Monday, 30 June 2014

When I wake up and go check on the boys, they are still hiding in the bathroom and spending most of their time in the carrier. But I see it as a good thing today, since now I won't have to force them back into the carrier to go to the vet! Luckily I work from home today, so I can keep an eye on them and see how they are doing and what they are already capable of when it comes to ruining my house ;)

Around 12:00 the vet hasn't replied to my filled in appointment form yet, so I decide to call him. I speak to an assistant whose English isn't very well. Finally she asks me to call back at 14:00 when the vet himself is available to come on the phone. When I later call back, Dr. Jíra asks me to come at 17:30 and I'm glad I can take them to see him today.

In the mean time I go to the mall to get me some lunch and a nice scratching post for the boys. Slowly George and especially Ezra tend to take sneak peeks out of the bathroom, but they don't stay in the hallway and living room for long. It's so big and scary!

The bus ride to the vet is a bit bumpy, but luckily also a short one. With the rain I am glad I didn't decide to walk there, even though it's close enough. When we arrive at the vet, we only weigh Ezra (who seems to be the less scared of the two) to decide how much antibiotics they will need. the vet doesn't touch them to not scare them unnecessary. Also he doesn't have to, because I could tell him they drink and eat well, are full of life and have no other issues than the eye infection and runny nose. His (better in English) assistant is very sweet; she keeps petting my arm as if I am a very big dog or about to cry, haha.

Dr. Jíra gives me antibiotic pills for 10 days and eye drops to give them twice a day. We have to come back after 10 days if the meds don't seem to help. Otherwise we have to come back after 4 weeks for their first vaccinations and if needed also deworming. Then he puts them in the system ("oh, Ezra is a boy too?") and we decide their birthdate is May 9th. It sounds like a good day, no?

When we get home, they drink and eat right away and play some more. I manage to give them both the eye drops quite easily and without cries, yay! Ezra eats his meat with antibiotics, but I'm not sure about George. Later in the evening the other food bowl is empty too and I think (and hope) it was George, but I didn't see it. For the upcoming days I need to have a better plan for this... Already their eyes look better, but I have to give the drops twice a day in order for the infection to really go away. That will be challenging...

After a while I decide to take the top part off the carrier to encourage them to discover a bit more of their new home. It doesn't take long before they find the sofa bed in the living room and all the fun ways they can clime up it... Also their mice and other toys seem to be very well liked (as well as their own and each other's tail).

This night I try to sleep in the living room again, but even when I am still calling with Lenn, they both (but mostly Ezra) are all over the bed, playing. They don't seem to realise that I am under this blanket, haha. After half an hour I give up and go to my bedroom to get some needed sleep!

Sunday, 29 June 2014

At 10:00 Renata surprisingly calls me; she caught both boys and put them in the garage. If I'm still willing to make the train ride there? Because it would be sad for them if they had to stay a full day locked up in the garage, alone and scared. George seems to have caught some eye infection and the stress won't make this any better. Of course I am! Even though that means I will probably miss the beginning of the match Netherlands - Mexico tonight. So I prepare some last things in the house, put the litter box, cat bed and some milk and food in the bathroom, and take the 12:00 train to Havlíčkův Brod.

At 14:00 I arrive at the station and Renata is there to pick me up. We make the nice 15 minute drive to her parents' big house in the middle of the woods. On the way she tells me the sister unfortunately died of injuries the dog had caused. It's just the boys now and they seem to miss their "big", caring sis.

When arriving, their house shows a big and beautiful garden, with a nice pond and a veggie garden. We have 2 hours before the next train back to Prague leaves, so we drink some water and eat some homemade gingerbread. Then we decide it's time to catch the kittens from a pipe they crawled into and put them in the cat carrier. They are both so small and scared... Also we see that both now have an eye infection and seem to have a runny nose too. Renata puts them in the carrier, where they cuddle together, not making a sound. We see that they are tired, so hopefully they will sleep the entire train ride home.

Renata brings me back to the train station for the 16:00 train back. It's quite busy and warm on the train, and it's a long 2-hour drive back to the city. The boys are so scared, but luckily they do indeed seem to sleep in the train. The transit to the metro and the metro ride itself seem even more scary to them with all the movement and noises, but at 18:30 we're finally home. I put the carrier in the bathroom with its door open and let them be while I put on the match on my laptop.

About 10 min later it's already halftime and I decide to go check on them. The milk and food is gone and both have peed on the litter box, so they are obviously "potty trained". Such small things can make me so happy, haha! Yes, I do realise I sound like a real mom now...

After the match (HUP HOLLAND, HUP!) I go check on them again, but they are still hurdled together in the carrier. It stays like this most of the evening and night, although I do hear them play with the toy mice. I'm glad for that, because at least it means they feel a little at ease! But they get so, so scared when I come near and especially George hisses at me. Poor things! It will take some time for them to get used to me, but I'm sure we will be fine.

Before I go to sleep I check out the vets in Prague and find one English speaker close to my house, only 2 bus stops away. I fill in the online form to make an appointment for tomorrow and hope they reply soon. And then it's bedtime. It's been a long and unexpected day!

Saturday, 28 June 2014

Suddenly I think: Ezra. That can be a cute yet cool name for both a boy and a girl; in the bible it's a man, but a girl at my internship was also called Ezra. And it sounds good together, right? George and Ezra.

George and Ezra.

Something starts to smell fishy...

George and Ezra...

I decide to Google it.

That was it! The singer of the wonderful song Budapest (amongst others). Can't believe I didn't remember that at first! But that isn't too bad, I really like his song, so I decide to stay with Ezra :) Even though I do laugh at myself a little for this...

TWO MORE DAYS UNTIL MY KITTY CATS ARRIVE! ♥

Friday, 27 June 2014

Since the kittens are not here yet, I choose to work from the office today. When I get home around 18:00 I decide to make another trip to the pet store, for a cat carrier and some more toys and food.

Also I decide that the red kitten will be named George, somehow he looks like a George to me. And I don't listen to the people that tell me George is not a name for a cat :P But I don't have a name for the white-and-brown kitten yet. Also we don't know yet if that one is a boy or girl, which makes it challenging to choose a name...

Thursday, 26 June 2014

Around 16:00 Renata contacts me; her mother was going to take the kittens to Prague today, but something unpleasant intervened with the plans... A neighbor had a dog visitor who ran after the kittens and really scared them. He even took the girl kitten in his mouth, but Renata's father made the dog let go of her. The kittens ran off to hide somewhere in the garden and they were unable to catch them. The poor thingies, as if they weren't traumatised enough!

The trouble is that Renata will have her vacation next week, so she would only be able to bring them on July 6th when she would get back to Prague. I express my concerns that first of all that would probably be to unsure and stressful for the kittens. Second of all I will have my weekend in the Netherlands from July 11th to 13th, so I would really like to get them sooner to spend some more time with them before I let someone take care of them for a weekend. Also I made sure I could work from home tomorrow and Monday, in order to spend a lot of time with them during 4 days before I go to the office again. I have no problems with making the 2 hour train ride myself to pick them up.

We come to the solution that Renata will bring the kittens to me next Monday morning. Even though I would prefer today ;) it's still a lot better than July 6th! On the metro ride home she shows me a picture of the third kitten, unfortunately she doesn't seem to be able to send it to me. But my gosh, I feel like Agnes when I see this one...

Wednesday, 25 June 2014

At 10:00 we receive an email from a colleague:

Dear all, good morning!

I come to you with a desperate need of help. During the weekend, somebody threw away 2 small kittens into our garden! We have managed to determine that the three-colour one is a female and the red-and-white one is a male. You can find a photo attached. Right now they are still very scared, but they are healthy and capable of eating on their own. They might be around 7-8 weeks old.

Would you know about anyone, who would want a kitten? It would be best to place both of them together, but if there is no other option, we can also place them separately. I already myself have two adult cats, so I cannot keep them on my own.

Please share this with anyone you think might be interested and who would give those little fur balls a new family.

Please feel free to contact me on this email address. I can provide more information and photos to those who are interested.

Thanks a lot for any kind of help.
Have a nice day

Renata

My heart breaks a little when I see these two youngsters, who on earth could throw away such fragile things?? After not too much consideration I decide to contact Renata. I will adopt these cuties!

Renata replies that the girl on the left will already be adopted by someone else, but that in the meantime they found a third kitten. It was very scared and hidden itself in the garden. They aren't sure yet whether this kitten is a boy or a girl, but I don't care and tell her I will adopt the red-and-white male and the mysterious-but-said-to-be-very-cute other kitten. We arrange that she will bring the kittens to my house tomorrow evening and I'm over the moon! I'M GONNA BE A KITTIES MOM!!

During my lunch break (thank god for my work from home day) I go to the pet store and score a litter box plus filling, a cat bed, toy mice and some food and cat milk. I will be so ready for these babies! Now all I have to think of is two names...

At night I dream of these cute little kittens. Who would have thought this morning that this was what today would bring me :) I can't wait for tomorrow ♥