So Oliver is still having sneezing fits and I thought I heard some congested-lung noises today--but he has a REALLY loud purr, so I don't know if it was just that. He's still eating and growing like a champ (his legs are getting too long for his body), but I won't be un-worried about him until the sneezing goes away. Poor little cat, every sneeze makes his whole body jump, and he has like twenty of them in a row.

The kittens had their second (third if you count Kate) visitor today, in the form of Max. He loved seeing the kitties, and he played with them until they were WORN OUT, which for the record takes about two hours. I don't think they've ever been tired enough to fall asleep before I put them back in their crate, but they did today. Ramona fell asleep first, curled up on my bed, and then Oliver was like a kid who needs a nap but doesn't want one--he kept lying down, getting up, jumping off the bed, back on the bed... finally after Max left, he curled up on my neck and purred for a while before finally going to sleep. (So then of course I fell asleep, because who can disturb a sleeping kitten on their neck?) I had a moment of "wow, there are actually foster kittens sleeping on me, I had a goal and I made it happen, that's pretty awesome."

Oliver is turning into a very friendly cat. He went right up to Max to say hello. Ramona is still more reserved, but she let me pet her while she was sleepy, and she's taken to jumping up on me when she's in a playful mood (which is almost always). I still have yet to fully teach both of them that Fingers Are Not For Biting, And Neither Are Cords, but they're making progress. The method that seems to work best is clapping and saying "no!" when they do it. They don't like the clap noise, but it's not such a harsh punishment that they'll be traumatized for life or afraid of people or something.

Now Ramona is being a crazycat, tearing all around the room and biting everything, so I gave her some toys to bite on instead--and she's AFRAID of them. They're both shiny, so maybe they look unnatural to her. She keeps batting at them and then jumping away like they're going to bite her. Silly kit.

I hope I can get updates from their adoptive families once they're gone. I've grown attached to the little furballs. I know I'm not supposed to get TOO attached, and I don't think I am, because I still think of them as belonging to their future families, not to me. But I'm fascinated by watching their personalities develop. Oliver in particular is such a goofball, I'd love to hear what he's like when he's older.

I think Hypatia is getting used to my comings and goings, but she's still not happy about the situation. Oliver snuck halfway out the door today, and she hissed at him. Perhaps there will never be harmony in Felineland. I can't introduce them to her properly until they're all better and out of quarantine, and I don't even know if they'll still be here after Thursday.