I admit I've been dragging my feet about writing this chapter. It means that the last few stories I'm able to share about Tweetie will draw to a close; even though there IS so much more to this story than I can tell here, right now. Reflecting on our last day together, too, will remind me that my relationship with one, very special kitten is also possibly coming to an end.

The Meeting

If you don't already know this, introducing a new cat into a home where there's already one or more cats, should be done with great care. As with people meeting one another, first impressions matter. Get off on the wrong foot, or paw, in this case, and it can set up years of discord, damage to the home and stress for all concerned.

When the new cat is about to meet a Celebukitty, there's even more at stake. Not only is their meeting going to be of concern to their new family, but to the Global Press at large. Will the headlines read: "Sockington Rebuffs Tiny Twin, Tweetie" or "Sockington Welcomes Ward Warmly"?

The answer won't be completely obvious for some time. You simply MUST be patient about how things will pan out. Be willing to give it time, whether it be hours or MONTHS, for your cats to all get along. They may never sleep snuggled together on your bed, but at least they should respect each other's space and not fight. You must NEVER toss the new cat into a room and "let them work it out" with the cats whose home has been usurped!

A Few Introduction Tips

The new kitten or cat must be separated from the group, in their own space, with their own litter pan, food, bed and toys. It will be their "safe haven" when the day comes that they're allowed the freedom to explore the rest of the home. It's from this separate room that the introductions are done, either by opening the door slightly or, in our case, by putting window screens across the doorway.

Even though Sockington and Penny are famous kitties and it's really really cool that Tweetie looks a lot like Socks, their introduction is a serious matter. This is about their lives together as a new family, not a publicity stunt.

The Big Moment

I had a can of what I call "Kitty Crack." It's the one brand of cat food I've never seen a cat turn away from. I won't say what it's called (Solid Gold), but it's really expensive and if they want to ship me a crate, that would be awesome!

The plan was to feed Penny and Socks this delicious treat on one side of Tweetie's room divider, with Tweetie being fed on the other. This would help the cats to associate a positive experience with seeing each other. Using window screens, the cats could see and smell each other through the screen, but Tweetie would be safe from harm should one of the cats decide to lunge at him.

Food Lady, Mr. Scott, Sam and I stood breathlessly as Food Lady put down food for Penny and Socks.

Penny didn't even get close to the screen or her food. She figured out what was going on and immediately ran off. At least she wasn't aggressive. No tasty treat was going to change her mind. This left Socks to meet Tweetie.

Socks wasn't sure what to make of the creature behind the screen. His skinny tail puffed up while Tweetie looked eagerly at him. There was a sharp "hiss" from Socks, who wanted to lick at the yummy food, but was distracted by his tiny doppleganger.

Curious, Socks took a step closer. Tweetie, remained eager and friendly, with tail held high. Perhaps he hoped he could play with Socks soon?

Socks and Tweetie sniffed each other's face through the screen. Though Tweetie did nothing to provoke him, Socks hissed and Tweetie hissed only in retaliation. This cat may be big and look strangely familiar, but Tweetie wasn't gonna be no scaredy cat.

Food Lady reached down to comfort Socks, but shocked by the sudden distraction, he lashed out with another quick hiss, this time at Food Lady. This is not unusual and it's worth noting that when a cat is stressed, a comforting voice, staying neutral is great, but hands off until the cat is in a relaxed state. Yes, this is how I got bit-trying to handle a cat who was highly stressed and I assumed I could deal with him. Wrong! Sometimes it's better to let things cool off a bit, if possible.

Fortunately, Food Lady was only startled, but not hurt. Socks just wanted to let us know he was distressed at this visitor. Point taken.

Then Tweetie was given some food, which he happily ate, regardless of the giant cat towering over him with the rather silly attempt to scare him with his almost pouffless tail. We all had hoped that Socks would just eat and relax, instead of try to look menacing, but he ran off.

With a bit of cajoling, we were able to encourage Socks to return. Tweetie was still ready to be friends, but Socks wasn't ready for that. With a short, guttural growl and quick hiss, Socks ran off again, seemingly for good, this time. Poor Tweetie. He just wanted to make friends. He behaved far better than I could have hoped. He didn't run and hide. He didn't flip out. He was brave and confident. Gone was the fearful feral kitten I once knew.

Finally, Face to Face. Tweetie Wonders; "Are You My Daddy?"

Even though the introduction was far from a Hollywood Ending, it could have been much worse. Penny will need time to come around or she'll just stay in "her space" and avoid any interaction with Tweetie. Socks showed interest and although felt threatened by the newcomer, he returned, just moments after running off, with tail held high, looking as fabulous and calm as ever.

It was time for me to go. Enough excitement for all the kitties for one day. Time to let them all relax. I asked for a moment to say goodbye to Tweetie and everyone kindly left the room. I stepped over the window screens and Tweetie dashed behind the toilet. I called to him and he came right over to me. Unsure of what was going on in this new place, with new smells and a giant cat hissing at him, he was still willing to leave the safety of his hiding place. I picked him up, then was surprised to see a mirror on the wall in front of us. I hadn't noticed it before. Tweetie looked at the reflection just as I did. I took a mental portrait of us at that moment, sorely wishing I had my camera. It was the first time I ever saw myself with Tweetie and it made me tear up. I realized this may be the last time I ever hold this sweet little cat. The last time I feel his quick purr or hear his goofy burble. I got to this moment with a lot of hard work, patience, a few painful bites on my finger and a lot of love. Though my heart suddenly ached, there was nothing more that I could do other than to kiss his forehead and leave him to settle in his new home. I promised myself I wouldn't cry in front of his new family. It was a tough promise to keep.

This is my life; to socialize feral kittens and to help find them good homes. I'd done my part. Now it was up to Food Lady and the rest of her family to decide if Tweetie will be a good fit in their home. Part of me wishes it wouldn't work out so I could take him back, but I realize I'm being entirely selfish and this just feels like the place where Tweetie was meant to be-I know again with my silly predictions!

I hope that Sockington and Penny will find their way to love Tweetie, as I have, and that their home is filled with a lifetime of joy. I really enjoyed meeting Socks. He's just awesome in every way. I'd love to get to know Penny. I feel badly we only had a moment to visit with her. She's really a beautiful girl. I wish I could tell them both that it's going to be okay. That they'll still be just as famous and just as loved, if not moreso than before.

Food Lady and Fat...err...Mr. Scott are both focused on what's best for all the cats. Their sincere desire to make certain the introduction is done in the most positive manner possible is truly impressive. They're very good people who I hope to become friends with as the days pass.

Here's to new beginnings-a new chapter, of either Tweetie's visit?...or Tweetie's rise to fame, alongside his older mentor, Sockington?

What will happen to this little fella? He no longer has to fear being released into the woods, but will Tweetie's visit turn into an adoption or will he come back to Connecticut to find a new home?

All I can say about that is, of course, stay tuned...and...shoot! I forgot to get a pawtograph!

Ten weeks have passed since Gabby, the feral mama, and her 3 surviving kittens came to live with me. So much has changed since that first day.

Gabby did a great job as a Mom, giving me little to do, other than make sure she got PLENTY to eat and stay the f- away from her! I tried a few times to sweetly coax Gabby to take food from a spoon or enjoy a treat, but she could only hiss her reply that she was not gonna come around-not one tiny bit.

As you know Gabby was eventually taken to be spayed, get her shots and ear tip, then was released to her caretaker Larry's property. I was told she was very happy to return to familiar surroundings.

The kittens have grown well and even though there were a few setbacks, such as Pixie's broken toe and Twinkles reluctance to eat, but by their last few days, they all seemed to be thriving.

As expected, the Spay surgery did take a lot out of little Twinkles. She was very thin when I got her back from the Vet, but quickly gave her lots and lots of good food, which she enthusiastically ate.

Since the Pre-Adoption forms had long since been filled out and approved, my last remaining task was keep the kittens occupied until their new families arrived. I can't believe how much they've grown! How they're starting to look more like adults, than kittens and also just how beautiful they all are. I was surprised to see that Sprinkles and Twinkles seem to have very faint tabby markings in their coat! Tre exotique!

The adopters arrived on the same day, not wanting to wait one extra moment after the girls were cleared to go to their new homes. I was glad there are still a few families out there who still want to adopt since our adoptions are dramatically lower than they were last year and we've got older and older kittens in the program as a result. Stinkin' economy!

Sprinkles is going to be called, "Ninja" and will be living with another kitty named Patches, who's not sure he loves his new playmate just yet.

Twinkles and Pixie were adopted together and will be renamed: "Cherry" (for Black Cherry) and Pixie will be named: "Sprite." They'll be enjoying their new home with Snowman the kitty, who seems to be okay with the new arrivals. The kittens will also have a very sweet little girl to play with them named, Chloe, who loves all animals and giggles like crazy at every one she meets.

-----------------

I spent a good part of yesterday cleaning the room, sanitizing the litter pan, dishes, floor and bedding and got the place re-organized and ready to go for the next crew. I'd like to take a few weeks off, but it's Kitten Season and we are overloaded with kittens who need help. So I get the weekend off and on Monday I'll be taking in FIVE BIG KITTENS!
We're not talkin' newborns. These cats are between two and five MONTHS old. I fear they'll be too big and rambunctious. That they'll simply open the door and let themselves out. They'll hang from the ceiling and have kegger parties when I'm not home---or worse, when I AM HOME!

And so, the a new story dawns. I hear rumors that one of the kittens is very shy and needs my help. Will he bite me like Tweetie did or just hide in a corner? WIll I fall in love with him, too and accidently call two of my cats his name? (It's embarrassing to call your OWN cats the name of one of your fosters. Shame on me!).

I have no idea how this is going to shake out. I've never fostered kittens this old before. I better enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasts. I have a feeling things are about to get a bit crazy and I don't need to be a psychic to know that!

My journey with Tweetie ends today. Though I'll still be involved with his life, it'll be from a distance. I've been sick with some sort of stomach bug for a few days and my hormones are percolating at dangerous levels. I'm tired. A perfect day to drive a 280 mile round trip to Boston!

My brain isn't working. I hate being a woman sometimes. Get whacked out hormones, always at the worst possible time, then try to act like a "normal" person while under duress. Ugh.

At the last minute I told Sam I was in trouble and asked him what I should do. Instead of doing the trip solo, Sam offered to drive me. If the weather turned bad, which was likely, he'd have 4wd on his car and I'd not have the stress of the drive up. I didn't want to lean on him, but I had to admit it might be the best for most of us and I promised I'd buy gas and a load of Lox and Bagels at Rein's Deli on the way home. What that man won't do for fish, I swear.

The plan was to leave at 2pm to avoid the worst of Boston traffic. Before leaving, I spent some quality time playing and hanging out with Tweetie. All he wanted to do was sit on my lap, play while sitting on my lap or bite my pants. It was a true Hallmark moment.

I packed up some of Tweetie's favortie toys, a cat blanket that Food Lady brought us that smelled like Sockington, a few cans of food and Tweetie's Vet records. The last thing I packed was Tweetie's Adoption Contract.

Yes. Adoption. Contract. It seems that Food Lady has a bit of a crush on Tweetie to the point of feeling it may just be Kismet that Tweetie should come to live alongside his older twin, Sockington and his cohort in crime, Penny. I've known that this was a possibility since July 23rd. I even predicted it would happen! For some reason, I felt I needed to write down my gut feeling after I'd received a note from Jason, asking to come visit Tweetie. I sealed the prediction in an envelope and showed it to Sam to witness it. Now if I could only get my own Psychic Hotline, maybe I could afford my Vet bill!

I wasn't able to say anything about the possibility until enough time and meetings had passed so that everyone felt comfortable with the idea that maybe Tweetie was destined to be part of the family? Tweetie will be on probation once he arrives at The Socks Army HQ and it'll be up to Food Lady, Fatty, Socks & Penny whether or not Tweetie will stay on "forever."

Even if it doesn't work out, Tweetie can always come home to me and I'll find him, maybe not as an exciting home, but a home nonetheless. No pressure. No worries. There are NO villains here. First...let's get Tweetie to Boston and see what happens next.

We packed up the car and Sam put the car into "drive." Tweetie began crying hysterically. Within less than a block, I'd gotten out of the car and jumped into the back seat, where I stayed for the remainder of the trip. Tweetie was content once he had company. My hormones settled down once I started to pet him. I tried to push the thought out of my mind that this was it-this was the last few hours I was going to spend with Tweetie. I felt my gut lurch and tears well up in my eyes. Was it my tummy troubles returning or the inevitable sadness of letting go? I started this journey fully ready to be responsible for whatever the outcome: releasing Tweetie to the woods or finding him a home. It was never in the plan to keep him with my clutter, but I'd be lying if I said it wouldn't be tough to say goodbye.

Ready or not, it was time to carry on; to leave Connecticut and make our way northeast.

My little furballs are off to be spayed today. I won't see them again until tomorrow afternoon. I miss them already!

:::Crossing fingers::: Hope they do well!

I'm very proud of Tweetie. In less than two weeks, he's come out of his angry shell. The once ferocious feline is now a cuddly bug. He's getting along well with his little friends, Sprinkles, Twinkles and Pixie and even spent all night with them last night and never once had to be sequestered to "his room" to give him a "time out" from the others.

Today we enjoyed some play time, which I also video taped! I hope to post some movies of the kittens as soon as I can work out some of the technical details. You'll laugh when you see Tweetie's reaction when he looks up and sees my big cat, Spencer looking down at him from the balcony railing!

The other kittens, too, are doing well. They're all growing, finally eating their food and truly have a wonderful time with each other. It makes me a bit sad to know that this is their last night together. Tomorrow, very early, the kittens go off to be spayed, while Tweetie and I go on a road trip. By Friday, all the kittens will have gone to their forever homes.

And where are Tweetie and I headed? It was one thing that Tweetie had an audience with Food Lady, Sockington's Mom, but now we've been invited to travel to Boston to visit The Socks Army HQ!

Tweetie and Sockington are going to MEET!

With any luck, tomorrow, from the road, I'll be updating our status on Twitter, as well as posting photos via TwitPic. If you keep any eye on my Twitter feed, you should see how we're doing.

The next question, I'm sure you're asking yourself is: Will TWEETIE BE COMING BACK WITH ME? Or will Tweetie be made a high ranking official of Socks Army OR, as rumors suggest, will Tweetie be asked to carry out orders as Sock's body double, thereby keeping Socks safe?

I can't answer that just now, but what I do know is, who knew? Who knew posting a photo and tweeting about a kitten would take us on this crazy journey?!

Fellow Tweetie Fans-

There've been quite a few exciting things going on behind the scenes here at Covered in Cat Hair HQ. Foremost, is the surprising offer we've received to have a High Ranking Official of The Socks Army come to Connecticut to visit Tweetie!

Rumors abound on whether or not this Official was determined to take a DNA sample, to finally put to rest the fears that Sockington had sired a kitten out of wedlock! What would Penny say? Or would she simply growl at Socks for his catty behavior?

Yesterday afternoon, our fears dissolved into joy as we welcomed our special guest, who was none other than Food Lady, herself! Once she entered our humble HQ, we were happy we'd spent all day Saturday cleaning the litter pans and scouring the food bowls. This was no ordinary visitor, no! This was one who's presence brought all the resident cats to full attention. After all, with can opener in hand, was Food Lady going to feed them, too?

Food Lady, was gracious and compassionate to her subjects. She quietly sipped a refreshment and asked politely about Tweetie. After a few minutes, it was clear, Food Lady need be delayed no longer so she was escorted to Tweetie's lodgings for their first meeting.

Tweetie was the perfect gentleman and ran out from his cat carrier hangout to greet Food Lady properly. She extended a hand to him, which he carefully sniffed. After a few moments, and NO biting, Food Lady began to pet Tweetie, to which he responded by deeply purring.

Food Lady also brought Tweetie his very own cherry red shakeymouse, which not only complemented the color of his coat, but was the perfect size for hours of enjoyment.

Tweetie's audience with Food Lady included a tour of the foster suite and meeting of the other foster kittens, Sprinkles, Twinkles & Pixie; along with a jolly play session and, of course, a one course meal, Friskies Pate, Turkey flavor with Chicken baby food blended with it.

All in all the day passed brilliantly and no one was harmed, though possibly a few fingers were nipped at, but only lightly. Tweetie was sad to see Food Lady go, but she assured him that she would keep in touch and hoped to see him again, soon.

Tweetie was overjoyed at the prospect, but being a kitten, was so tired from all the excitement, all he could do was fall asleep and dream of seeing Food Lady again.

More Sunday Sillies.

Tweetie loves to FLY (and it shows)!

I'm going to try to write while sipping iced tea and nibbling at a chocolate muffin. I know I shouldn't eat it, but heck, some times a girl's gotta eat what a girl's gotta eat. Plus, my pants feel loose. Okay, maybe my stomach popped over the top of my pants so they feel looser, but who can see me right now?

I'm trying to keep muffin bits off the keyboard. Good thing it's one of those uber flat ones from Apple. Less crap can sneak under the keys. Have you ever looked or dusted or CLEANED your keyboard? I got rid of my last keyboard because I swear I heard growling coming from under the "T" key.

For all those concerned, and there were a few, thankyouverymuch!, my finger is not infected and I didn't have to visit the ER. There's one spot near my knuckle that's quite sore, but nothing disgusting is oozing out of it. It should heal in time. I even found a bandage. Good old Sponge Bob Square Pants! I thought I had ones that looked like bacon strips, but I couldn't find them.

Oh! Tweetie. Yes, Tweetie.

Tweetie is insane, but to be fair so are Sprinkles and Pixie. Twinkles, is too mellow to be crazy.

There's an energy that forms when kittens hit about seven weeks old. It grows to explosive proportions that radiates from their tiny little bodies from eight to ten weeks and beyond. They can climb well, run endlessly, jump high, mixed with an insatiable curiousity for everything around them. These changes indicate the time is coming for the kittens to leave!

They start to GET ON MY NERVES!!!!

All these kittens do is RUN RUN RUN, fight, climb up the side of the dog crate...which gives them access to the top of the cable box (nearby), a shelf full of books, and a ton of crap I put high up to keep it away from their destructive paws. Then they...OOPS...knock stuff to the floor, hurt themselves, run so hard they start panting and Tweetie even started foaming at the mouth-which scared the shit out of me.

I ended up putting Tweetie back in his room, alone, to force him to just REST. He was fine in a few minutes, but I was shaken. I tried to just hang out with the Sprinkles and her gang, but they too were too busy poking around, ripping at things, treating me like a scratching post and fighting with each other. They would not sit still even after a good hour of hard playtime-an hour that I witnessed. Who knows how long they were running around BEFORE I was in the room!

It was getting late. Their crazy antics made me feel stressed out. It's weird. Their energy flows so strongly, you can't help but be effected by it. It was like coffeeless surge of caffeine. I had to leave the room and just stare at a TV show for an hour before I felt my pulse slow down. I was ready for bed.

I finally got a decent night sleep thanks to the new pillow I got at Bed, Bath & Banal. I have a "thing" about pillows. I constantly have a problem finding one that supports my gigantically fat head. They're either way too hard, then my neck aches, or they're so mooshy I have to shove my arm under my pillow to give me the support I need. I even blew $150!!!!! on a Tempurpedic pillow. I used it a few nights and it was ok, but then one night I woke up in the middle of the night. I literally could not sit up. All the muscles in my neck were LOCKED. I started screaming and hyperventilating. Poor Sam woke up, did not pee in his pants or the bed, thankfully, and after a few fuzzy minutes of me screaming and writhing, he got the idea to pull me up, then started to dig his iron fingers into my neck to loosen up the muscles, while I began to cry, of course.

Yeah, so I have a thing about good pillows.

So, I'm rested and somewhat refreshed. Ready to face a new day full of insane kitten behavior. Next Wednesday all but Tweetie are getting spayed and their final shots and tests ('cause Tweetie was already vetted). Then Thursday/Friday they'll be going to their new homes and I'll get the house back to myself and my seven bratty cats.

There's a new found appreciation for my own cats, I must admit. Yesterday I jiggled a few toys at them and they just laid there and looked at me. Not one of the cats would actually get up off their big ass to even bat at the toy! I whipped the feather toy past their heads, taunted them, was provocative in my every move and nothing. They just looked at me. Their expressions asking; "Are you quite through now? I'd like to go back to bed OR You could pet me OR you certainly could FEED ME. Other than that, would you mind going away?"

I love kittens. Really, I do, but there's nothing like an old, slow moving, bored cat that really makes my day.

And, by the way, that was a pretty good muffin, too.

This chapter is a difficult one to write both physically and emotionally. Last night I wrestled with whether or not I should leave out what happened and just keep this as a positive, uplifting story, but that's not how life goes some times.

The truth is, socializing feral kittens can be difficult, frustrating and painful. It's part of the process. Some times all the work is for naught. Some times we have to accept the results we get, knowing we did our best. Some times things go beautifully and without a hitch and it's just another notch on our belt of success.

Yesterday, though Tweetie was mellow and friendly, the three kittens I introduced him to, didn't care for him one bit. Poor Tweetie wanted to fit in and play, but they just hissed and arched their tiny backs. Eventually, Tweetie hissed back and ran off to hide in his carrier. I got them all to play together and eat in close proximity, but clearly the kittens were all stressed.

Tweetie putting up with hisses from Sprinkles

Pixie, is not thrilled, while Tweetie looks to make friends elsewhere.

At 6pm Sprinkles' adoptive family come to see her again. Since they also wanted to see Tweetie, I left him in the room, instead of moving him to his private quarters.

Still hoping to make friends. Tweetie tries his luck with Twinkles.

Friend or Foe? Who's that knocking upon my door?

It was clear, fairly quickly, that all the kittens were stressed during the visit. Because it was important that Sprinkles show well, I realized I needed to move Tweetie to his room. Tweetie was upset. I reached to scruff him and he went down right away. A good, submissive move.

Because I was distracted by the visitors, I missed scruffing Tweetie properly and grabbed his shoulder. He flipped out and bit me. Instead of moving my hand, which I SHOULD HAVE DONE, I tried to adjust my grip, but it was too late. Tweetie's teeth sunk deeply into my index finger-the same one he bit a week ago.

Instead of screaming, I calmly let him go, stood up and told him to "go to your carrier." As I walked behind him, he ran into his carrier. I shut the door, preparing to return him to his room. My finger was throbbing painfully and starting to gush blood. Sprinkles' family thought I had magic powers over cats, by getting Tweetie to obey me so quickly, but I just knew he'd run to the first, small, dark place he could find.

I summoned up the courage to be calm and excused myself from the room, bringing Tweetie with me. I put him back in his room and quietly left him to calm down while I took care of my wounds.

I have five bite marks on my finger. It hurts like Hell. I furiously cleaned my finger, fearing infection. I've been down this road before with my very own formerly feral cat, Cricket. He sent me to the hospital once when he didn't want to go to the Vet. He sunk his teeth into my hand. It swelled up like a balloon, even though I cleaned it out. I got a few shots, one in the ass, for my troubles. I wasn't sure this wound was that serious. I sure hoped it wasn't.

The family finally left and I basically fell apart. I haven't slept well for a long while and I was very upset, thinking about Tweetie. He'd made all this great progress. Would his chances of being adopted end because he bit me? Would anyone see past that and feel safe around him?

I know it was MY FAULT that Tweetie bit me. He told me, most clearly, that he was upset and I did not heed his warning signs, so the warnings became more explosive. I never should have touched a cat in the "red zone." I should have re-directed him with a toy and got him into his carrier. My fear was how would he behave now that we've had this "incident?"

I went to bed at 10pm after getting everyone fed. Normally I'm up much later, but my body was aching. I laid in bed and couldn't get comfortable. I tossed and turned, worrying about Tweetie. In my heart, even though he hurt me, I know he didn't mean it.

I got up an hour later and made some chamomile tea. It tastes like ass (actually, I never tasted an ass, so this is just a guess). I brought it into Tweetie's room, not knowing what his state of mind would be.

He was sitting on the cat condo, so I sat on the floor next to it. I didn't reach out to give him a pet, I just looked over at him. He looked at me and burbled, then cocked his head, curious as to why I wasn't petting him. He jumped off the condo and nervously ran past me. He sat on the floor and looked at me as I sipped my tea.

He got up and jumped onto my leg. As I lifted the teacup to my lips, he head-butted my elbow and burbled another greeting. I touched his back and he melted into my lap, looking up at me as if nothing tragic had happened and that everything, as far as he was concerned was just fine...and oh, could I pet him some more so he could purr louder??

So this, my friends, is part of my difficult journey with a cat who has literally gotten under my skin in so many ways. He's a good egg, I promise. I take all the blame for what happened. I'm not sure what this means for him or if it's just another bump in the road? I just hope beyond hope's limits that I can find Tweetie the loving home he so deserves and a band-aid for my finger. I seem to be out.