Rescue Spotlight: Stray Animal Adoption Program (SAAP)

It's time to highlight another great rescue that helps Boone County save so many more lives than we could do on our own. SAAP is a wonderful NKY-based rescue that pulls countless animals from local shelters, canines and felines. They are one of the organizations that always seems to come through for us when we need them the most. When we are totally and completely full, SAAP tried their best to help. I have personally helped them when they came to the shelter to pull 15+ dogs. To say that they help us is an understatement--there have been more than a few times when SAAP has absolutely saved us.

I asked some people from SAAP to send me some pictures and stories of animals they have saved. Check out the great work they are doing:

"Jazz's owner died. He spent 2 months with one rescue---then ended up with us...and spent another six weeks...and now the perfect family adopted him."

 Honey Boo Boo was in a terrible state when SAAP saved her...

...But she has since been adopted!!!

As you can see, SAAP does some incredible work. On a personal note, they saved the life of a dog I fell for at Boone County. Bertha is a Shar pei mix who came into our shelter growling and fearful. I soon discovered that treats could tame the "wild" beast, but I didn't know much about the breed. I posted on a forum of SAAP volunteers and asked for advice, because I knew they had rescued Shar Pei's before. The next thing I knew, they were volunteering to take her! She was put into a foster home and truly blossomed, with a great personality. I was so happy because I knew that no matter what I did, that probably would have been very difficult to accomplish in the shelter because she was so scared.

Bertha on the day she was adopted!

Please join me in supporting SAAP. Supporting rescues that help BCAS also helps us! Check them out on their website!

Kit, a True Underdog!

When Kit came to the shelter, I wasn't sure that she would ever be adoptable. She was incredibly anxious, somewhat unpredictable (she never bit or attempted to bite, but her behavior was erratic in general.) Collectively, it was decided that she needed to be evaluated by a local dog trainer OUT of the shelter, to see if her issues were situational.

Once out of the shelter setting, Kit's behavior certainly improved. She was evaluated on many different criteria, and did very well. We started looking for a foster home in order to get her out of the shelter, as it was obvious that she would not be successful in the highly stressful shelter environment. This was definitely the best decision for Kit and her foster Dad has worked with her extensively on training to get her ready for a new home. I am posting her here because, even though being out of the shelter was absolutely the best thing to do for her, that means that she isn't IN the shelter for potential adopters to meet. I am hoping that someone out there will be interested in meeting sweet Kit, as her Foster family can only keep her for about 4 more weeks. PLEASE contact me if you have any interest in/questions about Kit!

Kit's Bio from her Foster Dad:

"Kit is a six year old German Shepherd mix who weighs 41 lbs. Kit is a super sweet girl - we don't know why she was abandoned - no information was provided. Kit is very smart, friendly with people, children and other dogs. She has been spayed and has a clean bill of health. Kit loves to play with people and other dogs. Kit would love a home with someone who likes to snuggle on the couch and in bed. Kit gets anxious away from her house and prefers to stay at home or in her own yard. She is housetrained and does not chew or destroy anything. Kit just needs lots of love, attention and patience. Kit is a very special dog who deserves a very special home.

Please help us find her a FOREVER home."

Kit lounging at home

Hugging her Foster Dad

Social Media Saves Lives

About a year ago, I started at Boone County Animal Shelter as a Kennel Technician. My job duties include cleaning, feeding, sanitizing kennels, assisting with adoptions and pretty much anything else that needs to be accomplished on a daily business to keep our animals happy and healthy. I love my job. My weird need for cleanliness is satiated, I get to work with animals every single day, I get to help animals find forever homes..it is perfect.

Another important aspect of my job isn't listed in my job description. When I started, I had managed social media for a few small businesses in the area. I voluntarily took over the shelter's Facebook page and Twitter account. The Facebook page had around 189 "likes" (followers) and honestly, wasn't very active. Today, we hit a huge milestone: 5,500 likes. I am not an expert, but I thought that I would do a semi-informative post about how I manage our page in the interest of helping other shelters/rescues achieve the same success that we have at Boone County Animal Shelter.

Regular. Regularity is one of the most important words to keep in mind when managing a social media site for an animal organization. Creating a page and neglecting to make regular posts does your organization no good, and can actually end up hurting you. If people are searching for local animal organizations and stumble upon a totally inactive Facebook page, they are going to move on to another organization. I make at least one update per day. The caveat here is not to overdo it. Each and every post needs to be worth the space on your followers news feed. On days where we have made 4-6 posts, we usually have a few "unlikes." But remember to balance the "unlikes" with new likes. If 5 people unlike your page, but you get 10 new likes, don't worry about it too much. Stressing over the little things can make social media overwhelming for anyone. You don't have to post every day, but keep it regular so you stay in the thoughts of your followers.

Visual. Social media should be a mostly visual medium, specifically for animal welfare organizations. The majority of social media users will respond to a picture in their newsfeed, but may skim over a huge block of text or ignore it completely. Using my page "insights" (an analysis of page statistics) I can see that any post with a picture is interacted with by users much more than any text-based update. I don't care if you are asking for donations of paper towels, find a picture of a paper towel and post it with your status update! This is one of the MOST important things to do as far as garnering more "likes" and interactions on your page.

Quality Pictures. Going along with the visual aspect, remember that quality is much more important than quantity. In fact, a bad picture can hurt an animal's chances of garnering interest from potential adopters. Personally, I cringe when I see pictures taken of animals through chain link, in dark kennels. I realize it is a quick way to snap a picture, but I promise you that taking the extra 5 minutes to put the dog on a leash and stand outside in the sun for the picture will pay off tenfold.  People need to see the personality of the animal, they need to be able to imagine that animal in their home. If the animal is timid and you can't capture their true personality, then ask a volunteer to pose with them, comforting them. Showcase the fact that the animal in the pictures is loving, not scared. I can't emphasize quality enough.

Interaction. Simply posting pictures and walking away from the computer isn't the way to increase your support and adoptions. I see many rescue/shelter Facebook pages that don't respond when people post very relevant questions about animals posted. The person who takes 2 minutes to ask a question about an animal might be the same person who comes to adopt it if they could get a response to their question. I won't lie, it can be overwhelming. Specific examples would be posting an animals picture complete with age, spay/neuter status, good with dogs/cats/kids etc. and then answering questions about all the information that is clearly posted! It can become frustrating, but consider the time taken to answer those questions well spent. Even if the questioner doesn't adopt, if they say to one person, "Hey, you know where you should go to adopt your new pet? This shelter, they are on Facebook..." then the repetition is worth it. Every interaction counts. 

Honesty. Be completely honest, even if you think that your response to a question may cause someone to lose interest in that animal. If you know without a doubt that a certain animal wouldn't be great with kids, then say that. But try to keep it positive. In that particular situation, I might say that Sparky wouldn't do well with small children, but we think he would be great in a home with kids 12+ years old. Always pad a negative with a positive. You never know, the commenter with the small children might have a friend or relative who would have a more appropriate home for little Sparky. Never set up unrealistic expectations for an animal, because that almost always equals an eventual return. It's not just about getting an animal a home, it's about getting an animal the right home.

Criticism. As you gain more followers and your page gets more attention, you will invariably receive some criticism for a variety or reasons. Whatever your policies are, this is inevitable because of the ease of communicating via social media. I can't tell you what to do, but I can tell you what I do, and also that it works. First, I don't censor. If someone has a legitimate complaint, we don't ignore it, nor do we try to deny it via social media. The complainant is referred to our shelter director immediately, and I comment on the post saying that so that anyone who sees it understands that we do take complaints seriously and will do whatever we can to resolve the issue. Let me repeat--don't argue with people via social media. In my experience, people can become more volatile on social media because important things like tone are lost on a computer screen. Refer them to the person who can help them so that everyone knows that you take complaints seriously. That doesn't mean that you can't reply to criticism at all, if you feel you need to. But in general, I don't get into talking about policy on Facebook. However, I do not allow foul language. Our page is followed by many different people from many different walks of life and I don't believe that any of them want to see four letter words all over the place. When I delete a comment like that, I post a follow up comment stating that I deleted it and why.

Keep it Current. I find that this is one of the hardest things to do, particularly in a high-volume, open-intake shelter. But I try my best to keep the pictures of animals and their descriptions as current as possible.

Wow, that was a long entry, and I think I missed a few things. Hopefully this will help if anyone wants to ramp up their social media use. Feel free to ask any questions!

Rescue Spotlight!

We have decided to start highlighting local private rescues who we consider to be our "life-saving" partners. For those of you who don't know, when we refer to "rescues" we generally mean a privately run, foster-home based organization that will "pull" dogs from our shelter in order to give them more time to find homes than BCAS can, usually due to space. Sometimes they will take animals with health or behavioral issues that we simply cannot keep in the shelter. Rescues are an amazing and integral part of the life-saving programs we are establishing---we couldn't do this without them! For that reason, we want to regularly feature rescues who work with us so that you CAN support them too!

Our first featured rescue is Paws and Claws Animal Rescue, Inc. based out of Hebron, Kentucky! Founder Angie More has been an incredible supporter of BCAS, and her commitment to us shows through her willingness to step and and help when we are in a tight spot. Their motto, "One by one, until there are none" really illustrates their approach to rescue--each and every animal matters, and each life saved is one step closer to a world with less animals in need and more in happy, loving homes. The following are the stories of two dogs pulled from BCAS, two lives saved by Paws and Claws.

Garth, and his award-winning "smile"

The Story of "Garth"

Garth originally came to BCAS from another overcrowded shelter. At the time, we had a big adoption event coming up and hoped to easily find Garth a home. Unfortunately, potential adopters didn't seem to see the same fun, loving guy that we all did. Weeks stretched on and Garth continued to be passed over. Eventually, we became so overcrowded that we physically couldn't house any more dogs than we  already had in the shelter. At this point, we sent out a desperate plea to local rescues, begging them to take even one dog to help save it. Angie, as she so often does, stepped up and helped save this boy who  no one seemed to want. She scrambled to find a foster home for Garth, and was able to save his life and get him out of the shelter! Garth is still up for adoption and is currently being fostered by local trainer, Mike Dixon!

The Story of "Fred"

Fred's story has a very sad start. Fred came to the shelter after he was found tied to the shelter fence one morning, probably having been there for hours. Initially, he was accessed as being "aggressive." Unfortunately, at this point in time, snap judgements happened among shelter staff. We now understand (through learning from trainers and other shelter workers) that animals are much like people in that they can behave very differently from their true nature in times of extreme stress and fear. 

Luckily for Fred, Angie More happened to be at the shelter the evening that we were all debating on what to do with him. We knew that in this environment, Fred would not be considered "adoptable" due to his extreme fear of everything around him. The only thing that could save Fred's life would be getting him out of the shelter. Once Angie heard about Fred's plight, she immediately went into action, taking Fred home with her that night after accessing him and realizing that he was not aggressive, only scared. Fred stayed with the More's, and also in a temporary foster home. Out of the shelter setting, Fred blossomed. He played with other animals, and kids of all sizes! He has since been adopted into a loving family and thanks to Paws and Claws, has truly found his "furever" home.

Fred, enjoying his new life and a day at the park!

Please join us in supporting these local rescues. They do this completely on their own time, out of their own pockets, simply because they love saving the lives of animals. Go "like" their page on Facebook, tell them Boone County Animal Shelter sent you!

Then you better start swimming'/Or you'll sink like a stone/For the times they are a-changin'...

It has been a ridiculously long time since I last blogged. I could say, "Oh, things just got too busy" or make some other excuse. The truth of the matter is that I just couldn't bring myself to sit down in front of the computer and write about my job the way I used to. Remember the last post I put up, the one all about "kitten season" and the incredible amount of pressure we were under? Yeah, that didn't let up. Well, I guess technically we are still on the tail end of kitten season now.

We took in an incredible amount of animals since June. I can't give any specific numbers, but I can tell you that even with fosters, even with increased adoptions, even with ALL of the programs we have been trying to implement over the course of the last year, our "save rate" was nowhere near the 90% mark. I was so discouraged that at a certain point, I lost every ounce of enthusiasm I ever had for my job, and with that, any desire to share my experiences with you. I will be totally honest--I was actually keeping my eyes peeled for another job. I couldn't deal with the prospect of unnecessary euthanasia anymore, and it was all I could do to clock in every work day. I was at my wits end.

But then, something pretty incredible happened. I attended the Great Shelters Conference here in Cincinnati and was floored by the amount of success people are having at improving their save rate to the 90% mark. I have actually heard a few people say "Well, of course they are successful, they get to pick and choose which animals they take in!" But that isn't true. There are municipal, open-intake shelters just like ours who have achieved what some call "No-Kill" status through the implementation of the same programs we have been working so hard to develop at Boone County Animal Shelter.

This week, everything changed at Boone County. It had become apparent to me that talking about improving our save rate was fine and dandy, but at a certain point you have to roll up your sleeves and just do it. You have to commit to the reality that in order to prevent needless euthanasia (for space reasons, medical reasons, whatever the reason) you will exhaust EVERY avenue, every option and every resource. That is what this week was, for us. At the beginning of the week we were incredibly full of cats and kittens. Instead of finding reasons to euthanize animals in order to make space, guess what we did? Got online, developed a promotion, advertised, took out our mobile adoption unit and saved around 20 cats/kittens. Are we still a little fuller than I would prefer? Yes. But I'm not worried because I have faith in myself, my dedicated fellow staff members, our incredible volunteers, and in particular, our Shelter Director.

I can't speak for my coworkers--I suppose some may not be as enthused as I am about the changes at BCAS, but I can say that this week is the first time in a VERY long time that I have left the shelter at night happy and satisfied that I did everything I could to save lives that day. Also exhausted, of course, but I'm not complaining.

I am so hopeful about the future of the animals at Boone County Animal Shelter. In other news, I have the cutest foster ever who is determined to prevent me from typing anymore on this entry. More to come soon!

Feeling the Heat...

As anyone who is involved in animal rescue/shelter work knows, the time from Spring to Fall is the most stressful and difficult time of the year. This is my first Spring/Summer working at Boone County Animal Shelter. I expected it to be difficult, but I didn't expect it to be this hard to deal with. The worst part of it all? We still have months and months to go, with no relief in sight until the leaves start to turn and the temperatures begin to cool.

Every day I walk through the shelter doors, I enter with a heavy heart and a feeling of dread, knowing that however crowded it was when I left, it will be even more crowded when I return. It is "kitten season," the time of year that produces a HUGE influx of newborn kittens. We are trying to save every single adoptable kitten and have had an incredible response to our call for foster homes. However, it still isn't enough. It feels like every week we are scrambling to find one more foster because ours are all full and we suddenly have a basket full of adorable kittens because someone didn't get their cat spayed/neutered. And we have lost a few litters, at this point. When you can't find anyone to take the babies, they simply can't sit in the shelter where they would be exposed to sickness. I stopped by yesterday (my day off) and left with an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was early afternoon and we had already taken in 20+ kittens. How is a shelter supposed to cope with that? I know that the staff is having a difficult time coping. Often I think to myself, "So THIS is why shelters resist attempting to go no-kill." Trying so hard to save them all and not being able to is surprisingly more difficult than not trying at all.

Our adoptions are down. Way down. We have been in the "danger zone" with adult dogs for a while now. Even ONE adoption brings a sense of relief. That is one more life saved. I understand that people want to adopt puppies or small dogs but I can't help but feel bitter about the fact that there are wonderful adoptable dogs who happen to be a bit larger and because of that, they are passed over again and again and again.

The private rescues, one of our major lifelines, are so full they aren't able to pull animals from us as frequently anymore. There are a few who are helping so much, but even then it doesn't always work out. For instance, a local rescue pulled a dog from us only yesterday. At last report, he wasn't doing well at all in his new foster home. He was with us for so long and I can't help but think that he is acting badly because he has no idea how to be in a home anymore. The shelter became his home, and that is heartbreaking.

What keeps me going? The little "wins." The person who takes a chance on a long-term resident dog, or the new foster home. Support from my coworkers and my loved ones. On the note of coworkers, I don't know that I have ever felt so closely bonded with people I work with. I think it is an emotional survival tactic...we have to band together to make it through and keep our heads above water. We are quick to make each other laugh, try to make each other smile whenever we can because we don't know what will come through the door next.

I'm certainly not too proud to beg. If you have thought about adoption, please do it now. If you have thought about volunteering, please do it now. And for goodness sakes, if you can foster, PLEASE do it now. We need you now.

The Evolution of Grover

I think it might be a running joke that I am usually in the midst of "taming" a dog that might, at first glance, seem unadoptable. If you look back a few entries, you will see my story about Tanner, the young shepherd mix who seemed like he would never trust humans. Eventually, with time, patience and lots of work on the part of the staff, he let his true self show and was adopted by a great family. I thought Tanner was a pretty big challenge, until I met the dog I would come to call Grover.

I met Grover where I usually meet new dogs---in our Receiving kennel, where we hold stray dogs for the mandatory 5 day period to give their owners time to come in to claim them. As I walked through the kennels I saw a beautiful blue brindle Pit Bull mix (you know I am a Bully Breed lover) cowered in the floor, literally pressing his body against the wall like he was trying to go through it to get away from me. He was shaking, and not a normal "I'm a little freaked out" shake. Literally, every inch of his body was vibrating with fear, from his head to the end of his tail. Initially I thought he must be having some kind of mild seizure so I called my coworker, a Vet. Tech. We got a leash on him and literally forced him to stand up, to make sure that he wasn't injured. He seemed fine, except for his fear, the likes of which I have never seen.

I began my usual routine of trying to give treats, approaching him in as non-threatening a manner as possible, talking in low, soft tones. It wasn't working. The fear in this dog was too big for me to overcome  with simple tricks. I got cans of moist food with chunks of meat, offering them to him by tossing them near him in the kennel. At first, even that was too much for him. He merely moved farther away. I would leave, come back, and the food would still be laying in the floor. I had almost decided that I couldn't help him. I didn't have the experience, or the time. I made up my mind to give it one more day, a few more attempts but I couldn't even be in his line of sight without causing him to tremble in terror. This dog, I told myself, would be a fear biter---a dog who would bite not out of outright aggression, but because he literally feared for his life and safety when humans were around. He wasn't safe and I couldn't trust him.

The last day of his stray hold I came through and noticed that he was actually making eye contact with me for the first time. I thought hey, what the heck, and got my trusty moist dog food, crouched down outside his door and opened it a crack, slowly. I reached in and tossed a morsel of food to him. He looked at me, looked at the food, and cautiously ate it. Still trembling, still scared, but this little victory was huge for both of us. After a couple more bites off the floor he moved closer to me, crawling, never confident enough to stand. I took a chance--I held a piece of food in my hand. I didn't stick it in his face or do anything that he might think was scary. Just put it in my hand and waited, watching closely, aware that I needed to be careful. He looked up at me, slowly leaned over and licked the food off my fingers.

If you have never worked to rehabilitate a dog that is scared out of it's wits, you can't understand the feeling I had at that moment. It is a rush. It is a wave of relief. You feel absolutely honored to have won a dog's trust, against all odds, in an environment that is unfortunately extremely stressful to a dog like this. I wanted to keep working with him and see what would happen.

Over the course of the next few days I kept at it when I had time. First priority for me has to be the well-being and health of the animals at BCAS as a whole, so the little "projects" are something I work on when all is taken care of. Eventually I could walk through the kennels and get a slight tail wag. He was happy to see me, at least a little. Then he would come to the front of the kennel. When that happened, I knew the tide was really turning. I could open the door of his kennel and actually pet him. One night I wanted to see how he would do when exposed to new people, a new space. I took him into our treatment room where my coworkers were. I sat in the floor and he sat right beside me, his body pressed into mine. Still scared. He would take treats from my coworkers for the first time though. Huge.

Grover is improving still. He still takes a moment to warm up to strangers. Never aggressive, just submissive. He is most comfortable when I am around, but I'm trying to distance myself a little because he is becoming too bonded to me. He LOVES playing with other dogs and seeing him play like any dog would was an absolute joy.

I'm so proud of Grover but I'm also still so worried. I think a dog like him needs to be in a home and won't fully blossom until that happens. With so many other extroverted, happy-go-lucky dogs, who in their right mind would take on such a project? I know that this boy would be hopelessly devoted to the next person who gives him the love that he needs. I can only hope that if I was willing to trust Grover and in turn earn his trust, that there is someone else out there who might be willing to take the same leap of faith. I hope that Grover will never tremble again. I hope that he will finally be confident enough to meet strangers without fear. Most of all, I hope that he one day will know the constant and deep love of being a part of someone's family. That will be one happy day for both of us.

Kitten Update!

So the babies turned 5 weeks old this past Thursday. Everyone is doing well, eating moist AND dry food, using the litter box. They are so much fun to watch! They play so hard together and then just pass out in a big sleepy pile of cuteness. Babs is doing well also. She miiiight be going to the shelter next week to be spayed (no more babies for her, yay!) and head off to her new forever home! I'm so excited for her, but I'm starting to get a little sad that she won't be with us much longer. She is one of the sweetest cats I have ever met and has been such a pleasure to take care of. The kittens should be going to the shelter next week to get checked out and get their shots. Then hopefully within 2 weeks they will be ready for adoption! I can't believe it's already almost time for them to find their new homes!

Updated photos:

Animal! He is such a handsome boy. One of the rough and tumble boys, he loves
to wrestle with the other babies and seems to be one of the most playful of the bunch.

Kermit is a mischeivious  little boy. His favorite thing is to climb on top of the
cat scratching tunnel toy thing and watch until a sibling comes by and then
he flying tackles them!

Gonzo is my little gentleman! He is playful but not as rude about it as some of
the boys!

Miss Piggy is so funny! She has the most nicknames..Piggy, Pig, PigPig, Little Piggie..

So cute!

Fozzie is the best little guy! He was the first to use the litter box, first
to eat dry food and the first to play with toys! Talk about an overachiever!

Fozzie again. I think I surprised him, ha!

Fergie

GREAT NEWS! Just got word that one of our fantastic volunteers has taken Fergie home to foster her!!!

On a not so hopeful note, things are not looking great for one of my favorite dogs at the shelter, Fergie. To back up a bit, Fergie was brought in as a stray by one of our officers. From the beginning she was sweet but totally terrified. One thing that the staff does with dogs like that is to take them out of the kennel and let them hang out in the office. As per usual, after a few days of this Fergie did an almost complete turnaround. Still a little wary with complete strangers, but just the most affectionate little girl. We all fell in love. She was an older girl, and not the prettiest, but she is one of the sweetest dogs I have ever met. We were all hopeful for her.

Then, she tested positive for heart worm. I can't tell you how depressed the mood became in the office when we got the news. A debate began--do we try to treat the heart worm or not? She wasn't spayed, and no one was certain that she could even make it through a surgery. In the end, after much consideration, our medical staff decided to try the surgery. If she made it, we would go from there. If she didn't, then at least we tried. 

I heard from the surgical staff that this surgery was performed without the usual banter. Everyone was quiet, hoping that Fergie could somehow (against all odds) pull through. After the surgery she was placed in the recovery area and checked on very frequently. Somehow, this little girl made it, against all odds. She spent the weekend with one of our staff members and is now well on her way to recovering from the surgery. We have begun to treat the heart worms, but no one really knows if she will recover. She may only have a few months left. 

Now what to do? How do we convince someone to take this sweet little girl, knowing that she might not be alive in 6 months? Yes, it is possible that she can beat the heart worms. Possible, yes. Probable? We don't know. I know that she has touched all of our hearts because she has lived a rough life. She is about Jack Russell sized, and her little body is covered with signs of neglect and ill-care. Her nipples are evidence of many many litters. Her legs have scars on them, and we aren't sure of the origin. She has an underbite as well. I know, she doesn't sound all that appealing. However, I challenge you to look into this little girl's eyes and not be moved by the sweetness and warmth in them. I wish that we could find someone who would foster this girl, give her a warm soft place to sleep every night, affection every day. Living in the kennel is no life for her. If you or anyone you know might consider taking this little girl in, PLEASE contact us at the shelter. None of us can fathom giving up on this little girl..we just need someone to take a chance on her.

Kitten Update and more!

Well the Muppet Babies turned 3 weeks old on Tuesday! They are becoming more mobile and their little personalities are really starting to develop! Here are some new pictures of the cuties:

Animal (M) & Fozzie (M)! They are best friends, Animal is the playful little adventurer of the group
And Fozzie is the most affectionate

Gonzo (M)-He is the cautious one, and his little face always looks so concerned!

See? Best friends! (Fozzie & Animal)

L-R Fozzie, Animal, Miss Piggy (the only girl!) and Gonzo

Kermit, Miss Piggy, Gonzo

Gonzo & his little worrywart face!

Cute Train: Piggy, Kermit, Gonzo

Kermit & Gonzo

As you can see they are all thriving! They are doing so well and Babs is doing great too! She is still such a good Mama, it amazes me every day. I probably already have a home lined up for Babs, not sure if I have mentioned that or not. So yay, kittens!

Two Weeks Old!

So the babies have passed the two week mark. We felt like that meant they deserved names, which will be revealed later. They are doing great, though Brown Tabby has a little eye gunk going on that we are medicating and should get better soon. Babs eats A LOT to support the babies. She is her usual, affectionate self and I am hoping that I have found a great home for her already! Personalities are starting to show through, too. It is easy to differentiate between the kittens who are mellow and the ones who are super rambunctious. It may change as time passes, but it is fun to watch the changes! One big change is that some of my early guesses about the sex of the kittens were wrong! Without further ado, here are the two week old babies:

Kermit! Thought he was a girl, but he is a boy!

Originally thought she was a boy, but Miss Piggy (the runt) is a girl!

Hissing at the Camera! Fozzy in front, Gonzo in back.

Babs chills with me while the babies sleep

Babies! 

Little Gray Boy! His name is Fozzy :-)

 

Babs, checking out what I'm doin' to her baby!

P.S. I am waiting to post a picture of Animal (formerly "Brown Tabby") until his little eye looks a little better.

                

Baby kittens!

Well, the babies are 1 week and a day old. They are all still doing great! The black and white girl is by far the biggest, but the others are all comparable in size to one another. The runt is still the smallest, but not by much at this point. He's catching up :-) Babs is doing well--she is an eating, sleeping, baby feeding machine! I check on her food and water 3-4 times a day and give her some love. I tried to determine their sex today and so far I am fairly positive black & white is a girl, brown tabby is a boy, little black runt is a boy, and one of the grays is a boy. But we will see---things are really tiny down there! Ha.

Picture update!

Black and white girl is big! Her eyes are almost open too.

Little Runt, how I love you! His eyes haven't even started to crack open yet.
(If you aren't familiar, the eye opening is a process.)

Brown Tabby! He might be my front runner in the cuteness department.

Gray Tabby 1, starting to open eyes!

Gray Tabby 2 is taking his time!

Kittens getting fierce!

Feisty Brown Tabby Strikes out on his own!

KITTENS!

I am proud to announce that Barbara Streisand had her kittens last night! There were 6 total, thought one was stillborn :-( Still, the 5 she has look great! My coworker Kelly came over today to give them a quick check over (and to revel in the cuteness!) She thinks they look awesome, and Babs is being a great mom! So proud of her. I have a bottle and milk in hand just in case, since 5 kittens is a lot for most cats, especially one as young as Babs. Hopefully I won't need to use it, but it is always good to be prepared.

Without further ado, here is the Fab Five!
         

Light Gray Tabby #1

   

Little Tux-ie Guy

Brown Tabby, Fiesty!

Little Runt! He is the only one who miiiight end up looking like his mom.

Light Gray Tabby #2

Blob of cute!