Foster Kitten Friday - Taking Notes

Knowing I write about foster kitties on Fridays I spend my week taking notes on the babes so I have something to say. My weeks with solo Hans Solo are no different. Notes about his progress and about things we've done. Comparisons to other foster kitties who have come before him. But some weeks - like this one - those notes wind up being worthless.

On Monday, I was ready to make a video of the little guy. It was going to be of him climbing from his playpen and using a bridge to get to the couch. It was going to be just like my favorite video I've made of kittens, this one of the Yellowstone Crew:

But Hans Solo had another idea. He thought it best to sprint up the pen and run. Run fast like a cheetah. So fast I couldn't even capture the cuteness of him making his way across the bridge. Toss away those notes.

On Tuesday, I was ready to make sure I got plenty of pictures of him playing with toys. He was somewhat cooperative. Wrestling pictures? Check. We'll keep those notes. Playing with the wand toy pictures? The boy was too fast there, too.

Wednesday I thought I'd be able to share how much he loves the couch. How it's his favorite place to play and how I would soon be introducing him to the big playpen called the living room floor. Was he on the couch? For a brief moment.

Until he decided he should find out more about the air cast boot that lives on my foot. Yep, he decided he would get himself to the floor all by himself with no introduction needed from me. He's found the floor (and every single corner and nook and cranny) and thinks he owns it. Toss those couch notes out the window.

After Wednesday's not-on-the-couch adventures, I thought on Thursday we'd have some great things to share about his floor time. How it would be a couple days before he could get onto the furniture by himself. Uh...no. I don't know who was more surprised when this little face popped up from the side of my chair. Goodbye, draft Thursday notes.

But why did he choose my chair to climb into first? Kinda obvious, right? Not really...

On Friday, I found out there was more to the story. It wasn't me he was after. It was my notes!

Little Mr. Nosy had to get his nose into some of my other business on Friday, too. A pattern I'm writing for a quilt shop is in the works. 

Guess he's taking notes on me now.

Foster Kitten Friday - Milestones

It was a little over six months ago when the Duck Tales Gang - Huey, Dewey, and Louie - had started out with a good week. They were hitting some milestones like moving into the pop ups and getting big enough for supervised play on the couch. But the fun ended when they were found to have ringworm and had to be isolated for the next several weeks. And I learned all about foster home biosecurity. 

It was also the week I was bragging about my Etsy shop taking off with me having sewn (and sold) 800 vaccination card holders. With my sales now approaching 4,000 I am reminded how much things change. And how much they remain the same.

Mr. Hans Solo/Mr. Milestone, what a guy you are becoming. For those who don't know, when he came into Simply Cats just three weeks ago he was cold, dirty, underweight, dehydrated, with low blood sugar and infected eyes. 

Poor Hans Solo 3 weeks ago.
Photo credit: Simply Cats

Two of his siblings were with me, but despite all our efforts – medications, IVs, tube feedings, glucose, and an incubator - they were so sick they didn’t make it. But by some miracle Hans Solo did.

With him being so much smaller than he should have been, the developmental milestones you would expect from a kitten were a bit off. But boy, the boy is making up for it now. This week was an exciting one for the little fella.

He learned the ways of Spiderman and climbed out of the pop up pens. 

He also learned he has one entire room of the tent devoted to a litter box. Let me tell ya, the boy knows how to use it.  (I'll spare you that picture.)

He got his first crack at supervised play on the couch. He learned how to be a mountain goat, climbing up and down the cushions.

He also practiced being a race horse, running back and forth from end to end. He then, of course, had to strut to show us what a beautiful breed he was.

He even found time to be a flamingo. Or maybe an ostrich?

Wait, this isn't sand?!

This is the week he started transitioning from formula to gruel. It's a mixture of jarred baby food, canned cat food, and kitten formula and gets him ready for real cat food. Gruel needs to be introduced slowly so his system has a chance to get used to the new stuff. But it can sometimes be confusing going back and forth between the two.

What? This was straight formula?
Look at the mess you made me make!

And now you're making me messy with gruel?
I'm so confused!

Fine, I'll use my own tongue to clean it up!

Delayed milestones? No need to worry about this dude!

See my beautiful paws? Don't you just want to take me home?
Can't have me yet. But soon, I promise.