My nephew, Philip and his pal Stephen came to visit this week.  These handsome young gentlemen are not necessarily cat lovers, but they did seem to enjoy all the kitty-mania at Aunt Deb’s house.

Philip gets his “kitty” on.

The babies really took a shine to Stephen and even old grouchy Missy came over to get some love!

The KITTEN WHISPERER!

Our kid, Hannah made a rare appearance at Chez Burlingame to spend some time with her cousin.  She also had some special moments with a certain wonder kitten.

I wish I could keep you.

Mr. Mulder’s biggest fans came by one last time to give hugs and bid farewell.  Otto and Olivia were not left out.

A kitten for each.

Mulder and Miss Olivia had a nice snuggle this morning before departure.

I checked on Miss Lori during my shelter visit.  She has been under medical care for ten days for an upper respiratory infection.  Her immune system was stressed due to nursing 8 kittens for so long so she got sick soon after I dropped her off two weeks ago.  I was happy to see her back in the cat room looking very healthy.  She had finally gained a little weight and I scratched her until I got a purr out of her.  It took a while. 😦

OK, no need to stretch this out any longer.  My little guy is in the caring and professional hands of our great local animal shelter.  He’ll have a home as soon as he’s recovered from surgery I’m sure.  I mean, who could possibly resist. 🙂

Mulder Burlingame, ready for the world.

I continue to discover stuffed wildlife all over my house.  If you are unfamiliar with this ongoing saga, please go here for an explanation.

https://kittybunnychicken.com/2012/05/22/animals-animals-animals/

My recent discoveries include:

Puppy in the cable box.

Birthday bear in the burgundy bathroom.

Today’s discovery was bizarre.  Our excellent bug man, Paul was servicing our home today and I told him that I recently saw a roach exit the bottom of my pantry.  He looked inside and moved some boxes around and then jumped back startled.  He found a mouse.

He didn’t eat much.

Along with the stuffed varieties, I am still flush with living, breathing critters in all parts of my house.

Missy hissed at me! My feewings are hurt.

Mulder and Otto go back tomorrow.  Wish me strength!

Drum roll please………………………………………..

Mr. Mulder weighs TWO POUNDS!

This means that on Wednesday, he returns to the shelter to get his surgery. Shortly after that, he’ll be in the kitten room ready for adoption.  I promised myself that this time I wouldn’t get attached to any of my foster kittens, but who are we kidding?  I was really hoping that one of my friends, family or neighbors would want to adopt him so I could keep up with him and even visit on occasion.  Alas, this plan has not come to fruition.  And so I shall make one more shameless attempt to entice one of you dear readers to step up and offer to give a home to THE CUTEST KITTEN IN THE WORLD!

This is the first video I took of the little guy.  His eyes weren’t even open.

Miss Lori nursed Mulder even though she was not his biological mommy.  He was brought in to the shelter two days after Lori arrived with her seven babies.  He was about one week behind the bunch in age and he was half the size her of her biggest baby. Since he was so small I gave him lots of opportunities with Lori to have a private dining experience.

He was a fighter even among the other seven siblings and he always ate with gusto.

Although he nursed as much as possible, he was not gaining weight so we started bottle feeding.

That helped a bit and I also taught him to drink his formula from a saucer.

He usually had more than a milk mustache.

Make that a milk FACE!

I’ve fostered litters with a runt before and they acted differently than Mulder.  Rowdy (my plus sized kitty) was a runt and she was slower than the other kittens in every way.  She was listless and groggy and she didn’t understand how to play and fight like the other kittens.  Mr. Mulder has never been this way.  Even when he was super tiny, he was a scrappy little guy with lots of attitude.

And Mulder seemed to be the favorite of all the other kittens.  They each took turns being his best friend.

Mulder & Nate

There were a few humans who thought Mulder was pretty special as well.

Jill, I think Little Joe and Mulder could be great pals!

Andrew, Jack needs a buddy!

Gary, I think Siamese and English bulldog is a winning combination!

But by far, Mulder’s favorite human is Jim.

Two of my favorite guys.

One might wonder why I pick favorites.  I wonder myself.  I try very hard not too, but something just clicks with certain animals.  It might be because he was the first kitten I ever bottle fed.  Or maybe it was just because he was so tiny and yet so spunky and tough.  It may also be because he’s lived with me longer than any foster kitten so far (ten weeks).  I had always heard that Siamese were temperamental cats who weren’t very people friendly.  Mulder taught me never to judge a book by its breed.  He’s funny, friendly, sweet, and just a little bit crazy.  He makes purry, grunty noises when you pet him.  We call them “fat puppy” noises.  He “struts” when he walks and he looks you straight in the eyes when you talk to him.  Basically, I’m in love.  Here’s hoping this shameless attempt to woo someone into claiming him for their own will work.  If not, I’m sure he will get a lovely home with some very lucky people.  The Montgomery Humane Shelter has a great system for finding good homes for their animals and I’m not worried about him lingering in the kitten room.  His feet probably won’t touch the floor before someone grabs him.  I’m just being selfish.  I’d love for him to live near me or at least with someone I know so I can keep up with him.  He’s here until Wednesday if you’d like to come by and give him a test drive.

His motor really purrs!

Mr. Mulder & Miss Olivia had a recent altercation over a stuffed toy.  Mulder has about 9 ounces on our little girl but she held her own in the great CHRISTMAS TOY KERFUFFLE OF 2012!

Later the gang took a well-deserved nap on the couch.

Resting up for a full day of kitten antics.

D-Day for kitten return is Wednesday.  I am not certain that I will be able to do it without much blubbering.  I shall make an effort, but make no promises. 😦

Skeeter and Hudson came to play on the kitten’s last week at the Burlingame farm.

Hudson thinks Mulder and Olivia make a cute couple.

Stare at this video for some peace and quiet.  These kids don’t need no stinkin’ Ambien!

We’re enjoying the last few days of fostering  and I’m working hard to get Miss Olivia up to fighting weight.  I will be surprised if she makes two pounds by next Wednesday, but if she doesn’t she’ll have to stay here another week.  What a burden.  🙂

For my readers who saw last week’s post, https://kittybunnychicken.com/2012/05/22/animals-animals-animals/ this next picture will need no explanation.

Woolly Mammoth in the bathroom “library”.

But if you didn’t read it, you must be very confused right now.  🙂

Or at least I hope it is.  Master Will and Mistress Katherine took Mr. Mulder home for a playdate today.  Nathan was out of town and when the dad’s away, the kids will play (and surreptitiously try out a kitten on a trial basis.)

Nathan, are you made of stone? Don’t you see these two were made for each other?

I fear Nathan will no longer consider me a friend after my part in this conspiracy, but I am only a cog in an ever-turning wheel that includes a very persuasive wife and mother who shall remain nameless.  (Remember, you came to get him Michelle!  I am not solely to blame!) 🙂

The date went well.  Apparently the Norris’ other two feline family members were not overly traumatized by the admission of one small kitten in their midst.

Who could possibly resist this little guy?

Nathan returns home from his business trip soon, and when he does I am hopeful that his little clan will be able to persuade him that his life is incomplete without Mr. M.

Meantime, I am crossing all fingers and toes.

We recently took a quick trip to the Smokey Mountains (we saw five bears in one day!) and Tama took care of all the critters for us.  She, Dennis & Meggie all like to spend time at the Burlingame farm and the animals are always happy to see them.  In recent months, Tama has gotten the hilarious notion that she should hide Beanie Babies all around my house while I’m gone.  I have a basket o’ beanies upstairs in a guest room.  I never collected them seriously. I would just buy one on occasion when I found a something cute.  Tama and her partner-in-crime, Meggie had them hidden in all manner of places in my house when I returned.  I’m finding some now, but rest assured it will be months, perhaps years before I find them all.  The last time she did this I found the final victim almost a year after she hid it.  Join me on this journey of discovery…

Mr. Hammerhead Shark browsing the cookbook section.

Miss Beetle in the baking drawer.

Amazon Tree Frog in the coffee pot.

Miss Chicken in my Hello Kitty slippers. Tama also covets these. MINE!

Psychedelic Kitten behind the wedding photo.

Mr. Brazilian Tree Frog atop the entertainment armoire.

I’m telling you, the girl ain’t right.  There is something seriously wrong with her heed!  I must, however, put up with her shenanigans lest I lose the best pet sitter on the planet and a pretty good friend to boot.  Continue marching to that special drummer, Miss Tama.  March on with yer bad self. 🙂

Miss Olivia smelled a bit ripe so I gave her a bubble bath.  While I was bathing her I noticed some little black dots leaving her fur.  I didn’t know she had fleas, but I was washing her in Dawn dishwashing liquid, so perhaps that will do the trick.  When I had flea-ridden kittens in the past, I was instructed to bathe them in warm water and to use Dawn.  It’s the stuff that is used on those poor oil-slicked, waterfowl whenever Exxon or BP has a blonde moment.  (no offense to blondes)

She was NOT very happy with me.

She dried quickly after a good towel rub, but for a while she was not looking her best.

Is this really necessary?

Meanwhile, I made my three remaining babies a fort using an upside-down doggie bed (thanks Margaret!) and a very fluffy blanket.  Mulder decided it felt a lot like his mommy.

Yes, this is a little sad.  I wish all kittens could stay with their moms and grow up with their brothers and sisters, but alas this is impossible.  All we can do is make their foster lives as nice  and safe as we can until they find forever homes.  I have these little monsters for at least another week.  Otto almost weighs enough, but I won’t return him alone.  It would be too sad for him.  When Mulder and Olivia catch up they’ll all go back to be adopted together.  Good for them…sad for moi.

I left Matilda and Harry in very capable hands at the Montgomery Humane Shelter.

Don’t worry kids. Mr. Matt is going to take good care of you.

While there, I dropped off some donations and then went into the cat room to see Miss Lori.

She’s in a roomy cage with two other nice cats and she seems fine.  They alternate letting cats roam around the room and all of them get a couple of times a day to get out and stretch and play with toys.  I gave her some good scratching behind the ears and she started to purr.  She has gained some weight too, which made me very happy.  It was hard to put any meat on her with eight babies sucking the life out of her every day.  Don’t feel sorry for her.  Soon someone will recognize her sweet personality and take her to her new home.  I saw none of my former babies in the kitten room, which means they have all been adopted.  🙂

So for now, I have three left.  And I’m trying very hard to convince myself that I don’t need to keep any of them.

Wish me luck!

Today I return Matilda and Harry to the shelter.  They both weigh two pounds so they are ready for their “surgery” and to be put up for adoption.  This is the thing I hate about fostering, but it is the most important part of the process.  Here are some final pictures of my sweet charges.

Harry & Otto scale the heights of Mount Tiffany!

Matilda and Mulder make a nice bed out of my basket tree.

Yin Yang bread basket.

Olivia and Harry have one more go at play fighting.

As do Mulder and Matilda…

Mulder and Harry share a final cat nap.

BFFs parted by weight

So bye-bye, little kids.  You’ve stolen my heart, but you will find a great forever home soon.

Are you sure we can’t stay here?

Please?

The kittens will be ready for adoption very soon.  Here’s all the info you need to add a sweet family member to your home.

Montgomery Humane Society, 1150 John Overton Drive Montgomery, AL 36110

(334) 409-0622–Be there or be square!

I’m told Miss Lori (their mommy) is still in the cat room.  I plan to give her some good lovin’ when I drop off the babies.

The Gang.