adventures in babysitting,  The Zoo

Charcoal

May 19, 2008 /

rolly polly tummy

Everybody, meet Charcoal. Charcoal, meet everybody.

Charcoal says hi.

Charcoal is the little black kitten that Baby Bug and I are “kitten-sitting” for two weeks or so. I don’t know what I’m thinking…well, I do. I know exactly what I’m thinking. I’m thinking that it would be really fun to have a kitten around but not have the responsibility of FOUR cats. We already have three cats. We cannot have another cat. So how about we just take care of him for a little while and then give him back.

Yeah! That sounds like a great plan!

Toby thinks it’s hard on the kitten to adjust to more than one household in his young life but I think Charcoal is adjusting just fine. Compared to the life he would have had living under a trailer with forty-nine other feral cats, I think his life is great.

life is good

What I was really thinking is, a kitten would be super fun for Baby Bug. She plays with Pounce all day long as it is. Maybe Pounce could have a break from getting mauled and chased and being forced to drink pretend tea all the time if there was somebody younger and friskier to play with.

BB and her kitty

all claws and teeth

The plan is working pretty well. The kitten LOVES to play. In fact the only hitch in the plan is that the kitten loves to play with everything, including little toddler toes. Baby Bug does not like the kitten biting her toes. It’s a bit of a problem. So far we are solving this by teaching Baby Bug to stomp her feet and then run like mad to safety of the couch. Thankfully the toe-biting usually doesn’t last that long because kittens sleep a lot.

close up

In two weeks or so we will take Charcoal back to my mom’s and she will either find a home for him or get him fixed and release him back into the neighborhood. I’m not really sure on that part. There are a lot of feral cats in her neighborhood and she’s trying to help them but it gets expensive.

on the prowl

What you are supposed to do when feral cats are a problem is: catch them, get them fixed and then release them back into the neighborhood so more feral cats don’t move in. But so far my mom seems to be keeping most of the cats she catches. My mom has a weakness when it comes to cats.

his blackness

But then so do I. Even though I hate how much the three cats we already have completely destroy our house in three days or less, I’m secretly hoping Toby falls in love with Charcoal and we get to keep him forever.

33 Comments

  • Jummy

    May 19, 2008 at 8:01 pm

    I always think I’d never be a cat person but I cannot resist kittens. Charcoal is adorable!

    Are the odds good that Toby will fall in love with him? I mean look at him!

  • Kate

    May 19, 2008 at 9:04 pm

    Oh, his little black kittenness is killing me! I have such a weakness for little balls of black fluff and he is adorable. I hope he gets to stay too.

  • Jennifer

    May 19, 2008 at 9:11 pm

    Oooooh, Charcoal looks like one of my past kitties, Poker. Which is really weird because Pounce looks like my other past kitty, Toby. Anyhow, I was just really missing my Pokersita over the weekend. Seeing Charcoal makes me smile and think of Poker when she was such a wee kitten. Thanks :)

  • Rhi

    May 19, 2008 at 9:23 pm

    Will you see if he answers to Mikhail? Because if so, I’ll take him. Then, my dream of having two cats named after ballet dancers will be complete, and I’ll hop into my red car and come get him.

  • chris

    May 19, 2008 at 9:55 pm

    The vet I worked for many years ago fixed lots of feral cats. One guy brought a super mean one to us in a toilet seat cover box. Really.

    I should blog about that. ;)

  • red lotus mama

    May 19, 2008 at 10:13 pm

    Oh goodness, if I wasn’t so allergic to cats I would adopt him myself! Little ‘Ny loves cats, but it would torture me to have cat dander all over everything. *sob* He is just too cute!

  • Gingermog

    May 19, 2008 at 11:50 pm

    Hee, hee sneaky plan. Well, small animals and babies have a magic of their own, so Charcoal might win Toby over. Charcoal look’s like he could be a wee brother to my own Willow cat who’s siting on my bed slow winking at me. She used to be a toe biter too, I kind of miss not been awaken in the morning to a cat chowing down on my tootsies. It got me out of bed better than the alarm.

  • BeachMama

    May 20, 2008 at 3:18 am

    Charcoal is so cute. We had one just like that for two weeks a few years ago. Allergies got the best of me. I hope you can handle either giving it back or perhaps finding a new home through here. Unless of course do want another cat ;).

  • DeeJay

    May 20, 2008 at 4:51 am

    He really is a sweetie. I have vowed never to have another cat because some of them will kill your house. Dogs…do some damage but not nearly as much it seems. I’m just glad that there are enough cat lovers in the world to make up for my decision never to own one again.

  • Beth

    May 20, 2008 at 10:18 am

    Oh my gosh. You forgot how cute they are when they are kittens! I have 2 cats and they were playful like that when they were little. Now they are stuck up cats! :)

  • Jessica D

    May 20, 2008 at 11:30 am

    Cute cat and fun for the bug! Also great that your mom is trying to solve the cat problem in her neighborhood. My aunt-in-law started a foundation in DC and helped eradicate (or slow…) the growth of the feral cat population at Washington National airport. I’m sure she’d be happy to chat with you or your mom if you’re interested in doing something similar.

  • Leah

    May 20, 2008 at 3:20 pm

    Oh, he looks just like my Eve when she was a wee baby! But oh my lord, after the terror that has been Linus’s kittenhood, I don’t think I will ever have a kitten in the house again. He’s STILL not sleeping through the night, and he attacks poor Eve all day long. Kittens are cute but a royal pain in the patoot!

  • amyinbc

    May 20, 2008 at 6:20 pm

    Adorable. I hope he grows on Toby :)

    Failing that you find him a good home or take him to your local no-kill shelter?

  • shelly

    May 20, 2008 at 7:39 pm

    I have not done any research on this, but my brother in law was telling me you can set up a feral cat colony and get the cats fixed for free (some kind of government or state thing, I live in Texas so maybe it’s different.) With all that land your mom has and her love of cats it might be perfect. Worth investigating at least.