This story begins with the adoption of one of our long term fosters, Jolene. You see, Jolene was a perfect angel baby and a dream for any adopters except that she HATED other cats. She hated sharing a space with them SO much that it gave her pee-pee problems. To do Jolene justice, we halted intakes so we could focus on finding our "particularly fond of humans AND NO ONE ELSE" princess the perfect home. Our patience paid off, and she was adopted into the most wonderful home where she can be the ONLY love of her human's lives. I swore to my husband before Jolene was adopted that I would take a break from fostering for the holidays, but guess what happened?
The MOTLEY CREW is what! As I was processing Jolene's adoption I was also simultaneously processing the new kittens' intake. Talk about multitasking!
These kittens came from an area of California know as the "High Desert" because of it's high altitude and harsh environment. It's SCORCHING in the summer and FREEZING in the winter.. not a good place for outdoor kitties to be! Resources for animal care are also notoriously terrible in this region including a lack of access to affordable spay and neuter. So when it was time to get mama spayed, the appointment was just a LITTLE too far out so in the middle of October BAM! Babies happened. Their caregiver brought the family inside and once they were weaned, started trying to find a way for them out of the High Desert and into a rescue that had better access to resources.
Jolene was adopted at the perfect time to do an intake RIGHT before Christmas. I take great pride in naming my fosters but as a Christmas gift to my siblings, I let each of them name a kitten instead. There were 5 in the litter so it was perfect!
My sister-in-law, Chelsey, named the tortoiseshell girl Artemis after the greek goddess of the hunt. Artemis is confident, outgoing, chaotically playful and always seeking attention. She's the first one to greet you, the first one to try and slip out of the fostering enclosure to follow you on adventures, and the first one to curl up in your lap after a mighty play session. She also has the most THUNDEROUS purr that you can hear from across the room. When this girl feels things she feels them in a BIG way! She's a wild child, but also a snuggler and we love her for her multi-faceted and beautiful personality.
My brother-in-law, CJ, named the behemoth of a black boy Kevin Malone after the character from the TV show The Office. Kevin earned his name when I sent a video of him screaming while he took a dump in the litter box to my brother-in-law. Kevin is a BRUISER and was clocking in at 3lbs at 2 months old. He's going to be HUGE. A literal house panther. Kevin can initially be a bit awkward when meeting new people, but with his goofy personality and passion for snuggles he warms up quickly. Kevin has the tiniest, high pitched, squeak of a meow that sounds ridiculous escaping his GIANT kitten body. He's a boy that is always first (and last) one at the food bowl with an appetite so big he's basically a garbage disposal. Big in all the ways, with a tender soft heart, this guy will be ready to crush your ribs with deep pressure therapy for the rest of his life.
My sister, Chessie, named our sweet "classic" calico girl Miss Marbles because of the beautiful swirling pattern of her fur. Miss Marbles is a beauty queen princess through a through. She loves spying down on her kingdom from the highest perch. Before my husband installed ramps in the enclosure, she would constantly get stuck on top of the double stacked kennels and scream to be rescued... even if I had literally just rescued her 30 seconds before. She loves taking naps in her dome bed on the tallest tower, because a girl needs her beauty rest. She's SO good for nail trims because obviously all proper royal ladies must have the perfect mani/pedi. Really the only thing she doesn't excel at is taking yucky medicine because who would ever want to do that? For every dose of dewormer she gave 0 stars and a lot of slobber. She's well mannered, sweet, gentle and all around the perfect calm companion for anyone who wants to be an adoring peasant to this little lady.
My husband (and Foster Dad), Daniel, named our "incognito calico" girl Sylvanas Windrunner after his favorite epic character from the video game Warcraft, but we call her "Sylvie" for short. Sylvie is a smart, quiet, reserved, observant girl who likes to assess the situation/human before jumping in. While initially she can come off as aloof and calculated when first meeting new people, once she decides you are a trustworthy ally she cannot stop herself from falling head over heals with you while giving the biggest happy tail quivers. Sylvie was the kitten from this litter that stole my heart because she didn't just hand over her affection blindly, like her sister Artemis, but really thought about it and made me work for it. We call Sylvie an "incognito calico" because when you take photos looking at her head on, she just looks like she's black and white. Much like her personality, it's only when seeing her in her entirety that you are able to fully grasp what a beautiful soul she is.
Last, but not least, we have my orange boy, Unexpected Cheddar, named after a brand of cheese from Trader Joes. I named him Unexpected Cheddar because he was just that, UNEXPECTED. He was part of the original litter, but one of the finder's brother's friends was going to adopt him. However, when it donned on this young man how much vetting Cheddar was going to cost, he changed his mind and Cheddar joined the rest of his siblings a few days later at Tabby Nation Headquarters. Cheddar has many names, the most common one being CHEESE!! We usually shout this at him when he's having particularly intrusive thoughts and causing trouble. Cheddar is a true social chameleon and can fit in and be friends with just about anyone.. cat, dog, kid human or adult human! His main obsession is wand toys and he will literally play tug and growl trying to get you to let go so he can carry it off into some corner to finish it off. He's for sure a favorite of ours!
We're very much looking forward to getting these guys vetted and shipped off to wonderful homes. It's been a delight to have them in The Temple of the 9 Lives (what we call our fostering enclosure) and they may be my favorite kittens I've ever fostered with Tabby Nation so far! Thanks to Rika for caring for, socializing, networking and transporting this crew to us. We're glad you were willing to help!
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