#adopted her with her littermate

[senselessconjuration]

Love how my cat also has the vampire autism and needs to be specifically invited onto my lap every single time.

[rainyheartscrown]

these two are the same images to me

[trashabilly]

i think there's something wrong with my couch

[histskins]

people often wonder why we adopted 6 entire cats but the answer is we did not adopt the cats. the cats adopted us the cats decided they live here now

[dvar-trek]

Can we see a picture of pollywog, that's such an excellent name for a cat

nothing would make me happier 😊 here's the sweet bean bao herself, miss polwygle

[dovedrangeas]

all animals look silly and pathetic when wet but cats are at the top of the scale

[babyanimalgifs]

Puppy falls asleep in news anchor’s arms - she’s immediately adopted & others line up to adopt her littermates

(Source)

[white-spirit-of-darkness]

i found one of my favorite pics of my lil babey... she was sooooo teeny tiny here... i think this is from january 2021

[nullwork]

mom texting me to let me know my dog may be getting adopted by an actual hunter with other hounds. she's going to have the time of her life. so excited for her she's going to get so many squirrels

[l3irdl3rain]

Okay so ignorant questions here because I don't know anything about this. From your experience do cats feel upset when their kittens go to be adopted elsewhere? I know there is a time when mother cats start encouraging independence, but when are they okay parting? I end up thinking about in human ways, or "woah those kittens are so small how can they be okay without their parent in a big world with only humans!", which I don't think actually reflects the reality of cats. Do kittens miss their littermates if they're adopted separately or do they just bounce back? Unrelated question, do you know why lavender decided to stop nursing bug? I don't know how cats decide on when to stop nursing either.

Yeah this is definitely a case of applying too many human emotions to an animal. I will say though, kittens may miss their littermates if they go to a home with no other cats to play with. But in my experience it's more of a boredom thing than actually missing their specific siblings. Obviously cats can bond with each other and they can be sad or scared when they lose a friend. But it's rarely a serious concern, especially for confident cats.

In regard to why Lavender stopped nursing Bug, she's kind of a bad mom lol. She hardly wanted to take care of her own kittens. She improved a little after getting spayed. But there was a period where I was hand feeding one of her babies because he wasn't ready to be weaned and she didn't care. She's also probably running really low on milk, considering she stopped nursing her kittens weeks ago and she has been spayed. She does still want to carry Bug around the house like a little trophy.

[ihopesocomic]

So, I don't believe I've ever posted these guys here and well, I wanted to post the second dude and figured I may as well include the other.

My first guy is actually a Merry x Careful boy I made a while back. His name is Carefree but he also goes by S'mores (yes, he joins a pride with dessert-themed names because I don't think plants and minerals are whacky enough: deal with it) and yeah, he's just Merry 2.0 in terms of personality because this is an ongoing theme with the characters we kill. I just have to reincarnate them in some way or another. lol

-

Secondly, we actually have Clever's littermate: Clumsy aka Haydevil. Whereas his father, Wild, is a bit prissy and proud of his appearance, Clumsy is the exact opposite. His mane is super floofy and out of control and he just loves it. It matches his personality, man. It cannot be contained!

Obviously, Clever does her best to make her brother look more presentable so he doesn't get chewed out by Mum and Dad but it never works out. One such incident actually results in him smelling of rotten eggs for a week (because raw eggs is a natural remedy for messy hair - look it up) and that's when Clever decides to finally throw in the towel.

Naturally, he eventually leaves the Grove and adopts the Traveller name of Haydevil. Thus, he's just your average drifter: unkept but good at singing and telling stories. - RJ

[cryptidclaw]

Whisperingclan Yr. 2 Designs pt. 2

This is a follow up to the Year 2 Lineup!

Designs pt. 1 | Designs pt. 3

This will include the designs and blurbs (notable actions and relationships) for the apprentices, the queen/elder and the kits of the clan!

This Year's Actions: Was born alongside her 3 sisters (Hail, Rain, and Snow); Became a Warrior apprentice (thinking about becoming a Mediator after graduating) and was apprenticed to Skipspot; her little brother Peakkit was born at the end of the year.

Notable Relationships: Likes her parents, but is closest to her sister Hailstripe (best friends); She is also close to Rainpaw, isn't too close to Snowpaw though.

This Year's Actions: Was born alongside her 3 sisters (Hail, Rain, and Sleet); Became a Warrior apprentice and her mother Tempeststar took her on as her apprentice; was dragged into fight with a large dog alongside her mother Tempeststar and was injured for a moon; got white cough before she could leave the healer den; her little brother Peakkit was born at the end of the year.

Notable Relationships: has a poor relationship with her mother Tempeststar, some dislike and very little like; closest to her other mom Blizzardchase; likes her siblings but isnt as close to them as they are to each other, used to be close to Rainpaw but they became more distant; Dislikes Whiskers probably bec she made her stay in the healers den while injured/sick, holding her back from training.

This Year's Actions: was born to Butterflyfreckle alongside her brothers (Gull and Heron); Heronkit died at 4 moons of age presumably due to kittencough; Became a warrior apprentice and was apprenticed to Creekslip; Gullpaw died due to kittencough, Partridepaw was deeply effected; has grown a distrust for starclan and an interest in the Dark Forest; Began to meet Jaggedheart in the Dark Forest near the end of the year.

Notable Relationships: Very close to her mom Butterflyfreckle; has started to grow friendly with Hailstripe and Sleetpaw; has grown a little crush on Rainpaw (she returns it)

This Year's Actions: Joined the clan as a older kit after learning that her half brother Weedpatch was a member; became a warrior apprentice and was apprenticed to Weedpatch; Found Weed deceased in the territory after he was lost in a sudden blizzard, she was deeply effected by this loss; her mother, Celeste, joined the clan to be there for Rattle after Weed's death; Got Frostfleck as a new mentor; wasn't paying attention (due to still morning her brother) and got her tail stuck in a twoleg trap, is now in the healer den.

Notable Relationships: Very close/bonded with her mom; was getting close to her brother before his death; likes her new mentor Frostfleck; has grown a little crush on Hailstripe (she returns it).

This Year's Actions: Her mate Tempeststar had their first litter (Hail, Rain, Sleet and Snow; Retired from being deputy and became an elder but decided to stay in the nursery with her kits for now; announced she was pregnant; had a single male kit (Peakkit) with Tempeststar.

Notable Relationships: LOVES her wife Tempeststar; Also loves all of her kits a lot, closest to Hailstripe but only by a bit; strong friendship with her previous apprentice Mossleaf, as well as Frostfleck; gets along with almost everyone despite being married to (and encouraging) the murder lesbian.

This Year's Actions: was born as a single kit litter on the final moon of the year.

Notable Relationships: loves his parents, likes Hailstripe and Wisp

This Year's Actions: were born to Mossleaf and Sunmane alongside their littermate Oakkit; Oakkit died of unknown causes the same moon he was born; have been causing endless mischief since they were no longer beans.

Notable Relationships: Love their parents and siblings.

This Year's Actions: was found by Bramblespeck during winter and was taken back to the clan; was adopted by Bramblespeck

Notable Relationships: likes her new mom; hasnt been around long enough to have any other relationships

....

Notes/commentary:

I love all the apprentices so much i will be so very upset if they die.

Im really proud of my designs/drawings for MossSun's kits, plz appreciate them

Snowpaw needs to stop being a brat or she will have literally no friends. I feel like a lot of her issues are due to her mom being her mentor though.

[dayz-ina-daze]

Y’know… I feel like Sol was introduced an arc late

I think he would have fit so much better in The New Prophecy instead of The Power of Three… Maybe that’s just me, though, because I haven’t seen a whole lot of people discussing this idea, but I’ve been thinking about it for a while and I wanted to share what I’ve come up with so far

The New Prophecy is, obviously, about the Clans losing their homes and the chosen six setting out into unknown territory to find somewhere new for them to settle. It’s been a while since I’ve read TNP, but I think I remember enough to have some interesting points to bring up…

So buckle up and bear with me y’all. It’s Spotty Speaks time once again

Everything up to the chosen Clan cats finding Midnight can stay the same. The same journeying and angst and coming together as friends, etc. But, instead of just finding a badger at the sun-drown place, they also find a cat with her: her page, Sol.

For the most part, I think that Sol’s backstory should stay the same, sans some tweaks in the later portion. He was born a loner to his mother, Cinders, who separated he and his littermates to live as kittypets when she could no longer adequately care for them. He adopted the name Harry from his housefolk, but always felt the restless itch to do more and be more that prompted him beyond his garden often despite his lackluster skills. This urge would drive him into the paws of the visiting Firestar and Sandstorm, which is where a major portion of Sol’s backstory changes: He is now one of SkyClan’s founders. (I think that Harrypelt would be a funny name for him lol; Firestar might have mistaken his name for “Hairy”, so his prefix doesn’t get altered too much, or maybe something like “Fluffypelt” or something similar, I don’t know lol)

This works with the rough timeline between Firestar’s Quest and TNP, as well!

But just as he wasn’t satisfied with kittypet life, the rigid structuring of Clan life didn’t scratch Sol’s itch either. He wasn’t a grand hunter or even a half-decent fighter, he was someone who thirsted for knowledge and invention, but his Clanmates had been so firmly rooted in Firestar’s ideals of tradition that they stunted all of his attempts to grow and experiment that eventually he grew embittered, became sick of it, and just… left. Ultimately, he would stumble upon Midnight, an elderly badger who was both a polyglot and a soothsayer who was searching for other animals to share her wisdom with, to pass on and entrust all of her knowledge to someone so that she could retire and live the rest of her days in peace. This intrigued Harry enough for him to want to learn from her, and to honor his transformation into becoming her page, Midnight renames him “Sol”; she names all of her pages after celestial concepts, as she herself once was renamed.

When the Clan cats roll by Midnight, Sol is with her. There’s an obvious tension between him and the Clan cats due to his distaste for them, but he follows his mentor’s example of hospitality while the Clan cats rest as best as he can. I imagine he’s a little older than Crowpaw, but a bit younger than Brambleclaw and Tawnypelt, so he’s more comfortable with the younger cats of the group. Squirrelpaw especially intrigues him; he distantly recognizes Firestar in her attitude and coat, but not enough to put his finger on it just yet.

What would be personally most intriguing to me: Midnight instructs Sol to be the Clan cats’ guide through the mountains, as she predicts there is what they are seeking on the other side. When Sol protests, Midnight states that their duty is not only as keepers of knowledge, but also as guides to any who are lost; the Clan cats will need to know when to stop their travels, anyway, so Sol will be able to help with that. Sol eventually agrees, but he still grumbles about it. So Sol is now accompanying the traveling cats; they encounter the Tribe, Feathertail is killed, they find the lake. Sol follows the Clan cats back to the forest, where he seems especially intrigued by the rattled state they’re all in. He’s the primary guide to the Clan cats as they return to the lake, but he’s especially chatty with Blackstar and the ShadowClan cats, before Hawkfrost catches his attention and the two begin to talk as well. Leafpaw is also intrigued by Sol, and Sol with her; Sol is especially talkative with the medicine cats. Mothwing gets bad vibes from him, but she can’t explain it.

The Clans come to the lake, Tallstar dies but appoints Onewhisker as his successor before he does so. Sol still lingers amongst the ShadowClan cats, but as he belongs to no Clan, he just kind of slips between all the Clans and chats with everyone, namely Hawkfrost and Leafpaw, though their conversations are very different.

The Clans settle into new spots around the lake, but Sol still disregards all of the early boundaries set. This unsettles most of the Clan cats, but many are willing to overlook it on account of how Sol led them all to their new home; he’s an honored guest of the Clans, and is under ShadowClan and Blackstar’s direct protection on account of how scarily close the two had grown over the course of the journey. Blackstar’s faith had been shaken due to several losses during the journey, as well as his general fear that their ancestors had not followed them to their new home, which Sol wholeheartedly took advantage of to essentially use Blackstar as a puppet figurehead for his own desires, masquerading as someone who could see the future and soothe his troubles without the need of “some silly dead cats”.

Sol barely speaks to the traveling cats anymore, and all of the traveling cats get the sense that something in Sol’s demeanor and goals has shifted.

Later, Mudclaw announces his rebellion. Unbeknownst to most of the Clan cats, Hawkfrost and Sol are some of his direct supporters, Sol especially, so ShadowClan is politically on Mudclaw’s side. Mudclaw orchestrates a grand battle with the help of Hawkfrost and Sol to kill Onewhisker, as most of WindClan is on his side due to their respect for Tallstar’s dying wish; I imagine they host their meetings at the Moonpool, which Leafpool discovered with Sol at her side. He’s very ingrained in several huge Clan events now.

Off to the side, Brambleclaw is appointed ThunderClan’s deputy.

Days before the battle is scheduled to strike, Sol and Leafpool run away from the Clans together to be free — though it’s primarily due to Sol’s cowardice. He doesn’t want to be caught up in the battle, but he’s grown fond of the medicine cat and doesn’t want to see her fall. The rebellion strikes just as Midnight finds Sol and Leafpool; she instructs Leafpool to return to the Clans, and for Sol- Harry, to leave them. He’s caused more than enough damage to the already-fragile Clans. When Leafpool asks what Sol means, he refuses to answer, so Midnight explains that Sol has been deeply ingrained in the beginnings of a coup that would forever change the flow of the Clan’s fate should three toms rise to power in the same breath, with a last that has already been broken to Sol’s will. Sol bristles and calls his mentor crazy, but Leafpool trusts Midnight; she’s seen all the evidence herself, after all, and she’s able to connect the dots fairly quickly.

Leafpool returns to the Clans. Sol does not; he stays at Midnight’s side. Sol’s fate is unknown at the end of The New Prophecy, but his intention was always to undo the rigid Clan structure and make room for change and growth — and, if that couldn’t be done, then he’d just destroy the Clans as a whole. But his version of growth was covered in thorns, and the cats he used were blind to his manipulation.

In the aftermath…

Mudclaw is killed despite his support.

Hawkfrost is killed by Brambleclaw after he attempted to coax his half-brother into murdering Firestar so they could claim leadership together, as Leopardstar was weakened by fighting on behalf of Mudclaw at Hawkfrost’s suggestion.

Blackstar, shaken, steps down upon hearing of Sol’s treachery and how he had fled; he retires and becomes Blackfoot again. Russetstar steps up.

Brambleclaw might also step down, feeling horrified at how he was tempted to finish the job Hawkfrost had started and claim leadership for his own. I’m not sure who would replace him, though - maybe Sandstorm?

Leafpool discovers that she is pregnant.

And Sol is still thought to lurk in the wilds, with many Clan cats paranoid that the unusual, cunning tortoiseshell tom still studies the Clans, watching them from the shadows until he feels he can return again to finish what he had started… And in the meantime, the Clans vow to strengthen themselves to never again allow an outsider to shake them so badly that they nearly destroyed one another.

[smallgodseries]

[image description: An inky cat - almost a silhouette - sits tall in profile, a glowing red-orange circle (with curled banderoles from at  top and sides) haloing her head. Behind her, an almost card-like scaled golden background, and behind that, the deep blue-black of space. Text reads, “160, A VOID ~ THE SMALL CAT OF BEING MISUNDERSTOOD ~ after the great Théophile Steinlen”]

• • • • • 

The first thing she remembers is warmth, tiny bodies crashing over her own as they fought for a share of their mother’s milk.  Warmth, and a purr that was the world, the sweet vibration of a mother’s love.  The voices in the distance barely registered with her:

“One cat was one cat too many.  You can’t keep six of them.  Those kittens have to go.”

“But Mama—”

“The kittens or the whole damn cat!  One or the other!”

Then she remembers hands, grabbing her and pulling her away from her littermates, from her mother, stuffing her into a cold, rough sack while her mother meowed piteously in the background, broken-hearted and confused.  A door slammed.  The meowing stopped.  And then there came cold, freezing cold, and wetness, and one by one her brothers and sisters stopped moving, and still she fought, furious, cold and wet and tiny and angry, until again, hands, pulling the sack out of the water,  pulling the surviving kittens out into the light.

After that came warmth again, and bottles held by human hands, and fosters who cared so much about the tiny lives in their care, but who knew from the beginning that they couldn’t save them all.  After that came open eyes, and light, and a world.  A world so big and so filled with beautiful things…for the cats who got to leave the shelter.  Her brother, born with a white patch over half his face, got to go.  Her sister, calico and striking, got to go.  And she, black as midnight, stayed.

“We’re sorry, sweetie,” said the volunteers, after yet another open day when no one took her home.  “It’s hard for the black cats.  They don’t understand how wonderful you are.”

And she purred, for them, and she played, for them, and she stopped trying to be charming, for the people who came every second Saturday.  She didn’t need them to understand her.  She wasn’t going anywhere.

She spent her whole life at that shelter, and when new black kittens came in, she taught them how to be cute and coy, how to flirt with the potential adopters.  How to find themselves a home.  And one night, when she went to sleep, a strange dog was waiting for her.

“Hello!” it said.  “Hello, I love you!”

The dog, it transpired, was named Adora, and Adora was a small god.  Not a large god, not life or death or anything of the like, but a small god, of imaginary friends.  And the cat, who had never had a name she truly felt was hers to keep or claim, had done enough for the kittens in her care, the misunderstood and the overlooked, that they were offering her the chance to be the same.  She could be a small god.  She could choose her portfolio.  She could do anything.

Anything but go back to the shelter, where her unbreathing body had already been found by a weeping volunteer.  That time was finished.

She looked at the dog.  She looked at the crying people who had been her only friends.  She wrapped her tail around her legs.

“I am A Void,” she said, “and I will be a small cat for the misunderstood.”

She takes her duties very seriously.  She is with those who are judged unfairly, who speak too fast or too loudly or not enough.  Who are out of step or out of fashion, who never get their points across.  She is with them all, and while she does not love as freely as Adora, she cares for all who bear her banner.  She cares so very deeply.

But she cares for the little black cats most of all.

[felinefractious]

so, the most ironic thing happened yesterday.

to preface, i only just discovered the "phoenix" coloring thanks to your blog. thought it was really cool! never seen a cat with that color before! welll, then i go to petsmart yesterday and no shit, not even exaggerating, there was 100% a phoenix cat there for adoption. i compared him to photos you shared and from other resources and he matched it completely!!

they had him labeled as buff, but there was another buff cat right above him and the differences couldn't have been more obvious. i think they were just like "well he's kind of light orangish sure lets call it buff why not" lol they often get their colors wrong on the descriptions. it's such a remarkable color in person! i wish i could have gotten a picture but the kennel staff had taken him out to clean his cubby and play with him and i had to get going 😭

i mean obviously without genetic testing i can't confirm it but he had all the phoenix traits and i've never ever seen another cat even close to that before.

what's the rarest color/mutation you've ever seen on a cat in person??

The phoenix mutation has only been documented in the Maine Coon breed, in particular a specific cattery in Russia. So I can say pretty confidently the cat you met was not phoenix

The original phoenix cat from Doma Yahontoff.

It is possible that he was some flavor of pseudo-cinnamon, though, a sort of… “class” of mutations of which phoenix is part of. I don’t know if they’re actually related but they have a visually similar effect and tend to get grouped together under the pseudo cinnamon label.

I don’t know if what you’re describing fits, though. Buff is the same as cream, I don’t know why it’s such a popular descriptor compared to the proper term - I guess it’s sort of the same thing as gray being more commonly used than blue?

Anyways!

As the name suggests pseudo-cinnamon cats have a more… cinnamon appearance, despite being genetically red? Usually, presumably. So a pseudo-cinnamon for adoption is more likely to be labeled as “brown” or “chocolate” or something, I think.

Pseudo-cinnamon moggy littermates, here’s a post with more pictures and the image sources.

And here’s a “red on blue” pseudo-cinnamon tom sedated to be neutered beside his normally colored littermate.

“Buff” cat for adoption (his name is Donut!) next to a cream British Shorthair.

So the cat you saw wasn’t phoenix… but could have still been pseudo cinnamon, or something else entirely! Unfortunately no way to know without pictures.

As for the rarest I’ve seen…

We had a cat come in who I’ll never truly know the color of but the best I can figure is maybe caramel? She was definitely dilute but her coat didn’t look like any of the standard dilute colors.

We also have a patient who’s cream with a somatic mutation!

[followthebluebell]

hey, just curious since I saw you reblog that post about sidnie being adopted with her adopted kittens: do we know why with kittens is there no problem with adopting littermates, but with dogs it’s not recommended because of potential littermate syndrome?

Most likely the answer is simply that cats aren't pack animals the same way dogs are. Cats are social, don't get me wrong. They just aren't pack animals.