An Unkempt Garden of

Flyer about Sarah with several interesting photos -- I tried to show how tolerant she is. And cute.

Link to Independent Animal Rescue page about Sarah

Sarah is a little over a year old, still very kitteny and playful but doesn't get to play very much when even one of the kittens is around. She's a little talkative but quiet, gentle, enjoys companionship, but not overly cuddly and not a lap cat (we don't know about her life before she came to the shelter). She's OK with being held and carried as necessary, and likes being in the same room with you.

She's a good, robust size with exceptionally lovely, clear eyes, and she looks like she stepped out of a picture book about a sweet and clever farm cat. She's well-behaved in the house and perfect with the litter box.

She loves to play, but her kittens always jumped in first. That was OK with her; she liked to watch them. Now that they're gone, it's wonderful to see how fast she likes to run after ribbon-on-a-stick or a whippy branch, or how she'll fall over purring on the floor asking to be petted. She wasn't above tussling with the kittens, so she may be happier with some playful feline companionship. Sometimes, she shies slightly away from our hands just before allowing us to pet her, but she's warming up to us more and more, and she almost always wants to be in the same room as one of us. Sometimes, now, she'll purr and purr, and she likes to look out the window.

She also sometimes carries around a huge canvas apple filled with catnip; it's hilarious. We often find a cat toy (usually the apple) outside the bedroom door in the morning.

Nothing is known about Sarah's life before she was brought to the animal shelter with her kittens in early July.

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We have fostered the lovely and charming Sarah in addition to her all-boy five-kitten tussling club. Yes, it was insane at our house. We have spent a lot of time just trying to keep up.

Her five kittens have all been adopted! That includes Jean-Luc Sarahsen, Geordi "Fetch" Sarahsen, Miles (now named Hector Sunbeam Maiwald), Bruce (now Henry Sweet-Face Maiwald), and Wil (now Apollo Gallagher).

Sarah was a wonderful mother, and all the kittens are confident, sweet, and well-adjusted, love people, and are very companionable and inquisitive.

photos of individual kittens.

fancy flyers: kittens Sarah

We have been fostering these kittens since they were about three weeks old, and they have been constantly with us, since we work from home. We have loved them as our own and raised them with as much gentleness as we could. They are trusting, curious, and playful, and deserve homes where they will be treated as a member of the family, with respect and kindness, and where their lively personalities will be appreciated.

They were born on or shortly before July 9, and are litter box trained, current on vaccinations, tested FeLV negative, and will be neutered before they go home with you. There are three buff tabbies and two orange tabbies, all males with short fur.

individual personalities:

We have to give them temporary kitten names; we're used to these names, but it's OK if they don't fit your relationship to your adopted friend.

Jean-Luc (or sometimes "Pirate") is our red tabby with a single black dot at the base of his right ear. He's quite saucy and intelligent and enjoys every single thing to the fullest, exploring all reaches of the house with enthusiasm. I think he wants to be the boss when he grows up, but for now he's about the cutest thing most people have ever seen.

The other red tabby kitten, Wil, is probably the most sweet and affectionate. He was the first to come when called, and to enjoy being petted (although they all love being petted).

Wil is so sensitive and loving that everyone falls in love with him, including foster dude Dan, and one almost-adopter is already very sad that she can't responsibly take both him and a companion kitten (IAR doesn't adopt out young kittens alone - it usually leads to sad and/or destructive kittens). I am considering just holding on to Wil until he's six months old and can go home with her, but she'll probably adopt an adult cat -- which is wonderful, too, since there are a lot of adult cats who need homes.

One of the buff tabbies, Miles, is a bit of a baby who mews for help whenever he gets stuck or confused, then purrs a lot when he gets your attention. He's quite adorable, but he's also a picky eater and a bit smaller than the others. He's also an absolute fanatic for watermelon. Miles needs to go with someone willing to put up with a little eccentricity (for example, he won't eat dry food and he wants to look, or be, inside everything) in exchange for an exceptionally smart, responsive, slightly talky, hilariously idiosyncratic, and extremely sweet big-baby personality.

The other two buff kittens, Geordi and Bruce, are the biggest and have given us the least worry. Bruce seems the mellowest.

Geordi is huge and fun and warms up to new things quickly. He's started showing up in the mornings before I'm fully awake with a ball of paper for me to throw -- then he plays fetch with me for several minutes. He really, really loves to play fetch, and he's becoming very good at it. He's incredibly affectionate, also, and loves to sleep in my lap even though he's becoming so large that his head and back legs stick off the sides. He purrs and purrs.

I think Geordi was the first kitten to fall asleep in my lap, but Miles wasn't far behind.

A pink-nosed kitten is sleeping on my lap as I write this.

about adoption: We are fostering Sarah and her kittens through Independent Animal Rescue, so there's a fee for adoption. Also, IAR has a sensible policy of adopting young kittens in pairs or with another playful animal (if you've ever had a lonely, bored kitten destroy your house or cry through the night, you'll appreciate that this is a good idea). IAR has many other kittens available through their web site; you can adopt two kittens from different litters. An adult cat like Sarah would probably be OK by herself, but she'll be happier with regular play.

They are all spayed and/or neutered and have already had their rabies shots.

contact info: We and the kittens are living in Chapel Hill. Please call or e-mail Dan or Ann Marie with any inquiries (if you e-mail, please include your phone number): (919) 967-6196 or am@virtueofthesmall.com.