Things just keep rolling along.....

Lots happening, but isn't there always?     Kittens grow, kids grow, the world turns, and cats get dumped.  Seems to be the way things are lately.   The high kill shelter in our area is stuffed with cats and kittens, and a good majority of them are dumped, or are the products of dumped cats.  Some days, it feels like a hopeless cause, getting cats out just to see more show up, but it's a labor of love.  We try to save as many as we can, but at least we get some out.  Lori is pretty amazing when it comes to taking the cats that others leave behind, and it feels good to know that someone cares!  There are other rescues that take tough-case cats, but I think Lori is sort of famous (Infamous?) for it.   I couldn't be happier about that... I love a challenge, and she never has a lack of providing me with challenges!

New hissy.  Hard to get good pics when they move a lot!

The hissy kittens from a few weeks ago were basically ready, with the exception of one particularly terrified little Tortie.  Poor thing was just not ready to go.   So I'm keeping her to continue working with her, and the other three (Jetson, Smoke, and Houdini) are off to the store to find their forever homes.  They still aren't huge fans of being picked up, but Lori will help them with that at the store.  Sometimes having them exposed to that environment really helps progress their development faster, and kittens are SO adaptable!   Miss Tortie (we are calling her Meesha), will be coming around in no time.  There are some things kittens can't resist, and play is one of them.  She's already come out of her shell a bit more since the others left last night.... with the scared ones, sometimes divide and conquer is the way to get things done.

A VERY unhappy tabby hissy.   Can't wait to win him over!

Lori and I discussed last night, but we have come to the conclusion that Dusk and Dawn would indeed do best in a barn cat program.  They are not afraid of people anymore, and yell at me for food, for play, etc, but NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING, will interest them in allowing to be pet.  Precious (their den-mother) has done a lot to move them past the last bit of fear they had of people.  When he comes for love, they come and scream at me because I'm not letting him give THEM attention, and they are just not interested in attention from people.  They aren't scared, they aren't aggressive, they just aren't INTERESTED.   That's ok.  They are allowed to be like that, now it's a matter of finding them a safe place to be (they are fixed, microchipped, and vaccinated), and Lori is working on that.  I felt a bit defeated at first, but the reality is, not every cat who comes to us will want to be a companion.  I'm ok with that.  They will go somewhere safe, and live happy lives chasing mice and lounging in patches of sun....

Little black hissy trying to melt away from view....

Nightingale's kittens are growing so fast it's scary.  They go for their vaccinations next week, then they will be going off to an adoption event to find their own forever homes. It will be bittersweet, but it always is with babies you raise, and they are wonderful little kitties who deserve wonderful homes.  They will have great lives.   Them being gone will also mean we can really concentrate on Nightingale and getting her into a more comfortable state.  She's a love, and she deserves to be comfortable.  We adore her.  Hard to believe when she came she was so protective and terrified, she wouldn't even make eye contact, and would growl even if you just moved around her.  Now, she's a lover, a tv addict, and loves junk food (we found she LOVES potato chips... long story, but we have to keep potato chips away from her LOL). 

Lori managed to save some other kitties the other day, and she scooped them BEFORE they made it into HAC.  Someone has trapped them, apparently they had a bunch of feral kittens running around their back yard.  They caught some, and were bringing them to HAC, but Lori miraculously saw them before they walked in the doors, she peered into the carrier, and that was that.  She agreed to take them and now they are with me.   They are all hissy, obviously feral born, but literally are already coming around (just overnight!).  I think more than anything they are scared and hyper-vigilant, and they've already realized I am the bringer of foods.....  So they watch me closely and have even meowed a few times when I enter their room.  It won't take long at all.  

This weekend, I am picking up Heart, the cat from the local humane society.  They reached out to me for help with her as a last resort.  They just aren't set up for dealing with scared or feral cats.  She is a little growly if you move quickly, and their volunteers are a little scared of her when she's like that.   Otherwise, it seems like they have done a really great job and gotten her quite a long way down the road to rehab.... She just needs a change of scenery and a specialized touch to get her the rest of the way.  MAD props to the ladies at Burlington Humane for working so hard with her so far, and for not giving up on her.  I promise I will do my best, and so will my entire family, to get the lovely Heart adoptable and help her to blossom into the kitty they know she can be.   She's a lovely girl, and when we went to see her, I could see that she's just at the cusp of crossing over.  Some kitty friends to guide her along the way (Duck and Trouble will be huge with this girl), and the right kind of approach, and I'm very confident she will be adoptable and happy as someone's companion.   I look forward to the transformation! 

The lovely and elegant Miss Heart!

If you are interested in adopting, fostering, or even donating, every little bit helps.  I know I always say this, but the need has never been greater.  We will be putting together some fundraiser events for NCWL in the next little bit, and would love to have any support we can get.   The rescues run 100% on donations, and even $5 is $5 more than they had.  That $5 can be the difference for a cat.  I'll post some information when we have some good events planned.  Please feel free to follow NCWL on Facebook as well for up-to-the-minute information about events and kitties finding forever homes!

Thank you so much for reading.   I can't thank everyone enough for supporting this blog and our efforts to help the cats.   It makes it that much more rewarding to know that people care.   :)