August 31, 2006

Catis Patchis is getting a home!

Fantastic news! The woman who came in a few weeks ago and really liked Patch has put a hold on him! She's housesitting for another couple of weeks, so will pick him up on the 16th.

And the couple that wanted Andy still want our lovely boy (his FIV status and polyp problem not withstanding) and will be taking him home tomorrow night.

Go boys!

Speaking of boys, check out some gorgeous photos of Cheeky and Boris here. Thanks Libby. Just warms the heart to see those two so happy.

Still on the subject of boys, Bryan (aka Stumpy) and Le Roy continue to thrive in their new home. Here's an update from early July:

"Went upstairs last night, (well before bed time) and there was the lovely Leroy laid ON TOP of the bed, how very brave, and still there two hours later when we went up.

Then this morning, I'm eating, Stumpy's eating (its the only way to keep him quiet in a morning) : ) and I see something from the corner of my eye, and there he is my man Leroy stood .....downstairs!!!!!!!
He went straight to the nearly empty food bowl got a bit scared when I got up to get him some of his own, and nearly ran off, but with a few words of encouragment he stayed to eat it all, bless him, needless to say he's up there now, but at least its a start, and all on his own!"

And this from a couple of weeks ago:

"Finally managed to coax Leroy into coming to the bottom of the stairs for his dinner, just last week. Litter still upstairs for now just in case, but sometimes when you least expect it he just appears downstairs which is nice, although he still doesn't really spend any time down here, he does however like those furry ball things that our friends bought for him, I threw one across the room for him the other night, but didn't think he'd like it cos it rattles, he went mad for it like a kitten!! He comes out from under the bed now nearly every time you go into the bedroom, and will always follow us into the bathroom, he's so affectionate.

Just had our first weekend away, and our friends came to feed them for us, Stumpy was ok apparently but they didn't see Leroy much!! However they coped really well and it didn't seem to have had any adverse effects on them so thats great. It was cold yesterday, and so Leroy spent most of the day on the bed, UNDER the duvet, oh yes, little sod, every time I went up there was a lump in the bed, right in the middle too, he's not daft is he??!!

Stumpy gets a bit moody sometimes and will tend to play a bit too rough, I think he's missing the outdoors he really seems to need to burn off some excess energy, so I think one night this week, I'll have to see if he'll go outside when all the traffic has died down I'm a bit nervous he won't come back, but they always seem to don't they, Leroy isn't bothered of course, but I suppose really they're used to being outside."

Well, haven't heard how that went, but I'm sure if it had all turned to custard S would have called.

Little Madam continues to do well on the new meds, and my Monty-man is as full of beans as ever. Might just have to get my own flickr account so you can all see my two in their wonderful splendour.

Watch this space! ;o)

Posted by Kris at 10:56 AM | Comments (0)

August 30, 2006

The Adventures of Rhiannon the Brave - and not very good news at all about our Gizmo

Well, got the dreaded phone call from T on monday night. C had gone out in the morning leaving Rhiannon on the bed, and when he got home, couldn't find her anywhere. By the time they rang me at about 6:15pm they'd torn the place apart and still no sign of her. T had rung the power company to see if the meter reader had been as that was the only way they figured she could have gotten out of the house. The answer was "No", all the door and windows shut, and yet, no sign.

After much discussion we decided she must be in the house somewhere, but hiding and that she'd probably come out when it was dark and quiet. When I rang back around 8, they were both sitting in the dark with the TV off hoping she'd come out. And while we were on the phone, she did just that! Two very relieved and tearful cat parents on the other end of the phone I can tell you.

Next day I got this email from T to let me know how she was getting on:

"She’s just fine, came out from under the bed for a feed and jumped on the bed for cuddles before heading down to the lounge to trot along the couches in there, then on to have a sniff around the kitchen before heading back to bed. She didn’t jump off the bed when I got up to go to the toilet last night (that’s a first) and was up bright and early with us this morning, smooching around our feet, jumping up and banging her head into our hands asking for more chin rubs and cuddles and flopping all over the floor.

C is hugely relieved, I’m still rather shaken but relieved too; if that’s the stress a cat can put you under, f**k having children!

Needless to say the room she hid in is off limits for a while!"

Gizmo and Sammy were brought back to the shelter by their adoptive people on Sunday. One of them had apparently been toiletting inappropriately in the house for some time and they decided it was all a bit much for them. They both looked much thinner than when they left us which was a bit of a worry. Then got a call from M yesterday saying that Gizmo had been drinking and peeing copious amounts, had a tender and distended abdomen and was very thin along the backbone. She got him dropped off at the vet who contacted me later in the day to say our poor lad is diabetic and not currently in fantastic shape! (Which explains the inappropriate toiletting doesn't it!). We're still waiting on tests for kidney function, and he's starting on insulin shots to see if that'll stabilise him. Long term he'll need those twice a day and we can't realistically manage that in the shelter with the different levels of skill and confidence available on each shift. So, like pretty much all of the other diabetic cats we've had, he's going off to live with S who will be able to give him the consistent medication he's going to need.

Also last weekend we welcomed TJ and Rusty to the Brooklyn shelter. I'll have photos and bios up on the CPL site this weekend once they've settled in a bit more. No homings on the weekend unfortunately. However Nola and I did get the newsletter and general bits for the upcoming AGM sorted and with 300+ envelopes stuffed, they've been mailed today.

I'd like to leave you all with another succession of lovely updates from Libby on the trials, tribulations and triumphs of Cheeky and Boris-the-much-braver:

"I’ve just spoken with Pru and she said Boris is going well on the antibiotics and though they won’t get some of his blood tests back until next week (the bile test??? – which poor Boris was starved for 12 hours for) she is very happy with the ones they have received (liver enzymes have stayed the same – only one type is extremely high and the rest are still in the good range, & he’s negative for Feline Immune Deficiency) and he can come home today.

She didn’t end up giving him the ultrasound, as she felt we should stick with the antibiotics in the hope that it is a virus before we begin more radical procedures – poor Boris would have lost all his tummy fur if he’d had the ultrasound and it’s still pretty cold for a little cat at the moment. Also I hadn’t realised that they can’t do key hole surgery on a cat’s liver because of bleeding so if they do end up finding a possible mass with the ultrasound, Boris would have to have a major operation to get the biopsy.

Poor little boy has also got borderline anaemia, which she thinks is due to his current ill health - which she feels has probably been grumbling away inside him for quite sometime. His white blood cell count is good!

We’re going to stick with the two types of antibiotics that he’s on and just wait for the rest of the blood tests to come in next week and then go from there.

Cheeky is well – though I woke at 3am and suddenly remembered that I hadn’t locked the cat door so I ran about turning on all the lights trying to find him – I guess I should have checked his box at the end of our bed first as that was where he was snoring happily :)

PS – I left Cheeky this morning sitting in the middle of the garden – I’m not sure if he thought he was well camouflaged or not but it was very funny watching him peak between the leaves :o)"

"Cheeky … it doesn’t matter where I am, if I think about him I smile, he’s just so funny. Last night he was sitting on my knee, eyes shut tight and purring sooo loudly. But when he got up, I think his tail had fallen asleep and it was sticking out at a very odd angle & I think it might have had pins and needles as he did not look happy and kind of hopped around the room for a few minutes. We had been worried that he would be feeling a little left out with Boris getting so much attention, but he seems very happy and is getting some great exercise on his outdoor adventures. I do think he misses being the bed cat, so I’m going to sort out a new box for him this weekend to keep him comfortable at night.

Boris … I’ve just had the results of his bile acid test and they are between 3-6 and Pru said they wouldn’t be worried about the liver and do a biopsy unless they were at 20. So she is now pretty certain (she said 99.5%) that he has a virus or bacterial infection and not cancer! I’m so happy for him and he’s really looking much better than he did two weeks ago when we first took him to the vet. I’m off to the butchers at lunch today to buy him some more mince as he turned his little nose up at the special vet food I had bought and lovingly heated in the microwave for him this morning. He is going to be on antibiotics for a month and then have some more blood tests. He is also on a laxative to keep him regular – our kitchen has begun to resemble a pharmacy :o) Luckily Cheeky can finish the rest of the special food as he seemed to enjoy it for breakfast.

This morning his third eyelid popped up again –I had been telling people about his third eyelid issue but I hadn’t mentioned that it looks like a little marshmallow, it’s not flat and grey – which from looking at the internet is what I think people probably thought I meant. I told Pru about it today and she said it sounds like it’s just a normal occurrence for him – as after about 20minutes it disappeared and she said that wouldn’t be expected if there was an underlying cause. She said it happens with dogs but she’s never heard of a cat suffering from it before, so I’m going to take a photo next time it happens and email it to her to see what she thinks.

I think that is all our news for today :o) Please do come and see the boys anytime – I’m sure Cheeky would be thrilled to see a friend –he can show you his trick of standing on his hind legs – which is how he waits for me to serve his dinner – sitting up like a little sumo wrestler."

"The boys both had good weekends, though Boris is now on to the fact that he gets pills at breakfast and dinner and does his best to avoid me around these times. He was such a good boy at taking his pills for the last couple of weeks but I think he is now getting better and has the energy to wriggle and spit them back up, which is a great sign I think :o)

Cheeky was very funny at the weekend. We have all the toys that you and Elaine sent with him in the blue bedroom by the cat door. However on Saturday night he decided this wasn’t really where he wanted them to be and he moved them (all 12 of them!) to the kitchen, though a couple of mice were discarded in the hallway the rest were under the table when we got up on Sunday morning. What a clever fellow!"

Posted by Kris at 09:10 AM | Comments (2)

August 26, 2006

Improvements all round

Hi all. Starting with the home front, Little Madam has been a lot better the last 4 days. Back to purring and face rubs when I give her a cuddle instead of lying in her basket with her face in her paws and just putting up with it. Hopefully we've got the medication right and this'll continue!

And Libby - thanks for the comment on the last entry. So great to hear the little Boris is doing well and ruling you all with an iron paw. Fingers crossed the vet is right and his liver is just fine.

In the last week the shelter's welcomed Rosie and Chicken to our residents list. Check them out on our CPL website - they're both such lovely cats.

Went out to see Rhiannon today. She was in her little basket in the bedroom when I came in, sniffed my hand and looked more than a little suspicious. Shortly after she dived under the bed and there she stayed for the duration of my visit. She did let my crawl under and give her a good chin/head rub and deigned to honour me with a purr, but was definately making sure that I wasn't going to be taking her back to the shelter any time soon!

She's doing so well for only 3 weeks in her new home. She's started going to bed when T & C do and hopping up and sleeping ON the bed rather than under it. She's even started sleeping on the bed in the sun during daylight hours (so brave!). And later on at night she's been exploring the rest of the house, so hopefully it won't be all that long before she's brave enough to try it when the Big Ones are up and about.

In other news, here's an update from Pansy and Poppy's new people on the progress of our two lovely girls:

"Hi just an update on Pansy & Poppy's progress.

They are doing well and have been down the other end of the house which they love.

They spend most of the day sleeping under the bed at the moment, but they are not scared. Once they have their tea they are with us for the rest of the evening.

Poppy place in the evenings in on the couch while Pansy lies in front of the gas heater.

Poppy now seems to be the confident one and is a real smoocher, while Pansy loves attention but is not so relaxed and seems scared of the dark.

Poppy spent time on our bed last night till Pansy called for her. Pansy did spend some time on my daughters bed.

But they are getting heaps of cuddles and attention and we have no worries about them.

They are just lovable little girls and we are so pleased you put them on your website as we never would have found them."

"We will send you some photos but just need to get some better ones of Poppy as she is under the bed at the moment but Pansy is very relaxed and wandering around the house today. "

All this in under a week with a couple of not-very-confident-with-change girls, so sounds like that's all going well.

Snoop and Sassy are both doing just fine - totally adored by their people and are returning that adoration in kind.

And finally, a quick update on some of the cats that I'd homed a while ago but have been keeping in contact as they were pretty timid and needed a decent amount of time to settle in before being let out.

Juliette (now Jewel) and Pearl are fabulous! They were kept in for a couple of months until fully confident indoors and are now happily hopping in and out the cat door and are extremely well loved.

Wendy and Cindy have also settled in brilliantly and are also happily in and out of the house now. They've also been known to sleep on the children's beds and are perfectly at home.

OK - that's all for now. Time to go give my two some much needed attention. If I get a chance I'll update again tomorrow night on the weekend's homings.

Posted by Kris at 08:08 AM | Comments (0)

August 22, 2006

Little Madam not the best

Well, got the wee one to the vet last night. No sign of bowel or bladder overload, but she's really just not herself. She's back on more meds to stimulate the bladder (along with the ongoing cisapride to keep her overstretched bowel moving) and that definately seems to be working going on the leavings in the litterbox last night and today. But something's not right. She's not her purry, head rubbing little self. More tolerating affection than returning it. So, I guess we take it day by day and see how things go. At this stage it's still a bit experimental with the medication and dosages so it may stabilise. Just have this sinking feeling that we're on a bit of a downward spiral at the moment. But hopefully not!

Good news on the Meowff front! K sent some pics to the eye specialist yesterday and he thinks the big green speck in the eye (after the dye was added) is the viral sequesta healing, not a perforation at all! She did have raging conjunctivitis which explained the raw weepy rims, but with temgesic for pain and irrigation of the eyes 6x a day at the vet that's settling down. So, Meowffie's eye problems continue, but at least she's not looking like she's going to lose one.

Talked to Snoop's new people last night and she's doing brilliantly! Settled in really well and is being her loving wonderful self. She's been outside and come back (which is really the last hurdle settling a cat into a new home), and when I rang was sprawled out in front of the fire having her tummy rubbed. They're over the moon about her, and I've no doubt she's going to be a thoroughly spoilt cat! (As it should be).

And I've got an invite to go visit Rhiannon this weekend! T. rang me on monday with an update and said she's doing so well I just have to come visit. She's now sleeping on the bed with them, and coming out and playing and having cuddles during the day, not just at night. Of course, when she wants affection that's what she gets, so apparently not much else got done last weekend other than worshiping their girl.

Fortunately I have a bag of catnip mice in my glovebox, as she's totally destroyed the last pack. :o)

H. tells me that Boris is going to see the specialist in the Hutt about his liver. Here's hoping that wonderful lad is going to be OK, especially now that he's so happy with his new people. Good luck Boris. We're all thinking of you!

Posted by Kris at 10:07 AM | Comments (2)

August 20, 2006

Boris the pin cushion and Cheeky the "I have my nose slightly out of joint"

Sorry for the delay. Been a helluva busy week this week. My little girl stopped eating last weekend, so in to the vet for a check on Saturday, then back in for the day on monday when still no food happening. The x-ray showed her bladder was enormous, so had to have a catheter put in, but managed the rest on her own. The neuro exam shows she's got some nerve damage around her rear which is impacting on the ability to remove what she eats, so she's been on more meds to help that. The vet was also concerned about possible kidney damage from the metacam (which fortunately hasn't happened yet), so she's off that and onto steriods for her arthritis pain.

So far, so good. Well, up to today that is. No sign of anything exiting the rear end, and while she's eating very well, she's not at all purry when I pat her. Will have to see how she is over the next day or so and see if she needs to visit Aunty Kerry at the vet again.

Here's a lovely series of emails from Cheeky and Boris' people :o)

"Well Cheeky is now an outside cat! I tried to persuade him all yesterday that the outside world wasn’t such a bad place but he was having none of it and kept hiding under the kitchen table. I had taped open the cat door to try and inspire him to use it (& he did poke his head out a couple of times) but at about 7pm last night I decided that he wasn’t going to go right out so I had best close it up for the evening. However a quick search of the house revealed that he had left J It was quite a strange feeling, after all these weeks of making sure he was inside to finally have him outside. I tried not to panic, turned on the outside lights and just called his name a couple of times by the back door and tried to go back to watching the tv. 30 seconds later a black and white fellow galloped across the tv room … cold but happy to get a little biscuit reward.

We locked the cat door last night, which was not a popular move, as from 3 until about 4:30 he banging on it and was most aggravated that his freedom had been again limited. We opened it this morning, but he hadn’t found it again by the time we left for work so it will be interesting to see where he is when we get home :o)

Boris is still not in such a good way, I visited him on Saturday and tried to get him to eat a few of his favourite things (sardines!) but he showed little interest and just seemed exhausted. Yesterday afternoon I went in again, he had been given a laxative and he was slightly better and I got him to eat quiet a bit of his tuna food that he gobbles up at home. The vet said he could go home today but he has to go back in on Thursday for more tests L poor little fellow has a shaved arm and neck and is looking a little worse for wear. He’s now been tested for diabetes, hyperthyroid and pretty much everything else they can think of, but nothing has shown up so fingers & paws crossed it’s just a virus or something and that it clears up with the antibiotics. He’s such a lovely little fellow, we’re missing him lots and really want him home. "

Followed by:

"Just a quick note to say I picked up Boris last night, he is an antibiotic cream (which the cunning fellow managed to regurgitate all over his bed this morning!) and seems pretty good but thin. I expected him to retreat to his box last night but instead he actually seemed more confident than before he went to the vet and padded around the house and ate a little which was really nice to see. I’m taking him regularly to the litter box – he gives me a slightly confused look like - I’m a grown up, what do you think you’re doing … I know where the toilet is silly woman! We’re putting Boris’s food in our bedroom (with Boris) to try and stop the ‘furry vacuum cleaner’ that also boards with us from finding it and eating it straight away. The vet did say yesterday that the antibiotics may give him a sudden boost but this may not last and they want to do more blood tests on Friday to again test his little liver – little Boris the pin cushion is looking a little like a punk with his shavings and sticking up fur :o)

Cheeky took one look at Boris and retreated to his basket where he sulked all night, poor Cheeky. He did seem a little chirpier this morning, sitting on his windowsill and enjoying his mince and biscuit breakfast but we closed off the catflap so Boris doesn’t do a runner on us and this didn’t go down well with Cheeky. Hopefully we will be able to open it up again tomorrow. "

And

"Well, I really think Boris is feeling better as last night he escaped! I had opened the cat door and was trying to get Cheeky to use it (I thought Boris was asleep) but Cheeky was having none of and fled to the kitchen. By the time I had retrieved him and got back to the cat door we were just in time to see a little grey shadow disappearing out it :o( I ran after him … but for a little guys he’s pretty quick. I got him back to the cat door, and here’s the funny bit, Boris wanted to get back inside, but Cheeky was sitting on the other side of the door blocking his entry with the most innocent look on his face – no hisses, it was just like he was a spectator at a sports match. Boris did three laps of the house before I could get back in, remove Cheeky from the other side of the cat door and Boris could get safely in :o) It was a lot of exercise for all of us.

Boris was king of the bed last night – he’s really got a bit more confidence since his trip to the vet. We left Cheeky outside this morning, Boris on the bed (a little angry after having his antibiotics) with the cat flap set so Cheeky could go in but Boris couldn’t get out. It will be interesting to see where they both are tonight. They are still pretty much ignoring each other and hopefully the extra space will allow Boris to develop a little more confidence, fingers crossed."

And finally

"C was extremely happy to point out this morning that since Boris’s arrival I’ve been fussing over him, hand feeding him, making his bed, wrapping him in a blanket at night, brushing him, taking him to his bathroom and anything else I could think of to make his life more comfortable and then this morning C pointed out that Boris wakes him with kisses and head buts and nothing for me. I guess he is a boys boy. At least Cheeky remembers who feeds him :o)"

Rhiannon's person T has been away in ChCh this week, but has been sweet enough to send me txt updates on her wee girl.

"Our girl came out at 8 last nite and was still enjoying playtime and cuddles at 12:30am when I had to drag myself away frm her and go 2bed. I had 2 get up at 5am this morning 2get 2airport. She wandered down the other end of the house in2 the lounge too."

And to summarise the second one, she actually slept ON the bed rather than under it the other night. Go Rhiannon the Brave!

The emails have been coming thick and fast this week from the proud new slaves to their CPL cats. Here's a lovely one from Ashka's new person:

"Ashka is going great, we have renamed her Knushka (with a silent first K) cause my partner couldn’t remember her proper name and kept calling her that. I mostly call her stink bum but really she will come to anything. If just go "meow" she will come, she is such a great talker, its cute. She has a different tone if she is growling at you. That would be her deep tone, like, don’t mess with me.

She is prone to having what I call midnight mentals. I think she goes pee in the middle of the night and must be really proud of herself cause she then runs round the house like a madman at 100 miles per hour, meowing her head off, its really funny. I got up the other night and said "what are you doing you egg", she just meows and keeps on going.

She has been on adventures outside and is learning that whenever she goes outside she must wear her collar with her name and our phone number on it. She is a stinker though. We went out on Saturday for about an hour and didn’t take her collar off before we went. She was asleep in her basket when we got home and I said to my partner, did you take her collar off before we went out. No he didn’t, little stinker had done it herself!!!!!!!!!! She is smart man!!!!!! It was lying in her basket next to her.

She loves and I mean loves the heater, stretches out in front cleaning herself. At night she lets me know when its bedtime and off I go with her to snuggle up and watch telly in bed. Anyone would think she ran the place!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well she does really!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I filled in at the shelter yesterday morning briefly, just to do the medications, and was very concerned at how horrible Meowff's eyes were looking. Very red and sore and weepy. So talked to the vet who said they needed to see her. Got her down for an appointment yesterday afternoon and there's a concern that her right eye may have perforated. She's staying in til at least tuesday when the vet who's been seeing her regularly can examine her and she can get some decent pain relief til then. R did call in yesterday to have a look when told that Meowff was back in the clinic, but her eyes were too sore at that stage for her to get a decent look. Fingers crossed once again for our lovely Meowffie. She's such a wonderful cat and just takes all this backwards and forwards and medication with such good grace.

On the homing front, Andy's possible new people are waiting a couple of weeks til he's been back to the vet. When I took him down last Saturday she discovered some red lumpy tissue in one ear. Now this could just be healing tissue from a prior ear infection, or it could be a polyp or a tumour. I'll be taking him back at the end of this week for another look, so we'll have a better idea of what's happening then.

Moose got homed last weekend, but I've not heard any updates on how that's going. Presumably well, as she's not come back.

And Pansy and Poppy got homed yesterday to a family who saw them on the website and came all the way down from Palmerston North to meet them. A. called them to see how it was all going and they're doing fine. Surprisingly Pansy's a bit more freaked out than Poppy, who seems to be taking it all in her stride.

Right, off to update the CPL membership list and try not to think about what a nice sunny day it is.

Posted by Kris at 02:53 AM | Comments (3)

August 12, 2006

Rhiannon the Brave and Boris the Unwell :o(

Good news and horrible news on the homed CPL cats front today. Starting with the bad news, poor little Boris is very unwell. Here's a series of updates from his people:

"Little Boris stopped eating on Wednesday night and seems very lethargic so we dropped him at the vet this morning with his little bear to keep him company. He had a slight temperature and didn’t use the litter box yesterday, so they are going to do some blood tests today and see what the problem is.

We had a full car today to the vet as Cheeky has his fur appointment and vaccinations this morning as well. I got him out on the vet table and though he was frightened he was very well behaved and just cuddled in close (tried to hide his little face in my jacket) but there was no hissing and not much shaking so we were very proud of him. The vet nurse did ask if we were aware of the problems that can affect overweight cats … I thought this was a little harsh as she had only just meet Cheeky and I know he’s sensitive about his weight ;o) but we told her that he is very good and on a weight management diet and has already lost a little around his tummy.

Hopefully we will get a call in the early afternoon to tell us about little Boris"

"I’ve just heard little Boris is not well, he has elevated liver enzymes and elevated glucose levels. Alan has sent his bloods for further testing (for fritameans – no idea how to spell that :o) as he said the glucose could be up because he hasn’t eaten anything for a day, if this is the case then he has something wrong with his liver which needs to be treated. The other possibility is that he is diabetic. We have an appointment at 5:30 and hopefully they will know more by then.

The good news is that Cheeky is squeaky clean and didn’t misbehave at all :o)"

"Poor Boris, I really hope it is just a little infection, maybe a bit of a reaction to his vaccination or something. His eye’s were a little watery today. From having a good look at the fur on his face and how it is rubbed away in parts, I think he may have a history of eye issues, poor little fellow – at least his third eyelid has disappeared again :o)

I think Cheeky is doing well – though I’m expecting him to be very grumpy tonight and have some steak ready for his dinner to win him over. He sat on my knee all last night … it was very funny, he had been weaving down by our legs and around the sofa (and behind the curtains and tv) but he was watching us the whole time and then he kind of reversed up (like a little truck) to the sofa and waited to be picked up. It was very hard not to laugh at the expression on his little face – so solemn. Luckily I’ve been doing a few weights and could pick him up. He then sat on my knee for about an hour and a half and purred. He doesn’t purr very loudly for us usually, in fact I have to put my ear right on him to even hear a faint purr most days, but last night we had a the full purr and dribble combination going :o)

Have I told you that Cheeky has fallen in love, with our gas heater. We have a large gas/fan heater installed in our kitchen and when he first moved in he wouldn’t go into the kitchen if the heater was on and would flee with an angry look on his face if we had the audacity to turn it on when he was eating his dinner. But very slowly he has come to realise that if he spreads himself out on the rug in front of it he can heat his little body very quickly to a very high temperature. He now reclines, white fur up, in front of it whenever it’s on and goes into a trance like state of happiness with his eyes half closed. I think he’s particularly pleased with its close proximity to his bowl :o)"

H told me today that poor wee Boris had gotten worse by the time they saw him last night - on very strong antibiotics and being force fed. No word today on how he's doing, but I'll update as soon as I hear anything. Great to hear that Cheeky's doing so well - he really didn't enjoy shelter life, so must think this is a dream come true.

Still with the bad news, no sign of Zena yet. Fingers crossed she's found somewhere warm and snuggly to hang out and that someone who's seen the flyers spots her soon.

On the other news front, little Rhiannon is doing just great! Here's a few updates from her people:

"Last night I spent 10 minutes lying on the floor, talking to her under the bed trying to coax her out, C come in and is barely on the floor 10 seconds, calls her name once and she’s up and on her way out of hiding!! She did stay out for a record 40 minutes last night, equal amount of cuddles for both of us which is good. She ventured out to the hallway for the first time too, we had all the other doors shut so she just sniffed around the hall for a very short time and came back to the bedroom for cuddles.

I think it’s time for me to use my ‘weapon’ to gain the status Cam seems to have with her – I think it’s time for the roast chicken! "

Followed by this yesterday:

"I didn’t need to try the secret weapon last night; she appeared for cuddles without any trickery. And for the first time, she’s appeared for cuddles in the morning, of course it was while I was trying to get ready for work this morning… needless to say I missed my train and was late for work! "

So looks like all is going really well with Rhiannon and her new folks.

I homed Snoop to the couple that came in last weekend and called back to say they'd decided on her. When I called later on last night to see how it was going, she was upside down having her tummy rubbed and looking quite at home. She's such a sweetie, can't see her having any problems adjusting.

And another very nice couple came in last night with one of our volunteers and fell madly in love with Andy. They're stocking up on supplies and were intending to come back this afternoon to adopt him. Let you all know how today went after I catch up with H tonight.

Posted by Kris at 01:32 AM | Comments (1)

August 07, 2006

Have you seen Zena our Worried Princess?

Poor little Zena is still missing and there's been no sign of her at all. So please, if you live around Brooklyn, keep an eye out for a very timid grey and white girl. Contact details for her people are on the petsonthenet ad - just click on the link above.

Here's a lovely update from Rhiannon's new people:

"She is doing fine, still in hiding under the bed this morning, seems to be coming out at night at the moment, the dirt box is used overnight and food eaten too – not to mention the noises in the bedroom after dark – that’s cat noises of course, she seems to wait till the lights are out for the night then starts to check the room out.

Her appearances are short but very smoochy! Big cuddles and tummy rubs, lots of loud purring too. She has come out about 2 – 3 times a day (mostly late at night and early morning) for about 10 – 15minutes, getting longer each time, she looks a little unsure sometimes but doesn’t look frightened, she’s slowly taking it all in! "

T was at work today while her partner C was at home with Rhiannon. Got a txt from T tonight to say that Rhiannon had come out for food and cuddles, but most of the cuddles were for C! (Bet he spent the whole day sucking up)

Way to go little one!

April and Bunty are doing great. 'Tho apparently now that they've both got a house to live in instead of hanging around outside one wanting in, neither of them is all that keen on going outside! Same with the lovely Squeak (now Precious Cat). I guess sometimes with the wee strays, they're too worried their new home may disappear so don't want to leave it.

Basil is also doing really well! H has bumped into his new person a few times over the last few weeks and they think he's just the best.

The cats in the shelter that have been suffering from a viral respiratory infection are all getting back to normal, and things are much happier there than they were a week ago.

And my little girl is doing much better on the increased metacam and is back to cleaning her plate and looking a whole lot happier! (The boy is his usual mad self, but hey, that's my Monty).

Posted by Kris at 09:59 AM | Comments (0)

August 06, 2006

Sassy, Rhiannon and Mischief all off to their new homes!

It’s been a pretty good week at the Brooklyn shelter. Got a call from the woman who went off on Sunday tossing up between Sassy and Patch. Apparently she’d not been able to stop thinking about Sassy all week, so we arranged for her to meet me at the shelter on Friday night to adopt her. Sassy’s making herself quite at home and settling in just fine. Her new person thinks she’s just wonderful. :o)

I took Meowff down to the vet (again) on Saturday, as her left eye was looking very cloudy. Vet doesn’t think a new ulcer is forming and that it’s more likely to be part of the healing process from her last op, but there’s also a possibility that too much scar tissue is forming, so we need to keep a close watch on it. Taking her back for another check on Wednesday evening.

Also yesterday I took Rhiannon out to her new home. Because she’d freaked out so badly when she first came into the shelter I thought it might help her to have someone familiar around for the first wee bit. She’s coping really really well. No hissing or spitting at all! She spent the first few hours hiding behind a chest of drawers in the bedroom (where she’s being confined until she gets a bit more confident), but managed to find the bed while her new people were out shopping and buried herself under the pillows. They were starting to get a bit worried until they spotted a wee pair of ears poking out. At which point she was happy to accept pats, hopped down and rubbed around legs, had a bite to eat and curled up in her little wicker house that’s also gone out to her new home. Hopped up on the bed late last night for about 10 mins cuddles, then spent a good long while on the window sill watching the world. And came onto the bed again for cuddles in the early hours of this morning. So all in all, it’s an incredibly good start. One thing I can guarantee, she’s going to be spoilt rotten! (Which is just as it should be).

On the extra plus side - cos I know her new people I'm going to be getting lots and lots of updates, so I'll share them with you as they come in. :o)

The people who came in yesterday who really liked Snoop rang tonight and confirmed that they want to adopt her, so will meet me at the shelter on Friday night to take her home. Go the Snoopster!

And apparently Mischief got homed today! Haven’t heard any details yet, but our dear little girl who’s been with us for such a long time is finally off to a home of her own. Will let you all know how she’s getting on if I hear any news.

Sparky came back from the vet yesterday and is doing well. Apparently he’s had a history of vomiting (which the people that brought him in told us today), so perhaps we can stop worrying about this.

On the home front, Little Madam is… well, a bit sore at the moment. Looks like 2 drops of metacam is not enough to manage her arthritis pain, so it’s been upped today and tonight she’s looking a lot happier. Just a bit of trial and error with the dosage at the moment til we find out what’s going to be enough to keep her pain free.

And two new cats in, Andy and Moose. Andy’s an ex stray and is pretty laid back about the whole thing as regular meals just keep on happening, which seems to make him a very happy lad. Poor old Moose is not quite so happy. She really doesn’t like the other cats, and is pretty hissy and growly at the moment while she gets used to her new environment. Hopefully she’ll settle down soon and we’ll try to find her an upstairs cage to live in when she’s moved into the main shelter area.

And last, but certainly not least, Katt seems to be fine now. Still none the wiser about what made her so miserable, but she’s back at the shelter, eating well and seems quite happy. Long may the happy state continue. (Yawn) Long weekend. Nite all.

Posted by Kris at 11:09 AM | Comments (2)