The BeeBees have gone to live with their new foster mom, Kathie.
I am headed out of town today; my parents have a timeshare in Myrtle Beach, and I join them there almost every year. Initially, Kathie was going to just babysit them while I was gone, but I’m having shoulder surgery at the beginning of November, so I asked if she’d mind keeping them. They’ll be with her until they’re ready for Petsmart, and I know they’ll get lots of love and attention.
Yes, this means that once the Swimmers go off to Petsmart, we’ll be foster-free until I recover from surgery, at least until mid-Novemberish. I’m not sure what I’ll be doing about posting during that time; I welcome suggestions and requests, but keep in mind that the surgery I’ll be having will make it difficult (if not impossible) to type while I’m recovering, so everything will have to be pre-written and scheduled.
The last of my BeeBees pictures are in this post.
Edited to add: I did pre-write and schedule posts for next week, so y’all won’t have to go without kitteny goodness!
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Lori asks: The mama cat and her two kittens I adopted and brought into the house two years ago have always been shy around strangers. Henry, in particular, is often skittish around even me. Is there any way to socialize cats? I live alone and don’t often have company but is there something I can do when I do have someone over?
I have tried the Feliway without success. Pilling any of the cats is a no go. That alone would create more stress than any anti-anxiety / anti-depressant would help. The three of them just retreat to the space between the bed slats and box spring in my room and there is no coaxing them out. You just have to wait until they emerge on their own.
Yesterday I had to – literally – chase Henry around the house for 5 minutes before he was so freaked out he froze and I was able to grab him up for his vet visit. It was the fourth appointment I had made as I cancelled three previous when I was unable to catch him. I’m too old and the cat doesn’t need this kind of stress either.
All advice and opinions would be gratefully received.
I wonder if some of the Spirit Essences would help – I’m hoping Connie will chime in here, I know she’s used some of them in the past and they’ve worked well for her.
Aside from that, we’ve found that with skittish kittens, forcible cuddling works pretty well after a while, especially if there are treats involved after the cuddling is done. (And by “we”, I mean Fred, because he’s usually the one spearheading the taming of skittish kittens.)
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Oooh can’t wait until the BeeBees are on wet food and I can see pictures of their messy faces!!!
I was actually a lot more relaxed about introducing the BeeBees to canned food, kept them on the bottle longer than they needed to be, and so by the time I offered them canned food, they were able to eat it without wearing it (they are off the bottle as of Wednesday, by the way).
In lieu of a food-covered BeeBee, enjoy this picture of a food-covered Spitz from two months ago:
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I like how when the kittens are allowed downstairs, Stefan always manages to chomp on one (or more). Do you always have to intervene? would he actually get a bit too aggressive and hurt one? (he sort of reminds me of Lenny with the rabbits in Of Mice & Men)… or is it more a case of him having enough of their nonsense and telling them to settle down & once they do he releases them?
He is EXACTLY like Lenny! We occasionally have to intervene, though I will say that he’s gotten better about interacting with the babies than he used to be. Now he might pin one down and try to bite them on the neck, but if they yell (or I say his name), he stops right away. Another couple dozen foster kittens, maybe he’ll make a good uncle.
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So, inquiring minds want to know if you separated the kittens by gender when you took them into the vet? did you put the girls in the pink box with the pink bedding?
and
I think that’s Pattypan or Ambercup* in the blue carrier on the left, so I guess that means Robyn didn’t assign the kittens to the color-appropriate carrier by sex. Which would be very PC of her.
*I have no idea why, but whenever I read Ambercup’s name, in my head, I always hear it as “Ambercamp.” That happen to anyone else? If so, any idea why????
That is Pattypan in the carrier on the left; and no – I did not separate them by gender or make sure the two girls got the pink bedding. I did what I usually do on spay/neuter day – got the carriers ready, opened the foster room door, and grabbed up whichever Squash Bug came out, stuffed him or her in the carrier, and grabbed for the next one.
As far as Ambercup’s name, I don’t hear “Ambercamp”, but I’ve mistyped it as Ambercap several times!
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Skinny Pete, sharpening her claws on my sock and looking pleased with herself.
“This a good sock, lady. I approves.” (Badger)
Badger in the sun with a yellow teddy.
“Not coming out there, lady.” Combo prefers to stay in the playpen, apparently.
“You can’t see me. I am totally hidden by this cord.”
Combo, checking out my bed.
I love his hidden stripes.
Skinny Pete, checking out my bed.
Badger is 100% over my shenanigans.
::thlurrp::
Badger and the squooshable belly.
Before I took the BeeBees to Kathie, I tried to recreate this picture of them from mid-September.
The recreation attempt didn’t go so well.
First they looked at the floor.
Then Skinny Pete looked at me.
Then Badger was all “YOU UNHAND ME RIGHT NOOOOOOW!”
They got so wiggly that Fred was afraid he’d drop them, so he let them go. Ah, well – it was worth a try!
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“Can’t believe you’re going away on vacation, lady. I would LIKE to see the big litter box beach!”
Louganis has Deep Thoughts.
Pretty, pretty Torres. I could just squeeze that girl all day long.
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Video! The last BeeBees video, from about a week ago. They learned pretty quickly that when I walked into the bathroom with bottles, it was time to EAT. (Pardon the messy tub; it was first thing in the morning, and they’d been wreaking havoc all night long).
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“Sure, lady, you go on vacation. I’ll just stay here and keep an eye on things because SHERIFFS NEVER GET NO VACATION.”
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Previously
2014: Ralph’s got places to GO, y’all.
2013: :::maniacal laughter::
2012: “It’s infested with a Joe Pickle. This sink does NOT pass inspection. Joe Pickles are impossible to get rid of.”
2011: No entry.
2010: No entry.
2009: I’m thinking, one more kitten tries to squeeze in that bed, it’ll explode.
2008: Kara goes to Petsmart.
2007: Keith, doing standup while Chemda gauges audience reaction.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.