Our semi- feral 2- week old kittens

I have to call the vet. and see when the kittens have to go back for their next shots; they (including the two you have) have already had distemper shots but I know they need at least two, with three recommended, in the first year. Not sure about rabies for cats but I bet the vet. knows.

BTW- it looks like we are going to name Glasses 'Gizmo'. She has lost all the white around her eyes and now the name does not make any sense- and of course it was not a great name to start with....

Brian

 

Fascinating that Gizmo has lost her Glasses - maybe she had Lasik while you were away for the day? (funny until you get a bill from a place you don't recognize) . Spot still has her "eyebrows" and light rings right at the bottoms of her eyes. Was noticing last night that they both have slightly darker gray rings on their tails. You really have to look, or catch them as the light is hitting the right way.

Even thought the kittens haven't been closed into the pen for a couple of weeks, they still play in there on occasion - like last night when Spot figured out how to get on the hammock (first I've seen any cat up there on the 3rd level) and Rainey started stalking her from below, then above.

 

When we had both a dog and a cat, the dog got a 3 year rabies shot but the cat always got a one year shot.

 

6 Aug 2018: Well, I may be getting over my paranoid thoughts that all the cats in the world hate me. Was laying on the couch tonight when this happened:



Slash on my chest, sang her little heart out and then stretched, rolled over and fell asleep. I guess that is a bit of kitten affection.... sorta'. OK, maybe not ALL the cats in the world hate me.

But still no love from Gizmo. Oh wait, now I remember where she was:



Yeah, asleep in my lap.

To us humans, a paper bag looks like a paper bag. But to a pair of kittens, it looks like a fort and so 1) must be defended from the inside, and 2) attacked from the outside:



Now I am starting to think I may feel bad when I take them (and Phoebe) to the pound.....

Brian

 

Yep, best toys you can give cats are boxes and paper bags.

I think they love the bags because it's both tactile and auditory.

They can hide in them, roll in them or just pounce on them.

Cats are a blast, if Chazsbetterhalf wasn't allergic, we'd have a couple.

Always liked how they purr sometimes while asleep on you.

I also appreciate that a cat is not "needy" of constant attention, they do life on their terms.

 

So Rainey has decided canned kitten food is good stuff. This happened after I got some Fancy Feast kitten food - which all 3 love (previously I had only gotten Science Diet KF). They will all also eat Taste of the Wild, which is touted as all life stages, although Spot is the only one that will eat more than a couple of bites. In that light, I now put out 3 bowls for canned food and I treat Rita by placing her bowl away from the kittens' bowls.

All 3 share kibble; I have two types out - Blue Wilderness KF and Iam's Grain free adult food. Rita favors the Blue Wilderness KF - which is fine since it is grain free and doesn't flare up her allergies. The kittens weat either. None of them seem to like any "fish" type kibble but really like Chicken. Canned food is a whole different story though - fish type is great as well as chicken.

Rainey does know her name. A while ago I was commiserating with Rita that she wasn't able to go outside this weekend because it is "rainy". Who should come popping into the office, but Rainey. Could have been coincidence, but the timing was so perfect that I think not.

 

They understand more than we think! My husband's away, I asked the cat where Tod was, and she went over to his empty recliner and stared at it.

 

When you are with them every day, it is hard to tell how much the kittens have grown. Here is a representation of how much they have grown since I picked them up on 7/14/18:

Spot next to a water bottle on 7/14:



Rainey next to bottle on 8/12


Holy cow what a difference 4 weeks make!

 

All the cats scattered when I started vacuuming this morning. Once I was done, I went and found Spot had come out of hiding and was on the bed. I stayed there petting her and called for Rainey a couple of times. Rainey came from the other bedroom - good kitty!

 

Yeah, ours are growing like weeds too; taller, very long bodies and tremendously long tails. But they are also so skinny they look emaciated and you can feel all their bones when petting them. Must be a 'growth spurt' like human babies go through.

Yesterday and today, Phoebe actually played with them, running around with both kittens. Chasing them and of course being chased (they have some sort of 'it's my turn now' system that I cannot decipher) but without any aggression- it was great to see. While Phoebe is full grown, she is still quite young and she has not lost all the kitten in her yet so this is what we hoped for in the first place.

Brian

 

Kittens had their nearly-14 week check up and shots. They have healthy tickers and purr motors. Rainey (formerly Runt) is 3 pounds 10 oz. and Spot is 3 pounds 8 oz. Yep, the runt of the litter is bigger than her littermate. Only issue was ear mites but they got treated and the vet sent me home with more stuff to give them in 2 weeks, plus enough for Rita. All is good and shouldn't have to go back to the vet until 6 months for spaying.

 

Just brought Gizmo and Slash back from the vet. and yep, they also had ear mites. Got their second distemper shot, rabies shot and an overall check-up: Slash is 4.1 lbs. and Gizmo is 3.8 lbs. Vet. says both are in perfect shape.

The Vet. gave me a choice between a 3 year and 1 year rabies shots, with the major difference is a greatly reduced incidence of sarcomas (cancer) developing at the injection site for the 1 year type. I went that way. As these are inside cats, I really do wonder how necessary keeping up rabies shots really is anyway.

I also brought ear mite medicine home for Phoebe 'cause it is likely she has them too, from the kittens.

Both kittens are pretty happy to be home and seem surprised they survived both the car rides as well as the whole vet. experience. They have to go back in 3 weeks for their last distemper shot and just like bogieb, back at six months for spaying (seems more and more people agree that Slash really is a female). Although instead of taking them back to my regular vet. I may take them to a Spay and Neuter clinic as it is about 1/4 the cost and several employees of my regular vet. have worked there and claim they are excellent.

Brian

 

Glad to hear they are just as healthy as my two. Slash seems to be the hulk of the lot, and Runt (Rainey) seems to be trying to get to top place, while Gizmo and Spot are content to be tied for 3rd My vet always gives a 1-year rabies shot for the first series, then ups it to 3 years later. When I had Fuzzy, he got a 1-year shot his first year (when he was at least 5), I missed the 1-year anniversary by a couple of weeks, so he got another 1-year shot. After that I stayed on schedule and we went to the 3-year shot (that one they aren't so picky about timing wise).

The car ride when I picked up my two must have pretty much inured them as they were just fine with the car ride and the whole vet experience (which surprised me since they have seen no one but me since leaving your place - but they didn't hesitate to come out of the crate to see the nice lady in the lab jacket. Heck, they saw a couple of dogs in the waiting room and just looked on like they were worldly travelers and had seen it all

 

Great- glad to hear that they are making good pets and being so well cared for by you. That was the whole goal in the first place- not just to prevent them from becoming feral but to hopefully socialize them sufficiently that they would be 'well adjusted' and fit in well with humans. Even Gizmo has become far more social and basically lost all of her wariness that you saw when you were here; while still not as boisterous as Slash, she has no fear or even wariness of humans in any circumstances she has been in in the last month or so.

I was a little surprised that the Vet. said that the kittens were not only [not] emaciated or 'too skinny' but actually perfect in form and even a tad large for their age. They feel like a proverbial bag of bones to me but I guess that is how it is supposed to be with kittens. They have gotten amazing long and tall, with almost ridiculously long tails but I guess they will grow into them as they get older and larger.

Brian

 

You said in an earlier post that your kittens had green eyes - is that still true? Both of mine have beautiful golden eyes.

Spot - always moving unless dead asleep - does that energy ever slow down? Anyway, you get an idea of her golden eyes


Rainey - this picture doesn't do her eyes justice but the lighting is low this morning. Her eyes are as golden as Spot's.


Both kittens enjoy the hammock. I grabbed the camera as they were napping - obviously I was stealthy enough to get a still picture of them


I picked up Rainey yesterday and there is a very noticeable heft to her versus Spot. She is not fat, but solid, even though she is still skinny. Spot is still "ribby", but healthy.

Both are still good at irritating Rita. Rita has decided the honeymoon period is over and occasionally will swat a kitten if she gets irritated enough. But, she doesn't use claws and normally choses to exit the situation, so all is good. I have caught them playing a game of chase. Still, glad she has the chance to escape outside when I am home (during work days, she is inside all day with the kids). Her outside quiet time helps her stay sane I'm sure. Will be interesting to see how it works when the deep of winter hits and I don't let her out into the outside pen. Course by then I'm hoping to be able to open the basement to them - another 600 sq/ft for them to use, plus I can put the cat box back downstairs and out of the living room.

 

Very nice photo of Rainey- and she is looking even more like Phoebe as she gets older.

Yep, both of these kittens have golden eyes, like a cross between orange and brown. If they stay that way, they will be interesting and unusual.

Slash is larger and a little more solid but still kinda' boney IMO but Gizmo is all bones with a skeleton on her.

As far as Phoebe, both kittens really like her and constantly try to 'make nice' but Phoebe is not all that interested in Gizmo. Slash, on the other hand, Phoebe will actually go looking for. They all play but Phoebe and Slash intertwine and sleep together, with Slash always laying down with (on top of) Phoebe and most of the time, Phoebe goes right along with that. Slash nurses in her own fur, plays piano and sings while Phoebe washes Slash and also sings. Then, the usual 'cat nap' follows:



Edited to add: the kittens go in on the 11th (yeah, I know- 9/11, and this year, just like 2001, it is a Tuesday also) for their next vaccinations and check-up.


Brian

 

That is such a precious picture of those two sleeping together!

Rainey does look very similar to Phoebe - the silver highlights on the nose and paws (and all around depending on angle) certainly make it seem as if they have a common ancestor. Rainey and Phoebe are both such beautiful kitties. Rainey's fur is also exceedingly soft (not fine, but very soft) and a joy to touch.

I sometimes feel sorry for Spot, she just looks constantly worried with the white markings above her eyes. And her tan/cream markings are small and light enough she just looks dusty in spots (hehehe, an unintentional pun). Her fur isn't quite so soft as Rainey's either (although softer than Rita's). But she is such a love and so adventurous that she is beautiful in her own special way.

 

Well this is progress.

All 3 cats get some canned food in the morning and evening. I feed the two kittens under a bird cage and feed Rita out in the kitchen so that she can eat in peace. The last couple of days she has followed when I took the kitten food out and didn't want to come into the kitchen to get hers. So tonight I called her bluff after she wouldn't come out to the kitchen, and was standing by the kittens while they were eating (she wasn't trying to horn in on their bowls, just standing there). I brought her food out and she was happy to snarf down her portion.