Kitten Update

[Forthcoming: photos of the kittens.]

Here I am again. There aren't any really good reasons for not posting since December, but now that it's the last day of February, I wanted to check in and make sure everyone is having a good 2010. Ours is going along pretty well, even though Floyd is still searching for work in the area. The upside is, he has a lot of projects going around here. :)

JEWELY is 9 years old now, and coming around little by little with the other cats. There are certain ones she will always hiss, spit, and swipe her paw at. But others, such as Coso, don't elicit a negative response. In fact, Jewely and Coso will sit a few inches apart in front of the window or some place, look each other in the eyes, then go back to watching out the window. No hissing. No growling. No aggressive anything. This no doubt has to do with positions in the Salyer Cat Hierarchy which we haven't entirely deciphered.

The Bigz--Blaze, Fireball, Rainbow, and Sunshine--turn a year old the first week in March.

BLAZE is ever affectionate and cuddly. When I'm standing, she'll walk over and rest her two, front (soft)paws on my leg. I reach down to lift her up, and it feels as though she jumps into my arms. Soon we're having a lovely snuggle- and purr-fest! Regardless of which cat(s) may be resting on my lap, Blaze has a supernatural way of injecting herself into the spacelessness that isn't there. She is quite petite even though she's all but full-grown. We expect her to be the smallest of all our cats when all three litters have reached their full growth. Little Blaze's emotions run on high at all times. Whether she's playing, cuddling, or tussling with the other cats, she's a Drama Queen. She's also an escape artist, along with Rainbow and Sunshine. We try to foil their attempts, and usually we win...but not always.

FIREBALL still turns into a shapeless, flop-ball when I pick him up. Putty in my hands. He's entirely too large to be doing this anymore, so I support his back so he won't wrench his spine. He comes to me several times a day, almost like a toddler, just to check-in, make sure I'm still here, when renewed, he wanders off for adventures elsewhere. He loves to lounge on my lap, sleep with his head on the pillow next to mine, or lie along my side with his face resting against mine.

RAINBOW, while not as nearly affectionate or dare I say, needy? as Blaze, she becomes a lap cat from time to time. She was the first to dash out the open back door then run wildly around the property, and up the trees. No manner of talking to her about the downside of being an outdoors cat convinces her that she should stay safe indoors.

SUNSHINE has always been a delightfully calm cat. He tends to sleep alone in a corner, only joining early morning snuggles on the bed when it suits him. He's not the least bit skittish and welcomes our petting, he just doesn't seem to have that much of a need. In spite of his ever mellow mood, he waits by the back door to see if he might make a run for it so he can dash like a banshee all over the yard.

The Littlez--Bodie, Coso, and Opal--should probably be re-named The Bigz2 and are ten months old.

BODIE is enormous and not just because he is as fluffy as can be. When I look at photos of different cat breeds, I notice he looks very much like a Ragamuffin or Maine Coon Cat. He's more independent than most of the cats, much like Sunshine. He has a nose for food no matter where it may be or who's eating it. He becomes quite friendly when I have food I just might share. Otherwise, he can be fairly aloof.

COSO is a perfectionist. She grooms herself more than any of the other cats, but not overly so. She likes things just so. In recent months, she has decided I'm the Cat's Pajamas. She loves to cuddle next to me as long as there's enough space for her to sit beside me and not on my lap. She's absolutely beautiful with her velvety, black fur, and pure white highlights.

OPAL is a lovey-dove like Blaze. Unfortunately (for me), she has not grasped the concept of soft paws like Fireball and Blaze have. I can barely have Opal near me without a resultant scratch. She loves to cuddle early in the morning and insinuates herself into any tiny space left by the others, then she reaches up for my face with her claws extended. I've learned to hold her paws while I pet her fur. She never misses the opportunity to greet Floyd when he emerges from the shower, rolling on her back at his feet.

The Minis--Dusty, Jasper, SnowQueen, and Taboose--are not so mini anymore and are five months old. Their neuter/ spay surgeries are looming. We take the boys on Tuesday and the girls on Wednesday. The vet didn't have room to take all four the same day, like he did for the first two litters.

DUSTY looks so much like Smoky, it's kinda spooky. Her reticence with us and personality are very Smoky-like, too. All of the Minis are a bit skittish (especially when down on the floor). However, when they're up on the bed, the back or arm of the couch, etc., we can approach them and pet them. They seem to enjoy this and purr their little hearts out.

I suspect they may have been closer to five weeks old when Floyd brought them in, and that would explain the lingering feral behavior. Both Buster and Smoky were about five weeks old when we got them, and they preferred not to be held ("confined," in their minds), and only petted occasionally, just like The Minis.

My research has shown that five weeks is the limit for rescuing a feral kitten and making it socialable enough to be a human companion. The younger the kitten, the easier the task. The closer a kitten gets to five weeks before it is handled by humans, the harder the task. Buster, Smoky, and the Minis are all what I'd call borderline, especially when compared to the behavior of the Bigz (3.5 weeks) and the Littlez (2 weeks).

JASPER is probably the all around friendliest of all the Minis. He's such a little fluff-ball with the sweetest face. Floyd has determined Jasper is Bodie's Apprentice because Jazz follows Bodie everywhere and gets all his tips on how to get into this and that trouble.

SNOWQUEEN is friendlier than her sister. She socializes more with us, but also prefers not to be held. She's very sweet and playful, especially with her litter mates.

TABOOSE is a bit of an anomaly. Much like Sunshine and Bodie, he doesn't mind being by himself, but he shows up as the mood hits to hang around with the other cats and get a few scratches behind his ears and under his chin. If we pick him up, he doesn't object in the least or struggle to get down, but the instant we stop petting him, he leaves.

Now, that we've established each cat's likes and dislikes, it's easy to treat each one as they prefer, eliminating most negative behavior.

Till next time,

Floyd & Jeanie's 2009 Update

Hello Family & Friends!

What a Year! We've had some trials, but mostly we've been blessed! First, the downside... As a result of the current economy, construction projects are way down, so Floyd's been working more for us than anyone except for a couple of outside projects. Like so many others, we've tightened our belts and become quite resourceful using what we already have. I was hospitalized a couple of times this year (but even so, my health is almost perfect). And now, to share our blessings!

Floyd is finishing a storage building for me ... a place to house my myriad books and other good stuff in my craft room that I want to keep but don't need daily. In 2010, I will reestablish a workspace in my craft room rather than using the guest bed as my “work table.”

Apparently, Floyd & I have become unofficial Feral Kitten Rescuers. During the year, we've taken in 11 kittens from three separate litters. All three mama cats disappeared without any traces, no doubt, victims of roving coyotes. We bottle-fed the first two litters, but because the third litter was approximately four weeks old when we got them, they didn't need the Kitten Replacement Milk.

Jewely (9 yrs), who’s been with us a year, wishes in vain that she was still an Only-Cat. All the other Kittles are the bane of her existence which is sad because the remaining 11 get along wonderfully; it’s as if they were all a part of one gigantic litter.

We have Blaze, Fireball, Rainbow, and Sunshine at nine-months old; Bodie, Coso, and Opal, at just over seven-months; and Dusty, Jasper, SnowQueen, Taboose who are about 2-1/2-months. The first seven have all been spayed or neutered, and in about 2-1/2 months, the youngest litter will have their turn. Each kitty has unique likes and dislikes, plus a cute personality. Although I adore each of them, I'm partial to Fireball and Coso. When Fireball wants me to pet him, he gently places his paw on my forearm or leg and looks me in the eye. I call Coso "My Cat with the French Manicured Paws" because her solid black front paws are white at the very tips. Then Blaze captures my heart with her big, golden eyes gazing at me. And I could go on and on about each one of them! Floyd is partial to Opal especially since we almost lost her when she was teeny-tiny. He also favors Jasper who is a sweet, little fluff-ball. In the midst of all this Kitten-Chaos, we have good, old Mollie, our Blue-tick Hound (14 yrs). Overall, Mollie loves the cats except when they get a bit too playful, and then they just plain annoy her.

This and the following three pictures were taken when our youngest litter

was about two or three weeks old and still lived outdoors with their MamaCat.
Meet Dusty!

Here, we have Jasper.

This is SnowQueen.

And here is Taboose (rhymes with "caboose")

Other fun stuff: meeting my brother, Steve, & his wife, Kyoko, in Carmel for a fantastic weekend in April; a spring visit from my Mom & Wayne; a short visit from my nieces Elii & Sienna; watching the Space Shuttle landing; a quick visit from my Dad & Reen; going on our area's Artist Studio Tour with my long-time friend, Denise, in October, while her hubby, Steve, and Floyd went on a mountain fishing trip; a fascinating day-long, hiking tour of Little Petroglyph Canyon to see ancient Indian rock art; and now we're rounding out the year with a nice, long visit from Floyd's mom, Julia! Throughout the year, I also love spending time with Pine, lunches with friends, scrapbooking, cardmaking and card clubs, writing, reading, occasional interpreting assignments, mentoring other interpreters, and volunteering for LLL.

We're looking forward to more blessings in the New Year and praying you will have the same!

Oh Goody, More Kitten Pix!

Not only can one not have too many kittens, but one cannot have too many kitten pictures!

First, an update: We have stopped all efforts of finding other homes for any of the kittens because we adore each one and are keeping them all!

THE BIGZ: Blaze, Fireball, Rainbow, and Sunshine are five months old tomorrow. They are at the vet's as I write having their spay or neuter operations.

THE LITTLEZ: Bodie, Coso, and Opal are almost four months old. They love to play, eat, snuggle, play, eat, and snuggle, plus they think the four larger kittens are the cat's meow. (The feeling is mutual.)

Now, for the pix:

I thought it was time to show off the babies' mamas. Above is Little Grey, the Littlez' Mom. I got this picture as she looked through the dining room window from the Feral Family's Feeding Station.

Here is Golden Girl (previously known as BusterToo) who was the Bigz' mother. Golden Girl was under the deck when I shot this, so there was enough distance between us to suit her, and I didn't have to take the photo through glass.

A Kitty Ball featuring (l-r) Blaze, Coso, Opal, and Sunshine.

Blaze at 3-1/2 months. She is a wonderfully sweet kitten. When she wants me to pick her up, she rests her front paws on my knee and looks up at me with her big golden eyes.

Sunshine in his curious mode. (As if there's any other?)

The Twins: Rainbow & Blaze. Not quite identical: besides their obviously different faces, Rainbow's eyes are green while Blaze's eyes are gold colored.

This is Coso who in earlier pictures sported a silver gray body with her black face. Even though she appears solid black (except for her obvious white parts), in certain light we can see that like her litter mates, Bodie and Opal, she has tabby stripes in shades of dark charcoal gray and black.


Opal in a position she apparently believes is comfortable enough for sleep.

Opal in a more sensible sleeping position. We almost lost Opal when she was only a few weeks old. She became dehydrated, weak, and lethargic. We gave her IV fluid and she pulled through. Floyd held her in his arms for hours while she was ill, and Opal seems to sense this. When he walks in the room, she runs to him, flips herself on her back, and waits for him to rub her little, white tummy. If Floyd's walking through a room, Opal watches his feet till they stop, they throws herself at his feet with her belly up.

Coso loves to stretch just about more than any other cat I've known. Notice her French Manicured front paws!

(L-R) Coso, Bodie, and Rainbow: The Three Great Hunters...tracking bugs flying around the light on the living room ceiling.

Here's a shot of Fireball sacked out in my arms. Ever since he was just a five-inch kitten, whenever I pick him up, he relaxes so completely, his entire body goes limp and he immediately falls asleep as I hold him. A wonderful characteristic!

We Call Him Fireball

Here he is. The runt of the litter. But not short on making his way in this big old world. He is the most vocal of his litter. Always the first to wake and summon us with a penetrating, screeching yowl indicating that it is TIME to eat.

Yesterday afternoon he raced to his little dish, buried his face in his food, and wrapped his arms and paws along the rim of the bowl to block access from possible interlopers, growling if they dared come near. Fireball's Feeding Frenzy.

I burst out laughing after one look at him when he was done eating. Primo Photo Op! This has been PhotoShopped with an effect called Spatter--very apropos, I'd say. Look below to see the original photo.

Can One Have Too Many Kittens?

It's springtime in the desert which means greening trees, blooming flowers, garden planting, birds singing, and lots~n~lots of KITTENS!

Even though we'd already taken in BusterToo's (aka GoldenGirl) litter, when we discovered another abandoned litter of three tiny kittens three days ago, we brought them inside to care for, too.

In the lower left corner is Rainbow overseeing the new babies (top to bottom):
Bodie, Opal, and Coso

Yes, that's right: We have SEVEN kittens under the age of eight weeks living under foot and in our special kitten nursery (our front shower).

We are in touch with a woman in our area who runs the Tulgey Wood Critter Refuge to see if we can match the young litter with a lactating mama cat. In the meantime, it's kind of a circus around here at feeding time, but earlier today, I did the whole thing by myself while Floyd was in town on business.

I mixed four dishes of soft, canned cat food with kitten kibbles for Blaze, Fireball, Rainbow, and Sunshine. I brought them out of the nursery and put them in front of their respective dishes. While they ate, I heated the KMR Kitten Replacement Milk for the three little guys. When Blaze & Co. had finished eating, back to the nursery they went. I grabbed one new kitten, Opal, and fed her by bottle. I put her back in the nursery and grabbed her brother, Bodie. When Bodie was done eating, I popped him in the shower, and brought the last kitten, Coso, to the living room to drink her milk.

When they'd all finished eating and were back in the nursery, all seven kittens curled up together in a big, multi-colored Kitty Ball. Happy, content, purring, and ready to nap.

As I write, I hear stirrings from the nursery, so it must be time for Round Three.

Introducing Blaze, Fireball, Rainbow, and Sunshine

If you've been following this blog, you know we have a number of feral cats on our property. These cats come and go. Some stay and set up housekeeping while others pass across our land to other haunts.

Last August, I wrote about a teen-aged cat we called "Mini-Buster" (and eventually BusterToo) because he reminded us of our cat Buster. As it happens, other than the orange tabby coat, they weren't much alike and BusterToo was female. I figured this out when I noticed in mid-March she was quite pregnant. On March 29th, I saw BusterToo and she'd had her litter. They were well hidden and we had no idea where.

On April 21st, BusterToo didn't show up for breakfast which concerned us greatly because she was a regular and made sure never to miss a meal especially after her kittens were born. She hadn't shown up by mid-day, so Floyd went in search of her litter. He found four three-week old kittens safely tucked away in an old bus. There are two tortie females and two orange tabby males.

Toward box front: Blaze
Toward box back: Fireball, Rainbow, and Sunshine
Photo taken 21 Apr 2009

THE KITTENS

BLAZE: Tortie female with large "blaze" in the middle of her face
FIREBALL: Extremely energetic orange tabby male
RAINBOW: Tortie female with every color of the rainbow on her coat
SUNSHINE: Orange tabby male with white face, white tummy, and white tip on tail

Their mama had taken excellent care of them during the three weeks she had with them. Each was strong and healthy. Their coats were in beautiful condition. Thankfully, they had all the advantanges of their mama's milk for their first three weeks.

For the fourth time in the 18 years we've been here, we're sharing our front shower with kittens. We confine them in the glassed in full-size shower when it's their kitty-nap time and overnight. We bring them out several times each day to bottle feed them using KMR Milk Replacer for Kittens. Now five-and-a-half-weeks old, they are also feasting on canned cat food from time to time.

In the past week, they've begun washing and grooming themselves, plus started play-fighting with each other, as well as playing with strings, empty paper towel rolls, and pieces of cellophane. Their playfulness and antics are adorable.

Sunshine & Blaze tussling on the bed, 25 April 2009