Almost 6 Weeks Old!

Well, here are the kittens- almost 6 weeks old and some cute!

Starting with Sass on the left (she's looking right at the camera), there is Tiny, Zack, Jake, Popcorn, and Farley.

I'm hoping we have homes for at least 2 of the kittens (Sass and either Farley or Tiny- could the woman who is interested in one of these boys call us again?)... so there are at least 4 still available, and, of course, Lilly herself.

The kittens have taken into sleeping in dresser drawers! Don't ask me how they figured out they could get up inside the dresser from the back!! Here are Zack ( I suspect he was the brains behind the operation!), Sass, Jake, and Tiny.

The last picture is Sass and Popcorn enjoying the nice velour cat basket that Florence bought them (thanks, Flo- they love it!).

Right now, the kittens are eating solid food fairly well, although they do still nurse. They are VERY solid on their feet and, boy, are they QUICK! Watching them play with each other is "as good as a concert" as Nan always said (she was a real cat-lover also).

I hope you enjoy the pictures and please pass this blog site on to anyone you know who might be looking for a new furry friend!

Carolyn

Updated Pics (Or The Fun You Can Have with a Shoebox!)

Mamma Lilly keeping a watchful eye...
Farley and Zack (underneath Farley)
Jake, Zack, Tiny with a ball
Sass checking out the eats
Tiny needs a break!
Looks like Jake needs a break, too!
Popcorn just hanging out.

Some of the Ruff-Spots Team at "Pooches in the Park" (Carolyn, Vi, Barbara & Florence).

What to do?

As an animal welfare organization, we feel very responsible for the fate of Lilly and her kittens. Even though as an organization, we do not "adopt out" animals, Lilly managed to find her way into the hearts and home of a member of Ruff-Spots.

As the kittens are getting older, we feel very responsible for their welfare once they find new homes. There is no doubt, that Ruff-Spots will pay for Lilly to be spayed. Carolyn and her family have personally supplied the medical, physical and emotional care that this feline family needs. (Thank you Carolyn) The kittens on the other hand, cannot be spayed/neutered until they are at least 6 months old.

So here is the question to you. Carolyn, does not want to charge an "adoption fee". One of the main reasons for this is because we do not adopt out animals, and we would not want the public to get confused about our organization. We would like to accept a donation in lieu of giving Lilly and her kittens a home, but then that would'nt truly be a donation. A donation is a gift to an organization without receiving any benefit..and well, a cat would be a benefit.

So, what can we do? What do you think we should do about the spaying/neutering of the kittens? Should we ask for $50.00, which in turn, we will purchase a gift certificate to go towards the spaying/neutering of that cat? Ruff-Spots does not want any money. What we do want is to ensure that the cats find great homes and that money will be there to help subsidize their spay/neuter?

please let us know your comments on this. You can press the "comment" button on the bottom of this page or email lilly@ruffspots.com.

Lilly & Her Lovelies!

Jake (left) & Popcorn (Tiny is in behind there somewhere as well!)

Sass (a bit out of focus), with Zack. Sass is the biggest kitten, and I think she'll end up semi-longhaired.

"Brotherly Love"- Farley & Tiny

Followed by their mother, the Lovely Lilly-an absolutely gorgeous tabby with a personality to match! Did I mention that the vet figured Lilly was no more than 2 years old? This might have been her first litter. Given her friendliness to people and comfort around children, I can't believe that she was not loved by someone at sometime. Is she missed? Why is she not being looked for? We have descriptions out to all the agencies that take "lost cat" reports. Could it be that when her family realized she'd be bringing them kittens, they just didn't want the hassle and kept the door closed? Unfortunately, this happens all too often. And it's just not fair.

We'll post more details in the coming days concerning how families or individuals interested in giving one of these beauties a forever home can do so. Or, if you are really taken with a particular kitten (or their mother), get in touch and let us know who you'd like to put "on hold". We already have a family interested in Sass!

More Pics... (formerly "We are Growing..."!)

Here are the pictures that I took last Sunday of the kittens (at about 3.5 weeks old):

Zack, who is the "Einstein" of the litter (first to poop in the litter pan!):

This is Tiny, still the smallest!

The silky Sass (Jake in the background)
Popcorn, who has the loveliest fur

Jake, close-up (HER Pappa has to be a Siamese!) Farley, the boldest (and sookiest) of the bunch!

This is Percy...

and Percy wanted to pass along a message from Lilly and her kittens. If you are interested in providing a loving home for Lilly or one of her kittens, please call 782-SPAY or email lilly@ruffspots.com.

We Are Growing... will return

Something funny seems to have happened to the last post of the kittens- Farley's pic totally disappeared!
Don't worry, I will put the pics of the kittens back up ASAP- but their photos are not on my laptop right now.
I'll add a new one of Lily too!
-Carolyn

Introducing...

The vet visit went extremely well last night- everyone is healthy and the vet believes the kittens are probably close to 3 weeks old!

So, here they are...

This is Sass (ladies first!):

This is her brother Zack:

This is their brother Tiny (he's sleepy in this shot!):

This is Farley (also male):

Of course, the next one has to be Jake ('cause he's kind of Gold!):

And last but not least is Popcorn (male):

As you can tell, we're big Canadian Idol fans in our house! There was some argument among the kids that Tiny should really be "Tiny BEN" and that we should change Popcorn's name to "Craig". Oh well.

Given that we have 2 indoor cats at home (one senior cat, and one not yet finished her initial kitten vaccination series), I really wanted to be sure that Lily did not have feline leukemia or FIV. So, we got her tested last night and the FeLV/FIV blood test result was NEGATIVE! Fantastic news! This means that Lily doesn't have either virus and neither do the kittens.

Tonight we de-wormed everybody with "Interceptor", and gave the kittens a more shallow "bed" that they'll be able to start crawling out of soon to explore the world (well, at least the bedroom!).

Well, that's all for now. I'll try to post new pics of them about once a week. Hopefully, my photography skills will improve over time!

Carolyn, who has a whole new respect for pet photographers...

Oops! Wrong Date-Time Stamp

The pics I just posted today have the wrong date-time stamp (like, 2003!)- which my hawk-eyed 7 year-old noticed when she was approving my first attempt at blogging.
Those pics were taken today (Sep. 4, 2006)- I'll have to go fiddle with my digital camera to correct it.
-Carolyn

Hello from Lily!

Hi, Carolyn here (Lily is staying with our family). I wanted to thank our "RuffSpots Team" for all their help- you girls are really great to work with!


Lily is settling in quite nicely. Much more relaxed, as you can see. We had a small incident with her and our senior (14 year old) cat, Walter, today. One of my daughters was exiting Lily's room and Lily squeezed out between her legs. Walter was in the hall and she made sure that he knew he was to go no where near her kittens. Everyone was fine, though- I think my daughter was the most traumatized!

Here is a recent shot of the kittens, sleeping. They're getting too cute now. They "play" with each other, and try to meow at us!

I'll post some individual pics of them in the next day or two. I want the vet to confirm that we've got the boys sorted out from the girls (well, only 1 girl, if I'm right!).

I can tell you now that the one in the left corner is "Popcorn" (which I guess could be either a girl or a boy kitten's name). He has the cutest black triangle on his nose! I think he's going to be a real charmer.

Here is our other kitty, Binka, aged 6 months, being a BAD KITTY (that's my dining room tablecloth)! We adore her but, like for all kittens, you need to have a lot of patience and realistic expectations about the trouble they can get into. The good news is that they are mostly more fun than bad, and they do settle down after a while!

Please let anyone you know who might be considering a pet know about Lily's blog. Cats make wonderful companions- they give so much and really require so little: a litterpan, food, a few toys (ours are mostly homemade- straws, and balls of paper) and your love and attention!

What is in a name?

Carolyn's children have now named the 6 beautiful kittens. We should have a photo of them real soon. In the meantime, their names are:

Popcorn, Tiny, Farley, Zack, Jake and Sass!

Lilly and the six kittens will be going to the vet on Tuesday for a check-up and for a FeLV test.

The kittens are growing stronger everyday and Lilly is a wonderful mom showing much patience!!

One now equals Seven

After all the rain and cooler tempatures, Carolyn was getting worried about Lilly and her 6 kittens. So, she contacted a vet and the vet advised her they will be fine. Carolyn has 3 dogs of her own plus 2 cats (with one just recenlty adopted from the Burin SPCA) but still felt the need to get Lilly and her kittens inside.

Carolyn has 2 young daughters who are excited yet upset over Lilly and the kittens. All of the family's pets are spayed/neutered, so this was the first time the children had seen newborn kittens and Carolyn was afraid they would become too attached.

Caroyn and her husband have decided to take the Lilly family into their home and use a spare room for the clan. The cat and kittens will be warm and taken care of and Carolyn's children will receive an educational lesson from this on how important it is to spay/neuter your pets.

How many more animals are out there just like Lilly?

Ruff-Spots are going to try and find beautiful Lilly (named after the flower Tiger Lilly that is next to Carolyn's front step) and her precious kittens new homes. Are you able to help us? Please contact us at ruffspots@nl.rogers.com if you would like to adopt Lilly or her kittens (once old enough).

Here is an updated video on Lilly and her kittens in Carolyn's home.

http://media.putfile.com/Lily-Update

Carolyn will be taking Lilly and her 6 kittens to the vet on Tuesday to make sure they are all doing fine. We will have another update then!

The adventures of Lilly the Cat

Found Cat August 26, 2006 in Mount Pearl

Momma cat (now renamed Lilly), is a beautiful female cat that chose to give birth under the front steps of Carolyn's home (a member of Ruff-Spots). Lilly is wearing no collar, and Carolyn is now feeding her to ensure the kittens are well fed by their mom. Carolyn is unsure how many kittens there are because she is unable to look in under the step.

Carolyn, has put up posters looking for her owner and Ruff-Spots has her story on their website, hoping the owner will come looking for her. The SPCA and St. John's Humane Services, and Mount Pearl Animal control have been contacted, but no one has reported a lost cat.

This is a link to a video that Carolyn has of Lilly. http://media.putfile.com/Lost-Cat

Lilly is very affectionate and is not scared of people. She lovs to be petted and is always purring. Someone must of loved her once!!!!!!!