I had the kittens upstairs in the empty spare room to play today. They are making good progress. The male is still a little aloof but he lets me pet him. The female now rubs herself on me to get pet. She’s getting really friendly. Here are some photos.
I let Zeus in with them sometimes. He growls and hisses a lot, but doesn’t mean any harm. After spending time with the kittens, Zeus looks like a giant cat to me 
The kittens are doing well. They are very playful now and I had problems keeping the calico girl IN the cage this morning – she really wanted to stay out with me! They both still quite wild when they are loose. Once in a while I let them have the spare bedroom at the top of the stairs to run loose and play in there. Zeus has gone in to play with them. He’s curious about them, a little scared of them, but still growls and hisses to tell them he is the king cat in the house.
I got worming pills for them at the vet yesterday. They said all kittens, especially feral ones, will have worms when they are born. Luckily they both ate their pill with no extra effort so we didn’t have to force it down their throats (I have no idea how we were going to do that – they have razor sharp teeth and claws!)
So last Thursday night I had an asthma attack in the middle of the night. I haven’t had an inhaler for eons – probably 10 years. Cold air always set me off before so I needed it when I lived in Thunder Bay. I had felt it coming for almost 2 weeks. I remember having a tight chest and wheezy when I was in Hamilton and at Dad’s house and Mom’s house. And then when I was back here. It was a long scary one and I almost woke up Jeff to take me to the hospital. I woke up coughing – a wheezy cough. I went to the other room to lie down so I wouldn’t disturb Jeff, but I couldn’t lie down and breathe. I went downstairs and drank a cold drink and tried to get my lungs under control while watching John McCain on Letterman. I think I was up for 90 minutes.
The next morning I went to the emergency room before work. There was NO other patients there so I was in and out in under 10 minutes. The doctor prescribed me Flovent – a steroid inhaler to use for a week now and to use whenever I get sick or have these symptoms again. He gave me the regular asthma inhaler to – in case it happens again. I haven’t had to use it. The steroid one is killing my voice. I’m completely hoarse and Jeff said I sound like a cartoon character. Soon the week is over and I can stop taking it.
Friday after work we cleaned our bedroom. The dogs have always had their own bedroom to sleep in, but with all our company this summer they migrated back to our room. It is so nice now – it’s clean and hairless. The dogs and their beds and toys are in another room again. Monty isn’t walking on us during the night anymore. The air is so much fresher. I imagine that could be one of the causes of my breathing problems. At least it started before I rescued the kittens, so I know they aren’t causing it.
I can pick both kittens up and pet them on my chest and they don’t bite or scratch or hiss! In fact the orangey one now meows for me when I put her back in there!
We also did some investigating and our hunches were right. The one with orange and white is a female and the striped one is a male.
Jeff was able to pet the kittens last night with a leather glove on.
This morning I bribed the orangey one with soft cat food on a spoon and she let me pet and rub her head with my bare hand while she ate. VICTORY!
She’s meowing like crazy this morning. I got her to wag her tail a little bit. I think they are coming around!
We had the wood stove going last night. We actually got heat in the bedroom on the top floor of the house! (much to Jeff’s grumbling – he’d rather sleep in an ice box). I can’t believe we put up with that pellet stove last year – it didn’t ever push heat to the upstairs.
This morning there was frozen dew on the windshield!
Oh and it’s Monty’s 3rd birthday today!
I just happened to look outside in the dark and noticed Momma cat on the driveway with a mouse hanging out of her mouth. She came up on the front deck and sat here for a few minutes. What a good momma bringing her babies a mouse. She cut them loose over a week ago. I wonder if this was the first time she came to check on them. I teared up :’(
I wonder how much it is to spay cats. We should probably use one of those live traps to spay her and release her back outside so we don’t have to rescue kitties every year. I think she might have been someone’s pet once – she isn’t that wild – not pettable, but not terrified. We’ve seen her around here since we moved in. Maybe she even belongs to one of the neighbours.
I’m so heartbroken for her out there looking for her babies. Jeff said “we can put them back”.
As for progress inside, the dark one is playing with the toys now. He’s so funny. Both have been to the front to eat and drink while I’m in here. They are very interested in Zeus and come right to the front of the kennel to see him. He sits on a chair in front but hisses once in awhile and makes funny noises. I wonder what he is saying to them.
Overnight the kittens ate every morsel of food, every drop of water, and they peed & pooped in the litter tray! Woo hoo!
Now they have resumed their positions in the back of the kennel looking at me.
Today is our turkey day!! We’re planning to put the bird in the oven around noon.
It’s a crisp fall day. The fog just lifted here in Lochaber. It’s very rare to have such a still day. There isn’t even the slightest breeze. The lake is completely still. It’s almost like the world is frozen in place from our view on the hill.
Now if I could just keep Monty and Zeus out of my office. Monty is obsessed with staring at the kittens. They aren’t ready for prime time yet!
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Noon update! They each just ate a tablespoon of soft cat food off a spoon while Jeff held the spoon! Progress!
I did it! I can’t believe I caught them! I schemed a bunch of plans yesterday but none were working. Then I got smart.
I had been feeding them by leaving cat food in the back of Monty’s plastic puppy carrier. But if they saw me at all, they were off like a flash and I couldn’t catch them.
So I needed a new plan. A plan that let me catch both of them on my first attempt.
After Jeff went to bed, and took Monty and Trooper (the dogs) with them, I put out fresh cat food and positioned the puppy carrier so the door was facing our front porch door. I opened the puppy carrier door enough for a kitten, and then I opened the door to the house a crack, a crack big enough that allowed me to pass the handle of a broom through the door. I put end of the broom handle against the puppy carrier door. I turned off the outside lights and all the lights inside. And then I crouched down, practically lying on the floor. I stayed still as my legs and feet fell asleep from the awkwardness of the angle I was crouching in.
Finally I saw a shape go into the carrier and I could hear it eating the cat food. I stayed so still. My heart started racing. If I just shoved that broom stick I’d have one! It would work! But what about the other kitten? No. I had to wait.
Come on kitty, come one, come out from hiding, come on. Listen to that chewing. Yummy cat food. Don’t let your sibling eat it all. Come on.
Suddenly, I saw the shadow of kitten ears.
My heart was beating out of my chest. The thrill of the hunt!!!
Finally the second one went in the carrier, but just a bit. I knew if I slammed it now, I’d get a tail. No. I had to wait. Out it ran. No, did I miss my chance? Wait, it’s looking right at me. Don’t move, don’t move, don’t breathe, you can’t see me.
And then it went all the way in the puppy carrier too.
Slam!!
I shoved the broom stick and closed the carrier door. Then I had to slide myself over like a paraplegic to get the door of the house open so I could secure the puppy carrier door. My legs were totally asleep.
The kittens quickly darted around and froze – staring at me.
I secured the carrier door, left them on the porch, and ran up to wake up Jeff to tell him I did it. My legs regained their bloodflow as I ran up the stairs and pounced into the bedroom to tell Jeff I did it!! As I panted to catch my breath!!
I went back downstairs and carried them inside. They were so still and calm. I imagined lots of hissing and meowing, but they didn’t do either. I set up one of the dog’s big extra large plastic vari-kennel like dog kennels in the basement and Jeff dumped the little carrier inside the door of the bigger one and they willingly climbed over. I put in a litter tray, dish of water, dish of kitten food, some toys, and towels. They stayed at the back, frozen like little statues.
I dreamt all night of kittens and cockroaches (don’t ask) (well if you insist, I killed an odd bug in the basement last night, but I’m sure it wasn’t a cockroch – just some weird Nova Scotia bug with legs and wings and a sinister gaze that I haven’t previously met).
This morning I went down stairs. The kittens were curled up on top of each other behind the litter tray. They had eat some of their food over night. Jeff carried the kennel up to my office so they could be around people as they get used to us.
I guess I expected movement, but they are scared little statues that haven’t moved much. I picked one up with leather gloves for 20 seconds, and it bit and growled a bit so I put it back. They are so scared. I can’t believe I bought them toys. They’d have to move for that.
All day they’ve stayed at the back of the kennel. I sat it up on the trunk I have and angled it so they can stare at me while I sit here at my desk on the computer. They are wide awake right now. Here I just took their photo:
They are so cute. I have no idea what sex they are – although don’t orange calico’s have to be female? Or did I get that wrong. They have ear tufts and have long hair – like maine coon cats have – but they surely aren’t purebred.
My plan? Well I hope we can tame these two. I will have to bring them in to the vet to get checked over so until then I’m keeping them separate. The one with the orange has had a runny right eye since the first time we saw her. Otherwise they seem healthy, but I’m not a vet. I’ve googled all day for tips on how to tame them. They are a little on the old side I suspect, but I really don’t know how old they are – 3-4 months I guess?
I’d like to tame them, have them spayed/neutered and then find them new homes. Of course I already love them but I just can’t have more pets here. I already have 1 cat and 2 dogs and I’m very allergic to cats. Wouldn’t you like to adopt one of them? Pretty please?
We decided to catch the 2 kitties, now that their mom has set them free.
We’ve been feeding them every day so they aren’t going anywhere else. No way will they survive a winter. So we bought some supplies last night and we plan to catch ‘em, tame ‘em, and then find them a new home.
I’m allergic to cats and there is no way I can keep them. But I can’t let them die either.
So last night I was plotting a plan and I had them both in a kennel (I put the food in there) but they are too quick and can run away before I can close it. We might use a string to pull the door shut from farther away. The trick is to catch them both at once.
I went in side to tell Jeff my progress/plan and then went back out and came face to face with a SKUNK. I saw his tail go up. Then he dove under the front steps! Do skunks eat cats? He was probably attracted to the smell of cat food. Luckily later on I saw the kitties out again so they are safe. No sign of the skunk.
This morning before the sun came up Monty was already up watching the kittens. One was sitting on top of the puppy crate that is out there, and the other one was in side eating.
I’m guessing this is going to be way harder than I think to catch them.
Let’s hope it’s not.
Want a kitten?? They are SUPER cute!
The kitties are back! They haven’t been here for 2 weeks. But one of the kittens isn’t with them. :’( The shorter haired one with white paws is gone. I hope he didn’t suffer.
Jeff fed them before I got home, and then I fed them some more. They were hungry little cuties! I put out some clean water for them too. I wish they were tame so I could play with them, but they are not. They watch us through the door though and they have staring contests with Monty.
On another note, when I was eating lunch today I noticed my food wasn’t going down very easily. Within a couple hours my tonsils were so sore and I felt sickish. Now that I’m home Jeff shone his flashlight in and discovered I have big white fuzzies on my tonsils AGAIN. This is year 3 of this. So I attacked it right away with salted water. That really helped last winter to keep them under control. I wish my tonsils were removed when I was little!