Kitten season - Durango's arrival & a surprise visit from Joni

Kitten season has gotten an early start this year, thanks to the somewhat mild winter we experienced here in Montreal. Coincidentally, it's also the time of year that C4P loses many of it's available fosters since many of them are university students, and the school year is ending.

I believe this is the text book definition of  'stuck between a rock and a hard place'.

So when the call went out for a foster for a timid little semi-feral kitten, who was trying to make his way in the world, seemingly without the benefit of a mom or siblings, I responded. Luckily, the concerned citizen who had contacted C4P about him was able to trap him within a relatively short time, and he arrived at the home for wayward cats this evening after being vetted. Although the founder of C4P and I were both set on calling him Clover, the vet asked if he could be named Durango. And given how invaluable her help has been for C4P, it was a no-brainer to agree to her request.

He is an absolutely adorable, 4 month old golden tabby.  Actual pic coming soon!

As is to be expected, he is quite overwhelmed by his experiences over the last 24 hours, and is thus far reluctant to leave his kennel when I'm in the room. He did come out when I was not in the room however, as is evidenced by his use of the litterbox and empty food bowl. I also managed to convince him to eat a bit more later in the evening while I was in the room, although I had to place the dish in his kennel before he was comfortable enough to do so. Still, it's a step in the right direction - the fastest and surest way to their hearts is through their tummies.

He is currently sequestered, at least until he's gotten a chance to catch his bearings. The last thing I want to do is overstress either him or the brood. And when you consider that the brood is already a little confused by the unexpected (and very temporary) presence of little Joni Mitchell, well, it's a bit much for poor Durango to absorb at once.

Little Joni is a rather unexpected foster for me, and will only be staying with us until her vaccination immunity has reached its peak - approx 2 weeks. Her previous fosters are moving to Vancouver tomorrow, and everything was all arranged to move her to another foster this evening. But it was discovered last minute that Joni was a teeny bit overdue for her 2nd set of vaccinations. Under normal circumstances, this would not be a problem, but her new foster home previously had a case of FeLV, so of course it's extra vital that any new additions to that household are properly vaccinated, especially young kittens who are more susceptible than older cats.

Joni has settled in beautifully and is already fast friends with Mina. They spent most of the night playfighting, then curled up in my recliner, groomed each other and passed out in a cuddle-puddle of love and fur.

Please ignore my ugly recliner. It's ugly as sin but incredibly comfortable, and all of the cats love it.

It's almost too bad that her stay here will be so temporary. She has fit in so well and so quickly, and she's such an adorable little girl. But considering that both Jasper and Durango require extra time and attention while we work through their trust issues, it's sadly just not feasible for me to foster her long term.