New foster kittens!

[Deactivated member 42515]

I've always wanted a kitten or cat but I don't even know where to begin! I've always been a dog person but I've always wanted a cat. But I don't know what to do to take care of them! I know everything there is to know about dogs but cats are a foreign territory to me. And this thread is making me soooo want a kitty again. I've been suppressing these feelings but Mr. Runt is so handsome!

 

[justginger]

This thread makes me so happy! They're so precious - that runt!! The look on his face - just melts your heart.

I chose writers for my cats (Dante and Kipling - one day I'd like to add a Chaucer and Rosetti to the mix).

You could also do painters - Picasso, Botticelli, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Dali, Frida (for a girl?), Cezanne, Matisse, Leonardo, etc.

Composers - Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Lizst, Vivaldi, Chopin, Wagner, Strauss

Scientists - Curie, Einstein, Turing, Sagan, Kepler, Schrodinger, Fermi, Newton, Tesla

Famous sci-fi authors - Asimov, Heinlein, Bradbury, Clarke (Arthur C.), Verne, Douglas (Adams), Ursula (Le Guin)

Philosophers - Locke, Aristotle, Plato, Descartes, Hegel, Nietzsche, Sartre, Spinoza

Cookies - Snickerdoodle, Gingersnap, Macaroon, Chocolate Chip, Biscotti, Thin Mint, Fortune (cookie), Lady Fingers

Wow, BEG, there are some excellent ideas here! I'm going to save these for our future litters. Thank you so much.

I still haven't quite picked names for these little guys yet, but I'm pretty sure we're going in a horse-racing related direction. They would have been born in the week leading up to the Melbourne Cup, which is a huge event here.

 

[cellardoor433]

You and your family are amazing to take on foster kitties - we have a cat that we adopted two years ago, and love her dearly. It must be difficult for when the time comes for the kittens to go to their "forever home".

The little black kitten is so adorable with his steely glare - maybe Winston or Panther as name? Our cat was named Lotus by her original owner. Interestingly enough, after 100th attempt to call her Lotus and she simply ignored us, we said "Cat!" and she ran straight for us. Guess she wasn't up for the flora and fauna names... But anyway, just saying that sometimes you may have to test out different names with cats - because they seem to have a lot to say about the choosing!

 

[justginger]

I've always wanted a kitten or cat but I don't even know where to begin! I've always been a dog person but I've always wanted a cat. But I don't know what to do to take care of them! I know everything there is to know about dogs but cats are a foreign territory to me. And this thread is making me soooo want a kitty again. I've been suppressing these feelings but Mr. Runt is so handsome!

Cats are SO much easier to care for than dogs (along with our revolving door of cats/kittens, we have two large dogs of our own). Cats are inherently litterbox trained, you never have to show them what to do or reward them for doing it right. They keep themselves impeccably groomed. They eat very little. They sleep a lot. They don't chew or destroy things (we have one couch that we specifically bought second hand for the dogs to be allowed up on - that's the only couch our cats show any interest in scratching). They take up very little space. They don't needs walks or obedience training. They're very quiet (for the most part, until you get into the Oriental breeds). They can be left for quite a while on their own, without needing to be boarded (growing up we left our cats in the house with giant storage crates as litterboxes for up to 2 weeks).

They are somewhere between a dog and a fish in terms of level of necessary care. There are no secrets or tricks to cat ownership. Make sure you have enough disposable income to cover decent food and litter, and you're good to go. You'll learn the nuances of your own cat's personality - does it love sharing bananas with your, or chasing a red laser pointer until he collapses, or drinking out of the bathroom tap while you brush your teeth in the morning - all those cute things.

And of course - adopt your kitty from a rescue group! If you want to make sure it's extra happy and comfortable...get two!

 

[justginger]

You and your family are amazing to take on foster kitties - we have a cat that we adopted two years ago, and love her dearly. It must be difficult for when the time comes for the kittens to go to their "forever home".

The little black kitten is so adorable with his steely glare - maybe Winston or Panther as name? Our cat was named Lotus by her original owner. Interestingly enough, after 100th attempt to call her Lotus and she simply ignored us, we said "Cat!" and she ran straight for us. Guess she wasn't up for the flora and fauna names... But anyway, just saying that sometimes you may have to test out different names with cats - because they seem to have a lot to say about the choosing!

It definitely is, sometimes. It gets easier though - the first litter was SO hard. Then I got the next litter and realized they were brilliant as well. That's the thing with cats and dogs: they're ALL special. You think you've got the PERFECT one, but then after you say goodbye, you find out that the next one is perfect too. The bottom line is, we don't have room to keep all of the ones I've loved. If we keep too many of them, we won't have room for the next batch - and then they'll die, plain and simple.

In fostering, it's "better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all." Only even more grim, because if we don't 'lose' them to new homes, the next ones don't get a chance to be loved at all.

I'd encourage everyone to try fostering at least once. It is the most gratifying thing I've ever done, to know that I have directly eased the suffering and pain of an animal in need. The joy is indescribable.

 

[hawaiianorangetree]

GJ, I'd love to be able to do something like that (not too sure my kitty's would love it) but I just don't think my work schedule would allow it ATM. As a kid, we used to hand rear all sorts of native animals and I have the fondest of memories. You are really lucky to be able to do that. It must feel great knowing you have kept so many lives off of death row.

That's so wonderful, HOT, taking care of the native creatures. I know DH's family raised a baby joey once (his mother taught at a community school up north for a few weeks and the locals accidentally killed the mother for food, without realizing she had a baby ). Joey Jumper. They had to stop every two hours on the drive back to Perth to warm up his bottle on the radiator. They had him for months, until he started jumping their fences in Bickley, then he went to Caversham. Have you cared for any roos?

Mostly we have looked after lots of birds (magpies, mopokes, swallows, parrots, i hand reared a rainbow lorikeet out of the egg once, kept him warm in an electric frypan!) We have had a few Roos over the years too. When I was little (around 3/4) we had these 2 big Roos that we had hand reared named sunset and moonshine. I remember walking out the back with a sandwich in hand and they both came bounding over and I somehow ended up on the ground SCREAMING. Mum came out to see what all the fuss was about to find me on the ground with the 2 Roos standing over the top of me eating my sandwich. Ha ha I still remember it so clearly. Joeys can be really fickle. Healthy and well one day, sick and dead the next for no apparent reason. (it's very easy to get the milk in their lungs and they stress out very easily). The last few we have found we have ended up taking them to wildlife carers to be raised because I knew I couldn't live with myself if we lost one.

If you ever want to see some friendly ones in the wild take a drive down to Serpentine Falls with a picnic or BBQ and lots of bread. They come out of the bushes waiting to be fed and will sit around while you have your BBQ. I'm not saying its right, but if you want to get up close, or take some overseas visitors to see some, it's far better than going to the zoo.

 

[iheartscience]

OMG they are precious, ginger! Thank you for being such a good foster mom! When I buy a house I want to start fostering!

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

This thread makes me so happy! They're so precious - that runt!! The look on his face - just melts your heart.

I chose writers for my cats (Dante and Kipling - one day I'd like to add a Chaucer and Rosetti to the mix).

You could also do painters - Picasso, Botticelli, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Dali, Frida (for a girl?), Cezanne, Matisse, Leonardo, etc.

Composers - Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Lizst, Vivaldi, Chopin, Wagner, Strauss

Scientists - Curie, Einstein, Turing, Sagan, Kepler, Schrodinger, Fermi, Newton, Tesla

Famous sci-fi authors - Asimov, Heinlein, Bradbury, Clarke (Arthur C.), Verne, Douglas (Adams), Ursula (Le Guin)

Philosophers - Locke, Aristotle, Plato, Descartes, Hegel, Nietzsche, Sartre, Spinoza

Cookies - Snickerdoodle, Gingersnap, Macaroon, Chocolate Chip, Biscotti, Thin Mint, Fortune (cookie), Lady Fingers

Wow, BEG, there are some excellent ideas here! I'm going to save these for our future litters. Thank you so much.

I still haven't quite picked names for these little guys yet, but I'm pretty sure we're going in a horse-racing related direction. They would have been born in the week leading up to the Melbourne Cup, which is a huge event here.

Hmm...Triple Crown winners? Sir Barton, Gallant Fox, Omaha, War Admiral, Whirlaway, Count Fleet, Assault, Citation, Secretariat, Seattle Slew, Affirmed.

Or Melbourne Cup winners! Except there's too many of them for me to list

 

[Brown.Eyed.Girl]

You and your family are amazing to take on foster kitties - we have a cat that we adopted two years ago, and love her dearly. It must be difficult for when the time comes for the kittens to go to their "forever home".

The little black kitten is so adorable with his steely glare - maybe Winston or Panther as name? Our cat was named Lotus by her original owner. Interestingly enough, after 100th attempt to call her Lotus and she simply ignored us, we said "Cat!" and she ran straight for us. Guess she wasn't up for the flora and fauna names... But anyway, just saying that sometimes you may have to test out different names with cats - because they seem to have a lot to say about the choosing!

It definitely is, sometimes. It gets easier though - the first litter was SO hard. Then I got the next litter and realized they were brilliant as well. That's the thing with cats and dogs: they're ALL special. You think you've got the PERFECT one, but then after you say goodbye, you find out that the next one is perfect too. The bottom line is, we don't have room to keep all of the ones I've loved. If we keep too many of them, we won't have room for the next batch - and then they'll die, plain and simple.

In fostering, it's "better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all." Only even more grim, because if we don't 'lose' them to new homes, the next ones don't get a chance to be loved at all.

I'd encourage everyone to try fostering at least once. It is the most gratifying thing I've ever done, to know that I have directly eased the suffering and pain of an animal in need. The joy is indescribable.

My BFF has a house and fosters. She usually doesn't do litters though - she does individual kittens. I think 3 of them have found permanent homes with her so far! (She has two big dogs and an older cat too)

 

[justginger]

Sad news...

I heard from one of the printing employees that after the kittens had been taken, days passed without the mum cat returning. They've been searching as they wanted to get her fixed, and were all very fond of her. Unfortunately when she was located today, she had been struck by a car and died. They said it looked to have happened a few days ago.

I'm in two minds. One half of me feels like it was a blessing that the kittens were trapped when they were - they would not have survived the loss of their mother at this age. The other half of me is sick with guilt. What if she was hit because she was wandering, preoccupied with trying to find her suddenly missing babies? It makes my stomach hurt just to think of it.

 

[minousbijoux]

Sad news...

I heard from one of the printing employees that after the kittens had been taken, days passed without the mum cat returning. They've been searching as they wanted to get her fixed, and were all very fond of her. Unfortunately when she was located today, she had been struck by a car and died. They said it looked to have happened a few days ago.

I'm in two minds. One half of me feels like it was a blessing that the kittens were trapped when they were - they would not have survived the loss of their mother at this age. The other half of me is sick with guilt. What if she was hit because she was wandering, preoccupied with trying to find her suddenly missing babies? It makes my stomach hurt just to think of it.

Oh, Ginger, that is really sad news and I'm sure I'd feel exactly as you do - mixed emotions with a good bit of guilt thrown in. I don't know what to say other than it wasn't your fault. That's a horrible twist of fate. I am so, so sorry. Thank God you have the kittens; I can only imagine what would've happened to them if...

As for Mom, maybe she was looking for them when it happened, maybe she wasn't. But if you really stop to think about it, she likely would've been hit sooner or later.

You are a dear for everything you've done and do.

 

[iheartscience]

Sad news...

I heard from one of the printing employees that after the kittens had been taken, days passed without the mum cat returning. They've been searching as they wanted to get her fixed, and were all very fond of her. Unfortunately when she was located today, she had been struck by a car and died. They said it looked to have happened a few days ago.

I'm in two minds. One half of me feels like it was a blessing that the kittens were trapped when they were - they would not have survived the loss of their mother at this age. The other half of me is sick with guilt. What if she was hit because she was wandering, preoccupied with trying to find her suddenly missing babies? It makes my stomach hurt just to think of it.

Oh no, I'm so sorry to hear about their mom. Please don't feel guilty-they were in such rough shape, so trapping them was definitely the best choice for them. Hugs to you.

 

[Rosebloom]

Oh Ginger I'm so sorry to hear that news! Thank goodness you are there to provide love and nourishment to her kittens. That is so important!