u/Wolfwoods_Sister

Our dear Jasmine, a beloved member of the TNR crew, who passed away unexpectedly, left her babies in our care. We struggled to manage their health needs along with the colony, so when a vet tech and her mom said they’d be delighted to foster, I literally cried with gratitude to meet such angels.

Not only were they able to get the babies’ persistent GI issues under control, they got their weight up as well (absolutely critical in Pepper’s case), and now the kids will be adopted out through a major rescue in our area.

Rejoice with us! The little dons and their sister will be going to good homes! I miss them so much, but we’re so relieved to have such an outcome.

[Updated Pictures: Sunny and Ghost Pepper, Robin the Shy Guy, and Hawkeye the daredevil!]

He and his siblings lost their mom, Jasmine, about two weeks ago. They’re all 5 week-sized at 8 weeks, but are strong, playful, and great eaters. Sunny, Hawkeye, and their tortie sister Ghost Pepper will be getting their first vet visit tomorrow to help with stomach issues and general care.

In the meantime, they love to frolic with each other and to pester their kind older orange tabby cousins, Rasputin and Mr Noodle, for attention.

I’d be even more upset that my global anxiety deserves nothing better than this terrible homunculus art

First, the sad news. Their mother, a beloved new member of the TNR group, Jasmine, suddenly passed. We have no idea what happened and are deeply hurt. She was a beautiful tortimese with soulful aqua blue eyes, and a lovely sweet ladylike personality. I spent so much time winning her over. We became friends and to have her snatched away punctured my heart. I’d already built dreams of her being fixed and living out her long life in a lovely home with someone who adored her. 💔

Now, the babies. Jasmine was an excellent mother. They’re small, but healthy and strong, and each with a distinct personality.

1. Robin is a shy guy, but a total sweetie once he’s acclimated. He likes taking time over his meals and taking long naps. He especially loves being brushed with a toothbrush.

2. Hawkeye is the confident daredevil, very bold and athletic. He leads the charge to the food plate. He defeated the Pack N Play on Day one, then the baby gate on Day two. He loves to wrestle and chase jingle balls. (His goopy eyes have been cleared with lysine.)

3. Sunny is the gentle lovebug. He’ll give Hawkeye a run for his money during playtime, but will drop everything to get head rubbies. He is often seen sitting quietly in contemplation.

4. Honorary orange, tortie sister Ghost Pepper! She was spicy upon first contact, but has decided we’re friends now bc we have tasty food and lots of affection for her. She’s a ladylike little girl, just like her mother, but will talk your ear off.

As many of you know, Annie is our fierce, sweet, awkward calico who has wanted to make kitty friends, but hasn’t succeeded bc of her poor social skills. It frustrates and sometimes angers her that she fails at this, so it just makes the misunderstandings worse.

Then Scooter arrived. Her biological younger brother. She took to him when he was a struggling baby trying to overcome a toxoplasmosis infection. He idolized her and treated her like a rock star. She’s very tolerant of his jerky movements and when he flops against her (his fine motor control is permanently damaged).

Now that he’s over a year old, they don’t wrestle anymore, but he still seeks opportunities to be near her, even when she’s cranky.

So, Annie had trauma as a baby like Scooter, only for her, it was her eye having to be removed due to terrible painful ulceration. Ever since, she’s gone through chronic phases of not feeling her best, almost as if she’s suffering from migraines.
We’re still not sure.

She was feeling this way recently, and Scooter noticed. He used the bedside stairs to join her on my bed (he can’t jump up due to neurological damage). I thought she might feel annoyed, but instead she curled herself closely facing him, put her paws on his, and finally fell asleep after hours of being restless.

Scooter’s rumbling purrs and larger warm body seemed to comfort her immensely. She’s never allowed any other cat to do this. It touched my heart so much I wanted to cry. He’s been such a blessing to us, a sweet affectionate funny boy and a wonderful friend to Annie, our friendless little dragon. Because of him, she finally got some solid sleep and felt better.

Thank you for letting me share this moment with you. 🧡

He sleeps so soundly hahaha

From the Smolice blotter:

Found hiding under a deck trying to evade the department’s finest! Proceeded to display tiny knife collection for intimidation and directed foul language at the officer. Tiny smol is dismayed at her apprehension, as noted by her airplane ears.

Street gang name: Ghost Pepper!

[We manage a TNR colony in an overrun area of NC. She’s a baby of a new mother who will be getting fixed as soon as the kits are weaned.]

Ok, this ridiculously NERF-like box monster was our gal, Peaches.

The Peach. Peach Pie. Peaches the Hutt. Jabba the Peach. Chubbs. Mizz Peaches.

She was a very very fecund stray sprinkling kittens all over our home street like cheap glitter at a Kesha concert. She decided she liked us best (read: chumps), moved her litter across the street during a May thunderstorm (while our mother shouted “Noooooooo!” in despair that would’ve rivaled Anakin Skywalker when he realized he’d killed Padme).

We stopped her reign of terror. We took her to the vet to have her Kitten Portal stoppered by powerful wizards (who chuckled at her sweet sociableness, one tech saying “She’s treated this whole experience like a spa trip!”) Before she went in for surgery, she unleashed a cloud of fur so thick and choking, I began coughing. If she had been a stink bug, I would be dead now.

Peaches was Best Gorl. She was smart (she brought a baby she couldn’t feed directly to our Mother for help and Mom instantly knew what was wrong), fraternal (except if you were Moo, our bossy tuxedo), an excellent mother, a great friend, and a terrible bed partner (she would stand over you in the dark purring instead of settling down).

Even in her final illness, when I came to retrieve her in her box, I had three staffers at the emergency vet sympathetically ask me who I was there for, and when I said “Peaches”, they each said “Oh no! Not Peaches! I loved her!” One tech even said “We were all coming by her kennel a lot to cuddle with her, what a sweet girl.”

Dusty is little and *pink and full of opinions. She came from the TNR colony, daughter of Dollbaby and Kitten Man (both sadly long gone). When she was a baby, she was so little her mews were more like quacks, so her nickname is Duckling/Ducky.

(*we are told the pink champagne color is Red Silver Cameo, but who are we to judge?)

Getting her belly rubs! (Excuse the dirty chin, she had been out frolicking in the back garden!)

The Princesses Catherine, Bamba, and Sophia Duleep Singh (left to right), daughters of the last Maharajah of the Sikh Empire and goddaughters of Queen Victoria of England.

All three were feminists and suffragettes. Sophia went so far as to sell and distribute a “scandalous” suffragette newspaper at the gates of Hampton Court. She wrote “No vote, no census” on her 1911 census record. Sophia also served as a nurse in WW1.

Princess Catherine, as well as being a LGBTQ advocate and open lesbian in a lifelong relationship with her partner, Lina Schaeffer, saved many Jewish lives in Nazi Germany during WW2.

Too many amazing things to say about these ladies. Just read about them last night, and apparently there’s an exhibition about Sophia’s life in honor of her 150th birthday at Kensington Palace, for anyone who can attend it.

I’m not into royals, but their bravery and community-mindedness made me like them immensely. Just wanted to share them with you!