kittens

But I was jeepin' and creepin'

August 13, 2007 – 12:01 pm

Knickerbocker Ave

'Twas an exhausting weekend, in which we, you know, actually did stuff instead of lying face-down in a pool of vomit, as on most weekends. No, this weekend we were downright productive! Saturday we dragged ourselves out to the Bushwick Walking Tour. We were a little late and had not committed the map to memory, so we couldn't find the tour for a while. So we conducted our own walking tour as we plodded around in the hot sun. After consulting Jeannie's sister over the phone, we backtracked until we found the group. Now I really wish I had made it to the South Bushwick tour from last month, I bet it had a lot of info that would have been useful to somebody who lives there (me). Saturday's tour was very informative, and really underlines just how different the two poles of the neighborhood are. I'm pretty jealous of some of the stuff up around Maria Hernandez Park, like the multiple produce markets and bakeries.

There was one weird moment when a young white woman crossed our path and seemed incredulous that people would want to tour Bushwick. She walked up to us and said something like, "What are you up to? I've never seen you around here before." I honestly thought she was a shill planted by the organizers to foment a conversation about the necessity of learning about one's environment, etc., but the longer she went on the more I believed her. She expressed disbelief that there was anything worth seeing around the area, then complained at the lack of amenities like coffee shops and the like (why is everybody so obsessed with coffee shops?) It was pointed out that she lived not three blocks from several cafes and restaurants and yes, a coffee shop; she was unaware of any of this. She also declared the M train was the worst train in the system, which I find at least slightly dubious.

If she was for real, I guess that's the type of newcomer that long-term residents find especially disconcerting; they come here for relatively cheap rent even though they're still probably paying lots more than their older neighbors, and they don't really have any conception of the neighborhood, nor see any need to. All that matters is how long it takes to get to Manhattan. Maybe I'm wrong about this woman, but it sure makes me understand the worry that longtime residents will be steamrolled in the mad rush to cater to people who can afford not to give a damn.

In other news, we have officially found adoptive humans for the rest of the kittens! Two couples will be relocating the boys to new digs next week. The ginger cats will remain together, moving up to East Williamsburg, while the Instigator will have the humans all to himself over in Prospect Heights. I think they'll all be happy with their new homes, and I'm really happy at least two of the cats get to grow up together. Most cats really are social animals, even if they don't want to admit it, and they like having other cats around. Of course, try explaining that to Decatur when Jefe is chasing her up and down the basement stairs.

Bighead takes 5

By Jimmy Legs | Also posted in Bushwick, Cats, Gentrification | Comments Off

The little feet of tadpoles

August 6, 2007 – 10:04 am

Just some kitten video I shot this morning. They're doing stuff, but they're not nearly as active here as they are, say, when we're trying to go to sleep. That's when they are in full-scamper mode, when they attack your toes and find ways to crawl inside the lining under the armchair. In these videos, they just sort of scurry around the pile of boxes we have in the room.

Littleface took a spill over the weekend and strained his left foreleg. He was limping around at first, but he seems to have recovered quickly. Speaking of recovery, El Jefe the Amazing Ball-less Cat seems completely fine. I ended up taking the collar off Friday night, he was just so pathetic, bumping into everything and not being able to reach the food at the bottom of the bowl. I've been checking the incision site and it seems fine in any case. Now if we could only get him to stop stressing out Decatur, then we'd really have something.

By Jimmy Legs | Also posted in Cats, Pets, Video | Comments Off

Now I've got you in my sights

August 2, 2007 – 11:03 am

Crazee Eyes, originally uploaded by Jimmy Legs.

The kitten formerly know as Liza has moved uptown to an apartment just off the park. Not bad for the spawn of an alley from the southside of the Shwick! We hope she'll be very happy, she'll have another cat and a dog as siblings. Things may be tense at first, but she has become very friendly and adventurous, so she should be in a good position to meet new animals and people.

It was tough giving her away, but it always is I guess. She's in good hands though, we tried to stick a few more kittens into the outgoing cat carrier but were unsuccessful. Hopefully, we'll get a similar caliber of adopter for the fellas who remain.

I wish I knew the situation with the several other mama cats on the block. Marbles and Gladys have had their litters, but we've seen no sign of them (Gladys' should be big enough to eat solid food now). Bunny (or Mildred) is still very pregnant, but she doesn't seem to want to stay in the house. I'm not sure if we should try to force her to stay in to have her kittens or what. I'm sure I'd feel better about it, but raising kittens is pretty disruptive to the household, maybe it would work better if I had a cat nursery in the cellar. But right there I already feel creepy; what kind of guy builds a cat nursery in his basement?

Anyway, congrats to the new parents of Liza (or whatever she'll actually be called)!!! We expect regular updates, dammit!

By Jimmy Legs | Also posted in Bushwick, Cats, Feral, Pets | Comments Off

One of these things is not like the other

August 1, 2007 – 2:02 pm

Cheese!, originally uploaded by Jimmy Legs.

Work is kicking my ass, so all I have today is … more kitten photos. Plus the news that Matt and Leland are adopting the calico kitten! One down, three to go! They wanted an orange cat, but were so charmed by her feminine wiles that they could not resist. They did justify their choice by noting she does have some orange on her, however obscured by the rest of her fur. I'm glad she's staying in the neighborhood at least. We're not sure how Lucy will react when she notices one of the kittens is gone, but I kind of think she won't even notice. To her it mostly means one less pair of jaws clamping down on her tail when she's trying to sleep.

By Jimmy Legs | Also posted in Cars, Pets | Comments Off

Keep them doggies rollin'

July 30, 2007 – 11:42 am

I attempted to take Jefe the cat to the ASPCA mobile spay unit today, full of smug self-assurance that I would be one of the few decent citizens taking their cat in to get fixed. However, the opposite was true.

I went at 8 o'clock, even though the info suggested I arrive before 7. My logic was, who knows this is going on? Apparently there is some form of information dissemination that doesn't have to do with the Internet. Who knew? Well, there were already a bunch of people there, with nervous dogs and cats in tow. One of my neighbors was there, keeping her friend company while waiting to get her cat fixed. They told me that yes, all the 25 spots had already been filled for the day, but the spay unit would be back on Friday. This is pretty interesting to me, I guess there were enough people who got shut out here to justify an unscheduled return visit. So I got on the waiting list for that so I will be guranteed a slot.

Poor Jefe, he (and all the cats) were deprived of food since midnight the night before, and he didn't like the carrier one bit. I wonder what it's like to have one of those cats that love their cat carrier, and make not a peep while being transported therein. Jefe whined the whole time, competing with the whimpering pit bull tied up in a pickup truck bed who had a date with the knife.

I think my boss will let me stay home again Friday (I called in sick today; hey, I DID go to a doctor, of sorts). I'm pleased so many people showed up, it's a good reminder that we internet geeks are not in fact the be-all, end-all of communication in this world. It's a tendency we all get into, just look at Brownstoner. He created a flurry of annoying-comment activity on his site the other day because his neighbor had painted his brownstone's doorway white (apparently this violates any number of unenforceable aesthetic codes). People predictably went nuts in the comments section, variously shrieking about the affront or defending a man's right to paint his house whatever ugly color he damn well pleases.

The story was picked up by the local media (yes it's THAT important), who spoke with the owner who explained he was just having the portal REpainted, and that the white stuff was primer. Then the blog was hit with another load of Monday-morning quarterbacking. I was still shaking my head at the whole sorry affair as I ambled to the spay unit this morning, foolishly believing myself above that kind of internet-based solipcism. But hey, I got it wrong too!

So the lesson learned is: don't believe everything you read on the Internet. Or in my case, don't believe people don't know about something just because YOU don't.

And now, more kittens! They're really coming along well now, they're learning how to be a little more docile and deferent, and there has only been one litterbox accident since last week. And when I find the kitten who peed on my shoe …

And now, the Lucy Litter:

Big Giant Head
This male ginger kitten is gonna be a big adult from the looks of him. His head is really big, and his eyes are set farther apart than usal (which makes him a little wall-eyed now). But from the size of his skull and his paws, I'd say he's setting the stage to be one big boy when he grows up. Despite his gargantuan size, he's a bit of a momma's boy but is as playful as the others.

Liza Minelli
The sole female of the litter, and the only Tortoiseshell. She is shaping up to be a very exotic looking cat, with the bizarre undercoat action alternating between ginger-tiger and black. Her energy level is second only to the Gray kitten, she loves to race around and play with her brothers or any loose fabric she can find. She's a little more cautious than the boys, but once she knows the coast is clear she'll be out and and about and all over your shoelaces!

Gray Instigator
Precocious from birth, this male gray and white kitten has always been a step ahead of the rest of the litter. He learned to walk first, eat solid food, play and generally behave like a real cat before any of the others. I'm pretty sure they learned how to do everything from watching him. He's very high energy now, but also will curl up and sleep next to any humans in the area. Definitely will be a cat that owns his human and not the other way around.

Littleface
More proportionate (for the time being) than his ginger brother Big Giant Head, this male kitten's facial features are conveniently located at the tip of his head, giving him the classic kitten details. Of all the kittens, he is the most people-oriented, he loves to play with humans. Of course, he roughouses with the kittens as well, but he always runs straight to us when we enter the room. First kitten to learn to use a litterbox, which is big points in my book!

I've compiled new photos into individual Flickr albums so you can get a clear picture of each one. Plus I've shot some more poorly-shot video of the kittens playing. This video showcases the female calico kitten at the beginning: tell me you don't want to take her home after her little hind-legs move: