Cody has found a new passion thanks to Kt.  It’s called Lure Coursing.  Kt set up the course in our play area and Cody couldn’t have had more fun chasing the lure.  Finally, he was worn out!  If you’re interested in participating in Lure Coursing, I’ve attached the flyer for info.

Kittens:
Mimi continues to be an attentive, caring mom to her five babies.  The kittens eyes are now open and they are starting to crawl around a bit.  We weighed them yesterday and they are a whopping 7 ounces.  We’ll continue to monitor their weight to make sure they’re thriving.  With a mom like Mimi, I’m sure they will.

Three additional kittens arrived on Monday probably a week or two older than Mimi’s bunch.  They are the offspring of a feral mom and we’re trying to locate the remainder of the litter plus trap the mom cat.  The three kittens aren’t old enough to eat on their own so we took a chance that Mimi would accept one to nurse. After a brief introduction, Mimi is as protective of her adoptive kitten as she is of her own.  It’s very sweet to see this much larger kitten in the pile with his new siblings.  He’s the big boy at 11 ounces and is a gray tabby.  So Mimi’s kits are all tabbies.

Since Mimi is young and petite, we didn’t want to add the additional two black and white tuxedo kittens to her feeding load.  A huge thank you to Anna for taking them home to bottle feed.  Taking in kittens this young is not only labor intensive but also deprives one of sleep.  They have to be fed at least every 4 hours.  Anna is doing a great job keeping up with their nutritional needs since they weigh the same as their brother adopted by Mimi.

If anyone might be able to foster and bottle feed kittens, please get in touch.  We may need additional help if more kittens arrive.

Last Saturday, a sweet and very pregnant cat joined us.  Her person is homeless and without funds to care for a cat with kittens.  Mimmi is not quite a year old and gave birth this morning to 5 kittens.  She’s a good mom so far and we’re supplementing her normal food with a special diet for lactating moms.  Thank goodness this little family is safe with us.  The kittens all look like tabbies but we don’t know how many males/females there are.  It’s interesting because Mimmi is all black.  A study in genetics!  We’ll restrict visits to mom and kits to staff and duty people until the babes get a bit older.

Cody is beginning to get the idea of paying attention.  Thanks to the good work of Kt, and now Gwen, his behavior is really improving.  Cody is a beautiful, smart dog needing an active and strong person.  Presently, he’s the only dog in residence so he’ll get plenty of attention and training.

For our dog walkers, you’ll notice a series of hooks on the end of the kennels next to the white board.  In order to avoid confusion on which harness is fitted to which dog, the appropriately fitted harness will be hanging on a hook with the dog’s name next to it.  Harnesses will no longer be hanging on the kennels.  There should only be one strap to attach after placing the harness on the dog.  It isn’t necessary to undo all the straps to put on or remove the harness.  If you have questions about proper fitting, please ask.

Cats:
So far this month, Daisy is the only feline finding a home.  We have several really wonderful cats but folks seem more interested in kittens right now.  We’ll be visiting the Senior Center lunch on Tuesday to introduce and promote mature cat adoptions.

Misc.:

Thank you to Janine and Julie, from our shelter partner Skagit Humane, for taking the time and making the effort to visit our shelter.

Many of you never had the opportunity to meet Dingo and he’s already in a new home.  This active 11 year old cattle dog/red heeler mix joins a mature woman recently losing her beloved companion.  The meeting of Dingo and his new person brought tears to a lot of eyes including mine.  When Dingo came out of his kennel, he went straight to his new person, rubbed against her leg, looked her in the eye and sat down between her legs.  From that point, he didn’t leave her side.  She started crying and so did I.  It was a beautiful match – they needed each other. Dingo has a job to do, looking out for his new person, and she has a new devoted companion.

Presh is a star in her training class and will ‘graduate with honors’ I’m sure.  Kt reports she does everything asked of her.  Good dog!  Cody still needs quite a bit of work just getting his attention. He’s smart enough so he’s a work in progress.

Cats:
The lobby seems quiet without dear, sweet Daisy greeting us and trying to groom our hair.  Daisy left for her new home on Sunday and is the chosen companion for a retired gentleman.  His wife’s companion is an old Cocker Spaniel that doesn’t pay attention to cats or to him.

Cats:
Kittens Roxie and Jango are residing in new homes.  Roxie has stolen the hearts of her new family on San Juan Island and Jango is learning to be more social without his sister to rely on.

Three-legged Trooper is amazing all of us with his resilience.  We’ve moved Trooper to the Kitten Room but leaving the door open so he can integrate slowly with the lobby gang.  When you visit, you’ll find Trooper enjoys company and will head for the food bowl so you can watch him eat.

Brothers Sinclair and Wally are now in the first cat room.  Sinclair loves outside time and it became challenging to keep him from dashing through any open door.  Although we do miss their greeting in the lobby, the boys seem to have adjusted to their new environment.

To recap the ‘lobby’ cats:
Fowler, Iggy, Noodle, Daisy and Trooper

A large, handsome brown tabby with white paws and chest came to us as a stray from the Cedar Hill Road area.  Dobbs is a bit shy but loves to be petted.  He certainly belonged to someone since he’s quite well fed and social.  We’ve had him for two weeks and, after seeing Dr. Joe on Monday evening, will make him available for adoption.

There are still 5 feral cats hiding in carriers on the new “catio.”  They may be leaving for homes this week.