Pick-and-mix kittens!

I had my orientation today and afterwards took home four foster kittens! They are so pretty and cute that I just giggle looking at them.
Okay, more maturely now:
I have two boy kittens and two girls. They are all about the same age, 4/5 weeks, but they are not related - they were assembled from 'singles' to form a litter. They are very, VERY sweet. I haven't chosen their names yet, so here are descriptions (mugshots to follow):
Tabby and White Boy: Was the most energetic in the car on the way home, persistently climbing up the sides of the cage and mewing at me to let him out. After about twenty minutes the others had resigned themselves to their fate and settled down for a zizz, but Mr T&W held out for a good ten minutes more.
Tabby Boy: OH MY GOSH he is so stocky and round it is ADORABLE. He waddles a little bit. I think he's going to have a really beautiful solid brown tabby coat when he grows up.
Grey Girl: Is currently behind the study/kittenarium armchair, with a toy mouse, making ferocious growling noises as she kills it. Has been doing this for at least three minutes.
Black and White Girl: Is fluffier than the others, and hasn't distinguished herself by unusual behaviour yet.

Since I got them home - it's about a forty-five minute drive between my home and the SPCA, so I'm glad nobody needed to wee or poo before we got here - I've let them out of their cage in the kittenarium with the door closed (of course) and am just letting them nose around and get the lay of the land. I have set out their litter box, water bowl and some food, and I hope they find all of these at the appropriate times!
Now I really want some lunch.

Excited and nervous

Tomorrow I'll be going out to Mangere to the SPCA Education Centre for my Foster Volunteer Workshop! According to the email, it runs from 10.30 to 12.30 and discusses 'the important role Foster People have, animal behaviour, diseases, the emotional side, SPCA protocol, administering drugs and much more.'

My grasp on each of the following:
Foster people's role: to be kind to the animals and help them to become friendly and confident. Also of course to take care of their physical and material needs so that they grow healthy and strong!
Animal behaviour: Kind of weird.
Diseases: Gross. Best dealt with by the vet.
The emotional side: Of course it will be sad to give the kittens back so they can be adopted, but you can prepare for that. The real gut-puncher will be if a kitten gets sick and dies. I've coped with cat death before, though, so I know I can deal with it.
SPCA protocol: I shall ask questions about this!
Administering drugs: It helps to wrap the kitten like a burrito in a towel so it can't wriggle away while you are doing this!

An exciting note is that 'If there are foster animals to go out to homes on Saturday you may be asked if you are available to foster at the end of the workshop.' So I could be getting kittens as early as that! I have cleared all extraneous things out of the small second bedroom of my flat to welcome them. GOOD TIMES.

I should introduce my existing cat, Pearl.

She's also from the SPCA and I adopted her at about nine months old. This was the first time I'd taken on an adolescent cat rather than a kitten, and boy howdy, it makes a difference. I don't know what her life was like before I adopted her, but I suspect she didn't have a consistent caregiver. My mother, who is a primary school teacher and deals with a lot of Special Cases, says she has Attachment Issues. When I first got her she used to wake me in the morning by punching me in the face with her paws or grabbing a mouthful of my hair and dragging on it. I am glad to say that she doesn't do THAT any more, but she will still occasionally decide that my legs, walking past her and minding their own business, are an enemy that must be attacked. She can also be affectionate, and sleeps next to me on my bed most nights. I have no idea how she will respond to the kittens, but best case scenario? She can be their cool big sister.


Pearl is a very pretty, fancy-looking cat. I suspect that one of her parents was something BRED and the other one... wasn't.

Anyway, tomorrow I can post again, at least about the workshop - and possibly about KITTENS.

Hold This Place

Summer is a tough time for the SPCA in Auckland, New Zealand. It's high kitten season and they need a lot of foster homes for litters not yet old enough to be desexed and adopted. Being a high school teacher, I have a long summer holiday with a lot of free time (it's not all free time! I do prep for the next year's work!) and I wanted a project that would be fun and keep me usefully occupied. I love cats, so I decided to volunteer as a foster...er. Having secured my landlord's permission, I've sent in my application to the SPCA and hopefully soon you will be able to read the chronicle of my adventures as... a kitten temp.