Mama's Boy needs to cut the apron strings.

Henry is on the right.

This black shorthaired kitten, Henry, loves his mama. He snuggles with her in the afternoon. He washes her face when she tries to wash him. Her tail is his favorite toy. He copy-cats everything that she does - which is where he got his exemplary litter box habits. Mama loves him too. She spent the first 5 weeks of his life struggling to care for him outside, after being abandoned by her owner.

But it's time for Henry to make his own way in the world. Mama needs her tail back.

He’s a Taurus, born in early May, so he’s warm-hearted and loyal, but can also be stubborn when told he cannot play with the computer wires. His hobbies include biting toy mice, chasing after balls and trying to figure out just who is that kitten in the mirror. He’s very friendly, especially if you have treats, but doesn’t snuggle yet. Those early weeks as a feral make him hesitant around strangers, but he’s getting more affectionate every day. He’s won the heart of my other cat, too.

He’s scheduled for his last set of shots in the third week of August, and I’m planning on neutering him at the same time. His mama is FIV+. This doesn’t mean that he is, so I’ll have him tested before I send him home with you. $50 and vet or personal references are required to adopt him.

Got Purrs?

I got purrs from Athena this morning! Turns out I was going about it all wrong. There are specific conditions that need to be met.

1) She must be in the cat cage
2) She must be on the second shelf
3) She must be scratched between the shoulder blades
4) You are not allowed to look at the kitten
5) Morning is better
6) You must stop when she is done

It's all very simple....

The most ridiculous kitten EVER

I just cornered Athena so I could pet her. She was refusing to admit how much she liked it, when it slipped her mind that I was petting her. She almost gave me her belly, and I heard about 1/3 of a purr before she remembered. Of course, that meant that she needed to escape immediately.

She's just being difficult. She knows I'm not going to hurt her and she absolutely loves being petted. She associates me with food and treats. She just has this idea that it's cooler to be feral. I'm seriously thinking about Valium. She'll eat from my hand, so if I could crush it and mix it with some canned food, we might get through the wall she's built.

He loves me, he loves me not

The kitties have been going on supervised, exploratory adventures around the house. At least Alma and Henry are.

Athena stays in the room crying "Come back, come back! We're safe in The Room." This is a kitten that hates change. She's so upset that she's hissing at me again. I'm not only going to have a house-feral - I'm going to have a feral that can't leave the guest bedroom. I don't know what I'm going to do with my allergic friends.

There is not hissing, etc between O and Alma. Alma is up in O's face more than he'd like. He tries to go someplace else and she runs after him to sniff his nose and his butt.

His relationship with Henry is very good. Henry runs up to O. O licks him. O hides behind a chair and pounces out at Henry, licking him when O catches him. O finds someplace high to sit to get out of kitten range.

When Alma sees O trying to leave Henry-range, she gets a little upset and tries to whack O with her paw. I, of course, put a stop to the incident before it gets started. I reminds me of all mothers: "What are you doing to my baby? My son wouldn't do anything like that!"

Henry is friendly-ish. He likes being petted and will approach me sometimes. On the other hand, if I'm just being a person - sitting in a chair or something, he'll avoid me. I think he trusts me, individually, but doesn't like people as a group. A lot of semi-ferals are like that.

I'm trying to bribe Athena with treats. I think what she really needs is a person on a rigid schedule. That way she'd know what to expect and wouldn't be so upset with things changing all the time.

Long Legged Mouse Biters

I haven't done an update for awhile on the kittens.

Sergie doesn't think they're cute any more because they've entered that long-legged, skinny kitten stage. I think they're adorable - probably close to three months old now.

Athena (the girl) doesn't run and hide from me. She'll either run OR hide. I'm ignoring her. She will deign to sniff my fingers if I don't come too close, move slow and don't even think about touching her. Maybe she'll feel more comfortable if she understands that I know she's there and don't want to chase her.

Henry (to whose name, I've had multiple objections) is getting friendly, especially around feeding time. I can pet him always, but can't scratch him behind the ears (too much like biting) and he doesn't enjoy a stroke that goes all the way down his tail. It's difficult to stop because he pushes into the end of the stroke, which naturally makes your hand pet the tail.

When I go and sit in there, Henry tries to chew my shoe off and Alma (the mommy) pesters around asking for pets (but not completely sure what to do with them) so Athena will come over and sit closer. She knows she doesn't like me, but she is around her family.

I haven't done anything about getting them adopted. After I made my first effort a couple weeks ago, I realized it was way too soon. Now Henry's friendly and Alma is weaning, so maybe he can go. I wonder if he's helping Athena adjust or whether having him gone would help more.

I've been putting up a baby gate to provide a bit of a barrier and feeding the kitty family in their room, while giving Orpheus a treat on the other side. I figured, while an adult cat can make it over, it would separate two cats interested in a detante (sp?).

The first day Alma and O ate their food, while eyeing the other. Henry put his paw through the gate and poked O, which O wasn't too thrilled about, but also didn't react to.

The second day, was about the same.

The third day, Athena started walking up and down the gate with her tail up in the air. I swear she was flirting. That night, I saw O playing "paws under the door" with Henry.

The fourth day, Alma came and looked through the gate at O.

Today, she cleared it in one clean leap. No running, no chasing, no hissing. They were sniffing each other's noses when I scooped Alma up and tossed her back in her room. The eating continued until Alma started growling. Not at O, there's a pair of dogs that get walked in front of my house every day. Alma's hobby is to stare out the window and growl at them, they bark a little and she was responding to that from the food dish. I'm not sure how O took it. We'll see how it works tomorrow.

Photographic Proof

Orpheus eating licorice that he stole from me.

Black female kitten is seeking Prince(ss) Charming for true love...

Athena is on the left.

I’m a princess myself, beautiful medium-length black fur and yellow/green eyes. I enjoy being enthroned someplace up high and am a fairly low energy kitten, unless there is a toy mouse involved. I met my first toy mouse when I was six weeks old. I wasn’t too sure about it: I need time to adjust to new things, but once I figured it out – watch out world! I hissed at my brother when he tried to play with it (he’s such a brat). I hissed at Mama when she looked at it. This is MY mouse.

I’ll probably hiss at you too. This might be because I lived outside for my first five weeks (mama used to tell about how nice it was to have an owner). Or it might be because I need to keep you in your place. I do enjoy being hand-fed wet cat food (there was some talk about how this was supposed to get me used to people’s hands, but I think it’s only right to get some service) and I have a super-sized purr. When I can relax, having the back of my head rubbed is great. I just need the right person to love.

One last thing, Mama is FIV+. This doesn’t mean that I am; I’ll get tested before I come to live with you. I come with my mouse, wet food, and will have my shots and be spayed by the end of August. Are you the one for me?