Kittens at TLA!

Last Monday at TLA, I attended a session given by the staff of Pflugerville Public Library – Director Jennifer Coffey, Melissa Grzybowski, and Margaret Miller – and Rhonda McLendon, Director of Pflugerville Animal Welfare Services (PAWS). This session was appropriately called Becoming a Pet-Friendly Library: Tips from a Public Library and Animal Shelter Partnership.

To everyone’s delight, Rhonda brought two Chihuahuas and five bottle baby kittens to the session! Of course I had to love on the babies and take lots of photos…

Here is a photo of all five! (Photo courtesy of Pflugerville Library)

These tabby babies were quite popular and remarkably chill.

This darling baby only protested when her person stopped petting her.

You can be sure that I squeed (professionally, of course).

FYI, the kittens will be available for adoption at the Pflugerville Animal Shelter when they are old enough!

Super Cozy

Mau is such a chill cat, especially in the evenings during regularly scheduled lap time. He loves to snuggle and can be found flipped on his back nestled between us. We can also tuck Mau into our throw blankets and he seems quite happy to snooze there.

Happy Sunday everyone!

The Bromance Thickens

Charlie and Garrus have been best buds since the summer of 2017, just before we brought them home as fosters. They see each other as belonging to the same “social group,” groom each other, play together, and snuggle together. Charlie often uses Garrus as a pillow, which apparently, Garrus doesn’t seem to mind.

But look at this! Garrus’ position as Charlie’s pillow has been usurped by Mau! Scandalous!

I can tell you that all three were making happy kitty sighs. Charlie was nearly snoring with contentment. You can actually see him smiling in his sleep too.

Making Friends

Having three cats – all boys, with very different personalities – is a fun lesson in cat ownership. I’ve noticed that all three regularly play by themselves and with each other. It’s a common occurrence for a scamper session to start before we wake up in the morning and continue during breakfast. Another preferred time to bat toys around and tell everyone about it is right when we’re going to bed. Charlie in particular likes to warble when he plays – I’ve been working on getting video and audio of it so I can share it with you here on Purry Home Companion.

Hooray the boys are getting along! Apparently Charlie and Garrus are starting to see Mau as belonging to their social group.

Garrus and Mau chill on the ottoman.

“Hi Mom. I really want the blue blanket for myself but Charlie won’t move. Maybe we can snuggle instead.” ~Mau

They both fit!

Charlie and Mau shared the cat tree! Charlie got his spot back!

Do your cats get along? Are they friends with each other? Does your cat have a dog friend? Share your stories in the comments!

Garrus remains unconcerned.

Toothless King of the House

It’s hard to believe that Mau has been with us for two months now. When we brought him home in late June, he was timid and certainly not feeling his best given the advanced state of her periodontal disease. In the Pflugerville Animal Shelter, prior to his transfer to Austin Pets Alive! and foster care, he was withdrawn, gaunt, not eating much, and spending most of his time in a plastic bin in his cat condo.

He just looked so sad, stressed out, and in need of serious TLC. Although volunteers regularly loved on him and brushed him, his coat was in a sorry state because he did not groom himself very well.

We breathed a huge sigh of relief when Mau started eating wet food and ate with relish! Because he was underweight, we gave him additional small meals. What does it say about our house that two out of three cats need to eat like Hobbits in order to get to a healthy weight?

When Aaron and I spent time with him, we were nevertheless struck by how sweet he was. With photos like this, it was quite apparent that we had a most handsome boy on our hands too.

One month later, he showed us how much he loved human company and that he was thoroughly down with snuggles. Lap time is an imperative!

After he had his long-awaited and much-needed dental surgery, he started to blossom. While sick, he demonstrated little interest in playing (understandable) but once he started feeling better, we caught him batting crinkle balls and springs around the house. He hopped into boxes and raced up the cat tree, unceremoniously unseating Charlie from his favorite platform.

Our evenings are MC’d by this lovey boy. Isn’t he cute? He greets us with an enthusiastic and demanding “MEH!” and purrs when he receives the attention he wants. And he’s charmingly fluffy too!

For the Sake of Cute

I love catching a snuggle in progress. More often than not, Charlie uses Garrus as a pillow. Garrus never seems to mind.

They have no problem sharing the extra-comfy blue elephant pillow.

Do you have pets that love each other? How do they show their affection for one another? Please share in the comments!

So This Happened Last Night

I don’t think Garrus wasn’t consulted.

“Instead of taking pictures, you could, you know, help.” ~Garrus

“Boundaries? What are those?” ~Mau

The snuggle ended when Garrus slid from under Mau and stood up, letting Mau to unceremoniously flop on the ottoman. Then Mau declared that lap time would commence forthwith with Aaron.

Sweet Mau

Mau is a pretty cute cat, though I might be biased. It’s now been about 10 days since his dental surgery and being toothless hasn’t negatively affected his quality of life.

“This bed is so cozy!”

Aaron and I have noticed that he has become more playful and bats both crinkle balls and plastic springs around the house. Mau’s favorite toy might be the laser pointer, however, as he chases after the red dot with more gusto and stamina than either Garrus or Charlie. It’s highly amusing and delightful to watch all three cats skitter about the house trying to pounce on the elusive red dot. If I can, I’ll record a video of a play session and share it here on Purry Home Companion!

“Mama, I found a box! It’s such a nice box.”

Look at these handsome boys! I couldn’t resist snapping a photo when I saw them lined up like this.

Garrus and Mau demonstrate their nightly ottoman sprawl. Mau recently adopted this habit of flaunting his fluffy belly like this. It’s not a trap. I repeat: it’s not a trap!

Kitten Palooza Part One

Aaron and I visited the Pflugerville Animal Shelter for two hours this afternoon, originally intending to see Mau. We’re still waiting for him to be transferred to APA and receive more intensive treatment for his dental issues. In the meantime, we get to visit!

When I visited last week, there was a litter of seven kittens. Two of them–the black and the white and grey bicolor–were adopted last week. The grey will be adopted tomorrow. But now the adoption room has four more kittens–9 total! I can verify that they were indeed most precious.

These three were mellow and super-cuddly and freely demonstrated their excellent purring technique. (You can see the third’s rear end sticking up. He took kneading on the bed very seriously.)

This little girl was positively loquacious! Her brother had been adopted late last week so she did not like being by herself, and let everyone know how unfair it was.

“GIMME ATTENTION NOW!” The grey tabby (the only girl in the litter of seven, now five) was a little diva.

“Love me please?” These orange and grey furballs wanted all the smooches.

Stay tuned for Part Two!

OMG Kittens!

I realized that I had not volunteered at the shelter recently because I had been preoccupied taking care of Boudicca for the last several months. With that in mind, I gathered up several cans of cat food that we weren’t using (Boudicca had not liked the brand or texture) and took them to the shelter for donation. Since their policy changed a bit, I filled out a couple of forms but once that was done, I was ready to go. After all, there were SEVEN KITTENS that were now in the adoption room. Obviously I had to visit them.

Such emphatic little squeaks!

I love black cats so I had to hold this one first. (I totally squeed with joy.) Note: s/he looks concerned because s/he got stuck on my shirt with those needle-sharp little claws!

Being this cute is most exhausting. Note: the all grey one was extra fuzzy-wuzzy. There may have been some swooning over this.

These tabby babies are being held by the cat volunteer mentor extraordinaire, Grandma Jean. (Everyone calls her this.) The tabbies had a lot to say about their nails being trimmed but they behaved well. Grandma Jean had little chats with the kittens in pairs so everyone received proper amounts of adoration. They also had lovely blue eyes but I couldn’t get a good photo because they were rather squirmy.

Day summary: I visited three adult kitties (see forthcoming post) and seven exquisitely cute kittens! Everyone got loved on, smooched, and babbled at, and I had the pleasure of rubbing some full kitten tummies too. I definitely came home on a kitten-high.