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!

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.

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: