Litter Carnage!

So this morning I came downstairs and went into the kitten room, only to find—CARNAGE! Well, litter box carnage. Honestly, Gypsy is the messiest litter box-using-cat I’ve ever met. Okay, that might not be true, but she certainly is messy. Had to toss all the litter and replace most of the newspaper. She will be getting a different, bigger litter box with higher sides. Definitely.

Also this morning, we found out she had hid one of the kittens. Just one. The little tan one. We could hear it mewling, but for the longest time couldn’t find it. Eventually we did find it, on the shelf of an un-used bookcase, and we retrieved it and put it back with the others, whom momma had moved into the kennel.

Two of the kitties have names now! The mini-Gypsy is Dragon, and the calico is Phoenix, named by my little sister. The tan one and the tortie don’t have names yet, though. We’re still thinking.

Also, Phoenix is quiet the active little thing!

Is that a camera?

And since watching kittens wiggle around has been proven to be one of the cutest things you will ever watch, here’s a video of restless kitties!

I decided I will be taking daily pictures of the kittens, so here they are, at (we think) 11 days old:

Phoenix, the calico

The muted tortie

The tan one

Dragon, the mini-Gypsy

Welcome Home Kitties!

So, here I am, sitting in my storage room, typing up my blog post… and watching the kitties! Momma cat (who I have named Gypsy) is just the sweetest thing, and seems pretty at home in her new house. And she seems to very much enjoy being able to get away from her babies when she needs to.

 Gypsy

And the kittens—ah yes, the kittens!—are just the most adorable things you have ever seen. I kid you not.

The most adorable things you have ever seen!

They’re so funny, they just sprawl all over each other and don’t seem to mind when momma sits on them!

Gypsy moved the babies out of the kennel they came home in and into a new bed we had set up for her. Though the kennel is still open to them, and currently Gypsy is curled up in the kennel away from her babies.

Even momma cats need a break!

Gypsy wasn’t happy about the being stuck in there on the ride home. And boy did she let us know—loudly! But when we got her home and let her out, she explored all around the store room, found plenty of nooks and crannies to hide in, made sure there were no dangers, and then demanded attention from us.

Yes, scratch right there… ahhh…

Now let me introduce you to the babies, at ten days old:

The calico!

The muted tortie!

The tan one!

And the miniature Gypsy!

The calico and the muted tortie are girls and the tan one and the mini-gypsy are boys, and they don’t have names yet, but I’m sure they will in the near future.

Now if you’ll excuse me, it’s time to go ooh and ahh over the kitties again. And Gypsy is demanding more attention.

Unveiling... the Kitten Room!

Kittens come home tomorrow, so this afternoon my younger sister and I set up the kitten room! The kitten room being a cleared out space in the storage room of our finished basement where we’ve set up a cozy little playpen for the kittens. (Partly to keep them in one place for our convenience, and partly to keep them in one place so momma cat can get away from them sometimes)

Our kitten room:

The reason it’s in the storage room is because it’s a closed-off room where we can make sure my cat won’t get to them.

My dog, however, is very curious about this new place and can he please play there too?

Eeee, I can’t wait until the kitties arrive! You can bet there will be plenty of pictures!

Kittens are Coming, My Cat is Getting Fat!

The title ought to be sung to the tune of "Christmas is Coming". Just for the record.

So let's just go ahead and explain things, shall we?

My name is May, or at least that's what I go by online, and I volunteer at my local county Animal Shelter. As I (currently--I'm still hoping for a job!) am not doing anything long-term this Summer, I told the caretakers at the Shelter that I could foster any baby kittens that needed a home before they went up for adoption. (Baby kittens= kittens under seven weeks old, which is how old they have to be before they can go up for adoption.) And just yesterday, on Thursday, they told me they had a momma cat and four one-week-old kittens I could foster if I wanted to!

Naturally, I said yes.

They will be coming home Monday, and starting Monday, I will be chronicling their life from their arrival, to their departure back to the Animal Shelter to find their forever homes.

Now, I do have a cat and a dog, which I will probably be introducing in the somewhat-near future, to deal with as well. My dog will probably do fine, as he will be friends with everyone from humans to other dogs to cats to snakes, I'm mildly worried about my cat, who really doesn't along with much of anyone. She likes some people well enough, and she gets along fine with my dog (mostly because she is forced to tolerate because he's bigger than she is), but she decidedly does not get along with other animals. I don't intend to introduce her to the foster-kitties, but if she should ever sneak into their room... well, we'll deal with that when it happens, won't we?