Hi friends! I hope you are enjoying early September and (hopefully) a long weekend. I’m grateful to have the respite of a long weekend. Last month was challenging, especially with my large deadline on 8/31, and I just want to recover mentally and physically. There’s much to do, especially with packing, and some…other life updates (more on that in a minute), but I think there will still be plenty of relaxation time.

Ok, so.

There is currently a kitten in the house.

If you’ve been reading my blog this year, you might recognize this little chunker as Mittens, one of the backyard feral kittens we’ve been feeding since May. We’ve been trying to find her and her brother, Moon Pie, a home for months. All of the shelters in the surrounding area have either been full or do not accept kittens from out-of-county residents. Then, we had a breakthrough in July – the Humane Society was willing to take them in! Husband and I were relieved. At this point, we already knew (unofficially) that we’d be moving back to Texas, and I felt so much better knowing that we weren’t going to leave them behind. The contact at the Humane Society said that they’d have to check on space for them. Then…nothing. I reached out a couple more times to check and they were not responsive. By mid-August, I realized that this was no longer going to be a viable option. I felt so much guilt at leaving the kittens behind.

About two weeks ago, their mom, Goose, was no longer hanging around the backyard. I knew the kittens were fully weaned at this point and, based on our experience with the original kitten quartet last summer, that they soon would disappear as well. Mittens had shown signs of potential socialization – I’d been able to sneak in some quick pets in the past when she was eating and she was reluctantly tolerant of them. Now that their intensely protective mom was gone, I knew this would be my last chance at socializing the kittens.

All summer, I’d been working on giving them treats and trying to pet them. Mittens would take a treat and then walk away from me, so I’d have difficulty petting her. Then I had a breakthrough – I could sit on my deck, toss the treats down to the kittens, and pet them from on top of the deck.

I started tossing treats down to Mittens. Every time Mittens emerged from under the deck, I’d sneak a pet in. She’d quickly retreat back under the deck, and I’d toss another treat. Cue a food-motivated kitten emerging from under the deck. More pets. Wash, rinse, repeat. Soon she stopped retreating under the deck so quickly and let me pet her, and it was clear she was enjoying the pets. I could never have done this with Goosie around.

Soon Mittens started coming up to me when I came outside to feed her. She started purring, throwing herself on her back, and let me pet her without treats. One day she rubbed her cheek against me and my heart exploded. All of this happened in less than a week. We’d been trying so hard to find a shelter for her and the answer was right in front of us the whole time. Last Sunday, I applied a topical flea and tick ointment to her fur. We found the Socialization Saves Lives website and ordered a large tent that would serve as her first indoor comfort space, and would allow her to acclimate to being indoors. We bought a litter box, a kitty bed, and toys. Last Wednesday I took one of Apollo’s carriers outside and tossed a treat in it. Mittens willingly walked inside it. I shut the door and carried her inside, and she’s been here ever since.

Mittens has been acclimating really well. She’s eating, she learned how to use a litter box VERY quickly, and purrs like crazy when I come into the tent to spend time with her. She eats from my hand, is responsive to pets, but is also playful around me. We’re currently working on lap time. The next step is picking her up – she has a vet appointment Tuesday so we need to be able to put her in a kitty carrier. Once she has acclimated completely, the next step is graduating to one of the spare bedrooms. Then once she gets used to that, she can roam around the house. Our current house is set up so that she can safely roam without interacting with Apollo, thanks to some French doors in between our living and dining rooms.

The big question mark – and what keeps us from fully declaring Mittens as a new member of our family – is Apollo. He was one of the big reasons we didn’t take the kittens in sooner. He’s shown encouraging signs in some ways and discouraging ones in others, so we’re going to work with a professional trainer to make sure he will be safe around Mittens. Right now they are fully separated and that will continue for as long as they need to be. We’re fully committed to the safety of both pets. I really want our home to be hers forever and I’m willing to take all the time needed to get her and Apollo used to each other. Ultimately, if we can’t guarantee Mittens’ safety, then we will find her a good home. Either way, she’s going to have a home, and it’s the very least we can do.

If you’re wondering about Moon Pie – I’m working on him. He’s shown encouraging signs (meowing at me, flopping on his back when he sees me, coming up to me when I walk outside with food), so I think we can get him too. He’s always been the more skittish kitten, so he’s going to take more work.

Please wish us luck as we start this journey. I’ve never had a cat before and cleaned a litter box for the first time in my life yesterday. Last weekend I told Husband that Mittens was making this “rumbling sound” around me, and he said, “…purring?” Hah! All of this is very new! I know that getting a new pet before a move is not ideal, but we really want to do right by these babies and make sure they get a forever home. I really, really hope it can be ours.