When I decided to foster, I made some assumptions that I now know was — well, WRONG.
First, I’ve had cats for all my life. I know what I need to know about being a kitty parent. WRONG. My cats have all been adults. The last three were spayed/neutered before I got them. Only one was “feral” except she had already adopted me before I brought her indoors.
Second, I have all the equipment needed for a cat, litter box, trees, dedicated room to adjust, toys. WRONG. My last two cats lost interest in their toys not long after we moved into the new home. They were turning the corner from adult to senior and more sedentary. The teasers were a good start, but kittens need new toys to keep them interested.
Third, I have a lot of experience with grooming, clipping nails, even giving insulin shots and sub-q fluids. I think I’m capable in that area. WRONG. Every cat has it’s own issues. Unless you are a vet, you still have a lot to learn. I never had a cat get their mouth caught in a collar.
Fourth, I will have no problem fostering, then letting them leave the nest with their new family. WRONG. It’s only been a week and already, I don’t know how I can give them up.
Fifth, Pavlov had the answer to traing cats. It worked with Monroe. She is very outgoing and can be trained with treats. Walker is another story. He is very shy. I can’t simply pick him up and give him a treat to get him to associate pick up = treat. He gets upset easly and won’t take the treat. So, I need to find a different method with him. I don’t think it is even the “desensitizing”. I have to earn his trust and that is going to take a lot of work.
Second week highlights
Walker really started warming up to me. He’s gone from cautiously being a lap kitty, to pushing Monroe out of her first choice spot and head butting me. Monroe has continue to be her charming self. She gets cuter every day. I tried to get a picture of her walking around with her little red fuzzy ball in her mouth, but she won’t pose for me with it.
Walker had his first big boy ride in the car and visit to the vet all by himself. The vet checked out his mouth and made sure there was no major damage after the incident with the calming collar. By the end of the week, his mouth had healed considerably.
Ok. He didn’t like it. Monroe acted as if nothing happened. She didn’t seem to notice her brother was gone. But I could tell he missed her.
They watched TV for the first time. It’s become an evening ritual. They love getting in my lap to watch a show. But, one must say their attention span is not as long as the show!
I finally got the living room/kitchen as kitten proof as I think I can. Not as good as I’d like it. But decided to let them come out and explore. Who was first out the door? Walker! At the moment they haven’t explored the entire area. But they do know where to run back to! Kitty Sanctuary.
Cute Videos
Kitty TV or play with the tablet?
We got a new toy!
Catch that Red Dot!
Daily Diary
Monday
Back to work, but I so wanted to spend the day in the Kitty Sanctuary. But my boss does expect me to be productive, so I could only steal away 15 minute segements and eat lunch at my desk. I couldn’t do this if I didn’t work from home. I was still worried about Walker’s mouth. Called my previous vet and they don’t work with rescues. Called another vet and have an appointment tomorrow. Classy Cats is ok with me taking Walker in to this vet.
Both Walker and Monroe need to be fixed. I’ve been reading about their required healing time between 5 to 7 days. I need to keep them sedentary and watch for post op issues. How to do that in the Kitty Sanctuary? Not possible. So in comes the kitty kennels. I’d thought about kitty kennels for Hoshi and Lilly before, but they never seemed to have problems that required a kennel.
Kitty firsts! Walker was so loving today. He came up and head butted me, begged for pets and purred. He cuddled and rushed for my lap before his sister. WOW. The next visit, Monroe got my lap and didn’t give it up. Kind of like a king of the hill. My evening visit, I actually fell asleep on the bed and Walker was cuddled up next to me.
Tuesday
Well, the day isn’t starting out as well. This morning, they both skittered away from me. But they did come up to get their breakfast. We had a nice play time and I was able to verify Walker is using the litter box, at least to urinate. This is good. If a kitty doesn’t urinate, we have serious medical issues. I did get them let me pet them. But Walker is being more skittish than Monroe. One step forward, one step backward. Sigh.
Then I had an epathany. This morning I’d put on a “Blue” sweater. In the past, I’d been wearing black shirts. I put on a black shirt, and Walker came up to me for cuddles in the mid-morning visit. Maybe he identified me with black shirts and the blue sweater threw him off. Now for some testing on that hypothesis! By the way, cats do see colors. (https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/do-cats-see-color)
Kitty First! Walker went on a big boy ride to see the vet all by himself. He didn’t like it. But he was a sweetie and the vet said his mouth was fine. Took one worry off of my mind. He should heal from his collar incident ok.
Wednesday
I think I’ve figureing out their schedule. They like to play after breakfast and about 9 PM. Inbetween they sleep. When I went into the room for mid-morning, noon, and afternoon play time, it ended up being cuddle time. It’s getting to be a toss up on who comes to me first. Sometimes, I just need to make my lap big enough for two kitties! It does appear they are more skittish in the morning.
This evening I caught them working on the towels that keep them from getting underneath the dresser. What do you want to bet that tomorrow morning they will have got the towels out and have skittered under there for a hidey hole?
Thursday
If I’d of bet they would have pulled the towels out, I’d of lost the bet. It was a normal morning. I walk in with a soft call “Breakfast” and the skitter under the bed. I sit down by the food with the plate of Hills Science Diet canned kitten food. Monroe if the first up, Walker is the second. Walker finishes before Monroe and leisurelly walks around my legs to sniff my coffee in disgust before going off to wash his face. Monroe finishes and does the same. I go back out to get the hard crunchies and water, refresh that, then go back out to get a bag to clean the litter. Monroe thinks litter cleaning is the most fascinating thing she’s ever seen. I have to push her head out of the bag! After the litter is clean, Walker jumps in to use the litter. Then Monroe follows suit.
All the equipment stored out of the room, I go back in to spend the next 30 min or so simply talking, tossing the teasers, or simply cheering them on as they chase each other.
Today, I started pick up and hold training in ernest. I’ve gotten to where I can walk up to them in the tall tree and pet them — after the morning routine. A few times, I’ve picked them up and put them back. Now, we are graduating to pick up on a regular basis and eventually pick up and walk. This is an important part of their training. Ferals sometimes never get to where they will let you pick them up easily. What I’ve noticed about Walker is he does not like to have someone reach “down” to pick him up. This is why starting at the tall tree is so important. He tends to skitter away when it appears I’m towering over him. Monroe not so much.
Friday
Why do I feel like I’m starting at square 1 every morning with Walker? In the mornings, he runs from me, but will come up to get his breakfast. Mid-morning, he plays, but still acts scared of me. It takes until the afternoon for me to come up to pet him. Maybe he is just grumpy kitty in the morning.
We did spend some quality time cuddling in the afternoon. Walker pushed Monroe out of her favorite spot to take over and even let me hold him (sitting down of course). But that is progress.
Kitty First! I so want to let them out into the Living Room, but unsure if I will be able to get them back in the sanctuary when required if I don’t get them to the point of letting me pick them up when I need to. So I brought a little bit of the living room to them. I put Netflix on my tablet to let them watch some TV. They were fascinated. We are going to do a bit more of this!