Adventures and Kitties (amongst other creatures..)

Well, I survived a month in Costa Rica, getting sick soon after returning home, some last minute photo gigs, and the Christmas rush of family and friends!

I also survived a whole month without my boyfriend and, of course, the subjects of this blog, my KITTIES!  I'm sure they missed me, but true to cat nature, they were pretty nonchalant about my arrival home:p

We've all settled back into our routine of cuddles, napping and playtime.  Fluffy and Dan bonded a lot more while I was away, which is great:)  She's as comfortable with him now as she is with me, which gives me hope that she'll be able to warm up to other people as time goes on.  She LOVES being brushed, which is awesome, and we have daily brush time.  She also sat on my lap (for a few minutes) for the first time the other day!!

Danger also loves the brush.  Honestly it's the first time in my life that I've had long-haired cats who like to be brushed...makes things SO much easier!  I need to bring her (and complainy Stitches) into the vet for nail trims very soon though, probably this weekend.  The kittens are no problem...I trim their nails when they are sleepy and Yin actually purrs the whole time:)  She's turning into a little cuddle kitty! 

Danger is still either "on" or "off", but is getting more affectionate and often purrs herself to sleep, which is super adorable.  Her and Stitches are cuddle buddies, as you can see from one of the pics below:)  Danger's latest thing is to grab Stitches head in both her paws, and kiss his forehead!  I NEED to get this on film soon:)

Belly rubs for the "feral" cat?  YES!!

She's still a Mom :)

Yin, stalking the coffee maker as it was brewing.  She looks like a mini panther now!

Cuddle fest!!  I was on the cushion beside them:)

Sisterly LOVE :D

Stitches and Danger cuddles!  My heart nearly burst watching them snuggle together...I love them all so much!!!!!!

While I was in Costa Rica, I had the privilege to stay with my friend and also help her with her animal rescue!  She founded Nosara Animal Care around 6 years ago, and is making a huge difference in both her community and nearby villages where the people don't have access to proper vet care or education in animal wellbeing.  I assisted during a spay/neuter clinic in a very poor village, helping the animals recover after surgery and providing flea/tick treatments and general care.  Some of the people were so poor they couldn't even afford the minimal cost, so the surgeries were done for them as no cost.  It's more important for NAC to help the animals and educate the people, teaching them to take proper care of their pets. It was an amazing experience!  

While I was staying with her, she had both a couple of kittens and an older malnourished and neglected doggie dropped off for rescue/rehabilitation.  I was happy to help take care of them while I was there, and I also learned about her process in helping these poor neglected animals.  Within a week, the older dog, Zion, was walking better and starting to feel good..by the time I left her place (I was with her for about 2 weeks) we took him for a walk to the beach and he had a great time!  I've included some pics below of the clinic day and the rescue animals:)

Little kitten babies!  Brought to NAC in a box, bellies hungry and full of worms.  They hung out with me the whole time I stayed in Nosara:D  Now they're super healthy and looking for a home!!

Zion, the day he was dropped off.  He was living at a local pizza place, surviving on scraps.  Covered head to toe in ticks, his nails giant and paws cracked and bleeding.  Lacking muscle mass in his hind end and severely anemic from the ticks. 

  
You can check out http://www.facebook.com/NACCostaRica?fref=ts
for more recent pictures of the kittens and Zion, who is now SO much healthier and up for adoption :)

Below are a couple pics from the Spay/Neuter day.  You can see more, and help with NAC's efforts by donating or helping spread the word about the amazing work they are doing.  We have an Indiegogo campaign going on right now
http://www.indiegogo.com/NosaraAnimalCare

Me, watching over a recovering patient.  While they are waking up, we trim nails, clean ears,  and give them flea and tick treatments.

A local family brings their two dogs for spay/neutering. 

Another villager watches over his dogs as they recover from surgery.  

Again, it was an amazing experience to be able to help out!  Not only that, but I had a fabulous time just being in Costa Rica.  My friend lives in an area that's pretty much surrounded by jungle, we get around via ATV, and the beach is close by.  Those howler monkeys woke me up every morning!  The community is really friendly too:)  I also spent a week in an all-inclusive resort (had to spoil myself!) and a few days in San Jose.  I traveled around using local buses, met a bunch of awesome people through my friend, and all-in-all had a grand adventure!

Glad to be home though:)  But I still think about all the animals I saw out there and how much help they need, which is why I'm dedicated to staying an active participant in helping NAC, by spreading the word about their good work.  I also plan to do a fundraiser art show early next year for them, so stay tuned!!

Kitties all around me...

Kittens are six months old today!! 

They are still VERY playful and mischievous, and their personalities are shining through more than ever. 

Danger has two modes: on and off.  There is no in-between with her:p  When she's "off", she is so adorable in that if anyone (other cats or humans) interrupt her sleep, she whines and complains!  She still loves playing with receipts, and often attacks walls with great triumph.  She's not a big cuddler, though she enjoys pets and purrs often when wanting attention.  This attention mostly consists of wanting to be played with when she's awake, otherwise known as "on" mode.  She'll purr while playing:)

Danger was whining here, because Fluffy wanted to play.  Hehee!

Yin is turning into a big cuddly purr ball:)  She plays a lot, for sure, but she often comes and snuggles in between us in the evenings while we're watching stuff on TV.  When she's sleepy, or even wide awake, she'll start purring at the slightest touch.  Sometimes, when she's sleeping, I'll go up to her and whisper "I love you" in her ear...and she'll start purring:)

She loves sleeping on my clothes piles...good thing I leave a lot of them around!

Snuggling up:)

Yin and Stitches have come to a compromise recently about sleeping in my laundry basket.  Reminder:  don't leave clean clothes in the basket....

They kittens now have pretty much all of their adult teeth.  I'll be booking their spays soon...I'm leaving very soon for a 25 day excursion to Costa Rica, so will get their surgeries done when I'm back from that trip.  Then I'll have the proper time to see be here for their recovery:)

Fluffy, the "feral", has become quite the little attention diva!  Often she'll come between me and either Stitches or one of the kittens, wanting all the love for herself.  It's been so amazing to see her progression.  Six months ago, I couldn't get near her at all.  Now, we have daily cuddles and I can even brush her!  The other day I was even able to brush her belly:)  We were obviously meant to be together. 

We're a happy kitty household now:)

Feral, what feral?

Stitches and Fluffy cuddling last night.  This is the first time I've seen them so close:)  Fluffy rubs up against Stitches all the time, and they play together...but I've never seen them sleep together like this before! 

My "feral" Fluffy, who only 2 months ago wouldn't let anyone even touch her, snuggling beside me purring madly, even letting me pet her upper belly for the first time ever!  She's found her place with me:) 

The other morning...cleaning themselves and sniffing each other's butts.  A happy little kitty family:)  Stitches is totally an awesome step-dad!

Even though they have access to the whole house, more often then not I will find them all in the kitten room for "afternoon nap time".  I think it's very awesome that the kittens can still sleep in the spots where they were born and raised:)  Full of comfort and love!

Mother - Daughter snuggles and love:)  Danger and Fluffy sharing a moment.  Look how big Danger is now!  They turned 5 months old at the end of September.

Danger has inherited her mother's "why are you taking my picture" look:P  It's uncanny...

They don't even all FIT on here anymore, but they still try!  Sleeping on the little table where they used to nurse when they were 5-7 weeks old:)  Except now I can go up and pet ALL of them!

 

 

 

 

Yin likes to covet paper...WHOLE pieces of paper:p  It's helped keep the place tidy, since any important papers need to be put away!  Danger loves receipts and bus transfers.  Who needs fancy cat toys?  (I still buy them, though...)

Here's a cute one of Danger cleaning Yin, then playing:)  Notice the receipt on the floor behind them...another "toy":p


So, to conclude the post of pictures and videos, Fluffy is no longer an "untouchable" (she's even come out to see house guests if they aren't too loud!), and the kittens are getting huge and their personalities are becoming more defined:)  Yin is a purry cuddler, Danger is a purr machine but prefers to purr beside you or while playing.  Both are super active, and their teeth are almost done changing into adult teeth!  Yin is bolder with coming out to see new people, while Danger (despite her name) is shy with new people.  Though Danger is still the first to leap into trouble!

Cuteness overload!

So it's been awhile since my last post.  Life takes us in many directions, and lately mine has been kind of all over the place, and not directly in front of my blog page.

I've got a lot of cute photos to make up for the lack of updates, and I'm happy to say that everyone is is doing well, kittens are growing like weeds, and Fluffy is still happy with pets and scratches!

The gang, lounging.  It's what cats do best!

I was sick most of this week, and needed to take a nap.  Apparently this is what nap time looks like:p

Look how big Yin is compared to Stitches!  Growing like weeds...

Yin is quite the cuddle monkey:)  She also loves to burrow in between us!

Cuddling Danger!

Danger's favourite sleeping position:)

Stitches wanting to prove that this laundry basket (full of clean clothes, of course) is big enough for the two of them!

HELLO!!!

My morning greeting committee:)

And here is a couple of cute videos!

Yin and Danger LOVE playing with paper.  It's adorable, and yet now I have to remember that any important papers should be hidden away from their reach.  I gave Yin a blank sheet of paper earlier today in hopes of finally capturing on video her "coveting" of the paper.  She will run away with huge sheets in her mouth...sometimes not even being able to see where she's going:p  Hilariously adorable!

And Danger....getting cuddles while everyone else is having nap time:

Well I'm off to bed soon.  I have TONS of photo editing to do in the next few days, but will try and update again soon:)

Another successful vet visit!

I just got home with Yin and Danger from their last vaccine appointment before their spay surgeries (which will be in a month or two).

This time...they knew what being in the carrier meant, and put up QUITE the  fuss.  So much scratching at the door and banging around that I ended up calling a cab instead of taking the TTC!

Once we were in the cab, they started to settle down, though they were panting a bit:(  At the vet, they were little perfectly behaved angels, however.  Staying still for their exams and being brave about their needles.  Some really good news...Yin's knees are perfect now!  The vet felt them and they are both strong and stay in place, not luxating back and forth anymore.  Yay!!!  So now they are all up to date on vaccines, having received their last booster for FVRCP and their Rabies shot today.  This rabies vaccine lasts one year, then the next one they'll get (in a year) will last 3 years:)

Also, Danger's starting to get her adult canine teeth, and Yin has her adult incisors!  They're growing up so fast, lol...

Here's some recent pictures:

Beautiful Yin

Danger playing with a new toy last night:)

Stitches and Yin snuggling:)

Sister cuddles after a tough day of playing..

My morning greeting committee! 

Go TEAM!

Danger and Stitches are my morning purring kitties, and I got this little video of Danger still trying to keep purring while falling asleep beside me (I didn't wanna get up yet:p).  Make sure you have the volume turned up for this one:

So yes, that's all to report for now!  Fluffy is still warming up to us, and even coming to greet us at the door now:)  She still runs and hides from strangers (anyone except Dan or myself is considered such), but the progress she'd made is remarkable and I'm happy she's feeling so comfortable and at home now!

Purrs and Love

It's was a hectic weekend for me, so this week I've been taking a break (or at least trying to) from the laptop and social media.  Haven't been quite as successful as I wanted to be, but it has given me more time to strengthen my bond with Fluffy!

She gets pets and scratches every day now, and purrs all the time:D  The other night, while I was in the kitty room playing with her, Stitches and Danger, she even came up on the futon and laid next to me, with her head against my leg. 

So my little feral mom is slowly becoming a loving house cat.  It's been a slow process...almost 6 months of patience and building trust.  She's still skittish, and when company is over (especially louder people) she hides away.  But I'm really impressed and happy with her progress, and it makes me really happy that I decided to keep her as well as the kittens!

Here's a picture I took earlier today, followed by a video of morning cuddles before breakfast:

Not the best picture, but she was purring like crazy and I was scratching her head and chin:)

And now for some cute kitten pictures!  They're getting SO big!

Yin's looking out the window as I try and capture her wide-eyed expression!

Stitches full of love

This lounger ain't big enough for the two of us anymore!

Maybe if we sleep like this...

Danger and Stitches holding hands:)

Last, but not least, Danger playing!

Fluffy time!

Sorry it's been a while since my last post...I've been busy trying not to freak out about this big fundraising event I'm planning.  It's this Saturday!

In the meantime, Fluffy has started purring:)  In the morning and evening, during feeding time, she purrs now and rubs up against the walls, Stitches (he's tolerant of it) and EVEN my leg a couple times.  She purrs rather loudly...it's great. She's alot more comfortable being close to me, and the other night while I was watching stuff downstairs she even slept by my feet on the ottoman!

I really want to rub her belly!  Perhaps someday.  Amazing that she's become so comfortable near me:)

Soon after, Stitches decided he wanted to sleep on the ottoman too!  So Fluffy cuddled up:)

Later, Fluffy left and Danger hopped up to continue the Stitches cuddle-fest:)

I tried to take a video of Fluffy playing (which she does ALL the time!).  Of course she knew what I was doing so stopped:p  You can still get a good idea of her energy and comfort levels:

Ok well I must get back to trying not to have panic attacks about Saturday...if you're in Toronto and want to stop by for the art show or participate in the wine tasting, here's the details:

http://www.johnstonephotography.ca/

http://bit.ly/barcTO - at this site, you can scroll down to see pictures of some of the art that will be auctioned. 

Also, admission is FREE.  The only definite cost is if you want to do the wine tasting, and you save $10 by purchasing tix in advance:)

Of course I encourage as many donations to the charity as possible, made by the purchase of art pieces, baked goods etc...