Crystal (aka Blizzard): “Crystal is wonderfully friendly and tolerant of play dates.”

Here’s a recent photo of Blizzard (we call her Crystal) and a drawing my daughter Genevieve (age 6) made of “Crystal, the Super Cat.”  Although Crystal is all white, when she assumes her super hero identity, she is rainbow colored, and flies.  Crystal is wonderfully friendly and tolerant of play dates, and often “stands guard” in the kids’ room, cleaning herself on the rocking chair, after the lights are turned off.  I frequently find her sleeping on my hip when the alarm goes off in the morning – luckily I’m a deep sleeper.  And amazingly, my husband, who does have cat sensitivities, is not allergic to her at all.

Such a wonderful cat.  We’re really crazy about her.

Thanks again for all your help.

Judy

Dodi (aka Jimmy): “I want him to know every time I say his name that he is my beloved.”

Beginning about a year and a half ago, I would come to volunteer as a cleaner at KK, praying that a beautifully black long-haired cat named Jimmy would get adopted.  Well, month after month went by, and he was still there.  I had heard that he was so very shy, and was returned twice to KK.  I tried to pet him in his cage, but  if I looked at him he would cower on the top shelf and turn his head away.  My heart broke for him, but I had 2 cats in a studio and knew a third cat would not work.  As fate had it, one of my cats passed away, and I found out Jimmy was being fostered with Super fosterwoman Amy S.  Long story short, I took Jimmy as foster-with-intent hoping that my 8-year-old cat China would accept him.  It’s been a few months, and the relationship is moving in the right direction.  I renamed Jimmy “Dodi”, which means “beloved” in Hebrew – I want him to know every time I say his name that he is my beloved.  He has tons of energy, loves to play in the apartment and in the hall.  He is absolutely gorgeous, with his black long silky hair.  I discovered he is Angora and Siamese, which explains why his coat is so luxurious and he is so vocal.  He is still shy with strangers, but does warm up after a few days.  I am so happy he is part of my life.

The attached picture is of him on one of his perches.

Thanks.

Celia

Our Cat of the Month for March 2013: Gaga

Our Foster Care Favorite for March 2013: Amber

“Trisha continues proving herself to be the best little housemate anyone could ask for…”

[KK rescued Trisha from Animal Care and Control, where she was slated for euthanasia, given how sick she was.  Malnourished, dehydrated, too sick to even be spayed, Trisha came to KK and was rushed the next day to the ER, spent a few week’s hospitalized and a couple of months fostered.  At the adoption center, volunteers fed her and cleaned her cage with much trepidation, as she was quick to lash out, hiss, and bite.  But, behavior notwithstanding, Trisha caught the eye of one woman who felt that Trisha was “the one.”  And, apparently, the feeling was mutual…]

Trisha continues proving herself to be the best little housemate anyone could ask for, every single day!  When she hears my key in the door, she comes mewing to greet me and enjoys being held.  She goes cuckoo for catnip, which is totally hilarious to watch because I’ve never had a cat who’s responded to it.  Her main concerns in life are catching the laser pointer, hunting one of her three favorite play mice, and snuggling.  She is incredibly affectionate and even when she isn’t asking to be pet, she just likes to be close– she enjoys watching on in the same room while I do household chores or am getting ready to go out.  She can also be adorably bossy  — If I’m not awake first thing in the morning to fill her bowl, she will not hesitate to climb up onto my chest and mew directly into my face to wake up!!!  She does still tear up in one eye, but I picked up a couple of little pet eye-wipes that seem to work so it doesn’t stain her fur.

I’m attaching tons of pictures of her snuggling, playing with one of her toy mice, playing with one of my boots, rolling over, and looking out the window.  It turns out Trish is a total ham for the camera.  I’m also linking you to a little video of her doing one of my favorite things — she likes to sleep at the foot of my bed, but before she goes to sleep, she absolutely has to knead while biting the blankets.  I’m so appreciative of you and KittyKind for doing the work that you do, giving these kitties a chance to be the sweet, loving companions that they are capable of being. Trisha is so unbelievably gentle, sweet, and bright and I couldn’t imagine my home without her.  Enjoy the video and attached pictures!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_D-V51xMEg&feature=youtu.be

Best,

Michelle

King Oreo: “this big guy turns into an absolute goof ball.” :)

When the time came that we agreed our current cat, Tyra, could use a playmate, we thought of no other than King Oreo. So we headed to Petco and were relieved to see he was still there! (we’ve been eyeing him for about a year now) We spoke with Cathy about our interest in adopting King Oreo and she referred us to Miriam, who explained in detail his history (in and out of foster homes, once adopted and returned) and temperament. We found out why he was with KittyKind for so long. King Oreo is an independent cat who likes to call the shots. He’s not a bad cat, but he would scratch and nip if he doesn’t want attention. This apparently became a problem for his previous adopter and the reason why he kept being returned. We were warned of this but we insisted that we still wanted him. So we agreed to foster King Oreo with the intent to adopt.

Once we brought him home, King Oreo took no time to adjust to the apartment. His name fits… kind of. He definitely carries himself like royalty, especially since he walks in such a proud manner. But as soon as he hears the rattle of the laser pointer, this big guy turns into an absolute goof ball. He would chase that red dot everywhere and even run up the wall if he had to. And despite his difficult history, he has proven to be an attention seeker and an occasional lap cat with us. Since I spend the most time with him, he’s especially attached to me. He follows me around and likes to make himself comfortable right next to me. When he really wants attention, though, he’ll flop himself in front of me, regardless of what I’m doing, so I can pet his head and scratch his chin. During the day, he likes to take naps in random places (and in various positions), but when it’s time to go to bed, he will climb in with us. His favorite spot? Right above our heads.

So after a month, we decided to adopt him because he’s just so… awesome. Even though he does scratch and nip just as warned, it’s not as serious as we thought it would be. All it took was some patience and knowing when to give him his space, and King Oreo has since blossomed into a cat with a colorful character. We’re still working to get him to get along with Tyra, who is still keeping a bit of a distance from him, but she’s let King Oreo share the same space with her. They’ve lately even been able to eat snacks side by side.

We’d like to thank everyone in KittyKind, especially Miriam, for being so nice and thorough during the foster and adoption processes. When we saw how happy and grateful everyone was when we decided to adopt King Oreo, we were made doubly sure that he’s definitely a very special cat. We are so happy that he finally found his forever home with us.

Cheers,

Karina & Kyle

Volunteer of the Month: March 2013

Congratulations to Anya R, our March Volunteer of the Month! Anya has been with KittyKind for about a year, first as a floater, then a foster mom. Now she manages KittyKind’s Yelp account. Anya says, “My last foster, Lola, whom I began fostering in August, is now a part of our family. She was only supposed to stay with us for a week, but she had a seizure on her first night with us and so we said we would keep her to nurse her back to health and then couldn’t let her go!” Anya has two other cats who live with her, and it was her experience adopting a cat from KittyKind (Tini, who was called Archer at KK) that led her to becoming a volunteer. Anya says that fostering is both hard and rewarding. “Having kittens who are so traumatized is difficult to see and having to give them up is even more difficult. But I also found it very rewarding to see their progress at the end and know that they found their forever home.”

Anya has three cats: “Rusty (a little over 2 years old), Tini (2 years old this June), and Lola (kept her name! almost 1 year old). I never had any pets growing up other than a turtle, but my fiancé had a cat growing up so we adopted Rusty as soon as we moved in together. I am actually no longer allowed to foster, according to my fiancé, because I will keep them all.” Tini even helped with her engagement! “My fiancé bought a cat collar with a custom tag that said “Anya, will you marry me?” and put the ring around the cat collar. Tini ran up to me and surprised me with the engagement. It was perfect,­ since our cats are such a huge part of my life.

Thank you, Anya, for everything you do for KittyKind and the cats looking for homes!

Volunteer of the Month: February 2013

Congratulations to Michelle N, our February Volunteer of the Month! Michelle has been with KittyKind for two years, and she currently works as a cleaner. Her nominator said she can always count on her, and even though sometimes it’s just the two of them, they get everything done. And Michelle always stays late to play with and socialize the kitties. Michelle wanted to volunteer with KittyKind because she loves all animals, and her favourite part of her work is playing with the cats. Michelle lives with a girl cat named Mikey (above, with her doggy pal Dilly). Thank you, Michelle, for all the work you do for KittyKind! We, and the cats, thank you!