Today is the big day. I need to get them both in the carry cage so they can safely make the trip to Classy Cats for their second booster. I’m not worried about Monroe. Walker on the other hand …

7:00 AM Breakfast!

I learned from yesterday’s mistake. Ok. I didn’t have a can in the fridge either. Today, the plate was so close to me that one of them had to be right next to me to eat. Guess who that was? Monroe of course. When I came in with their food (and my coffee), there were two little noses poking out from under the foot of the bed. The minute I got settled, Monroe was at the plate. Walker came up around the other side and started eating. I kept my hand next to the plate and still. A few minutes into breakfast, I reached up to get my coffee and Walker jumpped back. But came back for food as soon as he saw I wasn’t reaching for him. After cleaning the plate (it was only about 1.5 oz of food, so not that much), they did the normal kitty cleaning their face activity. After they finished, I took care of the rest of the chores. They are settling into about 1 cup of the Science Diet Kitten Hard food a day, so I replinished their food and water. Then cleaned out the litter box. Monroe thinks cleaning out the litter box is an interesting activity. Where is all that poop going? Then I raised the blinds to let daylight/sun light in.

Cat Wrangeling

When it came time to get them in their carry cage for transport, I wanted to get Walker in first. I thought I’d be able to get Monroe, even if I didn’t get them in the cage together. I’d had the cage in the room and saw them jumping in and out of it, so they were used to it. So I put the teaser over the cage to lure them in. Walker jumpped in. Monroe jumpped in. Before I could close the top, Monroe jumpped out. But I got Walker. No worries, Monroe let’s me pick her up. HA!

Walker let his displeasure at being tricked known loudly. Monroe ran under the bed. No coaxing her out. Plan B. I put Walker in the hallway and got the second carry cage. With the second carry cage by the door, I began with the teaser. Monroe had to inspect the door because she heard Walker complaining. She jumpped in the cage and the top was closed. Two cats in cages ready to transport.

Classy Cats Visit

While we were at Classy Cats, I got some great tips. First, the trick on trimming nails is to put them in your lap sitting with thier paws out. Kind of like a kid. LOL. I used to simply get one paw while they were laying down, then the next, and remember which ones I needed to get the next time.

On the trip over, there was a LOT of complaining and cage ratteling. Enough for me to pull over and check that they were alright. While we were at Classy Cats, we put Centry Calming Collars on them. The phermones did help. I had used Feliway spray and had thought if needed to put a diffuser in the room. But I was out of the spray and until today no need for the diffuser.

The next tip was to turn on a radio, which I sat up right away after we got home. I noticed the Kitten Sanctuary room was very quiet. I’ve been turning up the TV trying to get sound into the room.

They told me about a really good site about kitten care, The kitten Lady (kittenlady.org). These guys are a bit older than the kitties she works with. While at Classy Cats we weighed them Monroe was approx 3 lbs and Walker is approx 4 lbs. A rule of thumb (https://www.petmd.com/cat/slideshows/6-tips-determining-your-cats-age#slide-1). At 4 months, the baby teeth start to fall out and they get adult teeth. Up until 4 to 6 months, kittens gain a pound for every month. By 6 months, your kitten should be about 6 lbs. But for rescues, pounds may not be reliable. When I picked them up, I was told they believed these kittens to be about 6 months old. It’s hard to say right now, but I’m thinking they may be closer to 4 months.

NOTE TO SELF: Ask if the vet checked their teeth. Do they have adult teeth?

Afternoon Session

We got home about around noon and I spent a good half hour getting them settlted back in their Sanctuary. I left the carry cage in the room and got the radio set up, then spent some time just sitting in the room talking to them. Of course, I had some Saturday chores to do, groceries, cleaning, you know those pesky things we all have to do. When I checked on them a couple of hours later, things were a bit different. They were not at all interested in playing. The collars seemed to bug them a bit. It took about a half hour to get them out and pu on the bed with me.

Next session

When I went into the room again about an hour later, Monroe was in front of the hutch lounging and Walker was in the hutch on the bed. I knelt down and petted Monroe, then reached in and petted Walker. WOW! When I reached back to pet Monroe, she skittered away from me. It took almost an hour to get them out of their hiding places. Well, they weren’t hiding that much. Eventually, they were both in the bed on top of the tall kitty tree. I tempted Monroe out with treats. She usually takes them from my hand, bu not this time.

I’m a little worried about the lack of interest in playing and that they are doing a lot of grooming. So far, I haven’t found a site that says the kitten shots can cause this or the collars. But the basic gist of over-grooming is an allergic reaction. I’m going to keep an eye on this activity. My first suspect will be the collars.

BREAK THROUGH!

Ok, they are still doing a bit more grooming than they used to. But not as much as this afternoon. This evening’s session was about 1 1/2 hours. The first half hour started of like the last two. Then Monroe decided that she wanted to be a lap kitty. She got in my lap and just played quietly enjoying being petted. Walker got curoious. I was tossing the teaser at him and he was playing, Then I held out some treats. He was close enough to wonder why his sister was ignoring him and staying in my lap.

Walker came by and sniffed. I held out my hand and he sniffed it. Then I slowly reached up and stroked. He didn’t shy away. I softly stroked him and he stayed. Then I tried what all my kitties liked — a scratch behind the ears. Walker purred. He really liked that. Then we went for the tail bone. Oh Boy! He was in heaven. He let me pet him for a good 5 minutes before he headed off to the other side of the bed to think about what just happened.

Eventually, he came back for some more petting. Eventually, they started playing and I was able to take a short video. They came back to me for some more petting, played a bit more, then settled at the foot of the bed. Being it was 9:30 PM, I decided it was bed time, turned off the radio. They let me give them each a nighty night scratch before I turned the light off.

WOW.