If you’re in the Tennessee Valley (Alabama) area (and even if you’re not!), you may have heard about No Kill Huntsville and the recent news about the mayor of Decatur declaring that Decatur Animal Services must reduce their animal capacity from 300 down to 45 total, which would require a lot of adoptable cats and dogs to be put down.
Sunday afternoon Susan – who is the Challenger’s House shelter manager and also part of No Kill Huntsville – did an interview with Animal Wise Radio in Minnesota. You can listen to that here. It takes a minute, there’s the last 15 seconds or so of a song before the interview starts. Check it out!
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Tony in the sun. Oh, the blue eyes. I wish they’d stay that gorgeous color!
Tony showing that scratcher who the boss is.
“I spy with my little eye a lady who desperately needs a manicure.”
“With just one of the little monsters nursing, this is like a VACATION for me!”
Silvio cleaning his paw. He’s certainly serious about it.
I think that’s Silvio on the left, nursing whilst resting his back foot on his head. I’m not sure what that’s about, and it looks like Meadow’s not sure, either.
Tony, Carmela and Adriana doing the snoozin’ thing.
Melfi, with attitude.
Silvio’s all “Wahhhh!” and Meadow’s all “What’s HIS problem?”
Silvio is SO pleased with himself.
The tail straight up in the air kills me.
I swear, one day I’m just going to squoosh all those kittens. They kill me DEAD. Now when I walk into the room, they all run over to me. I (carefully!) sit down, and then they all climb into my lap. Whereupon they ignore me and fight with each other. When they get all screamy because “SOMEONE IS BITING MEEEEE”, I pick up the screamer and kiss him or her. Those kittens are getting used to being kissed, you can be sure of that!
They seem to really have the hang of using the litter box, though of course there have been a few accidents. Some of them are interested in canned food, and some of them are more interested in kibble. I’ve seen all 7 of them either eat canned food or kibble, so I’d say they’re right on track.
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Meet Kintaro.
Kintaro is NOT A FOSTER. We’re keeping him for three weeks while Fred’s sister and her husband are in France. Actually, I guess it’s just another week and a half – he’s been with us for a week and a half so far. Fred’s sister told us what a sweet, friendly cat he is, and that he’s laid-back and not an Alpha cat at all. SOMEONE (who is not me) decided that it would be cruel to leave Kintaro locked in a room all the time, and after being here for one day, SOMEONE (not me) opened the door where Kintaro was staying, and let him have roaming privileges.
I can tell you that while Kintaro is not an Alpha cat at his home, where there are no other cats (though there are two Dachsunds), in our home – where there are a dozen cats, plus the eight in the foster room – Kintaro is aggressive and not prone to being buddies with any other feline. After he scared the poop (LITERALLY) out of poor Jake, SOMEONE (who is not me) finally decided that SOMEONE ELSE (me) was right about keeping Kintaro separate from the other cats.
This is why we now have two baby gates at the bottom of the stairs and why Kintaro gets to have the entire upstairs (except for the foster room, and there’s a blockade up in front of the foster room door so that he can’t even sniff at the bottom of the door and get Livia all worked up) to roam during the day. At night, Kintaro is locked in Fred’s office with his food and water and litter box.
Kintaro uses Swheat Scoop litter, and I have never in my entire life seen litter that tracks that badly. Oh, it is horrifying. I could vacuum three times a day and not have any hope of keeping up with it. I hate that stuff, but I do have to say that it clumps pretty well and does a good job of odor control. But I will never – I WILL NEVER – have it in my house again once Kintaro is gone. It must come with its own invisible elves who kick it all over the place. I swear, I’ve never seen anything like it.
Fred’s sister was right, Kintaro is a sweet and friendly cat to humans. But I CANNOT WAIT until he’s gone. The baby gates at the bottom of the stairs are a huge pain, because I go up those stairs 75 times a day (I have to, to get to the foster room), and I have to remove the bottom baby gate, squeeze under the top baby gate, put the bottom baby gate back up, and then reverse the process when I go back downstairs, every single time. Miz Poo, Tommy, and Stefan love to hang out in Fred’s room and his office during the day, but because Kintaro now has the upstairs as his domain during the day, they can’t go up there. Fred attempted taking Stefan up there to hang out with Kintaro, and Kintaro lost his MIND. Poor Stefan.
Someone (I suspect Tommy) is displeased with this new arrangement, and has sprayed a few times. I don’t blame him. I KNOW HOW HE FEELS.
I seriously cannot wait until this cat is gone. We are not ever doing this again.
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Is it time? I think it is!
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Previously
2012: Petey and Thistle, doin’ the snuggle thang.
2011: No entry.
2010: “HEY! HI! WHAT YOU DOIN’ OVER THERE?!”
2009: “How YOU doin’?”
2008: I swear that every time a foster cat’s stay with us draws near to a close, they get unbearably cuter and sweeter.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.