Emma and Annie have arrived!

[Litterati]

Wonderful news!!! Terrific to see how obstacles can be overcome when caring and concerned people are willing to make a turnaround happen. Kudos to all who helped make this miracle happen for these kitties and in honour of Gini, whom I did not know but was clearly a lovely lady with equally lovely friends.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I'm so glad to hear that they arrived safely. I hope that their vet exams and tests go well and they calm down quickly. I've learned that if you have an overweight cat that you should feed it less dry and more canned food because canned food has much less carbs in it than canned. You don't want them to lose weight too quickly though or they can get fatty liver disease. When my Ziggy was getting overweight my vet told me to feed her only 1/4 of a cup of dry food a day and feed her a lot of canned. This really worked for her. I now feed mine Merricks Healthy Weight dry food which is grain free to everyone except Alani who is on a special urinary diet. Good luck.

[NoahsMommy]

Cathy and I have been texting so I can get updates on how A and E are settling in. Cathy is brushing Annie and rubbing her ears - which Annie is enjoying greatly. Gini's brothers told me they could tell Annie especially missed her daily 'cuddles and love sessions' when Gini got sicker and passed away. So I know Annie is in heaven with Cathy's attention. (((Cathy))) Thank you so much for doing all this.

[NoahsMommy]

Oops! I wasn't done!

She said Emma is being kinda bratty when she tries to touch her, so she's leaving her be. I remember when the girls first moved into Gini's house from outside Gini had to invest a lot of time and patience into Emma. I know that seeing Annie enjoying all the love and attention will help.

[Karen]

Oops! I wasn't done!

She said Emma is being kinda bratty when she tries to touch her, so she's leaving her be. I remember when the girls first moved into Gini's house from outside Gini had to invest a lot of time and patience into Emma. I know that seeing Annie enjoying all the love and attention will help.

Yes, jealousy is a powerful motivator - the one time my Dad ever got to see Pippin, LadysOtherHuman's original kitty, was when Dad was sitting in their apartment scratching Lucas kitty, and Lucas was purring so loud Pip came out to get in on the act and didn't notice (until he spoke) that it was my Dad doing the skritching, not Lady'sHuman!

[snakemama]

I had a looooooong chat with the vet today and we opted to bump our appointment up to tomorrow, most likely so that she can tell me I'm overreacting and that I need to calm down too!

I *think* someone was picking at the canned food today, and all of the Temptations treats I put out early in the evening vanished, so I put some more out before I went home for the evening.

I also got a real purr out of Annie. My employees moved them to the break room this afternoon because it was busier than usual in the store. Once we closed, I opened one of the condo doors and sat down and chatted/sang to them and spent some time petting each of them. Emma doesn't care much for petting, so I mostly talked/sang to her. Annie really enjoyed her ear rubs though! She purred contentedly for quite awhile, until my behind got cold and i had to get up! They spent the afternoon in the bed together, but when I went to take pictures Annie had decided to curl up in the litterbox for awhile. (?? at least it was clean!)


Emma in the bed. She's pretty interested in watching what's going on, even if she's not ready for petting yet.


Annie in the litterbox, right after our petting session.

I'm hoping they are able to relax soon and can come back up front, I think they'll get a kick out of being able to watch the budgies in their cage!

I wrestled with myself about the carriers today, and finally decided to spring for two big, sturdy carriers that open from the top so it'll be easier to get them in and out to the vet/etc. The carriers came to $93.94, so subtracting that, and adding the second check that's on the way from Mike, we're up to $1383.72. What an astonishing group of people we have here.

I feel the weight of responsibility for these two much more than with any other fosters I've ever had. Knowing how many people are rooting for these two and relying on me to do what's best for them is both very comforting and a little scary.

I also felt, tonight...like someone was watching us and sending warm, happy vibes while I was petting Annie. I don't know for sure, but maybe Gini sent me a smile.

[snakemama]

Also, does anyone have any experience or thoughts about using rescue remedy?

[slick]

You know the last time I slept at Gini's in 2010 I had both cats on the bed with me and Emma especially was belly-up and she and I enjoyed the most amazing time with belly rubs, so the potential is there. She just takes time to get to know you.

If you can imagine the stress these two beauties have been through for the last 6 months, it's no wonder that they are acting strange. I know first hand that given time, they will come around.

As for rescue remedy I did try it once years ago when I had Max and Speckles but it didn't seem to work that well so I gave up. Mind you I've also heard good things about lavender. Jackson Galaxy swears by something called Spirit Essences and I'm not sure if that works or not. Just could be a marketing scheme but I'll try and do some research on it.

Thank you again Cathy for all you are doing. I just know that Gini's heart is bursting with all the support Annie and Emma are getting. Love the pictures and thanks for the updates.

[Alysser]

So glad they've arrived safely. I hope they come to a new sort of normal soon. I may have missed this but do they have a home lined up yet?

[lizbud]

The girls look great to me. Clear eyes & they look bright and alert. Fur looks good.i think it'll be good to get the Vet appt.
over with so you know what you're dealing with in the health department. To me, it looks like the A & E will probably adjust
just fine. Just takes time & patience and, of course, TLC. They are both beautiful ladies.

[mrspunkysmom]

Wonderful news for Annie and Emma! You are doing a great job!

Pardon me for having to ask, but what type of store do you own?

[moosmom]

THANK YOU Snakemama! Those girls are in wonderful hands!

[snakemama]

Wonderful news for Annie and Emma! You are doing a great job!

Pardon me for having to ask, but what type of store do you own?

I'll write up a more detailed reply in half an hour or so, but I had a moment so I thought I'd pop in and say I manage a pet feed store. We don't carry any animals, but we have two budgies who live in the store, and Annie likes to listen to their chirpy noises.

It's a REALLY quiet store for the most part, and both myself and my employees have been diligent about wheeling the kitty condo into the back any time there are noisy crowds....which generally is just for 90 minutes once a week when we have a low cost vaccine clinic come through, but occasionally a big family comes in and I don't think A&E would appreciate noisy kiddos.

[snakemama]

Okie, more detailed update before bed. I came in to work this morning to find that the wet food was almost all gone and the dry food had been picked at too! I was on cloud nine, and I called the vet who cheered with me! Apparently they made a big impression on the receptionist, because she was cheering them on too! I'm HOPING they both ate, but there's no real way for me to tell since I wasn't watching. A few hours later, the doc called me back to tell me that all of their bloodwork was great! Kidney, liver, etc...all well within normal range. There was a slightly elevated...er...somethingorother for both of them, but apparently it's something that is typically elevated during times of stress and nothing to worry about.

We had lots of lap time today with both of them, and after several vigorously applied biscuits punctured my skin we did manicures for both of them too. Emma still doesn't seek out my attention, but she leans into my hand when I rub her face and ears so I think she appreciates the attention. She doesn't cringe away anymore at least! Annie REALLY likes lap time, she spent most of my lunch break keeping my lap warm and watching what was happening around us. Neither of them was really into food today, so I'm hoping for more empty bowls tomorrow morning. I put out two bowls with different wet foods, and I did bring a can of tuna with me just in case.

My employees hooked a BIG playpen to the condo today and once we were confident that it was escape-proof, we opened the condo door. Nobody ventured out on their own, but they both sniffed around when I took them out, and they both spend time in the big bed out in the playpen.

And of course, pictures!


Cuddled up in the big bed after brushing and manicures.


I found a bigger box today so they can hide out together!


Emma can't decide if she's happy or annoyed to be in my lap.


I admit, I'm slightly obsessed with Annie's nose freckles! One of my customers is a kindergarten science teacher, and she told me there is a technical name for the spots. I looked it up: it's letigo simplex. You can't see it very well in this picture, but she has freckles on her eyelids too!


The thing my vet emphasized the most is that they need lots of hiding places, so I exchanged the bag of food they didn't like for this covered bed, and Emma took to it right away!


I just thought Annie's expression in this one was too sweet!

I'm already wishing that I could just take them home and call them mine. Unfortunately, Kyubey has developed a habit of licking himself bald in huge patches whenever he's stressed by new things (putting up the Christmas tree resulted in s 3x5" bald patch on his back >.<) so bringing in new adult cats is out of the question. Sigh.

[Karen]

It all sounds great, and we know you will help them get the best furrever home! Here's to empty plates in the morning!