Posts from the ‘Auggie’ category

A week

Auggie has been with Bear and me for a week.

He is sweet and happy and curious and increasingly confident. It has been a week of watching him grow in all kinds of ways.

We went to our own vet on Tuesday and got a good report: negative for all of the kitten stuff they test for, booster vaccinations and a general “sound body and good disposition” report.

The paradox is that those first days and some of all of this week were also so hard. This has happened to me before, but I always forget and it catches me off guard. Getting a new pet after losing one is a strange combination of fun, distraction and joy in folding the new into the routine but the flip side is that it is also that absolute realization that the lost pet really is no longer here. A finality that I find very difficult while at the same time the new kid and new routine needs a lot of attention. There is no getting around the fact that all is very different and it is not going to be comfortable again for awhile.

Life.

Meanwhile, Fall progresses and we’ve had 2 hard freezes. But there are still pleasant temperatures in the daytime forecast so I’ve been covering the herbs at night with the lights down low and using the lights directly during the day for “helper” sunshine. So far, all looks good.

I’ve been finding yellow jacket nests, fallen out of trees, in the yard and the woods. I’m not sure if hibernating queens are in these but I’m spraying and getting them out of here just in case.

The aspens and birch are turning and the larch are lightening to chartreuse. By next weekend there should be a lot of gold in the woods.

Auggie is very interested in the outdoors, especially when Bear and I are out. By January – maybe even a little before, I’ll take him out on leash to explore if he wants to. My hope is that he would enjoy being outside with Bear and me but be, like Bob, a homebody. There is a lot of great hunting without going too far away.

And grass and sunshine and a beardog!

Inside, with a wire crate half way folded to add a kitten barrier to the gate, Bear and Auggie grow ever closer. So much fun to watch.

A week.

Snippets of life

Last weekend’s haul from Farmer’s Market.

Contemplating one’s navel???

A colorful and scrumptious salad from the Farmer’s Market bounty.

What????

This morning.

Thunderbolt just ground beans make the morning coffee: local roaster Colter Coffee.

Roasted peppers from Farmer’s Market.

Dough rising for English Muffins.

Auggie blur…the tail up and crooked signals VERY HAPPY CAT!!

This was an early morning “explore the house” outing, while Bear was snoring on the bed.

Hey, I’ve been in here for…FIVE minutes…ALL…BY…MYSELF!!

Call me when the kid grows up.

Meanwhile, someone has to keep an eye on the place.

Keeping everyone close

Laptops tend to run warm/hot and their fans exhaust warm air as well.

They are kitten magnets.

This morning, after Auggie had his way with my laptop, the keyboard was not working at all. It clicked, but no keystrokes. I had no idea how to restore it.

I rebooted and hoped.

Thankfully, that worked.

Auggie is in the sunroom during the day. Since the sunroom is also my office, I’m in the sunroom for a good part of the day also.

Auggie’s naps have been coinciding with the times Bear and I are typically outside and on a run in the Jeep for a walk off the property AND sometimes, I just leave the room and spend some time with Bear. I did the reverse when Bear was first here, i.e. left Bear and spent time with Bob.

Overnight, Auggie sleeps with me…and he is a cuddler extraordinare.

Although, I’ve tried to coax Bear into the bedroom, he has always preferred the living room chairs. Right now, I am glad. He takes to the bed and bedroom after I – and now Auggie, vacate, but for overnight, not. While I hope that the house divided is soon a house all together, for the moment everyone has their own happy space.

If you have a cat…and a laptop…and a bed…you might be able to put together the story from the photo below.

Auggie, aka Mr. Snuggly Cuddler, wanted to be in my arms.

I needed to get some work done. It IS Monday and work is what buys the kibble and toys and pays the vet, etc. but I also want to foster the bond and if I could, I would just sit and enjoy kitten days.

But.

So.

First, I tried putting the fleece cat bucket on the desk. Auggie has been playing in the bucket but so far has preferred the chair for his daytime naps.

But, I hoped that a snuggly place where he could see me…

Not.

So, I decided to make a sling thing out of a sheet so that he could be snuggled against me, but I would have use of both hands…for the typing on the computer which is how I work…

I was shaking out the sheet to make it into a roll for my sling…

Seriously, why I thought this would turn out differently, I do not know.

The sheet became a toy.

The sheet became a cat cave, cat tunnel and who knows what else Auggie imagined it to me.

Later, though…

Web cam photo so it is horrible and you can’t see the whole thing, but I was able to fashion an Auggie sling for this afternoon and he snoozed compatibly while I worked…after he got tired of watching the happenings on the monitor.

Introducing Augustus Robert: Auggie

Hey guys, I’m Auggie!!!

What a day…I think I need a nap.

Yep…naptime.

Bear, if it is any consolation, Bob felt the same way when we brought you home…

KittyMom’s Rescue, the organization to which I donated some of Bob’s elder cat items, had an adoption day today.

Bear and I went.

We came home with Auggie.

Auggie is 3 1/2 months old by his first vet’s reckoning. He and his brother wandered to a home east of East Glacier, MT. The kindly folks who fostered them for several weeks were at the event this morning. So kind and wonderful and they were able to tell me that the 2 brother kittens were standing outside their fence while their dogs were barking. Somehow these kittens knew safe haven. Having met the couple, I completely understand – they exude compassion and love.

They were also able to tell me a bit about their personalities and at one point the Mr. said …and they travel well. WOW.

One brother was all orange and one was orange with white markings.

I hated the thought of separating the brothers.

I arrived at the event about 30 seconds before it was to start and the parking lot was full. The adoption area was packed! But most were around the 8 week old kittens.

I decided I would take both brothers vs leaving one by himself. I really wanted the one with white markings as the couple had told me he was the most confident.

BUT.

In walked a couple who knew the people who brought the 2 and lived near them. WHAT are the odds – these folks are from about 100 miles away!

This couple wanted 1 of these kittens – they thought they were related to a cat they had that just died.

They wanted the solid colored kitten.

Is the hair on the back of your neck standing up?

The 2 couples and I all chatted as we waited for all paperwork, etc. I was so pleased. I loved these 4 people and how they loved animals.

I never heard how the 4 happened to be in Kalispell, MT.

Augustus after my first ever cat: Gus
Robert for Mr. Bob

Augustus Robert – to be known as Auggie.