“You know what you did.”
Debi shows off her stripes.
Such an angry little face for such a sweet girl. (Oksana)
Rough life, Tessa.
Deanzilla takes a break.
The first time I took the older kittens into my room for a field trip, Torvill, Oksana and Deanzilla ended up here…
And Katarina took a snooze in this hammock/scratcher, which was just below them.
The second time (yesterday), they ended up on the big cat tree.
Torvill’s all “This is COOL!”
“What doin’, weird lady?”
Katarina’s whiskers CRACK. ME. UP. Those two sticking straight up, like antennae, and then the tangle of whiskers around her eyes and mouth. She is one fabulous girl.
Deanzilla and Ohno snuggle up.
Torvill flipped the Tiny Basket upside down and then sat atop it.
“I like it better like this, lady.” (Brian Boitano)
There might have been a feather teaser involved in the taking of this picture.
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Video! Just some seriously adorable random videos that I pulled off of my phone (y’all who keep thousands of pictures and videos on your phones kill me. I clear my phone off continually. If I have more than 100 pictures/videos, it makes me nervous.)
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Khal Drogo goes in for the sniff.
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Previously
2017: Is he not just the muffin-est muffin ever?
2016: So. Very. Floofy.
2015: Jake, of course, came along and said “HI I UNDERSTAND THERE ARE TREATS?”
2014: No entry.
2013: I call this one “Leia and the eye boogers.”
2012: “O joy, it’s my second-favorite human!”
2011: “Hey, you guys, I haz THREE FEET, and you don’t got none! Ha ha ha!”
2010: “How YOU doin’?”
2009: Maximum occupancy: four kittens.
2008: Hissing babies.
2007: “This dressing looks odd,” I said to myself. “I wonder if it’s out of date?”
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
I’m glad Katia finally signed the permission slip and allowed her kids to go on a field trip.
I think it was more “Oh god, yes, PLEASE take them on all the field trips you want!” 😀
What’s the adoption process for the kittens?
You can drop an email to info@ffhsv.org to discuss adoption procedures.
Ah, they are soooo cute and sweet! I have my favorites, but just hope they all find great forever homes!
I love the dear little black heads in contrast to the wall in the long distance field trip picture!
Also, 2007! Remember when text messages each cost 10 cents?! HA!
Can you even imagine having to do that these days? I’d be broke! 😀
Unrelated to anything today, but I was going through your archives while on break at work, and tried to click on the recipe link for the pig cookies. My browser refused to connect, claiming that the link was “cult or occult”.
This is, of course, the fault of work’s security blocks, but it amused me to think that either the L&H following is a cult or those cookies are supernaturally good….
Those cookies WERE very good, I’m told. I never ate any of them myself, but Fred ate an occasional one. (Even though I put the eggs in, shell and all. He swore he couldn’t tell.)
I still have not figured out if Tessa has stripes or not.
She’s got ninja stripes – they’re not always obvious, but they’re there!
The tuxedo girls are killing me dead. I want to try to sneak them into the house in my pockets, but I’m pretty sure my husband would notice 2 long-haired kittens in a house of 7+ year old cats.
Speaking of new additions, I need some help from the cat whisperers (you, Fred, and anyone else who has advice).
I’m long winded, so I’ll try to be brief. I planned to TNR some outdoor neighborhood cats to at least keep from adding kittens to the mix. About 4 or 5 come over and I feed them daily. I’ve managed to successfully do so with 1 of the males. BUT I had to promise the husband I wouldn’t ask to add to our indoor group (still at 11).
A little female cat started showing up last fall. It took months to coax her out from under the car when I came outside and before I took her to be spayed, she was waltzing in and out of my door when I came out with food and letting me pet her some. So I’d classify her as semi-feral.
Surprise, surprise, I got attached. And super stressed at the thought of releasing her back outside. So after some tense negotiations, my husband agreed to let me try to acclimate her indoors after she came back from the vet. She is only about a year old, and I figured with being that young and female, this stands a good chance of working.
She bit me when I put her in the carrier and also bit a vet tech, which did not help the stress level. She was boarded/crated for 10 days because I had to take her BACK due to the whole health department thing regarding a cat bite and no rabies shot (yet). Which didn’t help her trusting me and got me bit again.
Last Saturday she was coming to the front of the crate and letting me touch her just a little. I even let a few of my crew come in there and she seemed to love that. And they were surprisingly chill about her. She would cry when no one was in there with her or none of the other cats came to “visit”.
So I gave her the run of the room that day. She’s been under the bed 98% of the time I am in there since then. I haven’t tried baby gates in the door frame or anything else because I don’t want to stress her out further.
I don’t know what to do. She’s been in that room about 2 weeks at this point (half in the crate). She really wants to interact with the other cats, but she doesn’t want me in there with her much and has stopped with the crying. She will come out and eat occasionally when I’m in there, but it feels like we started all over again when she came out of that crate.
I am a little in over my head. No other cat I’ve brought in (even older outdoor ones) has acted so skittish and scared. I don’t know if I stress her out more by being in there with her (quietly, on the other side of the room) or leaving her on her own. I don’t know if I should try letting one of my cats come in as an “ambassador” to see if that brings her out of her shell (she has cried and played footsie with them under the door, so she wants to see them). Treats don’t seem to entice her. Toys seems to scare her.
I don’t have any goals for her to be a lap cat or even want affections on a regular basis. But I also don’t want her to hide under a bed for the rest of her life. And I feel a bit under pressure because if I can’t get her comfortable, my husband is going to want to put her back outside and the thought of that breaks my heart because I know she would be even more terrified.
What can I do? Will allowing her to socialize with the other cats cause issues with her trusting me? Funny enough, she’s probably going to get along fine with them. Humans will be the bigger problem.
I think allowing her to socialize with the other cats will definitely help her relax; if she sees their interactions with you, that might just help her realize that you are her friend.
As for your husband, he’d better be prepared to be patient. Socializing cats takes some time. No kicking them back outside because you don’t see results at once. Would you do that to a dog or a kid who doesn’t like you? Then why would you do it to a cat?
Thanks for the advice. And to be fair to the hubs, when we started dating, I had 11 cats at that point. He was willing to sign up for 11 cats, and it certainly takes someone special to be willing to do that. He has made no comment about putting her back outside since she’s come home…I carry a lot of guilt about it and honestly I’m probably putting more pressure on myself over it.
I’ll post this in tomorrow’s post in case anyone has more suggestions, but if I were you, I’d go into the room as often as possible, and bring one or more cats in with you. I’d go in, hang out, and just mind my own business – read or surf the internet, or even nap, then leave when you’ve got things to do. I think the other cats will help to bring her out of her shell, and if the other cats hang around you while you’re in there, even better.
I think it’s going to take time, but the fact that she was letting you pet her before is a good sign. I think you’ll get back there again.
Thanks for the response. I tried to sleep in there last night and I didn’t see her at all during the night (though I think I heard her a little…I didn’t sleep very well obviously). After she ate today, I brought Reepicheep, my youngest (and nosiest) in there. I don’t think he figured out she’s under the bed, and she didn’t come out. But I let him stay in there long enough to smell her stuff from where she was in the crate and rub his face on a few places. I figured that was a good start. I was a little nervous he’d crawl under the bed too and then I’d have a real issue lol.
I have baby gates that I can stack successfully on top of each other and the cats can’t get over them (they worked very well last year when we had some foundation work done). I think I might try those for a few days as well so they can at least see each other. Hoping I can leave them up overnight tonight or tomorrow night so she will feel comfortable exploring while the house is quiet.
Try laying down on the floor near your semi-feral skittish kitty. When you aren’t looming over them, they seem to be a bit more comfy with your presence. That is one of the things I did to get my former cat colony little girl used to me being around. Took a couple of months to get her to come around.
Also, bribes like rotisserie chicken or some ham held in your hand as you lay on the floor. Most cats can’t resist either of those treats.
What about drugs?
Those pherenome diffusers are helpful for some. Just to take the edge off.
Agree with the suggestion of just hanging out quietly. Not stressing her out by focusing on her, just being in the room as a companion in the quiet.
How long is clay litter used for kittens? I have not seen them sampling it but I can’t be for sure…
I usually switch them to clumping litter around 6 weeks old.
Kristi sure got her pre-pregnancy body back fast. She almost looks a little gaunt. Is she that skinny or is it just the pictures?
After all the babies go to PetSmart, we will have to put you in de-tox. This, also for us, has been extraordinary. I love seeing those babies.
I could always use me some Khal Drogo! That is a serious hunk of handsomeness! I bet you will definitely miss these kittens when they are gone…
To me, Oksana looks skeptical rather than angry!