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Romeo and Juliet were the first kittens I fostered. They were brought into Petsmart in a cardboard box by the lady who found them. They were very sweet. I first quarantined them in my extra bathroom then moved them into the study for a few days before letting them loose in the house. Click HERE for more pictures. |
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Simba was an owner give-up from a college student. She was changing housing at school and couldn't keep her cats Simba and Mufasa. Simba was very sweet, gentle and big (about 14 lbs). He would let you use him as a pillow. He also gave lots of 'kisses'. He was in my house about a month. I adopted him to a single mom with 3 children. She was going on vacation so I kept him from Saturday till Thursday. I had put him in my study to make him easier to find on Thursday morning. When they came to get him Simba ran between my legs and under my queen size bed. None of us could reach him enough to grab him. However every time we tried he gave licked our hands. Simba apparently thought this was a game. finally I lifted the mattress and the little girl grabbed him. He quickly started giving her 'kisses'. I called a couple of week later and they couldn't have been happier with him. Simba lets all the children carry him around. He picked the son to sleep with and would wake him with 'kisses'. If Simba wants down he meows. He never bites or scratches. |
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Carina was brought to me along with her brother, Squeakers (see below), by a friend. They were sitting on the side of a street near downtown Orlando. They were stand-offish at first and gobbled down food. By the third day they were eating normal and Carina pawed at my leg so I picked her up. She is one of the sweetest kittens I have every encountered. When she started running loose in the house she would come up to me and sit down about a foot away and meow. That was her 'pick me up and love me' sign. I adopted her to a lady with a 8 year old daughter who had two other cats. They love her, and best of all Carina gave her love equally to everyone INCLUDING the husband, who quickly deemed Carina HIS cat. I was hoping that when I made the follow-up call to see how everything was there would be a problem and I would 'have' to take Carina back. My Merlin loved her a lot. He would cuddle and groom her all the time. When I adopted her Merlin kept looking in the carriers and where she would hide to sleep for about a week. |
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Squeakers was brought to me along with his sister, Carina (see above), by a friend. He was stand-offish for several days. Finally one day he came over and pawed at my ankle and squeaked at me while I was holding Carina. That is when he got his name. Unknown to me, he had an internal injury. When they were picked up my friend asked some teenage boys hanging around if there were any others. Their response was 'there were three, but someone kicked the black one to death this morning'. We found out that Squeakers was also a victim. He had a hernia that allowed his intestines to get up by his lungs and hinder his breathing. We got him fixed and he made a full recovery. After recovery he turned into one of the most playful kittens I have seen. His new human guardians are very happy with him. For more information and pictures click here |
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Woody: Woody is a MAJOR purr box. He is named after the character in Toy Story. He was left on the doorstep of a Florida Highway Patrol officer who brought him to ARF with his brother Buzz when they were about 12 weeks old.. Shortly after coming to me Woody and Buzz developed an Upper Respiratory Infection and had to be isolated and medicated. After they were better Buzz was adopted the first day he was shown. He started sneezing again about two weeks later and went back into isolation. When he was better I would show him to no avail. Then he would start sneezing again. When he wasn't sneezing he played hard with my personal cats. He was also very affectionate. Soon, he was a teenager instead of a kitten. Since we only have so much space to show the cats on Saturdays I would leave him home in favor of showing kittens. Kittens adopt much quicker and once a cat is about 5 months old many people don't want to adopt them because they are too big. I could be walking through the house, pick him up and he would wrap his front paws around my neck. I was starting to become attached to Woody and wanted to be very careful about who adopted him. Sometimes you get a feeling that you don't want someone to adopt your cat but you can't find a good reason to deny them. So I only showed him once in a while - when I didn't have any other cats to show. The other problem was he seemed to keep catching colds. He would start sneezing and sounded stuffed-up and was quarantined. After several episodes I took him to the vet and found out he has allergies. They gave me a decongestant to give him 'as needed'. Finally I adopted him to a friend at work. I get to hear about him every day. |
More Pictures check out Monty cuddling with Alexis (see below), a kitten that has 'adopted' him.
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Monty: The first cat I ever liked was a big tuxedo
so I have a weakness for them. I first saw Monty when he was carried into
Petsmart in the arms of a young man late January 2003. He looked a bit
scared. The man and his friend told me Monty's owner had to go into a
nursing home due to Alzheimer's and her affairs were being handled by a
lawyer. Monty's home and its furnishing were being sold so lots of strange
people were going through his home. The lawyer had decided to put Monty
down, because he was inconvenient The man and his friend didn't want
to see that happen. Unfortunately, all the ARF foster homes, including
mine, were full. I told them to bring him back next week with a letter
from the lawyer surrendering him to us if possible. I worried all week
that he might not make it back.
Next week they brought him back and I took him in. I brought him home and put the carrier in the spare bathroom with a litter box, food and water and opened it, which is my usual procedure. Most cats come out within an hour or so. However I couldn't find any evidence that Monty came out of the carrier for two days. After that he spent most of his time in the sink for another week. By then I had the spare bedroom available and moved him in there. Every time I went in he was hiding under the bed, but came out to be petted. I got on the bed and he jumped up to give me head butts and rub against me. He continued to hid under the bed for about three weeks and then I found him on the bed when going in. After another week I let my Merlin into the room. Merlin thinks everyone is a friend so I always introduce him to newcomers first. Monty immediately hid. His medical records showed he was treated for cat bites when six months old so I guessed he was still suspicious of other cats. A few days later I left the bedroom door open to allow free access to the house for him and the bedroom for my crew. A couple of nights later I was awaken by a whining sound. Monty had come into the bedroom, however one of the cats was now between him and the door. I picked up the 'road block' and Monty hurried back to the bedroom. Over the next couple of weeks Monty became braver and would come into the bedroom during the day to get up in my lap. I started bringing him up to Petsmart to be adopted in late March. Everyone liked him, but no one wanted to take him home. Since many people like the little kittens I would bring up kittens for adoption instead of Monty if I had some. There is only so much space to show the cats and kittens grow fast, whereas Monty wasn't going to get any bigger. Sometimes I would put Monty on a leash and put him in a cart and ride him around the store. He preferred that to being in a cage. By June, Monty was completely comfortable in the house. He slept on the bed with the other cats and was even grooming and being groomed by some of them. All I had to do was sit down to watch TV and he was right in my lap, purring, giving head butts and wanting his head and ears scratched. Whenever someone came to the house Monty came to greet them. No more hiding for him. Then Monty got his own kitten. A little orange and white nine week old kitten came into Petsmart and I took her as a foster. Alexis was a little doll and when she was released from her ten day isolation she went right into the bedroom with all the 'big' kids, got up on the bed and curled up next Monty as if she had always done so. They had never seen each other, but were instant friends. Monty would groom her and they slept together. Check out their pictures here. It was a short two week friendship. Alexis, being a cute kitten, was adopted her first weekend at Petsmart. I had put them in the same cage together hoping they would be adopted together but it wasn't meant to be. That was the middle of July. Then came the e-mail. I had started worrying that the wrong person might adopt Monty. Then I got an email from someone who saw him on petfinder.com. They wanted to know some more about him. I was happy that one of the woman's first concerns was 'would he be happy inside'. That meant she wouldn't let him go outside and get hurt. I told her they could come over to my house to see him. The woman brought her husband and two boys to see him. They loved him immediately and I liked them too. Monty is making himself at home and is much loved. I got to save the life of a wonderful cat and enrich a family's life too. E-mail from Monty's new forever family: Joe, Thank you for sharing this with us. Mr. Mont (as we call him since he's such a gentleman) is such a love muffin (this is what I call him being his Mom). He seems to be feeling much more comfortable now in his new home. He's starting to greet us sometimes at the door and sleeps on our pillows on our bed. We have a nightly ritual where I pull his brush out of the drawer. I call him for his brushing and he jumps up on the couch where he sits on my lap. He seems to like having his belly brushed which I found surprising. He gets lots of kisses from all of us and at times, gives them back. I truly can't thank you enough for letting us take Monty to our home. He is such a joy. The first thing we all do when we get home at night is look for the 'baby' as he is referred to. After all, aren't all cats 'babies' as they need a human to take care of them. We are lucky and blessed to have Monty with us. Karen Original on-line write-up: LS Looking for GH*I’m
Monty. I’m
very confused. I was living with a nice lady until she became sick and
had to go into a nursing home. She doesn't know what is happening to her
or me. People started coming at all times to look at her house and I
became scared. The lawyer handling her affairs wanted to put me to
sleep. I like to cat nap, but I'm too young to go to sleep. Luckily some
nice people knew about me and brought me to ARF. When I arrived at
my foster home I was so scared that I hid for several days, barely
coming out to eat and use the litter box. I'm more comfortable now like
to cuddle, have my head scratched, ears rubbed and purr. I'm suspicious
of other cats (I was attacked by some when I was a kitten) so it takes
me a while to trust them. I would love to find a good home that I can
take care of. In my tuxedo I will always be properly dressed. I'm
a big boy. I weigh 17 pounds, all muscle, just like Arnold
Schwarzenegger. I was born July 1999. *Lost Soul looking
for Good Home
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Sheena, Queen of the
Jungle pictures I tried to make Sheena a part of the family. However Merlin and Clancy did not forgive or forget her pouncing on them. They would stalk her. Sheena was living her life hiding. After about 5 months I decided to re-home her. She is very happy in her new home. She plays chase with a couple of the other cats, sleeps out in the open in a favorite chair, and often sleeps with one of the children. |
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Why I called it Isle Of Avalon
Introduction page
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Pronunciation:
(sen'u-shul), —n.
an officer having full charge of domestic arrangements, ceremonies, the
administration of justice, etc., in the household of a medieval prince or
dignitary; steward
Go to my non cat site: Dancing, Arthurian Legend, Books, Travel, Museums, Quotations, and Cooking.
