Books to read to foster kittens (and other small beings)

#1 The Underneath by Kathi Appelt

No kitten blogging for a while as this was a difficult litter with 2 doing pretty well and 2 not so well even with a foster mom. While we were in California for Liz's wedding, the smallest one died, despite getting great care with fluids given and hand feeding. My poor pet sitter. The other little one, who is now named Mouse, is still way behind size-wise but is doing much better and eating on her own. At this point, bigger siblings Fox and Wolf are ready for spay and neuter surgery and we are just waiting for Mouse to gain a few more ounces.

My new favorite, geeky animal thing is to read out loud to the kittens while laying on my back on the rug in Alan's office. The kittens start out running around and attacking and playing with each other and me and then by the end of the three chapters we are reading each night, lay purring on my lap and knees. I am only 12 chapters into the book and love it so far--it's wonderfully scary and heart-warming at the same time. I am expecting the scariness to increase. Here's the first paragraph for an idea of why this is such a good book:

"There is nothing lonelier than a cat who has been loved, at least for a while, and then abandoned on the side of the road. A small calico cat. Her family, the one she lived with, has left her in this old and forgotten forest, this forest where the rain is soaking into her soft fur."

Nominations for other books to read out loud to these and future fosters would be very welcome.

So I've been getting this hair style for a little while now and just found it is a Samantha Who? hair cut. I need to get my hair styled for Liz's wedding in a couple weeks in Ojai, CA. My stylist said I should tell whoever does it to do it Samantha Who? style and to bring a picture in case she doesn't know what that it is. I said, "Yes, I will do that," and promptly googled Samantha Hu when I got home. I love Christina Applegate. When did she get this show? God, I'm so out of it with regular TV lately.

The Small Beer Press Warehouse sale is still going on. There are awesome books for a dollar! You can get Alan's short story collection and Maureen McHugh's and books by Carol Emswhiller and John Crowley and Sean Stewart and other fantastic talents. The editors have excellent taste and you can't go wrong with any of them. They make great gifts!

Another week, more foster pictures: One, Two, Three

New foster pics. They've been with us just over a week and are developing fast. The past two days, they've learned to climb. They love my jeans! They've also gotten messier. I decided to switch from the short sided litter box to a bigger one today after coming home to find the bathroom a poop war zone. Many, many little poop foot prints and lots of "How did that get there?"s. All the bedding is in the wash including their new favorite dog bed.

Also, for the Twin Cities contigent, Saturday is the annual Walk for Animals. I'll be working all day near the main stage. If you're there, stop by to say "hi!" It's even bigger than past years since we're consolidating into just one location at our Golden Valley site.

Here are photos of the fosters I brought home on Sunday. We can't handle Momma, yet, but do our best as she settles in here. She's terrified of the "dog outside the bathroom door," so I don't have to worry about her bolting out and hiding somewhere in the house but his interest in meeting the fosters makes her even more skittish. She's feral but maybe was originally a stray at some point--it's hard to tell. She isn't aggressive but does hiss a lot if we get too close or startle her by opening the bathroom door when she's out of the cat carrier. She's peeking out of the carrier in one photo. The big successes of the week with her are that she will now come part way out of the carrier and eat while I'm sitting just a foot away from her on the floor and I've actually heard her purring a few times when the kittens were cuddled on my lap. The three, fuzzy little ones will need a couple more weeks with her before they are fully weaned and then will need a week or two more to get to surgery weight. Over the last 4 days, they've learned to climb things and how to navigate slippery linoleum. They still wobble and trip over their own feet, though. The kittens are a little boy orange tabby with white belly and feet, a little girl brown tabby with white belly and feet (like her mom) and a grey and white little boy who looks a lot like an anime character.

Our last foster set was very tough (and didn't end well) due to a combination of upper respiratory infection and FIV. It left the two of us emotionally drained, so we're hoping these guys stay healthy. We've heard each of the kittens sneeze, but it doesn't seem to be progressing. We're keeping our fingers crossed and are very thankful that mom was found with them.

DOESN'T THIS MAKE YOU WANT TO BE A FOSTER VOLUNTEER?!!!! KITTEN SEASON IS STARTING NOW IN MINNESOTA AND PROBABLY STARTED A LOT EARLIER IN WARMER CITIES. SHELTERS WILL ONCE AGAIN BE OVERLOADED WITH CATS AND KITTENS, CONTACT YOUR LOCAL SHELTER TO SEE IF YOU CAN HELP!

Just in case you are one of those who missed it like me, here is my new addiction (and I'm not really much of a gamer):

The Guild

Friends in Mange Bear came in 4th at a Rock Band competition at The Dive in Maplewood last night. First time I've ever seen the game. Lots of fun to watch. I can see why it's addictive. Here are a couple photos from the KDWB website. You can find more, including the incredibly realistic 2nd runners-up and duct-taped KISS: here.




Jenney says I look like I was going to bite her, but was really yelling, "Rock on!"