Hold Onto Your Hats! News, Updates & Photos!

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Hello, Kitten Academicians!

We come to you today with news, updates, adoptions and photoshoot pictures to share!

Gadget’s Gearbox

First, we have unfortunate news to share about Crank. When you're ready, click the button below to read our facts-only update.

We hope that's the last time for a long time that we have to share sad news.

Gadget was adopted on November 3rd by Sham & Gambit’s family! We do miss her silliness here at the Academy but we know she’s continued her shenanigans at her new home and with her new buddies, too!

A Hat trick!

Moving to more pawsitive news, we've had a hat trick! Fez went home on December 1st to his new family and seems to be settling in very nicely. On the 6th, Stetson & Hazelnut started their journey home together and have done well so far! We are already receiving updates about their adventures on our discord!

So that’s three Hats adopted, two Hats to go!

Bonnet

Bonnet enjoys a good cuddle and will let you know with her approving purrs! She baffles scientists with her ability to take up an immense amount of space despite her physical size.

Derby

Derby has opinions and wants to make sure you know them! Just as much as he loves a good debate, he also loves to plop down and snuggle right next to you while he purrs.

Both Bonnet and Derby are food motivated and, due to that, potentially easy to train if that’s something you’re interested in trying. They both love to birdwatch & still have endless kitten energy. They’d be a great pair if you’re interested in two kittens but they can absolutely be adopted individually as well. Their endowments are sorted and they’re ready to go home as soon as they have an approved adopter or adopters! If you’d like to submit an application for one or both of these sweethearts, click the button below!

As for a new momcat, DAWS knows we’re ready and they’re looking but we haven’t heard anything just yet. We aren’t in a giant hurry but we’re ready as soon as we get the call that they’ve got a momcat in need! We’ll keep you informed!

Now, on to the photoshoot pictures you’ve probably been waiting for!

Group Shots

Hazelnut

Bonnet

Stetson

Derby

Fez

Hazelnut's Hats + Lots of Updates!

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Greetings, Kitten Academicians!

We’ve got a lot of news to get through so let’s get to it!

Cashmere

Super high on the list of exciting things to share is that Cashmere of Cuddles’ Snugglers has found an adopter! Better yet, he’s going home with someone already on our discord, so we’re excited to be able to keep up with him. The expected adoption date is September 2nd. We’re gonna miss this handsome guy.

Cashmere

Hazelnut’s Hats

Another exciting announcement is, of course, Hazelnut’s Hats! Late on the 6th of August and into the morning of the 7th, Hazelnut gave birth to four beautiful and healthy kittens. She’s very clearly an experienced mom and has taken wonderful care of herself and her family so far. After the last few classes that required a bit more hands-on care for one reason or another, this class has been an absolute treat to have at the Academy. Great gains, sweetheart mom, hardly any bad poops, clean and tidy, adorable—the list goes on.

We don’t have pictures quite yet of these tinies but rest assured, it’s on the to-do list. We wont make any promises but there’s hope that we may get around to a real photoshoot with this class soon. For now, here’s a cheatsheet with their names! Bonnet being the only girl.

Cheatsheet made by is.a.momo on our Discord

Crank Update

While what we do know from vet appointments and the internist she saw is positive news, we don’t really have any specific answers as to what may be going on with little Crank. There’s the potential that whatever is causing her digestive issues may be something she’s able to grow out of as it has been slowly improving over time. We’ve gone ahead and scheduled her spay on September 9th with the same surgeon who did Teaspoon’s neuter awhile back. While she’s sedated they’ll do a little investigating and see what they can find. In the meantime, she’s doing okay with the lactulose and receiving enemas as needed. We’ll update again when we know more. Here you have a few Crank photos and a bonus Teaspoon!

Teaspoon Update

Tuesday, the 27th, Teaspoon had a follow-up appointment at the cardiologist. Basically, his heart valve issue is more or less stable and his body is compensating well enough to continue as is. The risks of the procedure he may eventually need greatly outweigh the benefits at this point, so we’re happy to wait. The plan for now is to continue him on his heart medication and have another follow-up in about one year.

Directly after his cardiology appointment he met with our vet, Dr. Katz, regarding his ongoing constipation issues. She decided it would be best to give him an enema to clean him out and bump his lactulose dose up just a bit. She also suggested a high-fiber diet which we will be looking into as well.

Teaspoon and Cash being unbearably cute

Gadget Update

On the 13th of August, Gadget got her spay without any issues. We thought maybe it might calm her down but so far there’s been no sign of her slowing down, not even a little bit! She has been enjoying supervised exploration around the house and some arranged trial playdates with Custard. Her style of communication is a little misunderstood by the rest of the cats but we really do think she’s just got a lot of energy and wants to be playful despite not communicating with the others clearly.

If you’ve made it this far, well done! We know this was a lot to get through. As a bonus, here are a couple photos of Gadget and Crank out in the stroller with DJ. Gadget found it interesting, Crank, not so much.

We’ll be back when we have more to share, thanks for reading!

Introducing Gadget and Her Gearbox!

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Greetings, Kitten Academicians!

Gadget arrived to us, like most momcats, on a transport via DAWS from Georgia. Right away, she made it obvious that she is a snuggle bug who loves attention. Headbutts, rolling on her back, purring, reaching out for us with her paw, climbing into our laps—all the adorable things that tell us she loves people. A few days after arriving to us, on June 11th, Gadget welcomed four kittens.

While we are committed to our no-sads rule, we have always made it a point to keep you aware of the facts. When you're ready, click “sads” for an update on three of the four kittens.

Moving to the positive news, Gadget and Crank are doing well! Gadget has come out of her shell even more and has revealed herself to be a super energetic and talkative cat. Crank is gaining very well each day, starting to explore quite a bit and interacting more and more with her environment, which is perfectly on par with what we'd expect from a kitten her age. Crank has a vet appointment next week on the 25th for a general checkup and her first round of vaccines.

You may see Gadget carrying Crank around or seemingly playing a bit rough with her, but rest assured, we’re keep an eye on them. If it becomes necessary, we won't hesitate to separate them if that’s what we determine to be the best option. In the mean time, they’ll continue to be in the annex together and we’ll bring them to the spa from time to time.

For now, here are some random photos of Gadget and Crank. We’ll be back with a follow-up post when we have more to report on these two.

Welcome Callie and Her Timey-Wimeys!

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Greetings, Kitten Academicians!

Say hello to our newest momcat whom DJ has named Calendar, or Callie for short!

Callie arrived to us on December 2nd, on a transport via DAWS all the way from Georgia. We aren't exactly sure about her age but we guess she's about one year old. She's super loving, playful and enjoys calm lap time, too. One of the more unique things about Callie is her waggly, bobbed tail but we'll go into more detail on that topic a little later!

On December 5th, we took her in to our vet, AristoKatz, for an x-ray with Dr. Katz. The x-ray confirmed she was pregnant with 5, maybe 6 kittens, and due anytime! The x-ray also showed her tail but we were unable to definitively conclude whether it was genetic or an old injury at that time. Turns out it's genetic! And we know this because...

A couple days later, on December 7th, Callie welcomed six healthy kittens to the Academy! Of the six kittens, two have bobbed tails which tells us that her bobbed tail is, in fact, genetic! It hasn't been all that long yet but so far she's proven to be a great mom, very attentive and quick with the cleanup duties.

For now, we’re pretty sure January and Holiday are the only girls but it can be hard to tell this early.*

*Edit: This time we’re almost certain, Holiday is the only girl in this class!

Cheatsheet provided by is.a.momo on our discord

Finally, here are some photos of the Timey-Wimeys for you to enjoy!

Monday - Male

Julian, bobtail - Male

Gregorian - Male

January, bobtail - Male

Holiday - Female

Friday - Male

Group Photos

Callie (before she had her kittens)

Repost: The Adorable Adootables!

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Greetings, Kitten Academicians! We are re-publishing this post to remind everyone of the adorable kittens still available for adoption. Since the original post, Raindrop does have an approved adooter!


The Adootables!

Let’s start right here; forget anything you think you know about these kittens!  Okay, not everything, but the time they’ve spent at KA has seen them all through many changes.  So if you’ve heard us say things in the closeups like “I think so-and-so would love being adopted with so-and-so” keep in mind these things can change pretty quickly – and easily – at this young age.  

All the cats and kittens we’re discussing here are ready to go and as always, you can adopt from anywhere in the continental USA, but you have to pick them up from Monroe, CT, in person.  If you have any trouble with the application, please let us know.

 

The Tabby Sisters

Raindrop, Sprout, and Drizzle are sleek and lovely mackerel tabbies who are very well-adjusted and love play and snuggles with humans as you’d expect from KA graduates.  They came to the Academy as the “April Meowers” and their mom and other siblings have already gone to their adopters.  They have lovely satin fur and play responsibly – you can pet that belly!  All three of them get along just great with the other adootables and any pairings would be great choices.  


Of the three, Raindrop is the most attention-seeking, both from cats and people, and tends to be the quickest to get along with new cats and new situations.  She does have a fixation on fingers and wants to help you type by biting on them, but is very gentle about it.  

Raindrop

Sprout


Sprout is a free spirit who can’t be collared – literally!  Even when the sisters got their sparkly new collars, Sprout rejected hers quickly.  She’s independent and of the three, probably would best tolerate time alone while her human is at work.


Drizzle is the most conservative, and can be quite growly at new kittens initially, but learns to get over it in due time.  Drizzle jealously guards her favorite toys and loves to play fetch – if she brings you a toy, try throwing it, but make sure she’s watching where it goes (or use a toy that makes noise)!  

Drizzle

All three tolerate endless snuggles from their humans and being held like babies, as long as they’re getting petted in the bargain.  

The DLC 

Squall & Wellingtons

When Dr. Katz at Aristokatz discovered a litter of newborn kittens on her doorstep, she offered to let us care for them.  A late addition to the April Meowers, these Darling Little Cats had a bit of a rough start but have grown into the fuzzy marshmallows they are today. Circumstances saw them hand-raised by Mr. A and their attachment to humans is particularly strong as a result.  We’re pleased to announce that Wellingtons and his sister Squall have both (mostly) outgrown their need to lick noses, just as their tongues are becoming extremely abrasive.  They still cannot get enough snuggling and carrying and prefer to sleep near – or on – their human’s heads.  They aren’t particularly fond of other cats – they’re well bonded with all the current Academy residents and other adootables, but very skeptical when meeting new cats and kittens and take a little convincing to come around.  

Wellingtons has become a “typical teenage boy” who is extra rambunctious and lately his waking hours are spent almost entirely focused on roughhousing with his sister, the Tabby twins, or anyone else he can.  He reminds us of teenage Tommy, or Custard, and like them is likely to grow out of it – mostly – in a few years.

Wellingtons

Squall


Squall is much more focused on human affection and there’s never enough.  She and her brother both will need humans with lots of time and affection to give, but Squall more so.  She’s a little quicker to come around to new cats than her brother is, but still a bit wary. 



Serenity Now!

Serenity

Serenity arrived at the Academy a momcat and a kitten herself.  While she didn’t become a momcat in the end, she is still a playful kitten!  Serenity is quite shy but also energetic like a kitten, and loves human affection.  She’s a wonderful bundle of contradictions – a cat.  We find she can be hand shy and especially wary of people standing over her, but if you are on her level and patient, she will reward you with endless affection and play.  It took Mr. A some effort to get her to come around, and the resulting snuggles are all the more enjoyable for it.  He still can have a hard time catching her when it’s time to go to her room – and of course she’s well-known for being an escape artist capable of operating door handles to let herself out again.  As a kitten, she has a lot of energy to work out, and zooms and wrestles with the other adootables all the time. While she did learn to get along with all of the kittens at the Academy after a normal adjustment period, we notice that she really appreciates having her own space, too. We think she will be very happy in a home that has a more normal human-to-cat ratio.

Lastly, here are some bonus photos of everyone mentioned above, some more recent than others.


Raindrop

Sprout

Drizzle

Squall & Wellingtons

Serenity

Introducing Till's Petty Cash!

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We’re catching up on our debts of recent class introduction posts, and so here is Till’s Petty Cash! Till came to Kitten Academy on July 15th, from a previous foster in West Virginia. Her kittens were born on the morning of July 26th.

On September 14th, an additional kitten joined the group named Bill. While we stand by our "no-sads" policy, it has always been our intention to inform you of the facts when these, thankfully rare, sad things happen. When you're ready, click the “sads” button for our facts-only update on Bill.

Now onto the Cash at hand!

Till

Ledger

Farthing

Quid

Doubloons

Also, another quick update: Teaspoon is doing well! He will be having surgery in November to correct his heart condition (pulmonic stenosis). Once he is confirmed to be doing well after this procedure, he will be able to undergo his graduation surgery. His pre-surgery appointment is coming up on November 7th.

Lastly, here’s some more deposits of Petty Cash, and Teaspoon with Uncle Loganberry!

The Adorable Adootables!

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Greetings, Kitten Academicians!

It’s been a while, but we’re here with plenty of good news!  The most important stuff is all about the cats and kittens that are ready to be adopted, but before that, let us take one moment.  

We’ve been working on better communication and so we’ve started putting things in place to bring in some extra help.  I only bring it up to mention you may see some really positive changes in the coming days and weeks.  Thank you so much to the wonderful people who have volunteered – and I know many more of you have offered help in the past.  Once we sort things out a little, we’ll be greatly expanding the program.  We’re super excited to share it all with you, but first things first!

The Adootables!

Let’s start right here; forget anything you think you know about these kittens!  Okay, not everything, but the time they’ve spent at KA has seen them all through many changes.  So if you’ve heard us say things in the closeups like “I think so-and-so would love being adopted with so-and-so” keep in mind these things can change pretty quickly – and easily – at this young age.  

All the cats and kittens we’re discussing here are ready to go and as always, you can adopt from anywhere in the continental USA, but you have to pick them up from Monroe, CT, in person.  If you have any trouble with the application, please let us know.

 

The Tabby Sisters

Raindrop, Sprout, and Drizzle are sleek and lovely mackerel tabbies who are very well-adjusted and love play and snuggles with humans as you’d expect from KA graduates.  They came to the Academy as the “April Meowers” and their mom and other siblings have already gone to their adopters.  They have lovely satin fur and play responsibly – you can pet that belly!  All three of them get along just great with the other adootables and any pairings would be great choices.  


Of the three, Raindrop is the most attention-seeking, both from cats and people, and tends to be the quickest to get along with new cats and new situations.  She does have a fixation on fingers and wants to help you type by biting on them, but is very gentle about it.  

Raindrop

Sprout


Sprout is a free spirit who can’t be collared – literally!  Even when the sisters got their sparkly new collars, Sprout rejected hers quickly.  She’s independent and of the three, probably would best tolerate time alone while her human is at work.


Drizzle is the most conservative, and can be quite growly at new kittens initially, but learns to get over it in due time.  Drizzle jealously guards her favorite toys and loves to play fetch – if she brings you a toy, try throwing it, but make sure she’s watching where it goes (or use a toy that makes noise)!  

Drizzle

All three tolerate endless snuggles from their humans and being held like babies, as long as they’re getting petted in the bargain.  

The DLC 

Squall & Wellingtons

When Dr. Katz at Aristokatz discovered a litter of newborn kittens on her doorstep, she offered to let us care for them.  A late addition to the April Meowers, these Darling Little Cats had a bit of a rough start but have grown into the fuzzy marshmallows they are today. Circumstances saw them hand-raised by Mr. A and their attachment to humans is particularly strong as a result.  We’re pleased to announce that Wellingtons and his sister Squall have both (mostly) outgrown their need to lick noses, just as their tongues are becoming extremely abrasive.  They still cannot get enough snuggling and carrying and prefer to sleep near – or on – their human’s heads.  They aren’t particularly fond of other cats – they’re well bonded with all the current Academy residents and other adootables, but very skeptical when meeting new cats and kittens and take a little convincing to come around.  

Wellingtons has become a “typical teenage boy” who is extra rambunctious and lately his waking hours are spent almost entirely focused on roughhousing with his sister, the Tabby twins, or anyone else he can.  He reminds us of teenage Tommy, or Custard, and like them is likely to grow out of it – mostly – in a few years.

Wellingtons

Squall


Squall is much more focused on human affection and there’s never enough.  She and her brother both will need humans with lots of time and affection to give, but Squall more so.  She’s a little quicker to come around to new cats than her brother is, but still a bit wary. 



Serenity Now!

Serenity

Serenity arrived at the Academy a momcat and a kitten herself.  While she didn’t become a momcat in the end, she is still a playful kitten!  Serenity is quite shy but also energetic like a kitten, and loves human affection.  She’s a wonderful bundle of contradictions – a cat.  We find she can be hand shy and especially wary of people standing over her, but if you are on her level and patient, she will reward you with endless affection and play.  It took Mr. A some effort to get her to come around, and the resulting snuggles are all the more enjoyable for it.  He still can have a hard time catching her when it’s time to go to her room – and of course she’s well-known for being an escape artist capable of operating door handles to let herself out again.  As a kitten, she has a lot of energy to work out, and zooms and wrestles with the other adootables all the time. While she did learn to get along with all of the kittens at the Academy after a normal adjustment period, we notice that she really appreciates having her own space, too. We think she will be very happy in a home that has a more normal human-to-cat ratio.

Lastly, here are some bonus photos of everyone mentioned above, some more recent than others.


Raindrop

Sprout

Drizzle

Squall & Wellingtons

Serenity

Hello and goodbye to The Cutensils!

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Greetings, Kitten Academicians!

Sorry it’s been a while, but Syl didn’t want to post two art blogs in a row, so we had to do something. Of course we hope to do this more often, but you probably know how busy we’ve been!

If you’re checking in and haven’t been to the Facebook fan page or had time to watch the (infrequent) close-ups, we should mention that all the Cutensils have adopters and will be going home in the next few weeks… except Teaspoon. His adoption is on hold for now. We’re scheduling surgery with the cardiologist in a month or so, and after that we’ll have a better idea when he’ll be ready to be adopted!

Back with more photos soon… or… in due time?

"Welcome" to Cahooligans!

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Greetings, Kitten Academicians!

Today, we’re catching up on a few of the photos we’ve taken of Cahoots and her kittens since they arrived at the Academy in Spetember. Technically, they all turned up around the 12th, but we didn’t get to see most of them until the kittens were born on the 24th of September.

Here’s a couple early photos of Cahoots!

Here’s some photos from shortly after the kittens were born:

You might need a cheat-sheet to tell who’s who here! We certainly did. Thanks to “@is.a.Momo” on our Discord server for compiling these:

Next we have a handful of photos from October 21st — we think there’s a missing set of files from shortly after their eyes opened, which we hope to find “in due time” —

Finally, we’d like to share one last set of photos today, taken just a week or two ago, but before we do, we’d like to mention that our friends at DAWS are responsible for today’s blog post in a couple of important ways:

First and foremost, DAWS is the shelter we work with here in Connecticut and they find our momcats and also process applications to adopt the kittens and momcats that we foster.

Secondly, they asked us if we’d mind mentioning that they’re running a huge fundraiser today, on “giving Tuesday.” We believe, of course, that giving to DAWS doesn’t need a special day — it’s always a good idea. But the kind of people who make sure the lights stay on like to make an event of it. If you’d like to participate, today’s your day - just click here to go to the Giving Tuesday donation page. Today’s blog post wouldn’t have happened if they didn’t ask us to give the event a plug!

If you missed the moment or if you would love to support DAWS and the cats and dogs, but feel a bit of dissonance about the idea of a special day for your generosity, you can click here to go to the regular, everyday donation page.

Supporting DAWS or your local shelter is always a good idea, whatever the day!

Finally, here’s some Cahooligans posing for their Christmas photos! (and maybe a bonus or two…)

Graduation for Ocean's Kits!

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Greetings, Kitten Academicians!

We’re still slowly working towards getting everything back up to our usual standards, but this journey lately feels like it may be a thousand miles, and so we start with the few steps we can take and build from there.

So, we bring you our latest photoshoot - plus a few odds and ends from the camera roll, in honor of Ocean, her kits, and Trinket all being ready to find their adopters — or vice-versa. You can apply here on our application!

It’s our impression that Ocean is a supremely dedicated mom and might do well to be adopted with one of her kittens — perhaps Caliper. Trinket loves to play with all three boys and otherwise has a hard time making new friends, so we would really love to see her go home with any of them, perhaps Astrolabe or Spyglass who are both extra rambunctious and love to wrestle with her. In the end, though, it’s always up to the adopter how much they are ready to take on; adopting a kitten is making a 20-year commitment.

If you’ve already applied, don’t panic - we’re sure DAWS will have everything processed in due time!

We’ll be back real soon to post baby photos of the next class, Cahoot’s newborns. Meanwhile, please enjoy…