Still Slurping

Nom nom nom.

And Reason Two!

Snuggly kitten no 2.

I had a conference call today. Trying to do that whilst wielding pen and paper plus two wriggly kittens and a big Mama was... interesting! Plus the fact that Indigo 'talked' all the way through. Still, I should be grateful no-one trod on the phone and cut me off...

Reason One...

... why I struggle to get any work done at the moment.

As an aside, I'm really pleased with the way Liesl's eyes are looking at present, a really nice aqua colour. Proper Tonk eyes! Marta's eyes are still changing, but aren't the same colour, they are more 'muddy' and it is my opinion they will end up a greeny-gold like Mama's, as a solid Tonk's ought to be of course.

After the whole fiasco with the last litter's eye colour, I am glad my minks this litter look like they are going to be the colour they ought! Gretl's too- Lola, I mean- were the same colour as Liesl's are, slightly lighter, perhaps, but then she is a dilute (a blue)

Am hoping that their owners will stay in touch so I can see how their eye colour is developing!

Warm

Cats and radiators... the modern take on curling in front of the fire I guess!

So, M and I have been trying to find out why Bailey is making a nuisance of himself piddling on the beds. M doesn't want to have a cat who is only allowed in certain rooms, but obviously bed- peeing isn't something one can easily ignore is it? So we've been discussing how best to tackle the issue, and I thought some of the info might be of use on here just in case anyone stumbles on this site and are having similar issues. So here's some general advice.The following spiel will be very bitty and garbled as it's cobbled from several sources, but here we go...

Kittens weeing on beds:

It could be anxiety related? Some of the responses here seem to suggest it could be http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080623024743AA1LLFH incidentally I do NOT agree with rubbing a kitten’s nose in urine, as one idiot suggests here!!! Anxiety and 'settling in' nerves is the reason I don't think a kitten should have bedroom access for the first little while.

Marking? Amanda suggested this as a cause in the comments yesterday.  http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080601213157AA4h7nM suggests early neutering might be a plan if the issue persists I am not a fan of this as a general rule, but if a cat is marking persistently, I think that might be a good enough reason...

Illness? This suggests he’s choosing the beds as they are soft and smell comforting (ie of you) so he might be feeling unwell? Vets for a UTI check maybe? http://jennifercopley.suite101.com/how-to-stop-a-cat-from-peeing-on-the-bed-a274246

Also at the above, suggest using feliway (a plug in cat calming thing) and feeding him on a tray on the bed, (now that is a clever idea as they won’t generally wee where they eat) On Indikon's Facebook page, D also recommended the Feliway, as Alfie had a few accidents at first- they stopped pretty soon though.

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Cats-1606/kitten-peeing-bed.htm suggests getting some ultra cheap shower curtains or something to cover the beds to make them less attractive? Some bed coverings (cotton, silk etc) feel nice and scratchy, and the scratching stimulates the peeing reflex, so covering the bed with something soft and fluffy instead can stop that reflex kicking in.

  

Another idea, kittens start off their lives piddling in their nests, kitten might see your bed as your ‘nest’ and therefore his (as he’s treating you like a littermate, a companion) and he’s reverting to baby behaviour, putting his scent in the 'nest' to assure his place in the litter. Except for making the bedrooms off limits, I can only suggest getting lots of cheap litter trays and having one in each room he’s piddling in to reinforce that the tray is where we go not ‘the nest’- also try putting a cat bed with a waterproof base on your bed and encourage him to sleep in that (cat beds are smaller and easier to wash than whole duvets!)

Also over on Facebook, S said that if she didn't scoop every day, her Lotti would pee on the carpet just outside the box. Some cats just will not use a soiled litterbox. so that might be a cause of inappropriate wetting as well :)

Hope that helps someone at some point, and if anyone has any hints and tips to add, I'd love to hear them!

Updates

Rough, rough life, Liesl...

James P Sullivan II, aka Freddie is having a whale of a time with his new boy. I'm told Mum went into the boy's bedroom one night to find Sulley howling dismally, unable to work out why his partner in crime wasn't playing with him! LOL! He's also made friends with the other household cats, although I am advised that they are having rather more 'outside time' at the moment! Hee!

Bailey, aka Kurt is NOT distinguishing himself I'm afraid. Oh he's cute, he's adorable, he's tearing up and down the stairs like no-one's business and hungrily eyeing up the parrot... but he's had another weeing incident, on someone elses bed this time! He is currently banned from the bedrooms and as a result is now 'going' where he ought to. Still, he's being super friendly, a bit too friendly it seems, M says they've already had 'kittygate' in the house, where Bailey was buddying up to their lodger more than he was to M.

Lottie and Lola, aka Louisa and Gretl have only just gone so it's early days, but are doing fine. Lottie is being a bit more shy and spent the first day hiding but has been out and up the cat tree etc so she's clearly coming round fast. Gretl was much more comfy from the off and spent some time napping in her young lady's lap.

And finally CoCo, aka Brigitta, is being super- bold and has befriended her big sister really quickly, to the point they were playing with the dangly toy together almost straight away!

So there's just the two left, and I shall make sure I enjoy them this week as come Saturday that will be it for kittens for at least nine months! *sigh*

Goodbye, Girls

Three of our girls have left! Brigitta left last night and Louisa and Gretl left this morning. I would say the house is quiet without them, but with Indigo still having a full on yowl-fest (in heat!) it really isn't. And no, she's not calling for her kittens... she's calling for a boyfriend!!! Kittens? What kittens? Nature is entirely heartless.

In nature, Indigo would probably go out and get pregnant again at this point. Of course I won't let her do that, so when she starts her next call I will be ready with the Ovarid. She needs a good break from the stresses of nursing and kittens in general. Cats are baby making machines if you let them... but it doesn't do their health any favours to allow a cat to repeatedly breed, and the GCCF does not allow it of course.

I read the other day that in the Siamese/ Burmese/ Tonkinese type breeds the kittens have the nursing reflex for far longer than other breeds do, which part explains why these breeds are slightly more disposed towards wool chewing. My chewer is Theo though, and Indigo doesn't so generalisations are just that, not hard and fast rules. Anyway, Indigo fed four of them this morning, she was feeding five as Brigitta was collected yesterday, basically she'd let them go on doing it for a lot longer if they were still here! I expect she'll still feed the remaining two, several times a day probably, till they leave, but it's just for comfort. She isn't producing much milk now, her belly is flat and its clearly not enough to stop her going into heat again.

So anyway, we are down to two. Marta is perched on top of the computer, giving me slitty love eyes.  Liesl is batting a toy around the floor. All most normal. Inds, on the other hand, is licking my son's homework folder... How she has such well adjusted kittens is beyond me, she's a weirdo!

Love

Sweet Brigitta

That's me, working, or trying to. It's a rare occasion these days when I don't have at least one kitten in my arms, and even something as simple as putting on my shoes can be complicated. Take this morning- I sat down on the sofa with my shoes and Gretl hopped into my lap. One kitten is manageable, so I carried on with the shoe and got it mostly on, by which time Marta had climbed onto my shoulder, Brigitta was batting at the shoelace and Liesl and Louisa were on my lap with Gretl. Well they all got to stay there for 5 minutes because I am soft and I love my kittens lol. Anyway, I eventually decided the leeks won't plant themselves (the reason for the shoes I was going out back) and moved Gretl, then Louisa. By the time I was moving Liesl, Gretl was on my lap again and Louisa was halfway there, and my lace on the one shoe I had managed was undone thanks to Brigitta. Marta on the other hand had just sat there on my shoulder, the darling!

Anyway, I distracted the lap sitters and Brigitta with a toy, whilst Marta tickled my ear with her whiskers, which only worked as long as I was rattling it but the moment I attended to my lace they wanted back on the lap. But there, I'd got one shoe on now, result! Only one more to go! (I may say the only reason Indigo wasn't joining in was because the vacuum had been on and she was setting a terribly bad example to her litter and hiding under the desk...)

It does seem to make even the simplest of tasks really rather complicated.

Still, you all know full well I wouldn't have it any other way... I LOVE having these dear confiding little creatures about, and if I'm spoiling them a little with cuddles and fuss this week, its only because I shall miss them next when they are gone.