Torties!

Patty and Tricia are two lovely tortie girls who love each other very much. They were rescued, with two male cats, by kind neighbors after their "owners" moved away and just left their four cats outside to fend for themselves. Boyfriends Theo and Owl have both found homes, but not our girls. Tricia is a mellow cuddler and Patty is an energetic player, and together they are a delightful duo. Plus, their beautiful tortoiseshell coats will bring just the right touch of glamour to your home. They are very attached to each other and will keep each other happy and healthy while also lavishing their new person with lots of attention.

Love tortoiseshells but just can't take two? We also have gorgeous Foxy available. Foxy was foraging for food in a Hyde Park resident's yard. She was afraid after who-knows-what kind of ordeal but once she was brought inside she was found to have a sweet disposition. She is a knock-out of a long-haired tortoiseshell.

Sophie nursing

Sophie nursing her kittens

Folks! We have LOTS of KITTENS who need forever homes! Cute and cuddwy widdle kittens! We need adopters. Please, only excellent adopters need apply.

What are you staring at?

What? Do I have something in my teeth? What?

Sweet Pea mini-update

Sweet Pea fans and followers, good news. Sweet Pea is in a foster-to-adopt situation. That is all I want to say right now ... but rest assured she is indoors, and her new mom has her on the path to Real Kittydom.

Holly snuggle

Too bad Holly has such a hard time finding a cuddly place to relax in her fosterhome. Can you give Holly a foreverhome? She is a sweet and loving kitty, playful, an all-around darling.

Thanks to Tanya and Mike H. for donating towards the Cornell cats! Volunteers will be TNRing “Tanya’s Tribe” this weekend: Blondie, Camille, Corey, Devon and Sparkle (4 females, 1 male ... imagine how many kittens they could have made this summer!!!) Thanks also to Walter for transporting the cats to Tree House on Saturday and picking them up again on Saturday evening. Please send good vibes for a successful colony TNR.

Charlie ben Gurion

Meet Charlie ben Gurion, an active, friendly, rollicking young cat…he LOVES to have attention from anyone who comes along! Charlie is a 10-month-old male, very friendly. He really enjoys cuddling with his foster parents, especially sleeping right next to them at night. He has a lot of love and affection to give, and is seeking a forever home which either already has a nice feline companion for him or to be adopted with another kitty (we will help you make a match).

See more pix of this handsome dude!

Charlie is being fostered in Hyde Park and is available for immediate adoption.

Houdini update

Houdini's adoptive mom says "Houdini is absolutely amazing. My son and I have completely fallen in love with him and are amazed at how well behaved he is. He demeanor is calm and ever so friendly. Here he is as handsome as ever!!

Thank you for such an amazing cat.....he is perfect!!"

Ah, that's what we like to hear. We have other perfect cats available for adoption! Good luck HOUDINI!

Mutants from the Planet Cute

Top to bottom: Mlle. Martha, M. Maurice, M. Maxime from the planet Cute, where all kittehs are fwuffy and gwey ... and French. These are new shots of trois bebes de Minette. Martha's a girl, Maurice and Max are boys; they're all coma-inducingly cute, non? Non?

Holly

Found: one filthy cat cowering in a stairwell at 60th off Washington Park. Now fixed, vaxed, neg/neg and named Holly. You hardly ever see a marmalade ladycat! Holly is a young adult (2?) who loves to chase string and sit in the window observing the birds ... to sit in laps and just purr and purr. Look no further, oh you who seek a lapcat. Holly is available for immediate adoption.

orphan video

Annie, Lennon, and Poe at play in fostermom Emily's home. Available! for! adoption!

Sweet Pea needs help

Dear readers; after having her four babies at a construction site, being relocated to a foster home, and nursing her babies to glorious health, Sweet Pea has now come to a crossroads in her life. All four kittens have found their forever homes (Manga and Chutney went home together, as did Truffle and Pistou). But we have not found a home for Sweet Pea. If we cannot find a space for her by next Friday at the latest we will have to return her to the outside. Can you help? Please post and forward this appeal.

Sweet Pea is shy. She enjoys petting, brushing, and scratching, but does not want to be picked up. She's a little afraid of people, and would do best in a quieter household. She is not aggressive at all, but she is a hisser. It's just her way! She should be in a home with at least one feline companion. An older male would be perfect. Sweet Pea has made social strides while in our care and could progress more with a patient home. She is spayed, neg/neg, and vaccinated.

I have an actual feralish cat in my own home and, while I regret not being able to pet her, she's become part of our household. She loves to sit with my male cat; she even goes out onto the patio. Cats like this are stuck between two worlds ... can't be adopted because they are too shy for a shelter environement; can't be streeted because that would break our hearts. Poor Sweet Pea was not part of a colony, so she'd be on her own outside.

She loves to sit on the windowsill and bask in the sunlight.

Louise update

Louise is at home! Mom Brigit sent us an update: "She is doing just great and becomes more sociable by the day. She is totally comfortable with me...when I get home she comes out to say hi and jumps around my feet. She gets annoyed with me if I do not pay as much attention to her as she thinks I should when I'm doing homework, and in the last couple days she's started sleeping in my bed. Her fear of other people seems to have also lessened, in that I often have a couple friends over and she has so far been very approachable with them and likes to be petted by pretty much anyone. Definitely a success....thanks again for everything!" See Louise's journey. Some of our cats and kittens available for adoption have similar stories and will also make wonderful lifetime companions.

Brigit -- thank you! And thanks to Heather S. for saving her, and to Claire for fostering her! Good luck LOUISE!

The Dharma Initiative

formatting is cutting off part of this video: for better video click here


Dharma was discovered, with five very tiny kittens, under a car. She was brought to ACC at the very moment we were arriving to choose some cats and kittens for our rescue. Dharma never even made it into ACC proper; we took her and her carrier and put it into our car and now she's in the loving care of Fostermom Melissa. Erica and Emilia, who found Dharma and brought her, cried when we said we'd take her (and gave us a nice donation) ... thanks, ladies, and rest assured we're taking good care of these kittehs.

Sadly the smallest and weakest of Dharma's kittens died. RIP Freckles; we're glad we could give you a little bit of time in a loving home, and that you didn't die under that car.

Please view our cats and kittens available for adoption. We need homes for the cats in our care! Please forward widely.

Minette et trois bebehs

Mamakitty Minette and her three adorable puffy grey bebehs were part of our haul at ACC last Wednesday. What a difference a week and some time in Fostermom Claire's home make! Look at these puffballs! I love the grey-and-white variations. Please consider adopting Minette plus un bebeh.

OMG KITTENS!

Meet Sophie, formerly Skinnymom, and her one ... two ... three ... four ... five ... SIX KITTENS! Last Wednesday Hyde Park Cats volunteers Terren and Ainat (and our kiddie volunteers, aka "the girls") went to ACC (Animal Care and Control). We had been asked to take some orphan kittens and nursing momcats. It was a very difficult trip; there are so very many beautiful cats and kittens (we didn't see the dogs), senior cats given up by their owners, strays, sick orphans, etc. We came back with one mama + five babies, one mama + three babies, and three orphans. But we were up all night instant-messaging about Skinnymom, who had clearly wanted so desperately to come with us, who rose up from her cage and meowed at us: "Take us! Take us!" So the next day Mireille made the trip and got us our Skinnymom, now safely with Danna, who has named her Sophie. Sophie has five little tigers and one little black-n-white. They are all adorable and will be available for adoption soon, as will Sophie.

orphans day two

Orphans, still nameless, will be ready for adoption in a few short weeks time. These kittens must be adopted in a pair (or you can adopt all three); the third kitten will either be paired with a kitten from one of our other litters or you must have an appropriate feline companion at home.

thanks to Martha B., who donated in honor of Danielle Dai’s B.A. Mazel tov, Danielle!

Happy ending update: Teddy, Mittens

This delightful photo is an update of Broken Leg Kitty, she of many names. Her fostermom wrote in recently to tell us "the once very tiny kitten that we got has really grown up and doing very well. My daughter says 'Come here precious kitty.' And the cat sleeps in my son's bed every night. As you can see, she gets a lot of attention." Happy ending and good luck MITTENS!

Veronica wrote in with an update on Teddy: "Teddy, whom I found by the lake front early last October (when he was about three months old) is now a full-blown teenager. He's outgrown his kittenish rotundity, and is more lean and muscular than when he was a baby. Thanks, as always, to HydeParkCats for their willingness to help out when I first found him, before I knew I would be able to keep him for life." Here is a link to a run-down on Teddy's recent activities. He's so cute. Good luck TEDDY!

Don't forget to check our available for adoption list. We have many wonderful cats seeking forever homes.

Thanks to recent donors: Mackenzie S and Ginny L.

Orphans

Three orphan kittens brought to you by Animal Care and Control. Now safely with Emily. They were with me for a night, but they were just too cute to be left with my little girls. We might cause part of Hyde Park to implode with cuteness!

KITTEN NAMING CONTEST. I am seeking three names of great or famous orphans of history, mythology, literature, etc. We have one girl and two gender-unknowns. To enter: send one to five dollars either to paypal or via check, and leave your suggestion in the comment box.

Thanks to Karen J. and Katherine G. for their recent gifts!

Luka in the ruins

Luka visibly upset at the MJK Alley. Catastrophe! The abandoned house where the cats had shelter has been razed. No more info at this time.

Thanks to Elizabeth W. for the donation and to Mandy and Crystal for the food!

Foxy

GORGEOUS. Foxy, a long-haired torti, is a sweet, affectionate, playful little two-year-old cat. Abandoned by her owner sometime in the late winter, she foraged for food in a Hyde Park back yard until a kind neighbor realized her plight. Betty C. rescued Foxy from the cold, gave her medical care, and found her a fostermom. Fostermom says Foxy likes lots of cuddle time, playing with her toys and watching (and talking to) fostermom as she works in the kitchen. Foxy is negative for FIV and FELV, spayed, and ready for a new home. Also, what a knock-out! Foxy will need an owner who is willing to pay attention to her long coat (she will need regular grooming sessions).

Thanks to the donors who responded to our mama-cat plea: Katherine A., Anna G., Scott M., Jane S., Maki M., Anna F., Margaret F.

Dog update Monday

Monday! Time for a dog update. You may remember our friends who were working to save some dogs running wild in Washington Park. Eevie, our special liasion to the dog world, reports: "Red and Fawn have been kickin' it indoors with Joe and his three resident pooches for several weeks. They are adjusting very well to civilization. Even Fawn, who was truly a feral dog, has now learned to sit and down on command. Red, who is an absolutely WONDERFUL medium-sized shepherd, seems relieved not to have to be the alpha anymore now that she has a human to take charge. She likes to walk at your side as if proper heeling is just in her DNA."

If you are interested in meeting and possibly adopting one of these dogs, please contact HPC. They still need some veterinary care and heartworm medications; any donations earmarked for this project would be warmly appreciated and you will receive not only good karma but virtual face-licks and tail-wags. Write to hydeparkcats@gmail.com for more information.

mother's day post

We've been working hard to get our spring crop of cats cared for and adopted. Readers, excellent news: Theo went home, Ester went home, Houdini went home, Louise went home, Maggie went home, Yogurt and Pretzel went home! Tricia and Patty may go home on Monday! All Sweet Pea and Juniper kittens have pending adoptions.

Owl, Kobi, Sweet Pea, Juniper remain, as does our new addition, Foxy. We believe we'll be getting a six-month-old abandoned kitten tomorrow. We may get a litter of orphans from ACC. There is always another needy cat on the horizon.

The Sweet Pea kittens were all spayed yesterday. Four girls! And Juniper has the four boys -- basherters und bashertes!

Please enjoy these pictures of Patty with some roses -- it's mother's day! Happy M-Day to my mother, who taught me to love cats and animals and the natural world around us. Mom, I love you!

Mamas

MAMA CATS: We salute you!

Hyde Park Cats has had the opportunity to work with some really special mamacats. From top to bottom: Mammacat, our first rescue. Mammacat had her kittens in a backyard and obviously wanted them to have an indoor life, although she remained very afraid. Sweet Pea had her four kittens in a construction ditch on campus! She had made friends with the building staff, who called on us for help. Juniper had a litter or two outside in her colony before we could catch her ... Ester became a mamacat at only four or five months herself! Tapioca was found in an alley, nearly starved to death, with broken fangs and FIV. But her kittens were fat and fluffy. And, finally, that black spot with the lit-up eyes is Cat Cora, who was found, with her tiny babies, at another campus construction site ... in a pile of trash. One was dead, one was covered in maggots. But Cat Cora never gave up on them. When we reunited the family (after a few days of trapping) she ran to her babies right away to nurse them. It's not the best picture, I know. But it was the best story.

All the kittens (some of whom are now cats) have found homes. Cat Cora, Mammacat, and Tapioca are also in forever homes. But Juniper, Ester, and Sweet Pea are still looking for their forever homes. This mother's day, can you give a mamacat the gift of a forever home? Any one of them would be the perfect companion for a resident cat (they would like a life-partner, in other words).

If you can't give a home, can you support our mamacats with a donation? Every donation in honor of our mama cats will be acknowledged with a personal email and photo of your chosen mama cat to YOUR mama! Your mama doesn't have email? We'll send her a card! Just donate and specify which mamacat you are honoring. Use the paypal button or write to hydeparkcats@gmail.com for an address.

Happy Mamas Day!

Theo and Owl

Theo (gray) and Owl (orange), our two Bridgeport boycats, are awaiting their forever home. They can be adopted separately or together, or with one of their tortie girlfriends. According to Fosterdad, Owl is a big, strong fellow but very gentle, extremely affectionate, all cuddles and rolls and purrs, and he loves to sleep on the bed at night. Fosterdad says that Theo, who is probably only a year old, is "a very special cat, sweet and playful and awfully good-looking, too."

Ester

Ester came to us sorta around the Jewish holiday of Purim and I think of her as Queen Ester. Her kittens, Yogurt and Pretzel, are ready to move on and are preparing to enter their forever home, leaving only Ester to find her place in this world. She is spayed, vaccinated, negative for FIV and FeLV, and only about six months old! She is on the shy side, it's true. She needs a patient person to love her. She is playful (loves strings), accepts pets and even belly rubs from fostermom, and we think that she really just needs a loving home in order to reach her full potential as a housecat. To apply to adopt this gorgeous young kitteh, email us at hydeparkcats@gmail.com.