MEET YER NEW PARTNER!
Say hello to Aberdeen (Abby)! She’s the newest Carolina kitten.
She’s a pretty little gray and white tuxie with striking brown-gold eyes.
She was trapped last weekend when I was in Myrtle Beach, and came to us on Thursday.
What do the other kittens think? Well, at first they were all…
::HISS!:: said Chesnee.
“I SAID ::HISS!::” said Iva.
After a few days, Chesnee calmed down and was all “Oh, it’s you.”
Abby is a lap girl. She prefers sitting in my lap and watching the other kittens play – though she’s done a bit of playing on her own.
She purrs CONSTANTLY.
For the first few days, I fed her separately on her own plate. Saturday evening, she pretty much elbowed everyone out of the way to eat off the snack plate, so now they all eat together. (Iva is off to the side not eating because she doesn’t care for turkey pate.)
(And Charleston – the one looking off to the side – doesn’t care for beef.)
Yesterday morning, I had a lap full of tabbies, and an Abby.
Iva and Charlotte were the hissiest toward Abby at first – they were constantly hissing at her (and Abby hissed right back at them). As of this morning, there’s been no hissing from Iva or Charlotte, but now Charleston’s being an emotional little brat. I think he’s annoyed because HE’s been the biggest lap sitter, and now she’s always sitting in my lap. When he comes near, I just pick him up and snuggle him on my shoulder ’til he wants down.
Charlotte was REALLY REALLY mad at me for about three days. She wouldn’t come NEAR me, even if Abby wasn’t in my lap. She wouldn’t come within reach, and if I got up and grabbed her, she’d let me hold her, but she’d stare off into space and was clearly just waiting for me to put her back down. She finally warmed up yesterday morning, and I think we’re friends again.
I haven’t seen Abby and the other kittens playing together yet, but I’ve seen Abby swat at their tails. I expect that in another few days, they’ll be playing together, and not long after that, they’ll actually be friends.
Abby was trapped in Huntsville by Winnie – and the interesting thing is that due to the location where she was trapped, and her size and appearance, it’s entirely possible that she and Charlotte could be sisters. They look a lot alike, and I’ve caught Charlotte giving Abby a quizzical look or two, like she’s thinking “You seem familiar.” Obviously I don’t know for sure that they’re related, but I certainly wouldn’t be surprised.
It’s hard to tell from the pictures, but Abby is skin and bones right now. She eats plenty, and I know she’ll put on the weight in time – she’s already a bit less bony. She gets an extra snack mid-day, which she appreciates (and the other kittens do NOT). She’s a super, SUPER sweet, cuddly girl, and I think she appreciates having a warm, safe place with plenty of food, and kittens who’ll eventually play with her.
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If you have a solution to fleas in carpet and furniture, please chime in!
Whitney said: Oh heavens, I need help from the joyful masses. We brought home a stray from a city park a couple of months ago and we are *still* dealing with the fleas she brought with her. We’re going to try the Capstan I saw recommended a few days ago, but despite dedicated searching I haven’t been able to find any recommendations for something to treat furniture and carpets (except for DE, which is not an option for us). So…help?
Whitney, I have been lucky enough not to have to deal with it myself, but if you aren’t opposed to using sprays, my vet strongly recommends this stuff: Virbac Knockout. You have to stay out of the room until it’s dry, but like I said, my vet recommends it (and it seems to have good reviews on Amazon.)
In addition to the Capstar, I’d start using Advantage (if you aren’t already).
If you guys have any other suggestions, PLEASE leave a comment!
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He gots his big, puffy, comfy bed and a smug. What else does a loony Jake need?
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Previously
2015: No entry.
2014: No one trying to kill anyone here, nope. Move along.
2013: “Hi, hi! Hi weird people of the internet! Hi!”
2012: Polly loves to play sparkleball in the tub.
2011: It makes us both laugh and laugh.
2010: No entry.
2009: “You rang?”
2008: It’s hard to believe that volume of sound is coming from such a little thing!
2007: Snuggly brudders.
2006: I have a bunch of pictures of Maddy I haven’t cleared off my memory stick yet, so you’ll be seeing them for the next few days.
2005: “Take a picture Mom, quick! I can’t hold this pose for long!”
Aw, hi Abby!
Abby makes me think of Binx with her chin beauty mark! Welcome to the good life, sweetie.
Flea stuff: Bengal Flea Full Season. Works for 7 months.
https://www.amazon.com/Bengal-Full-Season-Flea-Killer/dp/B00MRSL56Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1478521909&sr=1-1&keywords=bengal+flea+spray
My MIL brought over her dog and infested my house (not good when you have multiple indoor only cats that weren’t on preventative cuz they never needed it). I fogged with Advantage II in the FL room (where the dog mostly was) after putting as many rugs and cushions etc out there and then used this spray. I did put DE in the cracks of the sofa and chairs under the cushions. GONE asap!
Awwww. Aberdeen looks so sweet, her golden amber eyes are striking against that grey. That relationship theory with Charlotte might be spot on; I had to go look back at some Charlotte closeups for eye color.
About the fleas… ugh. My only real experience with fleas, was with my lithe tortie (RIP Marilyn) who was actually allergic to fleas. I discovered her allergy when I moved with her to a new apartment, and there were fleas there. It was a non stop vicious cycle. (This was long before the advent of topical flea treatment spot medicines.) She was constantly getting steroid shots when the sores would break out on her. The only thing that actually worked to rid my life of fleas was to move away, and spray the sh!t out of my furniture, and discard any rugs, bedding and furniture that could not be treated.
I know moving is probably not an option, but I learned a lot about that battle many years ago. First of all, use Revolution® if your kitty is old enough. This particular treatment, unlike many others, does NOT require the flea to bite the skin of your pet to get a lethal dose. Most topical and ingested flea products require the flea to bite the skin. You will need to treat all your pets with Revolution®. Even if your kitties are inside only, you will still need to treat them monthly for at least the next year.
Once your pets are flea free, the real battle begins. Flea eggs are smaller than a grain of salt, and can live for 6 months or more in the tiniest cracks of hardwood floor, tiles, and furniture. If you have carpet(s), steam cleaning and vacuuming is the only way to kill and get rid of the eggs. Steam cleaning furniture, especially the piping on cushions and pillows, is necessary too. You must discard any bedding that cannot be washed repeatedly with hot, soapy water. Vacuum, vacuum, vacuum. Vacuum rugs, hardwood floors, tiles. The vibration of the beater brush on the vacuum will cause many eggs to hatch, and your rigorous cleaning has removed their initial food source of flea feces. Harsh insecticide sprays and fogs will not get into the nooks and crannies of your home, and is just not worth the risk of ingesting all that toxic chemicals for me. The egg casing is resistant to insecticides anyway.
After a few weeks of rigorous cleaning, you will break the life cycle of the fleas. Any eggs that happen to live through this process, and hatch will not re-produce since they will die before biting your kitty. Best of luck to you, this sux for sure.
Most meds, foggers and sprays now kill eggs, larva and adult fleas. Only the pupa stage cannot be killed.
So much to celebrate in this post from lovely Abby’s rescue to that beautiful picture of ultra-contented Jake!
Yay for Aberdeen! (love that name) She’s a lucky girl to have been scooped up and deposited at Crooked Acres! I’m sure her new siblings will get over it, as they usually do, thanks to the weird lady who gives them no choice but to socialize with each other, lol. 😀
Aw, Abby is adorable! What a cutie!!
What else does Jake need? He needs to be bundled up and mailed to me directly! That’s what he needs… Love the Contented Loon look on his face today! Smooches Jake!
Enjoying my morning coffee along with a good dose of kittens from Crooked Acres!!
A good way to start the day!! Keep up the good work, Robyn!!
welcome Abby
I have great success with diatomaceous earth (you can get it online or at garden centers) I sprinkle it on the carpet and furniture (or anything that can be vacuumed) and the vacuum it up. Then I put it back down, kind of work it in the the carpet, and let it settle in for a day or so. Then vacuum that up. Then I put down one more round and just leave it there and go back to a regular vacuum schedule. It has always worked great for me and I love that it is nontoxic, and completely safe for the cats and me.
You should have named her Jenny 🙂 https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/e0/3e/54/e03e54132022c58418c5104cd83b1d71.jpg
For fleas.. I have never treated the house, not even when they were so bad they went from one infected room into the other via the house. i treat the cats, it is easier. capstar will kill all of the live fleas on the cat but does not treat long term. I use frontline or advantage (which I need to use on Jack because of his fur) and keep them treated for several months – the length of the life cycle of the flea. I do vacuum and then remove the contents of the vacuum from the house so the fleas don’t jump back out, but other than that I’ve not used chemicals in my house.
P.S. The link to 2007 is broken. I think this is right one: https://www.love-and-hisses.com/2007/11/07/
Thanks, I’ve fixed it! 🙂
The only thing that worked for me was to buy flea collars, cut them up, put in a vacuum. Then vacuum the carpet and furniture and let the suckers die
Yay for Abby!!
Regarding fleas, we fought those before spot treatments were available, and sprinkling Borax in the carpet, leaving it overnight before sweeping helped. We also tried the light over a pan of soapy water, which also helped (the fleas were attracted to the warm light and jumped into the soapy water). It was a long battle. This was about 25 years ago…now, any time we’ve had trouble we used Revolution on the cats and swept like crazy, and done. The Revolution interrupts the life cycle, apparently. I hope you can kick this quickly!
I don’t know which is cuter – Abby or Jake!
I put 3 mothballs ( naphthalene) into the vacuum cleaner bag. Be careful because the mothballs are poisonous to cats. I have read that the vacuum sucks up the eggs and the fleas hatch in the bag and come out. Mothballs and the flea collars kill the eggs in the bag.