Brindle Chiweenie Afraid of . . . Kittens

Frankie's situation is becoming ridiculous. One minor attack the small the black and white chimeanie and our Frankie is afraid of everything. We were supposed to be socializing the newborn kittens but instead we discovered it was the chiweenie that needed socialization. I can't blame her completely though. Suffice it to say that we started her out with the nursing mom, inside her space, the room we call "the nursery". Let me demonstrate with a few chiweenie pictures.

Nursing cats do not like invasions

Farrah is used to our humans, but she is not dog friendly

Brave brindle chiweenie!

Getting braver

(can her eyes bulge out more?)

"I'll show you how it's done, Frankie. I am a teacup chihuahua and I am fearless."

Frankie scratching her head wondering where all those kittens came from

I explained to her about the birds and the bees

Seriously! What is there to be afraid of?

See, we love her

Disclaimer: No chiweenie was harmed during the making of this post

For the kitten fans, you can view the latest kitten video by clicking HERE.

Twinkie

Cat-astophic Kittens

WARNING: Another post about the newborn kittens

The newborn kittens are 3 weeks old today. No, they can't get into anything yet. They still paddle on their bellies making valiant attempts to stand on their four legs. Then why-oh-why did I call them cat-astrophic? Because they've taken over my dog life and my blog. And since today our friends Amy, Barney, Stella, Gus, Lola, Virgil, and Kirzon from the world famous House of Cats, posted about us, I felt that I should at least talk about the kittens. But first, a public and heartfelt thank you to Amy for helping my mom along the way.

We took Farrah in, a feral kitty wandering the streets of downtown L.A., (where I was found too) when she was already pregnant. Farrah was being assaulted by the three male cats in her hood who were definitely going to harm the kittens as soon as they were born. We had to take her in to keep her safe and well fed plus we are spaying and neutering advocates, so this was our one shot at witnessing the miracle of a cat giving birth and caring for newborn kittens.
Farrah came home 4 weeks ago. She was tiny and while obviously pregnant, she never got too big.

She gave birth to FIVE healthy kittens a week after we brought her home

This picture of the nursing cat was taken a few short minutes after she delivered her last kitten. She's been a great mom from day one.

I had asked for help finding cute kitten names. Well, all the names you suggested were either perfect or funny, but kittens have a way of naming themselves. This one, opened it's one eye on day 6. Four days before it's litter mates did. It started to get into trouble right away so, we call it for now: Trouble

Trouble is the only boy out of the five newborn kittens

This is calico kitten A, or Puddles

Her calico sister is a dilute calico kitten which means her colors are muted

Life is a basket full of kitten cuteness

with their mom standing guard

As far as kitten development goes, this guy, the only guy, has got the lead.

Trouble was the first one to attempt to walk. In this picture he is paddling.

But the calico kitten is close second in development and she loves giving herself a bath

Picture of fawn (dilute red) kitten sucking, and chomping on finger

Today, the fawn and white girl got strong enough to sit fully up

The calico girl, Puddles can also walk a bit, although she prefers to spend the day on her back messing with her litter mates

And Trouble . . . always a step ahead of the girls

This has been our newborn kitten saga so far. It's been scary at times, terribly disruptive, and tons of fun. Our mom even built an outdoor cat enclosure which I'm afraid is the first step in keeping all the kittens. Help! Until Farrah came over the numbers were equal, three dogs and three cats. Today, since the kitten birth, we're outnumbered. I live in a house with NINE cats. 

For kitten video, please visit MY CHANNEL and have at it. My favorite is Kitten Cuteness - Day 6 because, while it's rather long, it shows you the steps the nursing cat takes to care for her newborn kittens. And as Amy already mentioned, you can view more photos on our other blog pregnantcatinfo.

Twinkie

Number One Reason I Do Not Like The Kittens

I, Frankie, the chiweenie, am mad--oh-so-mad. Ever since they brought Farrah, the feral pregnant cat home, I have had a bad feeling. I sense cat-astrophe. Things got worse after Farrah gave birth to her five adorable kittens. There's nothing cuter than a newborn and newborn kittens are near the top of that list, but all the dogs have to be quite and tip toe around Farrah's designated quarters. Add to that the fact that one day she shot out of her room and lunged at poor Linguini, the sixty pound dalmatian pointer mix. Soon after the kitten were born, my family built an outdoor cat enclosure and I'm afraid it's because some, hopefully not all of the newborn kittens, are here to stay. First, let me give you a sneak peak of the enclosure.

Outdoor Cat Enclosure

a.k.a The Cat Palace

Cat Enclosure on the left & Finch Cage on the right

Strategically located so that both species can get their exercise

Inside view of the outdoor cat enclosure

We will be adding colorful toys and beds and scratching surfaces soon

The outdoor cat enclosure was a minor annoyance. I had to hang out and watch M working for a day. I didn't get to go on a hike, but it was just one day, so I didn't mind much. Besides, I liked the fact that the cats would have something to do other than chase me, the brindle chiweenie around the house. Now, I've mustered the courage to speak of the unspeakable! 

The real reason I do NOT like the newborn kittens: 

I was used as a . . . DEMO kitten!!!

My otherwise beloved dog vet, used me, Frankie, a dog, a brindle chiweenie to be precise, as a means to demonstrate how to administer deworming medication for the kittens. 

Silly kittens. They're getting bigger and louder every day. I feel sorry for their mom. The following kitten video proves it. Turn the volume down.

Frankie

(Meow)

Newborn Kitten Fever

It was to be expected. Nobody can sustain such cuteness overload without being affected. It hit M big time. She's building an outdoor enclosure for the cats. My worry is that she'll have us live in the outdoor cat enclosure and give the house to the cats. I will share with you photos of the cat enclosure once the project is completed.

The cute newborn kittens are now two weeks old. Their eyes are open and they play with each other. Their mom takes excellent care of them. A funny thing happened last night. Out of the two calico kittens, one started turned muted calico. It barely shows in the pictures but it will become more obvious in a couple of days. M even shot a special calico kitten video, for the cat lovers:

Calico Kitten Video:

We did take into consideration all the cute kitten names you suggested, but so far it's impossible to name them with the exception of the calicos. Calico kitten names: Puddles and Pebbles.

Kitten pictures:

We call him Trouble for now

He's the most active, curious, animated and interactive of the kittens

Hug?

Playtime!

More playing

Playing all day long

The calicos are playful too

The muted one is on top

When they're not playing, they're eating or sleeping

Off to pester M to see if we're going to get dinner today. If it comes down to it, I'm going to start eating cat food soon. How bad can it be?

Twinkie

Hiking With A Senior Dog Sometimes Is Not An Option

Our Linguini may be a senior citizen suffering from dog arthritis and some nasty dog tumors, but with proper care, she's still able to enjoy her life and go dog hiking. Our friend Olivia though, is not so fortunate. Olivia is 13.5 years old, exactly three years older than our Linguini. She's mostly blind, her joints are stiff and she has difficulty walking. A dog in her condition, should not go hiking. Do not feel sorry for her. She's one happy senior dog and she has a wonderfully attentive family. We welcomed a break from the newborn kittens* and we invited Olivia over for a fun day in our yard, a supposedly controlled environment. 

Double the pleasure

Linguini (front) is a dalmatian and german shorthaired pointer mix. She's on K-9 Liquid Health, a dog joint supplement that has visibly helped her with her dog arthritis issues. 

Olivia (back) is a pure bred Dalmatian. She's on Petco's Senior Stage Joint Support and her mom says she saw a big improvement too. 

Olivia's mommy, Ms. Cyndy Wood, is Frankie's trainer, and she's the one we have to thank for Frankie's passing the AKC Canine Good Citizen test. Without Cyndy, I'm not so sure the  oversensitive chiweenie would have made it. Cyndy is focused on positive training only!

"I know you're not my sissy, you impostor!"

Frankie and I were not easily fooled. Not only did this dalmatian have fewer spots than ours, she's also brown. She may be beautiful, but first I had to make sure she was nice. She sure was. We spent hours exploring our own yard through her eyes and nose. 

Happy senior dog escapes drowning

Poor Ms. Olivia, is partially blind and is lacking depth perception. Olivia went to the side of the pool and put her paw hesitantly down. Splash! In she went, the camera went flying somewhere off to the side of the pool, as her mom and my mom were trying to help her out. Olivia came out of the pool, totally unaware of the panic she had caused, wagging her tail happily and then she immediately enjoyed rolling on the lawn. She seemed invigorated, excited and not at all traumatized. Can't say the same about the poor bipeds. They were shaking as well. 

Senior dog reflections

The rest of the day went on smoothly as my pack did not feel at all threatened by Olivia's sweet disposition. We got tons of dog treats, one of the perks of being friends with a dog trainer, and we can't wait to have Olivia and her mommy back. 

Happy senior dog

At the end of her visit, Olivia, happy and spent, got in the car where she was secured in her dog car seat with her harness and the seat belt. In her case, the seat belt not only keeps her safe in case of an accident, it also keeps her more secure and comfortable because otherwise she can't balance very well in a moving vehicle. We waived bye bye from our driveway. 

Twinkie

* If you don't want a break from the kittens today, Here's the latest kitten video

Newborn Kittens | Day 2 and Bonus Kitten Video

As the cute and inventive and thoughtful cute kitten names keep pouring in, we're starting to have fun with the newborn kittens. They are more active by the minute, they make cute kitten noises, and they even have organized speed races on their tummies: The winner makes it all the way around their birthing box, a drawer.

Kitten pictures - A sequence

Watch the white and buff colored one

On your mark. Get set. And he's off!

About to manage a full U-turn

Running out of steam

Crashing

Crash!

The observer from LOlcats icanhascheezburger

Cute kitteh iz making fun of his bro already

Cute kitten names suggested yesterday:

Earl, Suzy Q, Sno Ball, Hoho, Ding Dong, Puddles, Duddles, Raindrop, Venezuela, Fifa, Pele, Beckham, Max, Lucy, Amigo, Khrya, Snookums, Patches, Cali, Rivers, Lakie, Speckles, Fawn, Holly, Dink, Rudy, Frankie, Brax, Bobo Jr., Little Jo, Peanut, Miss Kitty, Benny, Mona, Frankie, Albert, and Lorenza!!! As if the kittens' presence wasn't overwhelming enough, the kitten names you're coming up with are adorable. What to do?

Many of you, correctly assumed the calico kittens, aka tortoiseshell kittens, are most likely female. I'll get back to you on this one after I'm completed my research. In Greece, where my mom grew up, nobody wanted a calico kitty because they're considered . . . nuts! Silly greek old wives and their tales!

Bonus Kitten Video

Me hopes you enjoyed today's newborn kitten edition.

Twinkie