Cheese & Ginger

Woke up one morning during my summer vacation feeling hopeful that I'd get some of my summer projects done, or at least started.  But a morning scroll through updates in our foster page led me to an urgent plea for someone to pick up a pair of kittens being surrendered that afternoon, as well as another plea for an emergency foster situation.  I was leaving for Disneyland in less than a week, but I did have some flexibility that day to try to help out, so I posted a reply that I could pick them up.  Within minutes, I began getting texts and phone calls from our leadership team, as everyone was trying to come up with a solution for these two babies. There was a limited window of time we could pick them up, they were overdue for all vaccines, and the original idea was to drop them directly off at Petsmart.  That sounded like a terrible idea to me, as most of our returned cats have had some kind of trauma, even if it's just experiencing whatever emotional strain is happening in their home that led to their surrender, and need some time to decompress and for our team to assess their adoptability before seeking their new home.  It took awhile, but through the combined effort of multiple volunteers, we developed a plan that started with me deep cleaning my kennel area and kicking Avalanche of the Sweet disasters out so I could bring Cheese and Ginger home to evaluate their status for a few days. I steamed and disinfected the kennel between bottles of the Choppers, who were housed in my smaller kennel.  Around lunchtime, the previous owner was available to let me pick them up.  When I arrived, they were both confined in small fabric crates.  Both were too small for these full grown kittens. Cheese's bag was on it's side and Ginger had pooped all over herself.  I transferred them to my crates and rushed home.  Ginger growled, but did not resist her bath.  My heart broke for her as she just tried to curl up into herself while I scrubbed poop out of her fur and from between her toes.  

Both of them were described as being very food motivated-to the point that their family couldn't eat things around them or leave any food out.  Ginger definitely wanted treats and was willing to accept them, even if she was growling at the same time.  But Cheese didn't have much interest.  I thought he was too nervous to eat, but very quickly I discovered that he was more interested in affection than treats! Cheese followed me around the room, talking constantly and rolling over for belly rubs if I glanced her way.  He snuggled up to me and insisted on being in my lap whenever I was sitting down.  In fact, I had to shove him down my shirt to get any work done on my laptop! I reached out to the rescue to see if he could go to Petsmart that weekend, but every kennel was claimed.  However, Avalanche was scheduled to go to petsmart by himself (last kitten in his litter) so I asked if I could introduce them to see if they might get along well enough to share a petsmart kennel.  Once I had permission, it was so fun to introduce them- they looked like they were related!!

Avalanche ended up getting adopted by the same family that took his 3 littermates (YAS!) so Cheese was able to go to petsmart in his own kennel.  But he ended up getting diarrhea!! Although he seemed very relaxed and affectionate, all of the changes in his life so quickly were probably very stressful.  Stress often leads to ... unpleasant back door messes, so he had to get picked up.  However, I was leaving for Disneyland in less than 24 hours, the once again, the rescue mobilized to come up with an emergency plan.  Luckily, they found another foster willing to take him and his leaky butt home.  He's still recovering, but that family fell in love with his affectionate nature and are considering foster failing!!!  I'm very hopeful that he'll not have to deal with the stress of petsmart or another new home.
Meanwhile, Ginger had more struggle adjusting.  After being locked in a small bag, covered in poop for an unknown amount of time, then going to a new home for a bath, then to the vet for shots, then back to the home into a room that must be filled with the smells of a bajillion former foster occupants... hse hid for the first day. She'd come out if any treats were offered, growl and hiss at any cat hovering on the other side of the gate or lashing out at Cheese, then go back into hiding once the treats were gone.  But once Cheese left, Ginger relaxed and began to show her loving side.  She would come when called, and push her head into my hand or into my cheek.  When she was really happy, she'd give me gentle little love bites- putting her teeth on me but without any real pressure or force. I discovered that Ginger did not like to be approached by other cats, but if a calm cat was around, she didn't have a problem being around them.  My Nimbus was a great companion- laying in the room like a fluffy rug, completely unbothered by Ginger if she did growl or hiss.  The rescue found another foster willing to take Ginger, and she transferred to a new home for a week where she continued to unwind and show her sweet and playful sides.  She was deemed ready to go to Petsmart the following week and was a lucky lady to score a brand new home in her first weekend! 

It was a frantic time with lots of chaos, but I tried to always present a calm, assuring, and loving aura for these two sweet babies.  I only had them for a few days in a less than ideal situation, but I was honored to be part of their rescue team.