Letting the cat out of the bag: A story in pictures

First off, I am pleased to be able to say that I will be attending the Women's March on Washington in January to show my support for equal rights for everyone in this country, regardless of gender, skin color, orientation or religion.  Join us! 

Now, a story in pictures:

Kind of startling to see that the kittens are almost as big as Mama, isn't it?  :) 

Another weekend, another adoption event

Yes, it was yet another Saturday at Petco, working to find homes for the rescue's kittens and cats.

Pete:  "What's a guy gotta do to get adopted around here?": 

Just exactly that, Pete!  Within the first hour, a family came in who had been pre-approved for adoption, and they picked Pete and another rescue kitten!  Yaaaaay!

It was a very, very busy day.

Squeegee, who was already at the center, saw that Pete had had success by being very vocal, and gave it his best shot:

And it worked for Squeegee, too!  A family fell in love with Squeeg, and pending application approval, he will be going home this week.  Lady Bernadette, who was also at the center, has already had an approved application and will also be going to her new home.

Two of the kittens at the rescue, chillin' in their hammock.  There was actually a THIRD kitten in there, but he was hanging out in the back of the hammock:

 

India and Pebbles want you to know that they were boooooored: 

There was lots of interest in India, as she is such a good-natured sweetie, but no one has claimed her yet.  Pebbles is now at the center full time, and I'm sure her family will find her soon.

and the best news of all?

Bam Bam, the Foster Camper with a heart murmur, charmed the pants off of one of the rescue's volunteers who specializes in caring for special-needs kitties, and she adopted him!  Bam Bam will spend his life being loved by someone who is expert in caring for kitties who need some extra attention.

So!  A very good day for the Campers, and it felt great to send some happiness out into the world.

Hell, *I'm* not drinking it.

SO!  How about that election, eh?  *SIGH*  Just keep him away from the nukes, fellas.  Just keep him away from the nukes.



A couple of weeks ago, I did a favor for a friend.  Knowing I was a beer drinker, she brought me over a case of beer as payment.

Unfortunately, it was Genny Light.

Genesee beer, for those unfamiliar, is a regional beer with a pretty ... distinctive taste.  I could best describe it as "skunk beer", aka "beer gone bad".

But some people love it!  People do buy it!  It is stocked in every store in the area.  It is fairly popular, although probably because it is usually the lowest-price beer in the store.

I am FAR from a discriminating beer drinker.  My beer of choice is Milwaukee's Best Light, Busch Light, or hell, even Natty Light in a pinch.  But ... Genny?

NOPE.

Thinking, "well, it's been many years since I've had a Genny, maybe they don't taste as bad as I remember," I decided to give it a shot.  And on the theory that all beers taste the same anyway after the first couple, last Sunday afternoon, I drank a couple of Milwaukee's Bests, and then cracked open a Genny.

NOPE.  Nope, no how, no way, I'm sorry, but that stuff tastes like SH*T.  I got about halfway through before I had to pour the rest of the can down the sink.

I put the rest of the Gennys back in the case, taped it up, threw it in the back of the car, and started making inquiries.  I could not find one. single. person  who wanted that case of Genny, which I was willing to gift away for FREE.

Free beer!  And nobody wanted it.  THAT'S how bad Genny is.

So.  In an act of desperation, I brought the case of beer to work, and set it out off a corner of the parking lot that gets a lot of neighborhood foot traffic. 

It's been there for two days now.  I'll let you know if it ever moves on.

I regret that I have but one vote to give ...

... for Hillary Rodham Clinton.

And as for her opponent?  In the words of the great philosopher Clark Griswold,

“I want to look him straight in the eye and I want to tell him what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless, heartless, fat-ass, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed sack of monkey shit he is! Hallelujah! Holy shit! Where’s the Tylenol?”

AMERICA F*CK YEAH!!1!

Ha.

And now for something completely different ...

... a post about something other than cats!  Who'd a thunk it?

After the SNAP run was done on last Saturday, I headed to Salt Springs to get some hiking in.

A lot of the leaves have fallen now, but it was still a pretty day.

Dear person who was TOO LAZY to carry out your snack trash (I somehow managed to put it in my pocket and transport it back to my car with no difficulty whatsoever, IMAGINE THAT):  Screw you.

Penny Rock:

Just married, or newly engaged?  I'm guessing just married:

Here comes Peter Cottontail:

It was kind of odd to be hiking instead of paddling, but it was still a pretty day.

... and in OTHER kitten news ...

... Oh my God, all I talk about anymore is cats, isn't it?  My apologies.

SO.  On Sunday, Squeegee and Lady Bernadette went to the adoption center to continue their search for their permanent families.  And if you want to know what the toughest part of fostering is, well, it's probably this:

But!  Like I always say,  they're not going to get adopted while they're hanging out at Foster Camp, so it was time for them to move on.  The kittens will be going to the adoption center a few at a time as space opens up.  I got Squeeg and Bernie settled in on Sunday morning, spent some time helping out cleaning the center, and got pressed into service (again!) as a bottle feeder for one shift.  Which reminds me!  I forgot to share pics from when I bottle-fed the previous weekend.

Here's the babies, from two different litters:

Bottle feeding is exhausting.  By the time you get everybody fed, and pottied, and back safe and warm in their crates, it seems it's time to start it all up again.  But look at this face!:

and boy oh boy did these little ones need baths!  They were positively crusty.  Sorry, guys:

"Nobody told me there was going to be baths!"

I'm guessing that they would rate their brief stay at Foster Camp a D-minus. 

But!  When I dropped off Squeegee and Bernie, I got to see (and bottle-feed) them again, a week later, and the little tortie-tabby (bottom photos) was already drinking her formula from a bowl.  They grow up so fast ... *sniff*

So!  Current foster count:  Rosalita (mama), her kittens Pistol Pete, India, Jughead and Sandy, the orphans Pebbles and Bam Bam, and add-on Punkin Pie.  So that makes ... eight, right?  Eight?  From three different litters.  Man, it's pretty bad when you're not SURE how many foster cats are in your house.  *sigh*

Another spay/neuter road trip!

I was determined to get some hiking in on Saturday, but first, I had to get up at dark o'clock to transport cats to CNY SNAP for spaying and neutering.

Here are my fellow volunteers for the day:

I don't know how they do it - it's HARD to be smiley at six-thirty in the morning!

By the time we got to the clinic, at least it was light out for the unloading:

We got all of the eleven cats through intake and were back on the road by eight-thirty. 

After a stop for breakfast, I was home by ten-thirty and ready to hike.  What's that old saying?  "I can sleep when I'm dead?"  Yeah, pretty much.  Ha.

Learning to play

Is there anything cuter than a kitten experiencing toys for the first time?  I THINK NOT.

When Punkin came to Foster Camp on Sunday, she was understandably cautious at first.  She'd cuddle with the other kittens at naptime, but when it was time to play, she'd hang back.  There weren't any other kittens at the barn; there were plenty of cats, but they were much bigger than Punkin and probably not very interested in playing with her.  (I do not know what happened to the rest of the kittens, if any, in her litter.)  Plus, I'm not sure that she'd ever SEEN a toy before, although a kitten has the ability to make a toy out of ANYthing, ha.  Let's just say she'd probably never seen an INTENTIONAL toy before.

When the Campers got REALLY rambunctious,  Punkin would hide herself out of the way so as not to get bowled over.  (She also wasn't feeling very well the first couple of days; I've been cleaning the yuck out of her ears and giving her antibiotics for her upper respiratory issues and she's gotten much livelier.)

Once Punkin  got the lay of the land, so to speak, she started to come out of her shell more.  At first she'd just watch the other kittens:

But then she decided that it was time to give those toys a try herself.

She is faaaaascinated by the trackball:

and thinks the butterfly toys are pretty interesting:

 she likes the spinny ball, too:

and she's conquered the ice cream truck:

 

She still has a solemnity about her that I don't see in the other kittens; of course, she's been through a lot more than they have, although heaven knows that a farm in summertime is not the WORST place for a kitten to be.  She will come and rub against me when I bring the canned food in the room, and when I pick her up, at first she struggles to get away, but then she settles down and starts to purr. 

Now we just need to find her a home!

... bought the t-shirt!

I ordered a t-shirt on line last week.  It got here last night, and I can't WAIT to wear it ...

While I would not ordinarily wear a t-shirt with this kind of language on it, I have to say that the Republican candidate and his followers have SO INFURIATED me this election season that I plan on wearing this t-shirt as often as I can with GREAT PRIDE between now and election day.  F*CK those misogynistic, xenophobic, mouth-breathing neanderthals and their cheeto-resembling leader trying to take over our great country and turn it into something shameful and hateful.  I'M WEARING THE SHIRT.

And THAT'S all I have to say about politics.  Ha.

Proof

Ginny asked to see proof that Punkin was making friends in the foster room, so here ya go.

This picture is terrible, but it shows Mama Rosa and Punkin getting to know each other:

Here she is, snoozing on the dresser with some of the crew:

And here she is, trying out a toy:

Cranky Pistol Pete's giving her the stinkeye, there, but she's all, "oh well, haterz gonna hate LOL!"  haha.

She's been flea treated and wormed.  She's got ear mites (if anybody knows of one med that works better than others for mites, please let me know; I've got some Revolution on order but it'll take a few days to get here), and this morning she was rocking a pretty good case of the snots, so a trip to the walk-in may be in order, but she's doing well considering, and she's fitting in just fine.  Good girl!