I'm An ACO Today

Everywhere you go today all you here is people saying "What is Scrathch Cat going to be for Halloween." I'll bet you hear that at Target and at the community center and I know they're saying it at the 421 building across the street.

WEll, even though I got several new outfits this year, in the end, I decided I would be an Animal Control Officer for Halloween 2011.

I think the jacket needs to be tailored a little bit to fit me better.

My Biggest Success So Far

[WARNING: Somehow, I made a great thing that somebody else is doing all about me. Because I'm self centered. As you read this post, please try to read between the lines to see what a hero Jodie R. is]

Want to know what my day was like on Friday?

My day stared with someone dropping off a cardboard box full of (admittedly cute) one week of baby cats.

Here is a fairly cruddy picture of them:



That picture is actually what you get if you right click on the video that was originally posted on the DCACC Foster and Rescue Facebook group. Basically, the video is 24 seconds of these guys screaming. Have I ever told you how loud one week old baby cats can scream? SO loud.

I REALLY wish I could share the video with you, but I've spent the last half hour trying to figure out how to get it off Facebook, onto my computer and then into my blog. I even Facebooked Mark Zuckerburg to see if he could help me, but he must not have his cell phone synced with Facebook because he never got back to me. Maybe he doesn't have a smart phone?

Because napping was impossible with these babies crying, I hopped on face book and posted the video so my quarter of a thousand friends could see the (admittedly cute) babies cry.

Guys, about two hours after I posted this video, something cool happened. Jodie R. commented on the video and said she would like to foster them. Oh my gosh, suffice it to say that Jodie immediately became the most popular person in our office.

Remember a couple weeks ago when I interviewed Patricia about fostering? Well, Jodie read that post and thought she could be a fosterer. When she saw the Facebook posting she decided to take the plunge and be a fosterer. She adopted a kitten from us about six months ago, but had never taken care of kittens as you as the kittens we got on Friday. Let's face it though. Not many people who are humans and not cats have.

Kristie L. took the babies home Friday night and on Saturday morning brought them to the shelter. I wish I could honestly say that it was good to hear their voices again, but I can't. It was all right though because about an hour later, Jodie and her family came in to get their training to be fosterers. This is them:

Jodie took to fostering right away. She made the comment that it's just like taking care of human babies. I don't know anything about that, but I image that that must be true. Babies are babies.

After learning how to feed the babies and getting the supplies she'll need, Jodie, her husband and her two (remarkably polite and well behaved) sons took the babies home to be their fosterers. They were kind of nervous, but we at the shelter weren't. We knew they were going to be great fosterers.

And they have been. I've texted with Jodie a few times (yes, of course I have a smart phone. I live in DuPage County, after all) and although the babies has a little bit of greenish poop, they seem happy and content. How can they be anything else? They are adorable baby cats with a great foster family, who are all fans of the DCACC Scratching Post.

Oh also? This litter of screaming baby cats are now a litter of quiet baby cats (except at feeding and bath time). It's amazing what can happen to kittens in a great foster home.
I've got my eye on these kittens and we'll check in on them periodically as they grow and develop.

I Need A Succession Plan

I've been thinking a lot about my career lately. Ever since my dust-up with the Animal Control Officers, I've been thinking it might be time for me to transfer to a new office. I mean, DuPage County has a HUGE government. Surely, there must be an opening for Official Cat in the Tax Assessor's office. That would be a good place for a crabby man cat like me. Or maybe I could transfer to the State's Attorney's office. I've seen Perry Mason on You Tube. State's Attorneys stare down defendants sometimes, and I'm really good at staring. Or, maybe I would be happy in the Office of the Circuit Coart. Sometimes, when I get a little burst of energy, I run around in circles. I assume that's what they do in the Office of the Circuit Court.

So, I sent an e-mail to Kerry V. asking about my options within the county. She replied back that I can't just leave Animal Care and Control. First, I would have to develop a successor. And then find another department that would take me. Which really took me aback. Who wouldn't snap up an Official Cat like me? That's not going to be a problem.

But I had never considered needing a successor.

And that's when I noticed Shimmer. This is Shimmer...

Shimmer is a cow cat, like me. That is one of the qualifications.

Remember last week when I wrote about foster kitties? Shimmer was one of our bottle babies who was fostered (by our own Dina S.) and has now grown into a catten and is up for adoption.

See how Shimmer is sitting on the copy machine there? I taught her how to do that.

Normally, I'm not so friendly with the kittens who are up for adoption. I feel threatened by them. But now that I have these new career aspirations, I've decided to like Shimmy (as I call her).

I taught her to not only sit on the copy machine, but also curl up on it and take a nap. Oh, how my co-workers LOVE when there is a cat napping on the copy machine:

If you just glance at that picture quickly, doesn't she kind of look like me? I really like her napping-on-the-copy-machine technique that she is employing there. It's virtually impossible to make a copy with out disturbing the sleeping baby cat. Anyone who would move her when she's sleeping so sweetly will just be regarded as a jerk. And that is the point of sleeping on the copy machine...to make your co-workers look like jerks.

Since I have such an important and complicated job here, I've been encouraging Shimmer to watch my every move. As this picture shows, she's doing an excellent job job shadowing me:

One of the primary jobs of an Official Cat is to sit on Ann P's desk and wait for treats to be dispensed while simultaneously keeping the paperwork warm.

The only thing that is keeping me from jumping ship right now is the fact that Shimmer doesn't understand that we can't jump over the front counter to explore the rest of the shelter. Until she learns that, I guess I'm stuck here at the shelter.

Scratchterview: What's Fostering Kittens Like?

Today, I'm premiering a new feture on The DCACC Scratching Post. Ever since I started the blog, I've been trying to figure out a way to interview people. Then, in the middle of the night last night (as I was rubbing my cheeks ALL over Barb A's desk), it hit me. I could type my questions in to the computer and people could answer me. And then it further occurred to me that I converse with people on Facebook ALL the time. That's how I can interview people.

So, I was all excited about this idea, but couldn't think of anything to inverview anybody about. Kristie did me a solid this afternoon by posting this on Facebook:

Kristie's not joking. We really do need foster families. We keep getting little baby kitties who are brought in without their mom cat. Which sucks. Because we can't really adequately take care of large numbers of bottle babies at the shelter, mainly because they need a late night feeding after everybody at the shelter goes home and a morning feeding before they get here.

That's why we need fosters. So what's it like to be a foster I wanted to know.

And then I remembered that one of my Facebook friends, Patricia just became a fosterer about six weks ago. And, she was available, so I Scrathterviewed her.

Scratch Cat: So, how did you become a fosterer.

Patricia Harvey: It's something that I had thought about doing for a while but I didn't know if I could really do it. I was volunteering at the shelter one Saturday and four little kittens came in. The shelter staff called through the fosterer list and no one was available. I figured this was my chance.

SC: Were you scared?

PH: Not really. I figured any care that I gave them would be better than the care they were getting when they were motherless and alone out in the big world.

SC: Did you get any training to be a fosterer?

PH: I did, which helped a lot. One of the staff members showed me how to hold the babies while I bottle fed them and what to do to get the babies to eat...

SC: You have to make them poop, right?

PH: Yes, Scratch you do, but that sounds so much grosser than it actually is. You kind of rub their tushies with a washcloth until something happens.

SC: Mommy cats do this with their tongue, but I guess it's cool humans use a wash cloth.

PH: Moving on...during my orientation, I also learned about the feeding schedule I should follow. I was surprised that I wouldn't really need to get up in the middle of the night for very long to feed them. By the time they are two and a half weeks old or so, they can go for six hours between their last feeding of the day and their first.  

SC: Did you have to buy any supplies to be a fosterer?

PH: The shelter gave me the basics I would need. They gave me a carrier to keep them in and formula and baby bottles. They also offered me so old towels, but I had enough towels at my house so I didn't need them.

SC: What did you do when you got them home?

PH: I held them, fed them and then went about my regular life. For the first two or three weeks they slept pretty much all the time that they weren't being fed.

SC: And what happened after that, when they weren't sleeping all the time?

PH: I moved them to a bigger area. I live in a one bedroom condo, so they got to live in the bathroom. I also gave them "out time," which is when I let them wander abound outside their normal area so they could explore and practice new skills, like jumping.

SC: You have other animals at your house, right?

PH: Yes, I have a wheaten terrier named Buttercup, who you know, and a cat named Sandy.

SC: Do they support your decision to be a fosterer?

PH: Um, no. But that's ok because until they produce income, I make the rules.

SC: Nice. You humans and your obsession with money. To that I say whatever.

PH: I keep the dog seperate from the babies because she could get a little rough. The cat doesn't really like the babies, so she pretty much just steers clear.

SC: Do you still have your first set of babies?

PH: No, I'm now on my second set. I transfered the first set to a wonderful fosterer that really likes socializing the kittens. She has children and a husband, a friendly dog and cat. The babies will get lots of new experiences at her house. It is a great arrangement, too. I have a flexible work arrangement so I can bottle feed the babies. She has a more rigid work schedule, but enjoys giving the kittens lots of new experiences.

SC: I think that is a great arrangement. Everybody wins. Was it hard to see the babies leave?

PH: It was kind of hard, but I definitely had a mindset that my time with the babies would be short and sweet. The parting was also made easier because the same day I transfered my original set, I picked up my second set.

SC: That's cool. What is your biggest take away from your experience fostering?

PH: I think the biggest thing is I'm glad I did this. I hope more people try the fostering thing out. If you you have any problems, there's a whole team at the shelter that will help you through it. I'm really glad I took the plunge.

There's no pictures in this post. Who's still reading?

 PLease let us know if you are interested in being a fosterer. The number to call is 630-407-2800 (then dial 0). I would do it, but I'm a crabby man cat, so I can't.

Coasters For A Cause

Last weekend, Scratch on a Stick and some of my co-workers went to Great America. It wasn't just that we* went to Great America. We went as Part of Coasters for a Cause, which is a program Great America has that rebates a portion of the tickets bought through DCACC to the shelter. 

*I say "we" because Scratch on a Stick is magical. All right? For the day, Scratch on a Stick WAS me.

Oh my gosh, you guys, we had so much fun. We went with a large group, so we kind of split into groups. One of the groups was "The Men of DCACC." Since there wasn't enough inanimate objects to have a group called "Pictures of Things with a Stick Duct Taped to the Back of It," I was included in this group.

The Men of DCACC

Another group that we had was "Those That Ride The Rides." Look at how much fun they had:

At least the kids are smiling

I'm glad I didn't go on the rides, because it looks like it was so scary.

That's Mr. Ann from the Front Office Barfing

That's not to say I didn't ride any rides. I did. I rode the carousel. But even that was scary for me because I almost got eaten by a tiger:

Look at that thing! Scary, right?

For the most part, I hung out with the "Sitting Around Waiting For Those Who Ride Rides To Get Done Riding Rides" group. This is how we spent our time:

We had more fun than the ride goers.

Sometimes we sat in the food court in Southwest Territory, like the picture above, and other times we sat at the food court in Hometown Square:

Why yes, I do think $13.99 is completely reasonably for a cup of pop.

It wasn't just sitting. We also walked around and I got to me SO many famous people. Like Superman:

And Batman (who, for the record, has no actual super powers):

And my personal hero, Sylvester (who has exactly the same amount of super powers as Batman):

I also was forced to meet some kind of bird man. I know that DCACC is an open admission shelter, but I hope no one ever surrenders one of these:

So, in short, Great America was totally fun and I hope we have another outing there next year. If we do, you should totally come with us.