Kermit's Furrever Home

A Kermit Update

2009-07-04T03:43:56Z

Kermit is mad at me…he said I never write about him anymore. I told him I send e-mails to his friends and I talk about him to everyone. He said that isn’t enough, especially for a cat of his stature.

So, I promised him I would post an update about how he is doing – in a word, GREAT!

Kermit has turned into an absolute love bug! He loves pets and loves to snuggles, especially in the morning when he comes up to my pillow for morning pets.

Kermit loves to play and gets a bit cranky if we don’t play with him regularly. He tries to get Sal and Sylvester to play with him too. Sal will play wit him sometimes, but Sylvester thinks he’s trying to attack him and you can imagine how that goes.

Kermit really enjoys his meals. He gets a portion of wet food for breakfast and dinner and he takes the longest time to eat it, savoring every morsel.

Kermit idolizes Sal although that is a somewhat rocky relationship. Everything will be fine and they’ll be sleeping together or Kermit will be giving Sal a bath. Other times, Sal hisses at him and swats him in the head. A lot of the time Sal will just sigh and sit and tolerate him. Kermit is not deterred though, nor does he hold a grudge, he always tries to be Sal’s best friend.

Kermit and Sylvester act like brothers. They brush against each other and rub each other. Then one or the other will get a look and the other one swats them. As I said above, Kermit tries to get Sylvester to play which results in a series of swats at each other. While Kermit may not hold a grudge, Sylvester does and later on, he’ll take a poke at Kermit when he least expects it.

Kermit and I will be launching his website soon – Kermit the Cat. We’ll keep you posted and let you know when it’s up. In the meantime, Kermit says “Purrs” to you all and sends pets to his feline friends.

Finally Felineship!

2008-11-17T00:13:50Z

As you all know Sal didn’t happily embrace his new little brother Kermit upon arrival. And there are still some days when Sal asks me when Kermit’s visit will be over.

Sal doesn’t hiss at Kermit nearly as much as he used to and he usually tolerates Kermit following him everywhere. During the morning petting sessions, Sal will even kiss Kermit on his head…sadly that is quickly followed by a hiss when Kermit gets too excited about Sal’s kindheartedness.

Even with all of that, they have settled into a kind of acceptance of each other. Well, semi-acceptance on Sal’s part, while Kermit persists in his avid pursuit of Sal’s friendship.

Kermit gives Sal sweet eyes –

Sal won’t walk away when Kermit sits close to him –

They will play together -

Sometimes Kermit sneaks up after Sal has gone to sleep –

So, overall I think it’s going pretty good.

And then something unexpected happened the other morning. Kermit was taking his post-breakfast nap out on one of the chairs on the patio and Sal was on ‘his’ dining room chair. At least that’s where he was…

While we weren’t looking, Sal had quietly slipped up on the chair outside and was snuggling with Kermit!

Sal caught us taking the picture

I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it myself…but it sure does look good to me!

Kermit is Famous!

2008-10-14T02:18:00Z

On our last night at Rescue Village, we had a small get together and Vivian brought us a gift. She handed us a plastic bag that obviously held a book.

I pulled the book out of the bag and it was The Cats of Kittyville

“Oh Vivian, thank you so much. I didn’t even know they had published this.”

“It was just released along with Dogtown

We all gathered around as I turned the pages, oohing and ahhing at some of our favorite cats and at others we had not met.

“Just wait.” Vivian said with a huge smile.

We got to page 35 and the start of the chapter Reaching Out to Rescue, the story of the Nye County Rescue. The facing page held a familiar picture of Sherry feeding cats in the yard in Pahrump. The first page of the chapter showed a smiling Brianne holding Andrew – another cat that is a big favorite of everyone’s.

Page after descriptive page told the story of the Great Kitty Rescue and then much to our further surprise, when we came to page 41, there was our beloved Kermit! They had chosen Kermit as one of the cats to spotlight as a successful graduate of the Finishing School.

We brought the book home and showed it to Kermit.

“Hmmm?” (Is that me?)

"Yes it is Kermit."

“Meow?” (Why am I in that book?)

So I explained to him what a special boy he is and how he was chosen to represent his feline friends that attended the Finishing School with him.

He looked at me with his big sea green eyes, his crumpled ears pushed forward – a sign of inquisitiveness - and said “Hmmm!” (That’s pretty neat Mom!)

“Yes, Kermit, it really is,” I answered as I reached down to scratch his chin before he scampered off to tell Sal about his newly discovered “fame”.

Now we just have to make sure it doesn’t go to his head; he’s already had a few requests for autographs!

The Elevator Butt Roll

2008-10-07T03:24:15Z

Kermit just loves pets! He can’t seem to get enough of them.

When we walk by him napping on the bed he lifts his head. “Hmmm?” (Can I have a pet?)

When we wake up in the morning, he comes up between Bob, I, and Sal. “Hmmm, hmmm.” (I’d like some pets please.)

When we are petting Sal, he comes up and rubs against our hands. “Hmmm?” (What about me?)

When we go into the bathroom, he scampers in after us. “Hmmm, hmmm!” (I love these pets!). It’s getting a little crazy; you cannot go into the bathroom without him coming from wherever he is to solicit pets!

His favorite pet is what we’ve named, The Elevator Butt Roll.

Kermit really likes having the base of his tail scratched. As soon as you touch it, he starts to purr. His chin goes down to the floor and his butt elevates into the air. He holds that position for just seconds though before he flops over onto his side and begins rolling in a circle as you continue to rub the base of his tail.

He looks so content and happy doing his elevator butt roll, we can’t help but smile.

As I was petting him the other morning and he was rolling all over the bed, two thoughts came to mind. First, I was so thankful that he had graduated from Miss Sherry’s Finishing School, because I know that without that socialization he would still be a terrified frozen kitty.

My second thought was for the other Pahrump kitties left behind who will not benefit from the Finishing School and who may never know the absolute joy of unending pets, unconditional love and mutual trust.

Every cat that was socialized and learned to trust us discovered his or her love of pets. Even the most terrified cats like Paprika, Audrey and Astro. As you’ll read in his blog, our foster cat Sylvester, (who is one of the few documented feral cats from Pahrump), purrs every time I pet him.

These purrs are truly music to my ears.

Kermit Learns to Love Sleeping with His Family

2008-09-16T07:00:16Z

When bedtime rolls around, Sal is usually right there with us. He waits until faces are washed, teeth brushed, and we are settled before he chooses his spot on the bed.

Kermit on the other hand initially acted as if the bedroom at night was the portal to a Grimm’s Fairy Tale.

It took a month, but finally in the early part of July Kermit was brave enough to venture into the bedroom at night. He jumped, thumped and skidded his way onto the bed. He woke us, (imagine that?). But we dared not move for fear of frightening him.

For a full month, the orange flash would appear anytime one of us rolled over or moved just a little too much.

Thanks to Peter Wolf for Kermit’s logo – watch for it in stories of the Orange Flash!

Eventually, he and Sal took turns sleeping on the window perch. If Kermit gets it, Sal sleeps by my side. If Sal gets it, Kermit sleeps at Bob’s feet.

Then at the beginning of August, (August 11th, but who’s keeping a timeline?), he slept almost the entire night on the bed with the three of us and he didn’t jump or run when we moved.

By the beginning of September, he was snuggling between Bob and I on the bed in the early morning hours, just laying there loving his morning pets.

He also happily accepts pets during the night whenever one of us wakes and finds him staring at us. “Hmm?” (Are you going to give me pets?)

He’ll do the same when we move and he slightly wakens, “Hmmm” (Oh, you’re awake, are you going to pet me?)

However, he particularly loves the early morning pets. He, in contrast to his cousin Paprika, seems to be a morning kitty.

Kermit has made great strides this week. First, Kermit gave me kisses in the middle of the night up on the bed!

Then the next morning, Kermit came right up to my head for pets. I am seeing that besides being food motivated, Kermit is pet motivated. I just cry to think how long he went without this unconditional love and pets and cuddling – he loves it so much.

We still have Groundhog Day moments, but he is being so brave, has learned to trust us so much, and seems really happy to be part of the family. For now, that feeling is particularly strong when he joins the family for a ‘good’ nights sleep.

So, truth of the matter – at first we just didn’t have the camera by the bed. So, I got smart and kept it near my pillow. But, Kermit is SO aware of the camera and is extremely camera shy, (believe it or not seeing how many photos I’ve taken – just ask Bob!). Thus, no accompanying photos in this blog ?)

Instead, here he is sleeping on the chair on the deck:

He does enjoy his naps!

Kermit Loves His Daddy

2008-09-10T07:19:05Z

As you all know, Kermit (with some help from Terri, Barbara, Danielle and who else? All conspiracy theories aside) adopted us.

It was a big commitment and we had some hesitations about how well Kermit would adjust, how Sal would like him, would he like us, would we like him? We (particularly me Bob will tell you) always liked Kermit. He wasn’t super dynamic keeping post on his tree, but he had such a cute way about him and he loved having the back of his ears scratched.

We took him on more than one sleepover in the RV and he was so sweet.

So, as you all know we took the plunge and brought Kermit home with us.

In short order, Kermit had us under his beautiful white paw.

Then the magic happened…we fell in love with him. How could you not? Anyone would.

I was ready for it, but I think Bob was a little more surprised.

But just look at how they have bonded:

Don’t you think it’s true love?

Kermit Speak

2008-09-07T03:20:36Z

Thankfully, Kermit’s loud middle of the night yowling sessions are a thing of the past. He hasn’t yowled in ages. I guess maybe he likes it here ?

But, neither has he gone completely silent. Kermit has a repertoire of sounds he employs depending on the situation.

Mostly he hums. Yup, I said hums.

“Hmmm?” (Can I come up?) He asks as he jumps onto the bed in the morning. And the thing is that the hum actually goes up in pitch at the end.

“Hmmm, hmmm?” (Is it time for breakfast?) he asks as he sits in the doorway of the kitchen. He figured out that routine pretty quickly.

“Hmmm? (Do you want to play with me?) He asks with is front paw lifted, his head tilted and his ears twirled front wards.

“Hmmm!” (Hi, you’re home!). I just love it when he greets us when we walk in.

He hums at Sal too, but he also reserves a quiet little meow just for Sal.

He looks at Sal, opens his mouth and emits a lilting, low keyed “m e o w”.

His chattering and chirping he saves for the birds sitting in the wires outside the bedroom window.

“Arr, arr, oww, oww” (Birds! Birds! Look at the birds!). When this happens Sal just looks at Kermit with disdain. I think Sal thinks it is undignified to chatter at the birds. That doesn’t deter Kermit though, he thinks it is all very exciting.

So, our Kermit has become quite the vocalist, albeit on a quiet and soft spoken scale. I’m not sure Sal knows what to make of Kermit’s humming. In turn, Kermit doesn’t seem disturbed when Sal speaks the typical cat “Meow, meow!” in a rather loud voice. Thus, our home is happily filled with a feline symphony of quite the variety of sounds.

Camp Out Anyone?

2008-08-27T07:08:17Z

Sally likes to “hide” under make shift tents and pretend you can’t see him. We’ve played this game for quite some time and when I made him a tent of an afghan hanging off the edge of the couch, Kermit became quite intrigued.

He scooted into the tent – much to Sally’s chagrin – and settled down for an afternoon nap.

This was not what Sally had in mind, but Kermit was quite content.

Sally studied the lump under the afghan and settled on the outside pretending Kermit wasn’t under there.

Eventually, Sally wondered what the heck Kermit was doing under there and tried to draw him out.

By the way, that lump under the afghan is Kermit!

Kermit can be VERY determined and he wasn’t coming out no matter what Sally did. Sally finally gave up and they compromised on staying on opposite sides of the “tent”

Sally no longer has any interest in going into the tent now that Kermit has claimed it … yet another statement from him about his displeasure about Kermit being here. But, as you can see from the photos, there is hope that they will develop a good relationship. We are ever hopeful.

By the way, in contrast to the cats starting Finishing School, Kermit's paw is not raised ready to strike. He raises his paw when he wants a pet :-)

Kermit Loves to Play

2008-08-24T05:11:03Z

Kermit loves to play! Yes, the very same orange fellow who sat in his cat tree all day long at the Finishing School, who showed no interest in toys, wands, sections of rope, feathers or any other manner of cat toy loves to play.

It surprised us as much as anyone. I mean, we’ve known him since last December and never saw this side of him. And what a delightful, heart-warming side it is!

Here is what I call the Blanket Series. It is a series of photos I took while Bob played with Kermit. Since I do not yet have a video recorder, I must make due with still shots – look at them fast to catch the movement ;-)

This is right before Bob got Kermit's attention.

Now the action starts! Use your imagination ;-)

Oops! Caught me taking the picture.

Pretending not to care about playing because I am watching and taking pictures.

LOL - he can't help himself!

Time to let the boys play in peace …

Kermit has A Special Message

2008-08-19T09:04:32Z

Kermit sends a special message today to say farewell to his feline friends Cover Girl and Mags -

"Meooww :-(" I am so sorry you won't get to keep learning how to trust these really good humans and to feel their pets and love and to have all the food and fresh water you need.

"Meow, meow." But I know that you will both be playing with the others who have passed on the Rainbow Bridge, a really special place. Say hello for me and tell them how much these humans care for them all .. and you too!

The Sentry

2008-08-13T05:07:37Z

You may have already gleamed that Kermit is a night owl. He arises after sundown and stays pretty darn active until sunrise.
I’ve looked closely at his teeth, (well, as close as I can get yet), and I’m pretty sure he’s not a feline vampire. Plus, Bob and I both love to cook and there’s always plenty of garlic around and he doesn’t seem to mind it.

We became used to hearing him running around the living room and skidding into the carpet runner outside our bedroom door throughout the night. And Carrie was right; you do sort of get used to it and fall back asleep. Also, we both started taking Zrii and that contributes to a good night’s sleep … but I digress.

Kermit as those of you have met him know, is not a petite cat, so the first time he leapt onto the nightstand across from Bob’s side of the bed, all three of us jumped – that would be Bob, Sally and I. When we made those sudden movements, Kermit of course got startled and was gone – the Orange Flash as Bob likes to call him.

Happy to see him venturing into the bedroom at night, I called out to re-assure him “It’s okay Kermit, you can come back.”

No sign of him as we all drifted back to sleep.

“Thump!”

“He’s back,” Bob said groggily.

“I know, don’t move.” I answered.

Now semi-wide awake, we watched him, not looking him directly in the eye for fear of his reaction. He sat on the nightstand with perfect kitty posture and observed us with those huge sea green eyes.

“What do you think he’s doing?” I whispered.

“I don’t know.”

Again, we drifted off to sleep.

“Boing!” He made it to the bed for a brief second before he claimed the window perch. He was on my side of the bed now. I snuck a peak and he was watching intently, making sure no one was making a move towards him.

I drifted in and out of sleep and whenever I woke up, Kermit was always watching us, standing sentry.

About 6:00am, Sally came forward for his good morning pets and as I rolled over, Kermit leapt from the window perch to the floor, barely skimming the bed.

As Sal and I settled in together, Bob said, “Don’t make any sudden moves, but can you see Kermit?”

“Where is he?”

“Look over at my side of the bed.”

I strained to look over Bob’s back, trying to make the smallest of motions and saw two large eyes topped by two crumbled ears and big fluffy paws planted on either side for balance.

“Awe,” I sighed, “he’s so darn cute!”

And the Orange Flash was gone. But at least he was here for awhile.

P.S. As you can imagine, there was no way to get a photo of our orange fellow much less the Orange Flash!

But here is Sal on the same window perch:

Kermit's Refresher Course

2008-07-30T05:26:40Z

Kermit has been running quite a bit and hiding – in Finishing School, that’s a “no-no”.
Bob and I talked it over, thought of what Terri would say and decided it’s time to insist on a classroom refresher.

We gently persuaded Kermit to come out from under the bed – picture me lying on my stomach, half way under the bed, finger of baby food extended. I guess on a positive note I’m getting more stretching exercise than if I went to the gym.

Given Kermit’s Ground Hog Day attitude, we decided that modified lap time would work best. This consisted of having Kermit lie on the bed beside me. I held him gently and gave him lots of pets. We set a goal of 10 minutes.

He is very smart our boy – he would take baby food from Bob’s finger and when he thought he had us both lolled into a false sense of security, he would try to bolt. I explained to him that I had worked with tougher guys than he and I wasn’t going to let him skip class today.

After the ten-minute mark, I carried him into the living room fully expecting a major revolt when I set him down. Instead, he stayed out in the open, sat (albeit a little warily) and watched Sal and us. When I crawled over to him, he sniffed my out stretched finger and leaned in for a pet behind his ear.

Although he resisted the classroom time at first, ultimately he made yet another step towards trusting us more. He saw that all we gave him was love, pets and baby food – and that’s all good.

It still amazes me to see how one little session like that can make such a difference. Subtle but super effective!

Ground Hog Day

2008-07-16T20:43:20Z

We’re all settling into our new routines with the addition of Kermit to our home. However, somebody’s routine is a little too exact and quite disconcerting.

“Good morning Kermit! How’s my boy this morning?”

“Oh my gosh, who are you? What do you want? You’re not going to hurt me are you?”

All I see are those big eyes staring at me as if he’s never seen me before.

“Kermit, what’s the matter buddy?” As I approach him, he runs.

Once he finds his safe spot du jour, I crawl up to him slowly, hand out-stretched. He cowers a little, but doesn’t run and lets me scratch his ear.

“How about some baby food?”

“Okay, but I’m still not sure about you. But, I love this baby food.”

The more he laps up the baby food, the more he relaxes.

Bob and I both repeat this scenario with Kermit throughout the day. By the end of the evening, he is calm, seems to know AND like us and all is right in our worlds.

“Goodnight Kermit, have a good night and try to sleep in.”

Kermit’s chirping wakes me and then I hear the patter of his paws as he starts his laps. I glance at the clock (why I don’t know, I have a pretty good idea what time it is). As suspected, it’s 4:00 am and Kermit sounds happy and is acting like a cat. This gives me some peace of mind as I drift off back to sleep.

The next morning:

“Good morning Kermit! How’s my boy this morning?”

“Oh my gosh, who are you? What do you want? You’re not going to hurt me are you?”

All I see are those big eyes staring at me as if he’s never seen me before.

“Kermit, what’s the matter buddy?” As I approach him, he runs.

Once he finds his safe spot du jour, I crawl up to him slowly, hand out-stretched. He cowers a little, but doesn’t run and lets me scratch his ear.

“How about some baby food?”

“Okay, but I’m still not sure I like you. But, I love this baby food.”

The more he laps up the baby food, the more he relaxes.

Bob and I both repeat this scenario with Kermit throughout the day. By the end of the evening, he is calm, seems to know AND like us and all is right in our worlds.

“Goodnight Kermit, have a good night and try to sleep in.”

This routine replays day after day. The days are melting into weeks.

“Kermit, you’ve known us for months now and even though it hasn’t been 24/7, we’ve spent a lot of time with you. We’ve had you in the RV for sleepovers and now you’re living with us. Don’t you think you should stop acting as if you’ve never seen us before?”

Just then, Bob walks into the room and Kermit takes one look at him and runs.

“That’s right Kermit, you’d better run. Do you want to be killed; do you want to be murdered?” (Bob is a big fan of Arsenic and Old Lace)

“That’s not helping. Do you think I should e-mail Terri and ask her if they ever noticed anything wrong with Kermit’s memory?”

“What do you think Kermit?”

The only response we get are those big sea green eyes staring up at us.

Speed Racer

2008-07-15T05:24:07Z

Go, go Speed Racer, he's a demon on four paws ...

I read an article recently that said that cats are not truly nocturnal animals. They are supposedly naturally most active at sundown and sunrise. This is because those are the best times for hunting.

Well, we live in southern California and the sun does not rise at 4:00 am, but Kermit certainly does. He sometimes even pushes it, awakening at 3:30 am.

The howling has stopped replaced by these sweet little chirps … that would be even sweeter a little later in the day.

You may wonder what it is that Kermit does when he awakens so early and everyone else in the house is still sleeping. Well, Kermit runs, and he doesn’t just run, he gallops and charges. He tears around the living room taking numerous laps then he finishes with a flourish skidding into the carpet runner in the hallway outside the bedroom door.

Did I mention that I haven’t had a full, uninterrupted night's sleep since we brought Kermit home?

None of us gets up to see what havoc he is creating, not even Sal who thinks 6:00 am would be a more dignified time to arise. So, it is not until the next morning that we see exactly what Kermit has gotten into … can you say everything?

The various toys are scattered from one end of the living room to the other. The cat scratcher is upended, its corrugated cardboard core sitting a foot away from the base with a trail of catnip connecting the two pieces.

The blanket from the couch is pulled half way out to the balcony … maybe he was trying to make a bed outside?

And in the aftermath, Kermit sits in his spot du jour acting as innocent as can be and ready for breakfast and a nap.

The Yowling

2008-07-10T04:44:25Z

He looks peaceful doesn't he? But as the old saying goes, looks can be deceiving.

Every night Bob and I go up to Kermit (on hands and knees so as not to startle) to give him some pets and to say goodnight. He seems more and more relaxed and still loves his head scratched and his ears rubbed. He is also getting quite adept at “elevator butt”.

“Good night Kermit, you be a good boy.”

Bob, Sal, and I head for the bedroom – Kermit hasn’t ventured there yet. As we settle down for the night, I can’t help but feel a little apprehension. After all, there is a new cat in the house and he won’t join the rest of the family for a good night’s sleep. "A good night's sleep, did I really say that?!

3:00 am – “MEOOOOWWW!”

“What … What’s the matter Kermit?”

After the first two nights, neither of us jumped out of bed. We became more reflective, “what do you suppose wakes him up at three o’clock in the morning?”

3:00 am – “MEOOOOWWW!”

“It’s okay Kermit. Kermit, come here. What’s the matter Kermie?”

“What do you suppose he’s thinking?”

3:00 am – “MEOOOOWWW!”

“Kermie, come here Kermie. (One can always hope) It’s okay Kermit.”

“Maybe he doesn’t like the dark.”

So the next night after our good night ritual, I left a night light on for him and it did seem to help or perhaps he was working through whatever it was that was causing him such distress.

I have since spoken with a few adopters of a cat from the Great Kitty Rescue and apparently, this is a common behavior for the first week or two. We’ll never know of course but have contemplated just what it is that causes them to wake up in the middle of the night screaming. Is it because it is dark? Is it because they’ve had a nightmare about being back in Pahrump? Is it because they woke up alone instead of in the midst of hundreds of other cats?

As I said, we’ll never know for sure. Perhaps it is a little of all of it. Kermit’s middle of the night anxiety attacks lasted about a week – thankfully for all involved. I’m hoping that he will never feel again whatever it was that caused him such distress – I’ve made him a promise that we’ll do our best to make sure he doesn’t.