Car Wash Kittens Ready for Adoption
It was six weeks ago that I captured the notorious Car Wash Gang, that fierce and tough-looking gang of kittens that was hiding out on the roof of an abandoned car wash building. The feral mama and daddy cats were trapped, spayed/neutered and returned, and they continue to reside there today. One of the kittens escaped capture and has not been seen since. It is possible that he was a victim of the great flood that occurred last month. Whitey, the tiny, sickly runt of the gang, died of pneumonia shortly after his capture. The remaining three kittens, all orange tabbies, have not only survived, but also progressed to the point that they are now ready for adoption.
Orange tabbies are usually male, but this litter is very special and unusual in that all three of the orange tabbies are female. These girls are sweeties and beauties and deserve a loving home. Now they are in need of just one more rescue, and I need your help in finding a great home for them. Contact information is at the bottom.
All these girls have been kept together indoors in a great foster home since their capture. Lately, however, I have been keeping them myself, and I must say that I am smitten. I love and adore these little girls. If my situation were different, I would love to adopt all three of these girls for myself, but I am already caring for three other cats and one dog, and some of these relationships are a little strained.
While all three are orange tabbies, each one looks a little different. One is dark colored, one is medium and one is light. The medium colored one is long haired, while the others are short haired. The dark colored one, which is the largest, has a high pitched voice, while the light colored one, which is the smallest, has a low raspy voice. The middle one's voice, as you might expect, is somewhere in between. All three voices are adorable.
In the original rescue story, I named all the kittens after notorious American gangsters. The orange tabbies, in order of capture, were named Bonnie, Babyface and Bugsy. Bonnie is the darkest colored one and is slightly larger than the others. Babyface is the light colored one, and Bugsy is the medium colored one with long hair. Hopefully, once they are adopted, they will each get a new, more suitable name, but for now and for the sake of consistency, I will continue to use those names.
The first day after they arrived at my house, they were understandably too cautious to come out of their carrier. They would come out to eat and play when I was not in the room, but otherwise stayed in the back of their carrier. Bonnie was the first to emerge and introduce herself to me. She is clearly comfortable around people. The others were more fearful and needed another day or two to allow me to get close to them. After that trial period, however, they warmed up to me beautifully and were very quickly cuddling together in my lap as in this picture below.
Bonnie
Bonnie is the most social of the three, and is quite the lap-cat. Every time I sit down, she immediately jumps on my lap like a magnet whether I want her there or not. Sometimes she doesn't stay long, but every time she sees my lap, she can't resist jumping into it. She also is the one most likely to groom the others. The picture below was taken while she was grooming Babyface on my lap. However, she can also be the most possessive when she catches her toy mouse. Sometimes she may growl at the others when they get too close to her 'kill.'
Babyface
I suspect that Babyface is going to be a great cuddle cat. One of the first times I had with her, she crawled onto my lap and into my arms where she relaxed, settled in and started purring. She purrs a good bit, even while eating. And when eating, she is a bit more refined and well-mannered than the others. She eats slowly and enjoys it. The others eat quickly and would eat hers too if I did not keep them away.
Bugsy
Bugsy is a passionate girl. She is passionate about playing, eating and sleeping. Mostly, however, she is a purr-meister. She purrs loud, and she purrs often. She purrs when she eats, sometimes when she plays, and, of course, she purrs in my lap. Sometimes she starts purring just when I walk into the room. She even started purring in her carrier while in the exam room at the vet. She, too, likes to get in my lap and snuggle with the others.
All three girls are fascinated with shoe laces and attack them ferociously. Whenever I go near them, I untie my shoes and tuck the laces inside my shoe where they can't reach them. Sometimes, they still find them, pull them out and start playing with them again. They seem to view it as their duty to seek out and destroy all the evil shoe laces in the world. To see them at play, take a look at this video.
Health Matters
All three kittens have been spayed and vaccinated, and they are due for a booster vaccine in two more weeks. They have been given medicine to prevent worms and have been tested for FIV and FeLV, both of which are negative for all three kittens. They are also getting Advantage Multi for fleas and parasites.
When first captured, all three were suffering to varying degrees from an eye and upper respiratory infection. If you go back to look at their original pictures, you can see just how bad it was for each one. Whitey, the one that later died, had it the worst. Bonnie was handling it best probably because her immune system was better able to fight it. The other girls, however, were clearly suffering from it, though it was mostly on one side. All three girls were treated shortly after capture with eye drops and antibiotics. All three improved considerably, but the infection flared up again after the prescribed medicine was finished. This time an ointment was used in their eyes, and again it cleared up. After they were spayed, the infection reappeared again, though not as badly as before. Another round of eye drops and antibiotics cleared it up again. The veterinarian tells me that this is likely a viral infection that affects their eyes and upper respiratory system, and it is very common. It is often triggered by stress (such as being spayed), and there is no cure for it. Most cats have it flare up once or twice and never again; very few have it chronically their whole life. It is contagious to other cats during a flare-up, but it is not contagious to people or dogs. After examining these kittens, the vet thinks they will handle it just fine and may never have it return. But it is important to watch for signs of eye infection or runny nose, since an upper respiratory infection can quickly lead to pneumonia.
Update -- 9/28/2016
All of these kitties are now at Cat Haven and are ready for adoption. After living at my house and having the run of the place and getting lots of loving from me, they are not happy there. Please help them find a good home soon. Each one is loving and would make a wonderful pet.
Update -- 1/20/2017
All of these kitties have been adopted! Bugsy was the first to be adopted, and that occurred in the first two weeks after their arrival at Cat Haven. The other two stayed there until last week when they were both adopted into different families. Babyface continues to have a chronic eye infection, so I am especially grateful for the special person who decided to adopt her. However, I know that each of these families will be richly rewarded with a sweet cat that likes to snuggle. I am very grateful to the special people at Cat Haven for taking care of these kitties, providing them with a temporary home, and for finding good homes for each of them.
Orange tabbies are usually male, but this litter is very special and unusual in that all three of the orange tabbies are female. These girls are sweeties and beauties and deserve a loving home. Now they are in need of just one more rescue, and I need your help in finding a great home for them. Contact information is at the bottom.
All these girls have been kept together indoors in a great foster home since their capture. Lately, however, I have been keeping them myself, and I must say that I am smitten. I love and adore these little girls. If my situation were different, I would love to adopt all three of these girls for myself, but I am already caring for three other cats and one dog, and some of these relationships are a little strained.
While all three are orange tabbies, each one looks a little different. One is dark colored, one is medium and one is light. The medium colored one is long haired, while the others are short haired. The dark colored one, which is the largest, has a high pitched voice, while the light colored one, which is the smallest, has a low raspy voice. The middle one's voice, as you might expect, is somewhere in between. All three voices are adorable.
 |
| From left to right: Bugsy, Bonnie and Babyface |
In the original rescue story, I named all the kittens after notorious American gangsters. The orange tabbies, in order of capture, were named Bonnie, Babyface and Bugsy. Bonnie is the darkest colored one and is slightly larger than the others. Babyface is the light colored one, and Bugsy is the medium colored one with long hair. Hopefully, once they are adopted, they will each get a new, more suitable name, but for now and for the sake of consistency, I will continue to use those names.
The first day after they arrived at my house, they were understandably too cautious to come out of their carrier. They would come out to eat and play when I was not in the room, but otherwise stayed in the back of their carrier. Bonnie was the first to emerge and introduce herself to me. She is clearly comfortable around people. The others were more fearful and needed another day or two to allow me to get close to them. After that trial period, however, they warmed up to me beautifully and were very quickly cuddling together in my lap as in this picture below.
 |
| Clockwise from left to right: Babyface, Bugsy and Bonnie |
Bonnie
Babyface
Bugsy
Health Matters
All three kittens have been spayed and vaccinated, and they are due for a booster vaccine in two more weeks. They have been given medicine to prevent worms and have been tested for FIV and FeLV, both of which are negative for all three kittens. They are also getting Advantage Multi for fleas and parasites.
When first captured, all three were suffering to varying degrees from an eye and upper respiratory infection. If you go back to look at their original pictures, you can see just how bad it was for each one. Whitey, the one that later died, had it the worst. Bonnie was handling it best probably because her immune system was better able to fight it. The other girls, however, were clearly suffering from it, though it was mostly on one side. All three girls were treated shortly after capture with eye drops and antibiotics. All three improved considerably, but the infection flared up again after the prescribed medicine was finished. This time an ointment was used in their eyes, and again it cleared up. After they were spayed, the infection reappeared again, though not as badly as before. Another round of eye drops and antibiotics cleared it up again. The veterinarian tells me that this is likely a viral infection that affects their eyes and upper respiratory system, and it is very common. It is often triggered by stress (such as being spayed), and there is no cure for it. Most cats have it flare up once or twice and never again; very few have it chronically their whole life. It is contagious to other cats during a flare-up, but it is not contagious to people or dogs. After examining these kittens, the vet thinks they will handle it just fine and may never have it return. But it is important to watch for signs of eye infection or runny nose, since an upper respiratory infection can quickly lead to pneumonia.
Update -- 9/28/2016
All of these kitties are now at Cat Haven and are ready for adoption. After living at my house and having the run of the place and getting lots of loving from me, they are not happy there. Please help them find a good home soon. Each one is loving and would make a wonderful pet.
Update -- 1/20/2017
All of these kitties have been adopted! Bugsy was the first to be adopted, and that occurred in the first two weeks after their arrival at Cat Haven. The other two stayed there until last week when they were both adopted into different families. Babyface continues to have a chronic eye infection, so I am especially grateful for the special person who decided to adopt her. However, I know that each of these families will be richly rewarded with a sweet cat that likes to snuggle. I am very grateful to the special people at Cat Haven for taking care of these kitties, providing them with a temporary home, and for finding good homes for each of them.