Turtle and Foster Friends

12/08/2024

Adopted!
Red’s meet and greet went great and he went home today! 🥰 That does it for all the Rainbow Kittens 💜❤️🧡💛💚

I’m going to give myself a couple weeks to recharge and clean the foster room before I’m back at it again with another batch. This kitten season has been brutal with how many kittens are in constant need of foster. If you’ve ever been interested in fostering, there’s no better time than now!

04/08/2024

We’ve had a very busy few days of getting vaccine boosters and meet and greets! So far everyone but Red has found their forever homes 😊 All the kittens will be going to homes with cats needing a younger sibling so it works out great.

If you are interested in adopting Red, please message me! He’s such a sweet, playful boy. And definitely more well behaved than Purple or Yellow 😆 He’s just shy when you first meet him so it takes a minute for him to become comfortable with strangers, but I know his person is out there ❤️

30/07/2024

The Rainbow Kitties are looking for their forever homes! If you are interested in adopting one or more, please send me a message for an application!

Purple- Very friendly girl, loves to play especially with her crinkle ball, mischievous
Orange- A little shy girl, probably going to stay on the smaller side, can tell your future by looking into her eyes
Yellow- Golden retriever in a black cat body, very outgoing and adventurous boy, thinks humans are trees for climbing
Red- Playful boy, loves to run wild, will silently judge you, excellent toy hunter
Mama Grey- Would probably prefer being by herself, shy at first but warms up and will rub against your legs for food, deserves a loving home after being on the streets

21/07/2024

Sorry about the lack of updates! Between taking care of them and the Las Vegas heat, I’ve been really drained. It’s getting easier now that Orange has decided to join the cool kids club and eat wet food on her own, although she still wants to be hand fed about half the time 🥴 But look at her! She clearly knows she deserves to be hand fed.

And look at how big everyone is getting! You can really see their different expressions now and everyone has a nice belly ☺️ Chonkification almost complete! Now I just need Mama to gain some weight. It’s a much slower process with adult cats than with young kittens so it’s not surprising. She’s getting fed as often as the babies and gets extra treats so she’ll get there with time!

13/07/2024

💔 We lost Green 😞 If you missed my Stories the other night I had to bring him to the emergency vet. He wasn’t gaining weight and started declining the last few days, low energy, not wanting to eat much, and just looking sickly. I haven’t been posting because I’ve been using every ounce of my energy to keep him going. I was syringe feeding to make sure he was getting nutrition and doing everything else under the sun, but nothing was helping and eventually his body started failing.

They didn’t find any infection or parasites, which means he was most likely born with underlying health issues. This is why us rescuers scream at the top of our lungs to spay and neuter because an underweight outdoor mama having 5 kittens is almost guaranteed to make unhealthy babies. Kittens like Green should not be born to suffer because of human’s irresponsibility.

I’m very fortunate that in all my years fostering, I’ve only lost a few fosters, but they’re the ones that I remember the most. Capri. Dottie. Maple. And now Green. I’ve always felt like I owed it to them to keep their memory alive because I was their forever home. Their forever was just shorter than it should have been 💚

09/07/2024

There’s an old saying my grandpa used to say, “First comes laughing, then comes crying” and Yellow just learned that lesson. Last night I went to check on them before bed and he couldn’t put any weight on his front paw and this morning it was swollen to twice it’s size 😭 Best guess is that he was running around like a maniac and injured himself.

Luckily he’s already putting weight back on it and he’s being taken care- by Orange! Ever since he hurt himself, she will not leave his side and it’s just about the cutest and sweetest thing I’ve ever seen 🥲 She may be the smallest, but she has the biggest heart ❤️

Coincidentally, I already had an appointment with the vet today because Mama Grey has had occasional diarrhea. She’s negative for anything worrisome so most likely it’s a food allergy/sensitivity. Now I get to figure out which foods work best for her and give her some probiotics to hopefully help. At least while we were there, all the kittens got their first set of vaccines! It’s been a day 🥴

07/07/2024

They may not understand how to use a cat cave, but at least they look cute on top of it! They’re really starting to fill out more and even though Green and Orange are still pretty small, they have a lot more energy so we’re on the right track 😊

02/07/2024

Just some eyeballs swimming in a sea of shadows 👀

29/06/2024

✨NEW FOSTERS✨

Meet my fleet of black kittens! 😆 Trying to get everything arranged behind the scenes has been hectic this last week, but they’re finally here! They’re around 4 weeks old, but still pretty tiny. Mama is dainty so they might be too, or she could be malnourished and the kittens aren’t getting enough nutrients. We’ll fatten em up in no time! 💪

The shelter puts kid safe nail polish on their ears to tell them apart and I have matching felt collars coming for them. I had some name ideas, but I’ve been calling them by their colors already so those names might just stick 😆 The little one in the third picture is Orange and I’m pretty sure she’s an alien trying to blend in with the rest.

19/06/2024

They poked me! I took everyone to get booster shots today and now they’re all tuckered out. We also said farewell to Mama Sage who will be spayed and head back to her outdoor home where she can finally live her life free of endless cycles of kittens!

Tomorrow the kittens will head to their forever homes as foster to adopt since this time of year spay and neuter surgeries are backed up. That way I can get everything cleaned and ready for the next batch!! There’s so many kittens needing foster homes right now and every day more come in. If you’ve ever thought about fostering, now’s the time!

05/06/2024

Patches, Lavender, and Lilac are looking for their forever home!

If you are in the Las Vegas area and are interested in an adoption application, please send me a message! I’d like them adopted in a pair (any pair would get along great!) and if not, at least another cat already in the home. Keep in mind that they are medium to long hair so they’ll require DAILY brushing for life to maintain a healthy coat.

22/05/2024

19/05/2024

Happy Birthday to my Sunshine! 🥳🎉 Today is Sunny’s 12th birthday! She is my first and only dog in a house of kitty chaos and she has always been the world’s greatest cat sheriff. Thank you for being the bestest dog that I could have asked for ❤️

15/05/2024

Stop growing up so fast 😭 I know, I have so many photos of Patches but he still just stares at me all the time so it’s easy to get pictures of him!

12/05/2024

Happy Mother’s Day! ❤️💐🌸🌹🌺🌷🌻🌼

Especially to all the mama cats having to birth and raise kittens outdoors in the hardest circumstances. May you all be rescued one day and get to live the comfortable life you deserve ❤️

20/04/2024

Patches and Lavender’s eyes are about half open! Then there’s Lilac who is already at a fourth grade reading level 😆 I still don’t know how Lilac’s went from completely closed to open so fast and early, maybe she wanted a head start on her siblings since she’s the smallest.

The kittens were estimated to be a week old when they arrived at the shelter, but I’m pretty sure they were actually only a few days old making them around 10-12 days now. Mama Sage is the biggest mama cat I’ve had so I think she just made big babies! They aren’t doing much yet besides eating and sleeping, but pretty soon their eyes will be open and they’ll start exploring more.

18/04/2024

Eyeball watch update! 👀

Patches is already bringing the orange cat drama by developing a minor eye infection. I noticed that the corners of his eyes were starting to open and then yesterday one was back to being shut. When kittens get eye infections the discharge tends to “glue” the eye shut trapping the germs inside and making the infection get worse. A warm, wet compress loosens things to open the eye and clean out the gunk.

In his case it’s a little more difficult since his eyes aren’t open all the way yet! Treatment is still the same- keep the eye clean and open (as much as it can be) and a little antibiotic ointment. I’ve never had a kitten develop an eye infection this young, but the key is to catch and treat it early. He should be good in a few days!

12/04/2024

🚨 NEW FOSTERS! 🚨

Meet Mama Sage and her babies, Lavender, Lilac, and Patchouli! 🥰 I love the names that the shelter gave so I decided to keep them. This batch is the typical story for this time of year- mama had her babies in someone’s yard and animal control brought them into the shelter to be properly cared for. I was waiting for a mom and babies to come in so luckily she didn’t have to stay there long.

Mama Sage (a gorgeous long-haired tortie) has been understandably scared, but is already enjoying chin scratches so I think she’ll settle in nicely. Her kittens are a whole variety of colors- Lavender is a torbie with a split color face, Lilac is a light grey and white tabby, and Patchouli (who I’m going to call Patches) is an orange and white tabby. I don’t know how I get so lucky to find the most beautiful mamas and kittens!

I’ve updated the Amazon Wishlist with all the things we need if anyone would like to help out. We’re mostly in need of food for both Mama Sage and the kittens when they wean. Thank you for always helping keep the kitties fed ❤️

25/03/2024

Mama Turkey has been adopted!! 🥳🎉❤️🦃

I dropped her off last night for a trial adoption and I’m really hopeful it’ll work out. We had a meet and greet last week and Mama was really shy, but her adopter is actually a friend that has fostered for me before so she’s ready to put in the work! She’s always liked the spicier cats and is so calm and gentle with them so I think this will be a perfect match worth the wait ☺️

We had a Poopacalypse 2.0 on the car ride so poor Mama had to get a butt bath first thing in her new home. Luckily I brought her over thinking it would ease her transition so her new mom didn’t have to deal with the clean up 😆 You can see in the photo Mama in a blanket post-bath on her mom’s lap enjoying some pets. I’m really excited to see their relationship grow and how they’ll bond ❤️ Congrats on your new life, Mama Turkey, you deserve it!

Kitten season is already off to a fast start so I’ll be doing some deep cleaning and organizing this week to get ready for the next batch that I’m sure will be coming soon!

21/03/2024

We are in 5th place with 8 hours to go! Hoping for a last minute push 🤞But if not I’m just happy that everyone cares enough to get our little Turtle this far 🫶🐢❤️ Vote for Turtle in my bio or stories!

15/03/2024

.ology sent Turtle a gift and it’s so stinkin’ cute that I had to share. I love supporting small businesses and am a sucker for all things pet art. They took a picture of Turtle and made it into a sketch on wood with a little magnet! And Cass got a name tag for his harness since I know he’d have a fit if Turtle got something and he didn’t 😆 I really love this, thank you Emma!

Also, Turtle is currently in 5th place in the quarterfinals for America’s Favorite Pet so please keep up with the daily voting and hopefully we can slowly inch our way back to the top!

11/03/2024

Voting for the quarterfinals is now open!! Competition is going to be really tough now that we are up against all of the other group winners so please keep voting every day!

This weekend Turtle had his annual bath so he’s fluffy and clean in his new photo 😆 Most cats don’t need baths, but we know Turtle isn’t like most cats. The way he walks combined with having white, medium hair turns him into a dust mop! The second picture is my make shift headband to protect his ears for blow drying. Cats’ hearing is more sensitive then ours so a blow dryer sounds like standing next to a jet engine to them.

Voting for the quarter finals round lasts for 10 days then hopefully it’s the semi finals and finals after that! Link is both in the bio and stories ☺️

08/03/2024

Turtle won his group and is a quarterfinalist! 🥳🎉

It was so close yesterday that Turtle was bouncing between third, second and first every time I checked, but we must have gotten a last minute push in the end! Thank you all for voting every single day for Turtle and a HUGE thank you to everyone that donated to the PAWS nonprofit for extra votes!

I wasn’t kidding when I said this would be a marathon! The quarterfinals begin Monday and he’ll be up against the winners of all the other groups so competition will be fierce. So rest up this weekend, rehydrate and come back ready to vote! 💪

07/03/2024

Only 6 more hours to vote for Turtle to win his group and move on to the quarterfinals!

Turtle is a disabled cat that has helped raise dozens of foster kittens. He has the biggest heart for other kitties needing a parent to love

24/02/2024

Please vote for Turtle so we can regain the lead!

Turtle is a disabled cat that has helped raise dozens of foster kittens. He has the biggest heart for other kitties needing a parent to love

24/02/2024

Turtle lost his lead and is currently in 2nd place! Please keep up with the daily voting for Turtle as America’s Favorite Pet so we can regain the top ❤️🐢 Links to vote are in my bio and posted daily in my stories!

I took these when Turtle was still just my foster kitten and I took him outside to play in the fall leaves 🥰

15/02/2024

Need a Valentine? Well Mama is still looking for the love of her life ❤️ She’s a low maintenance kinda gal that only needs someone to feed her and give her pets. She won’t ask for expensive gifts, just a warm bed. And if you give her a Churu, she’ll be all yours 🥰

Also, if anyone received flowers today, make sure they are safe to have around your cats. Roses are cat safe, but you can find full lists of what is and isn’t dangerous for cats through ASPCA, Petmd, and just googling!

05/02/2024

When I started fostering Turtle, one of the first things I did was get him into the vet to figure out what was going on with him and how to best help him. That’s when I learned what radial hypoplasia was and that Turtle was simply born with shortened bones in his arms. Radial hypoplasia can cause their arms to curve inward so the vet made braces to keep them straight as well as get them to go in a position to make walking as easy as possible. He HATED them.

Turtle would try to slip out of them and growl at me when I put them back on him. After a couple of weeks his arms were in a much better position so we were able to get rid of the braces. They’re still different lengths so he walks with a bit of a limp up front, but he gets around pretty well!

Only a few more days left for the first round of voting for Turtle! As always, link to vote is in my bio and stories!

03/02/2024

Turtle’s first picture! ❤️🐢 He was filthy when he was found in a shed and brought into the animal shelter that I was working at. It was almost closing so I decided to take him home to foster myself. The first thing I did when I got him home was to give him a bath! Look at those little chicken wings 😭

31/01/2024

This is Turtle and his very first foster friend! Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl 💃😆 Ok well she really was a 3 week old kitten found alone and brought into the shelter. After a 2 week quarantine to make sure she was healthy, Turtle got to meet her and it made them both so happy since they were single kittens. I think this was a formative experience for Turtle where he developed his love for taking care of kittens, even though he was still a kitten himself. ❤️🐢

I’m enjoying going down memory lane and sharing Turtlelore with everyone! I’ll do an update on Mama Turkey soon too (she’s coming along!) Please keep voting for him daily so hopefully we can make it to the next round! Link in my stories.