Bella and Buddy

The first picture was taken when they were home from the shelter, and just back from the emergency veterinarian. They both had horrible upper respiratory infections, and Buddy was the most vulnerable. Bella seemed to have given up, and it was heartbreaking for us.  Dave and I don't shy away from challenges, and so we decided that these little ones were going to  get better on our watch. I got up early to give them their antibiotics, give them human baby food in a syringe mixed with cat milk replacer, and just cuddle them. During the day, Dave took them into the bathroom and ran the shower to help with their breathing. In the meantime, our other cats became ill, despite our keeping the kittens separate, and we had vet bills so high I needed to borrow money from our 401K. Life was very stressfull during July-August 2009.  Our senior cat, Tristan, caught the same cold and we could only isolate him in the bathroom. It broke my heart  because Tristan was my longtime pet of 12 years at that time and I was so worried about him. He responded to the antibiotics immediately. Ten days after we brought Buddy and Bella home, I was syring-feeding Bella, and she lapped up food that had spilled onto my hand. I put some food on a plate, and she lapped that up. That was the end of her needing to be force-fed with a syringe!  While we still had to keep the new kittens separate, every time we entered the room from that point on, she threw her head back and gave a very tiny mew at us to ask for attention. She still does that, and we just melt, no matter how often she does it. Buddy recovered a few days before Bella, and now weighs 15 pounds and looks mostly like a tabby cat. They are our miracle babies, and always remind me of what I can accomplish "on our watch."

Everyone have a great weekend, and please hug and pet your kitties.

Naughty Kitties

I must have yelled "Get down from there!" about ten times that afternoon, terrified of my carefully collected antique china ending up in pieces, or my guests finding cat hair in their food. I finally decided to get my camera out and have some fun.  Our dinner party was a great success once the kitties were finally shooed away, and no one was the wiser. Well, I guess, until now!

Ozzie

We decided that our sweet new kitty should have a unique name, and we labored over several days to decide what it ought to be. I suggested Oscar, as in "we deserve an Oscar" and then Ollie, as in "another fine mess, Ollie." In a case of the lightbulb going off in one's head, Dave said "Ozzie!" and the Prince of Cuteness had a name.
He really is the sweetest little guy, and here is a picture with his sisters.

Loving Animals and Walking the Walk

This is my favorite picture of Tristan, with Misty.

It's always easy to say that you love animals, support rescues, and adopt from shelters, but Dave and I really do it. It's not easy to have as many pets as we do, but these magnificent, sweet creatures may not still be with us if we had not pulled them from the shelter, syringe-fed them through illnesses related to being in a shelter, and gotten them to the vet in time to save them. There are many things I don't do as well as I should, but as far as our sweet kitties, - I've gotten that right. Dave and I preach animal rescue to others, and we make sure we practice that.

In Tristan's memory, we went to the West Los Angeles Animal Shelter and saved two kitties whose time was running out. One kitty was named Dolly by the shelter, and she is a Lynx Point Siamese like our other girls. I love Dolly Parton , so the name will stay. The other kitty is a four month old male black kitten, who we cannot decide on a name for. He seems to be a sweet Mummy's boy so far, and I really want to call him Tristan II, but perhaps I need to observe him a bit more and decide.

Rembering Tristan

My sweet Siamese kitty left this world, but never our hearts, just this last Saturday. He was my constant little friend, the one who woke me in the morning with his yowl for breakfast, and the one who greeted me when I returned home from work, and the kitty who never left my side, even enduring silly television shows. He came to adore my husband, five years later, even sleeping on left-behind sandals and clothes after Dave's many visits when he wwould return to England during our extremely romantic Transatlantic courtship. Tristan only brought joy into our lives until he left us, and we miss him terribly. Our time was limited to fourteen years, and it went in the blink of an eye. Rest well Tristan, you were a sweet, sweet boy who loved your Mummy.