And Then There Were Three...

Well folks, the first of the kits has found her forever home.  Petunia was adopted on Sunday, October 29th.

The other three seem slightly subdued with their sister gone, but I suppose they will get over it.  

Here are Petunia's photos that were for the adoption promotion:

Isn't she just the most adorable kitty?  So, here is her photo with her new "mommy."

I know she will be happy in her new home, and her new family will love her and spoil her.

Next weekend, purrrhaps her siblings will also find their forever homes!

Well, They're All Ready To Go To Their Forever Homes!

Hello once again, fellow kitty lovers!  My beautiful "Flower Kittens" have grown and caught up to their weight class, and are the most adorable little balls of energy and cuteness.

This weekend will be their first day at adoptions.  The event happens in Antioch, CA, in Contra Costa County from noon until three p.m.  We use Slatten Ranch Shopping Center on Lone Tree Way, and we have kittens at Pet Food Express and at PetSmart.  Usually, there are kittens (and sometimes older cats), but adoptions are held on both Saturdays and Sundays; same times both days and both locations.

And now, they've had their spay and neuter surgeries, gotten microchipped, had their first vaccines, been combo-tested for kitty illnesses and passed the test.  They were previously de-flead and de-wormed, so all that remains is to find them their loving, forever homes.

Here, then, are their "graduation" photos:

This is "Chrys"  He is a very handsome tuxedo kitty

Since I could not think of any names of flowers that seemed in the least masculine or even boyish, I was a little bit stumped on what to name this fellow.

Finally, I decided on "Chrysanthemum," which I was then able to shorten to just "Chrys," pronounced exactly the same as in the first syllable of the flower's name.

Problem solved!









Since the rest of this group of kittens are females, there were no further such issues with names.  In any case, the names the fosters give them are usually temporary, for the adopters will change the names in probably 99% of cases.  It doesn't even matter at this point whether they recognize their names or not.  But it does increase the cuteness factor when promoting them.

Pansy was the 'runt' of the litter, weighing in at just about a pound and a half when I got her.  She was definitely 'behind the curve' for her age of nearly 2 months old.  Kittens in the first few months are supposed to weigh approximately 1 pound for each month of age.

This silly kitty is Petunia.  All four of these are siblings.

Meet Pansy.  She is a real little lovebug.

Last but certainly not least, we have little Tulip.  She's another one who will climb right up into your lap for some cuddle time.

She and her sister, Petunia, just love, love, love to wrestle with each other; it is probably their favorite activity!

Petunia and Tulip are both Tortoiseshell kitties.  It's a variation on the calico pattern, hence they are always females.

Pansy, above, is known as a "dilute calico," exhibiting mainly gray, with some cream on her undersides and a faded orange on her face and head, but at first glance, she appears mostly gray.

Chrys, of course, is the black and white, well dressed for formal occasions, known as a 'tuxedo' kitty.  All black above, and white underneath coming to under the chin.  Sometimes they have a white blaze on the face, as Chrys does, but that is not always the case.

Thanks for following along.  I'll update the blog with their adoption dates, and photos of the new "parents" (if they are willing).

Another Day With The Flower Kittens

Today, we feature another video; this time of the wrestling championships.

Took this one with the camera in my phone, and I'm none to pleased with the quality (it's very washed-out), but there it is; it's a learning curve. The harder learning curve, though, was with Movie Maker, and trying to get the video into the program from my phone.  It only took me about 18 attempts!

But, enough about that!  On to the kittens!

I hope you enjoyed their antics once again.

Oh, Boy! New Toys!

The "kids" were entertained with new toys the other day; I shot this, and I thought I had it posted, but somehow, YouTube had it still showing as a 'draft.'  Strange.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the silly antics. Click here to view

The Flowers Are Growing!

As of today's weigh-in, all but one of the kittens has reached that magic 2-pound mark!

Pansy, the little gray cutie, is the only one still shy of 2 pounds, but she was the smallest to start with.

Chrys---2 lb even  (The only male--the pretty tuxedo kitty)
Petunia---2 lb 1.1 oz  (the tortie with blaze on her face)
Tulip---2 lb 1.2oz  (the tortie with a mottled face)
Pansy---1 lb 11.9 oz  (the gray beauty, with a small blaze on her face, she's considered a  
                                 dilute calico)

So, Chrys is now just at required weight for being neutered, and the girls just a bit behind.  2 pounds is good for the boys; but H.A.L.O. prefers the girls to be a bit over that, since theirs is a more invasive surgery.

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FUN FACTS:
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Did you know...

... that Tortoiseshell cats are a variation of the Calico color pattern, and as such are always female, just like true Calicos?

... that cats do not have taste buds for sweetness?  They may investigate your dessert because they are curious, but they cannot actually taste sweets; I guess to them, it's just 'blah. nothing.'

... that cats, like people, can be either right or left pawed?

Adorable Flowers 10-8-2017

These babies are as silly as they are cute!  Check out this photo of where I found two of them napping when I went to feed them dinner!

Chrys and Pansy

10-8-2017

Naturally, as soon as I opened the door, they were awake and on the move.  But really, kids?  Sleeping in the dustpan?  You are NOT trash to be swept up!  Set your goals a bit higher, will you?

Of course, Pansy had to try to move in for a beauty close-up:

Pansy, too close; you're blurry!

Next, on the chair, we had the tortie twins, Petunia and Tulip.  They are very hard to catch with the camera; the two of them are a study in perpetual motion.  See what I mean?

Pansy, lower left; Tulip leaning on Pansy!

Oh!  I stand corrected!  That's Tulip moving and blurring the shot; 

Pansy snuck in there and just used her ear to photobomb! Now, where is that rascal Petunia?  Truth is, I never did catch up with her tonight; she was in speedracer mode all evening!

Flower Kittens: More Mischief!

Ah, the adorable little darlings!  They are growing in confidence as well as in size.  It's amazing how fast they grow, and pretty soon, you can't believe how tiny they were when they arrived! 

I've only had them a week, and already they are getting bigger.

And stronger.

And better able to climb and jump!

We find them almost daily in some new place where they shouldn't be.  Today, it was in a box of antique dolls, after knocking a cake keeper off the top of the box!  Oh, dear!  
Later on, they apparently got up on top of the tippy-top shelf, and knocked off some stuff that was stored on top.  Fortunately, it was paper goods, and not fragile.

From there, they got on top of the kiln (luckily not currently in use), and stole a kitty toy that is not supposed to be used without supervision.  And sure enough, Chrys ripped one of the feathers from it, and had it in his mouth, growling at his sisters if they came near.

I am running out of spaces to put things out of their reach!  But, they are too cute to be angry with them.

Mischief is Afoot!

   Well, friends, it would seem that the darlings are now feeling comfortable in their surroundings, and have taken exploring to new heights!  Literally!

    Chrys was found today up on the 4th shelf of the shelving unit where I store all their supplies, from litter to food, blankets, etc.  Apparently, he got up there, and couldn't figure out how to get down again!  Naturally, this happened when we were out on an errand, and we were told about it when we returned, so phooey!  No photo!  But, he was rescued by my mother-in-law!

    Pansy and Tulip have been introduced to the squirt bottle for playing with a lamp cord, and people's shoelaces.  Neither item is a safe kitty toy.  Not to mention, who wants soggy shoelaces???

    I was able to distract and entertain them for some time this afternoon with the famous 'red dot bug.'  The girls loved it; Chrys only went after it half-heartedly.  One of my own male kitties is also kind of 'ho-hum' about it.  Not sure what that's about.

    Today's video features some new toys I introduced.

    

The Flower Kittens Weigh In

Well, unlike "Foster Dad John," I don't have live streaming capability, so all I can do is report on the weight gains of the group.

They are doing quite well, and have made some nice gains.  As of this evening, they weighed in as follows:

Pansy-----------1 lb 7.3 oz; up from 1 lb 5.6 oz yesterday, a gain of 1.7 oz

Tulip------------1 lb 13.5 oz; up from 1 lb 12.3 oz yesterday, a gain of 1.2 oz

Petunia---------1 lb 12.4 oz; up from 1 lb 10.2 oz yesterday, a gain of 2.2 oz

Chrys-----------1 lb 9.8 oz; a slight drop from 1 lb 10.6 oz yesterday, just .8 of an oz down

Not to worry:  they do go up and down a little bit, and as he's the biggest anyway, I'm not going to stress over that.  It's only if the trend is generally and steadily downward that there is a problem.

Now, a word about Chrys.  (Pronounced just like Chris.) Since these are the Flower Kittens, but Chrys is a boy, I had to make the name more masculine sounding.  So, his full name should really be, "Chrysanthemum," but I shortened to just Chrys for him.  

And now you know...the rest of the story.

The Flower Kittens First Video 10-2-17

Greetings, kitten aficionados!

This post is short; I'll let the video speak for itself.  All four of the dear little flower babies had fun running around this evening.

  Last night, I had the  opportunity to follow some of their darling antics as they raced around the studio where they are currently housed.  Too funny, they were!

   Petunia and Tulip seem to have a great deal of fun wrestling with each other, as well as taking the occasional swipe at Chrys or Pansy as they happen to stroll by.


   Pansy spent some time watching the activity from up on a chair, while Chrys came down with a case of the 'kitty crazies,' and I could not pan the camera fast enough to keep up with him!

This video was shot on 10-2, but Blogger was having an issue, and wouldn't let me edit or publish the draft post, so I had to start again.

Update for 10-3-17:  Their weights are up by a few ounces each, with Petunia and Chrys outweighing their siblings by 2 or 3 ounces each!  For tiny kittens such as these, who were behind the curve for their age, every ounce counts!

Without further ado, then, here is their video, as seen on YouTube.

Meet The Flower Kittens

As I regain control of my keyboard, I am going to take this blog in a new direction, namely, keeping folks aware of my various foster kittens, their antics, and hopefully, a few videos.

I will be naming them according to various 'themes,' an idea I brazenly stole from "Foster Dad John" of The Critter Room fame.  I'm sure many of you fellow cat aficionados are familiar with him.

Lacking his technical expertise, however, I'll have to make do with still photos and as I said, 'hopefully' a few videos.

While the current set of kittens is not my first batch of fosters, they are the first to fall into my new themed categories.  These are the "Flower" kittens; they are all named after various lovely blooms.  

The photos below are just the very first, just after I brought them to the house, and set them up in cages to acclimate for a time to new sights and smells.  I promise, there will be more photos, singles, as well as probably some that are blurred from RKM (Rapid Kitty Motion)!

Without further ado, here is your first peek at the Flower Kittens:

In the top photo, left to right, are Pansy (female); Chrys (male); and Tulip (female).  In the bottom photo, wanting a Diva-style solo shot, is Petunia (female).

They are "about" 7 weeks old, and will be available for adoption through Homeless Animals' Lifeline Organization (H.A.L.O.) of East Contra Costa County, California. You can see pets available for adoption on their website.  You can also take a look  at H.A.L.O.'s Facebook page .

These cuties will be available in a little over a month.  They must be a minimum of 2 pounds/2 months old (in favor of the weight requirement, regardless of age).  At that point, they can be spayed/neutered, and will have at least their first shots, and probably the second round, as well.

They do not go up for adoption before those things are done, and kitties are healed.  They will be 'ready to go' to their forever homes at that point.