I know it is all about perspective, but are the kittens that big already, or is Katia tiny herself?
Both – they’re very chubby kittens (as they usually are at this age) and she’s a very small cat. The fact that she’s so small makes them look that much bigger!
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so, where the cat couch and the purple chair thing is, is that wide enough for a loveseat?
It is! A loveseat or a queen-sized bed. The space measures 60″ across. I still haven’t, obviously, found a loveseat for that space.
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Is she [Katia] calming down at all? I see her give you eyes of love, or at least non-hatred, can you touch her yet?
You know, she ACTS like a cat who wants to be petted, she talks back to me, she has rolled onto her side and given me the blinky-blink Eyes of Lurve, but when I slowly reached in to see if I could pet her last night, she hissed, growled, and smacked at me, and she wasn’t kidding around. Lucky for me, the sleeve to my shirt got in the way of her shredding my hand. She can be SKEERY.
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So, I’ve been wondering, since Katia had those cute little muffins has she ever laid on her other side? LOL She’s always on her right side leaning against her shelter. I know, silly thought but I can’t help it, I’ve thought it every day now.
I hadn’t noticed this ’til you asked, but no – she’s never on her left side, always on her right side!
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I’m sure that organized Robyn would be able to answer this question lickety split. I will of course forgive regular Robyn if she doesn’t know the answer, but here’s the question: Is there a date or week that your momma cats have typically given birth? Ya know like a frequency chart. When have others given birth?
Yesterday, Organized Robyn updated her Mama Kitties page – see that here – to include the information regarding what day of the week (it already included the dates) our mamas have given birth on. (I also had to add Nola, Mercury, Katia and Kristi because it had been a while since I updated that page.)
So, here are the dates on which our mamas have given birth (I’ll leave off the years), arranged chronologically by month/day:
2/25/18 (Katia)
3/1/12 (Emmy)
3/19/13 (Kate)
4/1/15 (Lucy)
4/2/11 (Maggie)
4/3/17 (Nola)
4/17/08 (Kara)
5/1/13 (Khaleesi)
8/9/17 (Mercury)
Fun fact: Kristi will be our 10th mama to give birth while with us.
Fun fact #2: Apparently I favor “K” names for pregnant cats.
Births arranged by days of the week:
Sunday: 1 (Katia)
Monday: 1 (Nola)
Tuesday: 1 (Kate)
Wednesday: 3 (Khaleesi, Lucy, Mercury)
Thursday: 2 (Kara & Emmy)
Friday: 0
Saturday: 1 (Maggie)
Another fun fact: starting with Kara, every other mama has birthed 4 kittens, followed by a mama who birthed a larger number. In other words, the number of kittens birthed while with us, in order: 4, 6, 4, 5, 4, 7, 5, 6, 4.
On average, our pregnant cats wait 2 weeks and birth 4.8 kittens.
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Has Kristi shown any interest in Katia’s litter (her grand-kittens, heh)?
Kristi has shown absolutely zero interest in her little grandkittens. She stuck her head into the crate the morning after they were born and hissed at them, but other than that, she completely ignores them.
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I need some guidance from the Love and Hisses hive mind. I need a new vacuum cleaner! What kind works best for you? I will be replacing my Dyson (all the plastic is breaking) and I’m not very satisfied with it. I have a lot of woven rugs and a long haired cat with an undercoat that is a combination of cottonwood fluff and cotton candy. It gets EVERYWHERE and sticks like glue. One of my rugs has a white haze on it that I cannot vacuum off. Does any one have a recommendation? The fluffy kitty is new, he was dumped in the neighborhood and I finally won his trust, took him to the vet, and he moved when it got cold. He’s huge (actually, he’s not big, but he LOOKS it), orange and fluffy. Ridiculously fluffy. He has to be part Main Coon. And maybe part Yeti. I’m not sure yet. Everyone who sees him bursts into laughter. Lucky for me, he likes to be brushed with the furminator. If anyone is in Kansas and needs a skittish, but adorable, orange kitty, let me know. My other cats will be happy to crate him up and drive him to a new home.
After years of being a Dyson fan, I bought the Shark Navigator Lift-Away right after Christmas and I like it quite a lot. Of course, we don’t have any rugs or carpet in this house, so I use the hard floor attachment almost exclusively, but as I understand it, it does an awesome job on carpets too. The suction is awesome, it’s lightweight – really my only gripe is that the vacuum is so light that if I reach too far with the hardwood attachment, the vacuum tends to fall over, but that doesn’t happen often, and if I keep one hand on the vacuum handle, it doesn’t happen at all.
Okay, y’all, speak up: what vacuum cleaner do you loooove?
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Warning: Talk of snakes in this section (but no pictures.)
Snakes in the kitchen-. I started an exotic pet rescue. A water snake was turned in. It had offspring. Live offspring. 38 worm sixlzwd offspring that gout through the 3mm crack between the sliding gas. Cats are overjoyed. With six cats, I was shocked that 32 survived the day. Some scared. It was like a pinata for the cats.
and
Seeing that video of the snake reminds me of the one time ours brought one in. We were sitting watching tv one evening and I heard Max happily playing away in the other room by himself. He was having a great time slapping and bouncing and since that was the same room the aquarium was in I got a little concerned when this continued for a while. I get up, go around the corner and there is a TEN FOOT TWO HEADED SNAKE WITH 3 FOOT FANGS about to devour my kitten – or at least that is what my adrenaline panicked brain said. In reality it was a 8 inch or so rat snake who just wanted to get away I yell to the spouse “get up! He has a snake in here!” Her oh-so-calm reply “a real one?” (No honey, he went to the store and bought a toy one with his catnip funds) Luckily there was a box nearby and I was able to cover and catch him and then do the walk of the Lady With a Snake in a Box outside to let him free.
I sure do love a good snake-in-the-house story. Especially when it’s not my house they’re in!
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Forgive me if you already mentioned this but what is going to happen to Katia when her babies are grown? She seems pretty feral so are they going to neuter and release or are you going to try to domesticate her? And if you do release where would she go?
Unless we’re able to convince Katia that humans aren’t so bad, she’ll be spayed and released back with her colony.
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How did Jake get the “Loony” handle? You need to write a book about all the permanent residents and their backstory. You could title it “The Other Incredible Journey (so far):From Crooked Acres to Shady Cove
Jake often gets this look on his face wherein he looks completely insane, like such:
“Loony Jake” seemed like the perfect nickname!
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That BELLY. (That’s Katarina, showing off her white belly.)
Lined up at the milk bar. I can’t swear to it, but I think that’s Jayne Torvill, second from the right, air-nursing in her sleep.
Look closely, you can see the tip of Katia’s tongue.
Little flirt.
Katarina, resting atop her brother.
Another lineup at the milk bar.
Is it just me or does she look a wee bit smug at the fact that she hasn’t had those kittens yet?
She loves a good face rub.
If she has those kittens over the weekend, I will of course post about it. I mean, SURELY she isn’t going to go past this weekend?! ::sob::
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Video! Kristi’s alien belly. (It looks like she’s breathing hard, but she was actually purring.)
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Stefan leads such a rough and stressful life; pity him.
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Previously
2017: Throw Back Thursday: Maggie
2016: “Well, I’ll be. You really can hear the ocean!”
2015: “I was NOT bunny-kicking my sister in the back of the head and making her cry. That would be WRONG.”
2014: No entry.
2013: No entry.
2012: Babies at the milk bar.
2011: Corbie Wednesday.
2010: Hoyt goes home.
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
I have a Miele canister vacuum cleaner that I loooove. It’s light, rolls very well, does a good job on both hard wood and carpet. I’ve had this thing several years and I’m so impressed that when I open it to change the bag, there is still not one spec of dust in the body. Also, I don’t know if this is standard with other brands, but when you buy a new box of bags, they come with a new set of filters.
I love my Miele as well, not least because it’s far quieter than any other vacuum I’ve had. I’ve had it for nine years, so it’s been well worth the expense. Thank you, Robyn, for my dose of Jake and Stefan!
Oh yes! I love how quiet it is! It doesn’t even scare the cats or annoy the noise-sensitive members of my family.
Ooo alien belly his! Every time youbpost one it seems the mama has her kittens that day or the next.
And again those kittens so cute
Vacuums: I have Roombas and I touch up the rugs once in a while with a Dyson canister type. It works well for me. No bags, like that.
The size of the belly…maybe there will be a huge litter this weekend. Hope they are all healthy!
based on your chart, she may be waiting for next Wednesday.
I was thinking that too! Thanks for the chart and fun facts Organized Robyn!
When is the 2 wk mark btw?
Also, loved the snake story!
Re: vacuums. I got a new one for Christmas. It’s a Bissell. Previously had a Kirby. Kirby was HEAVY and a pain in the rear to switch all the attachments. When I got it I though it was great. Now I don’t and it was falling apart after so many years. Anywho, the Bissell is a canister. Picks up pet hair great but the canister is small and has to be emptied out frequently. I must live in a very dirty area or something because the dirt and dust that accompanies the hair is a mess. I need to empty outside or the garage in order to not have stuff everywhere. The vacuum itself is GREAT but the canister type system is just so messy.Attachments are easy to switch and filters are easy to clean as well. Plus it’s BLUE!
The 2 week mark was Tuesday, so we’re past it and gunning for 3 weeks. Wahhhh!
I have a 50+ year old Kirby that my mother-in-law bought just after she got married. It still works great (I understand the really old ones are a little more solidly built than the modern ones) and has needed only one minor repair in the 15-plus years that I’ve had it.
But it weighs a ton, and I have some stuff pretty seriously wrong with my neck, and I’ve come to the sad conclusion that I need something much lighter.
ACTUALLY-my vacuum is a Hoover. I am not sure why I thought it was a Bissell. They are probably similar though.
I’ve never met a feral cat – so I think it’s interesting that Katia, being as close to her mother as she is, has not caught any of the “We can trust Robyn” message from Kristi… I remember Emmy and how sad I felt that you could never ‘get to her’ but I thought by now (2-3 weeks into their stay) Katia would have calmed down a bit. Maybe it’s because she has a litter and is even more protective??? Anyway, can’t wait til those little ones get outside of smack-down range and you can scoop them up as they scamper around! As ever, enjoying kittens with you!
Probably not the answer you want to hear-for fur on the rugs I just have to use elbow grease-no vacuum has been worth it. (Though I haven’t tried many.) I use the Pet Hair Lifter (looks like a yellow sponge) and just get down on the ground and scrub the hair up. I have area rugs-wouldn’t make sense for large carpeted areas.
Yes, I had noted the ‘eyes of love’ from Katia! Sigh…soon….
As to sweepers, we had a much-loved Dyson, and it kept breaking (3 hoses replaced for one thing) to the point that the new part would cost way too much. Our next one was the Shark Lift-away Navigator…it does as awesome a job on pulling up the dirt as the Dyson. Just doesn’t have as long a power cord or hose, and yes, it tips over too easily. It does have a self-propelled feature that is quite powerful!
Vacuum cleaners – coincidentally I was reading Cooks Illustrated last night, March/April 2016 issue and they rated 3 robot vacuum cleaners. The best one they tested did a grid pattern on the floor vs circles: decent or random lines: poor. I imagine the reader is asking for one that’s good for pet hair or just a “hey since we’re all reading this, what’s your fave…” but this is what I learned last night! The “Highly Recommended” brand they tested was Neato Botvac D80 $499.99 – and the “Recommended” was the Moneual Rydis H68 Pro Hybrid Robotic Vacuum cleaner $224.99 – both vacuumed in a grid pattern. Hope it’s helpful! Good luck! Happy Weekend!
I feel very sad knowing that Katia will possibly be returned to her feral life. But, on the other hand, I look at how Khal Drago has “transformed” into a happy, in-door kittie, all because of the time, effort and patience from you and Fred. So, I still have hope that the same transformation will happen to Katia!
Another snake story: I came home from work one day (in two different years) to find a baby snake in my living room. The first time I thought I was seeing yarn until one of my cats caused the snake to go into strike mode. The second time I thought, “Again?” I have no problem with non-poisonous snakes…I carried the babies out by hand.
You should just order some cheep couch from Walmart. You know that a kitten is going to pee on it anyway
I still think Katia is gonna decide humans are cool. Look how far she’s come in just a few short weeks, and under all that stress!!!
I found Reacher let me get my hands closer to him at first if I didn’t look at him while trying to cozy up. The dangers of this approach are obvious when it comes to the slappin paw & nitey fangs. Maybe try with welding gloves on?
Katia is so, so pretty, I can only hope she warms up once the kids start bopping about.
Question – is it possible that one Mama will turn on the kittens of the other Mama’s litter? Grandma hissed at her grandkittens when she first looked in on them, so is it possible one might get a bit “territorial” with the unfamiliar smell of another litter of kittens? In the wild, you see prides of female lions co-mothering each others cubs, so probably not (and seeing how the two girls were in a feral colony together), but I wonder if anyone has heard of that happening.
And will handsome, strapping Uncle Stefan charm the ladies and win over the kittens (duh)…stay tuned!
It looks like someone, ?Jayne Torvill? is a dark grey tabby?
Vacuums. I went to a vacuum store and tried them all out. I ended up buying a Riccar. We’ve had ours 12 years. I take it in every year for a tune up and they replace the belts or whatever and it works great. It’s made in the USA and while the outside is heavy duty plastic, the working components are all sturdy metal. I love it.
O my gosh, I LOVE that picture of Jake! It looks like he’s puffing out his whisker humps! My favorite loon!! I swear I would drive all the way to Alabama just to hug him..
Those babies! so cute, so big! They are gonna seriously out match their uncles and aunts when they decide to show up!
Is that a green toy in Katia’s lair? Is she playful?
Vacuums: I also have a Shark. My Mom used it a few years ago when I was in the hospital for a few weeks and my parents checked in on my cats for me. She HATED it, and I don’t love it (it’s HEAVY), but it does well with cat hair and litter. It hasn’t lost any suction or needed any major unclogging in the 2+ years I’ve had it. it’s bagless. I got it at Target for I guess under $200.