Bubble Wrap?? General Chat

And the Punx showing off her tummy:




She loves tummy worship.

Punx looks stronger than I imagined. They look as if they have in-between coats - a little longer than smooth coated, but not quite long-coated. Our old Ginge had a coat like that when he was a baby and he turned out long-coated but without much undercoat. Are Punx and Hobbes blue tabbies, and is Gertie blue - or a standard tabby colour? Pretty kitties. xx

Yeah, she's wiry - strong but skinny. They've all got the long lean siamese body.

Hobbes is a shorthair blue tabby with the bullseye markings on the side. No ticking like an abbysinian. Over here we usually call them grey tabbies. His coat is definitely the sleek siamese coat.

Gertie is a medium haired blue (grey) but has some faint striping in there.

Punx is medium haired. She has predominant striping on her face but the rest is very faint like gertie. Her underside and legs are all white. We'd just call her a grey & white here.

I'm not sure what Gertie and Punx's coats will end up as. Panther had longish hair early on, but is now definitely shorthair with a sleek siamese coat. I think Gertie will remain a medium coat but she could go longhaired. Punx will likely stay medium or go short. Neither has a thick undercoat.

Gertie is at surgery today. I did cry when I dropped her off - just very jittery.

I did put a note on her carrier "Duchess was my sister" and the rescue person taking them is keeping a close eye on her. She texted to let me know that all the staff is keeping careful watch over her. The vet today is the one who did the exploratory surgery and euthanasia on Duchess. So I know everything will go fine.

Hobbes is hanging with the Loonies. Punx is sleeping on the faux fur blankie with Tornado-dog and me.

Here is a shot of Hobbes during a tummy worship session:


Yes, he is that cute! He is truly on the way to becoming a Cat God among cat gods.

Here is Gertie. She looks a lot like her big sister Andrushka in this shot:


And this is Looney3. She is getting more and more confident every day:

Gertie is home safe and sound. Surgery went without a hitch. She's eating and active and in great shape.

Hobbes is super adorable. If I didn’t think my dogs would see Hobbes as prey, I’d take him off your hands. Unfortunately my dogs have no experience with cats, and I don’t trust them. Well, plus, I really don’t want a pet that needs to relieve itself inside. Also it turns out I have some allergies to cats, from recent allergy testing. Before I had dogs, I used to have cats. Hobbes looks like he shouldn’t have a problem finding a home.

So glad that Gertie is OK. She looks very Oriental. I'm sure that she and Hobbes will not be with you for long.
Looney3 is Emma, who is staying forever, (right?).

Most single akitas I've known have done well with cats in the home. It's when the cats were outside that they became prey. And that was with male akitas. Females are different - much less willing to hold to the "inside cats are family" rule. And with two or more akitas all bets are off.

I swear by the Petsafe crystal litter for folks who hate litter boxes. It really makes a difference.

Hobbes will definitely have no trouble getting a home. He is sweet and charming and funny and clever and handsome and all.

Yeah, Gertie has the siamese shaping to her face - every exotic. When I took the big kittens to adoptions, Andrushka actually got more attention than the points - people just seem to be drawn to their exotic looks without realizing the cat looks exotic.

Looney3 was supposed to be Emma, but she already responded to Panther, so her name has remained Panther. She is a gorgeous girl.

Years ago, I got hives after eating a can of clam chowder. My doctor had me go do allergy testing. The doctor who did the testing asked me a bunch of questions wanting only a yes or no answer - which was impossible for some questions. Then he administered the test. He said the results were muddy and he couldn't read them and blamed me of having taken medication before the test (I hadn't taken anything in over 24 hours as instructed). So I had to go back to re-take the test. The doctor said the results were the same, but now he could read them... He said I was "deathly allergic to cats" and "highly allergic to dogs". I had no other allergies. He then gave me a lunch bag filled with medications to counter the allergies because they were why I was "always sick".

I thought maybe I always felt poorly so didn't notice it and took the meds for two days. I felt like crap. I took the bag to my doctor and explained what the allergy doctor said. My doctor threw out all but two of the meds - an antihistimine for my seasonal allergies (that I apparently don't have) and prednisone in case I ever had a reaction like I did with the clam chowder (I never did).

I found the allergy doctor to be a complete jerk. His comment about my being "always sick" was because I worked retail and would catch the flu every winter and it would turn into bronchitis - because I was exposed to it by all the sick customers. His determination that I was deathly allergic to cats and that was why I reacted to the clam chowder was hogwash - I'd had cats my entire life and never had an issue eating the same clam chowder ever before. He told me I would never feel better until I got rid of the cats (and less importantly the dogs) - yet I never felt bad until I took the medication he insisted I needed.

To this day, I still have seasonal allergies - which no longer bother me since I started taking allergy meds year round (tip: if you wait until the allergies kick in to take the med it's too late). Strong fragrances, like pot pourri shops, and aerosol sprays. And, weirdly, lipstick. I can wear lipgloss but lipstick has an ingredient in it that makes me choke.

Anyway, I got rid of that doctor and kept my animals. I stopped getting bronchitis when I started staying home from work for a week when I came down with the flu - hmmm, not being around sick people when I got sick let my system fight and win. And I've never broken out in hives from anything since.

Wow, I am quite similar. I also take an antihistamine all year round, (and still have a nasal drip). I'm allergic to cat and rabbit fur - never been tested, it's just obvious. Wearing wool gives me hives, and housedust irritates my nose, but I've only been allergic to three of my 30 or so dogs, and none of the horses, so I guess that's something to do with dander or coat texture. It has never stopped me keeping any type or breed of animal that I took a liking to - maybe just not cuddle them as close. I had annual bouts of bronchitis when I smoked cigarettes, but never since I gave up.
In 2021 I had a friend that died just weeks from her 80th birthday - she didn't recover after a fall from one of her ponies. She kept either 5 or 6 of them despite being allergic to horses all her life. I'm always suspicious when people tell me they had to rehome their dog because a member of the family has developed an allergy.

When that doctor told me I was "deathly allergic to cats" (his exact words), I had a cat who literally slept against my face every night. You'd think I would have died...

I think that animals, cats particularly, are an allergist's scape goat. Not sure what the person is allergic to? Blame cats. I have never met anyone who has been tested and it came back not allergic to cats - seems to me if cats are so highly allergic they would never have been brought into homes.

Other than lipstick, I never had allergies until I moved here. We sit in a fishbowl with mountains all around. The allergens just float around in the air but never blow away. I wore contacts until I moved here. Once I moved here, I could only wear contacts for a few hours before my eyes would get irritated. And for years, I couldn't drive with the windows down during spring.

Even now taking year round meds, I am very sensitive to scents. There are very few perfumes I can handle - Bill Blass perfumes are usually good, but others will make me miserable.

I'm OK with perfumes. Tesco's laundry detergent area always sets me off though. I use laundry liquid at home, which doesn't bother me at all, so think it must be traces of the dry powder in the air.

Punx is now between 29 and 30 ounces. I don't know the exact weight because she refuses to sit still for the scale.

Tomorrow, Hobbes and Gertie have their first adoption day. I've been saying goodbye to them for the past two days already because I know they are going to get homes. I'm gonna miss them so much.

Punx will go with us so she can show everyone how great she's doing.

Next Friday, Looney3 goes to the vet for her 2nd FeLV vaccine. Punx will go along to show everyone in the office how well she's doing.

I hope Hobbes and Gertie find lovely homes tomorrow. It is going to be so hard to part with Punx when she finally makes the weight.

Yeah. Punx may not leave...

Saturday Hobbes got adopted. A 16 year old boy came looking for a female and fell in love with Hobbes. His guardian, his sister, came to do the paperwork and she fell in love with Hobbes. They promised to give him cuddle time and tell him he's perfect. I told the boy that Hobbes knows how to use the phone and will call me if the boy fails to worship Hobbes properly - he promised I wouldn't get the call. I'm gonna miss my little man.

Gertie got some attention but no takers. She'll go back next weekend and I suspect she will be adopted.

It has been noticed that these kittens have been adopted quicker than is normal. All have been adopted within the first couple adoption weekends.

Punx went along for the day. She showed off her tummy. They get a lot of kids who want to hold the kittens, but aren't going to adopt - it's tough because if we let them hold an available kitten, then a potential adopter won't see the kitten. So Punx did "kid duty" a couple times. She also got lectured by the other volunteers and had a sticky note stuck to her that read "needs to put meat on those bones" - she did not find it humorous. The note is on the door to the Cat Room as her reminder.

And today, she made it to 30 ounces! Actually closer to 31 ounces.

But we are discussing her future - we are all concerned that she could have another failing. And we can't give an adopter any diagnosis or guarantee or anything. We also agreed not to spay her until she is 3-4 pounds. She's just under 2 now, so it could be another month or two before she'll get spayed. So.........

Meanwhile, here are the girls looking spectacular:


And here is another of Punx - she loves her window. She liked all that attention yesterday. I think she has Munchausen - she makes herself sick to get attention.

She certainly looks alert enough!

Last night she was in full kitten mode. She was running around all crazy - she's never had that much excess energy before. And her eyes fit her face now. Today she made it to 2lbs!

This morning, I asked Gertie if she was ready to get adopted today...

She hadn't been at adoptions for 2 minutes and a nice couple fell deep in love with her. She went home to meet her two new brothers (both grey cats). The boys are young (3 yrs and 1-1/2 yrs) and helped foster a couple litters and the younger one is now lonely. So Gertie will have a playful brother to keep her busy.

That's 8 kittens all adopted within 2 adoption weekends each - most adopted within the first weekend.

Punx is now tipping the scale at 35 ounces! No one wants to set off a relapse so we are all in agreement to hold off doing anything (spay, vaccines, etc) until she is BIG.

Now that Gertie is adopted, the potential that Punx will stay can be spoken out loud. It looks likely...

Glad Gertie's adoption went so well. Perhaps not leave spaying too long!
How is Punx getting on with the 3 Looneys - or is it Loonies?