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On Friday, after telling Fred that I was going to wait one more day to introduce Carmy to Tina and her kittens, I wondered “What am I waiting for?” since Tina’s eye looks much better, is still a bit squinty but isn’t goopy. It was time to get this show on the road, so I took Carmy upstairs to meet his new family.
Tina gave him the ol’ snifferoo.
And sniffed him again.
Fred picked him up and put him at the milk bar, and Carmy sniffed around a bit, and was basically like “I don’t get it.”
“What’m I supposed to do?”
At one point he hung around in her back legs.
Sniffed at her.
But the milk bar was just a big puzzle to him.
Every time we put him up against Tina, he’d sniff around for a while, and then eventually retreat to the other end of the crate to curl up and sleep. Because that’s what he was used to, you see? Curling up by himself to sleep.
He was fine with it, but it made ME sad.
“What’s with this kid?” Tina wondered.
I would bottle (syringe) feed him every few hours, and when I realized that Tina REALLY LIKES the taste of formula, I made a point of just leaving it on his face so she’d clean him off. (I tried squirting some formula on one of her nipples in hopes that it would give Carmy the idea, but instead Tina knocked all the kittens away so she could lick the formula off herself.)
“Kid, you are tasty.”
“VERY tasty.”
Oh, Carmy.
“Hmm…”
He finally started piling up with the other kittens instead of retreating to the other end of the crate, which I loved seeing.
And then around 9:00 Friday night, Carmy figured it out. I was downstairs readying his formula for another feeding, and Fred came down and said “He’s nursing!” And he was!
I continued going into the room every few hours to potty him and see if he wanted formula, but at none of the overnight feedings was he slightest bit interested. Saturday morning I weighed him, saw that he’d gained over half an ounce since the night before, and decided that I could probably stop trying to feed him. Clearly that boy has figured it out.
Since then, he is always piled up with the other kittens, bellies up to the milk bar, and basically is just one of them. I don’t know that Tina even remembers he’s not hers – I picked him up yesterday to weigh him, he squeaked in complaint, and she was RIGHT in my face with her intense “What are you doing with my baby?!” eyes.
I will, of course, keep monitoring his (and Richie, Sydney and Jeff’s) weights and step in and supplement feed if need be. But for now things are going really well, and I could not be more relieved!
Side note: Carmy is 4 days older than Richie, Sydney and Jeff. At the moment, he weighs about 2 ounces more than they do, but they may catch up to him before long. Carmy’s eyes are open (see the picture down in the social media section) and Richie, Sydney and Jeff’s eyes will likely start opening in the next few days (kittens’ eyes open at about 7 – 10 days; sometimes earlier, sometimes later.)
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Newt’s a couch potato.
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Posted on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Tumblr) over the weekend.
Carmy pie? Yes, please! (My favorite!)
The little family is named! Natalie and Carmy were named after characters from the Hulu series The Bear, and we are continuing the naming theme. Mom is now Tina, the black girl is now Sydney, the brown tabby is now Richie, and the black boy is now Jeff.
(If you don’t watch the series, the joke in there is that in the first season of the show, Tina misunderstands Carmy when he says “chef” and thinks he’s saying “Jeff.” Once she realizes what he was actually saying, she continues calling him “Jeff” to needle him at first, and then it becomes a term of endearment. In the most recent (third) season, other people are picking it up and extending it into “Jeffrey” and I believe there was even a “Joffrey ballet” in there as well.)
Someone’s going to say that I should have named one of the boys “Fak,” but I think that the Faks need their own litter – a mostly-male litter, since the only female Fak I can think of is Francie. And, well, you know what Francie can do.
“Yes, Chef!”
Chef Carmy pronounces the formula ::chef’s kiss:: perfection!
YouTube link
At 1 week old, Carmy is learning to really like snuggles and belly rubs, is purring up a storm, and he’s starting to toddle!
Good night innernets. (And yes, you DO see Carmy in there, at the milk bar. All 4 kittens are there, though Sydney and Jeff kind of blend in. You can see that Carmy is next to Richie… and you can also see why I don’t think we’ll have any trouble telling the two brown tabbies apart!)
Carmy (seen here in the middle of that pile) is now officially a resident of the crate. I put him in there with them yesterday, and Tina immediately rolled onto her side and offered the milk bar. She was 100% fine with Carmy, willing to take him on, but Carmy didn’t quite understand what he was supposed to be doing. It took the better part of the day (with some help from us. A LOT of help from us!), but he finally figured out how the whole nursing thing works, and from then on he has refused the bottle. I still went in every few hours overnight to at least offer it to him, and he was NOT having it. (He’s had the good stuff, why would he want the pale imitation?) I weighed him this morning, and he had gained .8 ounces/22 grams overnight. I also weighed Sydney, Richie and Jeff to be sure they were getting enough, and they had gained overnight, as well. So Tina’s milk bar had enough supply for everyone (we do like a well-stocked bar).
I will continue to monitor him – all of them – to be sure they’re gaining as they should, but so far so good.
Carmy has a family. ❤️
YouTube link
A “hello” from Tina, and some milk bar action.
Carmy’s eyes are open and he’s still trying to decide if he likes what he sees. 👀
Good night innernets. (Carmy, Tina, Richie, Sydney & Jeff)
I can’t imagine I’m ever going to get tired of seeing Carmy nursing.
Speaking of amazing mama cats who took on an orphaned kitten, we have here Khaleesi (that’s her curled up in the lower right), who in 2013 (!) not only birthed her own 4 kittens, but also a little kitten named Norbie, who we snuck into her nest while she was in the middle of giving birth. (You can read the post here, if you’re interested)
Alton says: “Coming to the 2028 Olympics: Khaleesi, Lilly [left], and Bubba [center top] preparing for the new synchronized napping event. ” Looks like some gold medal work to me!
(Thanks Alton!)
YouTube link
On Friday I put Carmy in the crate with Tina and her kittens, and it took him about 12 hours to figure out how the whole nursing and piling up with the other kittens worked. But he figured it out, and now they’re a true family and he’s like “Lose my number, weird lady.”
Good night innernets. (Jeff in the front, Carmy rolling around on his back, and Richie and Sydney behind Carmy at the milk bar. And Tina giving me A Look.)
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Previously
2023: No entry.
2022: Mike is so over-the-top cute that it’s verging on offensive.
2021: (Her looking at me like “Are you SEEING this?!” is killing me.)
2020: Rochefort has a sleepy.
2019: Cuppa Gabrielle to start off your day?
2018: No creature on the face of the planet is more pleased with himself than this kitten who just farted three inches from my face.
2017: Aurora and the rough life.
2016: Juniper, chilling with her teddies.
2015: I don’t have any idea what caused this – she just felt floofy, I guess.
2014: “What? I fit! I don’t CARE that the lady says I look like a loaf of bread that has risen over the sides of the loaf pan.”
2013: Poor Arya was sound asleep, and then suddenly Jon Snow was all “I NEEDS ME A SNUGGLE!” and flopped down right on top of her.
2012: No entry.
2011: “WHAT YOU DOIN’, LADY?”
2010: How I have not squeezed the stuffing out of that boy, I do not know.
2009: “Heyyyy, good-lookin’!”
2008: I don’t remember what she was appalled by, but apparently it was quite SOMETHING.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.