Koko and Shiro (formerly Milk) seem to be very much enjoying their stay with Andrew and Yoko. The couple have decided to adopt Shiro and to continue fostering Koko until he finds his permanent home. We received some adorable pictures of the two kitties today, and I just had to share one on the blog!

The weather has gotten to that nice mild point where it's not too hot or too cold--seems earlier than usual, this year. We've had some really lovely bright, comfortable days. Cleaning is so much easier when we don't have to battle the heat! The kitten enclosure is down to a more manageable number, after the recent Tokyo exodus. Gina also kindly offered to take Alexandra and Josie back for foster care. The two girls just couldn't seem to adjust comfortably to life in the shelter, and Josie was losing weight over it. I'm very relieved that they're going back to a situation that they find more comfortable. Chobi's appetite improved at the beginning of the week, and she finally started eating well, but her diarrhea never really improved. Her weight has steadily dropped, no matter what the medical intervention, and the doctors can't find what's causing the problem. We originally thought coccidium, but no parasites or bacteria could be found over several checks. She's had her share of problems ever since she came in at such a young age, but this one has really got us worried. She's spending the night at the clinic, but none of us knows quite what we can do for her now. I so hope the doctor can figure out a solution.

Received a lovely scrapbook from the cat cafe that adopted two of our rescues from the park last year! Cafe Nyanny seems like a very nice place, and we're really pleased to see our two kitties enjoying their new lives. The kind staff there even organized a fund raising event to show their appreciation. See the whole scrapbook....

Working on a better way to advertise available kittens. I put together a new "Nursery" page, and am hoping that this shows everybody off a bit better. There are literally dozens more kittens from local TNR projects also in need of re-homing, and currently waiting in foster care with TNR project managers. Of course there are also the kittens regularly taken to the local animal control center to be destroyed. The constant race against time and budget to get as many into homes in order to free up resources to rescue more is daunting. For me, one big reason I'm willing to work so hard, is the possibility of having a measurable impact on the number of kittens sent to be destroyed. Regardless of the necessity, I continue to find it devastating to have to halt intakes, particularly when we have been given the rare opportunity to work this way with animal control. There are the lives, and there's also the dream of really changing things. I realize that change is not a big motivator here, but it's essential to my sense of success. These days I'm trying to rethink the plan, and to see how we could improve our strategy. I know we won't see change happen overnight, but I want to remain committed to that goal.