Our semi- feral 2- week old kittens

Slash's little tongue is sticking out - how cute.

Congrats to the entire family!

 

Thanks for all the congrats and well- wishes on our Granddaughter. Early reports seem to indicate everything is going fine and progressing well. Grandma, (Andrea, my wife) is flying to see them today..... and it is on a one- way ticket; I wished both my son and D-I-L the best of luck getting rid of her.

I would post a photo but my son specifically asked us not to post her photos on- line. ?? I have no idea why unless he means posting to FaceTwit or similar. I would think a quick pic on a forum such as this one would be harmless but hey, it is his daughter so he can have it his way on this issue.

Brian

 

They are 5 1/2 weeks old and EVERYTHING they do is cute! Seriously, even including using the litter box- one of them is trying to mine her way through the box, the floor and deep into the Earth and it is hysterical to watch (digs with both feet until there is nothing but a lot of plastic left and then keeps digging).

They are now quite curious and very, very able; all four of them can climb from the floor to my head while I am standing.... and they do.

Brian

 

I also would like to congratulate your whole family on the addition of your new granddaughter. The kittens are cute also.

 

Sorry, I missed your post (not ignoring you, honest).

Well, I think we can deal with humans and pets at the same time but let's be honest, 5 cats is a LOT of cats. So we are not really trying to keep the number down due to our grandchild, just trying to make it manageable around here. We can take care of two cats and I think that is about it.

Thanks for the congrats and yes, she is our first Grandchild. My wife is on a Boeing right now flying to meet her new Granddaughter . This is the first child of her generation and everyone is pretty excited; my son thinks he may be able to use this such that he may never have to change a diaper. (they have already changed her of course) I, personally, absolutely LOVE the name Penelope- one of the oldest names in western culture; faithful and devoted wife of Odysseys (from Homer's The Odyssey). I am very much looking forward to telling her the story of where her name comes from- maybe that will become the PIA "Grandpa" story she has to sit through. My son has already assigned me the job of teaching her how to burn wood and shoot so I have some very pleasant tasks to look forward to!

Brian

 

Was just discussing names on another forum. Lots of people are opting for trendy names nowdays. Why are there never any new Clydes or Myrtles???

Penelope is a great name! Comes ready made with nick/pet name of Penny.

 

I like it a lot (I had no hand in picking it nor did we discuss it beforehand). Simple, pretty, feminine and easy to say, understand and spell. My son was especially wary of that because his name is Jared and he has been called just about everything and had his name spelled wrong all his life, so he was looking for something that was easy to understand and spell.

One of the trends in oh, I guess the last 20 years or so is making up your own name. My wife had a woman work for her named Ti- ondra. Guess who could spell or even understand that.... just about no one.

Brian

 

Working in a school as secretary, you get to see just about every imaginable and un-imaginable way to spell names even the most common ones. Do you know how many ways you can spell Taylor? There are lots! And then it is trying to pronounce the names over the intercom which gets interesting.

 

Quick update: Took the 'kids' to the vet. today and all of them had / are:
1) No leukemia virus
2) No AIDS
3 No ear mites.
4) No fleas or other parasites.
5) All healthy, well developed and large for their ages.
6) My Vet. is a miracle worker: walked in there with three females and one male, walked out with four females! Turns out Glasses' 'plumbing' is the other kind. That said, Slash 'plumbing' is a bit ambiguous (and that from a trained Vet.!) because the..... orifice is in the place for a female but is round, as a male's would be. Still, he thinks it is a female.
7) Learned that going to the vet. with (4) 6-week old kittens draws a crowd and takes forever to finish up. Two of the vet.'s staff want a kitten and I <think> will take one. I believe if I had made a bit more of a sales call, I could have two at their new homes right now

The vet. will also advise / put up photos of them on their website with the preference for adoptive people actually be past clients of the vet. instead of random people calling looking for a kitten. Some people on this forum excepted, of course.

Now for the not- so- good- news: introduced the kittens to Phoebe today and she spit and the fur came up on her back. Not good. :-( Later on, I took Glasses (only 'cause I grabbed her first) and took both she and Phoebe into the bedroom to let them see / smell each other: Phoebe spit again and BOTH of them had their fur up. Not sure where that is going.... Might have four kittens to find adoptive houses for. Just when I was getting a little attached to Runt; it is hard to not like something that climbs up on your leg and sings.

Brian

P.S. The kids did NOT like being carried in the cat- carrier. They did NOT like the car starting, squared. They did NOT like the car moving to the third power.

 

I responded to your private message, but will reiterate some of it here.

Unlike socialized dogs, cats normally don't instantly get along - even with cute kittens. Don't force interaction, let it happen at its own pace. Which means you most likely can't just take them in a bedroom for introductions. I have used a baby gate to separate cats (and kittens) from the rest of the household and let curiosity bring the residents to the newcomers. When I couldn't supervise, or at least be in the area, I could shut the door so that there were no surprise hostilities.

When I was pet sitting one winter, I had to bring a client's cat home because it was very sick, and used the same method without any issues from dogs or cats. The gate helps keep tensions down since they can see and smell each other without having to interact. And if someone wants to retreat, that is a ready option - unlike when we are holding them up to each other, or they are locked in the same room. Usually nobody hops the gate, although that did happen when I brought Rita home to Fuzzy. One firm escort back over the gate was enough to let Fuzzy know that was not acceptable (YMMV depending on Phoebe's mindset).

 

Yeah, after the initial, albeit very quick, meeting I had kinda' hoped the kittens were young enough, as is Phoebe (just about one year now) that maternal instincts would kick in and smooth the way. That is not working out.... In fact, Phoebe was so intense I kept my hand on her chest to prevent (or stop) an outright attack. Funny thing was when Slash reared up and raised her fur too, absolutely in response to Phoebe.

When I was a kid, my mother had, at one time, four cats. Two were siblings (one male, one female), the next one was an adult female, then a young kitten. None were pals though some got along better than others. The two females who met when they were full grown never got 100% tolerant of each other and there would be the occasional cuff or spitting between them and that went on for nearly 20 years.

I think something like the gate would work for Phoebe but the kittens take all vertical surfaces as a climbing challenge, and so far, they have made it up and over all of them.

Thanks for the advise, we will work something out. It is possible that keeping even one kitten is just a bad idea and all can be adopted out. Remember the goal, to take these kittens out of the feral world, spay and neuter them, and give them all a chance at a decent life as a responsible owner's pet so adopting all of them will have that result.

Brian

 

Great news Brian!! Well done and kudos!!

 

Thanks for the kind words but really, it was mostly the cats that did the heavy lifting (especially Mama and Papa cat).

This has actually been a great experience for us- my wife had a cat who had a litter when she was a kid but I have never been around kittens this young. And a litter of four is an outright riot, though a little troublesome moving them all from one place to another.

But in the end, I am really confident that some people are going to get some really nice, social and healthy kittens / cats. If I had any choice, I would have LOVED to catch Mama cat and have her spayed but with my neighbor feeding them, my chances of catching any of them in a trap is about zero. What is unfortunate is that that same cat will almost certainly be pregnant again shortly. Maybe even living in my garage again, depending on when the boys get around to closing the eves and soffits. But hey, I did what I could..... <shrugs shoulders>

Brian

 

A quick update to the last post about giving all the kittens away...... 'Houston, we have a problem'! Runt has been continuously climbing up onto my leg and singing as soon as I go into the laundry room and sit down with the 'kids'. Not good. She looks up at me with 1/2 closed eyes and sings away while lying down. It is going to be very difficult to say goodbye to Runt. Let me translate that: I am getting very attached to Runt and she may no longer be available for adoption. Remember, the plan was to socialize them with humans, make sure they were healthy and then send them off to good homes...... but Runt is ruining 'the plan'. Now I am ascairt' to go into the laundry room for fear that Runt will use her feminine, willy charms on me. Little rascal is part witch.... but she does have an adorable little face, all gray with a silver mask like Phoebe (who hates her).

Last fall, we had no pets and planned on having no pets in the near future. Longer term, I would like to have a full- size dog but that is aways down the road. Now these kittens conspire to overwhelm me and connive their way into my house and life. Why I outta' kick 'em in the butt! And I think I will! But first, maybe a little tuna fish 'cause they all love it so much.

Brian

 

Yes it does.

Good luck Brian.

 

BDF
I feel your pain.
We had 1 cat. Stray wondered up to the house. And two weeks later had 4 kittens. None were supposed to stay. The kittens just turned three.

 

Wasn't phoebe going to the pound soon

 

Yes! Thanks for reminding me! We are still lulling Phoebe into a false sense of security- last time I saw her, she was sleeping on her pad on the kitchen table. Yep, sucking her in so the trip to the pound is a truly evil surprise!

And there is no reason why Runt cannot share the ride with Phoebe- serves them right and will save fuel costs. More efficient to take two cats at once. The only thing is that I want to wait a little while to see how Runt's markings come in. I think she is going to look just like Phoebe other than a cream spot on her belly but I will need a few more weeks to be sure.

Thanks for reminding me about the pound for ALL the cats (and kittens!).

In fact, I have some tuna in a plastic bag that is ear- marked for Phoebe and the kittens (all go nuts for tuna), and I think I will give them all a bit to further lull them into a false sense of security!

Brian