Caging Kittens

In some of my pictures, you will see the kittens' nest has mesh on it, and you may assume from that that I raise my kittens caged. That isn't the case. I thought I'd write a little about that today.

Firstly though, I don't generally agree with raising kittens in cages. I know some people who do, and I'm sure their kittens are loved and well cared for. I am not commenting on their practices, and its up to each new family to find a breeder whose practices they are most comfortable with. For me though, I would not cage unless there was a compelling reason to do so (such as a sick kitten that needed to be kept quiet and calm- if Freddie needs surgery its likely he'll be confined to a cage for a little while to aid recovery, for example)

I do however restrict the kittens' movement in the first few weeks, for obvious safety reasons. The kitten's nest, at the moment, is a wood framed animal hutch, this run extention from Zooplus, in fact, with removable sides all round and a removable top. The sides are usually up at present, but the top is never on, that is how Indigo gets in and out. Several times a day, the side comes down for weighing and general socialisation, the babies are just starting to climb out and come exploring, under supervision of course. Later on, the side will be permanently off so the kittens can come and go at will.

I'm also using the birthing box as a kind of extra playpen for them at the moment, it's deeper than last year's tub, so no risk of them toppling over the top just as yet. That's Freddie in the picture today, showing off his nice strong front legs. It makes for some nice playtime. Later on, of course, the kittens will be free range and allowed to tromp all over their room, the cat furniture and up and down the long, ideal-for-racing hallway.

So it looks like a cage, but really, it isn't one. Mama is never restricted in her movements, and the kittens only whilst they are so tiny- and even then they are in the family room, the hub of activity in our household, part of things from day 1.

One thing is for sure- the sides won't be up much longer. I found Brigitta trying to climb over yesterday!!!

Another Hairy Post

I got a parcel yesterday, from Zooplus. In it was the usual order, litter, food and stinky treat sticks for bribing-uh- encouraging the cats to come when called (for the vet, etc...) but this one contained something I've been wanting for a while, a Furminator. Or a FURminator, as I think it prefers to be called lol.

A Furminator is apparently a super- effective kind of cat brush that is good at removing loose undercoat (the undercoat being the bit that builds up for insulation over the winter months) and I've heard a lot of people rave about it. So naturally I had to see for myself.

I was a little sceptical I must admit, because as I said the other day, I brush nightly anyway (at this time of year) so how much was it likely to get out? Heh... LOADS, that's how much. What is more, both Ava and Sofia loved the feel of the brush so much that they both rolled onto their backs and permitted me to brush their tummies briefly with the Furminator... unheard of for both of them.

Theo wasn't so thrilled, although he isn't so thrilled at being brushed anyway. Apparently there's one that's slightly wider, that's better for longhair breeds. What tickled me though is that the Furminator even got some floof off Indigo. Ok, a very small amount, admittedly, she didn't stay still long enough, but I reckon if I did it every night, it would soon make a difference to the state of the furniture!

So I would heartily recommend one if shedding bothers you, or if it's something you have to control carefully because of allergies and so on. Or even if your cat enjoys a good brush, like I said both Ava and Sofia like brushing in general but they went bonkers for this particular one. Oh, but don't buy it from Zooplus... it's way cheaper at Amazon. I could have kicked myself when I realised... but it was already ordered then. Ah well!

I'll just add that if anyone was wondering, nope, I have not been paid to say this or sent the item free for review. I have not and would not ever review a product sent to me for free without telling you I was doing so, and actually reviewing it, so if it was rubbish I'd jolly well say. I would NEVER accept payment for 'bespoke content writers' to plug something on this blog. Anyway I paid for this Furminator... but if anyone wants to send me the 'longhair' one for free... *grin*

Thoughtful

Sweet Kenneth, half asleep. I love his serious little face!

I'm feeling fairly thoughtful myself. I took Indigo to the vet last night. The lady I saw today was much more clued up about allergies and the like, and she agrees with me that it looks like a food allergy. (finally! A diagnosis!) To what she couldn't say, but she agreed that eliminating dyes and artificial preservatives would be a good start. She also recommended buying food with just one source of protein, rather than multiple sources like most cat foods.

So Indigo needs new food. Because it's come on so badly, she also recommended I change it now, rather than wait till the kittens have moved on, so contrary to what I said before, we've changed food after all. There wasn't an awful lot of choice in the food despite the vet being in a large pet store, but I eventually found a complete kitten wet food and a complete kitten kibble, both chicken, for them to have temporarily. This will give me time to decide on what food i want them to go on with, and make an order from an online specialist. Zooplus, probably!

Which means, incidentally, that I have a whole, unopened, 4kg bag of Royal Canin Babycat (rrp about £30!) and half a big packet of Royal Canin kitten, probably about the same amount. I can't use them but I'm not throwing them out, as it's good stuff so I'm off to the Cats' Protection sometime in the next few days to see if they can use it... bet they can!

As for where this allergy came from? Well, it seems to have been precipitated by her pregnancy... so be warned, any random reader, if you are thinking of breeding your cat... just... don't! Seriously, just don't, unless you are VERY serious about it. Don't do it 'just once', for fun, please. I know my kittens' families won't, so I'm not talking to them now but I mean anyone else who has happened on this blog and is reading... don't put your girl through it and risk her health. Bottom line is, if I hadn't mated Indie, she may not have developed this allergy, and I feel very guilty about that. On the other hand, if it was dormant then it might have started any time, if she was ill, for example.But she'll need special food from now on for life.

I did ask if allergies were hereditary, and the vet said not. Cue a huge sigh of relief all round I think! I also googled last night to make sure (yeah, I know!) and to be honest there's not a lot of info on it... but from reading it seems that whilst there may be a small hereditary component for some airborne allergies- pollen, etc- food allergies are not known to be heritable. It's just MY cat who is dramatic, it seems!

So, a few changes for us here. I've switched the dry food, I've got a few sachets of wet food I will feed the kittens over the next couple of days (keeping Indigo away!) and then I'll switch that over too. I'm to carry on with the aloe inside and out, and the vet was most impressed with the comfycollar! Indigo's also got a course of nursing-safe antibiotic, so hopefully with all those things together, we should see an improvement before too long.

I did comment to someone yesterday that I thought it had improved a little already, unfortunately Indigo slipped out of her collar and scratched herself raw again... silly girl!

On a more positive front, she's got a rather round belly now, a far cry from the appetite issues and general skinnyness of Christmastime, and other than the allergy issue, seems to be blooming. She's going to get a shock when the kittens are gone, and she no longer gets three plated meals a day plus biscuits... my cats are mostly kibble fed with just the one wet food meal per day as a treat. Guess she'd better enjoy it while she can!