A pony and a cat, and surprise for absolutely no one!

First, the pony...

Jimmy the rescue Shetland pony is complaining about a lack of airtime on the blog. I was doing groundwork with him on Friday and he insisted I show you a pic of his "stand on the tire and feel like a giant horse" trick. So here you go!

I took this by accident, but I quite like it...

Somebody was snuffling in the sand ring for anything edible. No, it wasn't me.

Meanwhile, the cat... on October 15, I took in this poor guy...

Buddy was dumped at my neighbour's farm. He was very skinny, unneutered, and in need of TLC. She couldn't keep him but was feeding him, and had made an appointment to take him to our local OSPCA shelter on October 31. She asked me if I would keep him until then. So I said yes...

He has gained some weight since I took this pic!

Buddy is the most loving, sweet cat you can imagine. I took him to the vet for a check up and vaccines...

No FelV or FIV! 

And guess what? I found him a forever home with some lovely people, so after I take him in to be neutered in October 31st, he will go home to his new family.

Needless to say, we've cancelled the appointment to surrender him to the OSPCA. They are so overwhelmed right now! It is great to be able to free up a spot by taking Buddy off the list.

And this week, we moved him into the auxiliary foster cat room... 

As you can see, he's quite content!

And gaining weight, which is a relief. Send good thoughts for his neutering on Tuesday!

I am still fostering Nina and her three kittens from the OSPCA...

Soon they will all be going to their forever homes! Yes, all of them have been adopted out (but are staying here until they are weaned.) And the best news is, Nina and her Calico baby Stella are going to a home together.

Gordon took this cute pic of Stella, little Gordie aka Pirate Kitty, and Maisie... not to scale, but Maisie IS the biggest and Stella is the little one. :)

And in news that is probably surprising to absolutely no one...

This little guy, who is blind in one eye despite our attempts to save it...

... has a forever home...

with us! :)

And life goes on...

Last night our cat Honey walked by the bed and I saw her out of the corner of my eye and thought she was Millicent. Sigh... our friend Luc buried her in the woods next to Sophie and Tristan. I walked the dogs out there the other day and said hello to Millicent. I miss her so much!

But I have all this cuteness to contend with...

Pirate Kitty, aka Little Gordon, with his sister Stella

These foster kittens are growing like weeds!

Little Gordon (my friend named him that) and his mama Nina.

These guys are doing really well! Stella is the runt but she's not quite as minuscule as she looks in this photo (where she is sitting up.) Maisie the Tortie is the brute of the litter.

I don't think I mentioned that I adopted out Snow White and her six dwarves, the mama cat and her kittens I was fostering for Operation Spay + Neuter in Hawkesbury. It was such a huge relief to find them all homes, and great ones at that! Ramona, one of the black kittens, has moved to Minnesota to live with my friend Marilyn and her Irish Wolfhound! Marilyn drove all the way here last week to visit and pick her up. Ramona is now possibly the most doted-upon cat in the universe. I am so thrilled to have found all of those kitties great homes.

So Nina and her three moves to the foster cat room the other day, and we got a new batch of  fosters from the Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry OSPCA...

Fluffy little grey boy!

Pretty little black girl

Beautiful, affectionate mama cat. 

This mama and her two babies will be with us for a couple of weeks until the babies are weaned and put up for adoption at the shelter (along with their mama.) I wish I could keep them all!

Meanwhile, Nina and the kids are enjoying the foster cat room...

They take turns playing King (or Queen!) of the castle on the scratching post.

Pirate Boy may get to keep his (blind) eye after all. It would be nice if he could avoid surgery. It has shrunk down nicely!

Nina is a LOVELY cat. Not just gorgeous and polydactyl, but affectionate and sweet. I would keep her in a minute if I didn't already have 16 cats. She has a lovely personality. I so hope she finds a wonderful home.

Stella is a little beauty. She has such unique and pretty markings!

Kittens are great for taking your mind off your worries. I didn't realize how much I would enjoy this fostering thing. Sure, it's hard to let them go but it's so gratifying to see them being welcomed into new loving homes. My godsons' and their parents adopted one of the Hawkesbury foster kitties.

Here is Mycroft, who clearly likes his new little boys...

Poor Ben, not much seat left for him! :)

And in other news, we had "horse camp" here the last week of September, a week-long riding clinic held by my riding instructor. It was amazing, and my riding progress so much. And for the first time ever, I rode bareback...

It was... amazing! Not what I expected... I felt a bit like I was riding a horse made of Jell-o. But then I got my seat and balance right and wow! It was so cool to feel all his movements so intensely. And his fur is so soft. 

Roo and I had a great week together! I really improved my cantering skills and overall I'm getting much better at using a lighter touch with everything. I'm sure Roo appreciates that.

And Missy reminded me the other day that while the foster kittens are cute and all, she needs love too. Note drool hanging over her lip... she drools a lot when being cuddled.

Alex the tripod cat would also like to remind you that he is still here! He is now the senior cat in residence, at almost 11  years of age. Hard to believe that October 20 will mark TEN years since we adopted him from the OSPCA. Time flies so fast....

Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends!