Sunshine & Onyx

We have been fostering Sunshine since August(over 5 months) and Onyx since September(over 4 months).They have become members of our ragtag family, unfortunately we are moving to non pet-friendly apartments at the end of February. Both are spayed. Sunshine is a couple years old and Onyx is less than a year old (still very much a kitten!)

When Sunshine first came to us she was very attached to her old foster mom and hid from us new strangers and even went without food for several days due to extreme shyness. Eventually she started to come out more regularly and although it was a slow process, Sunshine is a completely different cat than the one who came to us 5 months ago. She still takes time to come out of hiding when strangers come around but after only a few regular visits from friends, she was letting them pet her, which was vast progress from her arrival. She has the tiniest voice! Sunshine is a lazy girl, she likes chilling out in darker areas and coming up to you at the strangest times for her daily fix of petting. We truly have come to love this quirky cat. She's a big fan of cuddling before bed, and right when you wake up. Her super-sonic hearing has her at your bedside the second you get up in the morning(even if you yourself don't realize you're awake yet).

When we decided to foster a kitten named Onyx, we were curious about how Sunshine would react. It turns out that bringing Onyx in was one of the best things we could have done for Sunshine. Despite an original territorial struggle, our new playful kitty learned things (like how to use a litter box with a door) while our full-grown Sunshine learned how to co-exist with a playmate. Onyx even taught Sunshine how to enjoy toys like a mouse on a string toy and chasing lasers, although Onyx definitely is more energetic and willing to play. It's fun to play with Onyx and see Sunshine come out of nowhere and start bobbing her head to the action until you hold it close enough that she will swat at the toy and join in. Onyx is big on cuddling and very energetic. Her favorite pasttime is to sit on whatever is on your lap, be it a book or laptop and nudge her head on the corners before nudging your chin with her head. Onyx will wake you up in the mornings if you sleep in, not because she wants you to feed her (at least not only that) but because she needs snuggle time. She gets so excited about smothering your face with love that she's knocked Alana's glasses of at least four times.

Onyx's chin cuddling was unfortunate after she got spayed and had to wear a cone.

She loves being petted, which she shows with her adorable meows and will give unconditional love to all newcomers. In fact, on a recent trip to the vet, the veterinarian was pleasantly surprised when Onyx ate treats out of her hand while having her temperature taken (most cats would be rightly distracted, but that did nothing to Onyx's cheery attitude.)

Sunshine and Onyx are good buddies and make a great team, but they have both adapted to new circumstances that have been thrown at them. We also think they would do well on their own. We would love for them to find forever homes before we have to move, so please let anyone who might be interested know!

- Chelsea, Alana, and Kyle

All I ever do is cats

Winter is coming, did you bring your sweater?

Why can't caffeine wake me up like normal people?

I'm sitting next to the suggestive sculpture on the 6th floor Education building, waiting for my financial accounting class to start.

It's 2h45m long, and I'm already struggling to stay awake. Also, my exciting prof is away, and we have a sub. Its not looking very promising for this evening.

Classes kind of swept my feet from under me.

I swear, its still Friday, two weeks ago.

Jasmine - Videos

In organizing my photos, I found a couple classic videos of Jasmine I never shared. Hope you enjoy!

This is after getting home from getting spayed. We put the collar on her because she was licking her incision, but as you can see, this arrangement couldn't last long.

Here she is, getting a good bum wiggle in before pouncing.

When she went into heat, Kyle found out (by accident) that his impression of Lil Jon sounded a lot like a male cat!

On Cats

In my lifetime I've had 3 cats. Kind of. I got Dalila when I was 6, and we had to put her down earlier this year because of a stroke. She was nearly 14. Even though her pedigree stated I was her owner, she chose my mom. I was only ever her play friend, maybe some version of a litter mate. She got along much better with me in her final years, but she was never really my cat.

Then, Jasmine, though she stayed with us only a brief few weeks, became an important part of the family. She adopted Kyle and followed him devotedly, tripping him in the kitchen, eating his garden as he tried to weed.

Sunshine is the first cat to pick me. We have a grand time together, she snuggles against my legs while I read in bed in the evenings, she'll poke at my back through my desk chair in the mornings in order to convince some quality petting time out of me. She still flinches if I move a little too quickly or do something unexpected, but if I call her or motion to pet her, she'll come running.

Having a cat is nice.

More on Sunshine - Videos!

Sunshine and her new goldfish toy.

I mentioned earlier that we had her in a mesh kitty tent in our living room at nighttime in order to socialize her more effectively. Here's a video of her clamoring for some attention one morning as I got ready for work.

And this is her favourite toy, the laser. We call the way she plays "Laser Dance".

Good Morning, Sunshine!

{Sunshine, posing}

Say hello to our new PFA foster cat, Sunshine! She is quite the opposite of our former cat, Jasmine. She is a quiet, timid kitty, but we're sure enjoying her company!

It took her a couple days to come out of hiding, and she's been staying in a little mesh tent in our living room.

Now, whenever we let her out of her tent (she spends the day roaming the house, nightime inside) she loves all the attention she can weasel out of Kyle! His quiet habits during the day and his tendency to ignore her and let her do her own thing has really allowed her to open up to us.

She really does have a sweet little round face, and would probably do very well in a quiet household. It takes her some time, but she's opening up into a wonderful quiet cat!