Introducing The Fonts! (Part One)

January 10, 2017 by Mr. Academy

Firstly, let us thank all of you - The Sprigs were adopted in record time. Less than two hours from the start of the adoption event, they were all gone to their new homes! It's because all of you have spread the word about Kitten Academy that this happened. It's wonderful. Thank you!

And a quick update on Velvet and the Textiles: They're all getting much better every day. Flannel's eye is great, and Poplin and Jackie aren't far behind. Velvet is still sneezing a little, but every day closer to perfect health. She has a follow-up appointment at the vet tomorrow evening - Wednesday the 11th.

Now the big news: yesterday, a new family arrived at the Academy. The momcat, Arial, was picked up by local Animal Control on the 5th of January, and delivered her babies at Animal Control on the 6th. She was then transferred to On Angels' Wings, who has placed her in the Kitten Academy Annex. So far, she's a dedicated momcat, and friendly, too. She purrs and enjoys belly rubs like Ivy did. That's everything we know about the new family!

We'll put up a new cheatsheet in a week or two when the Fonts have their eyes open and we have gotten better photos. But in the meantime, here's the key to identifying which of the new tiny kittens are which!

As usual, here's the full album of photos we took yesterday!

Sprigs Graduation!

January 01, 2017 by Mr. Academy

Happy New Year to you! December was a wild month for us, so we apologize for not having the opportunity to publish more, and to really celebrate the holidays with you in the ways we would have liked.

Though it seems like only yesterday, the Sprigs joined us on November 11th, and the time has come for them to graduate from the Kitten Academy. The "graduation ceremony" (spay/neuter, microchipping, vaccinations, etc) will be on Tuesday, January 3rd, and then after a few days of recovering at the Academy, they will go to PetSmart, in McHenry, IL, on Saturday the 7th, where they will remain until they are adopted.

If you'd like to adopt one (or more!) of the Sprigs, it's not too early to get your application in to Animal Outreach Society, in McHenry, IL. We know that Basil and Tarragon are already adopted by a wonderful couple from California, who will be keeping us informed about their new lives. The rest are not yet spoken for, as far as we've been made aware by Animal Outreach Society. They are all wonderful, affectionate kittens, as you've no doubt seen for yourself on the live stream and our YouTube videos!

As with for the last group, Animal Outreach Society has asked us to provide biographies, which you can find linked here, and official Graduation photographs, which are right here, along with the remainder of the photos we took during the sessions today!

Introducing The Textiles!

December 23, 2016 by Mr. Academy

On Angels' Wings has provided the latest class to Kitten Academy. Welcome to momcat Velvet, and her six kids, Poplin, Jacquard, Flannel, Merino, Chiffon, and Tweed!

Jacquard "Jackie" - Female - Pink Collar

That's everyone! As usual, here's the complete gallery of all the photos from the photoshoot. And since we didn't publish it previously, we're including the photoshoot that was on Twitter and Facebook from the day they arrived!

Chutney, and the "No Sads" Policy.

December 23, 2016 by Mr. Academy

Here at the Kitten Academy, there's some guidelines we follow, but we really only have one truly official policy. That policy is our "no sads" policy. What it means is that we can't stomach hearing about cats and kittens in distress, even if we know the story ends well. And therefore, we never want to tell those sorts of stories. Even if our kittens come from a bad beginning, the story we want to focus on is the wonderful time they have at the Kitten Academy and thereafter.

Due to the nature of what we do, though, sometimes, sad things may happen. In those cases, we've decided that we will just tell you the facts, in the least exploitative way possible. We're not here to play on your heart-strings with tragedy, just to inform you of the news, even when it's unfortunate.

Click the big button below for the whole story, if you feel up for a certain amount of sad. We've disabled comments on this post, only because we don't want extra sad for people who don't want it. If you want to share something with us, our e-mail is headmaster@kitten.academy

Chutney. Sads. Update.

Momcat News!

December 18, 2016 by Mr. Academy

We just want to make a quick post here to update you on the status of our momcats, Abby and Chutney. We'll come back with another post soon about our kittens and exciting adoption stories!

Abby is at On Angel's Wings in Crystal Lake. She turned out to not be a momcat after all! She's just got a big belly. She's a skittish cat, but once she knows you, she can be very loving. Contact or stop by On Angel's Wings to see her or arrange an adoption!

Chutney's pregnancy turned out to not produce any viable kittens. She's at the emergency vet as we write this, getting a C-section and spay. She's going to be just fine! She'll be returning to the Academy this evening, and will rest and recover for a little while before going to On Angel's Wings or another foster.

On Angel's Wings has three other momcats that need fostering, so their preference is to move Chutney to someone who can handle an adult cat, and bring one of the other momcats to us, where we have more experience. When we know which of the three we'll be taking on here, we'll be sure to let you know!

[EDIT: 18th, 4:15pm, Chutney is out of surgery and doing well. However, the vet will be keeping her overnight to monitor her recovery. Remember to always spay or neuter your pets!!]

[EDIT: 19th, 11:15am. Chutney still at vet. Reportedly doing well, but vet wants to see her eat before she goes home. Next update after 3pm.]

[EDIT: 19th, 9:30pm. Chutney home, recovering. Full of purrs and headbutts.]

We'd like to end this post on the most important note: a big thank you to all of our supporters over the last several months! Because of your generous donations, and a couple months with unusually low expenses, we were able to choose the best treatment options at the emergency vet today without needing to be concerned with the cost. That sort of privilege is wonderful, and it's thanks to all of you that we were able to easily choose the very best for Chutney. Thank you so very much for your help! We can't properly express how grateful we are that you've helped us in this situation. You made today a much better day for everyone!

Chutney Gallery:

Abby Gallery:

So Much Mews!

December 02, 2016 by Mr. Academy

It's been a couple of weeks since we've been able to write one of these blog posts! We've been awfully busy between moving kittens around, trying to arrange for a new momcat, and obviously, the adoptions of Ivy's League and the Weathercats!

When we are busy like this, we hope you keep involved by watching our Facebook page, or even more, our Twitter feed. We try to keep some activity on the Twitter every day. And of course, for those of you who are Patreon subscribers - even if only for a dollar a month - you get access to a 24/7 live chat, with some wonderful people.

So, on to the news. Firstly, the most important thing to mention, is that Dusty is still seeking an adopter. [Edit: DUSTY HAS BEEN ADOPTED! THANKS EVERYONE WHO HELPED GET THE WORD OUT!] Tomorrow is Saturday the 3rd of December, and Animal Outreach Society has decided that Dusty will go to the PetSmart in McHenry in the morning, and stay there until she is adopted. She's a wonderfully sweet, loving kitten who is playful, gets along very well with other animals, and never tires of snuggles and pettings from humans. And snuggles and pets back as best she can! If you or someone you know is interested, please contact Animal Outreach Society.

The other kittens in the group have all been adopted, and some of them, in spectacular fashion! Harv and Stormy were adopted together, by a family that made a six-hour round trip from far northern Wisconsin just for the kittens! In any other Kitten Academy graduating class, that would have been the most amazing thing all by itself. But we have another major milestone from this charming class of kittens: Yale is being adopted by a "mystery adopter" who is flying in from another state, just for Yale. They will be arriving at the Kitten Academy on Saturday morning, at 7am, and flying back home with Yale the same day.

Yale's adopter will appear on the live stream at least a little bit, and we'll take whatever video and photos we can, for people who are unable to tune in live. We wish we had the resources to give this event all the fanfare it deserves, but instead, we'll just bring our enthusiasm and sincere appreciation.

Finally, we think most of you are aware by now that we have Abby in the annex, a new cat from On Angel's Wings, who we believe to be pregnant (the cat, that is). We don't know much of her story, only that she was relinquished at a shelter by her former owner.

When we started Kitten Academy, our hope was only to raise a little awareness of the kittens we foster, locally. Instead, you all have helped make Kitten Academy a global presence, and having half of the kittens in this last graduating class adopted from out-of-state is absolutely mind-boggling! Thank you all for helping to get the word out, and for your support.

Graduation Photos!

November 16, 2016 by Mr. Academy in Graduation

Ivy's League and the Weathercats will all be at PetSmart, hoping to be adopted, beginning on "Black Friday," November 25th, from 10am-1pm. Animal Outreach Society has asked us to provide some biographies and photographs for their adoption flyers. This post is mainly here as an easy way for us to provide the requested information to them.

We'll miss them all when they go -- but on the other hand, they've stayed with us longer than any other Kitten Academy class, and they're really starting to feel a little crowded in the main Kitten Academy classroom!

These kittens are all amazing, loving kittens. If you are interested in adopting one (or more!) please apply through Animal Outreach Society as soon as possible!

Yale

Harvard

Cloudy

Stormy

Dusty

Cornell

Welcome to "The Sprigs!"

November 11, 2016 by Mr. Academy in Introduction

Yesterday, five new kittens arrived at the Kitten Academy, from Animal Outreach Society. We're referring to their group as "The Sprigs." They came from a feral mother in a feral cat colony, but have been living indoors for at least a week or two. Most of them like people and will purr, so they're already better off than our last group of feral kids -- the Spice kittens from earlier this year.

DJ Made this cheat-sheet out of photos we took at the vet's office.

Ivy's League and the Weathercats in the main room were due for adoption this weekend, but Dusty has come down with a serious upper respiratory infection, and possibly Yale has it already, too. So Animal Outreach Society has decided they will stay with us an extra two weeks while they get over their colds. They will be eligible for adoption, and go to the PetSmart in McHenry, on November 26th, instead.

Until then, the new kittens will be staying in the Kitten Academy annex. We need to keep them separate until we know both groups are very healthy, and given their big difference in size, probably they will need to be separate even if they are healthy.

Here's some intro photos from after their baths:

As with all the kittens, the Sprigs now have their own pages on the Kitten Weight Spreadsheet, one for the weights, and one for a graph.

Here's all the rest of the photos from yesterday!

100,000!

November 05, 2016 by Mr. Academy

As of about 5:00am November 5th, one hundred thousand of you have subscribed to Kitten Academy on YouTube! This is amazing! When we started Kitten Academy in April, we would never have guessed that so many of you would enjoy it so much.

I've talked a little bit on the stream about having something that we were going to announce when we hit 100,000 subscribers. So here we are! Let me start by saying there's nothing we could do that would adequately express how wonderful this milestone is, nor repay you all for your support. I'd like to have more time to create new things for you, and hopefully in the next few weeks, we'll be able to make some neat new videos as thanks.

Merchandise

What we have for you today, though, is Kitten Academy swag! We've put up a Zazzle store, with products featuring our logos and designs. We're really just getting started on it -- we don't yet have a good idea what products to offer or what designs to put on them. We also have plans to add some fun new designs, beyond what we're offering today.

So, take a moment, think about what Kitten Academy things you'd really like. Is it a shirt, a pet food bowl, a framed picture? Zazzle offers a lot of items! What logo or design, or photograph would go on it? What words? How would they be arranged? If you have an idea that you really think you'd like, email us, tweet us, or even just comment below and we'll make sure it is an option in our Zazzle store.

If you can't wait, and want to go right ahead and make that thing for yourself, we also are offering the option of downloading our designs and applying them to things anywhere on the internet - or in your house. If you do make something on your own, please let us know! We'd love to see photos! Also, if you want to duplicate the rug that's been seen on the live stream, this is the way to do it. There's a link to the appropriate vendor on the DIY designs page.

Thanks again for all of your support. We hope we can make this month the best yet! Don't forget, we're expecting new kittens this week, on or before November 9th! Also, Ivy is still at the PetSmart in McHenry, IL - and there's an adoption event every weekend, Saturday and Sunday, from 11am to 2pm. People from Animal Outreach Society will be there, ready to help you adopt the perfect cat!

Happy Halloween!

October 31, 2016 by Mr. Academy

All the kittens are out having their spay/neuter today, but we did a little photoshoot with some costumes yesterday. The kittens will all return this evening.

Ivy is still at PetSmart in McHenry, IL, hoping to be adopted.