New kittens
 

My new kittens, both female, moved in a few days ago.

The picture shows them cuddled up together in their nest-box which is in the laundry - it is not great, taken at night with a flash

They have very different personalities - the tortoiseshell is an extrovert but the black one is very reserved though I think that I am earning her trust - she now lets me pick her up and purrs when I do that. They get on well together.

The vet, somewhat solemnly, told me that the black one is called Blackberry (sounds good) and the tortoiseshell is Layla, which I am not convinced about - any suggestions?

So far I have given them access to the kitchen, laundry, my computer room and the upstairs bathroom - they have spent a fair bit of time together exploring those places. In a week or so I will introduce them to the rest of the house.

I am really enjoying having them in the house :).

Oh, they are lovely.

Thanks for posting their portraits.

We have had many black cats, and have noticed that they have unique personalities. All of ours have tended to be timid. But also they tend to be very sensitive and intelligent.

Torties have a reputation for being eccentric in some ways.

Our most recent cat, Maya was a feral and never lived in a house. She lived in our friend's rescue in a large cage for about a month. So when we got her on vacation, she hid for about a week. We enticed her out bit by bit with food tidbit treats ( chicken, bacon, salmon) and toys. She eventually came out and decided to join us... Here is a photo of her accepting the sofa...which she discovered no one used that part, so it became hers. We had just succeeded in taming Maya, when we left for home (an all day car trip). she started hiding again, so it was another week of "where's Maya?"

We also kept the new kitten in the kitchen with a small litter box. As soon as I saw them use it regularly, I let them out.
I did keep them out of the basement and attic until they became adults. One never knows what kind of "trouble" they can get into being so small! ;)

As far a naming goes, we usually go a week or so until the kitten sort of names itself with some behavior. Maya was our only exception...I had that name picked out in advance.

I try to have each name slightly different so they can tell who is being called etc. A name ending in the eeezy sound and one that ends with an "a" sound or something else.

When we had 3 their names were Sheba, Tippy, Oreo.
I don't think this is a big issue since Maya always comes when we call Weezie. :o LOL

Little baby Maya just LOVED the little bits of real human food we offered her...she had never had before. She is a shrimp girl now like our late Sheba was. Those early hiding days I think ended because of the once a day small treat we offered her.

Thanks mrsD - Maya is lovely :).

The vet loaded me up with two giant bags, one for each of them. Kitten food, a topical drug (Selamectin) which is apparently effective against worms, fleas and paralysis ticks, which are an issue here - I will read the instructions carefully and get back to her if there is anything that I don't understand.

She also gave me some food treats (one chicken-based, the other fish-based) which they need to chew, which helps with tartar - I will try them out on those.

I found a couple of ping-pong balls which I will let them chase tomorrow when they are exploring.

Our current cats really love PAPER... I get unprinted paper sometimes in Ebay boxes. The cats LOVE boxes too.

So we have some packing paper, in parts of the first floor rooms, which they play on and under. Maya especially loves the paper.
I figure it is something to do with being feral? So Weezie has learned it too. They found some green tissue paper in a box recently and brought it upstairs to the living room and sit/lie on it now.

Here is Maya with a recent paper nest:
and secondly, Little Maya on Vacation when we adopted her
in Aug of 2012. I used to say loudly.... "Where's Maya" and she'd appear from under our old Cushman antique furniture upNorth,
like a phantom. That spot was our play place...where I did feathers on a stick and string, and other toys. She liked to have small boxes around, to sit in. We called them safety boxes. She had decided I guess that we don't step there, so she was safe.
The safety box in the kitchen was the most used.

Our other cats were not so "crazy" for paper and boxes...

This is a drawing I did in pastel recently about the paper and boxes issue:

I mention this, because after 40+yrs of cats, we found the new
paper and boxes, the best playthings of all. Maya does not go outside because we lost a cat before her -- the first time ever, so we don't let her past the screened porch. Weezie does go out and she trained herself to come in around 4-5pm, to avoid predators (Coyotes or whatever got poor Houdini). She stays around our house as we have lots of rodents for her to stalk.

Your kittens are adorable. :circlelove:

One of the outside kitties I feed is a Tortie and I named her KitKat. There is a black cat, too, and I named her Hershey. There were two more in that litter that were boys. Since I had already started "candy" themed names I named them Snickers and Taffy. :D

Your idea about paper is great mrsD :). I really like your drawing.

This morning I tossed them a couple of pieces of crumpled paper. They spent about 30 minutes chasing them and each other around the kitchen. After that they needed a morning tea snack...

Kitty, I really like your idea of themed names :).

As far as the tortie is concerned, I am leaning towards Waiwaiaa - it is Maori for "beautiful".

Yeah Kiwi! They are so cute! I am so happy for you. :trampoline:

What a bunch of joy to have in the house. The thirty minutes of play sounds like a blast. I am imagining all the adorable and hilarious things kittens do during play, the front legs thrown open in a standing "attack" and the getting ready to pounce butt wiggle. What fun!

Waiwaiaa is a nice name and picks up the "a" sounds. Blackberry is cute too. Congrats on the new additions to your family.

:hug:

Mrs. D, great photos and drawing. I had two Bombay over the years myself and they really are wonderful cats.

Thanks Littlepaw :hug:.

I had a bit of an adventure today - I needed to go out so locked everything up so I thought that they could not go outside.

When I got back they seemed to have vanished (cue panic). Loud purring in my computer room/study was a hint - they had managed to burrow behind the books in one of the bookshelves there and had snuggled up together - whew ;).

hey kiwi

Congrats on the new arrivals to your family - adorable - Waiwaiaa is a great name - I was a bit late coming to the naming party, having been off line a few days and when I read your first post, and MrsD's comment about torties being eccentric, it made me think of the name Lola (as in The Kinks song and a variation on the original name Layla).

Hope you have lots of fun with them and I'm sure they'll give hours of amusement as the grow up.

Blackberry and Waiwaiaa continue to thrive. They have figured out what a litter tray is for so I have opened up the rest of the (carpeted) house for them to explore, which they are having fun doing :).

They got some standard anti-viral vaccinations a few days ago (which I checked out ahead of time). The next day they were a bit off-colour but are now back to their usual lively selves :).

Watching kittens is so much fun! I am happy for you that you are enjoying them.

So keep those stories comin'! ;)

Last week we received 2 small Amazon boxes...which were quickly taken over by Maya. I put them near the front door so hubby could take them out on trash day, but she had other ideas for them. She likes to sit in both, waiting for hubby to return from his errands. It seems they are her new "morning" spot. ;)

Hi Kiwi,

Watching them explore sounds like so much fun. You are making me want kittens. Though my old gal Ba-ba would never approve, so I will have to settle for hearing about yours.

If it is not a bother, I am sure I'm not alone in saying we'd love another photo sometime. :)

Pet their silky little heads for me ok?

Great pictures mrsD - I think that I should arrange some cardboard boxes for my two :).

Littlepaw, I think that I understand about Ba-ba; I suspect that Susie would not have been impressed about the arrival of new ones.

The vet came round today to check their post-vaccination vital signs (impressive) - all was good.

Waiwaiaa has decided that my computer chair is a good spot (attached) - not as good as your pictures mrsD, something that I guess I should work on.

This does not leave much room for me but we can usually compromise. She also enjoys walking on the laptop keyboard. I learned something from this. She found a key (not the faintest idea which one) which switches off WiFi access to my router - it reverted to something called "Airplane Mode", which I had never heard of.

After a brief pause for some four-letter words I managed to restore access - another small datapoint added to what I know about Windows 10 ;).

Kiwi,

Thanks for the photo. What a smart kitty to be teaching you all about Windows 10. ;) She is adorable. I didn't realize she is a tortoise and white, such a pretty girl.

That is impressive that the vet came around!

Definitely use MrsDs box idea. When I was fostering a kitten last I set boxes on their side so the flaps formed a wall with an "entry" the kitten could push through. I also cut a couple of holes to pop out of. My son called the resulting construction "box castle" and boy did the kitten have fun running in and out and knocking toys about inside. With two of them it will work even better.

Thanks Littlepaw and mrsD - your collective idea of a cardboard box was great :)!

I have put one in the kitchen - they have fun with it, getting into and over it, having mock fights about who has possession. They also find a piece of crunched-up newspaper good value - they chase it round for ages, sometimes arguing about who owns it ;).

Apart from that they are both goggle-eyed about my Brush Turkeys, who they see outside every day. I have a colony, complete with a nest-mound and they come round for food hand-outs. They are about twice the size of Blackberry and Waiwaiaa (the attached picture of the alpha male gives an idea).

I will keep them inside for a while yet and then let them explore outside.

The kittens continue to thrive and both have healthy appetites :). I had to go to the vet today to get another bag of "Kitten Growth" food for them.

Apart from that they are enjoying a climbing/scratching pole with a platform on top which a friend made for Spike and Susie.

They climb up it, reach the platform and have mock fights on it :).

Working on pictures of this...

I had an adventure today with the kittens.

The vet has told me that they should stay inside until they are old enough to be desexed, in about a month I think.

Today I must have been careless when I walked up the drive to get the mail and left the door open - Blackberry did a runner. Cue: panic. Waiwaiwaa was concerned (this might just be anthropomorphism) about the absence of her friend.

Blackberry strolled in about an hour ago, after about eight hours AWOL, graciously accepted food and affection from Waiwaiwaa. Whew :D.

Note to self - check door before going outside :winky:.

My kittens continue to thrive.

They have both mastered the skill of sarcastic eating, which is finding a tiny food scrap on the kitchen floor and then spending ages eating it with evident enjoyment.

I take sarcastic eating to be a hint that they would like a snack, not that they are under-fed :winky:.

Kiwi, I just love reading about your new kitten sisters!

I found by chance on my eBook app this book at our library.
We can check out for free for 21 days, and I have been reading many things for the last few months at night, to get to sleep. I use a Samsung Tab3... which I guess is about the size of a Kindle.


.


It is really packed with tons of history and kitten information, and everything else anyone who loves cats, might enjoy.
If you can find it where you are, you might want to check it out.

It did give me some guilt over our past cats, as I was pretty clueless about them, and made mistakes, etc. But if you are not that sensitive or guilt prone, the book is amazing in other respects. ;)

Thanks mrsD - that book looks great :).

Blackberry and Waiwaiaa are my third generation cats.

I made some mistakes with the first generation, mainly giving them rubbish commercial food, so reckon that I still have a fair bit to learn.

I seem to have discovered what "herding cats" means.

Blackberry and Waiwaiaa sleep in the laundry so every evening I make sure that the litter-tray is clean and that there is food and water for them - during the day they go into the laundry quite happily to use all of these.

But, not in the evening...

They rush about the house like mad things with me in close pursuit. Through trial and error I have discovered that the best plan is to shut all of the doors apart from the kitchen/laundry complex. Once they deign to go into the laundry they purr loudly.

Still, this evening ritual is good for my aerobic fitness ;).

Blackberry and Waiwaiwaa continue to thrive :).

They have decided that cuddling up together for sleep on the container of fresh cat litter in the laundry is a good plan (attached) - taken late at night with a flash so not great.

They both studiously ignore their nice sleeping box, installed at some expense to the management. Sigh :rolleyes:. They both bound out of the laundry full of enthusiasm for a new day every morning.

As the saying goes, "Dogs have owners, cats have staff." ;)

Your cats are beautifu, kiwi!

Well, cats do have their ideas about things. We now live with packing paper on our floors in some spots in deference to our cats. Maya has rejected two slightly larger boxes and is still squished into her little Amazon box, every day duh?

Sometimes cats take a while to accept a new thing, but once done, they never let it go. We had a friend give us some little knitted cat toy sacks she bought at a craft fair. Maya wouldn't give them the time of day. But now she "catches" and carries them around and plays with them the most. So what goes thru their minds remains a mystery to me.

I had a bad fall in the house several days ago, and really hurt myself. My activity level is getting back to normal now, but I have wounds on my right arm and elbow that still are healing and very painful. Maya crept into my lap yesterday.. and was very loving. Now, Maya doesn't sit in my lap ever and I thought this 4 yr old cat was trying to tell me something? She is mostly hubby's cat, and does sit on him occasionally. Right now she is in her tiny safety box watching me type this post!

Great photo thanks kiwi. :)

I enjoyed watching a couple of shows last week called The Secret Life of Kittens. I learned so much even though I've had cat companions most of my life.

When my son was little he went to a school where the uniform included a straw boater hat. Sometimes he'd leave it on a bench or table upside down and one of the cats used to squeeze into it. Not too much of him fitted let me say! It was quite the sight but he'd quickly jump straight into his favourite nesting place to catnap if the opportunity arose.

mrsD - ugh. That doesn't sound good. Take care there please, and feel better fast. :hug:

Lara, I like your story about the hat.

mrsD, that is not good about your fall - hope that you heal soon.

Hi Kiwi,
Your kitties are adorable.
Happy to hear they are thriving.
It has been great fun reading about your adventures with them.
May I be curious and ask why they sleep in the laundry so you have
"herd" them each night? 😊
Take care, D.

Thanks Diandra :).

Good question about why the laundry is the sleeping spot. I guess that part of it is habit - Blackberry and Waiwaiaa are my third generation of cats and the previous generations slept there.

The herding is getting better - it is now just a brief game having first cunningly filled their bowls in the laundry with dinner ;).

Apart from that I wanted them to learn that the laundry is where their litter tray is. This has worked fairly well - there have been a few (coughs) "accidents" elsewhere in the house but less so than before.

My kittens got desexed a couple of days ago. This involved putting them into the cat cage and walking up to the vet. They were not impressed with this - the claw scratches on my arms are healing well ;).

I was impressed with the vet - I got a heap of handouts explaining what would happen, including full details of the anaesthesia, which I checked out of course :rolleyes:.

It was uneventful - they are eating and drinking well. They have been fitted out with what amount to plastic lampshades on their heads to stop them from licking their small (a few cm) abdominal incisions until they have completely healed. They find them a bit disconcerting - keep on bumping into things.

The vet nurse told me that I should keep them as quiet as possible for about a week, which has been a non-trivial task :rolleyes:. I have confined them to the kitchen, laundry and computer room which is sort-of working.

No jumping up or down, is basically the rule.

You might find that the urine accidents stop finally. They occur when females approach estrus , to attract males.

We've never had this, but my son took in a feral years ago who
who he didn't think was old enough to spay yet...as she was sooooo thin, and starving. She urinated in 3 corners of his home, but no longer does after the spay.

We didn't use the the "collar of shame" as my husband calls it.
None of our cats were very active after the spay procedure.

Blackberry and WaiWaiaa had their abdominal surgical staples removed today which was routine.

The vet nurse also removed their (in mrsD's phrase) "collars of shame" which they both appreciated.

They both ate and drank well tonight and are enjoying having full access to the house :).

Both Waiwaiaa and Blackberry are totally back to normal :).

mrsD, thanks for your wisdom about urination :). I reckon that you are right - it is now 14 days since they were spayed and there have been no "accidents" since then - nothing else is different - their litter-tray gets changed same as before.

The kittens continue to thrive.

One thing that I have noticed is that they tend to defecate in random places. I don't think that this is an issue with their litter tray, which they use for both defecation and urination and the litter gets changed regularly.

Does anybody (mrsD?) have any thoughts on how to discourage this?

Try having a second litterbox. Some cat experts suggest a litter box for each cat.

Thanks mrsD - I will give that a try.

I forgot to suggest that the two boxes not be next to each other.

When cats get wound up while playing they will not be able to eliminate next to each other... they will be tense and distrustful while using the box ...so one will go elsewhere if they are needing to eliminate at the same time.

Thanks mrsD.

I have put two litter trays at opposite ends of the laundry, with their sleeping box in the middle.

According to the manufacturer the litter is made from recycled paper (it looks like tiny logs) and contains nothing which is not needed (no bleach or deodorants, etc).

Will see what happens.

mrsD, your idea about two litter trays has worked well :).

They are both doing well but are not impressed with the hot (30+ C) weather here of late. They flop out on the floor air-con vents and I make sure that their drinking bowls are full.

I had a bureaucratic issue with them today. After they were spayed the vet got me to sign-off on some official forms.

I thought that would be the end of it.

Wrong. Today I got a somewhat aggressive letter from the local Council, saying that they are not registered with them.

I dutifully logged on to the Council site. The term "user-vicious" is a fair summary of it. After some time, with many pauses for four-letter words, I think that they are now registered. This cost me a whole $A22 for each of them - I have a zillion back-ups of this, just in case.

Anyway, they are enjoying their and my company and I am enjoying theirs, which is all that matters :).

Hey kiwi

Glad to hear your kittens are doing well (and becoming house-trained).

Having to register your cats with the council - how ridiculous - what do they provide for that registration? Dogs I can understand as it pays for animal control services etc - but are they going to send out the noise control officers if your neighbour complains that your kittens are meowing too loud? :D
I bet you're paying for the 'control' of wild cats. I can understand your frustration - and don't even get me started on user unfriendly websites.

Hope you have a better day today.

Thanks bluesfan

I finally found an intelligent person at the Council. They don't do much apart from checking that cats have been desexed - feral breeding cats are a problem so that is fair enough.

She walked me through various things which I stuffed up trying to do it on-line.

They are now officially registered - yay :).

This is a bit self-indulgent.

Blackberry and WaiWaiaa have decided that curling up together beside the chess board in my computer room/study is a good plan :).