Kitten Names-Mardi Gras Name for Kittens

We have a new group of foster kittens!  Mardi Gras is March 4th this year and I'm already feeling the call of The Crescent City.  I love New Orleans!  The food is second only to Paris, France.  The city is just steeped in history, lots of old buildings still in use.

Original old hitching post

Gas lamps

Crypts, not as nice as France, but definitely very very Parisian

and voodoo!

Come meet The Mystick Crewe!

Praline is the only girl in the family

Why Confetti?

That's why.

 

and Zydeco!

I made a list of other potential names for Mardi Gras.  I might need them again!  You might have some Mardi Gras themed kittens coming your way next!  Laissez les bons temps rouler!

 

Rex
Acadia
Cajun
Beignet
Pierre LeBeau

Marie LeChat
Boudreaux
Jazzy
Bayou
Jambalaya
Mambo
carnival
Mardi gras
Nola
Beauregard

Another thing I love about New Orleans?  I love beignets!  And I love mine more than I love Cafe du Monde.  Why?  Ok, people don't like to talk about it but, look, it's a very old city.  It's built all up, no space for modern conveniences.  Between the drunks on Bourbon Street and the dumpsters practically on the sidewalk, Cafe du Monde pretty much smells like vomit.  Not a great thing to eat at an outdoor cafe that smells of puke.  We stood gagging in the looooooong line (I got a pressed penny too), got our beignets in a bag full of sugar, and started walking.  The only way to eat them is away from the smell!  They wash the streets with pleasant smelling soap every morning but sorry, it still reeks.  So make beignets at home, they're dead easy!  The secret to deep frying is get your oil to about 375F.  Too low, it's greasy, too high it burns on the outside, raw on the inside.  They use cottonseed oil at Cafe du Monde, change it every week.  You want to get there while the oil is seasoned though so check when they change the oil.  Same with your own, the first, I'd say 3 batches will not be as good as the 4th.

MAKE THIS DOUGH THE NIGHT BEFORE SERVING!

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 1/2 C warm water (100 to 115 degrees F)
• 1/2 C granulated sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 C evaporated milk
• 7 C all-purpose flour
• 1/4 C butter
• Oil for deep frying
• Powdered Sugar for dusting (or burying, depending on taste) AND my secret ingredient-pinch of nutmeg!

I always proof my yeast, meaning I mix it, the warm water, and the sugar, and then wait 5 minutes.  If it rises, it's all good.  If not, I know that pack of yeast is dead and I can toss it and not waste any other ingredients.   Used to be, old timey yeast HAD to be proofed to work.  We've had active dry yeast for how many years now in the store?  I don't think you can even buy the old stuff anymore.  FYI--I hear it makes a better tasting bread.  If you can find the old style yeast, try it, but proof it first. 
Mix this all together, cover in a BIG bowl (it's going to double or more) then put it in the refrigerator until morning.  I've kept it up to a week because this recipe makes 3-4 dozen.  Even if it starts to ferment, ain't nuthin' wrong with sourdough beignets! 

The next morning, heat your oil then start rolling out dough on a lightly floured board 1/8-inch thick. Cut the rolled out dough into strips 2 to 3-inches wide, then cut again in the opposite direction and at an angle, making diamond shapes.  Drop them into the hot oil.  Turn them when they're golden, drop into paper bag with powdered sugar and a touch of nutmeg or a big bowl and shake powdered sugar and nutmeg over top.  For me, the nutmeg makes this recipe.  Taste it both ways, serve it how you like it.  

Is it Paleo?  NO!  

Does it make me sick?  Yes! 

Even in New Orleans?  Yes!  I had to run for the hotel and I barely made it.

But is it worth it?  OH HELL YES! 

 

Military Names for Kittens

Fostering kittens and you're stumped for kitten names?  Oh these many many foster kittens!  Or are you a Crazy Cat Lady?  Sure, I have lists of names but this is so much simpler.  Ready?  The Military Alphabet!  Yup, it was developed by NATO because sometimes you just can't hear over the radio or phone EXACTLY what someone is saying.  How does the NATO Phonetic Alphabet go?  I'll bet you already know some of it, whether you've been in the military or not!

• A-alpha
• B-bravo
• C-charlie
• D-delta
• E-echo
• F-foxtrot
• G-golf
• H-hotel
• I-india
• J-juliet
• K-kilo
• L-lima
• M-mike
• N-november
• O-oscar
• P-papa
• Q-quebec
• R-romeo
• S-sierra
• T-tango
• U-uniform
• V-victor
• W-whiskey
• X-xray
• Y-yankee
• Z-zulu

And when you get to the end, start over again! Or just use a few.  A kitten named Zulu is cool.  What about Victor and Oscar and I have a Romeo right now. 
I have a vested interest because my son is, against my wishes, dropping out of college to go join the Marines.  "Join the Air Force," I said. 
"The Chair Force?  Nope."
"Well, you only want to join the Marines to defy me because you know all the men on my father's side are Navy.  I might point out that they got out asap because it wasn't for them."  See, this way, maybe he'll, "jump ship," and NOT be the group who's always the first ones in to battle. 
Nope. 
We watched Battleship again and reminded him that if he wants to fight aliens, join the Navy.  He pointed out Aliens.  I reminded him the Space Marines all died.
And I thought I was winning when I easily talked him out of the Army, even though his best friend from high school is there now. 
Marines.  Sheesh! Worse, he wants to be a doctor but he's joining the Marines first.  Since they don't have docs, he won't even get experience!  If he survives, he'll be like 30 before he even gets started anywhere!  Life is too short, you know? 

Oh well.  What can ya do?

Here's a couple of things I've learned from a vet tech who also fosters (she has over 30 cats and kittens in her house).

She swears this totally works on cat urine smells!

and

Does you cat get sniffles and sneezes and runny eyes, or worse, conjunctivitis?  Well, every one of this latest litter of kittens had Feline upper respiratory infection (URI) and because my youngest cat plays with them, his eye went from drippy to swollen and nasty in less than 12 hours!  A lot of these eye things are a form of herpes and it's super contagious (even to humans, so wash your hands).  The cat rescue group gave me these:

And they help get them over these nasty URIs better than they can on their own.  If you catch it early, this might be all you need but if it takes off, take your pet to the vet.  I took my big baby boy in and the vet gave him 2 anti-biotic shots, cream for his eye AND twice daily anti-biotic medicine.  Even before we started fostering, my indoor-only cats, who's precious little paws never touched dirt, never had a flea, and never saw another feline in their lives would occasionally get runny eyes and start sneezing.  And it would go around to each one of them.  I always wondered if there was something I could be doing to help and this is the stuff. 
And yes, if you haven't tried lysine for your own cold sores, get some for next time.  It helps a lot!

Naming Kittens is Serious Business

     It's a sad day today.  Bubba had to move into a cage at Petsmart full time.  He grew up here, in a house but everyone else in his family, including his momma, all got adopted a long time ago.

And that's what happens to fosters that don't get adopted.  Those are the cats you see in cages at Petsmart during the week.

   
     And then dear sweet Comet got adopted today!  Bittersweet, because we LOVED him!  If we didn't already have 4 of our own, we would have kept him for sure!

     So now it's just our own 4 and a litter of 5.  And a rabbit.  So it's not a quite pet free zone at all, don't go feeling sorry for us, LOL

     You know what's hard?  Naming kittens.  I thought, "Yeah, name them whatever you want, the new owner will give them a new name."
Uh...no.  Yes, there IS a Lt. Dan and  Forest Gump already adopted from Bubba's litter.  I have to make sure these little names are good, solid, forever kind of names.  It's a major responsibility.  I keep a list going on my cellphone.  When I hear or read a good name, I write it down.  Need some kitten names for yourself? 

Kitten Names

Grey Kitten Names:

Silvermist
Silverbelle
Silversong
Silverstorm
Silvershadow
Quicksilver
Eversteel
Indigo
Blue Velvet

Every Day Names:

Shadow
Jester
Jericho
Amber
Maestro
Bumble
Marshmallow Doom
Scamper
Nala
Mala
Magic
Hansel/Gretel
Scruffles
Valentine
Donder/Blitzen

Space Names:

Orion
Luna
Nova
Sputnik
Pixel
Byte
Aurora
Cosmo

Rain Names:

Sprinkle
Fog
Mist
Puff

All About Fostering Kittens

Happy National Cat Day!

Do you foster kittens right now or are you thinking about fostering kittens?
Personally, I only foster kittens, not cats.  I have 4 cats of my own and although the house is big enough that they can sulk for a couple of weeks (until they get used to tiny invaders), full grown cats are too problematic and territorial to foster in my home.
Besides, my whole point in fostering is to have kittens!  I foster so I don't become a Crazy Cat Lady just to experience kittenhood.  Yeah, really.  Once a year, we get, "kitten fever," in this house and start pining for the days of tiny feets and toddling fur babies.  Fostering kittens scratches that particular itch!

Is it easy?  For us, it is.  Like I said, we already have 4 cats so the house already has cat towers and toys and food bowls and a water fountain.  It also helps that we have enough of a disposable income so we can provide the extra food and litter.  The rescue orgs we work with are suppose to do that-pay for food, pay for litter, but expect the cheap clay litter (which doesn't work when all the litter boxes are shared and I don't want the smell from clay litter in my home.  I may not dust that often but my house will NOT smell like litter box) and expect the orgs to only give you a small amount of food per week.  If the kittens are going through a growth spurt and are eating 3 cans a day for a while, the rescue group will not supplement and will look askance at your inquiry about more food.  They figure you're just feeding your own cats with it, plus they're often out of funds anyway.  So, the heck with it.  We just buy large amounts of food at Costco and feed everyone.  It's easier.

PROS of Fostering:
*Hot and cold running kittens
*You get to see their first steps, their first time playing with a toy, you get their kittenhood
*I was wearing a sweater last night and had 5 squirmy kittens all over me, all night.  It was I bought a kitten shirt off of Skymall or something!
*If they are too clingy or too stand-offish,  you're only fostering.  You don't have to keep them
*Kittens are adorable and play with wild abandon!  Then they sleep like the dead, in the most charming positions imaginable!
*Gives you opportunities to use up your yarn stash making cat beds

CONS of Fostering
*They arrive with fleas and need to be quarantined and bathed and you must take them to the vet to be checked for contagious cat illnesses
*You are constantly trying to train someone to use the cat scratching posts and not your furniture.  Just when you get the whole clowder trained, you get new kittens!

 Kitten Nail Caps

*You have to let them go.  You don't keep them, even if they've been a part of your family for months

*A LOT of litter boxes to clean, usually twice a day 

*You can guarantee the different rescue groups in your area know each other.  And I can guarantee that they talk smack about each other, there is constant drama between them.  We started with A group, but they never got back to us so we fostered with B Group.  Well suddenly A group needed a home for a nursing momma and litter of 5.  It was no problem that we already had 2 kits from B group.  When they were old enough, the kits got adopted from both groups and B group needed a home for a litter of 5.  A group also wanted a home for a large litter and I had to tell them we were tapped out.  The fireworks ensued BIG TIME!  We were told to never foster for A group again because we were working with B group and blah, blah, blah.  Gee.  It didn't matter when you needed us and we were ALREADY hosting kittens from B group just a few months ago.  Drama.  Always.  

*Your own cats will feel neglected since they won't be the pampered darlings of the house anymore.  They will pout for a good long while until they deign to seek out luvs from YOU again.  

So is it worth it?  You'll have to decide if it is in YOUR home.  It is for us, at this time.  I can't see us doing this forever but it's great right now.  

 

  Calico Cat Themed Gifts

We have kittens almost as often as we want them (there are dry spells sometimes) and as many as we want.  I really enjoy fostering kittens!