My sisters have gotten into the fun habit of fostering kittens on behalf of the local Humane Society. They get a litter that was brought into the HS and take care of them until they’re old enough to be adopted out. This is the second time they’ve done this, and they kept two of the cats the first time they did it. Six cats in the house, along with a big black Lab … So I was over there today, and snapped a few pics of the new batch (and one of the dog, and one of the Geico gecko on the TV …)
I’ve got a couple of those. too. A friend trapped a feral barn cat to have her spayed, and I have been socializing her kittens while we find homes for them. Currently one is tunneling underneath the Great Dane while the other one is patting my face and mewling for food. A few of these pics are blurry (cell phone) but take note that they appear to be sticking their tongues out. What’s up with that?
Awwwww! Beaucarnea, I’ve got a grey-and-peach torty and a black-and-orange torty, too. They’re the best kitties!
Phase42, I thought that was their basket at first, but no, that would be the laundry basket they’re sacked out in. Of course. I like the picture with the kitties making a sort of geometric figure.
Phase42, have you or your sisters any advice about socializing kittens with the dog? Shelby has her own cranky cat, so I thought there would be no trouble, but she wasn’t prepared to be told “No!” when she tried to carry the kittens away. She whined for 3 days straight. It is just now dawning on the Dane that the kittens are free agents, and don’t belong to her.
(The kittens, on the other hand, see a big, goofy playmate, and instigate all kinds of mayhem. Fearless little brats.)
Now, see, that’s just sick. First we see two kittens, then we see the dog about to eat a kitten. After that, we only see one kitten. What kind of sicko are you?!?!
Hey, SnakesCatLady- you mentioned that your kitties are adjusting to a new social order. How is that going?
Cranky Libby has taken to gargoyling the fridge and staring down at the kittens with Great Disdain. She then makes eye contact with me, gives the One Ear, and finishes with the Look Away.
Lib’s method of dealing with nonsense is to reach out quick with one paw and sweep the kittens’ back feet out from under them when they charge by. The subsequent spin-out seems to give her great satisfaction.
I dunno. Scooby is extremely gentle with them. He was previously “best friends” with a gray cat named Pewter that my sister had. Unfortunately, Pewter died for some unknown reason, and Scooby moped around for quite a while. He’d hear somebody say the name “Pewter” and his head would pop up and he’d want to go outside and nose around the spot where she was buried Then they got that first batch of kittens, one of which was gray, and Scooby latched right onto her, so she was one of the two my sisters kept
Also, my sister has always had cats around, so Scooby is accustomed to them and knows they’re not chew toys
And then there’s that. The kittens are so young that they don’t yet know that they should be afraid of a dog whose head is bigger than they are, so he’s just someone else to play with.
This current litter of kittens is much more affectionate than the previous batch, too. They all loved to snuggle!
As to why my sister has all these animals, that’s her thing. Way back in high school her first job was working for a local veterinarian, cleaning kennels and walking dogs. She had this rapport with the critters — there were some dogs that were just plain mean, and nobody wanted to get near them, but she would just walk up and put a leash on them and take them for their walks with no trouble. While working for the vet she took her own little dog in to be neutered, and “assisted” with the procedure. She brought the dog’s testicles home in a little jar of formaldehyde, which she displayed on the mantelpiece. It was always fun when we’d have guests, and somebody would pick up the jar and ask, “Are these eyeballs?” “Well, no …”
After high school she went to work for the Humane Society and eventually became an animal control officer, which she did for several years. Then she got on with the police department in another city as an animal control officer, and did that for ten more years. Now she’s working for a groomer/pet motel while she’s attending classes at the local college where she’s studying nursing.
Mostly they’re still looking for Gwen - it’s been just over a week since she died so there haven’t been any great changes yet. I don’t thing there will again be a Queen such as she was; the others have always defered to her and beat the crap out of each other as necessary.
I have thought about you every day since your post about Gwen- I am so sorry she is gone. I hope everyone settles in soon, before another one finds you. It is your apparent destiny to take care of some lucky cats.
Thank you for the kind thoughts - the compassion shown here on the Dope has helped me through this.
As for “another one finding me” I got an e-mail from a friend the day Gwen died asking if I was ready for #10. I can’t take in another right now, my heart’s just not in it - but I am sure some homeless moggie will find its way here soon enough.
We used to do this, and the kitty-foster-arranger people told us that the fact that we had a big dog was actually a plus- when people are adopting kittens, they like to hear that the kitten will get along with the big dog they’ve already got.
(okay so i’m lousy at these link thingies. this’ll get you there)
Herself has learned to climb my yucca plants - the shortest one of which is about eight feet tall. i’m working on a pic, but i’m usually laughing so hard, i miss it.
Thank you for socializing kittens to dogs! It wil be easier to adopt them out.
We did about 8 litters (plus a few puppies) when we lived in our old house. I used to work for the Humane Society, but couldn’t continue to pay the mortgage from that. In this current house, we do not have a good kitten-raising room, but if we ever get enough money to remodel, that is the FIRST priority!
That pcture of the grey cat licking the Dane’s nose… WAY off the squeee scale!
I like the picture with the kitties making a sort of geometric figure.
Then they got that first batch of kittens, one of which was gray, and Scooby latched right onto her, so she was one of the two my sisters kept 
