Kitten Pictures | Spay and Neuter

Remember the newborn kittens? They are five months old already. We knew that they would get spayed and neutered even before they were born. My family and I are advocates. M was a wreck. She hates taking her precious pets in to get surgery, but as much as she doesn't sleep the night before, she knows it's a good thing. As a matter of fact, originally we kept the momma cat because the person who wanted her refused to spay her. Of course, after the first few weeks of her living with us, she became part of the family and M couldn't part with her any longer. It all worked out for the best. The cat family has formed a close bond. They were even taken for their surgery together. They were also picked up together the following day.

They are still a rather united cat tribe. They function like a group. Sure, the mom occasionally hisses and even growls at her kittens, but she is also very protective and affectionate with them most of the time. She has completely accepted all of us dogs, from the largest to the naughtiest. Project cats and dogs united, copleted. We're an integrated home. Seven cats and four dogs, who would have thought! The outdoor cat enclosure helps a lot, with any crowding issues, plus all the cats absolutely love it out there. They take in the sun's rays, roll on their backs, trim their claws on actual tree trunks, and enjoy their fresh supply of cat grass that M has planted for them. Sometimes, little Pedro, the chihuahua puppy joins them out there, and that's when the laid back kittens jump up to higher levels where they cannot be reached; that's an accurate statement about most, but not all cats. Charlie, the tuxedo kitten remains Pedro's best friend. The two are inseparable and play well together. We can't wait until the kittens are over ten months old and get introduced to catnip. We wonder about the catnip effects and how the kittens will react to it.

Lil' Mama weighs 7lbs, the tuxedo kitten (Charlie, M's favorite) is 8lbs, the pointed kitten (Gigi Smudge) 7.4lbs, and the runt, the calico kitten named Puddles, weighs 6lbs.

Kitten pictures:

 Even after her spay surgery, Lil' Mama remains quite intense.

 We lucked out. While we (the dogs) don't like the deer antlers, Charlie is really fond of them.

 Puddles still spends her days lounging about looking pretty. She only gets upset when someone takes away her mirror.

The Smudge! A rather flighty almost feral kitten nobody likes to mess with.

Be kind, considerate, and responsible: Spay and neuter your pets!

Twinkie

Cats and Dogs

Outside, it's been raining cats and dogs. Inside, all seven cats and three dogs have been cooped up for about six days now. We are all suffering from cabin fever. The cats can't go out and enjoy their outdoor cat enclosure and we, the dogs, a senior dog suffering from arthritis, a dainty brindle chiweenie, and a fragile teacup chihuahua . . . can't go out in the cold wet weather, so we resorted to indoor games. Since none of us are famous for their great intellect, we decided to forego dog puzzles and go straight into action packed cat and dog games, like chasing the laser pointer.

I hope you enjoy my latest production:




The beautiful voice in the end was mine!

Countdown: three days left to vote in the pet photo contest.

Twinkie

Kitten Update | Petrified Chiweenie

I'm sure everyone's used to Frankie, the brindle chiweenie, being scared stiff frequently, but

why-oh-why is the chiweenie petrified this time???

 

 Perhaps it is because the momma cat goes from this to . . .

. . . THIS!

Or perhaps even . . .

. . . THAT!

It is true, furiends, we're under cat siege.

We are sentenced to live with seven felines!

The other day, M put the chiweenie and me in the outdoor cat enclosure for "socialization" purposes. Somebody call the humane society.

The kittens are now three months old. They are healthy, playful, curious, and mischievous.

Here are some recent kitten pictures:

Charlie Chuckles

The tuxedo kitten. The only male of the litter.

He is the leader. He is a terror in disguise, but M dotes on him. He knows about her weakness so when she calls him he comes running and screaming. I hope Charlie and M live happily ever after together.

Puddles

Our calico kitten.

She's beautiful and she knows it. She spends her days lounging around, mostly on her back, sucking at her paws. I think she's a bit "slow," if you know what I mean.

Clorox

Our muted tortie.

Clorox, aka Alley Alarm, aka Squirt is the one to watch out for. She's the wildest of the bunch. If I didn't know for a fact that she was raised here, I'd call her a feral kitten. The chiweenie and I need to be careful around her because she snaps.

As you can see, the little kittens are all growing up fast while developing their personalities. M had made an appointment with an animal behaviorist, but it was simply too expensive. In lieu of, she decided to recruit her human friends that she equips with squirt bottles and the ultrasonic pet trainer (the PetZoom) the minute they step through the door. She says instead of paying an animal behaviorist, she'd rather spend the money taking her friends to dinner as a way to thank them for helping out. Any volunteers?

We are one nutty mixed household and we wouldn't have it any other way. 

Twinkie

M vs. M

All rise for the honorable judge. Please be seated. The defense may make opening statements.

M's defense attorney: Your honor, everyone surrounding Ms. M is opposed to her keeping all of the kittens including their mom.  

Prosecution: Ehem. I would like the cons stated for the record. M has three cats already and they don't get along. She also has three dogs that occasionally get attacked by the cats. If she keeps the entire litter and their mother, M is going to end up with NINE cats. No outdoor cat enclosure is going to save her. 

Suspect #1

Name: Trouble

Age: 48 days

Color: tuxedo kitten

Race: feline

Gender: male

PROS: Trouble is special. He's the only male. He has a beauty mark and a goatee. He eats out of M's hand. He runs to greet M every time she enters the nursery. Trouble can do the splits.

Suspect #2

Name: Alley Alarm aka Allie

Age: 48 days

Color: pointed kitten

Race: feline

Gender: female

PROS: Allie is a riot. She's the wildest of the bunch and she keeps changing colors. She's got white and fawn toes. M loves a good challenge.

Suspect #3

Name: Lolita aka Loli

Age: 48 days

Color: calico

Race: feline

Gender: female

PROS: She's the baby. Loli spends her days on her back sucking on her toes. Sometimes, she rushes and attacks her siblings. M finds this behavior adorable. 

Suspect #4

Name: Teddy Smudge (did somebody mention cute kitten names?)

Age: 48 days

Color: pointed dilute calico kitten

Race: feline

Gender: female

PROS: Her name, for starters. She's also a quiet kitten that gets along with everyone. She's got a cute goatee, and amazing markings.

Suspect #5

Name: Puddles, named after you-know-who

Age: 48 days

Color: calico kitten

Race: feline

Gender: female

PROS: She is nuts over M. Puddles runs to greet M and then rubs herself all over her purring. She was the first of the kittens to purr at the human touch. She loves kitten treats. 

Suspect #6

Name: Farrah, aka Mama

Age: under a year most likely

Color: charcoal and white with beautiful markings

Race: feline

Gender: female

PROS: M bonded with Farrah the minute she arrived. Even though Farrah attacked M, rather aggressively causing quite a bit of damage, M feels Farrah was just being protective of her angels. She's worried about her the most since she may be the hardest to socialize in our multi-pet cross breed home. 

At the moment, M cannot bear the thought of breaking up this bundle of cuteness, help her do the right thing.

Defense and  Prosecution attorneys rest their case. It's up to you, the jury now. 

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

Hiking By Our Favorite Creek

We love our hikes. Hiking with dogs is my favorite pastime, even more so than running crazy with my rescue dog friends at the horse barn. So, we left the newborn kittens and their outdoor cat enclosure behind and off we went. My sissies, Frankie the brindle chiweenie, Linguini the spotted dalmatian pointer mix, and I, Twinkie, the teacup chihuahua, met up with the rhodesian ridgeback pair, Hank and Sue.

Our senior dog, that is definitely suffering from dog arthritis, took the lead

Everyone enjoyed drinking the fresh creek water

I enjoyed walking on it

We pressed on and had a blast exploring, smelling, and marking, but we were cautious because one must always be aware when hiking with a senior dog

And did I mention . . .

We love hiking with dogs. It puts a smile on our faces!

For now, we're pretending our senior dog's fatty tumors aren't there. Unless they interfere with her quality of life, we're going to leave them alone. Unfortunately, her aging seems to progress rapidly. She can not get in the car unassisted any longer and her front legs often "give" which leads to some not so pleasant face plants and a look of pure shock on our girl's face. No matter, we're all going to enjoy our dog hikes and life at it's fullest until we can't any longer. As for me, I have apologized profusely for leaving my pack and getting lost the other day. For a while, my apologies were not heard as I found myself hanging for a green retractable leash, but I took care of the problem. I hid the offensive leash (and that's one of my best dog training tips so far). 

Take your dogs for a hike, you'll all benefit.

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