Samoa came into our life in April of 2015.  She was rescued by a dear friend from Slavic Village, along with her four kittens, whom we named Ginger Snap, Peanut Butter, S’mores, and Thin Mint.  S’mores is the only girl and her tortie markings look just like her Mom Samoa!  Ginger Snap is an orange tabby, Peanut Butter is white with orange tabby markings, and Thin Mint is solid black. This first photo is from our first meeting with Samoa and her 2-day old kittens. The second photo is just a week later, and her kittens have grown so much that they look like they are smothering her tiny 7-pound body.

In addition to her own litter of four kittens, Samoa cared for four “Cowboy Kittens” (Cassidy, Clementine, Harlee, and Sadie) for a few days until their Mama Mae West was rescued, and could resume her motherly duties. Mae West was particularly elusive, and now resides with a dear friend.

No sooner than Mae West began nursing her four Cowgirls, than a 2-day-old kitten abandoned by his mother was found in the Waterloo neighborhood. We named this kitten, Snickerdoodle, and he was readily welcomed by Samoa into her little family. Snickerdoodle is mostly white with orange tabby markings, and closely resembles Peanut Butter, so he really looked like part of the family!

Finally came the “Charlie Angels” kittens.  Although Jaclyn Fluff, Farrah Fluff Major, and Kate Fluffson did not resemble Samoa or her own babies, they were also lovingly accepted by Samoa and treated as her own. The three black and white tuxedo kittens were rescued from the home of dear friends who have their own little feral family in their garden. By rescuing the tuxie girls, the hope was to give them safe and loving indoor homes, so they were rescued as young kittens close to weaning so they would be easier to socialize.

Samoa was a good Mom (and surrogate Mom) to a total of 12 kittens … patient with her kittens’ antics, and training her babies how to be Good Cats.

While confined to the “back kitten room” (back bedroom), Samoa gradually became comfortable with Sue and would allow Sue to pet her on rare occasions. Samoa would rub against Sue’s legs and was pleased to accept treats. However, Samoa was still easily startled and would hiss loudly when Sue or David moved too quickly or without advance notice.

The orange marking over her left eye made Samoa appear as if she was always raising her left eyebrow at us, as if to ask “What now?”

Over time, after Samoa raised her babies and they started to get adopted, we let her into Gen Pop (gave her full run of the house) with The Furry Bambinos.  Samoa was still a foster with us, and would hide when we needed to take her to adoption events.  Finally, David stated the obvious as we rode to the third consecutive adoption event without Samoa because we could not catch her.  “We may have just adopted our eighth Bambino.”  Shortly thereafter, we discussed it over dinner and concluded that she was happy here with us.  “Let’s just adopt her.”  And that’s how Samoa officially became a Furry Bambino, in early 2016.

Samoa (aka “Shmo”) fit in with The Furry Bambinos very easily.  She seemed content to be the low girl on the totem pole of the cat hierarchy.  She stood in the background and didn’t seem to care if she was the last one to be fed treats.  She never started fights, and always used the litter boxes.   She regularly helped the other Bambinos on “Bird Patrol” and “Squirrel Patrol” from her favorite position in one of the “tubes” of the cat furniture.

She also liked to explore.  A few times a week we could guarantee hearing a loud “thump” coming from the basement.  It was usually Samoa landing on the washing machine after jumping down from exploring the crawl space under the family room. She would emerge with her whiskers covered in cobwebs, then dash off upstairs.

For a long time, she would only eat breakfast by poking her head out from the chair covers in the dining room.

But over time, Samoa became more comfortable and would eat out in the open.  During our morning feeding routines, she began to occasionally brush up against David’s legs, and he got so he could stroke Samoa across her head and back after giving her a food dish.

The rest of the time, Samoa usually kept her distance from us.  If we came within more than 24 inches of her, she would abruptly dash off to another part of the house.  She would sniff a hand extended to her, but we had to move slowly, or else risk a loud snake-like hiss of fear before she dashed off. There were a few rare occasions that Samoa would snuggle with Sue on the sofa.

Samoa made friends with Panda Bear, our friendly tuxedo cat.  All the cats in the house, and especially our fosters and former fosters, love Panda Bear.  Samoa would walk beside him, brush up against him repeatedly, sleep beside him in the front window or on Sue’s legs on the sofa, and eat next to him.

In Samoa’s last nights with us, we had her sequestered to a large cage in our family room so we could closely monitor her and care for her.  Panda Bear walked into her cage, and even in her weakened state Samoa reached her head over to brush against him.

Samoa also had become a play friend for little Farrah Fluff (another new Furry Bambino, c. 2016).  Samoa and Fluff would chase each other the length of the house, back and forth, chomp on each other and bunny kick each other’s heads, and then dash off with wild abandon.  They both seemed to enjoy the play time.

On Sunday evening, the night before Samoa passed, Farrah Fluff reached a paw into Samoa’s cage to tap (maybe pet?) Samoa on the head, and then came around from another angle to tap her friend on the side.  Fluff was obviously checking in with her friend to see how she was doing.

We are so happy we chose to adopt Samoa.  We were honored to have been Samoa’s guardians for the relatively short time she was with us. We did our best to keep her well fed, safe, and happy despite her efforts to avoid us.

We wish we had known earlier that she was ill.  Cats have a way of hiding their illnesses until it’s too late to save them.  It’s so frustrating to know we might have done more for her.  We had her at the veterinarian on Saturday, and by late Monday afternoon she was gone. Sue has the lyrics of the Hall and Oates song “She’s Gone” running on a loop in her head.

It’s amazing that such a little cat could leave such a big hole in our hearts.  We hope that Samoa will be waiting for us at the Rainbow Bridge. When we get too close, she will probably dash off to hide.  So long as we see her there, that’s all that matters.

Until we meet again, Sweet Samoa.  We love you!

We are just taking it easy today. Breakfast, then a nap pile. Feel free to join us if you like to nap! Here is a baby picture of us when we were itteh bitteh! This is taken three years ago today – the day we were born!

This photo was taken a few weeks later. Caramel is the black fuzzball, and I am in front serving as a pillow to my sisfurs. See how big my gold flame mark looked compared to my tiny little head?

Mom and Dad brought us some fun nip toys from Coventry Cats, including a new nip nanner!  Rumor has it there is a new Da Bird, but we haven’t seen it yet.  (We dedded our old Da Bird.)  Come on over to play and eat and nap!

Purrs,
Cookie and Caramel

Well two more fosters have graduated from Furry Bambino Foster Academy – Nadia and Bart! Nadia is the grey tabby female and Bart is her black tabby house panther brother. They are half of The Gymnasts class of Kitten Season 2011.

They got adopted TOGETHER into a great family where they will have the best time!

We thought we would share some photos of the Little Lunatics (as Mom calls them).

They were in PetSmart for just 24 hours and had two different families apply to adopt them!

Nadia and Bart were the most “creative” kittens in the history of Furry Bambino Foster Academy. This is what they did to Nadia’s folder containing her medical records and adoption contract. (Silly Mommy left it out where they could get to it.)

Bart is the only kitten in the history of Furry Bambino Foster Academy to perform this stunt. Look at those Froot Bats on him!!

Redecorating is another Special Skill of Bart and Nadia.

All four Gymnasts were skilled climbers. Nadia demonstrates her talents on our cat tree in the fambly room.

Not to be outdone, Bart applies his climbing skills to our screen door in the fambly room.

They especially liked to climb people! That’s Bart on Mom’s hip.

This is Vitaly on Dad’s leg.

Nadia really liked to sit on Dad’s shoulder.

Or the back of Mom’s neck.

Wonder how she got there? Here’s how.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HehSRp0lllo

The past few evenings Mom and Dad let Nadia and Bart mingle with us Furry Bambinos. I had a great time chasing them all over the house. I am embarrassed to admit that we had to take turns chasing them – they wore us out! Also, I had to tell Bart to stay away from MY prey – I don’t share my kills. Nadia is sitting behind me with her high beams on.

As you can see, Nadia … (photo taken by Mom’s friend Zhou Zhou)

… and Bart liked to do everything together. They will get to spend their lives together!

Next time, we’ll tell you about our new students at the Academy!

As Headmaster of Furry Bambino Foster Academy (FBFA), it is my pleasure to introduce our first SQUEE-worthy class of Kitten Season 2011! Here, they are practicing their Itteh Bitteh Kitteh Nap Pile Committeh! Clockwise, from top: Nadia (grey tabby female), Lilia (Lynx Seal-point Siamese female), Bart (house panther), and Vitaly (Lynx Chocolate-point Siamese male).

The Gymnasts joined us here at the Academy on Wednesday, April 13. Guidance Counselor Panda Bear welcomed the bebbehs to FBFA.

They were eager to get out of the PTU and check out their dorm room!

We estimate that they were six weeks old at that time, so they are about 8 weeks old now. They had been found in a box on a porch in Cleveland. They are all in relatively good health. Three of the four have umbilical hernias which will be repaired when they have their ladygardenectomy or hoohaectomy surgery.

Lilia …

and Vitaly …

have already been “pre-adopted”. PAWS (the rescue organization with which FBFA is affiliated) has a very firm rule that all animals must have had their ladygardenectomy or hoohaectomy before they can go to their Furrever Home. Lilia and Vitaly are scheduled for their surgeries next Tuesday, May 3.

Nadia (grey kitteh with pretty grey stripes) and Bart (house panther kitteh) …

are scheduled for May 20. Bart has a slight heart murmur, and the V-E-T wanted to give him some more time hoping that he would outgrow it.

In case you were wondering why Mom named the kittens for famous gymnasts, see the following series of photos. Bart begins his climb with a flying leap to Mom’s knee, then shimmies up her leg, digging in his claws for traction.

Next, Bart is seen clinging to Mom’s hip before he begins his final climb to the top.

Bart on Mom’s back – climbing Mount Ve-Sue-vius.

Bart is pleased with himself for reaching the peak – Mom’s shoulder.

(Mom trims the bebbehs nails every few days because they grow back pretty fast.)

Mom is taking Nadia and Bart to an adoption event at our local PetSmart today. Hopefully, they will get “pre-adopted” too!

P.P.S. Double bonus points if you can SPELL the last names correctly!  

As regular readers know, all of us Furry Bambinos are former foster kittehs. Padre, my biological sister Meerkat, and I were adopted in October 2007.  Cookie and Caramel were Mom and Dad’s first attempt at fostering in 2009. They joined the fambly, but since then we have had lots of fosters come and go.

I, Panda Bear, am the President of the Furry Bambino Welcoming Committeh. I am the first Bambino to befriend the fosters. Caramel and Cookie are next to accept the newbies. Meerkat is always LAST to accept the fosters. Usually, she bops them on the head and gives them a hiss. Padre, big ManCat that he is, is usually AFRAID of these pipsqueak fosters, so he avoids them.

The fosters LOVE me. Srsly, they do. Why wouldn’t they? The second I walk into the foster room, I get swarmed by itteh bitteh kittehs. Here, I am teaching the tots how to get your nip on. That’s Sunny, Sky, and Hunter observing closely.

They watch my every move. That’s Silver, Sunny, Hunter, and Sky.

Here I am trying to enjoy a good look out the front window, while standing on the bar stool. That’s Hunter paying homage to me.

Dad even made a short film, depicting my groupies in action.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hIINXGZ3m5s

Honestly, ya’d think I was Justin Bieber or something.

After so many chatty posts about Mama Rose and her babies, I thought I would let the photos tell more of the story this time. The little brown tabby is Woody, and the orinch tabby in the litter box is Rusty. Sky (grey tabby) and Marigold (calico) are pictured later.

Sniff sniff …

“Hey, what are you doing back there?”

“I’m not quite done yet …”

“Do you mind?! I’d like some privacy!”

“Thank Bast, he left me alone!”

“He’s back …” Sigh … scratch scratch scratch …

Sniff sniff … scratch scratch scratch …

Sniff sniff …

Woody: “What would Rusty do without me?”

“Sky, cut it out!!!  Don’t you start in on me too!”

Yeah, brothers can be really annoying! Next time, Panda Bear is going to tell you about getting to meet the bebbehs in purrson!

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!

When my current kittens Boo and Shadow got really sick during the July 4th weekend, I had to drive 30 miles across town to take them to an emergency clinic that was open.

“We demand to be let out of here!”

At the clinic, Boo and Shadow were given massive amounts of sub-Q (subcutaneous, i.e., under the skin) fluids to help with their dehydration.  Boo was given an injection of chlorpromazine, an antiemetic, since she could not keep anything down. I was given two different liquid meds to take home and give to the girls.

Boo doesn’t feel so good

Shadow doesn’t feel good either

One of the meds was Panacur – a really potent dewormer to get rid of the parasites the little girls had. The regular medicine we use for deworming is Strongid, and it was just not cutting it this season. Panacur is given as one dose for three days – and by the third day, really sick kittens who are refusing to eat have perked up and are doing much, much better.

Empty Dishes!

I was given a pretty full bottle of Panacur, which meant there would be a lot left over since I was only going to use 3 mL total. When you volunteer in animal rescue, funds are tight, and we are careful with everything that costs money. Like meds.

Which brings me to my first drug deal.

Two weeks later, both kittens were healthy, and I had a lot of Panacur left over. I got a call that there were other sick kittens that needed a dewormer, and the decision was made to give Panacur rather than Strongid.

So I agreed to meet another volunteer in an empty parking lot to give her the bottle. I was excited about my first drug deal!  The deal took place after dark, in a seedy part of town, and with the sound of police sirens in the distance.

OK, the deal actually transpired in broad daylight.

And seedy part of town? Well, we were in the parking lot of Saks Fifth Avenue at Beachwood Mall, in one of the most expensive Cleveland suburbs.

As far as police go, there was mall security patrolling the area in their SUV’s.

We were ignored.

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!

we all had a lot of fun, and perhaps a few of us overdid the partying.  not mentioning any names, but their initials are Padre.  he wound up completely trashed, as evidenced by this photo.  some cats just can’t hold their nip!

although i personally could not care less about about the apostles living upstairs behind the closed door, i know that many of you wanted to meet them, so we had sniffing opportunities for you.  the apostles even got into the party spirit.  that’s Joann with her itteh bitteh mouth open, and that’s Mark with the boa draped over him.  (Mom says this photo of Joann reminds her of the “Frances” the bear children’s stories by Russell and Lillian Hoban.  she says if you never read them as a kid, they are wonderful. go to the library or bookstore immediately.)

Matthew had fun batting the lamp cord around.

Luke had fun playing with a toy mouse, practicing his hunting skills …

… then napped in Mommy’s lap.

Panda Bear got all mellow and showed us his belly furs while resting on his Gizzy quilt.

that’s probably because he enjoyed a few of these first.  he says it was only water …

Cookie likes to climb the dining room chairs when playing.  Daddy calls her Teenage Mutant Ninja Cookie when she gets like this.  you can see the flame mark on her forehead very clearly in this photo.

caramel tried to play hide and seek, but she seemed to misunderstand the hide part.  kittens!  by the way, check out the floof on her tail!  she is becoming floofier every day.

and i had a great time playing with the trackball toy.  i just love it!

thanks again to all of you for stopping by and for the well wishes!

i’m supposed to tell you to check back soon, as dad is working on some movies of the bebbeh kittehs!