The kittens came through their surgery just fine. I picked them up around 5, brought them home, snuggled each of them, and left them in the foster room for the night. I suspect they’ll be racing around like nothing happened today – that’s what usually happens!
Have I mentioned that whenever Charlotte and Abby are near each other, I try to get a picture to show how much they look alike?
With Iva stomping over to see what’s going on.
Tell me those girls aren’t sisters!
Wahhh! Who’s da BAYbee? It’s Charleston! Charleston is da BAYbee!
Or wait, maybe it’s Chesnee. Is Chesnee da BAYbee?
Yes, it’s Chesnee. Chesnee is definitely da BAYbee. But I guess there could be two BAYbees, right?
Or three. Iva’s apparently da BAYbee, too.
Chesnee will have you know that SHE is da BAYbee, and that is THAT.
“Lady, I don’t care WHO da BAYbee is, but you better tell them to hush up. I need my sleep!” Abby is NOT foolin’ around. Look at that serious little face!
The nose knows. (Iva)
Raleigh’s nose knows, too. We have a bunch of knowledgeable noses ’round here.
“LADY! STOP. I don’t want to have to hurt you with these fangs. Put the earses back and no one gets hurt.”
If you think I didn’t go over and kiss Chesnee all over her little face after I took this picture, you know nothin’.
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Wait! I almost forgot! You need to meet the new guy!
Say hello to Dustin.
He’s about 8 months old. He was trapped with CC, Joss, and Sherbert (who have all been adopted), in an industrial park where they were likely dumped. Dustin is a bit of a scaredy cat, and Susan asked Fred if he’d work with him, since scaredy cats are his specialty.
Dustin spent the day in the foster room with lots of visits from us, and when the kittens got home from their spaying and neutering, I let them out of their carriers and said “MEET YER NEW PARTNER!” He was very interested in being friends with them, and they were very hissy toward him. We’re planning to put him in the big bathroom during the day, and in the foster room at night. The Carolinas are used to having the run of the house during the day, and Dustin is a hider; I don’t want him to find some hidey hole where we can’t find him. Once they go off to Petsmart on Saturday, he can stay in the foster room all day until he gets some confidence, and we’re comfortable letting him have more room to roam. I don’t know how long he’ll be with us – we’ll see how Fred does in helping him to become more confident and less scared. He obviously loves to be petted, he purrs like crazy. Hopefully, it’ll just be a matter of a little time and a lot of attention.
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“There aren’t any KITTENS in here, are there?” Joe Bob has no use for those kittens, no matter how much they want to be friends.
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Previously
2015: Black Cat Monday.
2014: No entry.
2013: As you can see, Tony is raaaaather pleased with himself.
2012: Kohle has got really gorgeous eyes.
2011: Brudderly love.
2010: “Paws up, y’all!”
2009: Augustus Goop: The Floofening.
2008: No entry.
2007: “Suuuuuuuuure I’m “not your cat,” lady. SURE.”
2006: No entry.
2005: “Well, I’ll be darned. They DO taste just like chicken!”
Iva’s tiny baby fang peeking out in the nose photo is killing me over here with a dangerous level of cute
Ditto!
Ditto!
I forgot to do my usual reminder yesterday that people can also help Chalkenger’s House by selecting it as their Amazon Smile charity. Robyn, thanks for all *you* do for the kitties!
Those eyes… Those are sisters!
Hello Joeby Joe! Smooch!
Aw, hi Dustin! Those little guys just came back from the vet’s, but they’ll come around. You’ll see!
Hope you, Fred and the whole gang are doing okay after that tornado. Looks like it came pretty close to where you are. Sending lots of love to the new guy Dustin – scaredy cats are another of my weaknesses! I’m sure Fred will be able to work his magic and he’ll be a lap cuddler in no time. Dustin that is, not Fred. Although, whatever you guys do is whatever you guys do 😉
Sooooo…my mom recently adopted a young kitten (found alone by the side of the road and taken to a local vet by the person who just happened to notice her while driving by). The kitten was estimated at about 5 weeks when my mom adopted her and is now almost 2 months. She’s a bundle of energy, eats great and is a champ in the litter box. However, she gets VERY BITEY when she plays. My mom initially was wearing socks on her hands to avoid getting chomped constantly, but I told her that might not correct the behavior. Any ideas on how to get her to stop? Or, is this just a kitten teething phase? Thanks for your help!
What I did when my cats were tiny and bitey, I’d give a little yelp, much as a littermate would do. I also made sure that no one in the house used their hands as toys. I hope this helps.
Candace is on target. They don’t have siblings to teach them manners, so you have to do it. Yelp (high-pitched OUCH) and pull away and ignore the kitten. They do grow out of it. Thankfully, I had older cats that would give her the smackdown for that behavior, which also helped.
I adopted a solo kitten in July, and the bitey stage was a tough one. I found that the other cats did eventually teach him to be more gentle, but it took a little while. What helped me a lot was to have a daily playtime. If he could run around after toys for a little while, he was a lot easier to deal with. Now that he is almost eight months old, he doesn’t bite me at all, but I still do playtime every day because he and my other cats insist on it.
I agree with Candace and GD – the yelp helps, and I’ve been known to blow in their faces when they bite (kind of making it sound like a hiss). Also, putting them down and refusing to play with them when they get bitey helps, too!
Thanks for all the suggestions! I’m going to email my mom now so she can get started 🙂
I KNOW this is a cat page, and I feel a little bit like a traitor, but I got a puppy over the weekend. She is only 8 wks or so and is an Aussie. She’s smart and BUSY! So I was wondering if any of the readers have suggestions for durable toys that would keep her busy. I have a ball and a rope toy already and also a rubber bone chew toy. Any other ideas?
No animal mama is a traitor! I saw some toys in the pet store recently that were made of leather. They are for puppies and their chewing stage. Kong toys seem to hold up pretty well, also.
When we got our puppy the best toy for his chewing was a Nylabone. He loved them and went through ’em like crazy, we had to stock up. Then all of a sudden he had no interest in chewing anymore, we figure he’d gotten all his adult teeth by then. And yes, the Kong toys are wonderful, especially the kind that you can put a treat in, kept him busy for awhile. And he was the cutest when the treat got pushed in too far, he’d bring it to us to help him and bark and dance around until we got it.
Oh…that must have been cute!
It very much was. I wish I had gotten a video of it. Hmmm, I wonder if he’d still do it. I should check that out. LOL
Awww, PUPPY! George and Gracie always liked the Kong toys – they had a hard blue chewy toy that withstood years of being chewed on (I think it’s still out there somewhere, maybe under the coop), and the Kong toys you can put a treat in will keep ’em occupied. I’m going to post your question in Friday’s post, just to see what everyone else recommends, because I’m curious. 🙂
There are some toys that are made of firehose material. My dog-niece (lab/hound mix) has an appetite for destruction, but it took her a good year to tear through that. And even after she tore one end off, she still enjoyed pulling the individual threads out of the fabric. Might be good for a puppy! http://outwardhound.com/shop/dog-toys/fire-hose/firehose-fetch
Robyn is bipetual.. you aren’t being traitorous at all..
Thanks for all the suggestions folks! I also have a new website to scroll through Misspupka-thank you!
The first photo of Abby and Charlotte must be a contender for next year’s calendar. That is one BEAUTIFUL portrait — as is the next one of those two! If I were in your nabe and had a giant house that needed filling with creatures, these two would be levitating their way there instanter. Along with all the seniors at Challenger’s House. If only… A welcome from afar to Dustin and a salute to Gigi for the lap-cuddler hilarity. Congratulations, too, to Holly Waterfall on your rewarding new vocation: keeping up with an Aussie!
Thanks Kerry!
I love everything about this post! I declare Iva as the BAYbee!!!
love
I forget how little the kittens still are until I see a picture of one with a collar around a teeny pencil-neck! Love them all.
They’re so much bigger than when we got them, but yes – they really are still pretty small. It’s when I see them next to Stefan that I really realize they’re still babies.
Dustin, you are such a handsome little dude! You are in good hands. Try to relax and let them take care of you. You’ll have so much fun!
Somehow I doubt you forgot Dustin at all 😉
So.. are you still selling Jam?
I am! This page is updated every time I make a sale. 🙂
Fred to the rescuuuuuueee!
Speaking of Fred to the rescue, I’m quite curious about that little orange tabby pictured in the Facebook post on Love and Hisses, who Fred says was named “Lieu”. Do we get to know his story?
Lieu was one of the Rescuees back in 2010. Fred heard him howling in the culvert under the road (which is at the edge of our property) and we had quite a time convincing him to come out. If I recall correctly, Fred took a bucket of water to the other side of the road, dumped it so that the water would run toward the kitten, and the kitten ran toward me – and that was Lieu. 🙂