Summer 2012 - Steampunk Kittens
In the Summer of 2012, I was contacted by a friend of mine who I knew from my time volunteering at A.D.O.P.T. She also volunteered with a local TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release) group called Feral Fixers. They would go into an area with a bunch of live animal traps and trap all the free-roaming cats in the area, spay/neuter them, get them caught up on shots, and, if they were friendly, put them into foster care in preparation for adoption or, if feral, to release them back where they were caught. As it was the start of Kitten Season, Feral Fixers needed fosters for all the young kittens they had found. So my friend asked if I'd help and foster a litter of kittens for them. I was initially told that it would be for just a few weeks until after they had gotten over their surgery and had their shots, then they would be transferred to PAWS Chicago.
So, I took in a total of 6 kittens, 5 were from the same litter, and the sixth was a couple of weeks older than the others. He had already been given the name Lonnie. The other 5 were up to me to find names for. As I was attending a Steampunk party at the home of a friend of mine around that time, I had a Name that Kitten "contest". I placed sheets of paper with each kitten's photo and brief description with room below for suggested names. In the end, the kittens were named Dash (the nickname of Thomas Alva Edison), Mina (Edison's wife), Nikola and Tess (after Nikola Tesla), and Betony (which was one of the names suggested at the party).
After a couple of weeks, the kittens had their surgery and shots, but there were no plans to move them to PAWS. Like most of the shelters in the area, PAWS was packed with their own kittens and couldn't take on any more. I took photos of them, and they were posted to the Petfinder page for Feral Fixers. One by one, I would be contacted about people interested in adopting the kittens. The first was Mina, a solid gray kitten. They had listed her as a Russian Blue on the Petfinder site (a designation I knew was wrong and which I disagreed with). Then it was Nikola who was adopted. Tess was adopted during a special adoption event at a local organic pet food store. Lonnie was adopted by a couple from Wisconsin who drove several hours to meet me at a toll road oasis to do the handoff. Dash was adopted by one of the assistants at my Chiropractor's office, and finally, in December, PAWS had room to take in Betony. At least there, she would be on public display and in a room full of other young cats, so she would have a better chance of getting adopted quickly.
So, I took in a total of 6 kittens, 5 were from the same litter, and the sixth was a couple of weeks older than the others. He had already been given the name Lonnie. The other 5 were up to me to find names for. As I was attending a Steampunk party at the home of a friend of mine around that time, I had a Name that Kitten "contest". I placed sheets of paper with each kitten's photo and brief description with room below for suggested names. In the end, the kittens were named Dash (the nickname of Thomas Alva Edison), Mina (Edison's wife), Nikola and Tess (after Nikola Tesla), and Betony (which was one of the names suggested at the party).
After a couple of weeks, the kittens had their surgery and shots, but there were no plans to move them to PAWS. Like most of the shelters in the area, PAWS was packed with their own kittens and couldn't take on any more. I took photos of them, and they were posted to the Petfinder page for Feral Fixers. One by one, I would be contacted about people interested in adopting the kittens. The first was Mina, a solid gray kitten. They had listed her as a Russian Blue on the Petfinder site (a designation I knew was wrong and which I disagreed with). Then it was Nikola who was adopted. Tess was adopted during a special adoption event at a local organic pet food store. Lonnie was adopted by a couple from Wisconsin who drove several hours to meet me at a toll road oasis to do the handoff. Dash was adopted by one of the assistants at my Chiropractor's office, and finally, in December, PAWS had room to take in Betony. At least there, she would be on public display and in a room full of other young cats, so she would have a better chance of getting adopted quickly.