Herd your cats here

[the_geneticist]

Children are exactly the same!  I cannot count the number of Friday nights I spent in the ER with our asthmatic offspring because they got sick at the very moment our GP was herding his family onto a plane for a visit to Jamaica.  It is similar to the start-wheezing signal that is triggered as soon as Mom puts her head on the pillow.  If we could figure out what causes it, we might be able to stop it!

the_geneticist--do you have any updates?

Final diagnosis for Effie cat: bleeding stomach ulcer.  Turns out there wasn't a mass (first vet apparently didn't know how to read an X-ray).  So, after the most expensive week ever, Effie came home.  He's back to his usual self!  He's missing a bunch of fur - they were very enthusiastic with the clippers for the EKG, IVs, blood pressure cuff, etc.  Still needs some followup care since there is concern he might have "irritable bowel" as well. 

[FishProf]

We are trying to adopt another kitten.

It is mindnumbingly frustrating.  We found the perfect kitten yesterday, but were not allowed to have it b/c the foster family determined (how?) that only kids 10 and up would be suitable.  Smolt is 7 1/2, has had cats her entire life and shares in all the work (feeding, water, litter boxes), but is not old enough.  So, no kitten.

MrsFishProf has spent hours doing online background check form filling.

Maddening.

[mamselle]

And when a 10-year-old turns up, they'll decide the child needs to be 12.

Some fosters get very attached...

M.

[Puget]

Well friends, the time has come to bring a cat back into my life. A few of you may recall that I lost my beloved 14 year old tabby to cancer this past February. I was tempted to get another cat right away, but wisely decided to wait since I was planning to shop for a house and had a lot of spring, summer and early fall travel. Now the house has been bought and moved into and I just got back from my last trip until December so it is time to look at kittens!

[professor_pat]

Oh boy, Puget, congrats on the move and how exciting about the kittens! There's not a much more fun time than starting a new kitten project.

[Volhiker78]

Well friends, the time has come to bring a cat back into my life. A few of you may recall that I lost my beloved 14 year old tabby to cancer this past February. I was tempted to get another cat right away, but wisely decided to wait since I was planning to shop for a house and had a lot of spring, summer and early fall travel. Now the house has been bought and moved into and I just got back from my last trip until December so it is time to look at kittens!

Great news!

We had to put down our 15 year old Maine coon in May.  Five weeks ago, we rescued a feral kitten which was injured by the side of the highway.  Little One is doing very well.  She no longer limps, is playful and best of all, has taken well to our entire family.  Even our 2 year old tuxedo cat has given in and the two cats play together reasonably well.  We decided last week to keep her - need to get her to a vet this weekend. 

[mamselle]

Awww,.....good news!!

M.

[onehappyunicorn]

Hooray for new kitties! When we adopted our last from the Humane Society here in town they did come for a home visit before we were allowed to adopt but it wasn't super-intense or anything. We would adopt another rescue but we're already at 5 cats and I struggle to keep up with the litter boxes. Plus now we have one cat that doesn't get along well with one of our others so I'd rather not add another complication.

[FishProf]

We are still new-kitty-less.  We went to a shelter and saw 5 kittens yesterday, all varying states of cuteness.  But none quite squee-inducing.

So the search continues.

[Thursday's_Child]

We are still new-kitty-less.  We went to a shelter and saw 5 kittens yesterday, all varying states of cuteness.  But none quite squee-inducing.

So the search continues.

Your self-control is awesome!  I can't do things like that because I'd come home with at least one.

Also - congrats, Volhiker!  I'm so pleased that my predicted foster-fail worked out for you & kitten!

[0susanna]

Although I have two perfectly good cats and really don't need a third (shh!), I get excited when other people are looking for new cats/kittens. Good luck to all of you. My junior cat was a tiny, sickly baby at the local shelter just over two years ago, but now she rules the house.

[the_geneticist]

I don't have that sort of self-control either.

I saw a kitten with the most unusual fur at the shelter this weekend.  He was a tuxedo with a super fluffy gray undercoat.  Never seen anything like it!  And he had the most adorable raspy meow. 
But three cats is my limit.

[mamselle]

Send a picture to FishProf?

;--}

M.

[the_geneticist]

Looks like "Snickers", the fluffy tuxedo kitten, found himself some human staff and has been adopted!

[Puget]

Well friends, the time has come to bring a cat back into my life. A few of you may recall that I lost my beloved 14 year old tabby to cancer this past February. I was tempted to get another cat right away, but wisely decided to wait since I was planning to shop for a house and had a lot of spring, summer and early fall travel. Now the house has been bought and moved into and I just got back from my last trip until December so it is time to look at kittens!

I now have a brother-sister pair of 4.5-month olds running around the house!  She's a dilute calico and he's all grey except for a small white chest patch. They are damn cute and I'm so glad to have cats back in my life.

I met them last Sunday and their fosterers dropped them off yesterday evening. They had been separated in different rooms in the foster home after getting fixed and they were doing this elaborate weeks- long reintroduction plan they thought was necessary because one hissed at the other when they first put them back together and the rescue group's "animal behaviorist" (who signs her emails with Ed.D. so. . .) insisted it was necessary. I was supposed to put them in separate rooms and keep following the plan. Right-- that lasted through about half an hour of them crying in their rooms, then i opened both doors. There was a little hissing, a lot of sniffing, and then they were off, exploring all over the house together. Today they've been grooming each other and sleeping together in between endless games of hide and seek and chase.