It was a very cold Saturday on January 15th. It was pretty important that we get the transport out of 23 dogs and puppies going to the metro, Wisconsin, and Park Rapids. Nancy, Tom, Carolyn, Barbie, and Mike helped get the animals to their destinations safely.
DAVIONDavion and litter of 2 pups went to Cocoa's Heart
JASPERCHINOOK & JAREDGiana, Jasper, litter of 6 puppies, and the 2 ferals Chinook and Jared went to Matt and Susie at ARVSS in Wisconsin
LINUSLinus rescued off a chain went to Second hand Hounds
LOTUSLotus, a beautiful female has been at the shelter since August. She came in with a litter. Her litter was placed and she has been spayed and is in great shape. Patti at Second Hand Dogs took her.
EIGHT PUPSThe little litter of 8 pups came from Ponemah with their mother. 6 went to ARVSS in Wisconsin and 2 went to Act V,
YOKONancy took the tranport to Park Rapids. Yoko and a litter of 2 puppies went there.
Once upon a time at Red Lake during a clinic last summer, a tiny kitten was found and turned in all by himself.We didn't know what we would do with him until a mother cat was brought in who had been nursing, but her kittens were gone. Would she take care of the new little guy?Of course, she did! We called the big tough-looking momma, Lucy, and the baby, Linus. Lucy had enough milk and enough love for multiple kittens, so Linus was soon as fat and spoiled as can be.Then one day another tiny kitten came to their foster home who needed a Mom. Lucy thought about it for half a day, but soon decided that two sons would be just fine. So, little Charlie Brown joined the family. Linus loved having a brother, but like most little brothers, Charlie couldn't keep up at first.Then another miracle happened for this little family, a wonderful adoptive family decided to adopt them all together and they are all living happily ever after! Check out the latest update: The kitties are just wonderful! We love them so! Lucy is her usual sweet self. She does seem to be a tad more playful and kittenish in spurts as the boys are growing up. And she's just so well behaved! Never scratching anything but the scratching posts, waiting patiently to be petted, etc. She seems to have a particular affinity for Sam, our 8 year old. She seeks him out when he's reading or playing, then just rolls on her back and stretches out so he can rub her tummy. He loves it! Charlie is now bigger (taller and longer, not bigger around) than Lucy and certainly than Linus. He still has a kittenish feel to his body, though, so it makes me wonder how big he's going to be when he's all done growing. He's such a happy-go-lucky, enthusiastic spaz of a kitty! His nails seem to grow the fastest and he has the biggest affinity for clawing stuff he's not supposed to. We're working on it! Oh - Charlie also has turned out to be the best mouser. He has killed two mice in our house and I'm happy to report that I think he's solved the mouse issue! (He was SOOOO proud of himself!) Linus still seems to be the most thoughtful. And I think he's really smart. He such a calmly loving guy -- he waits 'til the hubbub dies down, then comes and sits in my lap or lays on my legs if I'm sleeping. He spends quite a bit of time curled up with either Charlie or Lucy and grooming them.Here are some pictures of our crew. By the way, Lucy is indeed getting a little friskier as the boys get a bit older. Fun to watch her play with toys! Oh -- and Lucy really did that purple boa all by herself (after Charlie found it in the kids' dress up clothes and dragged it up from the basement). Definite photo op!
We're doing great! All 3 kitties now seem to be part of the family. As Ch. says, "They've decided to become lap cats surprisingly quickly."
Linus seems to have lost his skittishness -- he actually seeks out Jane (our 11 year old) to snuggle with her. He also is the most devious now about hopping up on the counters. He waits 'til we walk from the kitchen toward the family room and then jumps up to investigate. When he sees us headed for the squirt bottle, he jumps down and pretends he was never there.
Charlie is still the most insistent on affection. He squeezes himself between any person and the cat they are currently petting. He is a funny, loving kitten with a very short attention span! And he seemed very in tune with the fact that Jane was sick this weekend and feeling very sad. He planted himself on her lap most of the weekend.
Lucy is her usual sweet self. She has spent most of the week sleeping on our bed, but she comes down to greet us when we get home, and she grooms her boys occasionally. She seems to like time away from Linus and Charlie, though I noticed she was still letting them nurse as late as this weekend.
They are surprisingly well behaved. We haven't had any issues with them trying to get outside. We do feel lucky to have them in our family!
I am attaching a few photos I thought you might like.
On Saturday Lucy, Linus and Charlie Brown went to their forever home with a wonderful family. This family had lost their two senior cats over the last couple of years and were ready to bring a new pair of kittens into their home.
The two children had been excitedly anticipating the day. They fell in love with Linus and Charlie Brown online, but when they read about how Lucy adopted each of the boys after the loss of her own kittens, they decided to bring Lucy home, too, and keep the family together. I got an update this morning:
We're off to a crazy busy week at our house, but the cats all seem to be settling in well.
Lucy is her sweet, calm, observant self. She seems always affectionate and is constantly nonchalantly watching her boys.
Linus is still a bit skittish, but no longer hiding under chairs and tables. He's actually the one who keeps hopping up on the kitchen counter (only to be gently removed!).
Charlie is hysterical. He can't seem to figure out what he wants to play with or who he wants to love, so he just does it all sequentially for a few brief moments.
They seem to be such a well-mannered bunch. We left them free to roam the house last night figuring we'd have to get up and shut them up sometime in the middle of the night. But apparently, after a few small kitty stampedes, they all settled down and pretty much slept 'til we got up at 6:00. They adjusted quite quickly to the house, and, so far, are happily using the scratching posts and litter boxes very appropriately.
I think I got a few good pictures tonight, but will have to wait 'til later in the week to download (upload?) and send them to you. Hopefully before the weekend!
I'll post the new photos when I get them, but this story just couldn't wait!
Remember Lucy & Linus, the momma cat without any kittens and the newborn kitten without any momma who found each other at the previous Red Lake clinic?
Well, Linus is growing up fast and Lucy has adopted a baby brother for him named Charlie Brown.
Charlie Brown was given away by people here in the Twin Cities at a much too young age -- we're estimating he was only three weeks old. When he came to the attention of Feline Rescue, we decided to try him with the family from the Rez!
Lucy took a few hours to really accept him, but Linus was thrilled from the start to have a brother to play with. The only problem was that Linus was about two weeks older than Charlie and he had far more energy and endurance. Soon, however, Charlie followed his big brother like a shadow and now they race around like there is no age difference at all.
Lucy is very sweet and very responsible to her boys. We're so grateful that we didn't have to try to raise these two without a mom!
Lucy & Linus have moved out of their bathroom home and into the office where they can get more lap time and they can look out the windows.
Linus is just four weeks old, but he already weighs a pound and a half. He is comatose after eating and he is not interested in cat food yet because he is getting plenty of mother's milk as an only kitten.
Lucy is so beautiful and sweet. She's very talkative. She's so calm about motherhood; we're sure this is not her first time, but it is her last since she has already been spayed! Feline Rescue will be looking for homes for these two in about two months.
At first glance, Lucy seems like a bit of a tough girl. She certainly looks like she can take care of herself, as I'm sure she had to at Red Lake. Then you notice her pretty gray coat has cream-colored patches, her white trim is very perfect and her black-lined green eyes are lovely. But the best part about Lucy is her sweet personality and here's why.
A tiny, tiny kitten was brought into the clinic last week. He was apparently all alone in the world, found with no mom or siblings, but he was only three or four days old. It is almost impossible to save a kitten that small without its mother and they were not equipped for newborn kittens at the clinic -- not even formula.
DeeDee tucked the kitten inside her clothes to keep him warm for the day, but they worried what they would do with him that night.
Then Lucy came to the clinic. She was found abandoned at the dump and it turned out she was a lactating mother cat. Her kittens were nowhere to be found. Would she accept the kitten?
Cautiously, they put the kitten with her and she didn't hesitate a moment. She immediately began washing him and nursed him!
Poor Lucy went through a lot. She was separated somehow from her kittens, left at the dump, then she got shots and was spayed at the clinic and given a new baby for which to care. Then there was the long drive back to the Twin Cities.
When I met DeeDee and Crystal at Golden Valley I took Lucy and the kitten in the carrier with me, plus three dogs that needed transport to SecondHand Dog in Claremont, MN. I dodged storms all the way down and back and finally delivered Lucy and the kitten (we have decided to call him Linus) to a temporary foster home.
Lucy has more milk than little Linus can possibly drink... but he is trying! He was just 5 ounces when he arrived and in just three days was over 8 ounces. His eyes are starting to open and he tries to creep, but it's hard to move that big belly around!
This was an unlikely happy ending to two sad stories!
Davion and litter of 2 pups went to Cocoa's Heart
CHINOOK & JARED
Giana, Jasper, litter of 6 puppies, and the 2 ferals Chinook and Jared went to Matt and Susie at ARVSS in Wisconsin
Linus rescued off a chain went to Second hand Hounds
Lotus, a beautiful female has been at the shelter since August. She came in with a litter. Her litter was placed and she has been spayed and is in great shape. Patti at Second Hand Dogs took her.
The little litter of 8 pups came from Ponemah with their mother. 6 went to ARVSS in Wisconsin and 2 went to Act V,
Nancy took the tranport to Park Rapids. Yoko and a litter of 2 puppies went there.
