review.
2014 in review.
2013 in review.
2012 in review.
2012: No entry.
2011: No entry.
2010: No entry.
2009: This is going to be hard – it always is – but I have to trust that they’ll end up in fantastic homes with people who spoil them as rotten as we do.
2008: No entry.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.

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