What's this? New Kitten Room Addition

I got something new for the kitten room.. any guesses what it is? I will tell you that Chester was not too sure about the whole thing and watched from a distance for quite a bit of the construction.

the print really amuses me

The kittens use it, but I don't see them up there unless I encourage it with a toy. They both seem to like to "play Aliens" with it though and "burst" right out of the chest!

Dear Santa, let's try this again

Two years ago, Happy Bear wrote a letter to Santa asking for what his little heart wanted most..

Unfortunately, the reply was less than what was hoped for. The question is.. are the elves that are helping Santa any more efficient this year?

I also wanted to show off the upgrades to the kitten room bath. It still needs a coat of paint, and something over the sink - be it a mirror or maybe a painting, and a backsplash of some sort, but this is the general gist of what it now looks like.

Just a reminder what it used to look like.

Kitten Room Shenanigans

With this last bunch of kittens, I came to the conclusion (once again) that I really hate scrubbing kitten poop off painted walls.

Back in Maine, we had concrete on one section of wall and we had smooth scrubbable wallboard on the wall we installed. Since the dried poop came off that a lot easier I tended to put the litter box up against that.

This time I have no such option. I probably could install something, but I've got a bunch of other projects I want to get through first and so when I ran across some rolls of discounted self-sticking shelf liner, I bought one that I thought would cover the closet that is in the kitten room.

It has always been my plan to use the closet for the litter boxes, but this has been the first time I've actually done it. I covered the floor with plain white. It didn't last very long before it started to rip, and there is a small wrinkle that is catching litter crumbs but I'm not ready to pull it up yet. Those issues are actually under the litter box so as of right now the whole thing is still doing what I intended it to, making it easier to clean.

I liked this patterned paper on the roll. It is not for people who have a little OCD..

I tried to get the pattern lined up, but I gave up pretty quickly.. I do not have the patience for wallpaper apparently..

I decided to go over the baseboard but not over the trim.. for some reason there is quarter-round trim on the outside of the baseboard. It is all fancy and pretty but it is a bit annoying to clean. When I get around to replacing the floors in this room (probably a few years away) I'll take it out and do something else..

The curtain is just there because I had nowhere else to put it when I brought the other two out of the packed boxes from Maine as I only have two windows in this room but I had three back there. I probably won't leave it so low because.. well kittens.. You just know someone is going to jump up and try to hang on it and since it is just a tension rod that won't end well.

I'm thinking I might also like to put a shelf in the closet but I haven't worked that all out yet.

Currently, the closet door is tied open so kittens can't shut themselves in, but I'm guessing I am going to remove the door all together at some point. I had considered putting in a cat door so it was a bit more enclosed (to contain litter) but that would make the litter area very dark and I'm not sure I'm okay with that. We'll see how it goes.

I've been working on cleaning up the kitten room and hopefully, new kittens will arrive soon.. as it always feels so weird when I don't have kittens to take care of.

A new tree for the kitten room

And no, it isn't Raffe.. Before we left Maine, I ran into one of those sales on the morning programs and this one was selling stick on wall art. I had wanted something for my new kitten room, and they had a tree that was kinda cool so I bought it.

I didn't install it in the other house because we had plans to move the kitten room from where it was when we upgraded a few things. Since that didn't work out and we moved, I waited until we painted the kitten room which we did a few weeks ago.

I wasn't sure where I wanted to put it, because we are going to install a climbing wall in the room for the kittens, but it got to the point that it was bugging me that it wasn't up and since it is basically one great big post-it, I figured if we wanted to put the wall where I put the tree I could move it without too much difficulty.

I'm still looking for a pretty crystal chandelier for the room.. but I am afraid I'll be looking for one of those for years.

Poor abused Raffe

When I was taking photos I noticed something odd about Raffe..

My first thought was that someone vomited on his foot, but that didn't really make sense with the location and the small amount. A closer look revealed something unsettling..

It looks like Raffe is going to need a new set of feet.. and a new tail..

Working in the kitten room

I was working in the kitten room this weekend going through several rolls of fabric I was given when I was still in Maine. I like having large pieces of fabric to make backgrounds to take photos of kittens and my office was right next to a business that made custom upolstry fabrics. They would often order samples and no longer need them and instead of throwing them out they would come to our office and offer them to us. I grabbed everything that was left over from what the other women wanted and I ended up with a few decent sized pieces that would work as a backdrop.

Skippy thought he would help me test the out.. but I am not sure he thought they were really appropriate..

Mom, are you sure this isn't too busy? and where is my bowtie?

I have a new bow tie? COOL!

IDK, stripes just aren't my thing.. 

What do you think Fleurp? 

I agree, we look much better without the backdrop

They totally refused to sit still, even with the promise of treats, until I removed the backdrops. Just something you have to deal with when photographing cats I guess. I was quickly running out of daylight and there is no light fixture in this room yet (we are going to hire an electrician to put one in) so I didn't really have time to wait for them to cooperate.

I now have a total of nine different backdrops and a nice pile of fabric that was just too small to work that I am going to try to turn into something.. either catnip toys or cat beds. We'll see. Since right now I don't have anywhere to set up my sewing machine, it will be a while before I get to it.

Reorganizing the kitten room: If you clean it, they will come, right?

I gave you a tour of the kitten room a while ago, but it was time to reorganize. When I first bought the cabinet in the kitten room I thought the best place for it was in front of one of the windows, but over time it just became more and more annoying. Since it has now been almost 50 days without kittens, I thought it might be a good time to rearrange the whole room.

I have been thinking about rearranging the kitten room for some time now. I thought I would share with you how it looks now and Skippy so kindly decided to help. *rolls eyes* I also purchased a new couch for the room. I am not a huge fan, but it was cheap and kittens can not get under it, which is a huge plus in my book... so I bought it. It is black pleather.. I'm sure I'll have it uncovered a lot as the fitted sheets really don't do that great of a job covering it, but it is staying on at the moment, so there is that.  This first photo above is a view from the door.

This is the view from the window by the door. The big empty space on the left is where the tv is going to go. Once that is up I might move the litter box box to be right underneath it. I didn't want to move it until the tv went up because it would make it hard to put the tv up and I don't know if the kittens can use it to get to the tv and be annoying. We'll see.

This is the view from directly behind Raffe. You can see where the meshare camera is. The dropcam is currently on top of the cabinet, and I do not know where it is going to end up. I've considered mounting it to the wall, but I like having it movable for when I have neonatal kittens that don't go anywhere so you can see them close up.

This is the view from where Happy Bear was seated. Skippy wonders if that blue toy bin storage thing can survive rambunctious kittens. We'll see. As you can see we totally need to move the hook that the broom

The view from the window over the litter box box.

Towels, feeding cloths, soft bedding and toys in the hanging shelves. Kitten room hardware (box cutter, duct tape, dustpan), syringes, medical supplies, wipes, misc, and plastic shopping bags and trash bags in the drawers. The blanket and more fitted sheets for covering the couch on the large side of the cabinet. Cat food, dishes, scale and cleaning supplies, and towels in the smaller side. I'm hoping to leave the bottom shelf empty because kittens ALWAYS get in there when I'm dishing out food.

I have a small chest of drawers just outside the room and that is where I've put the kitten clothing and the props for taking photos. There is still the plastic on one of the windows because the hardware the CatMan needs for mounting the TV is on the sill. The laundry basket will go where the TiVo currently sits. I'm not sure if the Moses basket is going to stay on the wall, but currently, I like it.

So, Universe, I'm ready!

Fixing Raffe - again

Last year I attempted to fix Raffe's neck which had a seriously hard time standing upright. It did not help that kittens really enjoyed climbing up his neck. Even after 'surgery', it fell over again pretty quickly.

I attempted to fix him by simply pulling his head up, but the support structure started poking out through him

I figured that thin wire was not going to be enough to support the weight of kittens who love climbing up Raffe's neck. I went to the home improvement store to get some PVC pipe. My husband picked up a piece but it was a bit curved so he asked if I wanted a different piece and I looked up and saw a piece that "spoke to me" and asked him to get that one instead. We joked around a bit and I said he told me his name was Jim (when he spoke to me) and then we had a fun time sticking Jim in the truck because the piece was longer than the truck bed.

Apparently, The Crew thought I said gym because they had fun knocking it on the couch and then playing limbo.

I could have gotten a smaller piece, but I wasn't sure how far down I would be able to get into Raffe's leg, so having the full length would give me multiple options. I cut open a larger section this time and pulled out the original wire support. I as hoping to be able to manipulate the inner structure for his legs to get him standing with all four feet on the ground, but I couldn't seem to be able to do that. I wasn't sure how good he would look if I had one straight line from his head to his toe, so I decided to start with a smaller piece that went from his head to the bottom of his chest cavity. It took some manipulating to get it in there, so I'm hopeful that it will do what I want it to. If this doesn't work, I have more of Jim so that I can attempt to rework the whole thing again.

Sewing it back up was a bit more work this time, but with more dental floss and some persistence I as able to get it together.

Looks like Raffe will be with us for another kitten season, and hopefully many more.

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Mittens has become "Rupert". I was contacted by a local woman who wants to adopt him when he becomes healthy enough, and that was the name she picked out for him. I will admit I was becoming quite partial to Mozart and Einstein, but Rupert is a lovely name.

When he showed up I offered him a small bit of raw food which he inhaled and asked for more. I went and got him some more and he ate very little of it. I gave him a can of food that they sent home with him, and he took two bites of that and stopped. He left the shelter at 1lb 4 oz. When I went to bed he was 1lb 6. I was very optimistic.

In the morning he was 1lb 5. I opened more food, brought down more raw and he nibbled at it but didn't eat much. I hoped that he was just distracted with my being there and he'd eat during the day. He had some, but not a lot and was still 1lb 5 when I got home.

He is drinking a considerable amount of water for his size, and he peed several times during the day. He pooped once, right after he showed up and the stool was well formed. I had hoped that his whiskers were causing him stress since they were getting in his food and thus in his mouth when he ate. I trimmed them last night and that did not seem to help. I wasn't comfortable giving him a bath in that condition. I'm hoping tomorrow is better. That photo is prewhisker trim when I was trying to just smooth them back in hopes that they would stay and I wouldn't have to trim them. He looks adorable with 'regular' eyebrow whiskers now and I know that they will grow back again.

Not so Happy Lion

I was out the other day and made a stop at a yard sale. There, right out front, was this lion chair.

Knowing Happy Bear won't last forever (shhh don't tell him) I picked it up.

While I was looking him over I noticed that he smelled a bit like Fabreeze. I figured the previous owner wanted to freshen him up a bit and didn't think much of it. I put him in my car and drove home.

I made a few stops along the way, and in the process, I closed up my car thinking it was going to rain. When I came back to my car after a stop the smell was nearly overwhelming.

I have left Happy Lion out now for a week. First airing out in my car (I have a convertible, I must have looked silly with him buckled in the passenger seat) and now being outside on the deck for two days. The smell is still there.

Anyone know if you can machine wash these types of things? I'm guessing at this point it is the only thing I can do to salvage him.

If you have any ideas, I'm open to suggestions.

Ready Player One Kittens - a new chapter

The time has finally come to separate Art3mis from her kittens. I wanted this to happen earlier than this as well as much much later. If I can, I like to keep kittens with their mothers because there is a lot they can learn that only a mother can properly teach and the additional nutrients she can provide are overly important. Unfortunately, Art3mis' attitude was rubbing off on the kittens and they not only had little use for me but they were also starting to fear me. While her mental health is very important, there are six kittens who need proper socialization.  I'm also taking some comfort in the fact that each time I challenged her she grew.  While going back to the shelter will be hard on her I am suspecting she will rise up to the challenge and surprise me.

(not that it doesn't freak me right out and I also fear that she will revert and be hard to place)

The kittens just passed the six-week mark and were due for vaccines and a general check in with the shelter.

Each one was weighed, vaccinated, dewormed and given a dose of revolution.

Art3mis was also weighed, vaccinated and dewormed, and I was very pleasantly surprised at how well it went.  She didn't growl once. She was obviously freaked out but we went slowly and she let us do what we needed to do. She will go up on the adoption floor to help her adjust and hopefully, her milk will dry up nicely and she will charm someone who has the patience to work with her. If they do, they will have a wonderful cat in their life.  I miss her already and lament that there wasn't more I could do for her.

The kittens were glad to be home. I had done a little cleaning and rearranging before letting them out of the carrier, so they were a little confused..

A few weeks ago I shared a cardboard slide on facebook that was made for kittens. My father saw it and thought to himself that he could make something like that, so he set upon a project to make a slide for me.

It seems a little big for kittens, but we will see what they think of it. If it is too much for them I'll see if we can rework it a little to be a little smaller, but kittens sometimes surprise me and maybe they'll love it at this size. I mean currently Evelyn thinks it makes an awesome bed.

As for the kittens missing mom, so far only Samantha and Parzival seemed to wonder where she went. Samantha called for her a few times but then went off to play with her siblings. Generally, cats and kittens expect that they are going to be separated and when the time comes generally seem pretty blasé about the whole thing. I have had kittens in the past that looked for their mom for several days - it was heartbreaking. Sometimes there are mother cats who bond hard with their kittens and do not want to be separated, just as there are siblings who are bonded, but on the whole, they accept separation as a part of life.

Update:

I stopped by the shelter Monday afternoon and dropped off an adoption card for Art3mis providing the information I have on her.  She was still there, sitting in the back of her cage. I reached in and patted her and she allowed it but didn't lean into it. I found some treats and offered them to her and she ate them which made me very happy. I offered her a little bit of food, and she stood up to eat it. I took photos of a couple of cats that were in the same adoption room that she was because they were flirting with me.  It is nice to see she isn't reverting and I am hopeful that she will come out of her shell a bit more and show a little better. A solid black cat who shoves herself in the very back of the cage is just so sad.