The post where I do things to the kittens

Part of the process of taming kittens is to push their challenge lines and let them see that it is completely okay to come out of their comfort zone and nothing bad will happen to them. I pick them and hold them and then put them down when they ask - they almost always ask immediately - but sometimes I tell them I am going to hold them for a minute and force them to relax a bit before I let them go. Sometimes I stand up and clap really loud and stomp my feet and then freeze. It confuses the daylights out of kittens, but when nothing happens to them it builds their confidence.  And if I can, I do really weird things..

This time, I decided to break out clothing.  I had a few cute dresses from when Charlotte was here, and I cautiously approached them and put them on. I was very surprised that neither one of them balked too seriously.  Sprite had a minute of clothing paralysis, but as soon as Wryn hit the floor she was far more interested in seeing what Wryn had on.

I was fully prepared to grovel and beg their forgiveness, but they were completely fine with it, and when I went to take the dresses off they purred and hung out with me, and this happened.

That is Wryn right next to my leg!  I hung out a while longer and Wryn climbed up on me on her own and actually started to nurse on my shirt. She is still a very busy little girl, and right now her priority is playing and running after Sprite... but we definitely have had a break through.  Sprite figured out we were really cool a few days ago and will seek out attention after eating.

I've got a call into the shelter to see if we can't get them neutered and then I'll bring them back here to Casa de Gato to recover for a bit. They might be here this weekend, they might not, it all depends on timing.

Hanging with the CatMan

DH was out of town this past week and he came home last night, much to the joy of the lady cats who love him.

A review of Mew Neko Silvervine

Back in the middle of January, I was contacted by Alvin Lee asking me if I would like to try his new silvervine product and suggested that if I liked it I might share it with all of you. (so yes, I received the product for free, but this post is my own honest review of it)

Mew Neko Silvervine is available on Amazon.com  It comes in both leaf and stick form. I want to say I have bought silvervine on Ebay before and so I have had some experience with it in the past. I had been looking for a good source for it and haven't had a heck of a lot of luck. There are some silvervine toys out there, and there are some silvervine products that were little more than powder, so I have been less than impressed.

If you are unfamiliar with silvervine, it is an "Asian catnip with a different active chemical then regular catnip" found in Japan, China, and Korea. There are several different plants that cats react to as they do to catnip, and this is one of them.

When the package from Amazon arrived, I opened it up and offered my cats two sticks and put a small pile of silvervine in front of Fleurp - who promptly ate it.  The sticks were played with (photos below) and then promptly disappeared.  I find one of them from time to time, but as soon as I put it back out to be played with it disappears too.

So, this review was going well.

Finally, I decided to put some leaves inside one of the scrap-nip toys I make and offer it to The Crew, hoping those wouldn't disappear too. That did the trick, and they have been quite popular. Not as popular as sprinkling the leaves on the ground - nip parties are always my cats favorite things, rolling around in it and trying to cover themselves with as much of the intoxicating substance as possible - and silvervine is no different.

I'm fairly certain I will buy some more of this when it runs out. I might even consider making a few scrap-nip toys for sale with it if I EVER get off my behind and start making scrap-nip toys for sale.

Now, onto the photos of the bliss.. be warned.. the photos are of intoxicated kitties, make sure your under-age kittens aren't looking or they might get ideas..

(if you look closely, you can see the stick under Muff's belly)

#WordlessWednesday - Random photos from my phone

Eli - my nip hound

Eli seems to want to have another post dedicated to him. He's been sitting around screaming at me lately, and I've tried everything else, so I'm hoping this is what he's been after... or maybe he's just after more static.. hard to tell with him.

Eli came to me in the same litter as his sister Muffin - although I'm not sure if they are biological siblings or not as back then they were adding orphaned kittens in with family groups to help them with socialization and nutrition. Muffin and Eli are my only 'siblings' that grew up nursing together and as such they know how to push each other's buttons like no other. I do my best not to get in the middle of it as I know they are just being siblings, but Muffin tends to have a bit of a diva personality and gets huffy if things don't go her way.

We haven't had an 'alpha' in the house since Ollie's passing,  From time to time Eli makes a play to be the top kitty, but it never lasts. I think it is because he isn't willing to do the work to keep it... that and because Muffin often kicks his behind. Sometimes it is Muffin, sometimes it is Jack.. sometimes it is Fleurp. We are the true definition of a fluid alpha house where the cats take turns.

Eli also does not meow. He squeaks at us.  We generally call him Squeaky! (think Norm! from Cheers), and when we do he squeaks back at us.. it is really freakin adorable.