# Finnegan!



## Spea (Apr 24, 2016)

From February through April, I fostered a litter of 11 kittens. I rehomed them all to responsible people and keep in touch with everyone that adopted a kitten. 

One of the kittens was Finn. His owner contacted me a few days ago and said she could no longer keep him. We met at the vet yesterday to make the switch (and first make sure that he was healthy before bringing him into my home) and now he is officially back. 

I have had an ad up but no replies yet. His neuter isn't until the first week of July anyway, and there is no rush. 

I really like this cat. So does my SO. He is ridiculously cuddly and sweet. He slept with us last night... snuggled with me all night long and woke me up with kisses this morning. 

It's very neat to see how well (and just generally sound and happy) all of the kittens I fostered have turned out, especially since it was my first time fostering! Such a rewarding thing. 

Anyway, here are some pictures of the Finn. The first one was taken when he was about 7 weeks old and the second one was taken this past week.


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## eldercat (Jul 3, 2015)

I hope you find him an excellent forever home. He looks like a real darling. Also hope the reason for return was *real*, not some "don't like black cats" rubbish.


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## Spea (Apr 24, 2016)

Thank you Eldercat. He really is a sweetheart. 

I don't think that his return had to do with his coat color, as the person that returned him had an older black cat that she owned for years.

I am having a ton of fun with him, he's a very cool cat and so different from Spud (his biological brother) but also a lot like him in other ways. It's neat to see all of the differences and similarities. I'm beginning to realize that he may be staying longer than I initially anticipated. I've had essentially no interest in him and it's been almost a week since I've started looking. I spoke to one woman last night but it was not promising. Other than that, not a single inquiry. It doesn't help that it's kitten season and there are much younger, more colorful kittens available by the dozen. It makes me sad because he really is an amazing cat. He deserves to have a forever home, not be in limbo. However, because we think that he's going to be here for longer, we've started calling him Zero (he didn't know the name Finn anyway) because Finn and Flea are too close of names for my liking. Flea comes running whenever he is called, and I don't want to confuse him. 

He still doesn't get along with my boys. The first day was all growling and hissing (mostly from him) but as the days have passed they've started to play with each other's paws from under the door. It was still a wild hissing match whenever they actually saw each other though. But yesterday I had just him and Spud out and they played pretty nicely side by side (with a teaser) so there is hope in that area. He is having none of Flea and Flea is having none of him though. 

He also hates my poor dogs, who are great with cats and just want to be friends. They've been very respectful of his space, but that's not good enough for him apparently . Their mere existence is too much for him at this point. This week has consisted of a lot of rotations of all of the animals in the house. My guys have been confined more than they are normally used to and I am thankful for their patience and ability to adapt so easily. 

Other than that, things are going well. He is all about physical affection. He sleeps with us every night and purrs and cuddles the whole time. Still wakes me up with kisses every day. I love it. It's a nice change from our two boys who couldn't care less about physical affection and almost never want to cuddle. 

He's being neutered in a week so I'm hoping that that will make him a bit more adoptable.

That's about all I have to report. I'm gonna try to post some new pics later!


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## eldercat (Jul 3, 2015)

If you weren't on the other side of the planet I'd take him in a heartbeat. He's my kind of cat. I'm not really in the market for another cat - until I get the feral's problems under control I should not have another cat here at all. Might be contagious. Plus, I'm old, and if I get another cat it should be geriatric, like me!


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## DebS (Jun 14, 2015)

I hope he finds a wonderful forever home soon. He sounds like a darling!


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## Spea (Apr 24, 2016)

Hehe, funny, Eldercat! I'm really not in the market for another cat either. Four animals is more animals than I ever expected to have in my home at one time, and Zero makes five. I am falling so hard for him though...so fast. 

Thank you DebS. I hope he finds a good home too. He deserves it. Thinking about him leaving stings a little, though. I am most definitely enjoying our time together. 

Just a little update... Zero and Spud are pals now! Wrestling, chasing each other, being sweet brothers. Zero is so happy to have someone to play with. I'm glad he's becoming more comfortable here. Flea has still not come around, and he totally instigates too! I have hope that they will get on eventually though. For now, we are taking things very slowly in that department.


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## eldercat (Jul 3, 2015)

Spea, 4 doesn't sound so terrible to me - I had 8 cats at one time.  That really was a bit much and I was incredibly lucky that everybody was healthy as I also had a house full of little kids. My situation is that I cannot catch the feral, only feed and flea treat him, and I *know* he is not well, he has pillowfoot and hair loss and is pitifully thin... but he is not someone to be picked up, nor is he interested in being in a trap again... been there once, now is shy of any metal thing. Sigh. I keep working on him.


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

Sheesh. I have 7! NEVER in my wildest dreams did I imagine having 7. Finnegan looks like a total love. I adore black cats - have only had one of my own and she was a total jerk. I've fostered many and have loved dearly each one! I would be hard pressed not to keep him.


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Hi Spea!
I'm with Marcia! Four kitties are a drop in the bucket, compared to the little 'Pride of House Lions' I have!
Finn/Zero sounds like a keeper to me!
Marcia...you're catching up to me!!
Sharon


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## Spea (Apr 24, 2016)

Hi everyone...thanks for your kind words. Dropping in to share some great news, we have officially adopted Zero! That makes three cats and two dogs. We are at maximum capacity right now. Out of the seven beings in our household (the animals, myself and my SO) there are six males and one female. I am seriously outnumbered. 

It's funny, before this year I really never even considered owning a cat. Now I have three and am so ridiculously in love with each of them. 

Pictures to come!


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## eldercat (Jul 3, 2015)

Heh. Some women are really good with guys. Sounds like you are one.  Congrats on the new family member, he's precious. Looking forward to the pics.


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## Spea (Apr 24, 2016)

Some group photos!






Right before trying their first strawberry...


This picture makes me laugh. Zero's face is so silly! I love these goofballs so much. 




This last one is a picture of Spud and I that I took the other day. I really like it so I am adding it here because I'm not sure where else to post it!


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## Spea (Apr 24, 2016)

Everything is going pretty well here. Zero is a very cool cat, but he has so many quirks. Some are amusing and others are not ideal. He's very loving towards humans but can be extremely rude to the other animals in the house and is just generally much more anxious/skeptical than Spud and Flea. It's only been such a short period of time (less than two months) so I'm hoping as time passes he will continue to mature and adjust. He is food and toy aggressive and I'm not sure that will ever go away, as he started displaying those behaviors around 6 weeks of age, so I kind of feel like it's just a part of who he is. I put him in a separate room for meal time and try my best to moderate their play with toys. It's annoying, and I really would like for it to go away, but it's not something that we can't live with. 

All three kittens were neutered three weeks ago today and have recovered nicely. It's such a relief to have that over with. Tomorrow morning Zero will go for his FVRCP booster and rabies vaccine. That will hopefully be our last vet visit for a looong while.

I'll try to update this thread every now and then with new pictures.

Thanks for looking!


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## eldercat (Jul 3, 2015)

Those pics are wonderful! They are all so cute, and yes, they do have such funny expressions sometimes.  I would think that Zero will mellow over time, or Spud and Flea will assert themselves and slap him down so there will be more peace in the ranks. They're young yet, but *somebody* is going to be the top of the pecking order.


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## Spea (Apr 24, 2016)

Thank you, Eldercat! We are so happy to have Zero. He brings so much to our family dynamic and is tons of fun to have around. I'm really looking forward to seeing what the future holds as they continue to grow into their adult selves. It's also very clear that I am Zero's favorite out of everyone in the house, so not only is he a lot of fun, but he's smart, too.









I hate to say it but I didn't even recognize that cats have a pecking order. Actually, I take that back. I suppose I should say that I just never thought about the fact that my babies would develop one. I've seen a cat colony in action (the one that Spud, Flea and Zero would have been born into if we didn't take them in) and it's really neat to watch how they have everything mapped out to a T. All three of my boys are extremely bonded, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out. 

I still have so much to learn about these magnificent creatures. I have had dogs my entire life and am really comfortable with and well educated on dog care and behavior. I can't say the same for cats at all. I about rushed Spud to the emergency vet during his first sneeze (in my defense...it is the weirdest sneeze ever!).


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## bluemilk (Oct 3, 2005)

That must be some sneeze! Do you have audio/video? 

It LOOKS like everyone gets along...

The thing with cats is, they don't like to be ALL figured out! They like to keep us on our toes...

Beautiful dogs, btw!


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## Spea (Apr 24, 2016)

No audio or video of it, sorry! And the times that he does it are so few and far in between, it's actually only happened twice (to my knowledge). 

Everyone is getting along much better. It's been a good week. Zero loves to bop the dogs any chance he gets. They don't mind, and I find it to be so adorable. 

Thanks, bluemilk. My dogs are really great. They are so sweet, and absolutely amazing with the kittens.


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