A Fern Lyttelton Update!

Remember this adorable smokey girl?  Of course you do, it's Fern Lyttleton!!! Who would ever forget that determined little face, that incredible coat, and all of that character!




Well, this spirited little kitten grew up to be quite a lovely cat.  Take a look at her today, six years later!  

SaveSave Here's what Leslie, her mama, had to say about dear Fern:

Fern continues to be adorable and sweet. She's a great snuggler and gives the best hugs. She and Roux are expert nappers: they run to a pile of laundry fresh from the dryer as if it's a heated bed I made just for them. They burrow in, groom luxuriously then snooze. It's hard to resist joining them.

F​ern was initially reticent to venture outside when we moved into this apartment. There's an enclosed breezeway perfect for indoor kitties to safely enjoy fresh air and tasty bugs. She wouldn't budge from the doormat at first but after two years she explores freely, even to the second floor. She greets anyone that passes by with a spirited hello and friendly head butts.

Five units in our building have formed a kitty sitting club so Roux & Fern have a lot of friends. It's been wonderful getting to know my cat-loving neighbors. It makes going out of town easier knowing they'll be looked after by kind humans who are happy to see them. We even get together for wine and cheese parties. Yay Capitol Crest Kitty Club!

Thank you Laurie and Charlene. I'm grateful for your kitty wrangling skills and the tiny smoke tabby I adopted 6 years ago. She's the best!





Thanks for sharing your Fern with us, Leslie!  We're happy to hear you are all so happy!!  Please give her (and Roux) a little love from all of us.

And friends, if you need a little more Fern, you can read her adoption tale HERE or visit all of the Lyttleton posts by clicking HERE.


My travels begin this weekend, and I'm trying hard to post five times a week like I normally do, but don't be surprised if I miss a day or post at odd hours.  I'm not going to have internet access 100% of the time, which might throw things off a bit.  

Have a great weekend, everyone!  We will see you on Monday!

Top Ten Toys!

After consulting with our in-house cat toy experts, Charlene and Wylla, I put together a list of the toys that they feel would bring your cats the most joy during this season of gift giving, and year 'round, too!

Here we go, in no particular order, Charlene and Wylla's top ten toy list.

1. The Catnip Banana.
OH, do our girls love their Yeoww Catnip Bananas.  In general, they're not huge fans of catnip toys, but there's something about the Banana that really clicks with them.  It's the one toy they'll both fight over, so we always keep more than one around the house.  They both chew on them, roll with them, bunny kick them until the bananas are flat and soggy. These folks make a catnip cigar, too, but it's not as fun as the banana.





2. Da Bird
Wylla loves feather toys so much that we have to keep them out of paw's reach when we're not using them.  Left unsupervised with a feather toy, she'll gnaw on it until the feathers are gone. Out of all the feather toys, Da Bird is her favorite, and she gets VERY excited when we bring it out. When you wave the wand and make the bird fly, it makes a whirring sound which is very stimulating to both cats. Charlene only watches it, but Wylla leaps like crazy for it.  She jumps so high, we only play with it upstairs where there's soft carpet to land on.

3. Sparkleballs
Paws down, Charlene's all-time favorite toy, and that's why we sell them in the IBKC shop. They're light and fun to bat around. We've heard from many that even your uber-finicky cats and kittens love them.



4. Rattle Mouse!
According to Wylla, Rattle Mouse is the greatest toy ever made in the history of cat toys! If anyone knows who makes these, please let us know.  We've got two of them, but they're getting pretty worn, and I know her heart will be broken if we have to retire them.




5. Cat Srpings! 
It's a good thing these are cheap, because they are so easy to lose, and we go through so many of them. Big cats and kittens love scooting across slick floors and chasing these springs.



6.  Cat-Dancer Charmer Wand
The Cat-Dancer wand is another favorite of Wylla's.  When we play with it,  she's gets lazy and just   rolls over on her back and waves her arms as we wave the wand.  This one is a huge hit with the kittens, too, but they'll actually jump after it and burn a few calories.



7. Purrfect Cat Pouncer
These are awesome. Just ask Fern Lyttleton.



These feather wands are loved by Charlene. Though she was quite a leaper in her younger days, we try not to encourage it too much now, so we just wriggle these around on the floor and Charlene chases after them. They lose their feathers eventually, so we do have to replace them every now and again.


8. Pingpong Balls
HOURS of fun if you throw it in the bathtub, right, Darlings?  Cheap, cheap, cheap endless entertainment for cats of all ages!



9. Track Ball
No cat is on the fence about Trackball -- either they're into it or not. Wylla is into it.



10. Skip the gifts,  just give them a box!





Just so you know, we're not getting paid to endorse these products, we're just sharing with you the toys that our cats and kittens enjoy more than any others. Most can be found online, but we prefer shopping our smaller, local pet boutiques.

Now You Know!

Below are the answers to yesterday's alumni quiz.

So, how did you do? It was really hard, I know.

No one got them all correct, but a couple of you got six out of seven right, which is really awesome, because it was difficult.  Thanks for playing along! We'll try another one before the week is out.

More alum updates to come today,  and don't forget, we've got a huge matching happening now and ALL that we raise will help build the new room for the foster kittens, and Cynthia has offered up a $5000 match, and we've got $4155 to go, so if you're in a position to help, please do!

To learn more about the match and the room we are funding and see a touching video from Cynthia, just scroll down to the previous post!

To make a tax-deductible donation for the new foster room, visit our FUNdraising page.


#1 Fern Lyttelton

#2 Cyrus Loudermilk

#3 Luella Draper

# 4 Perry Draper

#5 and # 6 Bunny and Milton Ashby

# 7 Graham Loudermilk

Fern Lyttelton!

I have such fond memories of dear little Fern Lyttelton, so I was awfully excited when Leslie sent me an update!

 First, let's take a look at Miss Lyttelton when she was a little one.




And here she is today!


 

And that's her sister "Roux" on the left.  So cute!

Here's what her mom Leslie had to say about Fern...

 Fern is an absolute joy - sweet, playful, affectionate, tenderhearted. She's smallish, has a super soft smoke tabby coat and smells like vanilla bean. She still loves her feather wand the best (fierce huntress)! She loves meeting people, lounging on her cardboard catwalk, drinking fresh bath water, wrestling with Roux, hiding in warm laundry, sleeping on my neck, and sitting on my shoulder. I couldn't ask for a better friend! Thank you once again for bringing her into my little family.


My pleasure, Leslie!  I'm so glad she found her way to you!  Thank you so much for the update and all the wonderful photos!

OH! I almost forgot!  We've got a little Fern movie to share, so you can see the goof girl in action!


Enjoy!

It's Movie Time!

The Lytteltons on Vimeo.

Enjoy!

PS The song is "Days" by The Kinks.

And Finally, Fern

Fern was the last Lyttelton to make weight, the last Lyttelton to leave, but the first kitten to get picked.

For quite some time Leslie, Fern's new mama, had been looking for a playmate for her 1 year old kitty, Roux. She had been checking out local rescues and shelters and had no luck. She mentioned to her friends Chris and Carrie (who happen to by my friends too) that she was looking for a kitten, and they suggested she contact me.

She came to meet the Drapers, but her friend (Kelly) ended up adopting Millie and Gordon and her other friend (Mimi) ended up adopting Luella and Perry.

Next two litters were pairs (Walter and Ira, Vivienne and Theodore) and those two pairs HAD to remain pairs. Both were too close to separate.

Leslie waited patiently until finally, The Lytteltons arrived. She had pick of the litter, and she picked Fern.

Because Fern was the last to go, she got to spend a little extra time with Charlene. In their last days, they had a great time frolicking together, playing hide-and-go-seek, and chasing each other up and down the stairs. It was so good for Fern. She got to spend some one-on-one with a big cat and Charlene had a chance to teach her about big cat boundaries. Hopefully she took something away from their time together and is showing her big sister lots of respect.


It took a very long time to get her kitten, but I think sweet little Fern was worth waiting for, and meant to be a part of Leslie's family.


.... And don't you think "Fern and Roux" sound good together. I like it.



Perfect, perfect, as always, perfect. Thank you Universe. Once again, you managed to send the most amazing families our way.

I do believe, without a doubt, that all these little Lytteltons were meant to be where they are.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Universe.

That Fern... What a Cute Little Sprout

Fern just kills me. Her little face is so expressive and sweet. It's seems like there's always something on her mind and she tries her best to share it with you with looks, gestures and mews.

Her tabbiness is really starting to show. Her stripes are much more pronounced on her face and her socks.

I think she's getting cuter by the day.

There Was a Little Girl, Who Had a Little Curl...

Bigger Lytteltons

We've had a round of meet and greets, and so far, four out of six have found their homes. We're still searching for that perfect place for Ms Pia and Ms Gia, so if you know of quality family in search of a pair of cutie-pies, please send them our way!

The pictures above are of Ms Fern in her new Mama's loving hands.

The Lytteltons were very slow growers at first, but all have seriously kicked it into gear over the past week. Their appetites are HUGE and you would not believe the number of empty kitten food cans accumulating in my recycling bin! Six growing kittens eat a LOT!

Right now they consume about five cans a day between the six of them, plus their crunchies. They're burning a lot of calories just growing... and then there's all that bouncing, climbing, pouncing, chasing, rolling, romping, and running they do. They've got to keep their fire fueled.

The boys are both over the two pound mark. Ridley's belly is insanely huge right now. When viewed from above, it looks like he's swallowed an avocado whole. (and I mean one of those giant $3 kind of avocados.. not the $1 Safeway special ones ones from Chile)

The girls aren't quite there yet. At the rate they're going, It shouldn't be tooooo much longer before they reach two pounds.

Crazy! How did that happen? I swear they just moved in the other day.

A Basket of Babes