Herd your cats here

[the_geneticist]

Sir Puck and Lady Jane just turned 2!  Can I still call them my "kittens"?

[mamselle]

Sure.

Mine were "kittens" (and all sorts of other silly names engendered in their early years) all their lives.

M.

[drbrt]

I still call Demonbeast a kitten and she's almost six

[Thursday's_Child]

One critical thing for travel with cats who are allowed out of their carriers:  if you have electric windows, be sure to use the child safety button to shut all but yours off!  I learned this without anything bad happening - except to my blood pressure.  Also, it's less stressful to have them in their carriers if you have to leave the car.  Otherwise, getting back in has the potential to be exciting.

[0susanna]

Sir Puck and Lady Jane just turned 2!  Can I still call them my "kittens"?

My 2-year-old cat spent 5 minutes chasing her tail the other night, so that surely qualifies her as still "kitten."

[the_geneticist]

The cats have characterized most of the invertebrates in my yard:
Fun to play with, but not to eat: pillbugs, giant beetle larvae, bees, leafhoppers, worms, scarab beetles
Tasty, and easy to catch: houseflies
Endless fun and tasty: grasshoppers
Ignore: ants, butterflies

[the_geneticist]

Effie cat is in the hospital for 24 hours of treatment.  He is vomiting a LOT, stopped eating, stopped grooming, hiding in odd places in the house, generally listless.  But no fever and his blood work came back pretty normal.  An x-ray found a "round, dense mass" that they think is in his intestine, but not large enough to cause a blockage.  He doesn't eat random stuff so I have no idea what it could be.
He's getting an abdominal ultrasound to get a better look at his GI tract, kidneys, etc.

[mamselle]

Oh, no. Poor kitty.

They don't like being sick.

(Well, nobeing does).

I hope the blockage can be cleared.

Perhaps a swallowed hair ribbon, or somesuch?

M.

[the_geneticist]

Oh, no. Poor kitty.

They don't like being sick.

(Well, nobeing does).

I hope the blockage can be cleared.

Perhaps a swallowed hair ribbon, or somesuch?

M.

The vet said the object is dense and shows up white on the x-ray.  Maybe a small rock?  The vet last night seemed convinced that this unidentified "mass" is causing the issues.  Vet this morning is more worried about inflamed bowels.  I know it's a long-shot, but I'm wondering if it's a trichobezoar (calcified hairball)? 
If we have to get the mass removed, I want to keep it.  Most expensive "whatever it is" and we still don't know exactly where it is or what it is.

[Volhiker78]

This past Sunday, we rescued an injured kitten on the side of the highway.  Vet says her pelvis has a fracture and she needs about 4 weeks to heal.  So we have taken her in.  She is feral and the vet thinks she is around 4 weeks old. During the day when no one is at home, we have her in a large cage.  When we are home, we let her out of the cage but keep her in a small room.  She still hisses at us whenever someone enters the room.  She does not scratch or bite though.  She eats very well and uses the liter box fine.  Our game plan is to get her as domesticated as we can so that we can get her into the Humane Society for adoption.    I could use some advice on how to get her more domesticated.   

[the_geneticist]

This past Sunday, we rescued an injured kitten on the side of the highway.  Vet says her pelvis has a fracture and she needs about 4 weeks to heal.  So we have taken her in.  She is feral and the vet thinks she is around 4 weeks old. During the day when no one is at home, we have her in a large cage.  When we are home, we let her out of the cage but keep her in a small room.  She still hisses at us whenever someone enters the room.  She does not scratch or bite though.  She eats very well and uses the liter box fine.  Our game plan is to get her as domesticated as we can so that we can get her into the Humane Society for adoption.    I could use some advice on how to get her more domesticated.   

You can start by just quietly spending time in her room.  Sit nearby and read aloud so she gets used to the sound of people without getting too scared.  If there is a food she really likes, see if she's willing to eat near you.  If it's not too scary for her, try some toys like a ribbon on a stick or a long shoelace.  Poor little kitty will need time to heal and get used to people.

[Thursday's_Child]

This past Sunday, we rescued an injured kitten on the side of the highway.  Vet says her pelvis has a fracture and she needs about 4 weeks to heal.  So we have taken her in.  She is feral and the vet thinks she is around 4 weeks old. During the day when no one is at home, we have her in a large cage.  When we are home, we let her out of the cage but keep her in a small room.  She still hisses at us whenever someone enters the room.  She does not scratch or bite though.  She eats very well and uses the liter box fine.  Our game plan is to get her as domesticated as we can so that we can get her into the Humane Society for adoption.    I could use some advice on how to get her more domesticated.   

You can start by just quietly spending time in her room.  Sit nearby and read aloud so she gets used to the sound of people without getting too scared.  If there is a food she really likes, see if she's willing to eat near you.  If it's not too scary for her, try some toys like a ribbon on a stick or a long shoelace.  Poor little kitty will need time to heal and get used to people.

Four weeks is really young, so there's a high probability that you can tame her demonstrate all the benefits of having a devoted cat servant.  The lack of scratching & biting, and quickly learning to use the litter box, are all positive signs.  So, as t_g suggested, let her get used to you as a calm presence who provides good food (try human-quality canned fish....).  Since she seems able to be active you can provide toy mice or jingle balls, although I wouldn't leave ribbons or laces unattended - cats are too likely to start chewing, which leads to swallowing and that leads to trouble.  Once she's willing to come in contact with you add gentle pats/strokes/chin skritches and you should soon be able to cuddle her and hopefully to pick her up.



<quietly places a $5 bet that the_geneticist has just acquired another cat>

[mythbuster]

I agree this one will worm its way into your heart. When they are that itty bitty its hard to resist. My dear departed PlumpCat started out so small you could hold her in one hand. It was truly adorable. But she never got over having been undernourished as a kitten, so she overcompensated, thus becoming PlumpCat.

[Thursday's_Child]

<quietly places a $5 bet that the_geneticist has just acquired another cat>

Oops!  Internet conversation fail...  I meant to bet that Volhiker was going to adopt kitten.

Mythbuster, I've had a similar experience, although it was the premature weaning that carried over into adulthood.  The pretend nursing didn't last long, but the need to knead - especially on mornings when I didn't have time for a 20 minute cuddle - did.

[citrine]

I wouldn't say ignore the hissing, because you do want to respect signs from a cat that they want you to back off, but I would say don't let it make you leave the room, or, if she's hissing because you're taking her water bowl to refill it or her litter pan to clean it, don't stop doing those things. I usually talk back to our more feral kittens at the shelter: "Uh huh. Tell me more!" and then just keep doing whatever it is I need to do. We often sit with frightened or less socialized cats, talking to them, offering treats, offering toys, but mostly just keeping them company for a while, letting them get used to us. Any attempt on their part to engage with us is met with elaborate praise and offers of treats, similar to when one is toilet training a small human. It really just takes time.

Kittens also will use their claws without thinking about it -- adult cats only use them when they need to. So she may put her claws out for balance when climbing on you, or if she gets startled, and that's not because she's trying to hurt you or she necessarily wants you to go away. She also might start chewing on you in an attempt to play or out of curiosity. I had a 2 month old kitten gnawing on my hand the entire time I was changing out the paper in her cage yesterday. She thought this was the best game ever. I was not quite as amused.

Speaking of shelter cats, if you could spare a few prayers for my shelter's little cat Charlie, who is not doing well despite everyone's best efforts (yesterday the vet gave him fluids and one of the volunteers hand fed him cat food, and some of the other volunteers and I wiped him clean and got him warm blankets), I'd appreciate it. He's a very good boy and he's only a year old. We're not giving up on him, but he's so fragile right now.