Comfort Cat Update!

The emails I have received asking for updates on Comfort cat have been overwhelming.  I am so proud to have such wonderful, warm, caring people out there interested in the goings-ons of Forever Kittens Cattery and it's inhabitants.

I know I have been remiss in keeping you all updated.  Rather than send out a ton of personal responses to emails, I have finally made it back to the blog to give you all the long awaited update.

As I had predicted, comfort cat was perfectly fine and normal looking when he left for his new home.  A tiny scratch among kittens playing rough and tumble with one another does happen from time to time.  It has never been an issue, and I certainly did not expect it to be one this time.

A close up of comfort cat 

Note that his eye is fine ~ though he didn't appreciate the bright lights.

~ What everyone really wants to know is...where did he go?  What amazing family was able to adopt comfort cat?

Admittedly, I did have my ideas (again) about who should adopt comfort cat, I thought perhaps someone that had a struggle of their own that had worked through it would be a lovely match for comfort cat.  The new person would hear comfort cats story, see that comfort cat is healed and feel as if they were "kindred spirits" of sorts.

~ Is that what happened?  No.  That is not what happened.  We poured through the adoption applications, looking for just the right family (or special person)  I, with my grand ideas, Comfort Cat with his wishes for a cuddle buddy...and after much discussion we settled upon a family with two wonderful children that would adore Comfort Cats amazing ability to know when it's okay to cuddle and when it's time to play.  I was hesitant at first, still holding onto the idea that Comfort Cat should be with just the right family.  Then it occurred to me...This IS the right family.   These people are warm, and caring, and kind.  After speaking with them several time over the phone and sending many texts and emails, I realized that "YES!"  This is the perfect match!  This is the family that will benefit the most from Comfort Cat, and that Comfort cat will benefit the most from.

There is a little girl out there right now cuddled down with comfort cat purring away on her lap and a proud Mom and Dad looking gazing upon the scene satisfied that they have a new heartbeat in their home that will bring them joy for many years to come.

That's what it's all about

A Photo of comfort cat a few days before he left for his new home. 

The Rest of the Story ....

The next burning question for everyone was ... "Did he get a name?!"  

 ~ yes

His new name is "Briggs"   

A very dignified, sturdy, and noble name for a very  dignified, sturdy and noble cat!

Briggs in his new home! 

The last photo is of Briggs in one of his favorite spots, cuddled up with a human in his new home.

The Kitten Who Lost His Name

This story is about a kitten who was once named Zues.  Zues is the son of our lovely Spooky and our Handsome Tonka. 

Zues didn’t always have that name.  (But more on that later) The name given to him by his mama was “Comfort.”  You see, Zues was a comfort kitten.  He did not use his big ol poly paws to swat his sister or brother, he did not use his big ol poly paws to grab his Mama’s tail.  He planted his big ol poly paws on humoms legs each and every time she came into the room.  When humom picked up the little wide-eyed kitten he would plant his big ol poly paws on her chest, look her square in the eye and say in his little kitten voice

“I am here for you, and I love you.”

 Comfort cat wanted only to love others.  His interest lay solely in the attention of humans.

Comfort cat was special, he played gently with his cunning brother, he out smarted his bully sister and he was always, always, the first one to greet humom when she came in the nursery to check on them.  Comfort cat needed a special home.  Comfort cat needed a home where he could comfort someone.  Someone that needed him.  The first family to ask about him was turned down because they didn’t need him, they wanted a kitten that would rough house on the floor with the kids.  Humom did look dubiously at his sister Spectress for a few moments…and then recommended another breeder that would have just such a kitten.

Spectress

   Humom daydreamed about Zues joining a family that would need him, just as much as he needed a human to comfort.  She pictured a small child in a wheel chair in which Comfort cat would sit upon the lap of the child throughout the day purring in sheer bliss.  Humom imagined Comfort cat with an elderly woman that just wanted to watch a kitten play with the yarn and would watch t.v. with her.  Humom imagined Comfort cat with a small child that was sickly and needed a friend, she envisioned little Comfort cat becoming the child’s constant companion, in the car, at home, on the way to the Doctor, there would be Comfort cat.   Or maybe a rebellious teenager that wore black all the time, and felt very sad inside, and there…would be Comfort cat. 

Tiny Tim Via Pinterest 

Hmm the possibilities were endless.  The second family that called about Comfort cat was a top contender, they had a little girl who wanted more than anything to have a kitten for Christmas.  They were a lovely family, but in the end…they didn’t need Comfort cat.  Comfort cat had to go to a very special home. 

Finally, the call came in, the call for Comfort cat, a young boy that had battled Leukemia wanted nothing less than a Mighty Highlander to call his own for Christmas!  Oh Joy!  This was the family for Comfort cat.  The young boy promptly gave his kitten the Mighty name of “Zues!”  aaah a wonderful name for a Comfort cat, strong, yet understanding.  Yes, Zues was a good name and the deal was sealed!

Humom was quite pleased with herself for holding out for the perfect home for each of the kittens, especially Comfort cat ~ oops ~ I mean the Mighty Zues!

Zues loved his new role, he was anxiously awaiting the day he got to meet his own boy that would love him and he would be able to comfort the boy when needed.  Zues was pleased.

Tragedy!

The bully Spectress swatted Zues right in the eye!  Zues squinted, Zues meowed…Zues smacked her back!  Spectress showed her remorse by attacking Lorenzo.   Humom did the right thing and attended to the right eye of Zues immediately, administering a triple antibiotic ointment to his little eye.  Looking, very, very closely, humom could see the two, very tiny scratches on the eye of Zues.  Ah well, no matter, Zues snuggled down with his Mama Spooky, who licked his head, and Zues kicked his Sister, who meowed at him in complaint and Zues swatted Lorenzo who then jumped on his Sisters head.  Yep, all is well in Highlander land.

Humom continued to administer the ointment to the eye of Zues, and took him to the Veterinarian for a checkup as well.  The veterinarian peered closely at the eye of Zues (who purred up at her happily) and pronounced his eye as healing quite well.  She even commented on his good behavior whilst she did her exam on him.  Zues purred happily at the attention.  Zues was happy to comfort the gentle vet and the smiling humom.  He was so excited to meet his new boy! 

Then there was the moment of the great tragedy, the tragedy when Zues, the Mighty, lost his name

….you see, when humom told the Mother of the boy about the eye of Zues,  and sent a picture to show off to the Mother how very well the eye was healing and how very happy he was at the Veterinarians office…the Mother of the boy changed her mind. 

Picture from the Vets office

 She said she no longer wanted Zues for her boy, not with an injured eye!  Without a boy, the mighty Zues, no longer had his name, you see the name that comes from your special human is given to you straight from the heart.  Zues could no longer be called Zues by a human that would no longer be his. 

Thus, we now have Comfort cat, he is available to comfort the right person in the right home.  He may grow up to have a tiny white spot in his eyes as a reminder of his lost name.  The Veterinarian says that because he is so young, he may not ever have a tiny white spot.  I think he will, I think Comfort cat will carry it with him to show the world that even though he does not look perfect on the outside, his inside is most beautiful thing about him.  Comfort cat will await his new human and his new name with pride and with dignity.  Just know that even if he does have a tiny white spot in his eye, he will still play fetch 2000 times with the little clothe mouse, he will still climb his way up to your lap when you are seated, he will still put his big ol polly paws on your chest, look you square in the eyes and say

“I am here for you, and I love you.”

Comfort Cat 12/12/2015

Do you need a comfort cat?  If so, please contact us and we will be happy to talk to you about our kitten that lost his name. 

Forever Kittens Spooky

Written by: Spooky, Mother of Comfort Cat

Comforts eye today 12/12/2015

Extra Information about Comfort Cat, 
He is a Male Highlander, 
Natural Short Tail
Curled Ears
Poly Toes
His Deposit has been forfeited by the 
former adopter ~ Merry Christmas to his new
family!  This is $200 off of his fee!
He is officially ready for his new home on 
January 3, 2015.  By that time, his eye will most likely show no signs of having ever been scratched. 

How to Catch a Wild Indiana Gate!

When we first spied the wild gate, it was so well camouflaged that we thought it was a large pallet of the of the simple "to carry big things" species.

We crept up to the "pallet"  slowly, so as not to startle it.  It stayed put..imagine our surprise when we noted that it was actually a wild Indiana gate!  A rare native of the land.  A gate of this type is rarely seen, untamed and in the wild.  Sure, once in awhile, we may come across an older wild Indiana gate, a mere shadow of it's former self, but still limping along, or sometimes even a fossil here and there.  This gate was a fine specimen!  Fairly young and spry from the looks of it.

We decided to capture the gate and tame it for ourselves.  The gate hunkered down for a fight, it really hung in there.  Wrapped in branches of old dead trees, and underneath large logs for safety the gate was difficult to move.

Wild Indiana Gate

 We were determined, we brought out the ropes, we lassoed, tied, we tugged, we pulled, and ...finally we subdued the stubborn gate.

We noted a bit of a broken patch that explained why such a young gate was found out in the wild like this.  We think maybe it was a farmers cull from a semi tame herd nearby.  We quickly chose to take him home and patch him up and get to work on taming this wild Indiana Gate.

In the photo below you see the Wild Indiana after his capture, defeated and unharmed, he is ready to get home and begin a new life protecting the soft muzzles of the horses of ...
Windy Hill

The Wild Indiana Gate subdued! 

Saddlebred Remington Update!

Remi has graduated to the next step!

At last blog Remi loaded as into the trailer the very first time with all 4 feet.  Well, he has made some more improvements.  He now loads into the trailer, and we are working on closing the door behind him while he remains calm.

We are also working on Remi loading himself into the trailer.  I don't like to walk into the trailer with a horse.  I prefer that they load themselves.  So, we are working on that now.   He is progressing nicely. See below:

Last but not least, Remi's owner was able to come out and she loaded him into the trailer for the first time herself!  It's one thing to see videos of your horse loading, or to know that someone else is loading him, but it's another thing to load him yourself.  Don't forget, Remi has a personality that  notes every little difference around him.  Different, person, different perfume, different ...anything.   He really needs confidence building and practice, so that's what we are working on with Remington.  Meanwhile, here is the video of Remi loading into the trailer at his owners request!

Yes, he was nervous, but he persevered and his owner remained calm and assured him that he would not be eaten. Thus, he loaded and stayed in the trailer nicely.

**On a side note, yes, I know I am way behind on the blog.  I really am working with Remington on the whole shots thing.  I have footage of him somewhere reacting to a sharp toothpick, in the same manner in which he reacts to a real shot.  Heck, even pinching the skin on his neck causes him trauma.  I will post as soon as possible.

Saddlebred in Training!

Remington Day 4

 Remington is here in training at Windy Hill.  We adore "Remi" as we affectionately call him.  I spell his name (Remi/Remy/ Remie)  ~ it's all the same.  So, if you happen to catch that peculiarity, all hate emails shall be ignored.

Remi was terrified of trailers, I mean, really, really frightened.  To the point of breaking into a cold sweat and tying up just because he is close to one! 

Getting Remi in a trailer to actually get here was a night mare.  When the trembling Remi arrived here and unloaded from the trailer he was off his feed for three days.  Remi was scared.

I knew we would have our work cut out for us.

On Day one of his training my goal was simply to get him within 6 feet of the trailer without having a nervous breakdown.

By day 3 I had him touching the trailer with his nose comfortably and then walking away.   I used the Parelli touch game for this.

Here you see him below touching the trailer.  His owner and I were thrilled with his progress!

I was so happy to send the above video to Remi's owner!  In only three days, he had progressed from nervous wreck to trailer toucher!  Hurray for Remi!

Remi Day 6, he has his face in the trailer!! 

I know it doesn't seem like much for a horse to have his face in the very, very end of the trailer, but for Remi this was a really big step.  He spent days 4 and 5 eating just outside of the trailer.  This was only after a rousing game of touch the trailer for about 10 minutes first.  He wouldn't even consider eating near the trailer if I had not played touch the trailer first.

                                                                  ~ baby steps~

Days 7-10 eating with his head AND neck in the trailer!

Remy was breifly stuck at this point in regards to his comfort level.  He would rather walk away and not eat at all than to put even ONE foot in the trailer.  So, listening to the horse, I allowed him to eat this way for 3 days, each day asking him to juuust come a little further and gauging my next move based on his reaction.  This work was down twice a day, every day.  Starting first with touch the trailer, until on day 10 Remi ignored my request to touch the trailer and just calmly ate his meal.  I asked him to come forward and put one foot in the trailer.... Remi declined.

Day 11

 On day 11, we started out as normal with just head and neck in the trailer.  However, this time when I moved the food back a little bit further, instead of walking away...Remi did this ~

Remi stepped into the trailer!! Both front feet! 

And Calmly back out when he was finished eating! 

I was thrilled with this great leap of faith from Remi!

                                ~ Then the vet came~ 
Remi has to be the most observant horse I have ever met.  He watches everything.  He is always very interested in what the humans are doing.  He knows what is going on at all times.  When the red vet truck pulled up he promptly took himself to the very farthest reaches of the pasture.  How did he even know?  I can only presume vet trucks carry with them a certain "vet smell" that horses can pick up on.

I explained to the vet that the first time I had wormed Remi, I worked with him for over an hour in order to get him to accept worming without too much protest.  I further explained that I normally give my own vaccinations, however Remi was against that idea to the point of being dangerous.  The vet was very kind and worked with Remi for a good 35 minutes to get the 2 shots administered to Remi ~ this after being knocked over twice!  Remi's owner had really wanted Remi's teeth looked at, however Remi was having none of that!  Suffice it to say, it was a very traumatic experience for Remi.  Over the next few days, Remi regressed back to the horse that wouldn't step into a trailer even if you had baked apple surprise laid out on a buffet for him.

                                           ~I listened to the horse ~ 
In my years of training horses, so many people have commented that it just "takes so long" and "Why don't you just put him in the trailer already!"  I know there are many different ways to train a horse to trailer load.  In the case of Remi, due his great fear based on bad experiences he has had in the past with trailers, I chose to train him to trailer load the same way I do the mustangs straight off the range.  Yes, it does sometimes take a long time.  However, when I am finished with Remi, he will be more than happy to walk onto a trailer at any time ~ without the food as a reward ~ 

Fast Forward to Day 18

I worked with Remi every day, twice a day, concentrating on  getting him more and more comfortable with the trailer.  

After going through the different hills and valleys that are really part of training any horse, Day 18 proved to be a major breakthrough for Remi!

See the Video below!

I am so proud of him!  I have more work to do with Remi's trailer loading.  The final goal is to have Remi loading himself into the trailer and waiting patiently for the bar to be put up and the door to be closed.  We still have some work to do, but I am 100% confident in his ability to be a trailer loading champion!

Remi's owner loves to trail ride ~ Remi was newly obtained July 15th and she hopes to have him trailer ready prior to the end of trail riding season.  She even plans to take him all the way to Florida this winter!  Based on this information, I want Remi to love the trailer.  

I love a hot blooded horse with some interesting quirks to fix!  Remi is right up my alley!  His other issues include:

• A huge ~ dangerous aversion to shots ~ anything shot like and all pokey things in general
• Any kind of pressure on the crest of his neck or pole
• Anything that looks like wormer anywhere near his face.

I intend to get Remi's normal "before" reactions on video and keep you updated as we go along.  I have already missed a little bit of the before part, as I have begun working with him on these things already.  I shall get his reactions on film ASAP!

~ As a trainer I feel it is really important to get "points" of progress on film, or in someway documented.  The biggest reason is because, quite often from the owners perspective, it appears that the animal has not made any progress, or that it is taking too long.  I never push the horse beyond his mental, physical, or emotional ability to comply with the desired action.  I DO push the horses boundaries, but I never push beyond.  It's a fine line.  

All you see here...

This is Tonka ~ his official name is "Exotic Sweetspots Tatonka of Forever Kittens Cattery."  We call him "Tonka"

Tonka future stud

Now, when Tonka first arrived, Mooshi ~ our tomato loving Persian stud took Tonka aside and explained how things worked around here.  This is the way it went down.

Mooshi, Persian Stud

**When the young upstart boy Tonka arrived, I Mooshi of the valley (as I like to call myself)  explained to the muscled teenager how things worked around here.  I believe in love and romance and kindness to others.  I pointed out all the lovely highlander ladies here, with the curled ears and short, shiny, fur, and cute little bob tails.  I pointed to my short legged, and smiling and playful Napoleon/Minuette wife and said

"All you see here is mine, everything that the light touches is mine."

Tonka had the grace to nod wisely in a manner that belied his young age.

I then pointed to the shadowed area in the deeper recesses of the house...in the hazy grey area a form could be seen, almost blending perfectly with the surroundings...in that corner was my wife of an arranged marriage....the great "Pinky"

Pointing in that direction, I said "See over there?"

Tonka replied with that purring, chirping noise that Highlanders make.

"That's Pinky, Pinky is yours"

The lovely Pinky

Tonka purred.  Pinky flicked her tail in annoyance.

It seems that all is well in studom so far, humom has locked up all of my beautiful Highlanders, away from both myself and Tonka, stating that they  have had enough babies for now.  My sweet wife Cheesy is also away from me, though I know she pines for my presence.  All that is left here is myself, Pinky and Tonka.

I don't spray, Tonka doesn't spray and Pinky speaks to no one but humom.  I hope it continues in this vain.

Humom insists that despite my love for curled ears and short tails Tonka is the chosen husband for the Highlander girls.  HA!  Has she learned nothing from my own arranged marriage to the beautiful and elusive Pinky?   Surely she knows that this shall never work!  In my peace loving and quiet way, I have made overtures towards Pinky with her silky fur and flicking tail, I have even been so bold as to visit her in her place of shadows.  All of this has been for naught.  I have cried the cry of many a Persian King for Pinky, she simply turns her golden eyes my way and answers with her voice of silver a plaintive "Have you seen humom today?"

Pinky's story of how she is very much the Queen of our Kingdom despite her disdain at the thought of producing a heir for the stunning Persian race is for another time.

This is the story of Tonka and I sharing the Kingdom here as reining studs.  It seems that Tonka and I are of like-ilk.  He is friendly and loving as am I.

Tonka has turned his nose up at the tomato of friendship I offered him.  I was offended at first, until he offered me the bath of friendship (in humoms tub) ~ there are some things that Highlanders and Persians just won't agree upon.  I don't mind a bath from humom, in fact at times I find it enjoyable, but unlike the Highlanders, I most certainly won't hop in the water anytime it's running!

Where I am laid back and ultra passive, Tonka is laid back and very, very friendly.   Sometimes we have a game of chase or cuddle, but mostly we take turns sleeping and purring.  He purrs even more than I do.  I am sure, when he gets older, he will share his view of our Windy Hill.

Brimi, Persian/ Highlander play

This is Brimi, he is son of Winnifred AKA Polly and Mooshie.  He has Mooshies purr>love>flop personality perfectly balanced with Polly's get into everything and steal all the toys from the other cats personality!    His very favorite toy is the one you see him playing with here.



Brimi is available for adoption at Forever Kittens Cattery