Kat9055

Hi! My name is Kat and I currently have 3 kitties and 2 rabbits in my home. I foster animals with Adopt Shelter Animal Pets (ASAP), so that number may increase or decrease. I have many loves and interests, but none compare to my animals. My fiancé laughs because even he refers to them as People after being with me! Those are the basics, but I will also include my animal’s stories below

Barnaby and Penelope Bunny Stories:
I adopted a little Netherland Dwarf rabbit, named Barnaby, as an emotional support animal after my little sister passed away. He was just 5 weeks old! The school I attended required “student-approved” housing, none of which allowed animals, so the emotional support certification was key. Like many small breeds of animals, my rabbit possesses all the personality of a Flemish Giant in a little 2 lbs. body. As one may expect, he can be a stinker, but I love him dearly. My friends joke that he took all the love he could give to everyone in the world and gave it just to me, so he ADORES me and terrifies my friends. I mean, have you ever been charged by a 2 lbs rabbit grunt-growling? It’s a Monte Python flashback for sure.

My rabbit used to be a spoiled, only "child" and had free-reign over the house. He does tricks and loves being the center of attention. When I adopted Loki, he was significantly smaller than Barnaby and smelled of sickness, so Barnaby pushed him around. Boy was he shocked when Loki grew! Because Barnaby loves to run fast and dash around, they had to be separated. Loki wouldn’t intentionally hurt Barnaby, but cat-play with a rabbit is still dangerous.

I adopted Penelope in hopes of getting a sweet, cuddly companion for Barnaby. She is sweet, but has always been skittish and not very cuddly, though she enjoys being pet. She loves all the animals in the house tons!

Loki's Story:
I adopted Loki in 2014. I was looking on Craigslist for a kitty for months, not planning on adopting unless it was a perfect choice. When I saw a listing for a poly-dactyl (which I love) Ragamuffin (which I also love), I responded right away and met up with the lady who was selling him.

I wondered why she was selling a pedigreed cat for so cheap, but it became apparent when I saw him. The woman didn't mean harm, but she had a Bengal cat and left them together unsupervised and the Bengal wouldn't let him eat. When I adopted Loki, he was around 9 weeks old and only weighed 0.5 lbs! He hardly had the energy to hold his head up and defecated on himself in my hand, too sick to do much of anything. Apparently, she had been taking him all over town in that sick condition for hours showing him to friends, etc. and thought he was “tired”. And a girl.

I ended taking him to the emergency vet within a couple hours of adopting him. He had stopped breathing multiple times and even his heart rate was undetectable at one point. The vet tested his glucose and it didn’t even register on the screen. They recommended me putting him down, saying he had less than 20% chance of survival. I was distraught, of course. The vet was very kind and when I asked them to administer sugar water and see if he could recover, they obliged. Within an hour he was eating and moving around. Everyone was amazed! He was so small that they recommended I keep him in my rabbits “time-out cage” so he wouldn’t hurt himself accidentally. He could actually fit through the rabbit cage bars, so I wove fabric between them.

Now Loki is 13 lbs (small for a Ragamuffin) and packed with personality. He loves to play and will carry around socks/clothes/random things that I later find in the most random places. He has a SUPER expressive face, which I love! He also balls up his huge paws while playing to make sure he doesn’t scratch anyone. He hasn’t figured out that teeth hurt, too!



Oliver’s Story:

Oliver was a feral cat until he was ~6 months, where he was found under a porch. My coworker was fostering him, but she was fostering another 20 cats (desperate times).

I had been considering a cat playmate for over a year. I worked between 40 and 48 hrs a week for Spring-Summer and he got really bored alone, leading to pent up energy and havoc.

I started fostering Oliver and adopted him 3 months later (Sept. 2017). He is super sweet and loves to cuddle, but is very timid and scared of strangers. He even gets scared when I get up and walk by him to another room. A lot of times, you can see Oliver warring with himself, wanting to be with us on the couch and cuddle, but psyching himself out over and over. It takes a lot of courage and build-up for him to sit on your lap (which he loves to do) or lay next to you.

Oliver is very cuddly now (Feb. 2018) and loves to hang out (and drool) and you. He is still shy, but what a change!



Little Gray's Story:

Little Gray was one of my feral-fosters, but after we had him for 7 months, we couldn't image our household without him! He is super cuddly and sweet and probably the most beautiful cat ever (don't tell the others!). Too bad I named him Little Gray when he was a foster I didn't want to be attached to, because we can't imagine another name now!



Fosters:

Okay, I have adopted 2 of my 3 cats from the foster system, but don't worry! I have adopted out other kittens in the meantime!


Three of my little fosters! Dixie, Ashe, and Abby (already adopted)

From 2017:
My work has a couple feral cats that live behind the building along a stream. When I first started there 2 years ago, there was a black mama kitty and her 2 little babies. I watched them play and grow up and eventually one of the kittens had kittens of her own! My coworker is part of a trap and release program for cats too feral to be adopted and wanted to catch the mama-kitty and her kittens to get her fixed and foster out the kittens. She ended up succeeding and the 6 feral kittens are either adopted, or being fostered. There were 4 gray kittens and 2 black kittens that seemed to have different dads. The gray kittens were all curious and became friendly almost right away and have a stocky build. The 2 black kittens were a lot more cautious and very scared of humans with a long and willowy build.

A couple month after I began to foster Oliver, I started fostering a gray kitten. I didn’t want to get too attached, so I just call him “Little Gray”. He was so sweet and tame that after a week, they sent me home with a black kitten (brother) who my fiancé named Onyx, hoping I could do the same thing with him.

Through a lot of gentle words and cuddles, Onyx became more open and caring, showing his already gentle spirit. He loved to play and would forget his fear as soon as his favorite toy appeared! It always felt like a win for me when he would perch on my leg or lie on/between my calves (his favorite spot). He would do very impressive acrobatic flips and twists, showing off rather than truly trying to catch the toy. He LOVED cuddling and hanging out on peoples’ legs and he would try to watch t.v. with his brother from 2 inches away, though he remained cautious in nature.

Sadly, we found out Onyx had FIP. Even though he was a foster, after 5 months, he was “my” Onyx. His end came swiftly and he died in the place he loved near those he held dear. I guess I was always meant to be his “forever” home.

I took him back to the vet the next day where he was cremated. An older volunteer took all the homeless and foster cat ashes and held a ceremony and spread them in a beautiful location as he has done for the past 14-yrs.