Introducing...The Spring Muffins!

So I promised an update on my foster babies, and here it is! You are never going to believe how much they've grown.

Here they are at three weeks:

Kitten Parade

They almost completely skipped the "belly crawl" that usually precedes walking and went straight to becoming full on trouble makers. They were definitely not content to spend any more time than necessary hanging out in that carrier.

Skip forward a week and a half:

Everyone sleeps in that little bed together, regardless of size (they still do).

And, without further ado, the names!

Daffodil

Ladybug

Hawthorn is the tux

Sunflower

Not pictured: The shy one, who's name I can't remember anyway. I'll update once I remember!

These guys are already fully weaned and that's good, because Mom seems like she really doesn't want to be there anymore. I can't really blame her, since most of them are nearly her size already.

Now that they are six weeks old, they've been vaccinated with their first shot and have been weighed (the heaviest is almost 2lbs.!). They will be at the Tualatin Petsmart next weekend, March 5th and 6th, from 12-4pm if you would like to see them in person! I have to warn you though, they're evil little pants-climbers.

Happy Tails!

Kitten Talk

Out of all the things I've learned since I started working at CAT, one of the lessons that never ceases to amaze me is how a tiny kitten can turn the most sane, logical, intelligent, manly men and women of adults into coddling, baby-talk spewing piles of mush. No one comes through Kitten Headquarters without cooing at the babies, or expressing their extreme disappointment when there are no babies to coo at.

Try not to call me an itty bitty cutie wootie puddin pie. Just try.

With that in mind, I thought I would introduce those who don't know it already to the world of Kitten talk. Someone who can speak normally to a room of infants will still fall into high pitched gibberish upon seeing a litter of 4 week old kittens. Always.

Some of these are generally known throughout the kitten/foster world, and some are words I just made up, but here is the unabridged Kitten Dictionary for KHQ.

Hidey Bed:

Basically, a bed with sides and sometimes fully enclosed. I don't think I made this word up myself but I can't remember where I first heard it either. It's for shy kitties and baby kittens who need some warmth.

Stuffy:

 
This word isn't specific to Kittens, but that's what we call them. It can be any animal and is used for those small babies that need extra mom-like comfort. I even have two weirdly cat shaped ones that came with a warming pad and a heart-shaped dealie that beats like mom's heart. Kinda creepy.

Boingy-Boingy:

This one is all me. It's pretty much any toy on a spring that boings back and forth and usually comically boinks the kitten on the head.

Slurry:

Anyone in the foster world should know this word if they've had any experience with kittens who won't eat. It's a slushy mixture of (human) baby food, any soft, smelly kitten food (usually a/d) and kitten formula. It's great because if the kittens won't eat it on their own, though most will, you can also syringe feed it to them and it's not quite as annoying as formula to feed, though still very messy.

Muffins:

My Yuffie as a baby.

Yuffie's brother.

Basically any kitten, although I usually only call them muffins when referring to them while talking to their mommy.

Queen:

 Mom, aka momma, mommy, mother, life-giver, food-maker, mess cleaner-upper, tolerater of tail-biting, head-jumping and foot-chomping, knower-of-all and unconditional lover.

Not a word I made up. Moms in foster care are called Queens fur real. (hahahahaha pun!)

This has been Jos as your guide to the world of kitten facts. Happy Tails!

Props to Google for the toy pics, Dawn Rossiter for the slurry pic (plz don't sue me), Nancy Puro for the pics of my Yuffie, his bro, and Noodle, and foster parents for the other kitten pictures.

Kitten Season

For most people, spring means this:

Or this:

Or this:

But for me, spring means this:

Disgusting.

Before I started working here I was like most people who come in looking for a kitten during the winter and are told "we're out". I go "que?" and they say "what?" and I go "what?" and after some comical Abbott and Costello type confusion they explain that it's not "kitten season."

Well, what the heck is kitten season? Perhaps you've heard of springtime as being the time of birth and new life. That's true for cats too. Depending on the winter weather and how warm the spring is, kitten season can generally start from March to May and generally goes until September to October. This year, however, it starts now.

I can't see and I can't walk, but I'm coming!

That's right. Because of the mild winter here and spring starting basically last week, kittens, newborns and pregnant moms are coming out the wazoo right now. Having the benefit of already working through one kitten season makes me tons better prepared for this year, but it's still daunting to think that March is already early for kittens and they're coming a month earlier than that! On the upside- I love what I do and every kitten the foster program saves warms my heart. On the downside, this means we have less room for kittens on the whole, as already during the summer months we have to take only from county shelters and only as I have room in my foster homes.

But we'll keep plugging along and taking in all we can just like last year. In fact, now that I'm not as much of an incompetent fool, hopefully things will go much smoother this season.

If you want to become a foster parent or know someone who does, please go to the CAT website and fill out a volunteer application. And just in case you're wavering on volunteering, here's this:

Resistance is futile.

Spring Pictures found on Google.
Kitten pictures taken by foster parents and me.
Seal Point Himalayan picture taken by Madeleine Barker.