Kittens on Campus

The two litters on campus have now started exploring their areas, and as such they are getting a lot more human interaction (both good and bad). It's hard to make sure no one bothers them, and that they understand the kittens are all being cared for (and quite well, I might add).

Yesterday a student with good intentions "rescued" one of the kittens that didn't actually need rescuing. After a day spent scrambling to make sure it was okay (fortunately she was smart enough to call her vet about caring for it... but not everyone has that kind of foresight), we returned it to the mother last night. So far he seems to be accepted back into the group, but we'll keep a close eye on him over the next few days to make sure he's being allowed to nurse, and is getting enough food and protection from the cat pack.

Here's the rescued cutie:

Returned to mama and siblings (he's the fuzzy blur to the left):

UPDATE:

June 7, 2011

Here is the little baby back with his sibling... he's completely at home again, and has only become more friendly around people because of the whole incident. Glad to see he's doing so well (and only 4 more weeks until he goes in for his sterilization!!!).

Cat Boa

Lemur decided her new job was to be a furry boa around Adams neck... Such a comfy spot to rest!!

UM Spay Day

The spay day event was a success, although the UM cats weren't quite the majority I hoped they would be. I ended up only being able to trap 5 cats, which puts us at 5 more non-baby making cats on campus, but not 20 like I'd hoped.
We did end up sterilizing 53 cats total and I got to watch some of the surgeries, which was crazy cool. I also met a few more people on campus that want to help with the sterilization program so that was good news!

From now on though I will only be focusing on one or two cats a week, and taking them to be sterilized on Fridays since I'll be on summer hours soon. And the donated money that was not used for the cats this weekend will go to the ones I take in over the summer, to make sure they get the medicine they need as well!!

C4k3

This is the fourth UM cat I've caught for Sundays event, and the third kitten of the litter. The fourth kitten is sitting across from my trap, apparently debating if it's hungry enough to forget what it saw just happen to it's sibling... Here's hoping hunger wins!!!

Adam is Famous too

I love the blog Cute Boys With Cats and of course since I have a cute boy and some cute cats I had to submit a picture. Lo and behold, today's cute boy is Adam, with James tucked into his neck:)
I love my boys!!!

http://cuteboyswithcats.tumblr.com/post/5534280682/this-is-my-boyfriend-adam-with-our-tiny-cat

Best Furry Friends

James and Lemur have become best friends, playing together endlessly and Lemur teaching James how to be a respectful kitty. It's really cute, and James will just follow her all over the house, jumping on her if she isn't playing with him enough. And Lemur is really sweet with him... she plays nicely, and teaches him that biting hurts and scratching is a big no no.

James is a Fatty!!

He's officially tipped the scales at two pounds, and it only took him 2 weeks to fatten up. He still needs to gain a bit more weight, but it's nice to see his round little belly and know that he's at a much healthier and normal weight!!!:)

Battle wounds

Comes with the territory, and these are actually pretty minor compared to some I've gotten... but it stings nonetheless. Sadly they won't be the last of my war wounds either.

Captured!

This is actually my second catch of the day. I caught it's sibling about an hour ago, and have two more from the same litter that I'm trying to trap as we speak. Unfortunately they're nowhere to be found, but mama cat is wondering around so she's next on the list.

Here are mama and baby #2 walking across my path, just before their capture. I did catch mama last night, and will head back to their feeding spot tonight to try and catch the other 2 babies. I also want to catch the giant tom cat that keeps getting the ladies knocked up, but he's strong and has already busted out of one of my traps before....!

I like it when things come together!

Hooray for all my supporters out there!!
We reached our goal of $200 to help the campus cats!!

But the fight is not over... please feel free to give if you have not already. There are still many more cats on campus who will be caught in the coming weeks, and they will all need the flea and worm medicine as well!

A VERY BIG THANK YOU TO:
Anna
Aubree
Cathy
Charlotte
Dianne
Mary
Ray
Rita
Ryan
Sarah
Tiffany

You all are kitty cat superheroes, and I couldn't do what I do without you!! :)

I'm coming for you...

It's a little hard to find the kitten in this picture, but there is a 12 week old black one sitting next to the bushes that just moved its way up my hit list. This little one seems to have left its littermates for the promise of yummy canned food, which is great for me because s/he should be relatively easy to catch.
The other three are still roaming around campus, but hopefully they'll make themselves obvious in time for the spay event on Sunday.


And how could you say no to helping this little baby??... donate today to get this kitten the medicine it needs!!! We're so close to our goal of $200... help us reach our target by donating using the tool on the top right of this blog!

We're almost there...

We're about half way to our goal of $200, and there are only 5 days left to make it over the top.... help us help the campus cats by donating today! Even a little goes a long way!!!!!

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The Cat Networks Meow Mobile will be on the University of Miami campus on Sunday, May 22nd to sterilize 15-20 campus cats. While I've secured funding for the sterilization and rabies vaccinations, these cats urgently need to be treated for fleas and worms. It's a growing problem with the campus cats, and can lead to a host of illnesses that are easily preventable. The cost is only $10 per animal (greatly reduced from the normal $30), but we desperately need donations to pay for this added service.

Please help us if you can... a $10 donation will help a cat in need, and we offer you our eternal thanks!!! You can use the "donate" tool on the top right of this blog, or you can send me an email about other ways to give. Our goal is to raise $200 in one week... help us make this a reality!

I drink your milkshake...

or in this case, water.

Lemur decided to join the Heat watch party, and helped herself to Adam's cup of water. At least she chose wisely, and stayed away from the Coronas!

Snuggles

James has a new favorite snuggle spot with Adam...

Ultimate kitty comfort

Lemur knows how to relax like a lady...

CALL TO ACTION

The Cat Networks Meow Mobile will be on the University of Miami campus on Sunday, May 22nd to sterilize 15-20 campus cats. While I've secured funding for the sterilization and rabies vaccinations, these cats urgently need to be treated for fleas and worms. It's a growing problem with the campus cats, and can lead to a host of illnesses that are easily preventable. The cost is only $10 per animal (greatly reduced from the normal $30), but we desperately need donations to pay for this added service.

Please help us if you can... a $10 donation will help a cat in need, and we offer you our eternal thanks!!! You can use the "donate" tool on the top right of this blog, or you can send me an email about other ways to give. Our goal is to raise $200 in one week... help us make this a reality!

Kitty thanks

Every time I feed the cats I always get a thank you present from Lemur. As soon as she's finished with her food she'll go an find the nearest toy or article of clothing, and will then put it on her clean plate for me. It's pretty cute, and a lot better than being given dead cockroaches like they usually give Adam... and those they leave for him on his pillow!!

Daily thanks await the lucky person who gets to adopt this thoughtful kitty!! Who's it gonna be??!!!

Challenge Accepted

Everywhere I look people seem to be going on and on about this alleged "world's loudest cat". Yesterday the Cat Network posted about it, and too many people made comments about how cute it was... little do they know that Madeline is the world's loudest undiscovered cat!!!!

Adam bought some sort of sound measuring instrument (I have no idea what the technical name for it is, so we're just gonna go with my name of loud-o-meter), so tonight we plan on measuring and recording Maddie's loudness to prove to the rest of the world that she's the winner! 93 decibels is the target number, but I'm certain we'll break 100.

On a sad note, the current listed world's loudest cat, Smokey, has apparently been given up for adoption 8 times because of her loudness... poor baby, I would take her in a heartbeat and create a little singing kitty chorus with her and Maddie!!!

Back in Action

After a brief hiatus, and of course some serious heart break, I'm back in action getting these feral cats sterilized, vaccinated and cared for. This morning, as I spotted another young cat on campus, I sort of realized that the best way I can honor the kittens is to make sure what happened to them doesn't happen again, and that means making sure there aren't unwanted litters. I know I can't do it all, and I'll never get ahead of this problem, but I can definitely make a small impact.

That being said, I contacted the Cat Network and they agreed to come to UM this summer and hold a spay-day event (they were already thinking about doing it too... great minds think alike!). We'll be primarily sterilizing the feral cats on campus, but we will also be opening up the event to the UM community at large, so they can bring their pet and feral cats in for sterilizations and vaccinations as well. The details are still being worked out, but the event will be on Sunday, May 22nd, and I can't wait! I'm also working on getting another spay-day event on campus in July.

I also got the Facilities Department to finalize the feral cat procedure on campus, and get it on the books. There is now a specific protocol for reporting feral cats, and for dealing with them (we have a hotline and everything!!). Now to just work out a few more kinks, and we'll be 100% on our way!!

One more note, for good measure.... being South Florida we have a very severe flea problem during the summer months, and as such we have more than a few cats who are losing all their hair from being so badly infested. Fleas can cause anemia, amongst a host of other problems, so it's imperative that we treat the feral cats as soon as possible before they start getting sick. The catch-22 is that flea medication is very expensive (and we need the kind that comes in pill form - Program & Capstar), so anyone out there who can donate any amount, we would appreciate it more than you could ever know!!! Even $5 helps offset the cost of flea medicine! Or, if you'd like to purchase the flea medication and send it directly to our organization, send me an email and I'll give you the shipping address. Thank you in advance for your help!!!!



"I simply can't resist a cat, particularly a purring one. They are the cleanest, cunningest, and most intelligent things I know, outside of the girl you love, of course."
- Mark Twain

James

James loves Adam, and particularly Adam's neck. He'll curl up with anyone as long as he doesn't see Adam in the same room, because if he does he's off running towards him for snuggles. I think he feels really safe so close to him, where he's protected and can hear Adam's heart beat. Either way, it's really cute, and at this point James can have and do whatever he wants.

House

The cats got the most awesome, amazing present ever from their Tia Anna.... this super cool two story cat house. Anna's own pirate kitty Annie didn't want it anymore once she got her own 4 bedroom house, so the freak show gladly accepted it. All of them go insane for the play house, and get so excited sometimes they just don't know what to do with themselves. Earlier in the evening we caught Lemur freaking out over all the fun toys, she was scratching on the post while hopping up and down trying to catch the ball in her mouth.... too many things to play with!!

Here Madeline and Lemur play in the house, and fight over a straw they brought with them into their new home....

Cats love Basketball

Emily helped us cheer on the Heat last night, as they beat the Celtics in Game 4!! She sat in front of the TV for a good half hour, watching the ball go up and down the court.

My Fuzzy Babies

This was one of the worst weekends I've ever experienced.

Despite the most hard fought battle, we lost both Remus and Lily over the course of 2 days. Because they lacked their mother's immunities they never developed properly, and as a result they had the lungs of a four week old kitten at 7 1/2 weeks old. Saturday morning we rushed Remus to Dr. Lista because his breathing was bad and he wasn't eating, and we gave him every antibiotic, medicine and immunity booster available, but his lungs still gave out that evening. Then Lily started showing respiratory problems that night, and even though she fought so incredibly hard, we lost her Monday morning. I know that we did every single thing we possibly could for them, but it doesn't make losing them any easier. They both were unbelievably amazing kittens, and would have been the most fantastic cats if given the chance. I'm glad to have known them for the little time I did, and I will never forget the month I got to spend with them.

We took James to the vet Monday morning, just to make sure he was okay... while he's underweight (1.28 pounds instead of the 2 he should weigh), he's otherwise healthy. He eats well, but he just needs to eat more, whether he likes it or not. We also did a lot of blood work with Remus, just to make sure it wasn't leukemia or FIV or some other disease, and those tests all came back negative, which is good for James but still leaves some unanswered questions with Remus and Lily.

I just have to keep telling myself that none of them would have survived if they we're left in the dumpster, and that they were able to experience a happy month of playing and learning and being loved unconditionally. Now we just have to focus on James and make sure he gets everything he needs to live a long, happy life.


Remus and Lily play together:



Lily wakes up with us:

How we wake up...

This is how we wake up in the morning. Mind you, there are only 5 cats on the bed in this picture, instead of the usual 7 (Zadie was in the window, and Emma was on the floor waiting for us to get up and feed her). Sometimes it's a little annoying getting pushed out of your own bed, but mostly it's pretty cute and nice to wake up to a lot of fuzzy love!!:)

Remus sleeps

Remus is an awkward cuddler and I love it:)

You're not the boss of me

Who wants to be inside the carrier when you can sit on the carrier?!

Fame Suits Us Well

The girls are famous! Or at least they're getting some much needed web time...

The three are all now listed on The Cat Networks' website and Facebook pages, as well as on Pet Finder.
http://www.facebook.com/thecatnetwork
http://cats.thecatnetwork.org/bios/arianna_sdw.html

My adoption post was also shared on the cute and crafty blog Us & Them:
http://usandthem1971.blogspot.com/2011/05/cat-adoption.html

Thank you to everyone out there who is helping to spread the word!! Let's keep it up, and find these lovely (now famous) little girls a forever home!!!

Babies

The babies are growing up!! Two more weeks and they can start looking for their forever homes:)

Lily:

James:

Remus:

Shoes

Every girl loves a cute pair of shoes, but Lily seems to love them for an entirely different set of reasons. Apparently they are an excellent place to sit, sleep and play. James will occasionally come over and check out her shoe collection too, but she's pretty determined to guard what's hers!!

Zadies new trick...

Zadie has discovered that if she pulls all the paper towels off the roll, not only is it a fun game, but it also makes a nice bed afterward. New favorite place to play AND sleep!!... I have to admit, despite the mess it's actually a pretty good idea!!!

The Amazing Side of Humanity

With everything that is going on today I thought I'd share something I found that made me immensely happy, and restored some of my faith in humanity:

http://guardianangelsforsoldierspet.org/

This organization works to find foster homes for soldiers pets when they are called to duty and can no longer care for them, and then reunites pet and owner upon the soldiers return. You can fill out an application to help foster an animal, or you can make donations directly to the organization. I encourage you all to read more about the group on their website, and help in any way you can (even with something as simple as an encouraging word!). Positive reinforcement goes a long way, and we definitely need more people like this in our world!!!


Their mission: Supporting our Military, Veterans, and their beloved Pets to ensure the pets are reunited with their owners following a deployment (combat or peace-keeping mission) in harm's way to fight the global war on terrorism or unforseen emergency hardship impacting their ability to retain their pet's ownership rights.