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No, not talking about Christmas, even though that’s arriving surprisingly quickly this year. I’m actually talking about the time when my current batch of Lollypop Farm foster kittens are old enough, heavy enough and healthy enough to return to the farm to be adopted out. (Interested in maybe adopting them? Read on.)

You may remember that Dipsy and Po became part of our family about a month ago, when they were just three weeks old. (Click here to read the blog I wrote about them back then.) They were two little black furball kitty sisters, small enough to fit in the palm of our hand, with big, bright blue eyes. They had been entrusted to our care to grow and socialize until they were ready for adoption. Better they do that in a foster home than in a cage.

They looked like black Tribbles, toddling around exploring their new world. They couldn’t climb steps, so we had to put ramps into the bathroom and kitchen. Another ramp leaned against the couch so they could find our laps. They had some idea of how to use a litter box, but about half the time decided the nearest corner of the living room was most convenient.

Five weeks later, things have changed a lot. Nothing — and I mean NOTHING — can stop them. They’re leaping up the stairs, climbing the cat tower like monkeys, and exploring every nook and cranny they can wiggle their miniature bodies into, whether I want them to or not. They’ve become best friends, wanting to do everything together — eating, sleeping (on top of one another), wrestling, playing with a new toy, mentoring each other with new ways to be mischievous. And they never miss the litter box anymore.

They make us laugh, they affectionately cuddle up on our laps at every opportunity, and basically have morphed from little kittens into little cats.

Dipsy and Po have added so much joy to our lives, and even though it will be hard to give them up, I know that they will continue to bring joy to another lucky family.

If your family would like to be that lucky family, I’d love to hear from you! Lollypop is more than happy to adopt these furbabies out to someone I know, rather than from a cage at the shelter. They also agree with me that they should be adopted together, since they have developed such a close relationship.

So if you’re interested in adopting two friendly, adorable and playful kittens, please let me know pretty soon. Just drop me an email and I can tell you more about them.

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Can’t take any pets permanently right now? Consider joining the foster program! It’s a very enjoyable experience and I highly recommend it, especially if you’re retired and need some new friends to help you pass the time (and we’re talking cats, dogs, rabbits, even horses). But I’m certain that even if you’re working, Lollypop would work with you to find a foster that would be perfect for your situation. Doesn’t cost you a thing; Lollypop provides everything you need.

Interested? Click here for more information.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Instagram and Threads (@missyblog)

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

(posted 12/18/2023)

Tags: Missy Rosenberry, Webster NY

My regular blog readers might have noticed that I haven’t been blogging with the regularity that you’ve come to expect from me. No worries, though; I’m not sick. Something else has been distracting me.

Specifically, four seven-week old kittens.

I have recently signed on to foster kittens through Lollypop Farm. It was a decision I’ve been toying with for quite some time, ever since our Lilly passed away a few years ago. I needed something to fill the hole in my heart that she left.

After going through the sign-up and online training process, it took what seemed like FOREVER (actually only two weeks) before I was matched with some seven-week old kittens who needed a little extra TLC. The description Lollypop offered for the four siblings warned me that they were struggling with diarrhea. But I was so excited to be able to get some kittens, ANY kittens, I let that warning bounce right off me. After all, how bad can it be?

Turns out, pretty bad.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Gordon, Carmel, Mo and Gerry are indeed adorable. And they’re all very affectionate. And they love to cuddle up in a ball together in our laps to sleep. So that part of being kittens has been great. The let’s-drop-stinky-poop-all-over-the-living-room-rug-and-kitchen-floor-and-JUST-outside-the-litter-box part has been rather exhausting.

It’s been a learn-as-we-go experience for my husband and me. We realized pretty quickly that we hadn’t kitten-proofed the house anywhere near enough, especially for kittens that seem to consider pooping an Olympic sport. But we’re smart people. When every new challenge, we came up with a solution.

• Kittens going upstairs and soiling the carpeting? Build a barrier at the base of the stairs.

• Kittens able to leap over the barrier? Extend it with cardboard boxes.

• Kittens able to find a way AROUND the barrier? Attach planks of wood to the side of the steps with bungee cords.

• Kittens can’t get to the litter box in time? Put a second one in the living room.

• Kittens soiling the upholstery? Put towels and pee pads on every chair and wrap the couch in a plastic tablecloth (thanks Becky for that idea).

• Kittens pooping on the area rugs? Roll them up and put them on the porch.

So right now when you walk into our house, you’ll enter a living room with a bare floor, litter box in the corner, and plastic pads and towels spread EVERYWHERE. There’s a box of floor and carpet cleaning supplies within easy reach, and a basket of rags which gets accessed regularly. We’re doing two loads of laundry a day.

So you see that we’re kind of on duty all the time, and pretty much every hour or so we have to run around behind the kittens to make sure they’re getting to the litter box or — especially with Carmel — cleaning up a half dozen little messes. Things are slowly getting better, but it’s been rather time consuming.

BUT. I love having these little stinkybutt kittens around. My husband is clearly getting a little aggravated (especially since he gets up before me and so has to clean up all the overnight messes). But when they look up at me with their adorable little kitten faces and huge purrs, they melt my heart.

So no regrets, and I will miss them when they’re old enough to return to Lollypop for adoption. In the meantime, I’ll try to keep blogging, but it’s often hard to accomplish with four balls of fur climbing all over me.

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Instagram and Threads (@missyblog)

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

(posted 11/8/2023)

Tags: Missy Rosenberry, Webster NY

The moon put on a spectacular show last Saturday night; perhaps you saw it. It was called a “moon dog.” I didn’t notice it, but learned about it instead from Jackson Thomas, one of my loyal readers, who sent me the following description and photos from when he attended the Webster Recreation Center’s Pumpkins on Parade event that night:

In addition to the amazing activities and decorations (at Pumpkins on Parade), participants were also treated to a somewhat rare astronomical event: moon dogs.  This atmospheric phenomenon is the night-time equivalent of the sun dogs sometimes seen during the day when high, thin cirrus clouds create a bright, colorful spot on either or both sides of the sun. 

Moon dogs, like sun dogs, appear within the 22-degree halo surrounding either the moon or the sun, although this halo of refracted light is not always visible around the sun, unlike the brilliant halo we witnessed that evening surrounding the moon.  Sun dogs are colorful and appear to be miniature rainbows as sunlight is refracted through ice crystals at high altitude within those cirrus clouds.  Moon dogs ordinarily lack the color of sun dogs, because moonlight is not strong enough to activate the color-sensing cones in our eyes, but, as you will see in my photos, there was a slight touch of color due to the moon’s brilliance that evening.

Jackson also attached the informational photo below, and a link to more photos of these beautiful phenomena. Click through either or both if you’re interested in learning more.

Thank you Jet for sending this along!

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email me  at missyblog@gmail.com. “Like” this blog on Facebook and follow me on Instagram and Threads (@missyblog)

You can also get email notifications every time I post a new blog by using the “Follow Me” link on the right side of this page.

(posted 11/3/2023)

Tags: Missy Rosenberry, Webster NY