Cuban Cigars?

[FireGoddess]

I'm with AG - mama can hopefully adapt to being indoors. Holly hasn't ONCE begged to go outside, ever, since being brought in a month ago. My dad keeps saying I should let her out on a leash or something so she can enjoy being outside but not in danger, and I basically said no. That she'll get over it if she hasn't already. I keep her in a room full of windows (we're still in cat separation mode) and even put a bird feeder outside where she can watch the birdies all day so she feels stimulated. When I get home we play with the feather toy so she can feel like she pounced and hunted and caught something. I'll even open the windows a crack (screens on) so she can smell the fresh air. But she hasn't once begged to go outside. I think cats can adapt to being strictly indoor if given proper stimulation.

As for mama cat, I really WANT HER!!!! She looks exactly like what I would have picked for myself had little miss Holly not picked me as her new mom.

 

[AmberGretchen]

FG - sounds like Holly has such an amazing newly-indoor kitty''s life. I am so impressed with what an amazing kitty mom you are to her and Chloe!!

Cehra - I forgot to mention, I don''t know if you saw the note, but you can feed smaller amounts of the better-quality foods to the kitties, so it really shouldn''t be significantly more expensive in the long run, even though it seems like it right now

Oh, and regular Innova is fine to feed the kittens once they start eating regular dry food (though of course they''ll need to start with wet food). We started Oliver (our ragdoll) on regular dry Innova at about 9 weeks old and the vet says he couldn''t be healthier

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 6/4/2007 8:00:35 PM
Author: AmberGretchen
Mercoledi - mom cat''s temperament is not something you could every guarantee being passed on to babies. If you want a cat with a particular color eyes or fur I''d be willing to be you could find it from a rescue. I only say this because there is such severe cat overpopulation (literally over 50% of cats who come into shelters, MILLIONS each year, are euthanized) that it really is irresponsible for people to breed their pets.

Cehra - any luck with the pay/neuter phone calls? I''ll keep my fingers crossed for mommy cat that she likes being indoors. You might need to work harder to limit her ability to get outside at first so she can adjust, but I bet she would, given time and the right encouragement (all food inside, lots of playtime and affection, appropriate climbing trees and scratching posts, and a safe place to hide and have privacy when she wants it). I agree she looks like a Ragdoll. They are such amazing cats - we adore our rescue boy who we think is a ragdoll.

I called the shelter and they said I could come in and pick up coupons for $40 spay and she thought it was $30 for neuter. So for less than $150 I can get the kittens. The mama cat may be more but that''s okay. Just spending upwards of $150 for 5 cats was gonna kill me.

And yes, cross your fingers about mama cat staying inside, because she is soooooo sweet. She has only tried to go out once, no twice.... once because she was hungry and she remembered being fed outside but when I fed her inside she came back in (which is funny because she''s been eating inside just this was the first time her dish was empty so her brain went back outside LOL (I''m hungry so that must mean I should stand outside this door LOL) and once this am she wanted out, dd let her out, she went potty, and came right back. I don''t know what she''ll be like once the kits are grown. i''m about 90% sure we''re keeping her and the dark boy but only about 30% sure about the girl kit. She and the dark boy are very close.

One thing that I found very irritating was that when I was telling my story today to various people as soon as I said I had all of the kittens in my house their tone changed like I was one of "those people" who are irresponsible and just let their cat have kittens and that all of the rest of my story was a big pile of BS so I could get "my" kittens fixed cheap. I WANT to do the right thing but if that means paying $1000 (for both fixing and shots etc) I don''t know if I can swing that. My dh isn''t quite of the same animal loving mind as I and that''s a lot of money. Anyway the insinuation that I''m just fabricating the story because the mama cat inexplicably became an indoor cat after years of being outside really pissed me off. I know it''s odd but it''s the truth. Thankfully the woman at the shelter was actually the ONLY one who didn''t get a tone, she just sounded so glad I was willing to care for them and find them homes rather than bring them in LOL While I was at the store today there were some rescue cats in a special section and I wanted to take them home - they''re so beautiful.... if my husband ever died I really would become the crazy cat lady LOL I love cats, I''m a cat person. My last cat died almost 6 years ago but with two young boys it wasn''t fair for me to get a cat then.... so funny how things work out as this spring I was looking into ragdoll rescue! Whether mama cat actually is one or not really doesn''t matter, her temperment is like one and that''s all that matters.

As for inheriting their mom''s personality... I dunno... I know sawyer and finn are a bit more like their dad. joe is most like mom and becky is... well she''s just such a little... she''s VERY fluffy like a round ball and always cleaning herself and if you muss her up she gets very put out even at just a few weeks old LOL

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 6/4/2007 8:08:45 PM
Author: FireGoddess
As for mama cat, I really WANT HER!!!! She looks exactly like what I would have picked for myself had little miss Holly not picked me as her new mom.

She''s such a sweetheart. when I took those pics of her she was eating and I took her bowl away so I could get her to look toward me and she was so okay with that.

 

[FireGoddess]

Don''t let those people get to you, remember you ARE doing a good thing and they should be COMMENDING you instead of wondering whether you''re trying to ''cheat the system.'' Please. I don''t give a moment''s thought to those people.

Female cats, when unaltered, try to go out any chance they get to mate with a male when in heat. Clearly she''s not in heat given she just had a litter, but anyway. That mentality and urge goes away when they are fixed.

I noticed a significant change in Holly''s temperament after getting her fixed. For the better.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 6/4/2007 8:12:17 PM
Author: AmberGretchen
FG - sounds like Holly has such an amazing newly-indoor kitty''s life. I am so impressed with what an amazing kitty mom you are to her and Chloe!!

Cehra - I forgot to mention, I don''t know if you saw the note, but you can feed smaller amounts of the better-quality foods to the kitties, so it really shouldn''t be significantly more expensive in the long run, even though it seems like it right now

Oh, and regular Innova is fine to feed the kittens once they start eating regular dry food (though of course they''ll need to start with wet food). We started Oliver (our ragdoll) on regular dry Innova at about 9 weeks old and the vet says he couldn''t be healthier

Okay I went to the store today and bought the OVO or EVO or whatever its called... on the bag it said it was for cats and kittens where the INNOVA said for adult cats. Mama prefers the meow mix LOL Oh well, she ate this... the kittens are starting to eat it too, but there''s no wet food here. Just dry. I didn''t think the kittens would be ready for dry but they''ve been eating it today.... I''m trying to figure out how old they are and I''m thinking 5 weeks? They have changed so much just in the 36 hours they''ve been here. They''re stronger and more curious and have all TOTALLY acclimated to being held even by young children who are clumsy. No more little baby hissers LOL The first time I met joe he was hisssing up a storm with one paw up and was so hissy and rearing up that he fell on his back it was *hilariou* but he kept hissing LOL He is the easiest to pick up and hold for long times now.... LOL go figure! Sawyer picks on his sister something fierce, biting her thighs. He and Finn are best buds. Finn is a little less adventurous but... well put it this way, we really couldn''t have known but their names fit them LOL They are just like tom sawyer and huck finn LOL And Becky is like becky. I don''t know joe is but we''ll probably change his name since we''ll likely keep him LOL

 

[FireGoddess]

Date: 6/4/2007 8:37:16 PM
Author: Cehrabehra

Mama prefers the meow mix LOL

LOL I'm sure she does but JUST SAY NO to Meow Mix. Chloe ate that for a few years and developed kidney stones. As in had-to-be-surgically-removed. No no no Meow Mix, no matter how much she loves it!!! LOL.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 6/4/2007 8:47:27 PM
Author: FireGoddess

Date: 6/4/2007 8:37:16 PM
Author: Cehrabehra

Mama prefers the meow mix LOL

LOL I''m sure she does but JUST SAY NO to Meow Mix. Chloe ate that for a few years and developed kidney stones. As in had-to-be-surgically-removed. No no no Meow Mix, no matter how much she loves it!!! LOL.

I bought the meow mix (two bags, one at a time) because it was cheap and I the cat never came within 30 feet of us so it was like okay you got knocked up, when you''re no longer packing babies I''m gonna set a trap for you and figure out what to do next so in the meantime here''s *something* to eat. Well then she went and got friendly all of a sudden LOL So its like well then okay I''ll find you some GOOD food.

 

[AmberGretchen]

Sara - I''m sorry those people were crabby with you. It doesn''t excuse their behavior, but it is kitten season, and there are SO MANY PEOPLE who don''t get their dogs or cats fixed, either through laziness, or because they "don''t think its natural," or because they think it will be fun to watch their pets have babies, or because they think they can keep an eye on their pets 24/7. People who work in rescue have to deal with the many many many puppies and kittens that come into the world unwanted because of all of this irresponsibility and misinformation, and have to watch so many baby and adult animals get put to sleep for lack of a good home. Again, I totally don''t think it excuses their behavior, but you can kind of see where they are coming from.

Regardless, you have done an AMAZING thing rescuing these babies and I can''t say how much I admire you and appreciate that there are people in the world like you who are so willing to selflessly do the right thing for these babies and babies like them. I hope the reduced rate the shelter said they could give is do-able for you for all the babies. If not let me know and I can try to find something even cheaper in your area. Mommy cat shouldn''t be too much more expensive, if at all. They should also be able to give them their first sets of shots and de-wormer for not very much money as well.

I think its fine if they are eating the dry food - as long as they are able to eat it. Five weeks is a very reasonable age to be weaned, and in 3 more weeks, possibly a tiny bit more, you should be able to get them fixed as well

At that age its not surprising they are adjusting to handling so quickly. Its so important for them to get socialization and handling at that early age - it will make them much better pets later on and even better that they are learning to be OK with kids and around other kittens. That story about Joe falling over backwards hissing and then he keeps hissing is TOO FUNNY - I can totally picture it. They always think they are fierce at that age, and they are so unconvincing about it!

 

[mercoledi]

Date: 6/4/2007 8:00:35 PM
Author: AmberGretchen
Mercoledi - mom cat''s temperament is not something you could every guarantee being passed on to babies. If you want a cat with a particular color eyes or fur I''d be willing to be you could find it from a rescue. I only say this because there is such severe cat overpopulation (literally over 50% of cats who come into shelters, MILLIONS each year, are euthanized) that it really is irresponsible for people to breed their pets.

I''m well aware; we had cats/kittens when I was growing up. She actually has a terrible temperment but she''s a very pretty cat! And she''s spayed, her owners are very responsible. If we get back to owning an animal I assure you that shelters would be our first stop. It was just a day dreams about seal-point kittens with light stripes!

 

[AmberGretchen]

mercoledi - I totally understand, even the very best-intentioned of us can be swayed by "pretty kitties." Our youngest (though no longer littlest) kitty, Oliver, we got only because my DH fell in love with his blue eyes when he was a teeny, adorable kitten. Otherwise DH hadn''t even been sold on the idea of a 3rd cat. But here we are 10 months later with a giant, fluffy, gorgeous seal point ragdoll, and now I''d rescue another ragdoll in a heartbeat. I''m such a sucker for how gorgeous he is, so I completely get where you are coming from. Fortunately, when you decide you are ready, there seem to be a lot of pointed kitties with blue eyes in rescues, especially purebred cat rescues, so I''m sure you''ll be able to find one who fits your criteria and hopefully who looks like the kitty who''s looks you loved so much. Thank you for planning to rescue - I didn''t mean to be harsh or critical, and I am grateful that you have such wonderful intentions.