I am heartbroken to tell you that in the very early hours of this morning, Natalie passed away. There's a lot more to the story and I will post it in the blog when I can but right now I just can't believe that she's gone.
She leaves behind one tiny, perfect brown tabby boy.
Thank you all so very much for your kind words and thoughts about the loss of Natalie. Natalie's kitten, Carmy, is doing very well; he's thriving, he has OPINIONS, and he is gaining weight. I will give him a million kisses for you all.
"Gooood morn - oh!" They rarely take me this much by surprise, but at some point between midnight (last time I checked on her) and 5 am Crumpet delivered 5 healthy kittens. They all look to be black and white. I'm giving her a few hours of peace and quiet before I check them over
Welcome to the world, Hopalong Gang! This morning, between 5 and 7 (Central time), Meander gave birth to SIX tiny kittens. We have what appears to be 4 Siamese mix, 1 orange tabby, and 1 that looks to be a buff (but could be a Siamese mix - it's not dry yet, so we shall see.)
In case you missed it, Meander had her kittens this morning - 6 of them!
This is what the little family looks like after I changed the soiled bedding in their crate (and for that matter, switched them to another crate.) Everyone is healthy and doing great!
If you were wondering who would be the first of the Hopalong Gang to climb into my lap, now you know: it was Dillydally. (This isn't the first time she climbed into my lap - she's been doing it for several days - just the first time I got a decent picture of it!)
I picked up the fishy tunnel and moved it, and suddenly it was THE MOST INTERESTING THING EVER. You can see 9 kittens, but Marsali was actually inside the tunnel, making all 10 kittens agree that this tunnel is the coolest.
Nacho and Mike are ready to serve your fish tacos. Come visit our taco truck, open all day (or at least for the next 3 minutes, until the staff gets sidetracked and wanders off.)
"You gots bottle?"
Carmy is a DREAM to feed. If every bottle baby ate this well and this consistently, I'd take a dozen. I get up every few hours to feed him; it takes about 10 minutes, and most of that is waiting for his formula to warm up.
Hooray, hooray, Pita was adopted today! She's headed to a wonderful home in the Louisville, Kentucky area, where she joins 2 gorgeous feline siblings, Emery & Ash. Her new name is Pika, and I think it's perfect. Happy life, sweet girl!! ❤️ 🎉
Rabbit rabbit rabbit.
Wikipedia: “Rabbit rabbit rabbit” is a superstition found in Britain and North America wherein a person says or repeats the words “rabbit”, “rabbits” and/or “white rabbits” aloud upon waking on the first day of a month, to ensure good luck for the rest of it
This is not the greatest picture, but we have a family for Carmy to join. (None of them are named yet; I will announce names once I decide.) Mom was at Huntsville Animal Services and had given birth to 3 kittens yesterday.
Carmy (seen here in the middle of that pile) is now officially a resident of the crate. It took him the better part of the day, but he figured it out!
I will continue to monitor all of them to be sure they're gaining as they should, but so far so good.
Carmy has a family. ❤️
Hooray, hooray, Huey, Dewey and Louie were adopted - TOGETHER! - and went home today! I know those boys are going to have the MOST wonderful life!
They ARE keeping their names, and they WILL have a page (I'll share that when it's up and running), so we get to see them grow up!
Good morning, from this sweet little family. Sorry if I worded things confusingly yesterday - I did find a family for Carmy to join, and I went and got them - they'll all be here in my foster room, so you'll still get to watch Carmy grow alongside his new family!
Carmy is continuing to do well! Sorry it's been so quiet, but we've been busy with auction shipping prep and then packing today. After today things should calm down a bit and I can shower you with 1,000 Carmy pics. Because he is the CUTEST.
Hooray, hooray, Crumpet was adopted and went home today! She joins a lovely family that includes a gorgeous gray kitty named Leo. Her name will remain Crumpet. Her new mom fell in love with her when she saw her sweet face at Petsmart and asked for her as a Mother's Day gift. ❤️
Hooray, hooray, Ciabatta & Babka were adopted TOGETHER today. 🎉 They are headed home right now to Knoxville, TN! ❤️ Their names will change - Babka will likely be Lily or Lucy, and Ciabatta? Might be Sam Elliot! 👨Happy life, sweet babies! ❤️❤️❤️
"Hey guys," I said yesterday. "That whale bed is getting to be too small for all 6 of you. Don't you want to spread out?"
This morning, all 6 of them were stuffed into an even smaller space. I guess they told me!
I love this picture so very much (that you can't see all of Nacho makes it even better, I think.)
...
(Both girls are still available for adoption. Email Forgotten Felines of Huntsville at info
@ffhsv
.org to inquire. We are located in Huntsville, Alabama.)
Good night innernets. (Yes, you DO see Carmy in there, at the milk bar. All 4 kittens are there, though Sydney and Jeff kind of blend in. You can see that Carmy is next to Richie... and you can also see why I don't think we'll have any trouble telling the two brown tabbies apart)
Carmy's having a hard time getting going this morning... which is fine, because he's got a schedule of "nursing whenever possible, wandering around the crate and some light napping" for today.
Hooray, hooray, Bolt was adopted today! She joins previous fosters Nala (formerly Troi) and Sarabi (formerly Kes), and I predict they're going to have SO much fun together. She is keeping her name! Happy life, sweet girl. ❤️
Carmy is 2 weeks old! Here he is wearing his crown at 4 days old and 2 weeks old. I'd say he's grown a BIT. As of yesterday, he weighed 11.3 ounces/320.35 grams - which is about average for 2 week old kittens, at least the ones I've raised.
Now that Natalie's been here for a week, I feel pretty confident in saying that we're not going to have kittens in July; in fact, I think she's got about another two weeks. Natalie has put on 10 ounces (0.28 kg) in the past week and is pretty darn comfortable here.
Hooray, hooray, Dillydally was adopted today! She joins a family that includes former foster Muffin (Ouiser, from the Magnolias2023) and floofy big brother Waffle (and three very sweet human sisters!) Her new name is MAPLE! Happy life, sweet girl. 🧡
Pita would like everyone to know that she is doing just fine as a temporary "only child" (she goes home this weekend.) She's getting lots of attention, lots of playing, lots of snuggles, and most importantly, she doesn't have to share her nightly Churu with anyone else!
Hooray, Skip and Lollygag were adopted (together!) and went home last night! They are now residents of... Oregon! (Yes, their Mom flew from Oregon to Nashville to get them!) Skip is keeping his name, and Lollygag is going to be Lolly, and we have been promised updates. 🎉❤️❤️
I walked into the room, and Zelda was just sitting in the chair lookin' sleepy. I had to resist the urge to snatch her up and kiss her 1,000 times. (Confession: I did not resist for long.)
I know I've been focusing pretty hard on Carmy, so let's get a good look at his beautiful new mama, Tina. She's 1 year old, is pretty small, has beautiful green eyes. Silky fur, likes to be brushed, is protective of all 4 kittens, super playful and doing an amazing job!
Hooray, hooray, Meander was adopted today! She is headed home to Lexington, Kentucky - where she will join former foster Mollie (formerly Millinocket) and big brother Angus. Her new name is Willow. Happy life, sweet girl! ❤️
Did you know we have new fosters? Say hello to seal point mama Kim Wexler, all-black girl Francesca, all-black boy Gustavo, tuxie Ignacio, meezer Lalo, and tuxie Saul. The kittens are 6 days old (born 7/27) and the family came from local animal control.
Babka would like you to know that she is (1) cute, (2) confident, (3) snuggly (you can flip her over and hold her like a baby), and (4) available for adoption!
Email Forgotten Felines of Huntsville at info
@ffhsv
.org to inquire.
Oh MY, is that four-kitten pie (which happens to be my favorite!)? You only get THAT in the very fanciest of restaurants! (Richie on the left, Carmy next to him, Jeff on the lower left, and Sydney checking out the pie crust (she approves!))
If they're not nursing, all 4 kittens are nearly always piled up together like this. Here we have Sydney (serving as a pillow for Carmy), Carmy (serving as a pillow for Richie), Richie, and Jeff.
We have received an adoption application on Crouton (left) and Pumpernickel - together! That leaves Ciabatta, Pita and Babka still available. In case you were wondering. 😻
After waking me at 4 am so that I could fully admire her toy mouse (which she dropped on my face), Pita is now opting to snooze the morning away in the cat tree and cannot be bothered to perform her legally required snoopervising-the-human duties. Little slacker.
The little family is named! Natalie and Carmy were named after characters from the Hulu series The Bear, and we are continuing the naming theme. Mom is now Tina, the black girl is now Sydney, the brown tabby is now Richie, and the black boy is now Jeff.
In case you missed it in the blog this morning, this guy is Carson. He's 1 year old, and was dumped in the country. When we got him, he was very hungry and had a wounded paw. He's doing great now, and is adoption pending!
It took Meander about two days to decide I'm okay. She hopped down to the floor to greet me when I walked into the room, and it turns out she's a talker (a talkative tortie? Shocking!) She's also Da BAYbee. It's good to have that question answered this early on.
Good night innernets. (Ciabatta and Crouton on the lower level, Pita and Babka on the upper level. Pumpernickel was sitting at my feet squeaking at me, as is his way.)
Good night innernets. (Jeff in the front, Carmy rolling around on his back, and Richie and Sydney behind Carmy at the milk bar. And Tina giving me A Look.)
After a day spent driving to Nashville (well, I drove - they slept most of the way), meeting (one of) their new people, and flying to Colorado to their forever home, Pumpernickel and Crouton are taking it all in stride - already purring and curling up in laps for snuggles!❤️
I don't know if there's actually a name for this paws-on-cheeks pose, but I call it the "Oh my doodness" (you've got to say it in the most syrupy-sounding baby talk), and Carmy is the CUTEST.