Bubble Wrap?? General Chat

Thanks.

Every night I have to shower the "kitten cooties" off me so Looney2 will deign to cuddle with me.

And today, Cat-dog was allowed a sneak peak at the kittens. She's bwen following me ever since because she knows I have one. She's not going to give up until I give her them to raise...

@Toedtoes I thought three litters - hence the question mark. How is Tornado dog reacting?
@who owns who Thank you, I've had a Pussy Willow too. Our last cat was called Hornby Dublo as his dad was the local railway station cat. (I'm not sure whether you had Hornby model railways in the US though - probably not as your railways weren't like our little rail systems).

We did not have that particular model railways. As a child my father and his brother had a large model railroad in their basement. It was built on 4 pieces of plywood, if I remember correctly, so was 8x16. I don’t think it worked anymore when I was a kid, but we did bring bits of it to our house and had a set built on one piece of plywood.

Tornado-dog has been feeling a bit neglected.

This morning I asked him "do you want Aunt C to come over?" And he ran over to me. I asked "do you want Aunt C to take you out to play?" And he just looked at me. I asked "do you want Aunt C to come and take the kittens away?". He jumped up on the couch and smothered me with kisses...

When I went in to give them their medicine today, I held the door open just a bit and had Calvin on my lap right at the opening. Cat-dog is in love. Tornado-dog looked over and saw the others in a pile and was transfixed. Cat-dog sniffed Calvin's tail and then went to wash his face. Calvin hissed. Tornado-dog jumped back 9 feet (literally across the length of the hall to the living room). He just sat there in awe. Cat-dog slowly moved back half that distance and sat down calmly.

It was so funny because you could tell that Cat-dog was being all " it's OK I won't hurt you" with her movements. Calvin sat and watched her for a few mor minutes.

I have a new baby gate coming Wednesday. This one has a crisscross barrier so little itties can't slip through. I'm gonna give them some open door time so they can get used to the dogs.

I had a gorgeous flame point siamese kitten I named Rudolph. The adopting family renamed him Gus...

When I lived with my aunt and her boys, she got a kitten. I ended up responsible for him. He was a manx with about a third of a tail. I was talking to a friend about what to name the cat. He said "Bobby". I asked why and he said " because his tail is too long to be a Bob".

Today, I decided to use one of the gates from upstairs to provide a bit of freedom for the kittens. The downstairs bathroom is at the end of a short 9 foot hallway that opens between the living room and bedroom. I set up the gate at the opposite end of the hallway from the bathroom.

Tornado-dog is having some trouble with "kittens are allowed to play without you". So he is on a leash so I can easily break his attention from the kittens.

Punxsatawney was the first to explore outside the door. Fearless.

Calvin will come out for loves while I sit on a small footstool halfway down the hall.

But then there is the little grey one. Decided at one point to take an expedition. Walked down the hall, through the baby gate and into the dining room...

I think Tornado-dog thought it was a rat. Cat-dog got upset and yelped telling the little thing to get back behind the gate. The baby listened and while I sent to dogs outside for a potty break, the kitten ran back to the bathroom. She is now officially called Gertie.

None of the other kittens have left the bathroom yet. It will be easier with the new gate and I won't have to worry the littlest can slip out unnoticed.

The only one left to name is the little tabby. He's a boy and he's thinking on it.

I think in a few days, I will have Aunt C come and take Tornado-dog out for a bit while I do a major cleaning of the bathroom and the kittens explore the hallway in peace...

Kitten fostering is beginning to sound like a full-time job! They sound as if they are all healthy though. I hope they get the promise of forever homes soon. Will you get any referrals from rescue organisations, or will you have to find their new owners yourself?

It is more work than I remember - of course, I'm 20 years older than the last rescue litter I took in and there were only three of them.

We pulled a fresh indoor ball out of Tornado-dog's toy chest. Every time he gets too interested in the kittens (not rats!) behind the gate, we play a game with the ball.

And while I was busy feeding the kittens right now, he stole the big container of cat treats and ate the whole thing. I think he's discovering the positives of a too busy mom.

Yes, I have a local rescue group who will test for FeLV, do rabies and FVRCP, spay/neuter, and place the kittens as long as I foster. So I don't have to find homes myself.

I do have a call into an old family friend to see if she knows anyone. She did rescue work with my Mom and has helped find homes for many of my rescues over the years - the most appreciated one was the chow/pit/rottie/dobie/shar pei mix puppy whose people said they were "going to raise mean so he'd protect them". Fortunately, they also let him roam loose and he just accidentally ended up in my car as I was taking a day trip to visit my Mom (she lived about 1-1/2 hours away). My Mom called her friend and told her and she said "oh god, it's The Terminator dog". She found Arnold a wonderful home where he was treated wit love and affection. Sometimes, I miss the pre-microchip days.

Calvin worked the day room door opened today and kittens disappeared. I had found all but Hobbes.

Finally found him curled up on top of the two (slightly shredded) rolls of toilet paper in the holder.


He was back in it after dinner. He seems quite happy up there.

He and the other babies are fearless and spend a lot of time playing in the hallway ignoring the Wildebeest (Tornado-dog).

Tonight after I sat in the bathroom with the kittens after their late night meal, Tornado-dog started barking his frustration. I sat in there quietly until he stopped. It got quiet and I opened the door and he ran and got his ball and dropped it at the gate. So we played a game of ball and then went upstairs for our nightly cookie and bed. He's figuring it out - slowly.

So years ago, one of my dad's akitas loved squeaky toys but they'd stop squeaking for some "unknown" reason and he'd lose interest. When I'd come to visit, he would gift me these useless toys hoping for a new one. Sometimes I brought one, sometimes I didn't.

But what I would do is hold the old toy in front of my face and squeeze it while saying the word squeak. He would immediately want that old toy back and would prance it around for the weekend trying to get it to squeak again.

So today, Tornado-dog had two of his balls - both orange. One squeaks, one doesn't. I tried the squeak test on him. He sat there looking at me like I was an idiot. Then he touched his nose to the non squeaky ball and walked away to find the squeaky ball.

And then he ruined it when he stood barking at me to throw the ball and I had to remind him he had it in his mouth...

He did then drop it so I could throw it, but he should have stopped while he was ahead.

Well, Calvin has figured out how to get past the baby gate... He has been coming out and prancing along with Tornado-dog and Cat-dog. They touch noses and sniff his butt and he just loves the attention.

Rabbit waits for me to bring him out and he isn't that fond of the dogs, but he's getting used to them.

The Twooney come down and stare at the kittens when the dogs are in the back. I've had to promise them that kittens are not allowed upstairs. Calvin is not happy about that - he wants to check it out.

Tornado-dog is getting better about the barking - he only does it sometimes...

So it's been two weeks since the kittens came home. Calvin and Rabbit are officially in the rescue's system and are scheduled to be fixed on the 22nd. They will go up for adoption that Saturday.

I'm hoping to get the next five kittens in the system this coming weekend. They can get get fixed on the 22nd also and be available for that same weekend.

Right now, the rescue has a lot of black kittens and a couple brown tabbies. So Rabbit, Calvin and the triplets will get homes easily. Andrushka should be OK as there are no other grey kittens - so she'll stand out. Panther is my biggest concern as she is all black. She and I had a talk and I told her she had to decide if she wanted to live with me AND the wildebeest. If she didn't want to live here then she needs to show that she is a brave girl and come out of the carrier on her own. I told her we could make sure she goes to a quiet home with no kids or dogs. Since our conversation, she has made the effort to come out more. Apparently, she does NOT want to stay with us...

Tornado-dog (aka the wildebeest) has had a setback. ALL the kittens have figured out how to get out from behind the dog gate. They try to sneak out and go hang out on the big cat tree. Tornado-dog hears the thump as they land and goes nuts. I've got a cardboard box that I use so the littlest ones don't get out anymore. They are just too small to be safe.

At night, I feed the dogs and put them out back, then I feed the kittens. After they eat and wash, they sit at the gate watching. As soon as I call the dogs and the Twooney to go upstairs, the kittens are over the baby gate and playing all over the downstairs. In the morning, when the dogs and I get to the bottom of the stairs, I call out good morning and the kittens hide while the dogs go out back to potty. Then I fix their breakfast and they all jump back into the bathroom to eat.

This is Calvin


This is Rabbit


This is Panther


This is Daisy (top) and Bo


This is Andrushka

This is Punxsatawney (grey & white), Gertie (grey) and Hobbes (tabby)


This is Luke (bottom with blue collar) and YumYum (top seal point) (Gertie and Punx in the middle)

Wow, aren't they just the cutest x

They really are cute. Even The Punx - she is pretty bossy most of the time.

Honestly, if any of them fail to find a home, I can't say I'd be upset. But they are all promising to do their very best so they can each be a Cat God among cat gods in their own home.

I will add a comment about kitty litter. In the past, I always used regular clumping or clay litter. It was cheap and worked OK.

When The Twooney came, I started using the PetSafe crystals. It was more expensive, but with just two cats, it was doable.

With these guys, I decided to go cheap again. I got the clumping litter. Two days later and I have upped my order for the PetSafe to 6 boxes every two weeks (was 2 boxes every month for my boys).

I HATE the clumping litter!!! It glues itself to the box and the scooper so they are never truly clean. You can't rinse them out in the utility sink because it glues to the inside of the pipes. It does NOT control odors. I go through four times as much as the crystals. It's heavy and awkward to pour into the cat boxes. It's heavy and awkward to empty the cat boxes - and you have to scrape super hard on the bottom with the scoop. For the kittens, I have to scoop constantly - like every couple hours. And I have to replace it completely twice a day. It's just gross! And the kittens don't like it as much - I find accidents.

The PetSafe is so convenient and easy to use. Grab a bag (weighs less than a jar of sauce), tear it open (it does so easily), pour it in the cat box. I scoop poop twice a day and replace every two days. It dumps out easily and doesn't glue itself to everything - and yet it completely eradicates any moisture. The scooper never gets gross. It really controls the odor. And the kittens like using it.

I wouldn't really call myself a cat person but all those colourpoints are so pretty that I could be won over.
Is the PetSafe litter safe enough to be eaten by dogs? I'm sure Beagles would try. Have you ever used the wooden pellet cat litter? That goes into fluffy clumps, but it can be trowelled into the garden soil.

They are gorgeous. My Mom always loved siamese mixes. They were the reason I decided to rescue these guys - I just kept hearing my Mom yelling at me "they're siamese - get them NOW".

I questioned that with the company when I first tried it. Their answer was "it is not safe for dogs to eat cat poop"... Not really answering the question. My suspicion is that it is safe in small quantities - after all, cats will end up swallowing some crystals. In large quantities, I would think it is bad. But then so is clumping litter.

The Twooney have their own private room with a dog gate across the door. Their food, water and litter are in there. The dogs can't access it at all. Even if I leave the gate open, the dogs will sit on the other side waiting.

Today, the kittens decided that with Tornado-dog on a leash, they could come out and play. All but Punx and YumYum jumped the gate. My peaceful life is over - there is no stopping them now.

Poor Tornado-dog - he got so overstimulated. He was drooling and panting and just couldn't settle. I ended up putting Cat-dog's old harness on him so he wouldn't pull against his collar. That helped. But he's only now settling down - 2 hours later. It's the little ones that really get him going. He is certain they are R-A-T-S and his JRT brain goes nuts. The peke and shih tzu brains aren't any better. So I tell him to listen to his collie and his Cat-dog brains - but that JRT brain is just so loud.

I meant to add that I have tried the newspaper pellets, crushed walnut and wood pellets. Never found them to be worth the price. And with the wood pellets you have to make sure they are specifically labelled as not toxic. Cheap versions don't remove certain resins, etc, and can be toxic to cats. I also noticed various allergies and/or asthma with some - crushed walnut was the worst. That was recommended for parrot cages. I now use butcher paper - cheap and easy.

My delivery of PetSafe arrived. I sent the dogs out back and opened up the gates while I mopped and swept the bathroom and cleaned both boxes in there (kittens have two, The Twooney have theirs upstairs). Feel so much better.

@CaroleC And if it were possible, I'd send Daisy home with you today. You'd love her. She wants to lay next to you while you rub her tummy - purring the entire time. And she and Panther have the prettiest facial structure.