# The "Q" group of fosters



## Venusworld21

The guy who we did TNR for this summer passed my number on to someone else who called me on their way to my hometown to drop off their cats with me--with no prior permission or contact whatsoever. I'm not impressed (and that's the PC version), but they're here and they're not feral and there's two kittens...so how could I say no? 

All together, 4 cats who were abandoned at the property when the wife moved out. Apparently she'd been trying to make it back out to take care of them, but was only getting out there every week or every other week. So they definitely couldn't stay there.

There's one adult black/white tuxedo male (now named Quixote) who looks to be in good shape, one painfully skinny gray tuxedo female who is the mother of the two kittens (now named Queen), and two 3 month old kittens, one solid black female (Quill) and one solid gray male (Quatro). 

All have an appointment for S/N on the 30th and then they'll get to recover for a week or so before I start looking for homes for them. It just never ends.


Pics to follow once I get around to putting them on the computer.


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## spirite

Well, I guess that answers the question I asked in another thread!  

That's pretty rude to just assume that you'd take these kitties! 

Is mama cat sick, do you think? Poor thing.  I'm feeding a stray who showed up absolutely emaciated. A quick vet exam didn't find anything obvious - no worms, so apparently just hadn't gotten food in weeks. 

Can't wait to see pics of this batch!


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## Venusworld21

Yeah, I had all kinds of words, but none of them were helpful to the kitties, so I mostly just ranted after he drove off (we did NOT meet at my house, but at a nearby store).

I don't think mama is sick...I think she's just at the post-kitten skinny state and also she had worms pretty bad (they all did). I wormed everyone once, and will be worming again tomorrow (10 days) and once more probably after they get back from their surgeries. I've got the babies separate from the adults, so if she was still nursing them that will be done now, and between that and the worming, she's already gained a little weight back. Regular food is helping too. I took a top-view photo of her about 4 days after she came in. She'd already been wormed at that point, but it's still a painful photo---she's SOOO small.


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## cat owner again

Well bless you. My mama cat was very small too when I adopted her.


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## Marcia

Yes, that would tick me off too! I'm glad they have someone caring for them, too. One of my great joys is to watch the terribly skinny ones fatten up. It warms my heart to see these babies eating regularly and putting on some weight. I'm so glad you were there for them. I use letter themes for my litters that come in too. Right now I have the B's, the T's and the M's and a few assorted unrelated singles.


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## Venusworld21

I've been going in order with my letters, I'm up to Q now.  Next batch will be R. Then I guess I'll get all the way around to A again in another couple batches after that.


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## spirite

X and Y might be kind of hard...  You could be like a phone and do the XYZ batch.


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## Venusworld21

I'm not too worried.  I'm on a horse rescue board that saves horses from local slaughterhouses and kill pens and they name the available horses. They save 30-40 a month and are on their third trip through the alphabet I think, so I've got a good supply of names for every letter.


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## Venusworld21

Photos, finally!

"Papa" Quixote. He was sitting up to reach the camera




Mama Queen



This is the one of her that makes me want to cry. Taken 3 weeks ago (4 days after she arrived)



Baby girl Quill




Baby boy Quattro


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## spirite

Oh my gosh, she looks barely bigger than the kittens!!  I'm really glad my little stray is longhaired. I really wouldn't have wanted to see what she looked like under the fur when she first showed up. 

The Qs all have gorgeous coats! I love the pic of Papa standing up - I love when kitties do that! And the little Quill... :luv!


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## 10cats2dogs

The "Q" group is a Handsome one!
Love the name's you've picked!
Mama Queen looks like she was starving...kittens take a lot of nourishment away from mama...
Now they all can eat and fill in!:thumbup::thumbup:
Sharon


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## struckers

What beautiful cats! A shame people think they can drop cats off on people, but at least these babies will be getting the care they deserve. Bless you! 

Queen's little face has stolen my heart!


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## Venusworld21

Mama and the babies were snipped today. When they shaved Quixote down, they discovered that his fluff was all for show. He was already neutered! These guys will be up for adoption in about a week! Except mama, who I think I will try to fatten up properly.


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## 10cats2dogs

Venus,
Surprise! Quixote is such a Handsome Boy, he's got to find a home soon!
Queen Mama could really use some of your Special TLC!!
She'll blossom under your care!
Sharon


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## Venusworld21

Finally, the first adoption from this group! Quattro (gray boy) just went to his new home.  Quixote tried his best to impress the company, but Quattro won them over. Hopefully Quixote gets his new family soon. He is impatiently waiting for them to come for him, lol. Mama Queen and baby Quill are going to need a bit of socialization before they are ready to roll...I'm hoping once the R batch moves into the house I can bring them into the laundry room and start some heavy duty socializing.


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## spirite

Aww, so glad for Quattro! This whole little family is so adorable. How's Mama Queen doing? I hope she's gained a lot of weight!


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## Venusworld21

She isn't super fond of wet food, so she hasn't gained as much as I would have liked, and they're still in my garage, so they aren't as warm as I would like either and that is consuming extra calories, but I have zero other places to put them. She's filling out a little, and I probably notice it less, because I see her every day. Plus Quixote is a tank, so she looks tiny next to him. I should take another top picture to compare to that first one.


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## spirite

Well, it's been just about a month now, right? It could definitely be that it's slow but consistent weight gain so that you don't really see it. With my little stray, I saw some immediate improvement after about 10 days, but then she just didn't seem to be gaining much after that. She still felt super skinny, yet when she went to the vet 5 weeks later, she'd gone from 5.7 to 7.0 lbs. 

Quixote doesn't even look that big to me - she must be tiny.


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## 10cats2dogs

Venus,
Do you have heat lights set up? Like they use for chickens, etc?
Would definitely help with the heat issue...


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## Venusworld21

I don't have any heat lights, no.


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## Venusworld21

Quixote was adopted a few weeks ago. I've heard from his new owners and he's settling in well. I've also heard from Quattro's new owners. They renamed him Paul and are in love with him. Queen and Quill moved into the laundry room to start their socialization and also where it's considerably warmer. Queen looks much better. She's still small, but she looks willowy now instead of starved. Quill is pretty jumpy, but physically healthy. They made their first trip into the house today and all went well. I'm hoping to have them living in here full-time and up for adoption before the new year.


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## spirite

Oh, so glad that all the news on the Qs is good! Queen and Quill should enjoy the warmer temp inside!


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## Venusworld21

Queen is officially ready to go up for adoption.  She's not as friendly as some that I've had, but she's miles ahead of where she was and doing better every day. She's finally looking decent; I've got to post a pic one of these days. 

Quill is still jumpy as heck, but doing a lot better. She actually came and laid next to me on the couch two days ago and stayed there for almost an hour. It's the first time she's voluntarily been that near to us. She's making lots of progress and honestly I think will do better once her mother is adopted out. She lets us pick her up. She doesn't purr and enjoy it yet, but she also doesn't scratch or try to get away. Slow, slow steps, but steps, nonetheless.


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## spirite

Aww, glad to hear that Queen has put on weight and is ready to find her forever home! 

You're already doing better with Quill than I ever did with Margaux, who never liked being picked up (at least by me - she'd tolerate it from other people though. Go figure.), or with Celia, who just wriggles and squirms to be let down. 

And yep, pics would be great!


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## 10cats2dogs

Venus,
I hope Queen finds just the right person for her!
Quill sounds like a CutiePie!
Pictures please!!


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## Venusworld21

Finally, photos!

Queen at intake:










Queen today:










Oh, you're home early:










And miss Quill, slowly learning that humans aren't completely terrifying:


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## 10cats2dogs

Venus,
WOW! The before and after picture of Queen is amazing! She looks so sleek now!
What a pose of her on the cat tree!!
Quill looks soooo sweet! Glad she's getting it figured out! 
Sharon


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## cat owner again

Wow did you save that Queen kitty! She was so skinny before and she looks quite happy to be well taken care of.


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## spirite

Love the pics! Is that Quill with her in the first one? Whichever one of her babies it is, she's just as thin as he/she is! But she looks so good now. Such a sweet face, and your caption for the pic of her all sprawled out in that goofy position is perfect!


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## Venusworld21

That kitten is Quattro, the gray boy with her in the "before" picture.


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## Venusworld21

Queen and Quill are both still here. Queen is the absolute biggest goofball. The vet who did her spay estimates her at 3 years old, but nobody told her that! She'll run all over the house, wrestle with anybody who comes near her and goes nuts over all the "kitten" toys.

Quill is finally starting to trust us and is acting much more relaxed. She'll let us walk up to her/past her without running away, and probably jumps about 1/3 as much as she used to. We've also been able to scratch her enough to get her to purr. Tonight she was stretched out on the living room floor and I was scratching along her back and wifey was scratching her ears and chin and she was just loving it. She's about 6 months old now, and nearly as big as Queen (who is probably stunted from having kittens too young). 

Their favorite game is to have Queen on top of the cat tree and Quill on one of the lower levels and they'll just swat at each other. Then one of them will leap off and the other will chase her down the hall. 

No nibbles yet on potential adoptions, but they're getting more relaxed and friendly each day. They're the only two fosters in the house currently, so space isn't such an issue and they can take their time.


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## 10cats2dogs

It would be Awesome, if when they're adopted, they got adopted together!
Sharon


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## spirite

That sounds like amazing progress, especially with Quill! Even though Mr. Casper was a stray not a feral, it was quite a long time after I started petting him that I heard him purr for the first time, and the first 10 or 15 times, it was the shortest purr in history, kind of like he didn't want to admit that he liked it. 

Oh my goodness, you actually only have two fosters?! Wonder how long that'll last.


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## Venusworld21

It didn't last long. Pepper came back on Wednesday, but her thread is locked, so I can't update there. She seemed REALLY glad to be back (purring, loving on us, etc) and didn't do any hissy-spitty faces at any of the others. She now tears around the house with Queen and Quill.


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## Tsukiyomi

Venusworld21 said:


> It didn't last long. Pepper came back on Wednesday, but her thread is locked, so I can't update there. She seemed REALLY glad to be back (purring, loving on us, etc) and didn't do any hissy-spitty faces at any of the others. She now tears around the house with Queen and Quill.



Aww that's so cute. Did they say why they brought her back? Can't help but feel bad for her specially if she is so happy to be back it makes me wonder what happened.

Also all of the Q group are/were too cute.


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## 10cats2dogs

Poor Pepper...
I think she thinks...You guys ARE her home!


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## spirite

Aww poor Pepper. If her owners weren't happy with her, it sounds like she was just as unhappy with them!


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## Venusworld21

Yeah, as far as I can tell Pepper's people didn't do anything wrong, but I think their home was just too busy and/or lonely for her. Her next placement needs to either be a single person with no other pets and a very quiet life, or a home with another cat for her to bond with. When I went there to pick her up (they said she just wasn't bonding with them and didn't seem happy) they had closed the doors so she couldn't go hide in a bedroom. She was just crying at the top of her voice; clearly she was freaked out, but I couldn't find any obvious reason why. She cried like that all the way home. Once we put her in the laundry room with some wet food, the tone of the cries changed considerably. We let her out after about 20 minutes (she'd thoroughly cleaned the plate by then) and she was chirping at us and loving on us and purring all over the place. My mom came over for a little while on Sunday and Pepper hid the whole time she was here...so while she likes us, she's clearly pretty freaked out by pretty much everyone else.


Also, I'm finally starting to get some interest in Queen and Quill.  I haven't invited any of the responders out to meet them yet, but just getting interest is a step in the right direction.


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## spirite

Poor thing! She was definitely unhappy about something there. Did they say if she meowed while she was with them? I wonder if she was meowing because you were there and she was telling you she wanted to go with you. Miss Celia is like that - anyone new comes over, she's under the loveseat. 

Are you thinking about adopting Queen and Quill out together?


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## Venusworld21

I would love Queen and Quill to go as a pair. Or Pepper with either of the Q girls would be okay too. I always give priority to pair adoptions.


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## Venusworld21

Just had someone out to meet all three foster ladies. Queen and Quill both behaved very well. Pepper hid behind the washing machine, but once I got hold of her, she let them pet her. They really liked Pepper and Queen. They've gone to think on it. Fingers crossed for one of these lucky ladies! (They already have a 3 mo old kitten, so if they were to adopt one of my girls singly, she wouldn't be lonely).


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## Tsukiyomi

Venusworld21 said:


> Just had someone out to meet all three foster ladies. Queen and Quill both behaved very well. Pepper hid behind the washing machine, but once I got hold of her, she let them pet her. They really liked Pepper and Queen. They've gone to think on it. Fingers crossed for one of these lucky ladies! (They already have a 3 mo old kitten, so if they were to adopt one of my girls singly, she wouldn't be lonely).



Any word on this?


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## Venusworld21

Nope, she never contacted me again. Queen, quill and pepper are all still here looking for homes. Queen and Quill are doing really well and are pretty friendly, even with strangers. Pepper runs from us half the time now, so I've temporarily taken her off the adoption market, just to give her some time to calm down.


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## Venusworld21

Queen and Quill were adopted, together, late yesterday evening.  Both the kitties and me really liked their new "mom." It's only been about 24 hours so far, but it seems like it will be a great match.

Now it's just Pepper here looking for her new family.


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## Tsukiyomi

Venusworld21 said:


> Queen and Quill were adopted, together, late yesterday evening.  Both the kitties and me really liked their new "mom." It's only been about 24 hours so far, but it seems like it will be a great match.
> 
> Now it's just Pepper here looking for her new family.



Happy to hear it that's exactly what I was praying you would eventually come to say.


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## spirite

That's great news! So glad they were adopted together.  Poor Pepper. She needs someone who'll understand that the fact that she's fearful doesn't at all mean she won't be affectionate. Fingers crossed for her when you put her back up for adoption!


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## 10cats2dogs

I'm glad the two of them got adopted together! 
Now hopefully, the right person will be found for Ms. Pepper, someone who actually understands patience and a gentle touch...who also knows, the ones who can be the most challenging, also offer the biggest rewards! 
Keeping All Paws Crossed for her! 
Sharon


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## Venusworld21

Yeah, I have found people before who understand that (the guy who adopted Jingles and Jangles, the angel who adopted Lotus, etc), it just may take some time to find Miss Pepper's perfect person.

She's GREAT with us, because she trusts us. She'll flop around, chatter, purr, stick her butt in our faces....she's completely fine. But it also took us months to earn that trust. And it will be the same in a new home. Just have to find the right person.  Meanwhile, she's here until that happens. No rush. She gets along well with everyone, so she can just kick back for now.


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