The Motherload

Today Isis batted one of her mousies under the stove, and couldn't get it back. After much pitiful meowing and staring at me with big Disney eyes, she finally convinced me to go get something to get her mousie back.

Oh boy. Did I find a treasure!
After scooping a few times with the Da Bird wand, I retrieved no less than six toy mice, a sharpie marker, a few paperclips and packing peanuts, and enough hair to make a new kitten!

Now the mystery of the disappearing-toys-never-to-be-found-under-the-couch is solved:

Please vote for those rescues!

Here in the United States, the big bank Chase is going to give away a lot of money to small charities, and they have set up a facebook application with which you can vote for your favorite charity, to try and help them get some much-needed $$$.

Of course, the kitties and I are supporting our two favorite animal rescues!
There is Kitten Rescue, which helps so many unwanted cats and kittens of Los Angeles find loving homes each year...

And the Mutt Scouts, a wonderful dog rescue based in Los Angeles. The Mutt Scouts take in even the broken and sick dogs who need extensive medical treatment... the dogs that have lost their faith in the human race and have to be nursed back to health and trust. The victims of human neglect and cruelty. These people REALLY make a huge difference in the life of so many dogs, please help them get a donation from Chase so they can help even more!

Here is the link, you can only vote once for each charity, but you have a total of 20 votes available, so if you have your own favorite charities, you can help them too :) unfortunately, I think this voting thing is available only on facebook, where you have to become a fan and set up their application (you can delete it when you're done).

Wicket says "pwetty pweeease?!"

Mutt Scouts:
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/1302594

Kitten Rescue:
http://apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/charities/1223343

Please spread the word, and thank you so much for helping!

Virginie and the furries

And links to the rescue groups' websites :
http://www.kittenrescue.org/
http://themuttscouts.wordpress.com/

HO HO HO!

Today, I would like you to look straight in the eye of Happiness:

Yes, it finally happened... The cats have been spared all this time, but this year I couldn't take it any longer: I had to get them a Santa Paws hat and costume!

Oh , the joy in little furry hearts!

The cheerfulness! The holiday spirit!


Cas really are such naturally graceful animals...

Coming next, the costume!

Stuffing the Kitties!

So today is the day where everyone is supposed to be thankful, and eat until they explode. The humans felt very grateful today at Casa Nini, but didn't do much eating, being far from their families and all that.

However, to compensate, we stuffed the cats silly! They get raw food a few times a week (should be more, if Mom wasn't in such a rush all the time... ahem), and one of their favorite meals EVER is game hen. You know, those tiny chickens that you buy whole and frozen at the store? Yeah, they LOVE it. Raw, with skin, bones and all. Yums.

Tonight for dinner they devoured a pretty big one, all by themselves, in one setting. All that was left was the back (too much bone) and the wings (they don't like those). Everything else was munched diligently by happy kitty teeth! And you would think that after such a meal they would want to pass out to digest... NOPES! They want to PLAY PLAY PLAY, and have been rocketbutting around the apartment for the past thirty minutes :D

Disclaimer: Do not, EVER, feed COOKED bones to your cats (or dogs)! Cooking makes bones really hard and splintery, and they break into shards that can be extremely dangerous for your pet - the risk of perforation of the stomach, oesophagus or intestines is very high.
Uncooked poultry or rabbit bones, on the other hand, are very soft and easy to chew for a cat used to eating raw. Mine only leave a few dry pieces of bone when they are done - the yummy cartilage is what they like best!

I present you... kitty-stuffing in pictures - true Turkey Day style!

Chewie always gets a drumstick, it's her favorite thing to eat. She LOVES bones, and will not come ask for seconds until her bone is all munched up and there's only a few splinters left. Tonight she took it to the other end of the kitchen, to make sure it was safe. You never know who might want to steal your chicken leg!

Mew is usually very quiet and waits silently while dinner is prepared, but she was so excited about the raw meat that she kept purring, chirping and meowing in my ear all the while I was cutting the bird up. She head bumped my hand a few times, which didn't really help me finish faster... she had seconds AND thirds tonight. Yummers!

Wicket got a drumstick too, and was purring to himself as he ate... there was NOTHING left on his plate after five minutes! He too got seconds and thirds, and tried to drag the carcass off the plate to get some more... he's got the Thanksgiving stuffing spirit down pat.

Isis is a little more dainty than the others... she likes to eat the ribs and the cartilage on the bird's chest. She picks it up delicately and then CHOMPCHOMPCHOMP... it's gone.

Note that all cats eat with their eyes closed, and with those contented expressions on their faces... it's so much fun to see them eat and purr and enjoy their meal so much.

I'm very thankful for many things this year, and particularly for my four furry friends. I'm thankful that they are in good health, always silly, always getting in trouble, always making me laugh, always cuddling with me when I'm all doom-and-gloom... Happy Thanksgiving to y'all! Hug your messy beasts for me :)

Weird and Wonderful

Am I the only one to be amazed that flamingos make such beautiful models?

Their serpentine necks, stilt legs, gorgeous colors and gracious poses... And also their weird, slightly creepy eyes and beaks, and the stink, lord, the stink! Nothing gracious about it!

I do love taking pictures of them though.

Toe Fluff

I wuvs it!

Back in the loop!

We're back! It's been a long time, we know, but we've been so busy... what have we been up to, you may ask? Well... there's a lot to be done in this house.


Keeping an eye on the treat bag...

The Cat Who Stares at Spoons

Snoopervising from a safe place...

Trying out new boxes and checking them for comfort...

Keeping an eye on the birds...

Checking in on the plants...

What an exhausting job... but someone has to do it!

Kitten-less

I dropped the babies off today... their next foster home will be Sheryl's, who works with Kitten Rescue. In the next few weeks they will get treated for fleas and worms, vaccinated, tested for FIV and FeLV, and then spayed/neutered when they get big enough.

And then, we pray they will find the best of home, a home where the humans will truly value the worth of a little feline soul. Or two. Two kittens are so much better than one!

We are going to miss them. I shed a few tears in the car today, after parting with them...
I have to get my carrier back from Sheryl though, what a convenient excuse to go check on them next week ;-p

Gotta go... hug your dog or cat for me today!

Last day with the troublemakers...

After almost a week of daily heart-melting, today is our last day with the troublemakers... tomorrow they are going to be fostered and taken care of by Kitten Rescue, a wonderful rescue group here in L.A.

We are pretty sure by now that both kittens are boys... there is still a slight doubt about the little grey one, that should be solved tonight by another round of intimate scrutiny (met with indignant meeps). They will be two intense bundles of joy!

"Ehn? Me? I'm a what?!"

"I'm cute and innocent and I love to pose with a serious face... I'm no trouble at all"

They no longer run for cover when we open the bathroom door now, but instead stand there wide-eyed, waiting for whatever is going to come next. Food (most often), playtime (very often), tummy rubs (always!). With time they have gotten very playful and trusting, and they are truly adorable little monsters.

I really hope they will find the best of homes... together. They are so bonded. Don't forget, if you live in the Los Angeles area and want kittens, email me!! I am driving them to a rescue group tomorrow because my family is flying in from France on Saturday, and five people will then share the bathroom they are staying in... which makes it impossible to keep them. But I can still recommend people to Kitten Rescue if they would like to adopt them :)

"Wait a minute... we're going where?!!"


"I'm not so sure I like that idea... would anyone call and adopt us already?! Hmmm?"

I mean, seriously, how could anyone resist those mugs?!!

All warmed up

So, I think we can safely say the kittens are all warmed up now... judge for yourself:

There's a lot of playing going on...

And some starin' too...

The kittens have spent a lot of time purring and playing today, and getting their tummies rubbed.

When I look at the first pictures I took of them, and the ones I took tonight - there is such a world of difference! It's amazing how fast those tiny creatures respond to love and care, and decide that bipeds aren't such bad companions after all.

They also learned really fast how to master the melt-in-your-boots pose *sigh*

Pounce!

So... after getting a good, warm bath and being very good about it, the kittens got a bellyful of chicken baby food, licking it off our fingers... yum!


You can tell they feel a lot better already. Still hissy and spitty, but more out of principle than anything else... they are actually pretty friendly, and even purr when we rub their tummies :)


And of course, a full belly only calls for one thing... playtime!

In between wrestling bouts, mousie hunting, feather wand swatting, and a couple of human toe-chomps, time for an innocent pose:

"Qui? Moi?!"

These little guys are truly adorable, and warming up so fast. If you are looking for us, we will be melted with cuteness on the bathroom floor!

Babies

The babies are filthy... really filthy. And really skinny too. They are probably covered in fleas, as I could feel their fur encrusted with dust and little grainy specks this morning.

Even though they are still very scared, I think I will have to bathe them today. It will make them more comfortable, and should get rid of most of the fleas. They are not going to like it, but really I have to do it before they get strong enough to fight it!

They are hissy and spitty, understandably terrified at the change a human bathroom represents as opposed to under a car, or the bushes - their natural environment so far. I hope they will warm up soon, at least they let me pet them, even though they don't look convinced.

Update with before/after bath pictures soon!

Street Cuteness

So... Hubby and I have been feeding feral cats on our block for the past two months. We started with four kittens and their mama - the kittens seem to be about 4 months old, so we were just planning on feeding them every night, and trapping them soon to get everyone TNR'ed. (Trapped/Neutered/Returned to their original spot) They are way too skittish to be tamed, especially when L.A. is drowning in homeless cats and kittens, and they would not stand a chance of getting adopted (and I do NOT have room for more cats!!)

Well... long story short, last night as I put the food down, I see a tiny little scruffy thing coming out from under a car, plant his two paws in the plate, and start inhaling the canned food, growling all the while! Seems like mama cat hasn't been idle **sigh** we really need to get her fixed before she gets pregnant again.

Needless to say, it was out of the question for us to leave those babies to grow up on the street and become wild too... so we set out to catch them.
We managed to get two tonight, and I know there is a third, and possibly a fourth one still there. So hopefully we can get them tomorrow night.

Will keep you guys posted... in the meantime, here are the first pictures of the new (scared) kids on the block (or in the bathroom):


"What the heck is going on?!"

"I don't like you. I will hiss!" (and he did, but it was just sad and cute)

Scared little monsters... I hope they stuff their faces overnight, and are in better spirits in the morning!