Thursday, January 23, 2020

The owner of that foot



I know I know, I am so mean. if you happen to follow me on Instagram, you would have already met the newcomers.

I agreed to take on a couple of three-month-old feral kittens. They are really weird in how they communicate because their eyes say "snuggle me and tell me I am safe" but their body language and their reactions say "STAY AWAY FROM ME WITH YOUR GRABBY HANDS YOU WEIRD LADY YOU!!"

I did find that they like spam, so I am trying to show them I am a good thing with it. On a very superficial level, it works, but up until Wednesday they were stuck in this cage and I had to "loom over them to offer it to them so it was really hard.  They are now in the kitten room bathroom and I am hoping that giving them a little space will help. It is absolutely going to take some time.  Hopefully, paws crossed, I am able to reach them sooner rather than later.

Because I am having a very hard time resisting those "snuggle me" eyes..


Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Updates on "Chester" and "NoSocks"



I know I know, it has been a while since I have given you an update and I am sorry. A lot has been going on over here and I have been less than motivated to blog.

For the most part, their time with me was pretty uneventful until last week when Chester ended up lame. We do not know why. The speculation is that his brother chewed on his leg a little too hard, which is totally possible.


We put him on antibiotics and after a couple of days, he was back to 85-90% of normal function. He still holds it up a bit and he might run a little wonky from time to time, but he is healing nicely.


We ended up renaming NoSocks to Nero. I was not using that name anyway. I was calling him dude or buddy, or not really using a name at all. While NoSocks is a cute name, I can't imagine saying no to a kitty over and over for no particular reason.  The rescue he is being cared for put up a name that kitty post and that one seemed to fit him best.


Chester also earned himself a new name. He was seen online by someone who was just about to need a new kitty in her life so she reached out to me about adopting him. I connected her to the rescue and she will be taking Chester home this weekend and shall be calling him Kevin. I totally approve. And while it is always nice when kitties go home in pairs, I am not 100% sure that Kevin and Nero should be life long buddies (see above) and I really approve of the situation Kevin will find himself in.. I mean just look at this..

Thursday, January 9, 2020

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!

Thursday, January 2, 2020

Chester and No-Socks



I am fostering Chester and No-Socks through The Feline Connection rescue in Fair Haven Vermont, and the rescue's adoption fee is $130 per kitten.
It took a while to suss out their personalities as I was a) distracted and b) wanted to give them a fair amount of time to settle when they got here. I was given some background on them and I didn't want that to taint what I saw and experienced with them.

Chester came to me with some behavioral issues, namely litter box issues. We had one incident while he was here and that was almost immediately after he arrived and I think that had more to do with the fact that he hadn't found the litter box yet than he decided the place he was going was the better option.


Chester is a high energy kitten who wants to be involved in whatever it is you are doing. Trying to get photos of him was pretty rough because he wanted to check out the camera, wanted to go after his brother, wanted to investigate everything. He is going to be an excellent snooperviser.

However, he is a bit insecure. He wants to be reassured that he is a good boy and that everything is okay. He thrives under complements and praise. Not feeling sure about things, he will retreat and hide until he feels comfortable again. He LOVES to play. He likes feathers, the toy on a string I love, crinkle balls and I have a small stuffed starfish that he can not resist. He likes wrestling with his brother and he is also a bit of an attention hound. He really likes snuggling into my chest and nuzzling my neck and armpit.


"No-Socks" is a very dignified boy. He also loves to play and hunt toys, but he is not above letting his brother do all of the hard work. He does not seem to like the name he came to me with and I've been calling him bud or buddy. I've tried "Fester" out on him and he responded to that a few times.

He likes being petted and getting attention, but he is more likely to snuggle up next to your legs than climb in your lap when he is settling down for a nap. His personality is very interesting, almost like he has a dry sense of humor. He makes me laugh. For a while, I wondered if he was simply tolerating Chester as he was the only other kitty in the room, but the more I spend time with them I see that he really likes hanging out with him and will also seek him out for snuggles or wrestling.

They are both very good, well mannered, kitties. They both are prone to play with my hand when I go to pat them and they are too revved up, but they do it very gently, not hurting me in the least when they grab on to my hand with their paws or when they give me the bitey bite. They have been very clean and other than a little litter kicked out of the shallow litter box I haven't had to clean the room once since they have been here.

Both of them like jumping on to the sink when I refill their water bowl - wanting to be involved in whatever I am doing - and will lick water right out of the faucet. They are quick to purr and are ever so ready for their new home.

I would highly recommend Chester being set up in a "base camp" once he goes into his home. He will need time to adjust to a new home, his new people, and the new "rules" of how his people are going to interact with him. Once he feels secure, letting him explore parts of his new home and then being returned to "base camp" (one room in the house with everything he needs, food, litter, toys, and lots of playtime) increasing the amount of time he has to explore the home each time. This will help build his confidence while keeping him close to a litter box for most of the day which will reinforce good litter box habits. They will both protest over being separated from you, loudly, but they have always stopped after a couple of minutes.

They are a charming pair of boys and anyone would be lucky to have them.
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