Happy New Years from all of us on the Bayou!

Zeus ask that you don't drink and drive!

A Little Winter Comfort

Ody, as you may know is my oldest pet.  He has in his old age become decidedly unphased by things that used to bother him (and still bother my younger brood of cats and fosters).  Since it is winter and been quite chilly most of the month, Fleury sleeps on my bed most evenings.  I've noticed that once she gets on the bed and nods off into a nap, some of the cats get on the bed and don't seem to notice her.  Ody has managed to push this to a whole new level.  I have caught his bum slightly lying against Fleury's bum and other close proximity touches.  But both of them falling asleep like this?  Priceless.

Ody "walking" on Fleury (notice Zeus' glowing eyes at the top)

Or perhaps it's a back massage?

Catnip Diaries

The boys and girls enjoy some catnip time together.

My Two Youngest will be 2 years old in February

Ok I promised a video of the rotti and the silver tabby as babies playing and here it is below, I hope I've embedded it correctly!





Please be sure to leave a comment if they do not work properly! (Apologies for all my giggling, you have to admit it was pretty darn cute and funny!)

The Old Man and the C (for cute)

Odyseuss (Ody), is my 14 year old Maine Coon.  I got him at 4 weeks old from a friend of my roommate at the time, Jen.  He was from a litter of 4 kittens and the tragedy was that the mother had been struck by a car, leaving these poor little ones orphaned.  There were two black, one white and one gray kitten.  I chose my gray little guy and whisked him home to meet his brother Baxter who was Jen's new kitten.

Ody being stalked by my best friend's dog, Bear (whom passed away last year).

Bear after being sequestered outside for slobbering all over Ody one too many times.

Ody turned out to be a pretty mellow cat and had the joy of being walked around in a doll stroller by my daughter and romping up and down the stairs with Baxter.  Baxter was diagnosed with FIV when they were around 2 years old.  Wonderfully enough, he lived until a couple of years ago and Ody was never infected!

Baxter and Ody enjoying some gripping times with my daughter Elizabeth.

As times have passed and we've moved from place to place, Ody has always been there with me.  He sits watch on the bed when I'm sick, daring any more germs to invade my space.  He crankily watches Boo Boo and Zeus wrestle on the cat tree from his perch on the window.

Boo Boo and Ody.

This last year has been a stressful one for him, we moved from Florida to Louisiana along with all the our other animals.  He's lost some weight and tends to look more grumpy than usual, especially around the fosters.  Last week my brother lost his dog, Boochie (a miniature poodle) to old age.  I couldn't help but reflect that all of us got our pets within 2 - 3 years of one another.  Jen lost Baxter, then Lisa lost Bear and Rob lost Boochie.  My daughter goes off to college next year and Ody is the last living amongst my close friends and ex-roommates pets.  It's been a long strange trip Ody my friend, I hope we have a few adventures left together.

"Those fosters are getting on my nerves......"

"You kids shut up, I'm trying to nap in here!"

"I got my eye on you..."

Mortal...frenemies

Boo Boo normally hates Fleury due to the fact that she's still a puppy in rottweiler years and wants to "play" with all moving things.

I apologize for the poor quality but it was by the light of the tv, also this is why I have no leg room to sleep!  I recently got a automatic laser light called Bolt (its on Amazon.com) for the cats.  Turns out Fleury is more interested in it than the cats, she literally wore herself out chasing this automated laser all over the floor and walls.  This I must video and share with you soon, it's quite amusing!

The Mighty Zeus as a kitten

So my boyfriend was nice enough to bring back the flu from a business trip to Massachusetts and give it to me!  So I haven't taken a lot of pictures this week of the my foster girls.  But I thought I'd share some kitten pictures of Zeus.  We rescued him from our backyard where a feral momma cat was nursing him under thick bushes.  This was her second litter, where we rescued another kitten as well and he went to live with my boyfriend's son and roommates.  Well, I had been keeping an eye on this litter which was originally 5 and she kept moving them around the yard.  After a couple weeks, he was the only one left and fearing he'd die as well, I snatched him and we raised him.  We rescued him about 3 weeks before we were to get my rottweiler, Fleury.  So they grew up together and played together until she got too big.  I have a video I will post of them "fighting" over his vinyl box which is hilarious.  His newest joy is picking fights with Angel and Momma, so he gets banned to the game room alot when it gets out of hand.

Sitting on Daddy's shoulder, he's the only person that Zeus purrs for.

Sitting on my stomach for a feeding.

Swatting at invisible bed mice.  He chased invisible things for much of his kittenhood it was hilarious!

Forget the overpriced toys......

A box will do just fine.....

Zeus enjoying the wok box.

A wok on the wild side....

I'm just a maaaan in a box.....

Hush my darling, don't fear my darling, the lion sleeps toniiiight....

Now this here?  This is trust.  *smile*

A VERY big step towards peace and harmony

I've previously neglected to mention that Angel is the typical calico and very much has an attitude problem.  I've worked around it and left her alone after being scratched (very hard, enough to cause bruising around the scratch) three times.  Today, she decided to wander into my room as I sat on my bed watching television and surfing the internet.  She hopped up onto the bed which my rottweiler Fleury was lounging on at the foot of the bed.  I gingerly reached out to pet her and she melted under my touch.  I was shocked, so I had to document, I apologize for the low lighting and awkward angles (and messy nightstand) but its the best I could do without moving too much or disturbing her too much (and using one hand).

Angel enjoying some attention, see her left eye, I've been scared too touch it for fear of being scratched but I got that gooky out thru clever petting.  =)

No more eye gookies and some much needed loving.

Proof Fleury was on the bed!  Yes I was playing Fable 3 on XBOX 360 hehe.

Paws delicately crossed and a content kitty.

This is a great breakthrough today, it brought tears to my eyes that I was able to show her some much needed affection after she's been here for almost a month now.  Proof that fostering warms your heart.  =)

Silly Girl

Momma enjoying the afghan my mother made for me.

Showing off her toes.

Guarding the base of the cat tree.

Furry Friday

Resident cat, Zeus settling down in his cat tree cubby.

Angel enjoying her box top bed and a view of the window.

Momma showing the cat tree some love.

Angel and Momma

Momma Cat

Momma was dumped outside a vet's office in the middle of the night in a cardboard box with her kittens.  Her kittens turned out great and have all been adopted.  She is less than a year old, a baby having babies, which is one of the reasons it is so important to always spay or neuter your animals as soon as they are old enough.

She is a silly little cat, her head being smaller than her body.  She is very affectionate and playful young lady although doesn't particularly prefer being held or sitting in a lap.  However, she cuddles right next to me on the bed while I watch TV or blog.  She has a maddening habit of sticking her head into whatever cup of drink I have sitting around which sometimes leads to a mess on the floor I must clean up.  She also has a healthy fascination with the toilet, so lid must be down in the evenings LOL.  You can look at her listing on petfinder.com here.











Angel

Angel was brought to us by family members of a gentleman that had suffered a stroke.  They were unable to care for her and thought it best to have her put up for adoption.  Angel is around 5 years old and seems to have been the only cat in her house.  She's a bit overweight and has moments where she is quite a grouchy girl.  I can't blame her though, she has to be pretty confused and probably mourning the loss of her human.

The good news is that we've had an update from the owner's family this week.  Her owner was slowly recovering from his stroke and the entire time he's been asking for Angel (whom the nurses assumed was a sister or relative ha!).  So I've agreed to foster Angel until her human is well enough to take care of her again.  What a happy ending!!  For this reason, we have no listed her on our petfinder listings.

And so it begins

I have spent the majority of my life as an animal lover.  I was one of those kids that brought home every manner of living creature and desperately pleaded with my parents to keep them.  Through the years, there have been only very brief times that I have lived without at least one pet in my home.  So having been a victim of our current recession and finding myself unemployed and fortunate enough that my significant other's income was enough for us to live on, I thought I might as well do something productive with my spare time.

I recently became a cat/kitten foster parent for an organization in Baton Rouge known as APAWS, Animal Protection and Welfare Society.  So I begin this blog as a way to document and share the rewards and challenges of fostering kittens and cats.  I hope to share many heart warming stories and educate the public about animal rescue, volunteering and the importance of spay/neuter programs for animals.

Now to be completely honest, I had no interest in fostering adult cats.  I have a house full of my own resident staff, Fleury, a 1 1/2 year old female Rottweiler, Tink, a people aggressive 5 year old female Jack Russell terrier, Odyseuss (Ody) a 14 year old male Maine Coone, Boo Boo, a 6 year old long hair domestic cat and finally Zeus, a 1 1/2 year old silver tabby short hair domestic cat.  The reason I was unsure of fostering adult cats was because all I had available was a spare room to foster out of and I thought it would be too cramped for the adult cats to live out of.

Fleury trying to claim her bed from Zeus.

My boys, Boo Boo, Zeus and Ody.

Tink (with Fleury trying to steal her toy)

After meeting Emily Harris, Vice President and Cat Foster Chair for APAWS, I decided to give an adult cat a shot since I was new to fostering.  The cats and kittens spend their time between foster homes and kennels at our local PetSmart's hoping to be adopted into forever homes.  And as the title states, so begins my adventures into the wonderful world of animal fostering!