Good-bye and good luck, foster kitties

After what seems an incredibly short time to kitten visitors but must have felt like an eternity to the moms (both biological and foster), Ann's troupe of eight bouncy black kittens are headed to the RAPS Richmond City Shelter for adoption.

All the efforts of various RAPS sanctuary staff and volunteers to spend time with the kittens and socialize them have clearly paid off -- no human anxiety for these babies.

Here are a few photos from Monday night. It's amazing how much they've grown since we first met them in August! They're proper mini cats now, each with the beginnings of a distinct personality and ready to invade loving homes and hearts.

And we now return you to your regular scheduled cat sanctuary blog programming.

Little baby foster kitties Part V

For those just tuning in, cat sanctuary staff member Ann is fostering young mom Kaynine and her large brood of kittens until the babies are old enough to be weaned and can go to the RAPS No. 5 Rd. shelter to find their forever homes. Various other staff and volunteers from the sanctuary have been dropping by on a regular basis to socialize the kittens so that they'll be comfortable around humans in general, not just their "other mother" Ann.

It's incredible to see how much the kittens grow and change from one week to the next. They're starting to be increasingly active in exploring their environment and have discovered that toys are more than just something to stumble over. They're also starting to show signs of what their individual personalities might be, from the most intrepid explorer to the shyer one who's happy just sitting perched on a knee and looking at stuff.

Here's a bit of what they were up to this week:

Loving foster care (for "fatties" and "runties" alike)

As some of the cats who come to RAPS are pregnant on arrival, there's sometimes a need for staff or experienced volunteers who are able to foster mom and her kittens at home until they're old enough to be weaned.

Sanctuary staff member Ann had yet to take a turn at this when a young black female arrived at the No. 5 Rd. shelter with a bellyful of kittens, so it was her turn to be "conscripted" for foster duty. No doubt imagining that her first RAPS litter would be just three or four strong, Ann agreed readily enough... then discovered she would be caring for a litter of nine.

We're not sure what her name was at 5 Rd., but Ann calls mama cat "Kaynine." (Hmmm... wonder where the "nine" came from?)

Kaynine is a surprisingly laid-back mom for one so young, quickly accepting not only her foster human's presence but her assistance with the kittens. Now, with the babies still tiny but getting more wiggly all the time, Kaynine is entirely content to let Ann leave the room with a bowlful of them and help out with the feeding.

Ann's worked out a system by which she relieves poor put-upon mom of first the littlest kittens (or as she calls them, the "runties") who might need a little extra food to help them catch up, and then their bigger and rounder siblings ("fatties") in turn. Kaynine enjoys a little relief from her duties, and the kittens get a little extra cat milk and some human socializing.

"runties"

Helping Ann to feed the runties on Monday night, I was not surprised to find myself wearing a certain amount of milk. I was surprised to find myself eventually wearing three contented, sleepy kittens like a furry necklace.