Recently in Kittens Category

We received another plea from a reader involved in animal rescue about a family of kitties who need homes.

There is the mom (about 1 year old, recently spayed -- brown tabby color, petite, "sweet"); and babies (8-9 weeks old with vouchers to be spayed or neutered at Clinico next to the Harbor Animal Care Center in San Pedro).

There are 2 gray kittens and 2 black kittens, male and female in each color.

If you're interested ("only responsible, loving, devoted people need inquire"), contact Lisa Petrich at detectivelp@msn.com or call 310-832-0006.

The babies (a gray one seems to be left out of this shot):

And mom:

I'm still waiting for photos, but there are 3 female (all spayed) kittens, 6-8 weeks old, who need foster homes.

Two are calico and one is gray and white.  They are adorable, but will need someone who can take the time to gain their trust (they come from feral parents).  They are hearty eaters!

Contact is Melissa 310-713-4220.

I will post the photos when we get them.

(I spoke with a contact I have with the Peter Zippi Fund for Animals in Hermosa Beach and she tells me that the kittens are probably at a critical stage in terms of socialization and their future potential in becoming good family pets:  "They need to be around a lot of people a lot of the time or you can lose them," she told me. "At that age they're either going to make it or not. The more kids and people in the household, the better.")

Our colleague Sandy Mazza reports that Cooper, her new kitten whom we've posted extensively about before, is doing very well, thank you.

This past weekend he watched the movie Babe with Sandy and liked it a lot. He has received some new toy mice and a new toy bunny to hunt and kill. Repeatedly.

But his favorite prey? Sandy's feet (Oww!):

Here are some more shots of our favorite formerly-feral kitten, now almost 4 months old. You can see he is quite content in his new home (and is, Sandy says, showing signs of becoming a lay-about "bum"):

We've posted expansively on the new kitten adopted by our colleague, Daily Breeze reporter Sandy Mazza.

But wait! There's more. (And, yes, our readers have been clamoring, yea demanding that we post an update, already. Well, two of you, anyway.) So here it is:

1. The kitten, a former feral Sandy found outside her apartment building, now has a name: Cooper. The decision? Ain't complicated. No particular deep meaning, despite all our efforts in sending Sandy links to Irish names, cat names, kitten names, boy names. Mainly, the name was chosen because Sandy, for days in angst over what to name the critter, began calling him "Goober" for lack of anything formal. She figures Cooper is not only much more respectable but it also rhymes with Goober so perhaps he won't be too confused. My cat lady friend also tells me Cooper happens to be a popular right now, she's got "one" (meaning a cat named Cooper).

2. There was a brief flurry of panic over the weekend when Cooper suddenly slowed w-a-y down from his usual frantic, mouse-chasing self. He stopped eating and fell asleep, prompting new mom Sandy to dash him to the pet clinic. A virus & fever, apparently, and after receiving a shot Cooper bounced back to his normal self.

3. And finally, (drum roll) we've saved the best for last. The new, updated pic, showing Cooper in a rare moment of rest with one of his 4 toy mice:

All in unison now: AWWWWwwwwwww.

Previous posts (voluminous, they are!) about Sandy's kitten: Fleas;  The new kitten: an update; New kitten: Gifts! Mice!  Cats + lasers = Good times;  It's all about Sandy's kitten.

Forgive us for indulging.

Consider us all doting aunts and uncles to co-worker Sandy Mazza's new kitten, but we can't get enough.

This is one cute -- and lucky -- feral kitten.

He remains nameless, however, although Sandy did really appreciate the suggestions one reader sent us (and she especially liked one of the names, "Rory.")

But Sandy is still mulling it all over when it comes to deciding on a name.

She's leaning back (I think) toward Cormac, which she'd originally thought about. Irish is the theme (since the cat is orange) so I've tried to be helpful, trying to inspire. I've dutifully sent her lists of:

Irish saints ("Uh, uh" she said, shaking her head as she read through the names.)

Irish rivers ("No." 'Nuf said.)

Irish boy names. (Nope, nothing there, she said.)

Dang.

But isn't he just so cute???

Sandy's now collecting office gifts for her new kitten -- a scratching post and treats appeared at her desk today (courtesy of fellow Daily Breeze staffer & cat owner Andrea Woodhouse):

And here's the kitty with one of his mice -- no name yet, Sandy's thinking of something Irish since he's orange. Suggestions welcome.

I posted briefly  yesterday about the cute little orange cat and I wanted to thank you all so much for the helpful advice.

Here's the scoop on the new kitten (not mine): 

The feral kitten (3 months old) was found outside Daily Breeze colleague Sandy Mazza's apartment several days ago with his mom and his sibling. Despite a crusty pus that had almost sealed his little eyes shut, the little guy would approach Sandy, trying to play.

Sandy, an all-around animal lover (don't even get her started on the baby eagle Web cam that's the internet rage right now) took pity on him and threw caution to the wind, scooping him up and taking him in.

She tells me today that he's MUCH improved, he's loving the flea comb and is busy killing his new toy mice. He purrs constantly and the flea situation, for now, is mostly under control. He's entranced by the television set

Sandy took him to the vet Monday night after she'd spotted him lying in her driveway looking "ragged."

Aside from the fleas, a flu-like infection (he still doesn't have much of a voice) and ear mites, the vet said there did not appear to be anything life-threatening. So $200 later (welcome to the club, Sandy), home he came with her, stocked with medications and a followup appointment set for next week.

Here are the first of our "after" pics, he's looking SO much better (and check out the plush new cat bed from PetCo):

OK, South Bay Pets readers. We need your advice.

What's the best way to combat fleas on a 3-month-old (but sickly-recovering, weak) kitten? The topical drops would be too strong for now.

And how about treating a carpeted environment?

Fleabusters? Something else that's effective yet not too costly?

The poor kitty in question is shown below. ;(

We hope to have a robust 'after" picture in a short time!

Nothing cuter than a kitten. You'll get no argument from me on that.

So for all you kitten lovers, here's a video. This is how someone who bought the DVD describes it:

I saw this DVD on the internet and promptly freaked out and ordered a case of them in the hopes that you all would love it as much as I did. It is 45 minutes of non-stop kittens doing kitten things to wonderfully charming music by Brian Dewan.

The DVD is produced by a company called Bright Red Rocket. Maybe I should sue for tradmark infringment.

This link comes courtesy of my co-worker Megan Lasswell, who is a spelling bee champion, which is sort of animal related.