Pax is named after the Roman goddess of peace because she is a calm, peaceful, sweet girl. She loves to wrestle with her brothers, but she’s just as happy entertaining herself, or just having a nap. She starts off a little shy, but she loves being scritched and combed, and turns into a happy melty kitten in your lap for “spa time”.
Gender: Female
Color: Black & White
Fur: Short
Born: Approximately 8/28/15
Currently available for adoption!
Pax was the healthiest of the three babies when she arrived. She also loved napping the most. While her brothers are wrestling and falling all over the place, she is usually playing on her own happily, or joining them until she’s sick of the rough and tumble.
She currently needs a little patience, but she’s 80% socialized. She doesn’t like loud noises but has gotten used to our dog (and the yelling at the football games on TV, haha). Once you pick her up and she realizes you’re just going to pet her, she totally relaxes and starts purring like mad. She loves other cats, napping, her food, and her brothers… possibly in that order.
Health history:
9/26/15 – When we first trapped these kittens, her brothers had goopy / crusty eyes which cleared up within 36 hours of treatment, but she had perfectly clear eyes and no health issues.
2/15/16 – Health update: The kitty flu that whipped through our house barely affected Pax. She has some reoccurring drippy eyes which may come back from time to time, but other than that she continues to be healthy as a horse!
Quick Details
Litter box: A+
Other cats: A+
Cuddling: B- [She is still nervous about being picked up initially]
Food: A+
Gender: Male
Color: Black & White
Fur: Short
Born: Approximately 8/28/15
Rex was a big boy, and so active, that when he got sick and lost his vision, I was heartbroken for him. It took a little time to get a diagnosis, but we finally were told it was FIP, araremutation of a common cat issue. We gave him the best we could while he was with us, until the morning he crossed the Rainbow Bridge. It is always difficult to loose a fur baby, and even more so at such a young age. We are heartbroken.
Rainbow Bridge
It’s never broken my heart more to have to completely rewrite a kitty bio here. Rex was a big, strong kitten who loved galloping around the house and ambushing his siblings. He was adventurous and strong. He was going to grow up to be a really big boy. We’re still not sure of the cause, but after having the kitty flue, he got a serious eye condition, and he’s currently blind. We’re working our way through treatments and tests, and now working with specialists to see what can be done for his eyes.
In the mean time, he is learning how to be blind in a busy house. He knows the layout of things, but often walks into other cats. Or they bump him around. He is clearly depressed and confused by this life change, but he loves cuddling so much now. We’re still in early days, so we’re working on confidence and security, and then we’ll work on returning play and fun to his life.
The goal will be to stabilize his vision issues, and find him a home with a family that can appreciate a super sweet, blind kitty. Although I was initially devastated by his vision issues, I’ve done a lot of research, and now have hope for his long and happy life. So many wonderful people have adopted blind kitties and made them wonderful homes, I have to believe we’ll find the right family for Rex!
Health history:
9/26/15 – When we first trapped these kittens, Rex had slightly goopy / crusty eyes which cleared up within 36 hours of treatment. He had a spot of ringworm on his tail that has also cleared up, and the fur is growing back in.
11/23/15 – Rex had 5 days of antibiotics for a urinary tract infection, and bounced back immediately.
1/29/16 – The kitty flu has whipped through our house, and Rex had been sick the longest. He seemed unable to kick the funk, so we took him to our vet. Along with antibiotics, we were given eye ointment for inflamed cornea. It wasn’t until I watched him for two days that I began to suspect he could see little to nothing. One eye was good and one was not good. But he wasn’t really seeing much.
3/4/16 – After our most recent vet visit, we’re sure Rex can’t see anything. We have run out of medicines and tests. Our vets have sent his records on to eye specialists to see if there’s anything they can suggest. Aside from being blind, he seems depressed and feeling funky. He can make his way around the house, and we’re working on getting him healthy. But this is a big adjustment and a big question mark on his future.
3/24/16 – Only three weeks after being diagnosed with FIP, Rex succumbed to his condition and he crossed the Rainbow Bridge. We are heartbroken.
Quick Details
Litter box: C
Other cats: A+
Cuddling: A+
Food: A+
Gender: Male
Color: Brown Tabby
Fur: Short
Born: Approximately 8/22/10
Caesar is one of our colony cats that has had a few near-tragedies happen to him. He’s a great big lover that is caught between being a street cat and a house cat. He escaped starvation, a dog attack, a hoarding house, and a seriously injured paw. We would like to get him off the street before his nine lives run out!
Caesar loves people, napping on the bed, and sitting in cars. He’s going to need patience to teach him the formalities of a real home, but his is very willing to learn and loves people unconditionally.
Adopted!
Despite his rough start, and his rough middle to life, Caesar has remained extremely appreciative of the people that take time to care for him.
Caesar before and after being nipped, 8-23-12
He arrived in our colony quite emaciated. He was a gangly and cantankerous teenager who fattened up and mellowed out after being nipped and accepted into the colony as a friend.
There was a terrible incident with a neighborhood dog that tried his best to kill Caesar. I pulled Caesar out of the dog’s mouth after a long chase and wrestle (I admit I was even biting the dog in a panic). In the ensuing drama with Animal Services, our hoarding neighbor claimed Caesar as her pet, and because I had been bit by both dog and cat, Caesar had to be quarantined for rabies evaluation. Unfortunately, his 30-day in-house quarantine turned into a full year incarceration in our hoarding neighbor’s home. On release or escape, he turned up looking greasy, ill, and emotionally drained.
We were able to fatten him up and get him clean, but he retained his weary, broken look for quite a while. He showed some signs of being trapped in a space with too many animals and too little resources–some cat aggression (being very assertive of his personal space), security seeking, and food gulping. Despite his anxieties, he remained a loving, people-friendly guy who wanted nothing more than to spend time hanging out with humans.
Shortly after another neighborhood dog incident (this time with three cat fatalities), Caesar showed up with an injured paw. Because I’m a worry wart and totally broke, I have a 48-hour rule unless something is obviously urgent. SO after two days and Caesar’s paw swelling to three times its size, I allowed myself to rush him to our vet. He receive basic medical care (thanks to VISA who keeps giving me room on my credit card), and his paw has been slowly healing.
But once he arrived with a hurt paw, he had been moved from a street cat to a pseudo-house-cat in our over crowded house. Our hope is to find a long-term foster, or a happy furever home, so that he doesn’t have to risk his neck on the street again.
I’m not going to lie–he’s going to need some patience to fully convert to a real house cat. It is painfully obvious what his life in the hoarding house had been like while I’ve been watching him find his way around our home. I am heartbroken daily to see him limp around and learn about real life with people who care about him. It is clearly his deepest hope to be a cherished pet, and I hope he can find lovely humans to give him that chance.
Update: We recently discovered Caesar playing with a rattle mouse, and discovered he’s a huge fan of toys! There are a few videos on our Facebook page just for fun!
Update: On 11/8/15 Caesar went for a sleep over with a new family. After two days they were in love with the big guy and he was officially adopted!
Health history:
8/22/12 – I finally was able to trap Caesar and bring him to an Operation Catnip clinic where he was neutered and given his rabies and FIV+ vaccines. At that point he was seriously malnourished (see gallery image).
Caesar’s swollen paw 10-13-15
1/11/14 – a neighborhood dog escaped (a known cat-killer) and attacked Caesar. I personally pulled Caesar out of the dog’s mouth after a long struggle. After much drama, I was able to make sure he was free from major injury. he was quarantined in our local hoarder’s house for 30 day (long story). We did not see him for over a year of imprisonment in the hoarder’s house. Since she claimed him as her pet, there was nothing we could do to even see him.
2/15/15 – Caesar was released from captivity (or escaped) back onto the street. He was filthy and foul looking, and definitely emotionally drained. It took a few months of care and kindness to get him back to his former self. He still has some cat aggression from being confined to a space with multiple cats and limited resources.
10/13/15 – Caesar arrived at our colony (two days after neighborhood dogs terrorized the colony and killed three cats) with a hurt foot. After a 48 hour delay, his foot had tripled in sized and he was in obvious anguish. We took him to our vet where he received pain killers and a long-lasting antibiotic. It took several more days of indoor confinement before he began to finally improve.
Quick Details
Litter box: B [very familiar with a litter box but because of his hoarding past, he is still concerned about safety]
Other cats: D+ [again, due to his hoarding history, he is defensive toward other cats who enter his personal space but he likes being part of a family]
Cuddling: B- [He loved people and being held, but may be emotionally needy at times]
Gender: Male
Color: Grey Tabby
Fur: Short
Born: Approximately 5/1/15
Adopted!
When Paulie first arrived in the colony at the end of August, I thought he was a she and I called her Polly. In getting her fixed and checked for a microchip, we found out she was a he, and changed it to Paulie. He is an insanely cute little grey tabby boy, and although he’s skinny right now, has the potential to grow up into a big throw pillow cat. His fur is so soft and almost feels double thick. He’s also very talkative!
Although I originally thought he was a lost or abandoned kitten, in getting to know him I feel like he’s had minimal interaction with people so far. But he is a pretty relaxed dude who seems fascinated by people and living indoors. He loves toys, and he really loves to cuddle other cats. He instantly starts to purr when you pick him up. We’re working on getting him used to snuggles. He like to lay next to you, but he’s not sure laying ON you is such a great idea yet.
He suffered from sores or wounds on his paws. Although we believe the condition is in permanent remission, he should probably be watched for a few more weeks. Right now he is sleeping a lot, and eating even more. He’s at that age where he’s growing like a weed, and he started out kind of skinny so he’s catching up.
He adores ping pong balls, and any kind of dangly toys. He’s taken to our cat trees and likes to sleep in the top perches, preferably upside down and stretched out. So far he seems to like all other cats and is happy to make friends and cuddle with any cats. And he isn’t bothered by our dog. He’s quite independent but is very social and would probably do best in a house with another chill cat.
Health history:
8/26/15 – Neutered and given vaccines (rabies, FIV, FeL, etc.) at No More Homeless Pets. He was treated as a stray/feral, so he was also ear-tipped.
9/8/15 – Vet visit. Received check up and long-lasting antibiotics to treat his feet. [He suffered briefly from what we can only guess is something called ‘pillow foot’ (Plasma Cell Pododermatitis). It is an autoimmune disorder that vets don’t know enough about yet. It’s not a disease, but likely something triggered by stress. It’s where the immune system goes weird and attacks the pads of the paws causing them to swell and rupture. He was treated and bounced back amazingly well. There’s not reason to believe it will ever come back.]
9/20/15 – After a great consult with a specialist, we’re happy to conclude Paulie probably didn’t have ‘pillow foot’ after all. He likely had a reaction to the stress of being trapped and having surgery, and then being brought indoors. He’s pretty much healed up and ready to meet people finally!
Quick Details
Litter box: A+
Other cats: A+ [He wants to be friends with everyone]
Cuddling: C+ [He is still learning about lap sitting]
Food: A+
With a lot of cats and kittens coming through the house, I have found ways to be thrifty or practical without reducing quality of car or play for them. I will spend extra money on great litter or good quality food, but there are times that spending more is not necessarily a benefit.
Take the common kitty puff ball. You can buy a pack of four for about $2 at a pet store. Or you can buy a bag of about 300 from a craft store for about $5. Granted they’re not exactly as well made, but they’re destined to be destroyed, lost, and fought over. So they’re not going to last forever in a room full of kittens.
In retrospect, I should have fully thought out my decision in the craft store when I bought a bag of several hundred assorted size puff balls, in ‘natural’ colors–black, white and shades of browns. That massive bag has lasted us through four litters of kittens.
They’ve had fun. They’ve lost them under furniture, stuffed them in water bowls and wet food dishes, and buried them in litter boxes. And because I had hundreds, whenever one got too gross, I just threw it away and pulled out a few replacements.
I, on the other hand, was introduced to a new game–poop or puffball? Kittens, and even cats, tend to kick lovely nuggets of poop out of their litter boxes when they get overexcited doing their business. Sometimes I go into the kitten room to clean up and find a brownish, roundish object on the floor, and I hear the game show music start up. Is this object a puffball or a poop? Dare I touch it with my bare hands? It’s got some litter dust on it, but that could go either way. Do I waste a paper towel and find out it’s a puffball? Hurry, hurry… time is ticking away…
Sometimes I win the game and it’s a puffball. Sometimes it’s not.
Note to future self: pick out the most colorful ones you can find next time. We’ve got these on our kitty Amazon wish list…
Gender: Female
Color: Brown Tabby
Fur: Short
Born: Approximately 3/1/14
Adopted!
Zoey has had a rough start to her short life, but she has retained her cheerful, playful disposition. She loves all cats. She loves all people. She is learning to like dogs.
In early summer, Zoey was confiscated from a hoarding house in our neighborhood. At Animal Services she was evaluated at 1.5/5 on the body fat scale, and deemed emaciated. She was treated for parasites and infections, and held for adoption. But after 30 days, ACAS needed the space, and since no one showed interested in this tiny cat, they opted to release her as a feral cat to her original neighborhood rather than euthanize her.
When the tech came to release Zoey and her companion Zelda, Zelda took off running as fast as she could. Zoey wouldn’t come out of her carrier. I pulled her out and she tried to go back in. The tech and I weren’t sure what to do because the other options were grim, but Zoey didn’t know that. I carried her to my yard and showed her my colony cats, their food, their shelter. She tried to hide in a corner of my porch and curled up in a miserable, terrified ball. I realized that she probably spent her whole short life inside the hoarding house and the outdoors was too overwhelming for her.
Even though I was at my cat limit, I brought her inside my house because she was breaking my heart. I set her up in a crate for the night. She stayed in her crate for two days sleeping and being too scared to come out. And then little by little she snuck out to explore the house and make noses with the other cats. As soon as she discovered rattle mice, she was convinced this was an awesome new magical place. She LOVES to play. She discovered the kittens and earned a place as their fun big sister. She discovered cuddling on the bed at night. She discovered sunny windowsills and always-full food bowls.
She is now an amazingly happy cat, and she’s ready for a home of her own where she can continue to discover how good life can really be. She’s tiny and active, and would be a great apartment cat. She loves every cats she’s met but would probably do best with another active cat, or even on her own.
Health history:
5/13/15 – Alachua County Animal Services confiscated Zoey from a hoarding house. She was treated for malnutrition and evaluated, as well as given FELV/FIV tests. Treated for respiratory infection, ear mites, and tapeworm. She was deemed adoptable and held at Animals Services for adoption.
7/3/15 – After over 30 days at Animal Services without interest, they arranged for Zoey and Zelda to be released to their original neighborhood (rather than be euthanized). First she was taken to No More Homeless Pets for spay and rabies vaccines.
8/3/15 – After living with Zoey for a month, I feel confident about her health and behavior status. She will likely have a minor sinus problem and drippy eye that comes and goes with stress levels. It doesn’t seem to bother her, but she might benefit from vet care in the future. She likely had an untreated infection as a small kitten.
Quick Details
Litter box: A
Other cats: A+ [She wants to play with and be friends with everyone]
Cuddling: B+ [She loves attention and is still learning about lap sitting]
Food: A+
Zoey loves sunny windowsills, 7-615
Zoey has a cute stubby snout, 7-6-15
Zoey adores rattle mice, 7-9-15
Zoey likes to find small places to nap in, 7-13-15
Today was one of those bittersweet days that I had to face. It happens every time we have kittens. And it’s a good thing. But it always makes me sad.
On the first day of kittens, I pull out Sammy’s old dog crate and set it up with bowls and tiny litter tray and a cozy cardboard box. Then as they babies get old enough, they get time to run outside the crate, but not for long. Eventually they earn the privilege of being free all day, and only get crated at night. The very last stage is where they get free roaming rights, with their crate open as always until they learn to use the big cats’ food bowls and litter boxes.
And then I have to decide to disassemble the kitten crate and pack it away because the babies are little kids now and dashing around the house. The next stage is to get them all fixed and vaccinated, and then adopted to permanent homes.
Getting to know Floyd has been an adventure, as it always is making friends with a feral cat. He’s now at the point that he enjoys human interaction. He waits for me at the end of the driveway to bring out food. And often follows me back to the driveway before going back to eat.
Petting him is tricky because he’s gotten a bit aggressive before. A quick swat with is paw to let me know he doesn’t want me to go yet.
But this time I pet him too much and he got too excited. When I pulled back to leave, he tried to grab my arm like cats do when they want more attention. Only he’s not used to furless, pink humans. He grabbed me and tried to bite me to keep my attention. Unfortunately, he underestimated his own strength and sharp, pointy parts.
I’ve had to watch how much focused attention I give him so he doesn’t get excited again. And if he follows me home, I make sure to watch him so he doesn’t swing on my calves again. It makes me sad because he just wants affection and reassurance. But I might end up with more than some light scratches and bruises next time.
Moxie has a little belly again! As she gets healthier and her fur fills in, her body language is changing. She walks and sits normally instead of being hunched over.
And we realized she had these cute white racing stripes on her sides. Just one on each side, about three inches long. But we just couldn’t see them before.
She also started galloping around the house with her tail fluffed out, as if she wants someone to play! A huge deal for this girl!
Zelda has been hanging around more lately, showing up for almost every meal. She’s made her way into the back yard, taking Sally’s place under the mock orange bush. She has even darted inside a few times.
It’s amazing how similar she is to Henri. From her dense, wiry frame to her round belly to her silky long fur. Her face. Her funny stiff-legged walk. Even her meow as she tries to get attention. The ACAS vets estimated her at 4 years old, which definitely means she could be Henri’s daughter.
Although I can tell she’s been an indoor/outdoor cat at some point, she likely has been indoors for a few years by the way she seems disoriented and overwhelmed outside. With a little TLC, she would probably convert to a mostly indoor cat again.
She’s so sweet, and essentially just wants to be snuggled and feel like someone is looking out for her.
I’m also watching her eartip. Zoe’s tipping looks awkward, but Zelda actually had a double snip, leaving a flap of ear hanging on cautiously. I may have to get her back in to see someone to have it fixed rather than leave it get infected or ripped.
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