My Life With Cats

She went from this……

She’s getting ready to attack Baby Baby (the grey tabby on the right).

She started out in life as Baby Baby Baby, changed that to Vanna but everytime I called her I kept thinking of Vanna White flipping letters so after watching her personality, her name is MU (moo) for Mistress of the Universe.

She is a fanatic when it comes to protecting her toys ( and everything is her toy). She will go up to cats 5 times her size, lower her head, square her body and jump at them….just because they got close to her toys.

And then there’s this….

 

From left to right –
Stink Butt, Fluffy, Harri, Downey(on the paper) and Bare Bear (standing)

An Amazon shipment just came so boxes and paper for everyone!

My Life With Cats

Just one happy, healthy kitten.

Bathes herself now, sort of. Whines about E V E R T H I N G !!!!! And still has a hard time releasing her claws so hilarious watching her try to climp anything.

Before

My Life WIth Cats

Vanna sleeping with Baby Baby.

There comes that moment when a kitten shows it’s independence.

Vanna is there.
That two plus weeks of intense care is rewarded by watching her actually grow and play.

Her face is still a little bit of a mess but she’s become an 8 clawed mini octopus so I watch to make sure she sort of cleans it.
I comb her a couple times a day until she figures out one of her primary jobs is to bathe herself.
So fat just her legs, face, back legs and I saw her lick down her chest the other day.
Baby steps.

It’s hilarious watching her ‘attack’ another of the cats. She runs/ waddles up to them. Stops. Reaches out her paw. And.
Pat.
Usually they don’t even know she’s there so she again reaches out her paw.
Pat.

Everything now is a toy.
Everything.
Especially other cat tails and legs.
She’ll learn..

Climbing is a real adventure. She hasn’t figured out how to retract her claws so she gets hung up and thrashes around.

And while she use to really be a whiner, her voice has gotten deeper and know it’s whining with a purpose.

But she explores the whole house, sits and looks out windows, interacts with the other cats and plays with everything and everyone all by herself.

My Life With Cats

Yesterday Vanna – a thanks to Elyse at FiftyFourAndAHalf – moved into where I wanted her to be all along.

I have a ‘coffee table/bench that sits just under my front window and right above a heat register. A perfect place to warm up a young and cold kitten.

So I made up her bed and moved it over, added her favorite mouse and a strip of paper she loves to gnaw on.

Last night before I moved her bed over, when ever the heat came on, she’d stretch out her little paws and knead them.

So today, after I moved the bed, she wandered over and curled up right where she did last night.

The other cat, One Eyed Pete, waited a bit and then went to the bed, bathed and went to sleep.

She has sort of played with Pete and maybe this will have them bonding better and if not, a warmer place.

 

My Life With Cats

I’m a cat person, no secret.
And every once in a while I take in a ‘rescue’.

99 times out of 100 all you have to do is give some TLC.
A warm place to live. ‘
A clean bed.
Clean water.
Good food and plenty of it.
Clean liter box.
A safe home.

Cats are so independent that they will thrive, raise to their level if given the chance.

4 weeks ago I took in a little guy…well girl.
The vet’s best guess she was 6-8 weeks. Good teeth.
Now 6-8 week old kittens are pretty tough. Able to eat on their own, play/fight and bathe.

Well she, and I call her Baby Baby Baby, can eat as long as it’s chicken.
I usually go through a variety of foods to see #1 what interests them so they WILL eat and balance that with a good food.
So I went through a variety of canned foods and nope.

Gotta be boiled chicken.

OK.

Took to the potty box right away.
Forgot every once in a while and even now (approx 12 weeks) still wakes up and wanders around until you can almost see the light bulb over her head go off -“Oh yeah, I have to go potty and the box is over there.” And she runs to it.

One of the biggest worries is the kittens bowel movements. A change of diet especially going form a mother’s milk to people food can often be too rich.
Not her. Great poops.

Still doesn’t know how to play by herself.

For the first 2 weeks, I had to hold her next to my body – transfer body heat – for 2-4 hours in the AM and 2-4 hours in the evening.
Diced up boiled chicken.
She drinks good but still dips her head too far into the water bowl.
Then at the 2 week mark – she started to sleep on her own – didn’t have to hold her.
At the 3 week mark, she started looking around and trying different beds.

So now at 4+ weeks, she’s doing great, still only sorta plays by herself.
2 of my other cats see her as a toy and play.

In fat the only problem is she doesn’t not and never has bathed herself.
I’ve had to do it all along.

“My face is dirty. Some body bathe it”