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Sorry, been out of posting as of late. Not much time for writing either...
On the way home from a party about 2 weeks ago. I spied something moving in the back street shortcut my taxi driver was using to get me back to my apartment.
I had just enough time to shout "koneko!" I don't know if he was more suprised by the kitten in the street or the gaijin screaming at him in Japanese.
Anyway, I got out of the cab paid my fare and went back for the little furball before it became road pizza. Sitting in the middle of a blind curve is a great way to become this BTW.
I picked up a 300 gram maybe 4 week old calico kitten (no sign of momma cat or siblings) and carried it back to my apartment (which does not allow cats).
It was covered in fleas, flea dirt, dried blood from the flea bites and had one real bad kitty cold...
Needless to say, 3 Vet visits and 2 weeks later, I now have a miniature cat dubbed Aya-chan who thinks I'm mommy...
Most of my internet and writing time is now taken over by keeping the little thing happy. Its quite attached to me (must always watch where I step!) And trying to keep it from piddling for the upteenth time on my bed or tatami mats.
I love cats and am tickled to be able to have one, but I've never had a kitten before. They are a lot of work. Just like a baby I imagine. -sigh-
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How nice for you and how lucky for her. Kittens are so nutty and fun.
We are at the end of our cat's life. It is very sad to see him cry to be lifted onto counters that are half the height of ones he used to leap over. He is still fairly healthy but just so old and cranky.
I miss the fun and craziness of a kitten, but my cat is too old to have any friends and I cannot bear to think of him dead just yet.
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Thanks guys. I am enjoying the experience, but a little frustrated by the amount of time it requires to feed, medicate, and try to train the little terror!
All my prior pets were loving young adult cats my family rescued from the Humane Society (they never seem to have trouble finding homes for kittens), that fortunately came pre-programmed with most of their operating instructions.
And LAJD my sympathies for the end of relationship trials. We were at that point with Gracie (our first HS cat about 3 years ago). Her exit was a slow wasting illnes over the course of a season. If only they lived as long as we do. But then we wouldn't have the opportunity to have so many wonderful feline friends over the years.
[This message has been edited by Lyrajean (edited December 10, 2008).]
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Ah, the perils of raising cats from kittens. We've picked up several over the years. One once wandered into our bookstore as a kitten, and she stayed with us for the next seventeen years.
You probably know this, but don't give 'em milk, it's bad for 'em at that age (and probably any age).
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We too are at the tail-end of our cat's life. Her companion (they were a twofer at the humane society) died earlier this year, we've had them for 15 years. Our surviving cat is senile I think (she's always been a bit loopy). She forgets that we've fed her so she constantly asks to be fed. She has alot of strange behaviors. She's annoyingly loveable.
Congrats on the new kitten. Its been so long since we had one that I forget how much work they can be, especially if they're not litter box friendly yet. Have fun!
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I don't keep a liter box--filthy stuff--I send them outside for that. My cats ring a bell on my door when they want out. I did not train them to do this. One christmas I had bells hanging by a string from the outside door knob. The cats soon realized it was a more sure way to get my attention and draw less ire than scratching on the door.
My cats range from two years old to fourteen. from two pounds to thirty. Yes thirty. I have a white hyimalayan that has been mistaken for a polar bear cub by small children. Sweetest cat I every met. My youngest enjoys sitting between me and my monitor, as she is doing know.
I love dogs too, but lets face it cats are less maintenance and don't smell as much.
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Our new kitty (which we got this fall as a five-year-old), loves to chase the cursor on my husband's big-screen computer monitor. She also loves to sit on my lap while I'm at the computer (which she is doing right now, of course).
When we were looking for a new kitty, we met some delightfully rambunctious kittens, but I'm glad we took an older one. I wish you all the best with your little challenge, Lyrajean.
By the way, there's an article in my local paper this morning about how people who have lost their homes to foreclosure have also had to turn their pets into animal shelters because they can't take them with them. That's heartbreaking.
She's decided my bed is one of the places where she likes to pee.. and I have only 2 sets of sheets and no washer in house.
I thought I won the battle last night. After she had one of her (deliberate, I think) 'accidents'. I cleaned off the bed and covered it in lavender and lemongrass. Mostly to try and mask the scent so she won't do it again. Actually, she abhors the smell of these 2 herbs and I thought I'd won. Well, this AM she was trying to jump on the bed. I live in a studio with a mattress on the floor so keeping her out fo the room is kinda hard. Everytime she landed on the bed, I picked her up and tossed her in the litter box, but she wouldn't whizz. then she crawls off behind my mirror and does it on the floor (another repeat location) and one I'd covered in lavender! -Go figure!
I swear she saves her pee and waits till I get home or wake up and free her from the bathroom and it's 'Happy to see you, here's a present.' -whizzzzz! And she has no trouble doing #2 in the box at all.
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Lyrajean, I hope you are now having better luck with your kitten. Cats of any age have minds of their own, it is their unalienable right as cats. Fortunately our two took naturally to the litter box for everything, although they are now 3 1/2, and no longer kittens. Thank you for your Japanese lessons of a while back--I've returned to Washington, DC now. Take care, CarolCPK
Posts: 11 | Registered: Jul 2008
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posted
Congratulations on the new family member. As I read the post I was being forced to pet my youngest cat, Widget. Widget was rescued at four days old when his mother left him behind after she moved his siblings. We waited 24 hours for her to come back for him. She never did. Lucky for him. The other three kittens all died.
They're a lot of work at this age. My suggestion is to try something else in the litterbox. Maybe even dirt from outside--what's she's used to. For the area behind the mirror, get a cheap--or old--shower curtain. Odd are, she won't like her pee splattering back from vinyl.
Well, the wonder whizzer Aya is now box trained. No accidents in about 2 weeks! Yipee! I was getting tired of sleeping on top of a wet spot where I sponged off her latest 'addition' to my bed. We're testing letting her have free reign of the apartment when I'm out.
The latest challege is getting her to stop bitting me! Kittens that are removed from Mom early have this problem I understand. I'm using a combo of withdrawing from engaging her when she bites hard and squirting her with water when she attacks my feet.
Overall, she's happy, apparently healthy, and got her first shots 2 weeks ago. I'm guessing she's about 10w/o at this point. It feels really good to know you saved a nice little creature from an almost certain death. and I'm finally able to return to my hobbies writing and sewing...
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