Halloween

Happy Birthday to the best Mommy in the world! 

Today was kind of busy; we drove to my parents house, drove our last foster kitten down to be adopted (like he is every weekend), went to the grocery store for mom's birthday dinner, drove to Nick's parents house and visited, drove to town again to pick up the kitten, saw a lady looking at him, chatted a minute, she decided she wanted to adopt him, stayed late to adopt my last sweet baby out, drove home, was sad a little bit about adopting him out with mom and dad and Troy, made dinner for mom (white wine sauce linguine with seared scallops, cheese roasted veggies, homemade french bread, and carrot cake), then drove past Nick's parents house to go to Troy's friend's free haunted house, screamed a lot, drove home, and sat down, whereupon I just realized I forgot to steal toilet paper from mom's house like I meant to. 

That was the longest run-on sentence ever! Go me! 

Nick was "Captain One-Eyed Willy" and I was his pirate wench. I'll post photos later. 

If you happen to be in the area . . .

Going Home Again

Well, I've been moved out from my parent's house for a whole two and half weeks and already I'm back home, though it is just for a night! I came back up to visit and watch chick flicks! My poor mama is outnumbered by Dad and Troy so she can't watch girlie movies. I decided to stay and sleep in my old bed and snuggle with my cats, so that they don't crowd mom and dad like they have been. I hear that once the cats snuggle in--usually one between your feet and one by your side and one by your head--mom has an impossible time moving without disturbing kitties!

We are watching the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency, set in Botswana, a TV series based on a book series. It is simply adorable.

I suspect . . .

 . . . that the Internet is weird. 

Forget suspecting. I KNOW the internet is weird; I think everybody does. But today I was checking out my StatCounter for like the first time in a year (I forgot I had it and tried to make a new one, oops) and I started clicking on how people find my blog. 

Aaaaaand enter the weird. Did you know that people actually search "Put poo in perfume"?!? From my post about spilling perfume when a foster kitten had diarrhea? (Ew, BTW). But seriously. Put poop in perfume? WHO WOULD DO THAT?! 

Apparently, a few readers. 

UPDATE: 

I've been thinking about this "poo in perfume" person. (I had ample time to do so while biking with Nick to school and then again on the way home.) I suppose there might actually be REASONS for googling such a thing. A few I have thought of include: 

1) This person (oh! they live in London, by the way, so let's call them Queenie) received some perfume as a present and it smells awful. They googled "poo in perfume" to see if it is an actual type, (in which case their friend doesn't want them dead) or if the poo smell is from their friend actually mixing poo and perfume together in which case the friend probably wants them to come down with E. Coli. Either way Queenie needs to dump this friend; they're toxic. 

2) Queenie is a fervent vegan soul working for PETA (or the UK equivalent) who is trying to find ways of suing perfume companies by accusing them of mixing the poop of unwilling animals into their bottles. 

3) Queenie is actually a thirteen-year-old boy trying to piss off his sister. 

OH MY GOD THERE IS NO REASON TO GOOGLE "PUT POO IN PERFUME". THIS IS GOING TO HAUNT ME ALL NIGHT LONG. 

Perfume and Poop

You know what one of the most horrifying smells in the world is? 

Perfume and poop. 

. . .  . . .  . . . 

. . . yes. You see, my last two foster kittens Billy and Nellie were diagnosed with coccidia, a nasty intestinal parasite that causes horribly stinky diarrhea and an apparent inability to make it to the litter box. I've found stinky little piles of pudding diarrhea in my closet, on my pillow cover, in the downstairs closet, behind the guest bed, next to the litter box, and on the bathroom rug. It's so bad that while I was taking a bath today I was trying to figure out what that awful smell was--I was sniffing my armpits, looking for mildew, making sure there wasn't cat poop behind my head . . . and finally realized that it was a few paper towels in the trash that had some diarrhea residue on them. That's how strong the smell is. 

So, that's the poop part, which is damn well bad enough on it's own. Here's where the perfume comes in: 

After I organized my room I realized I needed to put the cat food bowl somewhere else since I had gotten rid of the huge bookshelf where it had been kept, high up away from our constantly starving dogs. (Who, incidentally, adore kitten poop! Hooray! Instant clean!)

So, for lack of a better place, I put the food bowl on my dresser. It worked very well until recently, when in the middle of the night I was woken up by a crashing sound and then a pervasive smell. Since I was still half-asleep it took me a few minutes to realize that Oz had taken a flying leap onto my dresser and knocked into the food bowl which crashed into my perfume bottles which knocked over my blown glass perfume bottle that was holding some of my Britney Spears In Control perfume. So. I had perfume soaking my dresser, a broken bottle, and a freaked out cat--and a pressing need for sleep. 

Here's where my half-assed procrastination approach really shows. I soaked up some of the perfume, consigned the rest of it dripping down my dresser to a carpeted eternity, covered the glass with paper towels and went back to bed. I still haven't dealt with it. 

BUT. (Hah, puns. I kill me.) The heavy flowery scent of the perfume mingling with the knock-ya-over-with-a-feather odor of the kitten poops is simply awful. So awful that I just had to share. You are WELCOME. 

Small and Fuzzy

Heeeeeeeeey!

You has foods?

Perhaps you haz cheezburger?


Three have been adopted so far, yay! I have a black tabby, a silver tabby, and a black baby girl left. They are the sweetest babies! Right now one is snoozing on my lap, so cute! They purr and play and sleep all day long.

Introducing the Newest Symington

Meet Oz Symington, our newest member. I finally bit the bullet and decided to adopt him! The deciding factor was finding Oz snuggled up with Io underneath my dresser--Io's favorite hangout--and I was so surprised to see them together that I stood there dumbstruck for a moment. My cat doesn't usually take to kittens, but he and Oz have been playing and eating and exploring together, so I knew it would work.

Our new tuxedo boy loves to play with "presents"--or rather bows for wrapping presents. He carries them around and plays and jumps and then drops them in his food dish--his favorite place for his toys.


He also gets along well with my hamster Gus-Gus. Never fear, the hamster is not in the cage. I took Gus-Gus out to let him roll around in his ball, and Oz hopped right on in!


He is a pretty adorable kitten. My family likes him too, but my mom has made it clear that Io and Oz come with me when I move out. Good thing Nick likes him a lot!

Mad Ninja Skills

Between my new PC (which I am still figuring out, and which apparently does not like the wireless connection in MY house, but NICK'S house if just fine, whatever Toshiba, you are just high-maintenance), and buying more mulch for our garden from a really rude business (probably will not be going back), and stressing over the kittens not yet being adopted and the fact that I really need to get my rear in gear and find an internship/job in nursing, and losing and then finding my cell phone, I have a lot to write about but nothing comes to mind.

Therefore!

Have some kittens. (No, seriously. Adopt one! Or two!)

How CAN you resist? These kittens are soooo freaking adorable I can hardly stand it! Cordy, Riley, and Oz all snuggle together, kicking the poor dogs off of the dog bed. 


Oz and Cordy looking sweet as . . . um . . .kittens. 


Cordelia embodies the "curiosity" part of the kitten personality. This girl will NOT stay out of places like garages, sinks, fridges . . . and also ROOFS. 

Two nights ago I went up to bed and realized that my cat Io had pushed open my parents screen balcony door to go out on the roof. He likes to explore at night. Well. The kittens FOLLOWED HIM OUT. 

Freaking out only a little bit, thinking of owls and falling off the roof, I start calling the kittens. My two orange babies ran back within a few minutes and I gave them (threw them) at my dad before shutting the door and going out on the roof myself, as Oz was MIA. 

He materialized, saw me, and then started running on the roof to the far side, waaay away from me! I spent about five minutes trying to entice that darn kitten to come to me, and finally, he ran from me over to the screen door. I opened it and he BOLTED inside, before disappearing under my bed so I couldn't put him in the kitten's room. *sigh*

I took the two orange tabbies downstairs before returning for Oz, calling for my brother Troy to come and help. Oz sprinted past both of us, down the stairs, and into the living room before disappearing again. We were searching the house (even upstairs, this kitten is FAST), when we saw him bolting past us towards the office. He was practically a blur as he sped by. He then disappeared again! 

Troy finally found him hiding behind the dryer. It took us another few minutes to get him out of there (first tried enticing toys, but then gave in and poked his butt with a cat toy until he came out) and he was all bummed that we were making him go to bed and stop playing. 

Troy pretty much summed that kitten up by what he said that night. 

"He has mad ninja skills!" 

Busy But Not

Only a few things have happened in the zillion days it has been since I last posted:

1) I went to the store a few days ago, wearing a really cute top. In the checkout line an elderly woman was staring at me. Then she told me that she liked my shirt. I thanked her and told her I got it at Kohl's, and then she continued to stare. After she paid and was gathering up her bags, she looked back at me, and said with a cackle, "That really is a very cute shirt. But I betcha couldn't wear it to school!"

2) I was thinking of baking a coffee cake yesterday morning and took out the strawberries, shut the fridge, and went upstairs to ask my mom a quick question. When I came back down I heard muted meows from one of our foster kittens. I walked past the kitchen and into the office and was calling for the kitten, wondering if she had run out into the garage again. They keep trying to escape through all doors! I heard her meow behind me and I walked back into the kitchen. Then I heard the muted meow again. My eyes opened really wide and I said "No!" in a disbelieving tone, before yanking open the fridge door, and saw a kitten tumble out of the bottom door shelf! She did a very pitiful little "meow" before I yanked her up and comforted both of us. Her little ears and feet were chilled and I was more upset than she was, but now I am very paranoid about checking the fridge for kittens before I leave!!!

3) My computer died! The port is broken, or possibly something else, and Mac store people say "Oh we can spend $280 to fix the problem but it might be something else and by the way we won't fix your battery unless you spend like $150, so there, give us all your cash and credit cards now." So my loving kind parents said they would support me scrapping my computer (it is like 5 years old) and they would give me $400 towards a new one, since my Christmas presents weren't that expensive. And now I have questions! Another mac, or a hp? Dad will keeeeeell me if I get a hp, and Nick says go hp! Mac is more expensive, but it is what I know and I will get a free ipod touch cuz I'm a student! And yeah. Hp is cheaper! My heard hurts.

4) Night before last we had a thunderstorm with strobe-like lightning and hail and rain. Nick's veggie garden was shredded. Mine survived! But it was scary and made my cat Io disappear from fright. Weeeeird weather!

So there. My summer vacation is less than fascinating, and all my photos are on my broken computer, so I can't post anything fuzzy and cute. My bank account is draining. Oh! But I am not sick anymore! (Except for allergies). And I babysat Rocky and Dixie and Shelby (all Vicky's kids) and we watched Twilight cuz those kids are awesome. And today I visited Aimee and Cole and baby Siena, and those are some darn cute kids too! And now I am babbling. Stay tuned for more misadventures of Katie!

Buffy the Cute Calico

Here is Buffy's impression of a pancake.

Just waking up!

Aaaand asleep again!

Slinky Kittens and Other Furry Adventures

First, you have to get their attention, and find the missing kitten. Cordy! Riley! Oz! Buffy!


There we go! Oz is front and center, Riley is the stretching one, Buffy is curled up behind them and Cordy's ear is making an appearance.


Boo! Cordy demands attention for waking her up. She demands. . . . tummy rubs!


Cordy is a very slinky-like kitten. She gets the attention because she is so cute!


Now we have a happy kitten that wants more tummy rubs! Such a cute look of bliss on her face!


Oz wants the attention now, and would like to let you know that he thinks Riley is a very comfortable kitten to stand on.


Buffy would like to show you the orange, jingly, fluffy mouse tail she has killed just for you. She would also like to remind you that this sunbeam is hers, and any attempt to steal it will end with you just as dead as the mouse tail.


Riley would like you to kindly leave her alone so that she can jump from the chair to the counter and eat any crumbs. But if you insist on snapping pictures, she insists that you make note of her very adorable long legs.


Riley prepares to use her long legs to jump to the forbidden zone. (She is foiled by the Almighty Squirt Bottle.)


All that adventure tired them out again! Cordy curls up next to Kali, who is a little bit intimidated by the fierce sleeping kitten taking over the dog bed. Sage is even worse--she runs away when the kittens curl up next to her!


The Vampire Slayer Kittens would like to request that the paparazzi leave them alone for a bit now, but no worries, they will be up and at 'em again soon. Of course, you are welcome to stay and give tummy rubs and offer delicious wet food.


(Oz wants to give a grateful shout out to everyone who thought happy thoughts towards him, he is feeling much better now--all things are slowly getting back to normal, he is slowly putting on weight, and he even PLAYED this morning! He looks forward to being able to keep up with his sisters soon, but is going to miss his all-you-can-eat buffet of wet food.)

My Brain Has Been Eaten By Snot

In other words, I am still sick. Yes, I am aware that it has been FOREVER since I last posted, it is because I am too busy sopping up all the excess mucus my nose is producing, and also the task of typing was too gargantuan to deal with. I spent most of the week lying around watching Star Trek episodes, making towers of tissues, and avoiding driving (I tried once and nearly drove off the road, my head was so hazy). (Also! I somehow lost a day this week by being so boring, and almost didn't make it to work on Saturday because I SWORE that Friday was actually Thursday, when in actuality it was not. Stunning!)

Wait! This post isn't all about me! It is also about Oz, our little black and white foster kitten, who got sick around the same time as me and spent days in the veterinary hospital. He started out vomiting and we brought him in because he wasn't eating, and he stayed and then his illness turned to diarrhea. He's had subcutaneous (under the skin) fluids and now that he is home again, in addition to daily subQ fluids we are giving him fluids by mouth as well because he just isn't that interested in drinking. He's in isolation from our other kittens, and is staying upstairs in my mom's bathroom/room, where we now spend most of our time reading, cleaning up shite (which is getting slightly less liquid-like, TMI!), petting him, and making him drink and eat. Everyone think good healthy thoughts to Oz! 

My icky snot sickness (which includes lovely headaches, weakness, fatigue,  sore throat, and now coughing) has spread over to Nick! He has more of a bronchitis type sickness--a tightness around the chest, plus some awesome headaches. Yesterday in order to cheer ourselves up we had a lazy day of Star Trek: Enterprise episodes and sat in the cool jacuzzi (it was cool because it is 100 degrees out) and that was lovely! 

So basically, the moral of this (disjointed) story is to avoid snotty-headed people and wash your hands. 

Fluff For a Rainy Day

It's been raining here for days now (DAYS! Agh--I do not like rain. Way too wet!) so I figured I should make good on my promise from, like, weeks ago and actually post some kitten pictures! 

And with no further ado. . . .

Spike or Cordy (short for Cordelia) being squished by his/her siblings. 

All six kittens: 4 girls and 2 boys. Of the 3 orange kittens, 2 are girls: Cordy (all orange, no white paws) and Riley (we thought she was a boy, she has white paws and a sharpie marker'd black dot on one ear). The lone orange boy is Spike (white paws). Riley started off the most friendly, but now they all are very sweet and loving. 

Aren't they cute?!?! The one black and white is a boy named Oz. Of the two torti's, the one with a white nose is Buffy, and the orange nose is Dawn. 

Cordelia attacks the rocking chair! 

They are so much fun! This is the largest litter we have ever fostered, but they are so sweet we don't mind. We've pulled out some of our school posters--the big fold-out cardboard ones--and use those to block the stairs and dad's office, but sometimes they get around the gates. Last night I was reading in a bubble bath and I heard what sounded like marbles being rolled around in a bowl (weird, I know, but that's what it reminded me of) and I look around in surprise and see three kittens staring up at me. Buffy jumped up on the bathtub and tried to eat some bubbles! 

P.S. Yes, they are named after the characters on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. My mom actually came up with the names and they fit them so well! 

P.P.S. Will post more later! Hope that'll do for now! ^_^

Harry Potterverse and Randomness

Can't post new photos, camera is at Nick's. Rest assured that the kittens are adorable, and fluffy, and holy cow there are SIX kittens and that is a lot. They are so picture-worthy when they are all snuggled together! Just imagine it for now. ^_^

In other news, I gave an eight minute speech on why peoples should bring their pets to the vet and keep them up to date on vaccines and on heartworm preventative. Don't make me write the speech down, just take my word for it. 

In other, other news, I have become re-hooked on Harry Potter books and movies and heeeelpmeeeeeeee cannot stop reading Deathly Hallows! Will get no sleep tonight until I finish the book! (Shakes fist at J.K. Rowling for writing such intriguing novels!!!) 

Scary: Part 2

WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE?! My little community college had a BOMB threat! They evacuated the night classes! Whatever happened to my teeny little town?

Edited to Add: There is a kitten biting my toe. He has very sharp teeth.  

Carry on. 

Fun Day + Surprise = Don't Want Weekend to End!

I had a delicious french toast baked with honey and orange juice breakfast made by my mom this morning. 

I drove over to see Nick and had a smoothie and a smoochie. ^_^

Then I went to Cassie and Jon's house for their daughter Aubrey's 1 year birthday!!! Seems like just yesterday she was born! She is so cute, the party was a lot of fun!

Then I drove to study group which wasn't amazingly fun but was still okie-dokie. 

Now I'm home, Mom tells me to look in the bathroom, and what do I see? 

SIX! KITTENS! 

SIX! (Holy cow!) KITTENS! (yay!) 

Expect photos shortly. 

Kitten

Our tiny kitten Sophie passed away last night. We don't know why, and we tried and tried to keep her alive. I don't really want to write more, because we are all sad. We only had her for a few days and she was so sweet, but she's with her whole family now.

Kitten in Katie's Cleavage

Meet our new foster kitten, Sophie. 

She is 10 days old, a whopping 4 ounces, and the only survivor of her three other litter mates.

 She is ADORABLE. We picked her up this morning from a veterinary clinic, and are feeding her teeny tiny amounts of kitten milk replacement mixed with a teenier amount of wet kitten food every three hours. We also need to keep her warm, and the best way to do that is body contact.

 

Thus, the kitten cleavage.  

As I type this she is curled up sleeping inside my shirt. Our dog Sage is going bonkers trying to figure out where the kitten scent is coming from. 

Here's our tiny new girl!

Conked out after a good meal. 

Still sleeping. Apparently she spends the majority of her time asleep. She is so darn cute!

I'm sure I'll have updates a lot because KITTEN PICTURES! Who can resist?! ^_^ 

Freaking Cute Kittens

Here's something to brighten up your day . . .

Hugs!


Squish!


ZzzZZZzzzZZZzzz


Just take a moment to appreciate the above picture . . .this is the first time that I have seen Io actually snuggling with a foster kitten. Cute little boys!!!

The Tree Hunt!

Here is our belated Christmas tree hunt post! We took the dogs and our family (Nick was too sick to be out in the freezing weather hiking all over) and headed off to our local tree farm.

Here's my Mama. ^_^


We spent maybe fifteen minutes looking for a tree before we found the perfect one. Actually, Troy found it. And then it only took Troy to cut it down instead of all of us hacking away for twenty minutes! This is us with our tree... Mom's taking the picture.


It was the shortest tree hunt in our family that we could remember! The dogs were very well behaved and we hardly fought at all!

This pic is from a few days later, when we had the decorations set out. We lost Edward and then found him . . .sleeping peacefully on the decorations. They have been choosing the weirdest places to sleep lately!



We had to put some of the cut branches on the floor so the kittens would leave our tree alone! It worked--except they LOVE the branches and attack them all the time and now we have branches spread out all of the kitchen and little pine needles covering the floor. Good thing they're cute!