Unashamedly besotted

If you read yesterday’s blog post you’ll know exactly what I did today, and a job well done it was. Now we have a 3rd top entry tray in position plus the side entry tray which is I believe only chosen when there’s congestion in the top entry trays are crowded. The adults don’t ever go in together but the kittens have no privacy issues and will happily get in together or dive in on top of an adult, well their mum I’ve seen receive a kitty ion her back mid flow! Anyway, it’s spic n span job done, all cheap n nasty litter gone. 

Other than that, it’s been a normal day here with play times, sleeping & the regular event of tummy filling while I stand guard to ensure that the adults social distance until every kitten has finished, shaken his back legs, stretched to ease his full belly & shuffle away. 

Play is interesting to watch actually, you get a feel for developmental stage, witness failures, followed by increasing prowess & ability. A sureness in ability, and the best bit of all the characters of each kitten as he (or indeed she when there are girls in a litter) becomes able to appreciate that they have a will of their own - and believe me, some are waaaay more wilful than others! 

Maybe due to his larger size right from birth, despite being last out, Humphrey has made a point of being first and fastest particularly when food is around. First to the kitchen racing me and winning despite his little legs being microscopic in comparison to mine. He is most definitely first to eat (though Grogu has caught up in that department!) he is always first to finish. He was first to work out the adults get different food and when! But he is also most chilled. Maybe he is assured in his largeness! Of course being the only black kitten, maybe he already felt special, same colour as my mum! 

Then there’s Grogu who has grown into himself, in recent weeks. He is a greedy young man, brave in battle with his brothers, he is like a charging rhino, single minded & focussed. He is wilful, he has no qualms about voicing his displeasure when he thinks he is going to be prevented from achieving what he sets out to do. I’ve been told “heeeyyyyy” on a few occasions, mostly when redistribution of kittens around a food bowl is required (we will come back to that topic later!) 

Basil & Vincent might be smaller in stature, but they make up for it during duals whether they’re against each other or one of their brothers, or even their mum! Not that she takes any notice any more than they do. I think maybe it’s cunning, perhaps by crying (wolf) their opponent will loosen his grip or be distracted and when that occurs, the squealer takes his opportunity to strike. I did used to find the yells alarming, thinking that someone was being hurt, but as I watched I would see that the one yelling was also the antagonist, egging the other to rejoin the battle. It’s all play, it’s nature preparing them to be skilled hunters and fighters in the game that is survival of the cutest. I did type fittest but must have mistyped and instead the word cutest was put in. I left it because it made me smile. The fact that none of these boys will need to rely upon his abilities in hunting or fighting does not stop nature from driving kittens to go through the motions of learning those skills. 

Basil is a thinker and sometimes appears more happy in his own company, as it play is somehow beneath him and shrugs it off. He is often last to the bowl, or I’ll have had to go wake him as he has not heard my call (kittens! Kittens!) . He will often secure himself to leave mid meal not having had opportunity to deal with his bladder before being lifted from slumber & taxied to the kitchen. He returns and eats more, but satisfied, and Humphrey already gone, leaves Vincent & Grogu to it. 

Vincent, he is a dainty eater, he takes his sweet time. Even though Grogu wants to be last to leave, he can’t squeeze in another mouthful and goes, while Vincent unhurried, munches on. Around him, like waiting vultures, 3 adult cats are getting impatient, creeping forwards they’ll have the excuse that a morsel is on my otherwise clean floor, but getting brave they might sneak a nose over the edge of the bowl. I say the name and the naughty vulture will retreat, while Vincent munches on. He finishes (eventually) and shakes each back foot, then taking a couple of steps will arch and stretch before sauntering off. 

After food, if they don’t immediately sleep it off, play will commence, and particularly in the late evening this will include Floozy who runs with them encouraging them to race back & forth between rooms. My cats often race in the same way when kittens are not about and then very often I am run over the top of as I lay on my bed, Im used at times as some kind of springboard too.  There’s great interest in football skills, my laminate floor lending itself to this and the chase of the batter ball rather well. Mice of course, and climbing, jumping and hide n seek. The games I object to are those where kittens want to bite fingers (& toes) and I will always offer /use a toy as a play object rather than my hand so that they never get to think or have any expectation of fingers as being play things. My toes will be quickly pulled away and hidden under the blanket if they become interesting to a wakeful kitten!

I am unashamedly adding a video here which I captured after my shower this afternoon. It was about 5:30pm and the sun was coming into my bedroom window. The scene was so beautiful and I’m very aware that this scene is only going to be played out for a short time more. I hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did. I did however notice yet again my breathing as I listened back. The microphone is so sensitive I sound like I need to be on a ventilator! Apologies for that. I’m fine by the way!  

Why oh why?

When attending the vet recently I thought I’d purchase some of their clumping cat litter. I have a pal who uses it and gets on ok with it. I DO NOT know how. Terrible stuff. I should have listened to myself and gone to Bitiba as I usually do and invested in a decent quality litter. I have since done so and await its delivery. May it please arrive tomorrow so I can change it out at the earliest opportunity. Why do I do this to myself? I frequently go in to feed and scoop her boys when she goes away. I know her litter is rubbish quality. Lesson learned. Mind you, I do enjoy experimenting with litters. With varying results. 

Before Floozy I could happily use eco type corn or wood litters (always the clumping kind!) but Floozy is not keen. I very much like Tigerrino Fresh, a clumping silicate litter however, the grains are very fine and because our cats have very deep footpads it does travel with them despite top entry trays & litter mats etc. I’m currently using some multicat fine grained clay litters. They are due to the clay however quite heavy which with my back is a problem so I will likely go back to Tigerino. Scented litters are a gimmick  - maybe in a single cat household they are noticeably fragrancing or a smaller room might concentrate it a bit more. I look for tight clumping litter & advise litter is kept deep. This way, you can scoop under & lift a tight ball of soiled litter leaving very little break off. Silicate is said to seal the chemical that makes urine smell inside allowing the water content to evaporate and this antibacterial and also this works to petrify the poop. Not that it remains in the tray long . I try to keep right on top of it - which with (currently) 7 poopers, one of whom has a colitis issue (Floozy) means that I am kept rather busy especially at the two top entry trays currently in use. True to form, as soon as they are able to get up and into them (& back out) the kittens choose to use these too. When the new litter arrives I will add a third top entry tray there and will remove the open tray. The side entry one is visited now only when someone can’t wait and there’s a queue! The only thing that haven’t learned is how to go in /out of a litter tray door flap. I remove these as they are difficult for small learning babies to get to grips with amd by the time they would be big enough they’ve chosen the top entry trays anyway! 

A previous family who took 2 kittens in 2019, Karma & Lux a blue and black pair for the same litter (same parents as the current litter) where trained to use the toilet. It is something I’ve considered embarking on . You buy a kit with a system of rings that sit on the toilet seat, first moving the litter tray to the bathroom as close to the loo as possible, you then put litter in the full cover ring on the toilet seat and encourage the cats to use this. You progress through a series of rings about 3 more rings each with larger central holes thereby the cat is encouraged to learn to balance on the toilet seat squatting over the toilet. They can’t however lift a lid, nor can they flush! A Geberit toilet with a flush sensor might work which normally a person could trigger a flush by passing their hand in front of. Positioned well the cat passing it could do the same perhaps? 

This couple did a great job of removing the need for a litter tray, buying litter and scooping - that was until the man came home one evening with a tiny foundling kitten who of course needed a litter tray… the cats started to use the tray again. I believe this is because it’s instinctual to dig. Just before starting kittens onto their weaning I put a shallow litter tray in with them and they dig and squat with no training at all despite still being toileted at that stage by mum (& aunts), so the training they had undertaken was undone and the cats by choosing again to exhibit their natural behaviour had exhibited a choice. 

I’ve an auto scooping tray too. I used that with one cat but no way is it able to be cleaned just once a month. The idea is that the cat used the tray and a sensor knows they’ve exited. After a pause it rakes the (non clumping silicate) litter while raising a hopper lid into which it deposits poop before the rake returns again. The raking is “stirring” the silicate litter which is as you’ll recall designed to allow water in the urine to evaporate while keeping hold of and grabbing the amonia. I just didn’t find it that great. The cartridges are disposable which is meant to mean you never need scoop or touch the litter but they are expensive and don’t last a month. I bought a lm accessory allowing me to refill a plastic tray. It made it cheaper but I still needed to empty and clean a tray. For me it wasn’t a win. There are a couple of other auto trays which do get good reviews ~ the litter robot is one, and the litter genie is another. The genie you plumb into your toilet waste system. It has plastic beads as cat litter which are washed and dried at every use. Of them all this appeals to be most however, it does require an electrician and plumbers and space beside your toilet. The worrying aspect for me is that the plastic beads won’t all be permanent. Some will be stuck to poop and be flushed away. This has an oceanic environmental impact that I just can’t live with, despite never needing to buy regular cat litter (only “top up” beads).

The other kind of tray I had was one you manually rolled. A mechanism inside would as you turned it (once) filter out solids into a lined hopper draw leaving the cleaned litter after a rotation. The hopper could then be regularly changed. Hmmmm, looking at the mechanism which in it’s resting position is now over the top of kitty’s head, this was not a particularly clean system.  No. 

It’s the experience of that manual one that’s stopped me seeking out a robo litter box since this works by the rotation method. 

What about the litters that are flushable? I did use these for a time, following instructions I checked it was ok to do so and I duly began flushing. That was great. However, pretty soon the drainage outside was not doing so great and it become blocked. Despite carefully doing exactly as was prescribed.  That episode proved expensive. I don’t flush. 

So, of all the trays I’ve bought and tried,  I’ve gone back to standard scooping & the only adjustments I’ve stuck with are the top entry trays which satisfies the cats desire for privacy and to dig, looks attractive (I have Modkat in White & in Black and I have the cheaper and more utilitarian Savic as well). And I’m not using cheap litter again either. No. No and No.

On a more pleasant subject, there’s the fact that a certain two kittens have learned the sound of the auto food dispensers I use for Noodle & Floozy. Prune has a microchip feeder and is very good at eating in moderation however, Noodle, once spayed is prone to weight gain & though she had a microchip feeder too, and she also had diet food after a year on that she still gained weight. She has no self regulation. While I’m sure that we can all sympathise with that, she had become a wide load & I needed to do more to help her. I did this with the help of my first auto feeder. This allowed me to control when, how often and how much she ate. Finally she lost weight. A little too much and I’ve allowed some to be put back on. I need to reign that back again slightly which I’ll do over the winter. I added a second auto feeder to manage Floozy who has no off switch and is a very greedy madam. Again, I sympathise, but my job is caring for their health. She is on steroids and this makes her extra hungry so, the inability to have food all the time afforded by these is vital. These units allow you to record your voice (some models can be controlled via an app! ). I’ve tried to synchronise the two to go together but I’ve not quite got it right. This means that food drops in one, then about 29 seconds later, the recoding saved in the other plays before it dispenses. The sound of the food dropping to the stainless steel bowl is all the invitation Floozy needs. From wherever she is, before the last nugget has fallen she is there! Now she is joined by two other hungry hippos Humphrey and Grogu who as you can see, tuck in beside her. Dear Noodle, she sits out of the picture as she knows that here kittens eat first (though doesn’t realise that this means for their food not hers!) . So these to chaos are eating Natures Menu and a small quota of Orijen too! What a cheek! 

Yes, well spotted, unfortunately the water is right next to the food and this is not the correct textbook set up. Food and water should not be together. Sadly, I’m limited by the availability of electrical sockets. Sound familiar? 

A busy few days doing not a lot!

The cats n kittens of Naked Sphynx Cat Hampshire have been  busy these last few days, though mostly it’s been in filling & refilling their bellies & playing.

One of our lovely new families has a daughter called Rose who commented that “Basil is always eating” and she wanted pictures of his actual face. Always keen to oblige any requests, I fulfilled her wishes right away with a short video clip. However, right at that precise moment the chaps  were in full breakfast request mode & increasingly frustrated with me for the delay. First, there was no food in the actual kitchen, so they all ran after me to the hallway cupboard , promptly charging inside as I hauled out a carton of 4 boxes. Since they’d now all gone in and under the shelving I knew I’d not got a hope in hell of rounding them up and reclosing the door, so I left it open & returned to the kitchen, whereupon I’d lost Humphrey who must have stayed in the cupboard to explore, then stopped off to relieve himself n the way back. So, when I then began to video a short cli it was very much as case of  “hurry up, and stop faffing just open the pouches” . 

Im fully programmed to obey a demanding kitten, so promptly dispensed breakfast, standing guard as always to ensure that they get to eat it rather than the ganets, (oops I mean girls!). Humphrey had by now shown up and all four tucked in. Just for fun, I made Rose another video clip which by now featured my two dainty eaters Basil & Vincent (the harvesters Grogu & Humphrey having departed to playland). They might be dainty eaters, but they had very messy eating habits with food falling from their mouths. Chew it boys! 

Daughters are pretty awesome (if cheeky!) and there is a daughter in one of my other new families too, this one named Willow. She is busy on a project of making a memory scrapbook of Grogu’s little life collecting video & photos right from his arrival into the world. It’s heartwarming & fabulous just how much these handsome boys are loved by all of their new families already.  

Last night, the cats big & small all had their baths. It’s quite a mission doing 7 but as I’d had to cut the kittens claws a few days before (my legs were getting torn up a bit) that part was not needed for them again quite yet. Additionally, as I can do the little lads baths in the kitchen sink my back is able to cope a little better! Unless they somehow get themselves into any big mess, this was the last but one bath I will be giving these chaps too! Yikes, where is the time going??? 

The gents all behaved very well - not too wriggly. I’ve got a good routine going, filling a large bowl and the sink itself,  I can wet, then soap up using the draining board if necessary to ensure I can massage shampoo into every litter nook and cranny, then they go back in to the sink to rinse off most of the soap before receiving a final rinse in clean water to ensure no reside remains. I’m using Johnson’s baby shampoo (other brands are available) so it’s unlikely to irritate, but better to be safe. Next they are snugged up into a towel to dry before being made in a dry one into a tasty kitten burrito ready for the ear cleansing ritual to begin. Finally, though claws were already clipped, a baby wipe was is used to make sure all the little folds and creases under the claw sheath were free of clogged up oils that can’t be done easily in the bath. 

Next it was the turn of the girls, but they had already cottoned onto this fact. Now, I’m used to having to capture & wrangle Noodle & Prune, knowing all of their hiding places as they try to outsmart me. By now the chaps were either snoozing or playing & as I passed by the lounge I stoped to watch as two kittens played I spy in the cardboard box fort. Wait, what’s that???  Did I just spot the glint of large eye back there lurking in the darkness beyond the fort doorway? Reaching my arm in I found Prune who I then had to skilfully manoeuvre to extricate. Not easy but I won. The box was still heavy though! Oh, now I wonder why? 

I gave Prune her clean up. I use my wet room for the adults, sitting on the floor is much easier on my back than leaning over a bath trying to keep a hold of slippery cats (even with exfoliating gloves on they can be difficult to keep a hold of!) . Shampoo, rinse, towel burrito, nail cleanse and claw clipping then she was set free. Now for the next one… who would I capture first… silly Noodle, she has remained in the box, obviously not realising I had worked out it’s weight could only be her. The only mystery was how she got her big ol’ bottom in through the door in the first place! I reached in again. This extraction was harder than catfish tickling, but I got her and we began the process again.. Noodle used to grudgingly accept a wash but as she’s aged, and actually since the 4 month hiatus in bathing caused by my ankle break last year, she has been much much less accommodating unfortunately. Her nails are always frightful. Prune & Floozy keep theirs pretty clean but my goodness the congealed oils this girl accumulates deep in her nail beds and folds is unbelievable! Finally, her bath done, it was the easy capture of Floozy as she’s far too nosey ever to hide away! I do make the process as “pleasant” as possible treats (known here as kisses, I’ll tell you about that at some time!) come after a bath, and find it far batter to do the entire routine as one rather than bath one day, ears another, claws another still. Claw clipping some people do when their cats are sleeping but cleaning would defo rouse them (especially Madame Noodle who needs a full on spa level pedicure).

After their baths the two collared boys Basil & Vincent  were given brand new collars to wear then the entire selection of cat bedding (& mine) was changed to take advantage of their newly pristine status (& mine since I showered after becoming a wet in the process)

Vincent rather likes the washing machine and spends a lot of time being hypnotised by it. Just as well as there were now four new loads to go through. 

I have a guest bathroom (sounds posh, but isn’t!) which is where I dry my laundry, in winter it’s always really toasty in there and its all hidden away (who has guests nowadays?) The door is always kept closed so, what I want to know, when I went to hang towels this morning, is how and when exactly this happened ?

I know Prune is keen (yes she is still wondering about with toy mice!) but seriously, this is ridiculous!

Noodle says I don’t feature her shots nearly enough, so here is a couple of her… you won’t be surprised to see someone else getting in on the act though! 🤣🤣🤣