Fish Tank

March-April were a big dry spell for me.  The rescue was taking in litter after litter- sometimes 4 in a single day, but all bottle babies.  Between my full time job, the hours I spent doing data entry, and the end of the big storms that allowed our concrete guy to finally pour the concrete in our backyard so we could then start shoveling in 12.5 cubic yards of rock, planting our trees/plants, and building a shed... there was no way I could take kittens that needed that level of care.  Plus, my foster win Gizmo turned into a Gremlin- without her sisters around, she started seeking out trouble- and she was REALLY good at finding it.  We also have Pesto Fries, in FIP treatment in diapers.  We had our hands very full.  But I couldn't resist pouncing on the chance to kitten sit for the fishies when their foster went on vacation in early May. 

What a joy they were!!  This super social group if kittens was already ready for the big pond.  They purred immediately and made themselves quite at home, despite Gizmo and Pesto being very rude hosts.  The fishies completely ignored the growling and hissing that followed them around as they cheerfully gallivanted about, alternating between exploring and seeking a lap or neck or face to cuddle into.

Anchovy, aka Tank, is the biggest by far, but also the sweetest.  This charmer purrs if you think about looking at him and melts into a puddle of pure love if you pick him up.  My husband, who helps me care for the kittens by doing anything I ask but rarely seeks out kittens for attention or cuddles often picked up Tank for some special cuddle time. Sometimes I'd hear a little baby talk too.  

As promised by his foster mom, Tetra immediately went in for face munching.  When not spazzing out completely, Tetra would make every attempt to fit her entire face inside my nostril while purring incessantly.  Have you ever FELT a purr inside your nostril? It's a weird, bizarre feeling that I quite enjoyed until she added her rough sand paper tongue to the tender nose flesh.  Some kittens have extra sharp barbs on their tongues, and Tetra falls into this category.  I still let her do it, cause it is funny to me... but I did have to cover the bottom half of my face periodically to prevent tongue burn.  When she's not up my nose, I can identify calico Tetra by her white front paws.

Independent Minnow was the first to leave the safety of the pile to run off on her own and often hunts down the comfiest places to nap.  She's very happy to be found by human hands to love her or by her siblings to join her in a cuddle puddle.  She likes to nurse on my fingers sometimes. 

Guppy girl is my climber.  First to climb the stairs onto the big bed, first to climb up into my lap while I was working, first to climb up and over the barrier at the door.  Nothing gets in the way between her and a cuddle session- she will track me down and climb on up!

Sardine practices posing for the camera (she's a professional, it's my horrible picture skills that don't make these glamour shots).  She's also practicing her soulful look to entice her future adopter.  THIS FACE... right?!

While visiting, they got valuable experience with a dog.  Thought initially wary, the quickly realized she was just a big walking fluff cloud, threat level: 0.  

I had a fun visit with the fishies and was a little sad when they got picked up- so I was thrilled when their foster reached out to me again, asking if I'd take them back at the end of May.  I had taken in 4 smaller kittens. My biscuits came in scared and slightly feral but were starting to warm up- they had just come out of quarantine when the fishies returned.  I let them out of their crates and basked in the pure joy of 9 kittens exuding sheer joy as they knocked over and slid across everything in my kitten room. 

The size difference (Sardine on the left, Tim Tam on the right) didn't seem to matter a bit!  Within minutes I knew it was going to be a very fun weekend!  The bold, social fishies helped my slightly wary biscuits turn the corner into more playful and outgoing kittens.  Kittens learn a lot through observation.  Whenever I'd enter the room, the 5 fishies CHARGED me.  By the 3rd time I had to enter the room during a playtime, the Biscuits were also stampeding anyone who came in, clamoring for attention.  

The fishies arrived the day before clinic.  I host Kitten Wellness Clinic every 3 weeks- almost every kitten currently in care with our rescue stops by for a health check, vaccination, and microchip- if appropriate.  The day before is always a little chaotic, as I'm crosschecking the schedule and multiple other resources to identify and reach out to fosters who forgot to sign up and get them on the schedule.  We've also started preparing kitten data sheets, marking down what treatments are due and their microchip numbers so we can scan/verify them.  They're still new and the data sheets are still in development as we use and then revise them based on our needs... the last few clinics they've taken HOURS of time to set up, though we implemented a system now that should save a lot of time next clinic.  Regardless.... Friday nights I usually get off work, eat dinner, clean cat boxes, feed/medicate cats... then get on my computer and work until 10-11pm, getting everything organized for a smooth clinic the following day.  Since I couldn't monitor 2 sets of kittens in my kitten room AND get my work done in the bedroom- I decided to just haul them all to the bedroom for the evening!  Whenever we explore a new space, we ALWAYS start with at the litter box.  I plop them in and let them explore out from there.  The biscuits and fishies, unlike most kittens that hop out immediately, just started hunkering down in the litter box, creating a small pile up!  Pesto, taking a diaper break in his kennel, tapped each one on the butt or noggin as they finally hopped out to look around.  

Once they left the litter box zone, all 9 got their confidence up and explored, then ran amuck gleefully while I worked.  They were startled a few times by the dog, but quickly got over that and just threw themselves into explore-pounce-play mode. It was quite glorious to listen to their tiny kitten feet rampaging around while I slogged through data entry.  I didn't get many pictures, as I was trying to finish before midnight, but they played enthusiastically for hours until they started climbing up into my lap for naps or crashing where they collapsed all around the room.  

I didn't see them much the next day during clinic, but different fosters and volunteers visited them throughout the day.  Tank was a favorite and spent at least an hour with a clinic volunteer, curled up while she checked in other kittens.

The next day, my family came over for my dad's birthday celebration.  The kittens started in the kitten room, as I spent the morning cleaning up after clinic and baking for the luncheon.  When the first part of the family arrived, we went up to see the kittens and they were absolutely thrilled to walk in and immediately have kittens run up and try to climb up their legs for attention.  Once seated, the kittens snuggled or played with the newcomers, or both at the same time.  After lunch, I brought them downstairs while we watched movies and my husband and I "helped" my dad do the background of his diamond art (it's huge and there was an overwhelming amount of black... so he'd been putting it off).  That as the plan, anyway- except dad just watched movies and used his fu manchu to play with kittens while my husband and I politely declined the help we actually did receive.  It was a great day.

The fishies will be leaving sometime today, which makes me sad.  Because it's their last night here, I didn't kennel them last night, but let them run around the bedroom.  This morning, my husband gave a fake mini-rant about them rampaging around the bedroom, purring in his ears, and licking his face... ALL NIGHT.  They were doing the same to me, lol.  We both secretly loved it.  Ok, not so secretly for me... but I saw the glint in his eyes when he "complained"!