Our semi- feral 2- week old kittens

16 June 2018 (kittens exactly 5 weeks old): brought them in the house today for the first time. Contractors were hanging a new outside door on the laundry room so we threw an old sheet over the bed and 'took turns with the kittens'.

This is Slash (because of the 'slash' of white down her nose) resting on my chest and Glasses (the white rings around his eyes):



Slash still on my chest and the other three running toward Mom:



Then it was Mom's turn, she has three curled up against her lap (really- there are three) with the one out front being Slash:



But really, all four were sleeping with Mom, Runt was against her leg:



We are nearly sure there are three females (Slash, Spot and Runt) and one male (Glasses). Those are temporary names and do not mean much; Runt is now bigger than Spot for example. All are nice kittens and socializing nicely. It is amazing to watch them changing every single day; they can now all jump, pull themselves up cloth, run and are generally starting to behave like cats. All are eating solid food, kitten kibble soaked in water, and drinking water from a bowl. They are starting to use the box a bit more 'correctly' though it is sometimes still a meeting place and playground.....

My own favorite is Slash: she is pretty forward, very human- friendly and the biggest of the litter, by far. My next favorite is Runt, except for sometimes it is Spot..... well, occasionally Glasses too I guess. All sing (or purr) while eating but usually only Runt will sing while being held / petted only. I really do think they are going to make excellent pets.

Brian

 

I always love it when a cat is named "Spot" . I'm guessing that is the kitten with a white spot on its nose?

 

Hmm, my Google-fu says the FELV (Feline leukemia) is different from FIV (Feline AIDS). Seems the AIDs is less aggressive and a good amount of cats live long lives. Leukemia, not so much. Maybe they are related or maybe they didn't used to differentiate them (hence the same test detecting both). Course it's true - I read it on the Interwebz .

 

Yep, two different viruses. Besides that, the AIDS virus is the thing that does the actual damage to the animal while the leukemia that causes leukemia is not in or of itself dangerous to the animal but it does have the unpleasant of causing leukemia (cancer of the blood, or more properly, the blood material producing parts of the body) and this is what will make the cat ill, our outright kill it, leukemia, not the virus. In fact, the great majority of cats that contract the leukemia- causing virus, FElV, will actually defeat the virus and not actually develop leukemia; sort of like a cold- you get the virus, you have some minor or often no symptoms, and your body makes antibodies to kill the virus. Unfortunately, some cats do have the virus too long, perhaps in a 'latent state' (not active but absolutely present) and that is what can lead to leukemia.

Also important to note that both viruses, especially the FIV virus, are 'weak' viruses and do not survive well outside of a host (a cat). The method of transmission is direct bodily fluids, especially saliva or deep puncture wounds. It is virtually impossible for, say, a human to have any contact with an infected cat, and then have contact with a non- infected cat and pass along the virus.

Brian (not a biologist but a biological unit.....)

 

A white or very light spot on the top / left of her head. Spot looks almost exactly like Glasses except for that.... well, spot.

We really did not name them, just assigned them words so we could kinda' tell them apart when getting glimpses when they were next to, under, over or too close to Mama cat. Just a way to track them is all. As I said, Slash is the favorite of the bunch and IF (yes, IF) we do keep her, we will find a better name. Maybe Stripe or Blaze or something, maybe nothing to do with that 'slash', 'blaze' or 'stripe' of white down her nose.

But honestly, I do think at this point the 'pick of the litter' is in the eye of the beholder; they are all different and different people would find different kittens more to their taste I think. For example, Runt is the only one that I have had sing when not eating- I think that may well become quite the lap- cat. Another interesting thing is that they tend to pair off in the same groups; Slash and Spot, Runt and Glasses. They all interact and often make a big pile of claws and teeth but generally when two are play- fighting, it will be one of those two pairs. So if someone wanted a pair, I would probably suggest two from the groups mentioned rather than, say, Spot and Glasses.

And it would be outstanding if all of them, individually or in groups, went pet- lovers on this forum 'cause them we would be likely to get the occasional photo and update as they grow up.

Brian

 

Oh, I see the spot on the kitten that I had a spot on her nose.

I kinda like Slash as a name. If it were male the full name could be Slash Gorden

 

Apparently, all the kool kids hang around in..... Dad's lap.





In this photo, I can tell which is which:
The one on the floor is Spot (note the beige spot on her head).
The next one up, on my knee is Runt (she is all gray).
The one in the middle of my lap is Glasses.
And at the top is Slash (can see the white slash or blaze down her nose).



They are getting bigger and more cat- like by the day.

Brian

 

And now you can understand why we ended up keeping the kittens, but had all of them and the parents neutered. You just get so attached. Once they are all grown, you wonder what was in your head at the time, but yet you won't give any of them up. Hard to let go but better to let them go to good homes when they are young.

 

Yep, absolutely getting attached and they all have unique personalities, so choosing one is almost impossible. But keeping all of them in not practical, especially now since my Granddaughter (Penelope Elizabeth) has made her debut (yesterday) and I am sure we will be visiting often. So five cats is just not feasible for us at this time, really probably never And yes, it will be hard to see them go and I am sure more than two tears will be shed but still, it is the better thing for all involved I think, as long as I find good homes for the kittens.

But cute they are and we are enjoying our time with them while it lasts. Feeding time! At 3:00 o'clock is Runt, at 8:00 is Spot, at 10:00 is Slash and at 11:30 is Glasses. I think.... Lots' o' singing going on in that lap right then.

 

They are about to get to the 'fun' kitten age. Which is closely followed by the PITA age.

 

wow, those kitties have grown so fast. Larger than our kits at that age. Good that you rescued them from becoming feral. So very hard to change feral behavior.

 

They really are growing fast, and Slash looks like she is two weeks older than the others because she is so big.

Yeah, it was a tough call to take them so early from Mama cat (four weeks) but I knew there was no way I could ever catch them at five weeks because they would just run away and hide. So I took the chance and grabbed the kittens when I was still able to do so and we finished weaning them ourselves. Most of them bonded with us very quickly- one day, but Glasses was the hard- case of the bunch and did not really like us humans for several days after being in the house and being hand- fed. We are making a special effort to only feed them by hand or in our laps, and we always gently rub them while they eat so they will associate 'humans' with 'good' and 'safe'. Next week, assuming the virus tests go well, they can be introduced to Phoebe and the rest of the house (for limited times, it is too dangerous with the house under construction to just cut them loose) and hopefully keep the socialization going steadily as well as having them get used to another cat.

As I have said, it is not 'my' world, I do not make the rules and am basically powerless to make any significant change. But in this one case, perhaps we can steer a poor situation of four more feral cats living outside, where the temps. drop to 0F and give them a better life as pets. And for whatever it is worth, for those who like animals, they give more than they take IMO. So if we can get these kittens raised to like humans and then find them good homes, we will be happy about the whole thing.

And it absolutely has been, and continues to be, an interesting and rewarding experience just raising them for a week and a half now.

Brian

 

I understand that! Human babies come first. If you spend time away from home visiting the baby, you don't want to feel guilty that you're shortchanging the kittens. Congratulations on your new granddaughter! Is she your first grandchild?

 

Thank you! And yes, our first Grandchild. A bit premature (34 weeks) but late enough that there should be no long- term worries about her health. Our youngest son's first child. They live in northern VA, about 8 hours south of us (by road) so we cannot 'pop in' too often but my wife has already booked her first flight on this coming Thursday and it is a one- way ticket. I told my son, good luck with that.... My D-I-L should be home by the end of the week, my Granddaughter a little bit later by the looks.

As to the humans and cats competing, no problem because I do not fly and my wife does so we will be visiting at different times anyway. Someone will always be home to take care of Phoebe and 'the kids'. Andrea will fly back and forth and I will either drive or ride both ways. So it is a 'win- win' for the humans and the cats.

Brian

 

Congratulations on granddaughters arrival.

 

Best wishes to the early girl! I'm sure she will turn out fine.
Your travel plans sound like a good arrangement. Maybe we're nuts, but our cat is 6, and we've only left her alone overnight once.

 

Yes, congrats on the new granddaughter.


Glad to hear both mother and baby are doing fine.