Panda Bear dived inside once Dad got the package opened.

Panda Bear opened the card and read it to us.

Look at all the wonderful presents!

Sunny sniffed the presents in the pretty blue wrapping paper.

Panda Bear is REALLY into nip!

He’s even licking nip flakes off the lid!

When Panda Bear gets really excited, he claws the carpet with gusto! That’s the effect nip has on him.

My sister Cookie sniffed the cute little mousies! We have been carrying those around and practicing our Mouse Patrol techniques with them!

We loves Temptations! Thanks for sending us Fishy Flavors! Meerkat is asking for more. Nom nom nom …

Thank you so much for sending us The Red Dot Maker! It is the one toy that gets all of us moving! Meerkat is stretching out to smack The Red Dot.

Mom put all the presents on the table and took a photo of them all together! We can’t wait for Mom to start that cat grass growing! We ate the Purina One Turkey yesterday! Mom loves the dove pin, jingle bells, and the yummy chocolates! What a generous gift!

Meerkat claimed the box! (The rest of us are a little too “well-endowed” to fit inside the box.)

Even Senior Catizen Padre got off his Gizzy Quilt to join in and play The Red Dot! Padre says Thank You!

My sister Cookie is really into wrapping paper. She likes to lie on it, play with it, and nap on it. Cookie says Thank You!

Sky says Thank You! (Especially for the Temptations.)

Sunny says Thank You!

Panda Bear says Thank You! (Especially for the Nip!!!)

On behalf of The Furry Bambinos, I say Thank You!!!

What a terrific present!!!

A huge Thank You to Mom Paula, Truffle, and Brulee for coordinating Secret Paws!!!

Meet Joan, Jett, and Braveheart! Sisters Joan (back) and Braveheart (front) are huddled together in the kitten bed. Brother Jett is sitting next to the kitten bed. (Mom and Dad considered naming Braveheart “Blackheart” to be consistent, but thought that was too unkind. Plus, Mom hopes that little Braveheart’s name becomes self-fulfilling.)

That’s because Joan, and especially Braveheart, are feral. Presently, Joan is “semi-feral” and Braveheart is about 90% feral. Brother Jett is the most trusting of the three siblings. They were found in a cat carrier along with their three other siblings in a local park. Because all six kittens were all skittish, the litter was divided up between two foster homes to socialize the babies.

Soon after enrolling in Furry Bambino Foster Academy, Jett developed some weird lesions on the bridge of his nose. About the same time,  Daddy casually mentioned to Mom over dinner that (another PAWS volunteer) “Eileen called this afternoon, and said that the other three kittens in the litter might have ringworm”.

Mom stopped eating, and replied: “R-r-r-ringworm? Do you know what that is? It is SO contagious! Aaahhhhh! That must be what the lesions on Jett’s face are!!!” She fled the dinner table and immediately called Eileen.

At the time, Daddy didn’t understand how serious ringworm is. He thought Mom was just being melodramatic (again). A lot of people think that ringworm is a parasite because of the name. Actually, ringworm is a skin infection that is caused by a fungus, the same one that causes Athlete’s Foot. Its spores become AIRBORNE and it can spread rapidly, and the spores can survive a long time (like a year) outside the host.

So Mom and Dad removed Joan, Jett, and Braveheart from the kitten room and moved them into a cat condo in the garage. Unfortunately, Nadia and Bart got exposed to Joan, Jett, and Braveheart, and would need to be quarantined for 14 days to see if they developed ringworm, too. Luckily, Lilia and Vitaly had just gotten adopted, so they were not exposed.

Next time: Treating the feral threesome for ringworm! Good times, kittehs, good times.

P.S. Joan, Jett, and Braveheart are the 13th class in the history of Furry Bambino Foster Academy. Not that we’re superstitious or anything …

This is what we looked like as newborns:

As Meerkat mentioned in her most recent post, Mom and Dad dragged the rug-sucking monsters around the house, and REMOVED ALL OUR FURS. Especially from the Cat Trees in the Fambly Room. As you can see in the photo below, I am very distraught about this turn of events.

Please join us for a Birthday ReFurring Party! Even though it is still winter here, we are sure that if efurryone sheds just a little, we will have the cat trees back to normal in no time!

Even if you don’t have furs, or don’t shed much, please come and enjoy the party!

We have food,

fountain drinks for the kittens and adult cat beverages for the big kittehs,

treats,

toys,

more toys,

nip

and napping spots!

Lots of napping spots!

Plus ample facilities for when you need to answer the call of nature. No long lines like at the ladies room at rock concerts!

There are two sets of stairs for games of Thundering Herds of Elephants! Each set of stairs has a landing and a turn for added interest and difficulty.

Please join us, and be prepared to SHED!!!  (Furless Cats Welcome, too!)

Purrs,

Ms. Floofs (Caramel)

and Cookie

The furs on my chest and tummy are a little bit curly.

Even my whiskers are extra long.

Panda Bear wrote a song about me and my Floof to celebrate my first birthday.

Padre, Meerkat, and Cookie have striped, soft, short to medium length furs. Panda Bear has short, straight, coarse furs that are either black or white. Padre, Panda Bear, Meerkat, and Cookie are referred to as DSH (domestic short haired) kittehs.

Daddy has always been a short-hair, with dark brown head furs.

As long as I have known Mommy, she has been long-haired, like me.

When she came back yesterday afternoon, I almost didn’t recognize her. Not only did she smell weird, but she looked like this:

I was a little bit sad that Mommy does not have long hair like me anymore. But then Mommy explained that she donated her hair to Locks of Love. I had not heard of Locks of Love before, so I asked my good friend Google about it. I read on the Locks of Love home page:

Locks of Love is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children in the United States and Canada under age 21 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. We meet a unique need for children by using donated hair to create the highest quality hair prosthetics. Most of the children helped by Locks of Love have lost their hair due to a medical condition called alopecia areata, which has no known cause or cure. The prostheses we provide help to restore their self-esteem and their confidence, enabling them to face the world and their peers.

Wow! So I asked Mommy if I could donate my long hairs to Locks of Love too. She explained that children want people head furs, not cat furs on their heads, and that some children might be allergic to cat furs. I guess I get to keep my long furs then.

My.

Bast.

Look who we FINALLY saw tonight on I Can Has Cheezburger:

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

This is Trish, our former foster!!! She is about 3 1/2 weeks old in this photo! Trish and I had a lot of fun together while she was staying here with her sister Niecy!

Mom posted this photo to Cheezburger awhile ago. When it didn’t show up right away,  she checked back a few times, and then forgot about it. She just happened to see it tonight, and we are all so happy to see little Trish! She is famous now! Mommy called Aunt Deb to tell her the exciting news! SQUEE!!!

We have new foster kittehs here at Casa Furry Bambino! Details are forthcoming.

Mom and Dad did a total musical furniture game with the kitten room furniture. They used the flashy box a lot, so we will show you before and after in a future post.

And most exciting of all, the Itteh Bittehs got adopted! Yay! Yay! Double Yay! Let me remind you of just how itteh bitteh they were. This is The Itteh Bitteh Kitteh, formerly known as Shadow, now called Niecy, at about 4 weeks old.  Look at that face!

“Put me down, or I will have no choice but to claw you to ribbons.”

And this is The Itteh Bitteh Kitteh formerly known as Boo, now called Trish, at about 3 weeks old:

“I scoff at your baby gate and feeble efforts to contain me.”

The Itteh Bittehs were Mom and Dad’s first really tiny foster kittehs who were in need of a lot of TLC.  While they were here, because they were so young and not fully weaned, they needed to be bottle fed, and then syringe fed.

Niecy developed an eye problem which required a trip to the V-E-T, and then ointment three times a day.

Trish’s spay surgery got cancelled The Day Of, due to what can only be described as a poop explosion.  All. Over. The. House.  So while Niecy was being spayed, Trish stayed home, and Mom and Dad cleaned up the house.  When Dad picked up Niecy from her surgery, let’s just say that Dad had a very malodorous loooooong ride home.  So now both girls had diarrhea and were sequestered to the kitten room, where at least the damage would be contained.

Diarrhea leads to dehydration, and nausea, and the feeling like you do not want to eat.  Mom started syringe feeding special food to the girls …

… and Mom and Dad teamed up to give the girls sub-cutaneous fluids.  Which the girls did not like.  At all. Unhappy kittehs are squirmy kittehs.  Which made it darn near impossible to get any fluids, let alone enough fluids, into the girls.  Mom’s advisor in the rescue group suggested another fecal sample, which Trish kindly provided.  Mom drove to the recommended clinic to drop off the sample.

Within an hour, the results were back: roundworms.  Mom gave the girls Strongid, which Trish promptly horked back up, as she could not keep anything down by this point.

So, on the evening of July 3, when all the v-e-t hospitals were closed, and most of the country was partying and drinking adult beverages and shooting off noise makers, Mom and Dad drove 30 miles across town with two very sick kittehs.  The emergency hospital gave the girls massive amounts of sub-cutaneous fluids, and Trish was given an injection of an anti-emetic.  Mom and Dad were given Panacur and Albon to give to the girls at home.  Within three days (three doses of the Panacur), the girls were doing much better, and eating on their own again.

As much as we kittehs dislike the V-E-T, we are also grateful for their help when we really really need it.

* * * * *

I am sure that you remember our post about the passing of our dear dear friend, Miss Tammy Faye.  Tammy Faye’s parents are our “Aunt” Deb and “Uncle” Paul, and Aunt Deb is our regular kitteh sitter.  A little while after Tammy Faye passed away, Aunt Deb asked Mom if The Itteh Bittehs had been spoken for.  Mom said that the girls did not have a Furrever Home lined up, and that due to their medical condition it would be about another month before the girls would be ready to go to their Furrever Home.  Which was fine with Aunt Deb and Uncle Paul, since they needed some time to grieve, and were not ready yet for new kittehs.

And fine with us, as we got to spend some more quality time with the girls.  We Furry Bambinos showed Niecy and Trish how to help with the unloading of the groceries.  Trish and I are starting to rassle.  Cookie and Panda Bear are also helping.

Niecy learned how to assist with plastic grocery bags.

Trish liked to hang out with me.  Here we are on Mommy’s chair.

Trish and Niecy invented a new way to play with The Alpine Scratcher.

This is what the girls looked like on August 6, their last morning here at Casa Furry Bambino.  They are hanging out with Panda Bear and borrowing his Gizzy Quilt, which he was kind enough to share.

That evening, Mom and Dad put The Itteh Bittehs into the PTU, and collected their medical records and adoption paperwork.  Panda Bear said good bye to The Itteh Bittehs …

and then Mom and Dad left to take The Itteh Bittehs to Aunt Deb and Uncle Paul’s house.

Once they got there, Dad opened the door to the PTU.  Trish, always the braver one, emerged first.

Niecy gave careful thought before exiting the PTU.  Once she did, she dashed into the kitchen and managed to squeeeeeeeze under a microwave cart on wheels.  Niecy stayed there until Mom and Tim (Aunt Deb and Uncle Paul’s son) extricated her.

Naturally, Niecy and Trish decided to find a better place to hang out while they got used to their new home.

Is that perfect or what?  They could see out, but could not be seen unless you crawled down on the floor.

It actually did not take all that long before Niecy and Trish decided to make an appearance.  Trish was lured out by a feather toy.

Niecy came out to explore some more.  She found a cool feather toy dangling above her head.

After Mom and Dad went home, Aunt Deb and Uncle Paul stayed up and played with Niecy and Trish for awhile.  It wasn’t long before Trish claimed the foot stool as her own.

Trish and Niecy, enjoying a meal of stinky goodness and crunchies:

Niecy enjoys her feather toy:

Mom and Dad are very happy that Niecy and Trish have been adopted by such kind and caring friends.  Mom and Dad look forward to visiting and watching the girls grow up.

Niecy and Trish are living the good life with Aunt Deb and Uncle Paul!

Like Panda Bear said yesterday, there were lots of woofies and a few kittehs in attendance! But mostly it was humans. That’s OK though, because these humans care very much about us animals and work hard to keep us happy and safe.

Our Mom met Mom Teri of Curlz and Swirlz …

… along with Disco NoFurNo and Brighton in purrson!

Don’t you just love their Pink Catillac? I must speak with Mommy about getting us a stroller!

Mom also got to meet Flat Skeezix and The Food Lady from Skeezix’s Scratching Post!   The Food Lady also blogs on The Cat’s Meow, a Catster blog.  This photo shows our Mom, Mom Teri, Brighton, Flat Skeezix, Disco (inside the Pink Catillac), and The Food Lady.

Brighton and Flat Skeezix got to meet each other. Brighton checked out Flat Skeezix.

Flat Skeezix returned the favor.

Mom got to meet Perfectly Parker’s Mom, Helen! Mom sat with The Food Lady and Parker’s Mom at lunch. Mom said that they had a great time talking and laughing, and talking and laughing.

Mom got meet Mom Carol and Moshe of Meir Cats, Chats, and Fiber. They have a very interesting blog that Mommy had not seen before! Mom added it to our blogroll so that we can visit them.

Isn’t Moshe handsome? He is very photogenic!

A bunch of the Mommies took some group photos. In this photo is Mom Teri of Curlz and Swirlz, Mom Carol of Meir Cats, Chats, and Fiber, Mom Helen of Perfectly Parker, our Mom who is petting Flat Skeezix, Skeezix’s The Food Lady, and Mom Robyn of The Hotties (House of the (Mostly) Black Cats).

In this photo is Mom Teri of Curlz and Swirlz, Mom Jen of Mr. Tuck’s Neighborhood, Mom Helen of Perfectly Parker, Flat Skeezix, Skeezix’s The Food Lady, Baby Patches’ Momma Salina of Nip and Bones, and Mom Robyn of The Hotties (House of the (Mostly) Black Cats).

In other news, Padre’s Birthday is on Earth Day! Stop by this Thursday, April 22, as we are planning a Bambino party!

Also on Thursday, my biological sister Cookie will be competing in Kitty Fight Club at The World According to Misha!

Photo: from Misha’s blog

Kitty Fight Club is a contest that pits two adorabubble kittens against each other for the title of cutest kitten! Cookie is getting a little nervous! Please vote for Cookie on Misha’s blog!

and me, Caramel!

Today, we become Young Lady Cats, as we are now One Year Old! Today, I officially graduate from “Diva-in-Training” to “Diva”! I am so happy! Cookie is delighted to be a Young Lady Cat as well!

Please make yourselves at home! We have food and beverages (please drink responsibly),

nip (please use nip responsibly, unlike Panda Bear as shown here),

toys,

cozy napping spots,

treats,

fun and games,

friends and companionship!

We received some very lovely gifts from Mom and Dad, and we are happy to share with you!

Please leave us a comment to tell us you were here! In honor of our birthday, Mom is going to donate $1 (US) to the Humane Society of the United States for each comment received on any of our birthday blog posts. All comments must be received by 11:59 pm on Wednesday, March 10, 2010.

In addition, one lucky winner will receive a Gift Certificate to The Animal Rescue Site store! To enter, leave us a comment on any of our birthday posts! One chance per household will be entered. We will have one of us draw the name of the winner on Thursday, March 11, 2010, in the evening EST. All comments must be received by 11:59 pm EST on Wednesday, March 10, 2010.

Enjoy the Party, Efurryone! Stop by tomorrow to see what Panda Bear gave Cookie and me as Birthday Gifts!

We had a multi-way tie for the Gold in the Bird and Squirrel Watching event! Give yourself each a Gold Medal. We adapted Katie’s Human Glogirly’s badge, so here is the Official Gold Medal for Bird and Squirrel Watching to proudly display on your blog:

Now, on to our entries!

*** Synchronized Snoozing hosted by The Island Cats ***

Meerkat and Padre are our resident love cats. Here are their two entries. The first photo shows them spooning in a dainty cat bed. Note Padre’s leg placement around Meerkat. This should definitely be worth additional cute points.

The second photo shows Padre and Meerkat cuddled together in a Ying-Yang with a Spooning Maneuver.

Also in Synchronized Snoozing, this is Panda Bear and Cookie, taken last summer when Cookie and I were still itteh bitteh! Note Cookie’s hind leg placement on Mommy’s gardening shoe, displaying added difficulty.

*** Balance Beam hosted by Fin of Housecat Confidential ***

This is Matthew, one of the foster kittens who stayed here last Fall. (Hah! Fall! Get it? What a great pun!) Matthew was the most talented of the foster kittehs at the Balance Beam!

Panda Bear often gets asked if he has trouble with balance or depth perception because he only has one eye. Well, take a look at his entry for Balance Beam, and you will see that PB has grace and style on the apparatus! This photo was taken at the V-E-T, so PB deserves extra difficulty points for the heightened level of anxiety!

*** Boxing hosted by Sparkle the Designer Cat***

These are our entries for Boxing. Here I am, posed graciously in the remnants of a holiday gift box.

*** Competitive Napping, hosted by Huffle Mawson ***

This is my entry. I am carefully color coordinated with the rocking chair, with my tail tucked under my chin like a Young LadyCat.

Also in Competitive Napping, this is Cookie’s first of two entries. Note the extreme cuteness of Cookie when she was an itteh bitteh kitteh!

Cookie’s second entry in Competitive Napping displays a high level of difficulty, as Cookie is shown sleeping in a PTU! Note the concentration which Cookie required in order to actually SLEEP in a prisoner transport unit!

*** Mile Long Machine Kleen, hosted by Tygana of One Cats Nip ***

Panda Bear and Cookie are entering as a team in this competition. Note the care with which Panda Bear washes Cookie’s head.

That concludes our Cat-O-Lympics entries!

And another big Thank You to Fin of Housecat Confidential for organizing the entire 2010 Cat-O-Lympics games!

It has been awhile since we last posted, so here is a summary.  But first, a recent photo of me.  Look at the toe-hawks on my back paws!  Cookie and I are 9 months old now, so my floof is really growing in!

Awhile ago, Mommy was sick as a pig.  A lot of people where she works were sick at that time.  Mommy said that the worst part of pig flu was that it made her really really tired.  On the plus side, I was able to score lots of extra naps with Mommy!

Regular readers of our blog know that Mommy and Daddy volunteer with an animal rescue group called PAWS.  On November 15, The Apostles went to a PAWS adoption event held at PetSmart.  They did not get adopted that day though.

There were lots of cute kitties, including these sweeties, Faith (grey), Hope, Love, and Charity.  Hope, Love, and Charity are all sisters, and Faith is a female from another litter.  Faith and Charity got adopted that day.

As you may know, PetSmart does not mind if you want to go to pick out your food and treats yourself.  Usually, we trust Mommy and Daddy to do that for us.  That day, a pet skunk decided to come to PetSmart to check out the food selections.

In other news, we got to have Real Live Fresh Dead TURKEY on Thanksgiving!

Padre is very fond of Real Live Fresh Dead Turkey.

Cookie and I are also very fond of Real Live Fresh Dead Turkey.  I like it even more than Cookie does.

Meerkat doesn’t really like it.  You can tell by the expression on her face.

Neither does Panda Bear.

Mom thinks that maybe the eye infections that Meerkat and Panda Bear had as kittens affected their sense of smell or taste, since the rest of us nom nom nommed.  As for The Apostles, Matthew, Mark, and Luke liked the RLFDT, but Joann did not.  The Apostles were at boarding school (PetSmart), but came home for Thanksgiving break.

The day after Thanksgiving was a very busy day.  The Apostles went back to boarding school.  Here they are in their dorm room.

Then Padre, Cookie, and I were taken to the V-E-T!  Cookie WILLINGLY climbed into the PTU that was intended for Padre.  And then she refused to come out.  So Mom shoved Padre into the PTU intended for Cookie and me.

That left no PTU for me, as Mom did not want to put me into Padre’s PTU, and the PTU Cookie was in was too small for Cookie and me.  I was thinking that I might have played my cards extremely well, but no such luck.  Mom grabbed me and held me in her lap on the ride to the V-E-T.

When we got there, Mom walked up to the desk to check in, and the girl behind the desk was very complimentary to me!  She said that I was Beautiful!  She asked Mom if she could hold me, and Mom let her.  The girl was very nice to me.  She said that she needed to show me to the Office Manager, or she would get into trouble for not showing her a really cute cat.  So the girl took me back to a very nice lady who held me and cuddled me.  She said that my furs are very soft!  And that the way I let her hold me made her think that I might be part rag doll kitty.  At last, proper treatment for a floofilicious cat like myself!  I was beginning to think the whole V-E-T business was not so bad.

However, Padre was absolutely miserable.  He tried to hide in the back of the PTU.

Cookie explored the exam room, giving it a thorough sniffing, and reported back to Padre and me.

Padre, Cookie, and I each got weighed.  Padre currently weighs 13.0 pounds, Cookie weighs 10.2 pounds, and I weigh 9.2 pounds.

But then!  Oh, the horrors!  Mom asked them to trim my pretty furs!  (Something about litter box issues on a long-haired kitty.)  So they took me to the back and gave me a buzz cut on my derriere.  Oh, the shame.  I am so embarrassed, I can’t believe I am even admitting this to all of you.

Later that same day (Friday, November 27), Luke and Matthew got adopted into two separate families!  And someone else applied to adopt Joann and (possibly) Mark.  I guess because it was “Black Friday” it was a good day to adopt black kittens!

As it eventually turned out, Mark was not adopted by the family that adopted Joann.  Joann went to her furrever home on Sunday November 29.  Luke’s new family calls him “Shadow”.  Matthew’s new family calls him “Neo”.  And Joann’s new name is “Inky”.  But Mark is still Mark.  Or Marko.  Or Marko Polo.  And he still lives with us.  But now he is allowed to mingle with the rest of us instead of having to stay in the foster room.

So Dad cleaned out the foster room.  He removed the food dishes, litter boxes, and toys.  Dad took out the rug-sucking monster, and ran it over the whole room.  While Dad was cleaning, he came across this:

A dead mouse.  Apparently, The Apostles are good mousers!