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?

Rules for Stray Cats - an email forward

Rules for Stray Cats

1. Stray cats will not be fed.

2. Stray cats will not be fed anything, except dry cat food.

3. Stray cats will not be fed anything, except dry cat food moistened
with a little milk.

4. Stray cats will not be fed anything, except dry cat food moistened
with warm milk, yummy treats and leftover fish scraps.

5. Stray cats will not be encouraged to make this house their
permanent residence.

6. Stray cats will not be petted, played with, picked up and cuddled
unnecessarily.

7. Stray cats that are petted, played with, picked up and cuddled
will absolutely not be given a name.

8. Stray cats, with or without a name, will not be allowed inside the
house at any time.

9. Stray cats will not be allowed inside the house, except at certain
times.

10. Stray cats will not be allowed inside the house, except on days
ending in "y".

11. Stray cats, allowed inside, will not be permitted to jump up on or
sharpen their claws on the furniture.

12. Stray cats will not be permitted to jump up on or sharpen claws
on the really good furniture.

13. Stray cats will be permitted on all furniture, but must sharpen
claws on new .99 sisal rope cat scratching post with three perches.

14. Stray cats will answer the call of nature outdoors in the sand.

15. Stray cats will answer the call of nature in the three-piece,
high impact plastic tray filled with Fresh'n'Sweet kitty litter.

16. Stray cats will answer the call of nature in the hooded litter
pan, with a three panel privacy screen and plenty of head room.

17. Stray cats will sleep outside.

18. Stray cats will sleep in the garage.

19. Stray cats will sleep in the house.

20. Stray cats will sleep in a cardboard box lined with an old
blanket.


21. Stray cats will sleep in the special KittyKomfortBed with
nonallergenic lambs wool pillow.

22. Stray cats will not be allowed to sleep in our bed.

23. Stray cats will not be allowed to sleep in our bed, except at the
foot.

24. Stray cats will not be allowed to sleep in our bed under the
covers.

25. Stray cats will not be allowed to sleep in our bed under the
covers, except at the foot.

26. Stray cats will not play on the desk.

27. Stray cats will not play on the desk, near the computer.

28. Stray cats are forbidden to walk on the computer keyboard on
the desk, when the human is asdfjjhhkl;ljfd.;oier'puyykmm4hb
USING IT.

More on FIV

As you all know, I have a FIV+ Mama cat and have been exploring various options.

I discovered that there is an FIV vaccine, but my vet refuses to use it because an FIV vaccinated cat shows up as FIV+ on all available tests. This could lead to Orpheus being put down due to a false positive. This seems ridiculous.

So I got a second opinion. The second opinion vet doesn't use the vaccine because there hasn't been enough testing done (I read something last night mentioning that the most prevalent strain on America's East Coast hasn't been tested with the vaccine). This vet recommended blunting the incisors: no sharp teeth = no deep bites, no deep bites = no FIV transmission. This would, of course, mean that she wouldn't be able to kill her own food, but she shouldn't be running around outside anyway.

That, plus a careful introduction of the two cats should mean problem solved.

She goes in for a spay on Tuesday (I think she's pregnant again - a co-worker is calling her a "slut". I've tried to explain that she thought she had found The One before her Tom left her. When he told her he made a mistake and still loved her, of course she took him back. She's very young. It's not her fault that he broke her heart again.)

The kittens are still very bad and growing bigger daily. Hopefully they'll test FIV negative and hopefully they'll do that before they're 6 mo. old.

Thank you all for your encouragement and support. This has been a trying period.

The FIV dilemma

Ok. There is a FIV vaccine. My vet doesn't want to give it to Orpheus because he might escape, get picked up, and killed because he'd test positive. You were talking about the possible benefits of your more tolerant attitude and lenient laws...

Have you ever heard of anything more stupid? So she'd rather run the risk of Orpheus getting a debilitating illness than having him vaccinated against it because people make fatal choices about cats with FIV. What happens if he goes outside, gets bit and gets put to sleep due to a true positive? Can't somebody mandate an ear tattoo or something?

So I'm still left with a variety of impossible decisions:

- Try to give away Mama and babies now (almost impossible)
- Keep Mama, etc. and run the risk of Orpheus getting a possibly debilitating illness
- Keep Mama, etc., get O vaccinated and run the risk of his being put to sleep due to a false positive
- Exterminate Mama and kittens due to Mama's true positive
- Put Mama into a box and ship her and her babies to a country that isn't completely insane.

Letter to No-Kill Shelters

I would like to ask for your help. I've rescued a Mama cat and her kittens, a boy and a girl, who were abandoned in my apartment complex. Both kittens (5-6 weeks old) are socializing quickly. I'd like to keep the Mama cat and foster the kittens until they can be adopted.

Now for the bad news: I took the Mama cat to the vet and she tested positive for exposure to FIV. Since I have a cat, I wouldn't be able to keep her unless she tests negative to the disease. I should get that information on Wednesday and will discuss options with my vet.

I'd like to start developing a contingincy plan for Mama and her babies if I get bad news. I've only got a couple of weeks from today to find another situation if she does, in fact, have FIV. Do you have the ability to care for cats that have FIV and, more importantly, would you have room?

I would, of course, pay for everybody's shots and spay/neutering. Also, if I can't keep her, I'd like to get a second cat - somebody who wants to stick their paws under a door for another cat.

Thanks so much,

Varda

20,000 Devils

When I got to the house today, there were no kittens in the cage. They had pulled out the cardboard I had blocking the small hole in the wire.

I caught K2 with little effort. K1 bit the hell out of my finger WHILE I had it scruffed. It was chewing and chewing.

I blocked the hole and did my clean-up routine.

Then came petting time.

Mama, of course, was in the mood for an extensive snuggle.

Then I started with K2. Hiss. Yes, right. Rub the back of the neck, rub the ears. That isn't so bad is it? Pet the back. Under the chin. Maybe up by the ears again? Total kitten. Nice isn't it?

Then K1. Hiss. Right. Hiss. Hiss. Hiss. Of course. "But since you're touching me, you might as well rub the ears..." Ears, back of the head, jaw. Hiss. Ears. Head to tail. Hiss. Back of the head. Head to tail. Maybe some more? "I think I'll lie down and you can get the other side a bit." Was that a purr? Totally accidental, I know. Hiss.

1 little, 2 little, 3 little kitty cats

Dr. Silk, my favorite vet, suggested (when I took Orpheus in) to check every day for additional kittens.

Thus, a second little kitten. As Dr. Silk stated, given a day or two without food, kittens will start screaming their heads off, making them easy to find.

This one is unafraid of me (after I caught it). I guess because it had to depend on me a bit more than kitten #1. I scruffed #2, threw it into a box and took it on a 30 minute car ride. Strangely enough, instead of killing and eating it, I reunited it with its mommy. Or maybe it's just too hungry to care.

They are definitely on their way to be weaned. Given a choice between mommy and the wet food in the bowl, #2's choice was the bowl.

Mommy was unimpressed by the advent of a missing kitten, though willing to wash and care for it. As I have mentioned, cats can't count. She has at least one kitten and that's enough for her.

Two Tiny Cats

So she led me to her kitten, then bit the hell out of me when I caught it. It's completely feral, but still nursing so there's hope. I'm worried that there's more that I've not found, but she doesn't seem particularly disturbed. When I gave her the choice between outside and the bathroom (where her kitten is), she chose the bathroom. Unfortunately, cats can't count. When they move their babies, they take each one and return until there aren't anymore.

So, if there are more and I can't find them - that's it. She can't help me with the problem. I'll take her to where I think they might be, but that's the best I can do.

Mama cat

I'm heartsick today. There's this little cat. She moved in with her sibling a couple of years ago. Her brother disappeared, but she was still around. It looked like somebody was taking care of her, so I never thought anything of it.

About a month ago, I noticed that she was roughly the size of a cantalope. I was pissed that they didn't get her spayed, but I thought she still had an owner.

A few days later, Sergie mentioned that he had seen her. I was pissed that her owners were letting her outside when she was that pregnant. Sergie argued: she wasn't big at all.

Crap. One of two choices:

1) her owners were tossing her outside (no mama cat would leave) when she had kittens a few days old.

2) guess what the second is.

I've been looking for her, trying to see if I can follow her to her kittens and rescue the whole family. Since I now have a house, I can support everybody until the kitten are big enough for homes of their own. I saw her once: obviously nursing. I tried to follow her, but we ran into the neighborhood tom. She looked at him, tried to find a way around him only to be stymied by the fact that I was following her. She obviously didn't know what to do so I left.

I saw her this morning. Picked her up, fed her. (She's way too thin. She ate a whole tin of catfood and another 1/4 cup of dry food) Waited around. Put her on my balconey while I got my laptop from work. Her teats were just nursed, so I wanted to wait until she really needed to visit her kittens. Came back and worked until she wanted to go outside. Followed her outside. Snuggled for awhile. (Her fur was rough like nobody was petting her) She walks under a parked car - and disappears. I try tapping on the hood to see if that's where she'd gone, but no luck.

I'm really worried about her. On the other hand, she now knows where to get food so maybe she'll return on her own.