I lost my beloved 19 y.o. Zoey in mid-April, and many of you left such kind messages of condolence here – they really helped me get through a very tough time. I still miss her very very much, and am not yet ready to adopt another cat. However, I’ve just started fostering a 7 y.o. calico who was saved from euthanasia a week ago, and would welcome any advice you can share with me.
She’s been declawed and is a total nervous wreck. I collected her on Saturday from the cat rescue people who had taken her from the high-kill shelter, and she immediately retreated to a safe spot under my bed – exactly where Zoey used to hide during thunderstorms and vacuuming 😉 She’s very slowly warming up to me, but is still a stress-ball. She actually sat next to me on the sofa last night, but I suddenly sneezed, and she tore through the room, down the hall and back under the bed. I do pick her up every day at least a couple of times, and give her a cuddle until she pushes me away, letting me know she wants down. She is letting me stroke her under the chin, as well as pet her, and she comes up on the bed every night at least for a little while. But I live on a main road in a big city with lots of traffic noise, and whenever she hears a siren or a horn through the open window, she gets spooked.
She has some teeth that need to come out, but the vet wants her to gain a bit of weight before the op. She is eating, but is so scared she only eats a tiny bit and then goes back under my bed. I’m currently giving her a mix of kitten food and baby food with a tiny bit of water added to make a gravy, warmed up a bit, and mashed together. Any advice on helping her eat more, as well as gently coaxing her out of her shell, would be very much appreciated!
I’ve got limited computer time between now and late Saturday (but because I love y’all there’ll even be a post on Saturday – I mean, Kitturday!) and I’m scattered and unable to concentrate at the moment, but I wanted to get this posted so that y’all could help out. If you have any suggestions for Catherine, please please leave them in the comments!
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Question, and apologies if you’ve answered this in a comment and I missed it: what DID happen to Norbert’s mother and siblings? If you’d rather not say, no problem, but the timing was all so incredibly fortuitous for the little guy, I can’t help but be curious.
I won’t go into specifics, but I will say that they were accidentally killed in a household accident, and it was incredibly fortuitous that Khaleesi was giving birth that night, wasn’t it? That Norbert is one lucky little monkey.
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I’ll try this again, it’s too good not to. Not being all that savey on computer stuff I really hope this works.
Oh good lord, SO CUTE!!!
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You probably haven’t noticed this one, huh? No one’s mentioned that she’s gorgeous and has floofy, silky fur, and is a sweet little cutie-pie, have they?
Her floof kills me dead. So does her attitude. She’s the total package, this one. Such a little princess.
Oh, how she wanted to come down the stairs.
“But lady, that big ol’ scary cat is down there, and she skeers me!” she said. (The scary cat in question? Miz Poo. Yeah, terrifying.)
Leia skittered back up the stairs to the landing and swooshed back and forth, wanting desperately to come down, but not quite sure about Miz Poo.
“Make her go ‘way!”
Then she went all the way to the top of the steps and pouted.
She is such a sweet girl, this one. She’s got an instant purr. (She made me wait 8 weeks to hear it, but now she can’t seem to turn it off. Not that I want her to!)
It’s a lot of work keeping that floof clean, y’know.
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Oh, Scorch. Talk about beautiful! He is going to be a big boy – he’s got long, long legs and huge feet. He outweighs the next-biggest kitten (Puff) by several ounces.
“I sees you, lady!”
Scorch prefers his little pink toes to be sparkling clean at all times.
“WOWZA!”
I’d like to direct your attention to the belly and the little striped tail.
He loves that little basket almost as much as Puff does.
Oh lord, the teeth. They’re killing me dead.
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“Beautiful kittens come and go. Corbie is forever.”
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Previously
2012: Since this is a family-friendly site, I won’t tell you what I suggested he do with all that squash.
2011: “I DON’T KNOW WHAT IT IS, BUT IT’S SKEERY.”
2010: This is VERY IMPORTANT, and all members of the feline persuasion must follow these instructions very carefully in the future or FACE THE CONSEQUENCES.
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: As you can see, Spanky is a deeply suspicious fellow.
2006: No entry.
2005: Well, she’s right. I’m starting to give the kittens nicknames. I can’t help it!