If My Cat Could Fly: LIVE ON AMAZON

Super excited to say I have another picture book out today, illustrated by the amazing Fabiana Farcas, who also illustrated A Fairy's Job.

This book is truly near and dear to my heart because, well, it features a cat. It could be my cat or it could be your cat, but I guarantee you, if a cat could fly, that cat would be into all sorts of mischief, the kind illustrated in this book, and other mischief I cannot even imagine.

Still, mischievous or not, isn't this cat adorable?

If My Cat Could Fly

Willow and Giles Update; Skittles too!

Kitty successes everywhere!

As I mentioned in my blog yesterday, I released Willow and Giles, but was worried they'd just disappear, especially Willow, who was really annoyed at her incarceration. But then I saw Willow later yesterday afternoon and again this morning, when I went outside to feed the cats. And bonus! Giles was with her this morning. No disappearing for a week like Buffy did! That's a huge success, right there.

And since we're updating on kitties, I should also mention that Skittles just hit another huge milestone in her road toward socialization. In addition to the bathroom, my front porch has become another spot where Skittles allows me to pet her. For months, we've followed a very specific set of rituals. The one in the bathroom and the one in the mornings, when I wake with Skittles on my bed, I've already detailed in previous posts. This latest ritual involves me arriving home from work and walking from the kitchen into the living room.

Skittles always meets me in the doorway between the kitchen and the dining room. She circles in front of me, darts a couple steps away, circles back, meows at me, then darts a few more steps away. She continues this ritual of back-and-forth as I slowly follow her toward the front door. Once she's assured I'm definitely following, she darts through the pet door onto the enclosed front porch. When I open the door and follow her, she meows at me from under the chair. I then have to move the chair out of the way, to reveal her beneath it so that I can pick her up. Some days, she will allow me to pick her up immediately. And some days, she makes me work for it, moving from under the chair to under the table, then once I've moved the table, darting behind a cat tree. Once I've moved the cat tree, though, she usually lets me pick her up.

We sometimes repeat this ritual in the mornings. Some days, I'll wake and discover that Skittles isn't on the bed with me, which usually means she's on the front porch. Typically, on these days, when I open the front door, I'll find Skittles relaxing on a cat tree, but only for a split second. The moment the door starts to open, she's down and under the chair, and thus our ritual begins again.

And so these rituals have continued, day after day, month after month, providing me several opportunities each day to further bond with Skittles. Which brings me to our latest milestone: when I went onto the front porch this morning, instead of jumping down to hide under the chair, Skittles stayed in her spot on the cat tree. She just let me go up to her and pet her a bunch, then walk away. No hiding under a chair this time around.

It's funny because I keep thinking that I've probably gotten as far as I'll get with her, in terms of trust. We'll go months without any change in behaviors and then suddenly, she'll make another huge leap forward. Today was that day. And I'm just overjoyed.

Another Feral Family

Just when I think I've finally managed to get the feral population, at least in my own backyard (and on the abandoned property next to me), under control, I am proven wrong. Again.

It's my own fault. Life got away from me. I managed to trap and spay Buffy, but never did catch Willow. And the next thing I know, there she is with two kittens. And one of those kittens, a tiny blonde who looked a lot like Buffy and Crookshanks, disappeared after only two sightings, before I could manage to trap her.

And so I had Willow and a little gray kitten to worry about. I started feeding the cats in one of my larger cat carriers. And shockingly, managed to trap, first Willow, and then the gray kitten, without any trouble at all. Willow wanted nothing to do with me. Hissing and growling and generally acting like the feral cat she is, it was a challenge to give her fresh food and water over the long, holiday weekend.

The kitten on the other hand, was a bit subdued and allowed me to pet him/her on a couple occasions.

I took the two into the Humane Society first thing Tues. morning and paid for TNR packages on both. This is where I always have my dilemma. Do I beg for space for the kitten, who is definitely young enough to be socialized?

This kitten is so young, in fact, I don't believe he's even hit that magic age the Humane Society and other rescue organizations put such stock in. The reality is that kittens can be tamed well past that supposed 8-10 week magic cut-off date - as seen with both Skittles and Buffy. It simply takes time and patience, something most rescue organizations simply cannot afford to offer. They need to be able to move their incoming pets out as quickly as possible, to make room for the other homeless animals coming in.

I've seen too many kittens become cats in cages, waiting for that forever home. It's so difficult to know what to do. The kitten is happy with his mama in my backyard, roaming free. His life will undoubtedly be harder and shorter because he's not an indoor cat, but can I claim that his life in a cage in a shelter would be any better? The dilemma is one I hate having to even contemplate.

The Humane Society makes it easy for me, telling me they have no room to take in this kitten, whom they've determined is a male. And so I bring Willow and her kitten, whom I've named Giles, home with me. I keep them in their cat carriers, feeding them, bonding with the kitten, while the mother ignores me, hisses at me, growls and swats at me, watches me in fear.

And finally today, desperate to give Willow her freedom, to end her torture at being locked up, and knowing I've done the best I can to give her time to recover from her surgery, I carry both carriers out and set both cat and kitten free.

Now to wait and see if Willow will ever trust me again. If Giles will continue to let me pet him, now that he is free to roam the neighborhood once more.

Buffy, the Friendliest Feral

The weather's finally gotten warm enough where I can sit out on my back porch and write.  Buffy has continued to allow me to pet her and occasionally hold her.  On one memorable occasion, when it was snowing and she was quite wet, she allowed me to pick her up, carry her inside and dry her off with a towel before carrying her back out.

Today as I write this, she lounges against my leg, keeping me company.

Truly I'm blessed. Five wonderful cats inside and the amazing Buffy outside.

Since Skittles is now an inside cat (she shows zero interest in leaving the house and in fact, whenever I open an outside door, runs away), she has many more interactions with me on a daily basis than Buffy does, and yet is definitely harder to catch and nowhere near as willing to just relax and hang out with me - at least not unless she's out of arm's reach!  As a result, I have to say, Buffy may be edging Skittles out for the title of Friendliest Feral.

From Feral to Friendly

Remember my hope that Buffy would one day allow me to pet her?  Well, it's happened!  Over the past week, she's been doing that circling around thing that Skittles always does.  She circles right in front of me or to the side and rubs up against everything in her vicinity.  I know what she wants because it's what Skittles wants in those moments. The problem is neither cat is certain I can be trusted to give them exactly what they want (and that I'll let them go once I've given it to them), so they make me work for it.

I have to be calm and coaxing without pleading and yes, I have to be faster than the kitty.  Sometimes Buffy won't let me touch her at all (like I said - just like Skittles).  And sometimes she'll only let me reach under the feeder where she hangs out and pet the top of her head or scratch under her chin (this is a much more comfortable arrangement than the one Skittles initiated with me several months ago).

Today though was an amazing day.

Today, Buffy let me pick her up and hold her.  I honestly cannot believe how different she was when I grabbed her this time.  I expected to get scratched and bit again for my troubles, but instead, the minute I caught her, she started to purr - just like Skittles!  Of course, I couldn't hold her for very long, but long enough to warm my heart ... and to take a selfie. 

 
Of course, Buffy wasn't quite sure what to make of the photo op and moments after this photo was taken, she became a bit restless.  I made it a point to carefully set her down on the ground, rather than allowing her to escape.  I wanted her to start trusting that I would always let her go after holding her.  Biggest success?  After releasing her, she didn't run away, but instead happily began to eat her dinner.

Brave Little Buffy

Buffy is an absolute trooper.

She's started coming around and greeting me every day.  I go out to feed the cats in the mornings and I hear her meowing all the way to my backyard. Same thing when I pull into the driveway at night. She mostly hangs on the property next door, under the porch or in their detached garage but when she hears the swing of my backdoor or the sound of my car pulling into the driveway, she meows her way to my back patio.

She has the cutest little meow and I can't help but hope that one day she'll actually let me pet her.  Hey, it could happen!

The Release Phase

I released Buffy this morning.  It was so hard to do, but I did it anyway.  

I set the carrier outside on the ground, facing the area where I feed her, to orient her.  I left the carrier closed for a minute so she could feel the breeze and possibly register where we were, then I opened the door.  She sat there for a minute and then she bolted.  It'll probably be a while before I see her again.  She'll try to keep out of my sights until she no longer remembers my audacity in grabbing her like I did.

My brain knows this is best for her.  She won't be happy inside and I already have a full house of completely indoor cats and there just isn't room for one more.  Still my heart wants to keep her and work on socializing her. 

I keep telling myself I've done everything I possibly can to give her the best possible chance of survival.  I had her spayed and got her shots.  She's been dewormed and given flea meds. I'll continue to feed her and give her water, but she's just so little still.  They said five months at the Humane Society, which according to most rescue organizations is past the age of socialization.

Five months in kitten-world though is still little, and I'm thinking she's fairly small for her age as well.  I just hope she makes it through the winter. I'm not the right person to do this whole TNR thing (Trap-Neuter-Release), at least with kittens. When they're full-grown adults, it's not a problem for me. But when they're kittens, I feel so cruel not investing the time to socialize them because I know from personal experience that it's not about the age of the kitten.  It's simply about the patience and effort you're willing to invest in the process of socializing them.

Buffy the Feral Kitten

It's a regular kitten parade over at my house.  I dropped off two of the kittens I've been fostering to a shelter last Saturday (they'll be taking the third kitten this Saturday) and discovered at least one kitten running around my property the very next day.  She's blonde and adorable, but quite fierce and so I named her Buffy.

No matter how often I do this - rescue kittens from wherever I find them (feral and not) - I just never seem to get it right.  Sure I should have set out a trap and sure I logically know that the ole snatch-and-grab is never a good plan when dealing with ferals, but when opportunity presented itself this morning, I just couldn't resist.

On the plus side, I was wearing gloves, so they mostly protected me.  I was absolutely shocked when Buffy came right up and ate the food as I set it out rather than waiting as usual for me to walk away.  Since she approached unexpectedly, I went ahead and went for it.  Needless to say, when I grabbed her, she went insane, snapping and biting at me.  Somehow I managed to keep hold of her though and got her into the house and into a carrier, but it was touch-and-go for a minute.  She did not like the turn of events.

I have a kitten who will be spayed in the morning though, a kitten who was absolutely destined to drop litters in my backyard for the next ten years, which would involve those kittens dropping more litters, so all things considered, today was a rousing success.

After getting Buffy into the carrier, I immediately took her to the Humane Society.  I was hoping they would agree to find a home for her, but was told she was already too old for socialization. Of course, I know this isn't really true - after all, I've managed to socialize Skittles who was on her own for the entire first year of her life. It just takes patience and a lot of calm, caring, soothing effort. 

I completely understand why this is the Humane Society's stance though. Some kittens are easier to socialize than others, but bottom line, shelters have to focus on helping those they truly believe they can adopt out and a feral kitten is always a long shot.  So, though it broke my heart, I requested the feral package, which involved spaying her, giving her shots and tipping her ear.

I'll pick her up tomorrow, keep her for the weekend to ensure she recovers well from the surgery, and then I'll release her once more to the wilds of my backyard.  I absolutely support the efforts and theories behind TNR (Trap-Neuter-Release) programs, but the release part is always the hardest to manage for me.  If I could find homes for all of the homeless cats in the world, I would. Still, little Buffy with her sharp teeth and wicked claws should be fine to defend herself.  I'll feed her and make sure she has water and shelter and she'll undoubtedly love her outdoor life, for however long it lasts.

Kitten Update

No luck finding anyone who claims the kittens.  A neighbor near where I found them told told me that the kittens were born outside and that the local kids (I found the kittens right in front of an elementary school) play with them, but that no one actually owns them.  This would explain why they're so friendly! Most kittens born outside aren't as friendly as these (most aren't friendly at all!) In any case, this means I definitely need homes for these babies.

I've contacted local shelters and one has promised to take them as soon as they have space.  In the meantime, I'll continue fostering and falling in love with the darlings more every day.  If anyone wants a kitten, you know where to find me!

Update 11/15/14:  A local shelter has taken the three kittens and promised to work hard to find them forever homes. It was hard to hand them over, but with a full house, I just couldn't keep them indefinitely, though I desperately wanted to!  I miss the little darlings already.

Kittens Kittens Kittens

I rescued three kittens this morning.  They were playing on a busy street, running out in front of traffic, generally freaking me out.  I expected them to run from me when I pulled over and went to get them, but these kittens were completely socialized.  So, of course, I spent time trying to find their owners.  No one knew who they belonged to and they were playing right in front of an abandoned house so I fear they were left behind.

They had no collar and they were clearly without any common sense (running in front of traffic!)  Also, there was no mother in sight.  I went ahead and took them home, but will continue trying to find out if they have a family. Once I'm sure no one's missing some kittens, I'll be contacting shelters, in the hopes that someone can take them. If anyone needs some kitten-love in their life, let me know.

They're absolutely adorable and over-the-top loving.

Another Skittles Anniversary

It's been two years since Skittles joined my household and in that time she has managed to squirm her skittish way into my heart.  She's probably the smallest cat I've ever owned, as she is still able, at three years of age, to scoot beneath my bed with its mere three and a half inch gap between it and the floor. This is her safe spot, the place she will retreat to when feeling threatened.  When visitors are in the house, when I have unexpectedly managed to scoop her up and pet her into purring submission then finally released her from the hellish bliss of my affection, this is where she will retreat to.

In the beginning, she would retreat to this space and would not emerge until the visitors had been gone for hours or until I had left the house after subjecting her to the trauma of being loved.  Over the past year, the time she would spend beneath the bed has shortened, until lately, her retreats coincide with the hours a visitor is in my house.  Within moments of that visitor leaving, she will emerge, happy to be part of the household once more.  

Lately, she has not even retreated to her safe spot after being held.  Instead she has simply shaken off the manhandling and watched me warily from across the room, uncertain whether I will attempt to ruffle her dignity again.

I wonder where another year will take us.  This process has been so slow, earning her trust.  When I sometimes get impatient, I remind myself that one year ago, her claws would come out every time I touched her and two years ago, she hid from me pretty much 24/7.  I have this fantasy where one day, out of nowhere, Skittles will just jump up onto my lap and nudge my hand, ready for some attention.  It could happen.  So long as she's with me, I'll hold out hope, and even if it takes another ten years, that's all right because in the end, my sweet, skittish, little Skittles is definitely worth it.

On Skittles' Terms

Skittles has identified one specific spot in the house where she will allow petting to occur.  Any petting outside this zone is strictly prohibited (though I have been known upon occasion to break these rules).

Of course, the area she has chosen is perhaps the most annoying one in my entire household, as it happens to be any spot within arm’s length of the toilet IF I am seated upon it.  She’s figured out this is a place of vulnerability for me.  I will not move quickly from this spot, which gives her ample opportunity to flee if she perceives an attempt to pick her up is imminent.

She loves being pet and will purr ferociously when I stroke between her ears or beneath her chin, but in the perverse nature of all cats everywhere, she is unwilling to endure that which she loves unless it is on her own terms.  Thus, when I’m on the toilet, no matter where she was in the house when I headed for the bathroom, Skittles will always show up. 

She enjoys pacing in a large circle at my side, moving from almost close enough to snatch up to outside arm’s length.  She loves for me to catch her tail in a gentle hold at its base and then allow it to slide from my grasp as she circles away.  As the tip of her tail escapes my hand, she invariably circles back, tilting her chin toward me, inviting me to stroke her there as well. She’ll stand still for a few seconds, allowing me to pet and stroke her head and chin, then will slowly move beneath my hand until her tail is once more within my reach and the cycle begins again.

We’ll repeat this strange ritual multiple times until her need for contact has been appeased and she strolls leisurely away.

Over time, she has circled closer and closer and lingered longer and longer, for more extensive petting.  Over time, she has even occasionally ventured close enough for me to snatch her up and hold her in my arms.  In the early days, her claws would immediately extend and she would struggle to escape. I would use towels to capture her when I could, just to protect myself from though wayward claws. Though I should mention that her struggles were never aggressive in nature. She was struggling to get down, but not attacking me. Any scratches I received were purely inadvertent results of her desire to escape.  In later months, towels and blankets were no longer needed for protection.  Instead, she would simply freeze upon capture, claws fully sheathed. It would take long moments of constant stroking and attention for her to begin purring again.

Now, after many months of negotiating how and when she’ll be pet and held, I’m finally able to sit upon the closed toilet to engage in our petting ritual.  And though she still tries to flee when sensing imminent capture, Skittles now purrs the moment that capture becomes fact. 

And because I must work so very hard for her affection and her time, Skittles’ every purr, every head butt, every tail slide brightens and enriches my world. 

As we continue negotiating the parameters of our relationship, I slide ever deeper into love.

A Cat's Toothbrush

Mama Dru loves to play with the various cat toys around the house. She attacks and “captures” her toy, then stalks around the house with it in her mouth, announcing her achievement. She woke me up with her howls of success this morning, leaping onto the bed with her latest capture dangling from her mouth. It was my toothbrush.

My First Anniversary with Skittles

It’s close to a year since Skittles joined my household and I no longer wonder whether I made the right choice in adopting her.  There are those who would say that I should have left her to live her life outside, a feral kitten I once failed to rescue.  That the most I could hope to accomplish for her was providing her with food, water and shelter. 

I couldn't do it though.  Perhaps it was the guilt, that I had rescued her mom and sister, adopting them into my home, but had failed to capture her.  That eight months had passed before I managed to trap her and by then she was fully wild, a teen mom with three kittens to protect.  That I had separated her from her babies, giving them over to The Animal Rescue Alliance.  That T.A.R.A. had found homes for the kittens while Skittles was deemed unadoptable due to her feral nature.  The sweet spot of rescue before eight weeks had long since passed. 

Despite all of this, Skittles was not unadoptable to me.  I had fallen in love with her long before I managed to trap her.

And every day, as she acclimates more to my household, as she finds her courage to allow me to pet her, as she purrs for me and scoots closer to me on the bed each night, I know that I have made the right decision.  Here in this household, she has shelter and food and water, but beyond those basics, she has the peace and safety of a home where she doesn't have to fight each day simply to survive.

Sure, she's still a ball of skittish behavior, but who knows what another year will do for her or for her relationships with me and the rest of the Culey Crew.  I can't wait to find out.

Pumpkin Latte adopted!

Pumpkin Latte has been adopted!

If you remember, PL was the tiny abandoned kitten, no siblings or mom in evidence who hung out on my front porch last October, meowing at Mama Dru to let him in, then settling quite happy in my arms once allowed inside:



Look how tiny he was!
 
Well, Pumpkin Latte is all grown up now.  Check him out in his new forever home with his adoptive sister, Kristin. 

So happy for this sweet boy.

Pumpkin Latte up for Adoption

Pumpkin Latte is now officially up for adoption with TARA (The Animal Rescue Alliance).  He is so incredibly sweet and adorable.  My niece, J, is particularly enamored of him.  “He’s so soft,” she crooned.  “I want to hold him forever!”

He purred and purred and purred for us.  I want him, just like I want Moon and Midnight.  I consider them to be my babies, and it kills me that they haven’t been adopted yet. They are absolutely gorgeous and yet…. nothing so far.

I know the perfect families are out there for each of them.  We just have to wait until they find us.

Socializing Skittles

Merry Christmas to the Cat Crew!

Skittles has made me very happy over the past month.  She continues to occasionally sleep with me and even allows me to pet her sometimes when I wake up.  I have to remain very still and slowly, s-l-o-w-l-y roll over, then carefully inch out my hand to gently pet her. She is always at the foot of the bed, which involves very slow contortions on my part to be able to reach her. If I sit up or lift my head up off the bed too far, it’s all over and she bolts.

Some days she bolts before I can make contact. Some days, I’m able to make contact and to pet her maybe two or three times… and then she bolts. And some days, I’m able to really spend time petting her.  Until she bolts of course. Always, always, invariably, I do something that causes her to flee. It’s just a question of how long I can hold out before my innate human nature gets the best of me.

Next week, I’ll be getting ready to go out of town for a week. I worry that my lack of presence here will set Skittles’ back in terms of her socialization. I hope not, but it’s hard to predict how animals will react. I can only hope that she will be so happy to see me return, she will actually become a lap kitty out of sheer joy.  It could happen.

Integrating Skittles

Skittles has been with us four months now.  I’m attempting to integrate the entire household, which means that Skittles, Pebbles, Mama Dru, Jake and Boo are all being put to the test. Can they possibly get along with each other?

Skittles is absolutely the most easygoing of them all when it comes to getting along with other cats.  She will play with Boo, play by herself, curl up with Mama or Pebbles and generally get along with any of them.  Mama is the exact opposite and as a result, often has to be locked up in the back bedroom because of aggressive behavior toward Boo or Jake.

Skittles still does not trust me and hisses when I move too fast or get too close or startle her. However, we have made some definite progress. Every once in a while, I’ll wake up in the morning and realize that Mama Dru, Pebbles and Skittles are all on the bed with me. Skittles will usually be at the foot of the bed and not touching me at all, but she’s in close proximity and it’s a huge step forward.  Of course, she immediately jumps down the second she realizes that I’ve awakened.

I still have not had the opportunity to pet her.  I miss it and often wish that I had kept her locked up for longer.  It’s hard to know the best choice in these situations. Would she have been better off if I’d followed the recommendation and simply left her released after trapping and spaying her?  I absolutely don’t think so, but some people might consider that I’ve been cruel to keep her inside when she spent her entire first year living outside and most of that year, on her own. Would we be further along if I’d kept her locked up in the back bedroom all of this time?  Forcing her to interact with me twice a day until all those breakthroughs I’m still waiting for happened?  Maybe. But she was alone most of the day and in a small bedroom besides. It seemed endlessly cruel.

I cannot help but second guess all of my decisions because that’s the kind of person I am. In the end, I console myself with the knowledge that, right or wrong, Skittles’ life has definitely been changed for the better - she’s safer at the very least - due in part to the choices that I have made.

Casa de Cats

So apparently my house is breeding ground zero for KCK because once again, I have found myself trying to trap the most adorable little kitten EVER.  I realize I say that about every kitten I’ve rescued so far, but truly, they’re all just so CUTE!

This kitten is tiny, with no evidence of any mommy or siblings around. I’m amazed he’s survived. He’s been hanging out under my porch and the porch next door and last night, he was actually hanging out at the top of my stairs, meowing at my kitties on the porch.  It was sooo cute.  He was begging to be let in.  So… I camped out in front of the door with some food. Cracked the door a bit and waited for him to come in. As soon as he was inside, I closed the door, and …

Exploding Terrified Kitten.

Of course, I expected this and therefore had my hoodie ready and waiting. I gently covered him up and scooped him into my arms, petting, petting, petting and Terrified Kitten became Adorable Purring Machine.  SO. DARN. CUTE.

Now I just have to somehow convince T.A.R.A. that one more kitten is not too many.  Because really, in my household of five cats and one rabbit, one more kitten is DEFINITELY too many. But he’s so darn cute.  I wanna keep him, and who can blame me? Check out his utter cuteness:

[photo]

Mama Dru, let me in!


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Am I cute or what??

Updated 10/18/12: This cute boy is officially named Pumpkin Latte and T.A.R.A. has agreed to find him a forever home.

A Cat Rescue Story

My students have been asking me for several weeks to tell them the entire story, from start to finish, of the cats I’ve rescued over the past year.  I keep putting them off, mostly because … who has the time with all the standards to meet?

As my days in the classroom are coming to a close though (I've accepted a teacher leadership position at my district's central office), I decided to go ahead and create the story they’ve been asking for.

This video was created for my fabulous students using iMovie.  The collages were created using the app PicCollage.

And so… without further ado…

A Cat Rescue Story

If the video doesn't work here, click the link to watch it on YouTube:  A Cat Rescue Story.  Enjoy!