Howl!

Poor Inds! Tired out from a day of snoozing, sleeping and more snoozing...

Last cat show I went to, I got talking to some other breeders who suggested I could cut right down on the Ovarid, I was giving too much basically, and by giving less I would have more control over when Inds came into heat. So I thought I'd give it a go.

Oops. Might have known something like that would be BOUND to go wrong!

Anyway, clearly I didn't give her enough, as last week (or was it the week before?) she started howling! Grr so I had to give her a full dose of the Ovarid to take her out of heat again. So now she's had the full dose, I have no idea when, or if, to start giving her the smaller dose again. I guess its a case of watch and see.

Heat is stressful for cats, so I could kick myself for letting Inds start one unnecessarily. But she usually announces her impending hormonal state by weeing and other such delightful habits and this time she didn't. Must watch harder next time!

Isn't the weather awful? When the sun peeps out, the cats all dash to arrange themselves by the windows in the sumbeams, and when it goes in again 5 minutes later they all slink off, ears down, or huddle by the radiator, it being so cold that the heating is still on. And yes, they all still hold me personally responsible. *sigh*

Update

Sorry, mad week, poorly child, work 'restructuring' (which will resolve itself in more work for less pay I suspect!) and things ramping up at the allotment. Will I ever get it dug in time for the spuds to go in? And why, despite telling myself I will ONLY grow what I absolutely need this year, do I find myself with 29 tomato seedlings- oh and 11 aubergines? I need about 6 and 2 respectively lol!!!

Cats are all well, Indigo's feline acne is clearing nicely now- she's on the Ovarid again. She didn't get it nearly as badly this year anyway, perhaps she's growing out of it. It tends to be the younger queens who are the most susceptible, and Inds is only just 3 so pretty young for a cat. Last year you could see it from a distance, her chin was covered in black scabbiness, but this year her chin just looks a little grubby up close. In a darker coloured cat, you'd not even notice.

Kittens all seem to be well and healthy, got a few pics to share next week. Bailey is still not safe in the bedrooms though... he uses the box appropriately otherwise but it's so frustrating for M (and me too!) Come on Bailey sort it out boy! M's had some good advice from her vet and is a seasoned Tonk owner herself, so I know Bailey's in good and sympathetic hands- but it is becoming an issue so please keep your fingers crossed for them that it all works out. Bailey's getting a brother in May all being well, so if his issue is one of overattachment and 'marking' (which I think it is, he clearly loves M very much and there's no evidence to suggest he's unwell or unhappy, quite the opposite!) I'm hoping a playmate will help calm any seperation anxiety he may be feeling.

Last year, Alfie had some similar issues, his stopped after a short while though- although I am sure it didn't seem like a short while to D and S! I'm trying to find out what, if anything, I can do to improve MY practice. What I am finding, though, is that it's not a rare issue in the 'intelligent' breeds- Orientals and Foreigns, and the same sparkiness and zest that makes their characters so desirable can also make them anxious, nervy, overattached etc at times... I've often commented that Indigo, my Tonk, is by far my most 'needy' cat. That's Tonks for you, you can't have one without the other, and I do try to communicate that here on the blog, Tonks are such a specific 'flavour' of cat and being social and communicating and loving you is what they do, only occasionally one will do this by peeing (because in the wild, that's what cats do!)

It's interesting that both Alfie and Bailey are boys, and they are boys who went 'solo' IYSWIM. I don't know if that's relevent, and I don't have nearly enough experience to be able to say whether it's a trend or just coincidence, but it's something I'm recording here for future reference. Are lone boys more prone to anxiety than any other combination? I wonder.

http://www.ramesescats.co.uk/health/page111/page111.html this page is still under construction, but I can't tell you how relieved I was to find it! As you know I very much respect this cattery and aspire to be like it, and to read between the lines I'm guessing this breeder has had a few piddling kittens herself in her time. Certainly enough to have some good advice to give! Hallelujah, I'm not the only one! (seriously, I've been having doubts as to my fitness as a breeder, bad times!)

Missing You

Bye Freddie (yes, this was the best of a VERY bad series of photos... Freds would rather lick the camera than pose for it)

Bye Kurt! Kurt on the other hand has the pose down to perfection!

Settling in is always a little precarious. I never feel entirely comfortable until 1) the kitten has used the litter tray and 2) had something to eat. And by default I guess, 3) if they are hiding, which is normal, that they have come out for short periods of time.

Well I know that Kurt has used the litter tray and had a brief explore about, so that's all going brilliantly, thanks M for letting me know! I don't know about Freddie but he seemed very confident whilst I was at his new house. I haven't seen any horrified 'OMG kitten has piddled on my children's school shoes' messages on D's Facebook, only nice ones about what to call him and how much they love him... so that all seems to be going OK as well. Apparently he isn't to be Jack any more. I'll let you know what he does eventually get called!

So all seems to be going pretty well with my boys. Hurrah!

Oh and Indigo is calling. Joy of joys... she can't have the Pill yet, not until the kittens go, so we're in for a couple of very noisy days. Apologetic bottle of vino to the neighbours I'm thinking!!!

Wanna Sniff My Butt?

LOL... ok, not MY butt, but anyone with cats, or dogs, or most animals really, will know that they regularly communicate by poking their noses up into each other's rear ends. In cats this is usually followed by the flehmen reaction, a sort of open mouthed silent panting which kind of enables the cat to 'taste' the smell, and as such get more information from it.

Anyhow, I'm observing Indigo as closely as I can this time, so as to see if there are any reliable ways to tell if she's shortly to go on heat. And it may be wishful thinking on my part, but there's been an awful lot of bottom sniffing from Theo of late!

Theo is an inveterate sniffer anyway, and he's neutered, so he won't be interested in the way a stud would, but nevertheless, he's quite sensitive to changes in the other cats. Regular readers of the blog will remember that it was Theo who alerted me to the change in Indigo's behaviour last winter- and later that night she had her kittens. He got there long before me. So naturally I am wondering if he might guide me this time too?

Acne!

Photo by S.A.

This was Indigo's head on Sunday. What an improvement! Nice eye-bogey too *grin*

Unfortunately, whilst her head has been getting better, her acne is getting worse. Yes, cats can get spotty chins! I know WHY she's getting spotty... her hormones are kicking in, she's already had a mini- heat cycle, and she's gearing up for another I suspect, by the ultra- affectionate way she's been today! Once the kittens are off to their new homes and she goes back on Ovarid, (the Pill for cats) the acne will settle down, but at the moment I'm just shaking my head at something ELSE to mar her good looks.

I'm cleaning her chin every day with Hibiscrub, which she hates, of course. I took the collar off today too, so she could give herself a proper wash (having that on isn't helping, she can't clean herself properly, especially not round her face) Which she did, but then she started scratching her head a little too vigorously for my liking so on it went again.

Poor Indigo! And to make matters worse, the antibiotics she's on are giving her slightly gloopy, and most offensive smelling poops. We've been using an awful lot of air freshener recently!

But at least her head is getting better. One problem at a time eh?!