Shy kittens, hiding
My sister and I have rescued a stray mama cat and her four kittens. This is their story.
First diaries in the Catnip Chronicles series:
The Catnip Chronicles: The Perils of Pearl
The Catnip Chronicles: Pearl Comes In
The Catnip Chronicles: Pearl, at Home
I am pleased to report that the kittens are healthy and growing fast. But this is a worry, too. We have a narrowing window of time in which to socialize them lest they only be fit for a feral life. We don't want them to be feral -- we want them to have all the benefits of a happy life in someone's home.
More below the orange catnip mouse...
We have been feeding the kittens gushy kitten food and leaving kibble for their mama in the room. The kittens have grown so fast, they are eating four cans of food a day -- plus kibble! We had been leaving the food for them and closing the door to let them eat...but this is not bringing the desired results. So now we are switching to tough love.
All the food has been removed from the room and we feed twice a day. Either Ann or I bring the gushy food and place it beside our body. If the kittens want to eat, they have to come very close to us. Next, I am going to put the plate on my lap. In fact, I am going to try that this evening.
It's working. These shots are from this morning -- and that limb you see in the foreground is my leg.
Pearl and two kittens
Oh! We have three small customers! Watch two cans of food vanish!
One kitten is hanging back. You can just see it under the chair.
Come out, come out, wherever you are!
Pearl is in the room at the moment so the shy one is doubtless nursing. But that will need to stop soon. Pearl's milk needs to dry up before she is spayed on the 30th (through the Spay and Save program) so we will need to separate her completely from the kittens for at least five days beforehand. We are starting by having her sleep away from them -- Pearl has spent the last two nights in my room. In fact, she's been outside the nursery for most of the time, the last couple days -- and is getting along with our other cats famously.
I was able to pet all three kittens as they fed this morning. And last night, I got them to play with a dangly toy. We are making great progress!
Yesterday afternoon, the little boy who wants to adopt one of the kittens came over. We asked him to bring his mother, and together they selected the kitten they want -- the one with the white nose. Mother and son will pick up the kitten after the spaying at the end of the month. Amazingly, the kittens accepted having four people in the room without freaking out too much. I think we are getting somewhere.
How you can help
Your kindness in buying Pootie Pads is really helping us out with this project. So the sale of our Pootie Pads (extraordinarily potent, organic catnip pads for cats)in honor of Pearl and her babies continues, with our thanks!
Consider treating your cats to some of our catnip -- or think ahead to the holidays for the purrfect gift for the cat owner in your life.
Pootie Pads come in three sizes. Fabric choices for original and petitie sizes are here - or let us choose for you.
Original: 23" x 17" $30 plus $5.60 shipping (regularly $35)
Petite: 13.5" x 9.5" ONE for $15 plus $5.60 shipping (regularly $18) OR TWO for $30 (regularly $35) plus $5.60 shipping
Play Size (let us choose for you): 8" x 4.5 Four for $30 plus $5.60 shipping (was $35)
We also have Pootie Pads for dogs -- filled with soothing organic lavender and thyme.
You can find the dog pads here.
Don't need a Pootie Pad? Donate directly to the Community Quilt Project using this PayPal button. It will help us help Pearl -- and keep our sewing going!
Thank you for your kind support!
If you have tips on socializing kittens, please let us know in the comments!