Foster Kittens - Cuteness Warning! Updated 6/4/07 With More Pics!

[LuckyNumber7]

So, many of you read my post in Cat Memorial, about losing our beloved Commodus tragically last weekend :(

The woman who we adopted him from happens to still have his brother, who they have been calling Cheddar, and we are getting him on June 13th. After speaking with her a bit on the phone, I realized how overwhelmed she is right now. Every spring/summer during kitten season, this woman takes in orphaned litters of kittens, and bottle feeds them until they are eating regular food, using the litter box, and are ready to be adopted to great homes. Sometimes they are orphaned when the Mama is hit by a car, or sometimes when the Mama is euthanized at a high kill shelter. Sometimes, because of her reputation for doing this, people simply dump litters on her front porch, leaving her to care for them.

Last time I spoke with her, she had 24 kittens in her home, ranging from a couple of days old, to about 8-9 weeks old. This morning I found out she just got another litter on her porch, that is about 3 days old, bringing the total to about 30.

To try to help her out a bit, when we get Cheddar on the 13th, I am also having her send 5 foster kitties our way. We live in Massachusetts, and she lives in Tennessee in a very rural area. There are a lot more loving adoptive homes up here than there are in her neck of the woods, so I figured why not?

My fiance and I are going to be paying for their transport fees to get them here, and each of them will be having a comprehensive physical exam by a vet and be issued a health certificate prior to traveling to us. They will receive all age appropriate shots, have fecal checks done, and be dewormed if necessary.

These babies are between 5 and 9 weeks old, and precious. We're going to foster them until we find excellent homes for them. If anyone is in the New England area, and would like to come meet them, you're more than welcome to. And please spread the word - although I love the idea of having a bunch of furkids running around for a while, I'm sure it will get a bit hectic - and they deserve a loving forever home ASAP. They're all very healthy, as they have been bottle fed, and kept in a home environment the entire time.

Here are some pictures of the ones I am getting.

Sophie

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Sophie.jpg

Sophie was an owner surrender, and is about 5 weeks old now.

Gavin

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Gavin.jpg

Gavin was also an owner surrender, from the same litter as Sophie. 5 weeks old as well.

Jade

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Jade.jpg

Jade's mother was killed when she was only a couple of days old. She is about 5-6 weeks old now.

Zak

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Zak.jpg

Zak is Jade's brother - about 5-6 weeks old.

Romeo

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Romeo.jpg

Romeo's mother was killed when he was less than 1 week old, and is about 6 weeks old now.



Thanks for looking!! :D

[LuckyNumber7]

Oh, and here is our new baby, Cheddar. I cannot wait to meet him. I sort of would like to name him something that memorializes Commodus (Commie) in some way, but I can't think of anything appropriate - any ideas? if not, we will keep the name CHeddar, since I like that!

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Cheddar.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Picture660-3.jpg

[Freedom]

Oh my, what a group of cutie patooties! Better watch out, you may break the camera with all the cuteness coming your way!

And Cheddar is such a handful! Such a new and exciting adventure for you.

[Whisk_Luva]

I am in love with Romeo and Gavin--- If just you lived in England instead of New England!

[LuckyNumber7]

I love Gavin too - SO cute!!!

Freedom, I'm hoping he's a handful, and as quirky as Commie was :) I keep bugging the lady who has him right now with questions about his personality...she's been so patient about my incessant barrage of emails LOL....I think she knows that I'm just so anxious to get him. Max is still missing his friend, and I think it will help a lot to have a buddy for him again.

[angelbow20]

AWW they are all so cute but man Romeo is just stunning!

[Medusa]

They're all so unbelievably adorable! Gavin and Sophie are just too cute. I love them all! Bless you for doing this.

[LuckyNumber7]

Bless me?! Pffftt - I'm gonna be in kittie heaven while they're here lol!

I'm thinking about investing in one of those little play pen things to keep them corralled when necessary, and keep them safe.

My dogs are going to be in heaven. Their favorite thing in the world is playing with cats, so this is going to make for some great kodak moments.

June 13th can't come fast enough. I'm such a geek, I already have 3 cat carriers stacked by the door :rolleyes: 11 more days!!

[LuckyNumber7]

Also, what color do you think Romeo is?? It's so hard to tell because of the flash.... :confused:

[Whisk_Luva]

A kind of Whitey grey colour- I think

[kb2yjx]

Thank You for the CUTENESS ALERT!!! They are just so precious!!! GOOD LUCK!!

[RedHedd]

OMG! Cuteness overload is right! I'm in love with Gavin and Romeo too. Romeo looks like a cream color. And as for Cheddar's name - I love it! Keep it! Love the big pic of him - look at all those widdle teeth! So cute!

[Laura's Babies]

I am so glad you had the cuteness warning but it really should be a stiffer warning! I about fainted at all that cuteness... almost to much at one time!!! You are going to have so much fun with them in your house and I can't wait for the pictures!!!

That last picture of Cheddar cracked me up! That is waaaaaaay to precious for anybody! Looks to me like he is screaming "MOMMIE WHERE ARE YOU?!"
I would also keep that name, it fits him.

[catmandu]

Michael and Miquelito wonder if you call the New Kitten Cheddar Mike and they will be his Guardian Angels.
They are a little jealous as a lot of the Found Cats and Angels have proteges and they would like one too.
PLEASE!!!
We will share whats in our dish!!!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v621/catmandu/th_Picture2120.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v621/catmandu/?action=view&current=Picture2120.flv)

[CultureJunky]

That is such a great thing you are doing, i am in awe. And oh god they are all so adorable. I'd have them all! I will keep my fingers crossed and pray that they all find forever homes and live contented happy lives.

[LuckyNumber7]

Hi Catmandu! After we get him, we're going to evaluate his personality for a few days....but I was just thinking, that maybe we could name him Cheddar Jack (like CHeddar Jack cheese) and call him CJ for short?

What do you guys think of that idea??

CultureJunky, I can't even tell you how lucky I am to have my fiance here to keep me in check. If he wasn't here, I would have kept pretty much every foster dog we've had thus far, and I'd be keeping all of these kittens, too. I'd wind up like one of those crazy people you read about on the news with 47 dogs and 89 cats living in a 1 room house lol!

Really though, I'm just glad we're able to help in some way....hopefully they all find awesome homes quickly and can live happily ever after! :D

[krazyaboutkatz]

All of your soon to be new fosters are just too cute!!!!:D I'm in love with Romeo too and I bet it's going to be very hard for you to let all of these cutie pies go to other homes. I wouldn't be surprised if you decided to keep a couple of them permanently.:)

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Romeo.jpg
It's kind of hard to tell from this picture but he looks like either a cream or possibly a buff color. He's gorgeous.:)

[LuckyNumber7]

I would guess that to be his color as well. It was the hardest thing in the world, to go through this website with my friend's list of cats on it, and pick 5 of them to foster - they're all freaking ADORABLE! I wanted to have a fairly even number of male and females though, so that if people had a preference as to the sex of their kitten, I had both available. Since I know how much all of you like pictures, here are the rest of them!!

I'm including some pictures of the itty bitty babies...who probably aren't AS itty bitty anymore, since these pictures are from almost a month ago. My friend's dog, a yellow lab, plays "mother" to some of the youngest kittens, and protects them from the other dogs in the house who try to get too close. I love the pictures of the lab with the dogs. I think part of the reason that Commie clicked so well with our family is because he instantly loved our yellow lab Lucy.

There are a LOT of pictures, so I'll probably have to make another post after this one!

First, the older ones, who are up for adoption.

Bailey

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Bailey.jpg

Bella (I just love the face she's making in this!)

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Bella.jpg

Callie

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Callie.jpg

Casey

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Casey.jpg

Chloe

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Chloe.jpg

Emily

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Emily.jpg

Gabriel

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Gabriel.jpg

Gabriella

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Gabriella.jpg

more to follow....

[LuckyNumber7]

Haile - I just love her!

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Haile.jpg

Jake

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Jake.jpg

Max

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Max.jpg

Mia

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Mia.jpg

Onyx

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Onyx.jpg

Rambo

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Rambo.jpg

Rebel - love this boy's eyes

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Rebel.jpg

Sierra

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Sierra.jpg


Baby ones to follow....

[LuckyNumber7]

Here are some of the babies she has at her house. and some with her dog with the kitties, which I just love!!!

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/LabWithKitty.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/LabWithKitties.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/LabWith6Kittens.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/BabyKitten.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/BabyKitten4.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/BabyKitten5.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/BabyKitten3.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/BabyKitten2.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Babies.jpg

[Vermontcat]

Wow! There is just too much KITTEN CUTENESS in this thread! :D
All the kittens are adorable, that is so great that you are going to foster them.
The pictures of the dog with the kittens are just so sweet.
I love Cheddar, I think you should keep that name for him. :)

[LuckyNumber7]

I'm torn now - I just got an email from a guy saying that today him and his workers found a mother cat and 3 kittens that appear to be about 3-4 weeks old in the WALL Of their shop. I guess I'll take them and foster them, too - unless someone else does....I don't want them getting hurt or anything :(

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks for sharing pictures of some of the other kittens too. They sure are adorable.:) If you have the room then go ahead and foster the mom with 3 kittens too. I also forgot to mention that I love the name Cheddar.:)

[LuckyNumber7]

I like the name too.....I just wish we could think of a name that would somehow memorialize our Commodus :( I don't know how, or what....but something that would sometimes make me think of the memories we have of him fondly, and cherish the ones that we now get to make with our new family member. I hope that makes some sense :confused:

[CultureJunky]

Oh Oh Oh Oh tiny iddle widdle babies!!! Oh I'm nearly having a heart attack here from the gorgeousness of them all. That woman is a saint for taking in these helpless little bundles when they need someone.

[jennielynn1970]

OMG!!! They are all just tooo precious!! This is the reason I foster the older cats, because if I fostered babies, they would NEVER EVER leave!!! I'd just be way too attached! Not that I'm not attached to my older guys, but look at those little bitty faces!!! That little Casey just stole my heart!!! She would fit right in with my other dilute tortie and calico girls!

You are doing such a wonderful thing, and if they need to stop in PA at all for a break, they are more than welcome to stop at my house!! Can't guarantee that they will all make it to your place however!! I'll have to kitten-nap a few of them! :p ;)

[LuckyNumber7]

If you wanted to adopt one, we could totally arrange to get them to you in PA :p

The only reason I foster kittens and not older cats is because older cats tend to get hissy and scratchy with dogs sometimes if they haven't always been around them. This makes it easier, knowing everyone will get along.

I got some pictures of Cheddar this morning!!

Some are old ones, but some are new :) This little boy needs his eyes cleaned out!! It's ok though....I'll do it when he gets here :)

He's the orange one!

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/IM001772.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/IM001792.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/IM001800.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/IM001801.jpg


Not the best pics, but stuff to look at until the 13th!

[Catty1]

What's with that one wee guy - his backside and legs seem to be red and inflamed?

[LuckyNumber7]

I initially didn't post this one, because I really thought it was a 1/2 naked girl holding Cheddar over her boob. Turns out it's her son, and he has a towel around his waist. I laughed for about 1/2 hour after learning that.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/IM001804.jpg

[LuckyNumber7]

Do you mean this guy?

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/BabyKitten.jpg

I think he was just dirty. I know for a fact that none of the kittens that they've gotten there have wound up sick, and they amazingly haven't wound up losing ONE of them, except to that accident with the recliner :(

[smokey the elder]

That dog is amazing with those kittens! In one of the pics it looks like he's nursing them! :eek:

[LuckyNumber7]

Isn't that cute? :)

My yellow lab is so good with cats as well, the same way. She just lays there and lets them romp on her and cuddle with her. Molly likes to play with them too, and takes naps with the cat.

[LuckyNumber7]

So...I might be crazy, but I decided this morning to take 3 more foster kitties in addition to the ones we're already getting. Reason being, I have already found 3 of them forever homes! Yay!!

Also, I got some new and improved pictures....sorry if I double post some accidentally, but here are the 8 fosters that will be here June 13th.


Gavin


http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Gavin1.jpg


http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Gavin3.jpg

Max

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Max1.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Max2.jpg


Romeo


http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Romeo2.jpg

Sophie

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/SOPHIE2.jpg


Jade

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Jade1.jpg


Zak


http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Zak1.jpg

Haile


http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Haile1.jpg

Rambo

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Rambo2.jpg



In those pictures of Romeo and Sophie you can actually tell what color they are - I think they're gorgeous! They are actually both already adopted. Sophie and Gavin are going to a home together, and Romeo is going to a home with a woman who I adopted a dog to about a month ago!


I can't wait for June 13th.

[Pawsitive Thinking]

I've gone through the whole thread saying "I want that one, and that one, and that one, and..........." you get the idea

All those beautiful kissy kitty faces

[Pawla]

All ADORABLE!!! Love, Love, Love Max and Gavin!!! :D

[LuckyNumber7]

I've done the same thing Brody's Mum. I swear, if it weren't for my fiance being here as the voice of reason, we would have like 30 dogs and 95 cats. I'm just such a sucker!

Pawla - I LOVE both of them too. Maybe I just have a soft spot for Orangies! However, I think Haile is beautiful, and has gorgeous eyes. I'm going to try to keep her, or Max. We'd have to change Max's name though, as we already have a "maximus" who we call Max for short. I might get the firm "no" from my fiance though - we will see :)

[Don Juan's mom]

Here are some of the babies she has at her house. and some with her dog with the kitties, which I just love!!!

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/LabWith6Kittens.jpg


That dog is a candidate for SAINTHOOD! :D

Liz

[Medusa]

I want every single one of those kittens. :rolleyes: And the pooch, too.

[LuckyNumber7]

Hey all!

Just a quick update on the foster kitties....they get here Wednesday around noon - so excited! I'm so psyched for Maximus to meet his new friend Cheddar, and hope they become fast cuddle buddies.

Also, a few extra kittens have been added to the list of ones coming here to me....I was having to turn down so many people who emailed me interested in these babies that I added 2 more to the transport list, bringing the total to 11 kittens :eek:

Casey is coming up this week to a great home, and so is Jake. I'm so happy with how well this "trial run" of fostering kitties has worked out so far - it has been a huge success, and we're planning on doing it again next week too, after these babies are gone.

So, the ones coming this week are

Gavin and Sophie - going to a home together, they're getting picked up Friday by their new Mom.

Romeo - is being adopted by a girl who adopted a dog from me a month or so ago. Her family is awesome, and I'm so glad this baby is going to a loving place! He leaves Friday as well.

Rambo is being adopted to a great couple with another cat for him to play with. They are coming Wednesday night for him.

Zak is being picked up Thursday by a woman with another kitten for him to play with.

Max is being picked up Thursday by a woman with another cat to keep him company, too :)

Jake was not originally coming, but a woman fell in love with his picture, and I arranged for him to make the trip up here for her. Then, she showed her sister a picture of Jade - and her sister is taking Jade! They are being picked up Wednesday night. Jake will have 3 cat buddies (all rescues!) at his new house, and Jade will have a cat buddy and 2 dachshund buddies!

Casey is going to a home with another cat buddy as well.

Hailey is the only one without a home yet - and that's on purpose. I'm hoping we can keep her here, as I think she's gorgeous! It will depend on whether she meshes well with our crew or not - and if not, no biggie, we'll find her a great home in no time I'm sure!

I'll be taking about 1,000 pictures of the little balls of fuzziness running around my house on Wednesday, don't worry!

[Scooter's Mom]

They are all so beautiful!

I'd have a hard time letting any of them go. I am so thrilled you're having so much luck getting them adopted out. Keep up your great work!

[Kalei]

Cuteness Overload here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[krazyaboutkatz]

They're all so adorable and I'm so glad to hear that they've all found wonderful forever homes already.:) I bet that their current foster mom is estatic since she's going to have a hard time finding new homes for all of her foster kittens. I look forward to seeing as many pictures as possible while they're still with you.:) I hope that your hubbie will let you also adopt little Hailey.;)

[LuckyNumber7]

I just found out that 1 (possibly 2) of them may not be able to come because they might have colds :(

Doesn't make much sense though - if they were sick, it would seem that they would ALL be sick, as they are all over each other, and have been for weeks. Better safe than sorry though. A vet is giving them an exam tomorrow, and I told him to go over them with a fine tooth comb, and that if there is any doubt that they are healthy, we'll leave them off the transport. I don't want 2 kitties who may be not feeling well dealing with the stress of a transport and possibly getting sicker :(

I will find out for sure one way or another tomorrow morning. Keep your fingers crossed that they are ok please!

[krazyaboutkatz]

I sure hope that they'll all be okay and that the trip won't stress them out too much. I'll be keeping them in my thoughts and prayers.

How many hours does it take them to get to you?

[LuckyNumber7]

I'm not sure, in hours....

They're coming from Tennessee to New Hampshire....so it's a while! But they stop often, play with them, give them fresh water/food, etc.

[Kfamr]

There are all soooo precious, Liz! Kudos to you for helping them.

As far as a new name for Cheddar, I did a search on the name Commodus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodus

Maybe one of the names mentioned on the page will pop out at you?
Maybe Roman, since Commodus was a Roman Emperor.

[LuckyNumber7]

Thank you SO much for posting that page!

We've been looking through it - how weird that Commodus in real life had a twin brother?! "He had an elder twin brother, Titus Aurelius Fulvus Antoninus"

BUT - Commodus' birth name was "Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus". I love the name Lucius! Lucius is also the name of the little boy (Commodus' nephew) in the movie Gladiator (where we got Maximus' name from).

We also both like the name Marcus, which was the name of Commodus' father, and his younger brother.

However, I guess a lot of this depends on meeting him and seeing what fits him. I LOVE the name Lucius, because it is drawn from the Latin word "Lux", meaning "Light". I love that.

BUT - Marcus is derived from the "Mars" - the Roman God of War. God, both of these would just be awesome!

However - if he knows his name as Cheddar, I hate the idea of changing that on him :confused: He is only 8 weeks old about....so I doubt he knows it yet?

We could name him Marcus Cheddar - and call him MC lol!

I guess we will see how his personality is. If he is fiery and wild - Marcus will fit. If he's laid back and sweet, Lucius would be good.

On a side note - I love the name Phoenix, too. Commodus, in the movie, was played by Joaquin Phoenix, and I love what a Phoenix portrays. My fiance doesn't like that name though, so I have been overruled! :o

Thanks so much for the link Kay - that helped a ton!

[LuckyNumber7]

I am so, so terribly bummed out right now.

Late last night, our Cheddar started having diarrhea, and cannot be put on the transport this week. I obviously wouldn't want him put on the transport sick, because it would make him sicker, and I want our little guy to be healthy and happy....but I was just so looking forward to meeting him Wednesday. Out of the 11 kittens coming, he is the ONLY one who can't :(

((Insert lots of un-typable 4 letter words here))

[Kfamr]

Glad I could help! :)

[krazyaboutkatz]

I am so, so terribly bummed out right now.

Late last night, our Cheddar started having diarrhea, and cannot be put on the transport this week. I obviously wouldn't want him put on the transport sick, because it would make him sicker, and I want our little guy to be healthy and happy....but I was just so looking forward to meeting him Wednesday. Out of the 11 kittens coming, he is the ONLY one who can't :(

((Insert lots of un-typable 4 letter words here))

I'm so sorry to hear this.:( I know that you said that 2 of the kittens may be coming down with URI's last night. I guess the other kitten checked out okay. Hopefully Cheddar's illness isn't serious and he'll make a quick recovery so he'll be able to join your family soon. I sure hope it's not coccidia because this can sometimes be hard to treat and it's very contagious. I'll be keeping him in my thoughts and prayers.

[Kfamr]

Oh, I hadn't saw that latest post about Cheddar. :( So upsetting. Will you be able to arrange another transport for him?

[LuckyNumber7]

Krazyaboutkatz, the other 2 checked out just fine - they had another full physical, no sign of URI issues or anything - they will be here tomorrow at 11am! So excited to have 10 balls of fluff running around!

Kay, he'll be on the next transport up here, but I just found out this morning that the next one might not be until the 25th - would get here on the 27th. 2 whole weeks away :( I'm not trying to sound like a pity case or like I'm whining, but I just want him here already, and I'm so bummed that this happened. I have convinced Pete (my fiance) that we are keeping Hailey here until Cheddar can arrive. It would be so unfair to him to have him get used to having other cats around AGAIN, and then be alone AGAIN until Cheddar came. Even if we decide not to keep Hailey, we're keeping her here for a bit, and it will be good to see how she does with the dogs and with Maximus once the rest of the kittens clear out.

There is a small possibility that we might be able to get Cheddar on a transport that leaves this Saturday, but it's still very up in the air. We shall see I guess.

We are definitely going to name him either Marcus or Lucius - if Marcus, we will call him MC sometimes, for Marcus Cheddar. I like the idea of Lucius though, because it means "light" and it sort of fits with our crew....we would have 2 L names (Lucy and Lucius) and Maximus and Molly, 2 M names.

If we keep Hailey, we will need a good name for her! It would have to fit with the Roman kitty name theme and fit her personality. She's gorgeous - I can't wait to meet her!

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e64/ifallapart/Haile1.jpg

[Catty1]

Helen? Face that launched a thousand ships?

Juno?

PS - I am really stuck on the name "Cheddar". Couldn't you cheat a bit and make it "Cheddus"? :)

[LuckyNumber7]

I was thinking maybe Venus - the goddess of love and beauty :)

I'm getting waaayyyy ahead of myself though - I don't even know if my fiance will cave and let me keep her! He did agree that she could stay until Cheddar comes though, and I think that's a great start! I hope she does well with the pups and with Maximus.

10 more hours til I get the kitties! Too excited!! :p