Way Back Whensday

This is Bobby Dazzler. He is one of our *whispers* favourite ever fosters. We had him nearly two years ago!Bobby was probably born feral. He was trapped by a council ranger who noticed that he was carrying an injury when he was about 4 weeks old. The vets he saw weren't sure exactly what happened, but they think he was either caught in a fire or was in a car engine when it started. Part of his tail was removed in surgery. He did develop an infection in it after he came to stay with us, but we were able to get it cleared up. Bobby was our first singleton, the only foster staying with us at the time. It meant that Bobby was able to spend almost all of the day running free with us, including one memorable occasion when he tried to jump in dad's birthday cake, candles and all!

Did we mention he is cute? He is stunningly cute! He had wonderful tabby patterns in his furs, and delightful colouring. Bobby was quickly snapped up by his Forever Family, and we bet he is constantly reminding them of how much they love him. Because we just have to see a photo to remember how much we loved him:)

Bobby Dazzler

This gorgeous little boy is a very special little boy indeed. He was trapped by a council ranger in a public park. He had sustained a nasty injury to his poor little tailWhen he got to the shelter, the vet decided it would be best to amputate the end of his tail, as it had been degloved and was broken. When mum arrived to pick him up, he had been named Tailer.Mum and dad tried to call him Tailer but it just never felt right. Mum had started calling him Bob Tailer, and it kind of stuck. It was dad who later added the Dazzler- because Bob was such a stunning, wonderful happy little boy. And such a little trouble maker!:) He needed a sparkly, jazzier name.
He was a little bit nervous in the beginning, which is understandable given all he had been through in his short life so far. He soon figured out that he was safe, and developed into the cuddliest of cuddlepusses, and the troubliest of troublepusses!
While he was staying with us, mum had a nasty virus that just wouldn't quit and managed to damage her ribs from coughing so much. Bob helped Suey and I look after mum. They recuperated from their wounds together!
Bob did develop an infection in his tail. He was a very good boy in always taking his medicine, and didn't put up too much of a fight. He soon got back to full strenght, and managed to avoid the need for further surgery. Bob and I then developed a special relationship.Bob loved me and I loved him. He was always very interested in what I was doing, and I taught him well. We liked to play together, and he would watch me have my dinner, use my litterbox and go about my business.
While he was initially reluctant, I soon taught him to value of just hanging out and relaxing. We briefly had a second kitten stay while Bob was with us. Her name is Missy, and she was a friend's kitten. Bob fell in LOVE! They had a wonderful time wresting and chasing and rumbling.
Sometimes they settled for a bit of a cuddle, too. (Missy is the one with the white paws).
Bobby was with us for dad's birthday, and he nearly caused a disaster! He leapt at the birthday cake! Dad grabbed him just in time. He was very sneaky!
He was also terribly cute. After several days of non-stop racing about with Missy, he conked out and fell fast asleep when she left.
He grew into a very cute young mancat, and looked like quite a manly little boy.
We are very thankful for the hard work of the ranger, and his determination to get Bobby Dazzler safe, as well as the vet and shelter staff who ensured his injury would recover. It was terribly hard taking him back to the shelter for adoption, but we were good, knowing that his Forever family would be looking for him!:) We are beyond certain that his Forever family are pleased as punch with their gorgeous tabby boy.

Angus asked whether we are able to hear about how our fosters are going now. There are lots of privacy rules that mean the shelter can't tell us who adopts the kittens, and they can't pass on our details either. We just have to have faith that the shelter staff have done a good job in making sure they go to great families. Some of the families do keep in touch with the shelter, and they let us know if they've been in touch. Pipi's family stayed in close touch with the fostering boss for a while, so it was cool to hear that she was going well. They even kept her name! Blitzen Claus and Tom Kitten both live with people who volunteer at the shelter, so we know they have gone from strength to strength.

After seeing pictures posted by Banshee and Cory and Ellie's mums of them before they were adopted, we made sure to take photos back when Stella, Ellie, Angus and Calvin went back to the shelter. They were included with the adoption paperwork. We wanted Stella's new family to see what a truly remarkable little ladycat they had. She saved Calvin's life! We also thought they and the families of Ellie and Angus would enjoy seeing the babies when they were tiny little squirmers.

For my last words in this post, Suey has only been to her litterbox twice today:)

We Are Home This Christmas!

I'll be home for Christmas;
You can count on me.
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents on the tree.

Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love-light gleams.
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams.
-Kent, Gannon and Ram.

Pipi on the mantle, from l-r, Katie, Nigel, Archie, Basil, Trixie, Charlie, Rick, Bobby, Tom, Evie, Dohni, Manuel, and James. They all found their Forever homes this year.

PhotoHunt- Metal

The PhotoHunt for this week is metal. My first food and drinking bowls are made from metal. The photo below shows me with my bowls in my first week at home, in May 2007. This was me with Bobby Dazzler the CopyKitten, in May of this year. You can really see how much I've grown! The food bowls were a very important part in that growth, let me tell you! My rude mum might say it was the key part of my growing a sizeable apron. My metal bowl is not so full these days.

Happy PhotoHunting, everyone!:)

Wordless Wednesday

Can I help you, Bobby Dazzler?
For more, visit Wordless WEdnesday

Foster Friday- How Bobby Got His Surname.

When Bobby Dazzler first came to us, he was a frightened little boy. He was a tiny thing, and still had his baby blue eyes.

He was trapped in a park by a ranger, who had seen that he was carrying a tail injury. Because of the injury, his mother had likely shunned him. The next 24 hours were a whirlwind for him- a car ride, bright lights, a partial tail amputation, pokings and proddings, being kept with other cats and kittens at the shelter, then another car ride to our house. He was filthy, and spent an hour being washed and deflead. A pretty traumatic start to life with people!

Bobby (so named because of his bob tail) almost exploded out of his shell. Within 24 hours of getting to our house, he was climbing on chests, kneading and purring his heart out. It was a beautiful sight. He was very bright, and so friendly with people, Fui and Suey (although at times, a little too friendly for Suey!).

He was fearless, and didn't whimper once when he had to go back to the V-E-T when an infection developed. While he didn't like his antibiotics, he gave in without too much of a fight.

We had started giving the fosters surnames, to try and tell potential adopters a bit about their personality. Bobby had such a shining personality that Dazzler just seemed right.

Our Dazzling little boy was adopted very quickly. This was lucky, as we were sorely tempted to go back and snap him up for ourselves!

The Dazzler

'Tailer', as he was known when we picked him up, was a real treasure. He had been found in a park by a Council Ranger, with an injury to his tail. He can't have been much more than four weeks old, and ended out losing approximately 1/3rd of his tail, and was pretty miserable. How his tail was injured is a bit of a mystery, but I think it likely that he was somehow caught in something hot, like a car engine. He may also have been in a fire, as he was very grubby, and had a lot of what looked like tiny burnt wood fragments caught in his fur.

'Tailer's' introduction to our home was also fairly rough. He needed a really good wash, and had 3 baths before I was satisfied he was clean. Once clean, he did seem happier, which made me feel a little less of a sadist! We decided to re-name him, to try and take the focus off his injury, and more on him. We settled on Bob, as he was a bob-tailed kitten. As we got to know him and his superstar personality, this morphed into Bobby Dazzler, a name that he wore well. The re-naming seemed to have an impact on him, too. Bobby stopped seeming so fragile, and his strength and spirit began to shine brightly.



For a kitten who had been found tiny, lost, alone and injured, Bobby was an incredibly trusting little boy. He loved people, and he loved our cats. He just adored climbing into a lap, purring with pleasure while he made biscuits. He would follow Fui around, copying his every move. Fui revelled in the attention. It was such a cute sight to see Fui cleaning his face with his paws, with Bob copying him with tiny paws. No action was too small to observe. Fui eating was of particular interest, and Bobby would leopard crawl as close as he could for a birds eye view.


We did have one worrying timewhen Bobby developed an infection on the end of his tail, where he had been injured. He developed a bit of an abscess, which ruptured and was quite unpleasant, especially for him. He was given IV antibiotics at the shelter, and was then on a 10 day course of oral antibiotics. The poor little mite was not a fan of the tablets, and learned all the terrible tricks that our Suey has mastered, holding the pill in his mouth until we were certain it had been swallowed, then spitting it across the room. Thankfully, he had a good recovery, and was back to his dastardly old self in no time.



Bobby was very excited to have a playmate his own age when we looked after the kitten of a friend, a little girl named Missy. The two had great fun racing around, tackling each other and generally never giving each other a moment of peace. It was great for Bobby, giving him such a workout. He loved his little playmate, and spent considerable time looking for her when it was time for Missy to go home.




Bob grew so fast! In no time, we had a little boy ready to go back to the shelter for desexing and adoption. That moment came much too soon for the two human beans and Fui. Suey wasn't too fussed, though! He truly was such a delight, and the first foster to draw tears from me on his return to the shelter. Our baby Bobby Dazzler found his forever home. I hope his family know how lucky they are to have secured themselves such a gem!

The growth of Bobby Dazzler, the softest. kitten. EVER! People pay lots to get their hair feeling as soft as this little ball of fluff. It was glorious!