Lovey-Dovey

In honor of Valentine's Day, I thought I would share with you some of my favorite lovey-dovey photos from the past year.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Wishing you lots of cuddles and hugs from those you love.

xo xo



























Oh,, and one last thing.... Charlene wants to know...

Monday is Movie Day

Todays feature: The Bartletts

The Bartletts from laurie cinotto on Vimeo.

I hope a big dose of their cheery little kitten faces will be a good kick-off to your week. Happy Monday, Everyone.

PS The song in the movie is Josefin By First Aid Kit from their album The Big Black and the Blue.

Bye-Bye Bartletts

Well, I asked the Universe to send some amazing people our way to adopt sweet Georgie and Clarence, and the Universe listened.

No surprise because:
1. The Universe always provides the most amazing families for our most amazing kittens.
2. Georgie and Clarence deserve nothing short of the absolute best.

Betsy, their new mom, just happens to be the sister of my friend Katy, who is a very dear friend of Opal's mom, Jennifer. Does that all make sense? Opal is the Kevin Bacon of Tacoma.

Anyway, Betsy has been following the IBKC for awhile. Last week, when she read the post about Georgie and Clarence's search for a family she thought they might just be the ones to offer them that loving home. So she promptly shared the post with her husband, Duncan, who promptly said "yes".

She emailed me, we chatted on the phone, and it was clear they were good, animal loving folks, so the next day they came down from Seattle for a visit.

I'm pretty sure it was decided before they arrived that these kittens needed to join their family (which includes a handsome orange tabby named Butters and a sweet pooch named Oly). Even so, Georgie and Clarence gave them the hard-sell, and were extra, extra cute and sweet during the visit. Their motors ran strong, they were uber-cuddly, they dazzled, and they charmed.

At the end of their visit, dear little Clarence stole the show. He climbed up on the arm of the sofa, sat upright with his tail wrapped around his toes, and started dozing off. For those of you who have witnessed kittens falling asleep while siting up, you know there are few things in life as precious.

Well, Clarence sat there blinking, fighting the need to nap until finally, his little body started to buckle beneath him and he slipped off the arm of the couch. Fortunately, he woke as he fell and managed to sink his toenails into the blanket hanging over the arm. I was sitting close enough to grab him too, so the boy was not harmed. Just befuddled. We all got a good laugh at his expense, and they left with smiles on their faces.

So, yep. They found their family and last night Betsy and Duncan came back and picked up the pair. I just got a note from Betsy, and the boys are doing great. They're happy and comfortable in their guest room.

They got a chance to meet Oly the dog and there was a little big of retreating and puffing up. Oly is great with cats, and I'm sure once they figure out he's their friend, all will be well. Introductions to Butters will happen soon. He's already curious about what's on the other side of the door.

We're all missing the Bartletts. They were a very special, joyous, loving litter and we're so happy to have spent a little time with them. The start of their story was a sad one, but their ending is the happiest of all ever-afters. I'm so thankful for the wonderful families that they found.


Here a few pictures of the Georgie and Clarence's last moments with us:

Right before they left, the kittens cuddled on the couch for a nap. Charlene jumped up and gave them both lots of goodbye kisses.






Here's Georgie, napping while Betsy fills out the adoption paperwork. Clearly, he's stressed by the situation.



And a couple more shots of the kittens with their "gold medals".







Bye-bye Bartletts. I will always treasure the moments with you. XOXO.

Bartletts: Then and Now

Here's one family portrait I never shared with you. I think it was taken their second week with us. They were starting to fill out a bit, but they were still so thin through their shoulders.

And here we have the babies one month later - all healthy and round.



Georgie is quite proud of their progress. Aren't you Georgie?





Yep.

Goodbye to the First Pair of Bartletts

Waaaaaaaay back before Christmas, Mara, now mama to Imogene and Marcel Bartlett, sent me an email. She found out about my blog from our mutual friend Jennifer, aka Opal's mom, and was in search of a pair of kittens. You all remember Opal, right? If not, click HERE and read this post.

Anyway, Mara's daughter Lola, just happens to be Opal's best friend.

Mara wanted a girl-kitten and a boy-kitten, so naturally, being the only girl, Imogene was a shoe-in. Mara just needed to decide on the perfect boy to accompany her. After a meet and greet and some contemplation, it was decided that Marcel was the one.

She went home and told Lola all about their soon-to-be kittens and little Lola literally jumped for joy.

The original plan was to have their kittens to them shortly after Christmas, but thanks to a little upper respiratory issue bouncing between the kittens, it was delayed a spell. Their awaiting family was quite patient and understanding and willing to wait for these fabulous kittens to be 100% before adopting them.

They came by on Christmas Day so Lola and her dad Jeff could meet the babies. As you can see, Lola was quite smitten with them from the start. The kittens were so good, and seemed quite comfortable in her arms.





After their visit, Mara shared this with me...

She (Lola) has been telling everyone about her visit with the kittens and very excited to bring them home. She has now named Marcel, “Marcel Cutie-Gray, because he is sooooo cute and he’s gray,” she says. And Imogene is Imogene Maddie Bartlett, because she decided months ago that her girl kitty would have Maddie in her name.

Pretty sweet, huh?

So... we waited for a round of antibiotics to work their magic, and then all the Bartletts went in for surgery, and were officially available for adoption yesterday.

Yesterday Mara and family came, and off went Marcel and Imogene.


I got an email already this morning from Mara. It sounds like everyone is doing really great and they've even had their first introduction to Lucy, the family dog.

She also sent a few a pictures of the kitties looking all comfortable in their new home. (see below)

Here's what she had to say...

Hi Laurie,
The kitties are loving their new digs! They stayed in our spare bedroom last night and immediately made themselves at home. When we let them out of their carrier, Imogene was very cuddly with Lola and purring instantly while she held her on the bed for a while. We had the door open at first with the baby gate across and they weren't too freaked out by Lucy but did retreat to play under the bed for a while after they saw her.

I trekked out to Petsmart and got them some more toys, scratcher refills, treats, & one of those cool curvy lounger scratcher things like the one in your living room. They're spoiled already and feeling right at home!

We gave them some quiet time alone to explore the room & relax. Before we went to sleep, I checked in one them and they were lounging on the pillows on the bed together, had eaten some food and pooped in the litter box. But you were right--Kitten poop is stinky STINKY;)

Thanks again for giving them such a great start and for taking such good care of them! We are very excited to have them in our family now.

Here's a few pics and will have more to come. There's a few more of Lola with the kitties on my phone, but the network is down I guess so I'll send those later.

Have a fabulous day!

Mara



We're so happy this special pair found such a loving family. Thanks Mara, Jeff, and Lola for opening up your home to them. I know they will bring you so much joy. It's what they do best.

Here's one last photo of all the Bartletts together, taken shortly before we said goodbye to Imogene and Marcel. What a splendid little litter. How lucky we were to spend time with them.

Four Little Bartletts, All in a Row

And they are fabulous.

Four fabulous Bartletts.

A Close-Knit Bunch

These little Bartletts are a close-knit bunch. When they nap, they are usually in a puddle. When they play, it's always in a pack.

What's All the Excitement??

Is it the new couch?



Nope. But that's pretty exciting.



What is it, kittens?







Oh dear! A dog!



No need to worry. Bean's got the situation under control.

The dog is Dulcey and she LOVES kittens. You've met her before, she usually comes by around Christmas with her owner, Sarah. Last year when she came through she met Walter and Ira Finch. A couple years back, she met the Darlings.

Dulcey is harmless, but still, the kittens kept a safe distance. Bean, however, was not afraid. Or amused.

Bartletts + Bean

Now that two weeks have passed, the quarantine has been lifted and the Bartletts are free to roam about the house. They got to come out of their room on Christmas Eve, and everyone was very excited to meet Charlene. Especially Georgie. It seems he's got a bit of a crush on her. When she enters the room, he's quick to greet her. He'll rub up against her and his crooked little tail goes straight up in the air (well,,, as straight as it will go, anyway).

Here's a few pictures of the first encounter...









The Bartletts are being good. They're curious little creatures, and have been checking out every square inch of the place. They've been under the Christmas tree, but so far no one has attempted to climb it. They have found the items beneath the tree of greater interest than the the tree itself.

So far.

If anyone climbs the tree, I think it will be Marcell. He's the lean, agile, impulsive athlete in the bunch.

My folks sent me some pics from Nigel and Mimsey's Christmas. If time permits, I'll be posting those later today.

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday weekend!

Four Nappers Napping