Foster Diaries: Ilona & Friends – Week One

Ilona has been with us for about a month now. When we decided to foster her we were told that she would most likely be on to her forever-home by now. At the moment though it looks like we’ll be having her for a while longer. I admit I don’t really mind; I’m getting rather attached to the little sweetie. But it would be nice for her to find an adopter.

If you’ve been following this series you may remember that we did have a potential adopter visit a couple of weeks ago. Having still not heard anything it seems as though they decided not to adopt her, which is such a shame. We were contacted on Sunday by someone who was looking for a kitten, but that didn’t go anywhere either. They specifically wanted a boy.

Ilona has settled in here now though. Lola and Elvis tolerate her (most of the time) and even play with her at times. She’s a little bit on the wild side – she’d rather race around than having cuddles, and she still gets a little bit bite-y at times. I think it’s her age though. And I have evidence to back up that conclusion.

A few days ago (yes, this is relevant) the shelter phoned S to ask whether we could possibly take in two other kittens. The kittens in question are siblings – a brother and sister – and the same approximate age as Ilona. We were given time to think about it, but they needed an answer by the following day.

We mulled it over and – as you can probably guess – decided we’d give it a try. It might be good for Ilona to have some friends of her own age. Of course they’d be being quarantined in our bedroom to start with.

We’ve had the new kittens a few days now. The boy, Sisu, is a very delicate and elegant looking grey cat with a white bib. He makes me think of Russian Blues. His sister Siiri is absolutely stunning – mostly white, with large patches of pale grey tabby, and smaller patches of pale ginger tabby. They are both beautiful little cats.

When they first arrived they of course were hissy and not wanting to be touched. They’ve got much better over only a couple of days. Sisu even likes to climb onto our laps for cuddles. Siiri is still a bit shyer, but she doesn’t hiss and she does let us stroke her.

Sisu is a little bit mischievous – he has a habit of racing around the room when we’re trying to sleep, making indescribably odd but cute noises. He certainly is talkative. Siiri is almost the opposite – we’ve hardly heard her make a sound. She hissed a little, quietly, when they first arrived. And of course we’ve heard her purr. But other than that she doesn’t make a sound. Even earlier when we were holding her to weigh her and she wanted to get away she wriggled but she didn’t cry out in annoyance like all the other cats here would.

As I mentioned previously the new kittens are being kept separately from the others for the time being. Unfortunately the same day they arrived Elvis began showing signs of the eye problem that Lola and Ilona had previously had. Even if we hadn’t already been planning on keeping Sisu and Siiri separately, that certainly meant we would. Despite the quarantine and disinfecting our hands before touching the kittens we did notice earlier today that one of Siiri’s eyes is a bit squinty today… Hopefully if she has got the virus it will clear up quickly, but it probably means that Sisu will get it at some point too. Great fun that is! Poor kitties.

So now we have three kittens in need of new homes. I have a feeling we’ll be having them for a fair while. Especially as the new two have to be homed together. Finding homes willing to take one kitten is easier than homes for two!

And if no-one wants to adopt any of them yet, that’s their loss. More hugs for us!

Love,

Lady Joyful