There have been a couple of questions as to why the kittens go from here to the pet store. Really, “pet store” is not really a good description of where they go – where they really go is to the adoption center at PetSmart in Huntsville.
Challenger’s House is a Petsmart Love-a-Pet Partner. That means that cats and kittens are housed at Petsmart continuously and adoptions are done by Challenger’s House adoption counselors. The adoption counselors are great about explaining the cats’ stories to people, though their stories are actually posted so people can read them during non-adoption hours, too. The cats are in cages, but they’re let out for a good long time in the morning and again in the evening when volunteers come in to clean cages, fill the food, scoop litter boxes and play with the cats. Cats/kittens not adopted in 2-3 weeks will be taken back to our shelter since Challenger’s House is a free-roaming facility.
When they go to Petsmart, they stay there, which is why it’s always so hard to let them go. I know they’re scared and nervous, but they usually adapt pretty quickly, and I’m hoping that they get adopted fast. If a few weeks go by and they aren’t adopted, I will likely bring them home to give them a break from the cage for a few weeks before trying again.
It’s somewhat rare, even when adoptions are slow, for them to be at the store for long before being adopted, especially when they’re young.
First: Sookie went to the vet yesterday because her eyes didn’t seem to be getting better despite the oral antibiotics and the antibiotic ointment. They took her temperature (it was normal) and the vet looked her over and said that she thought that perhaps the antibiotic ointment was irritating her eyes, that I should go to regular “tears” (GenTeal makes a gel eyedrop that works really well) and give it a few days to see how that works. She could need a steroid shot to help the swelling – hopefully by Monday she’ll be looking better. She spent most of the day yesterday sleeping on a chair in the dining room, but she also got up and played a few times.
Second: Someone emailed and pointed out that I am horribly lax as far as providing pictures of Sookie lately, which I knew because over the weekend I went through my pictures to send the shelter manager pictures of each of the cats, and couldn’t find a decent shot of Sookie since mid-September. My only excuse is that she’s a quiet cat who tends to go off and sleep in out of the way places, as opposed to her loud, obnoxious, in-your-face brothers, and when I have the camera out I tend to take pictures of the cats around me. I’ll do better in the future, I promise!
Third: Sam, Hoyt, Lafayette, and Bill are going to the adoption center tomorrow morning. I will miss the heck out of them (and I’m sure I’ll be a big, sobbing baby when I have to leave them there), so I’m keeping my fingers crossed that they’re adopted quickly – y’all keep your fingers crossed too, okay?
Terry does his road kill impression. Seriously, I don’t know how that could possibly be comfortable.
Elwood and Hoyt, snuggled up on a dining room chair. See that bit of kitten body over to the middle? That would be Sookie. She likes to make it difficult to get a decent picture of her.
Bill has his way with the blanket.
Lafayette’s in charge of kitten cleanliness this week.
Sookie and Sam on the cat tree in the front room.
Bill gets his daily allowance of cardboard.
“Hey, come back! There’s room for both of us in here!”
Cynthia asked: Hey, are the Wonkas fully socialized or does anyone spit or hiss anymore? I must say that 1.2 pounds of hissing, spitting kitten is just about the funniest thing to me!
They are fully socialized, but – and this cracks me UP – they’ll all occasionally spit. Mike, especially, is the King o’ Spitting. If he’s playing with a toy and another kitten gets too close, he spits. If I’m holding a toy just out of his reach, he spits. If he’s laying against me and I stop petting him for one moment to pet someone else, he spits. I guess it’s his way of saying “HEY HELLO OVER HERE!” They’ll all spit if they’re startled by something, but Mike’s the biggest spitter of them all. None of them hiss any more (unless someone tries to steal a toy from them), and they’re perfectly friendly, even to people who are complete strangers.
Since four of the True Bloods will be going to the adoption center tomorrow, I’m going to be moving the Wonkas up to the foster kitten room this weekend. I hope they don’t get too freaked out – I suspect that they’ll think it’s pretty neat, with the rug to keep their toes warm, the cat towers to climb on, and all the toys to play with. Not to mention the water fountain to splash around in!
Poor Gus – someone’s always chomping on him. I think they think he’s made of cotton candy.
Have I mentioned I want to squeeze Mike to death?
“What?”
I don’t encourage them climbing up my legs, but it certainly makes me laugh. Maybe when they have cat towers to climb, they won’t feel the need to climb me?
Fightin’ time!
Bath time!
“Yes, operator? I’d like to make a long-distance call. Operator? OPERATOR? DARN these tabby-foot phones, they’re always dropping the connection!”
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Previously
2008: I broke the monkeys!
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.