Ten great reasons to stay inside where it’s cozy and warm!
Happy New Year all!
After a tumultuous start, Loki’s finally settling in. He had some sort of gastroenteritis that we weren’t sure any of us would survive.
Somehow we all made it through!
We’re still navigating the co-cat coalition…
News to me was that cats may at times need probiotics. For Loki’s uncontrolled bowel, our veterinarian prescribed a combination of antibiotics, prescription food, and a probiotic regimen which I was only able to administer by mixing it in liquid and using a syringe. It was several weeks of hell!
I was skeptical about all of this at first but ultimately it worked.
The veterinarian thought Loki may have eaten something toxic. All I know is that he was a very sick kitten.
Plants, the veterinarian said, are often the cause. We were referred to the ASPCA website to review a list of toxic plants: https://www.aspcapro.org/resource/17-plants-poisonous-pets
It has been awhile since we have had a kitten roaming the house. It was a little like having a baby again! Everything goes right into his mouth.
We still have no idea if Loki came to us ill, or if he got into something in our home. Regardless, he survived thankfully!
Typically, cats are very neat and easy to cat box train unless there is a serious issue.
Right now he is a bundle of energy, a coiled spring ready to snap! Teenagers!
We are counting our blessings that he is both healthy and happy!
Happy #Caturday all! And Merry Christmas!
We suffered a major setback when shortly after joining our ranks, Loki showed signs of major dysentery. The veterinarian gave us a plethora of things to try like medication, special food, and probiotics. He’s hanging in there, but it’s been a rough few weeks. I’m hopeful all of this will work.
He’s still playful, and sweet, and has even convinced Licorice that he’s not so bad.
We’re hoping and praying it’s not serious, but it’s hard to know. The vet does not seem entirely sure what’s going on with the little guy which is frustrating.
You would never know he’s suffering by looking at him, right? Hoping for a better week this week!
Happy #Caturday All!
We adopted a new kitty last week named Loki. He’s about six months old, very sweet, and pretty fearless. He was nervous at first. I think he was missing his family who are moving, and sadly could not bring Loki with them.
Loki brought so many toys, and tunnels and fun things to play with that we hoped Licorice would soon accept his company.
It was pretty tense at first. There was a considerable amount of growling, and hissing, and some paws were thrown.
To make matters worse, Loki just seemed to instinctively know where all of Licorice’s favorite spots were, and he sat in all of them. The nerve!
Then we had a few hopeful close encounters.
After a few days the growling and hissing subsided and gave way to some interesting cat noises, like squeaks and chirps.
As a growing boy, Loki gets very excited about food! He growls when he eats and he likes to eat Licorice’s leftover food.
Luckily, Licorice is not a big eater. But when she catches him at her food dish, she pops Loki with her paw just in case he forgets who’s the boss around here.
Licorice has been the solo queen for several years, ever since her companion, Lily, passed away. As I recall, Lily was not thrilled when we brought Licorice home either but she adapted.
Maybe Licorice remembers this experience, it’s hard to know. Luckily, Loki has decided he’s fine with Licorice being the queen.
I can’t believe it’s been a week already! I wonder what that feels like in cat time?
I think it all comes down sharing a sunbeam, because what’s better than that?
Time will tell, but I believe they are very close to playing together, and becoming best friends.
Happy #Caturday!
I had no idea it was cat adoption day today…one thing led to another and before I knew it we had a new family member.
This is Loki.
Loki’s family was moving to a place where they could not bring a cat, and on top of that had an allergy situation.
My friend Heather was the common thread who put us together when I was telling her about the article I wrote about the two kittens she had adopted from my foster litter. Sometimes things are just meant to be!
How to Create a Cozy Birthing Space for your Pregnant Cat!
Your “Queen” is showing signs she is ready to give birth, so what do you do? If this is your first experience with feline pregnancy, there is no need to be worried, because your momma cat knows exactly what to do! For all other questions your Veterinarian can coach you through the stages and the signs of your cat’s pregnancy so that you will be ready for the special day. However, a very important item to provide for your cat is a Queening or Nesting Box where she will feel safe and secure while birthing her kittens.
A few years ago, my family fostered a pregnant stray cat named, Sweetie, who had been abandoned in the middle of winter when her family moved away. Neighbors who had been feeding Sweetie, suspected that she was pregnant, and called HART (Homeless Animals Rescue Team) https://hart90.org/ in northern Virginia, where my daughter and I were volunteers. As you can well imagine it can be very difficult to find foster families for pregnant cats because once the kittens are born they need to remain with their mother and foster family until they reach an adoptable age. You quickly go from foster cat parent of one to foster cat parent of 4, 6 or even more. I agreed to take Sweetie home before taking any time to think about the level of commitment required. Although I had many years of experience as a cat parent, I had no experience whatsoever with cat pregnancy.
The volunteer Veterinarian answered all of my many questions about the impending birth. Since Sweetie was a stray, he could not be certain how far along she was in her pregnancy, but he said it could be any moment or a few weeks away. He took an x-ray of her belly so that we could get an idea of how many kittens to expect and to see if all were still doing fine. I was so relieved Sweetie had been found in time and was not going to have her kittens outdoors in the freezing cold. The Vet assured me that aside from rare complications, Sweetie would be able to handle the entire process on her own without human intervention. We simply needed to supply her with a safe environment, and to make sure that she had plenty of food and water. She definitely had a healthy appetite!
We have a cat of our own, a female named Licorice, and the Veterinarian recommended keeping the two cats separated for the entire time we were fostering Sweetie. This was the safest situation for both cats, and later would ensure the safety of the kittens. We set up our finished basement as Sweetie’s home and divided our time between the two cats in our family. Licorice was not thrilled with the situation, but we made sure to give her lots of love and attention.
As her time approached, Sweetie began searching for that extra special place to have her kittens. I noticed she had been spending more and time hiding under the couch and I was not too keen on the idea of the kittens being born under my couch on my brand new carpet. Sweetie seemed to like this location though because it was dark and sheltered and tucked away. My main concern was for Sweetie’s safety and the safety of her new kittens. I thought there was real possibility she might burrow up inside of the couch and make her nest there. In speaking with some of the other volunteers at HART I learned that if I offered Sweetie a Nesting Box, she would likely opt to use it, and my couch, carpet and the kittens could be saved!
I did a little research and found out it was easy enough to build a Nesting Box. The box needed to be large enough to accommodate Sweetie and her soon-to-be arrivals, but also cozy and secure. She needed to have easy access to her food and water and the box needed to be warm and inviting.
Here’s how I did it!
The Nesting Box was a comfy, dark and I hoped an appealing space for our mother-to-be. Sweetie observed my activity with interest and seemed to approve.
Then we waited. And we waited. And, we waited a little bit longer.
Sweetie continued to hide under the couch and in various other places around the basement. I panicked some and considered abandoning the Nesting Box, but decided to leave the box alone and be patient. One day, Sweetie circled the Nesting Box a few times, peered inside. Then miraculously, she went in and lay down. Over the next few days, she visited the box fairly regularly, and sometimes she even napped inside.
When the big day finally came, Sweetie went into the Nesting Box and remained inside. One by one, the kittens arrived! Sweetie carefully cleaned each one as they emerged, first one, then two, and then three. We grew a little concerned, because based on the X-Ray we were expecting four or maybe five kittens in total. We began to worry that Sweetie was having complications or not all of her kittens had survived. After another hour went by, the last kitten was born!
Sweetie was a calico, so it was great fun to see the variety of colorful offspring she had. The first born was a dark orange, tabby male with short hair. The second was a “buff” lighter orange, tabby male with short hair. And the third was a black, grey, and white, female tabby with medium hair. The last, but not the least, was a solid grey female with short hair.
We didn’t rush to naming all of the kittens right away because we wanted to see what their personalities were like, and go from there. The exception to this was our tiniest, little grey, who took her time joining the rest in celebrating their birthday. We named her Sprout before we even knew her gender.
After the births, Sweetie remained in the box with her kittens for around the clock nursing. After the birth the Nesting Box was still surprisingly neat. The Vet was right! Sweetie took care of everything, even the housekeeping. I waited about a week, so as not to disturb Sweetie and her kittens. Then, one day when she left the Nesting Box to go to her food dish and the kittens rooted around blindly searching for her, I carefully rolled up the old towel and some of the paper I had used to line the box and replaced it with a clean paper and towels.
As the kittens grew, we expanded the nest to become a secure playground for our new arrivals. We added more and more cardboard pieces to the nest until it became a cat compound. This allowed Sweetie to leave the box and take “Mommies time out” breaks from her kittens. After a few weeks, once the kittens were box trained, there was no containing them. They were literally climbing the curtains and the stairs. We dismantled the nest and opted for cozy cat beds, and a kitten proof room.
It was great fun and an amazing learning experience for my family to see the kittens Sprout, Princess, Hobbs, and Lance born and grow to the adoptable age of 6-8 weeks.
Princess was our dainty girl, and very prim and proper in her play compared to her three siblings. Hobbs, the first born, was always the ring leader of the group and first to climb out of the nest and lead the charge. Lance was named by my friend who adopted both Hobbs and Lance. And Sprout made up for her smaller size with her tenacity of spirit.
We have been fortunate to be able to see Lance and Hobbs grow up. Princess and Sprout were also adopted as pair by a nice couple. Sweetie was adopted as well a few weeks later. Although it was hard to part with them, we are so pleased they all found forever homes.
If you decide to build a Nesting Box for your expectant feline, I am sure she will be extremely grateful for the effort. It is a simple craft that reaps big rewards.
Sources:
Happy weekend all! I wanted to share some #caturday fun to brighten your day! It’s just another week of lux living for Licorice…
Thanks for viewing and keep writing!
Writing & Wining 