New fosters in the house! (pics)

[Lorien]

I have three new kittens (Maine Coon mixes) and a purebred Bengal. The Bengal, India, acts like one would expect an Asian leopard cat hybrid to act-which is why I'm VERY happy that she got adopted within an hour of putting her out at Pookie's! (my holistic pet food store). They'll pick her up tomorrow, so just one more night of her badass attitude!


India (purebred Bengal):







The Twins; Nakoma and Katori:





I have one more foster, Kachina, but she's still too shy for pictures.

[ET Awful]

1. Wow, India may have an attitude, but she is one GORGEOUS

kitty.

Nakoma and Katori are beauties as well. I can't wait to see Kachina's pictures :)

[gypsy11]

2. India looks like she's a bad ass

You can see it in her eyes!
She's very pretty though.

[Sanity Claws]

3. What's a bengal kitty like?

She is pretty but do bengal kitties tend to be bad-asses? What is this particular kitty doing?
Congratulations on your holistic store. We need more of them.

[Lorien]

7. Yeah, Bengals do tend to be bad-asses

Asian leopard cats are very reclusive and aggressive animals. Most Bengals are only 1/4 Asian leopard cat, but that's still enough to give them semi-wild dispositions. India growls and hisses a lot, and tries to bite when she's picked up. Bengals CAN be loyal and devoted pets if treated with kindness and respect, but I think that she was ignored and/ or abused by her original owners. She seems to want love and affection though-so I think she'll come around in time.

[superconnected]

4. India is beautiful.

The kittens are great too. Nice names!

[Lorien]

6. I actually changed the names from the ones the rescue gave them:

India-Bangles

Nakoma-Ozzie (for a girl)??

Katori-Owie

Kachina-Dee

Since the pet food shop is in an upscale section of town, I felt that the names needed to change to "market" them more effectively (especially since all are female but the names didn't indicate that).

[regnaD kciN]

8. Maybe India's attitude (and expression)...

...came from realizing she had been named after an '80s girl group. ;-)

I'm still puzzled as to how people would abandon purebred cats. Although the priorities of this attitude may be all wrong, I would assume that most people who would shell out big bucks for purebreds would be less willing to get rid of them.

[Lorien]

9. Apparently the owners were very wealthy

so dumping two $1,200 cats (who they had become "bored with" according to the neighbor who rescued India-her sister is still on the loose) meant little to them. :grr:

[regnaD kciN]

12. Apparently the owners are ****ing IDIOTS...

...among other descriptive terms that immediately come to mind!

:spank:

[roguevalley]

5. India looks like a person dressed up like a cat. What a great buncha

kitties. Lucky you.

[Samurai_Writer]

10. More great cats, Lorien!

Wow, you can really see India's personality. Your photos are always so awesome. I am going to try to do some photos of Sterling and Smoke this weekend.

You always make me wish I lived in a huge house so I could adopt more of your cats. But I have a 2-cat limit in my apartment complex. Plus, my apartment is not big enough for more.

Peace,
Bella

[smurfygirl]

11. you are making me want a cat!

PLEASE STOP IT!

JK....

I really do want a little kitty...
Beautiful pics. I love the twins.

[Lorien]

13. Had a "incident" at the vet's yesterday

all the fosters went in for an additional booster shots and microchips. India and Kachina behaved well 9oddly enough), but the twins, Katori and Nakoma, were howling balls of feline fury! After their ordeal, Nakoma had an "accident" in her carrier. After the nurse and I cleaned her and the carrier off, the nurse placed her back in-only to have her collapse! We pulled her out, and she was limp as a rag. The nurse rushed her back to the doctor, who gave her a steroid shot and an IV, but still no response. Finally another nurse opened a can of cat food and put it under Nakoma's nose-and she perked right up and ate it! She IS terribly thin, and she didn't eat much of the selection of food I put out for them the night before (too excited-she ended up playing instead).The doctor guessed that she was hypoglycemic from lack of nourishment. Still, they had never had a kitten faint on them before, and this was BEFORE the got their boosters. Has anyone else heard of such a thing?

[IndyOp]

15. Whoa - I have never heard of a pet fainting at the

vet, but I love that quick-thinking nurse! If she hadn't thought of that solution the vet might have injected more drugs that weren't needed.

You might want to keep some Karo syrup on hand in case she gets hypoglycemic again - the vet suggested I have some on hand when I was dosing my diabetic cat with insulin. Diabetic cats sometimes have spontaneous remissions from their diabetes and can suddenly go into shock when given their 'regular' dose of insulin.

Which makes me wonder - handslap to forehead! - if maybe you should test Nakoma for diabetes. She is very thin, she urinated in her carrier at the vet... Diabetes is pretty common in cats and IMO easy to treat. Far better for a potential future family to know if she does have diabetes than not - so that they are ready to handle the injections and don't have to deal with the pee problem that usually gets pet owners to take the cat to the vet.

:hug:

[wildeyed]

14. That India is a looker.

What a gorgeous animal.

You are making me want a cat, too. Unfortunately, one of my dogs is a cat chaser. I either need to wait until he passes, or get an adult cat who knows how to stand him down. :sigh: I know there is a kitty in my future someday.

[ET Awful]

18. Hehehe, I have a feeling that a cat like India could cure him of that habi

:)

[wildeyed]

19. India would turn him into ground dog meat, no doubt.

Cure him of the cat chasing habit right away.

[ET Awful]

20. Hehehe. Hell, she'd cure ME of chasing cats :)

She looks like she could kick some serious puppy butt :).

[Patiod]

16. "holistic pet food store" = "hippie cat food store"

In my house at least - the SO will say "we're out of dry food, next time you're at the hippie cat food store". I don't even try to correct him anymore.

[Lorien]

17. In Pookie's case it means

human grade and organic ingredients, but I guess that organic is synonymous with "hippies" to many people.

[Patiod]

22. I joke w/the owner that the cat gets better ingredients than me

I'll fly through Burger King and McDonald's when time insists, but the cat would never get cheeseburger-quality ingredients.

We rid the house of all fish-based cat products (donated to the local no-kill cat shelter), and we had to re-stock with "pure" food. It's surprised how many good, organic foods labeled "chicken" list herring or fish meal as their 3rd or 4th ingredient. Fine for most cats, but not for one whose little face is covered with what the docs think are food-allergy sores.

I dragged my S.O. there this weekend (the who coined the name "hippie cat food store"), and found him deep conversation in with the Store Tabby. Pretty much one-sided, but it was still cute.

[demnan]

21. Oddly they call these cats "Bengals"

but my first cat Yummy was a stray abandoned in the school yard who looked a hell of a lot like a "Bengal". She had spots rather than stripes. She was a nice kitty but we never really considered her that much of a "looker" even though she was very pretty to me and I took a load of analog pictures of her back in the 1970's. It just amuses me to see a cat like this considered a pedagree when so many with the same coat coloring appear in the wild, pound or feral colonies, and my poor Yummy was an abandoned abused cat until she came to live with me.

[Lorien]

23. The photos don't do her justice

at the vet's office she wasn't really noticed-until she she was placed in the full light. Her coat is thick and plush, with a deep red coloration and a very unusual golden shimmer. She glistens when she moves, and her eyes are a bright, pale turquoise. The vet technicians actually gasped when they saw her. My Puck has stronger spots, but I've never seen a coat like that on another type of cat. Not enough to make me want such an animal in my own house, mind you (I prefer exceptionally loving kitties) but beautiful to behold.

[demnan]

28. I can see she is an extraordinary cat

I'm just wondering if the introduction of the wild type of cat is necessary. It seems to cause problems with behavior in these cats, doesn't it?

Actually I adore that cat! In attitude and coloring she reminds me of my Lily. Please take more pictures of her.

[Lorien]

30. I think that they've found other ways

of getting the wild look without cross breeding to wild cats. The Asian Leopard cat is more docile than say, an ocelot, but it's never elected to become semi-domesticated in the wild like the African Serval has (which will sometimes choose to live in villages with people because of the abundant rodent populations). I think one of the reasons Bengal breeders like the Asian leopard cat is because it's coat comes n a broad range of colors, from pale gray to deep red. About the only practical plus (IMO) of a hybrid cat is that they have slightly longer lifespans and very few, if any, health issues.

Asian leopard cats:




Unfortunately, I didn't get to take many photos when she was here (loaned my camera to a friend on his honeymoon, and the only one I had here is temperamental) and now she's already at her new "forever home", where I'm certain she'll be given the love she deserves. But here's a website that features a Bengal that's nearly identical to her:

http://www.roseysbengals.com/

[demnan]

31. Thanks

I'm glad she found a good home!

[Lisa0825]

24. GORGEOUS!!! I'm getting my first foster assignment this week!!!!

I am so excited!!!! I get all five little babies!!!

[superconnected]

25. Congratulations!

[Patiod]

26. What adorable little black kitties!

What a great picture!

[Lorien]

27. Congrats!

Though a litter of black kittens can be tough (more black dogs and cats are euthanized than any other color, plus people wanting them for ugly purposes is a worry, especially around Halloween). I've found that the key to successful, swift adoptions is professional looking,cute and quirky photos for Petfinder.com, plus enticing descriptions and clever names. Separate listings for each kitten help too. Use descriptions like "a sleek, petite panther with a sweet disposition and an excellent purr motor". or "Simply adorable! This kitten is already showing graceful lines that indicate that he will mature into an elegant feline, reminiscent of the goddess Bastet of Egyptian mythology" and "this little one has a dog-like personality; she'll follow you everywhere, and wants nothing more than to be your constant companion and best friend". Going above and beyond in your petfinder descriptions will achieve many more inquiries. Flyers at health food stores and other establishments that draw "bleeding hearts' like ourselves are helpful too.


Good luck!

[Lisa0825]

29. Thanks!:-)

I think for now, I'm just going to take care of them, and observe how the long-time volunteers handle adoptions. I know they are having a pet fair next week, but I don't know if these will be ready by then, or if she wants to keep them longer before adopting. Whiskerville does a lot of promoting them, so I don't know if I will have to do much on my own besides show up to show them off. I guess I'll find that out soon!:-)

[Patiod]

32. Black cat with sad story but happy ending

I got a call from a "connector" woman who knows everyone. Her friend had an abandoned, bedraggled, de-clawed, black cat living for months in her backyard. She was feeding it, but she was off to Florida for a few months, so she needed to find it a home, and she knew black cats don't fare well at humane societies, etc. So my friend was putting out an APB for a good home for this poor kitty.

I emailed everyone at work, and one woman took him "on the condition he gets along with my current cat." Well, they didn't get along. Plus "he was too noisy". Fortunately someone else had responded to the email, too, and she took him in.

In this case, it was true love, though. They get along great, and he turned into a total snuggle bunny, with a beautiful coat when he was well-fed. "He greets me when I get home, talks to me all evening, and loves to sit with me while I watch TV." They're still happily together.

[superconnected]

34. Good info

I'm trying to tame a ferral black kitten and his ferral tabby sister (apprx 5wks old) who live in my parking lot(and an old shed from the next lot). Their momma had them outside this summer.

If only I could catch her and get her fixed(and a home) when she's weaned them.

I feed them twice a day but they hiss at me and won't walk up to me. I'm so afraid of the human society(a kill place) getting a hold of them. They're very hard to catch - far faster than my kittens were.

Knowing this data will help in finding the black one a home. People may be more sensitive to black cats if they knew that.

[demnan]

33. Your place is going to rock and roll at night!

They look like lively little clowns too! Sit back and enjoy the show, you'll find it hard to go to work.