Choices, choices, choices!

We have such finicky babies...I am running out of wetfood flavors that I can serve without getting bad looks such as "And what is this mom?"  They hate Wellness.  Sweet Pea used to eat the turkey but then he developed acne from it and we stopped giving it to him.  They do like NB but only three flavors Ultra, salmon and Turkey and Gibblet.  They do like the Weruva fish but I am reluctant to feed them fish on a regular basis.  Chloe will not touch Weruva Chicken.  And since they get 2/3 of their diet in wet food, this gets a bit challenging.

Leo will eat anything I put in front of him:)

Frankie too...This little boy licks his plate so clean that I could put it right back in the cupboard and forget the washing:)  He finally knows that all his needs are met and he feels safe in his room.  His nails are long and we have to start working with him so that he gets used to have his paws and claws handled. 

This morning when I left his room I let him touch noses with Chloe, it was so sweet to watch them.  He managed to put his paw out and touched Chloe.  She did not like it becuase he had his claws extended and they are sharp.  So, we definitely need to get them trimmed. 

Digging and more...

Frankie makes a mess with the litter.  He has a covered box and an uncovered box in his room and he uses them both.  Our other kitties have covered boxes and we wanted to see if Frankie does OK with covered boxes too.  Well, whether he is using the covered or uncovered box, he digs to China and back and throws piles of litter outside the box.  Somehow we need to teach him to keep the litter in the box!

I know some people use big storage bins as  litter boxes since one can control the height of the entry, so that might be an option, we will see.  The problem is they are so bulky...

We have also been talking about switching to natural litter (wheat or corn).  I need to do some research on it and find out how kitties and hoomans like it.  Will keep you posted.

Lap time!

Last night when I went to visit Frankie I was too tired to play with him.  So I gave him his snack and told him I would just hang out in his room, so I just sat on the sofa.  He started eating but as soon as he saw me sit down, he stopped eating, chirped something and came running to my lap.  He is long and lanky and does not fully fit on my lap since he does not want to curl up, so his bum kept falling off my thigh.  I ended up supporting it with my hand and he eventually found a comfortable position and stretched out his front paws and neck and rested his face on my thigh.  So cute and so loving!  Then he nibbled at my hand for a while and we just sat quietly together enjoying the closeness...

This weekend we are putting the baby gates up to start the introduction process.  Dear Universe and Angels of all Cats please help us so that things work out and everybody can coexist in peace!  We will take it very slow, after all everything is at their pace not ours. 

Sleek and slender Frankie

Frankie is doing very well settling in his new life.  I just went to clean his litter boxes and brought him two new toys, a wolly bully and a mouse with catnip (the kind that has a pocket you can refill).  He went crazy over the catnip mouse, a good crazy and he must be exhausted now...I have been hearing him for the past 20 min running through the room, twirling and kicking the poor toy.  He is hilarious:)

Last night I was on the patio checking the flower pots and guess who started talking to me from his kitty tree?  Yep, it was Frankie Frankie saying "when are going to come and play with me already?"...

In a couple of weeks we are going to have roof work done and I have been concerned about all our kids and noise.  Is going to be difficult but the work needs to be done and it will take approx. 3 days.  We talked about boarding at the vets everybody except Sweet Pea who is our former feral, and then we decided against it - we figured the stress of change in the environment they know is far less than the stress of a completely new environment...

Cuddle kitty boy!

Frankie is a cuddler!  Yesterday I rested on the sofa in his room and he thoughtfully watched me from the distance, then promptly jumped up and settled on my chest.  It was such a sweet and unexpected gift!  He stayed on my chest for a few minutes, purring and nudging my hand for pets, then moved up on his kitty tree.  He continued to look at me with big round inquisitive eyes from the top condo.

I wish we could spend more time with him ever day, but we can't.  When we socialized our former feral Sweet Pea, I spent a great deal of time with him every day and Leo was very upset about it.  This made the intros more difficult.  We have to take baby steps with introducing new kitties in our family.  I am jealous of those households where people just bring new kitties in  and expose them right away to the resident cats with no problems.

We will wait for a couple of weeks to put the baby gates up, and meanwhile we will work on the scent swapping and reassuring the rest of the gang that all is well and their life is as wonderful as ever.

Time to go and play a little with Frankie!

Frankie and Da Bird

Last night after dinner I took a new Da Bird up for Frankie.  His hunting instinct kicked in right away.  He hissed a couple of times at the feathers (I used the original feather toy) and he was all worked up about catching the bird.  I had him run through the room, up and down the kitty tree and jump in the air (he can leap almost as good as Tubi).  After about 10 min he was panting and breathing heavy.  So, I stopped for the night although he was dissapointed...

I too was dissapointed in the quality of the feathers.  Da Bird usually uses quail feathers in their toys, but this one had the heavy turkey feathers just like the immitators of Da Bird are using.  I bought the entire toy (stick and refill) at our local pet store since I wanted to play with him right away.  We usually order their toys online.  Hopefully, our regular vendor has the traditional qualiry feather refills which fly much better in the air.

Of course, once a very excited kitty chews or grabs the feathers, the toy is pretty much done but what can one do about?  Just buy some more...

Update on Frankie

Frankie is doing very well.  He seems to be adjusting well to his room and he is very quiet, with the occasional vocalizing when he looks out side the window or gets very lonely.  He loves his food!  And he loved his doughnut bed, and spends most of his time in it.  This concerns me a little, because I am not sure if he is a bit depressed or just a very laid back little boy.

He enjoys petting and started to reciprocate to my affection.  I don't think I have ever met or handled a more docile and sweet kitty.  After he eats he comes and headbumps my hand and rubs his cheeks on it.  I guess "I am his":).  I introduced him to some toys but he does not play much on his own.  So tonight I will entice him with Da Bird and see how he reacts.  While I am playing with him in his room, Joe will be playing with the other four babies so that nobody gets jealous.

Tubi wants so badly to meet Frankie...He hangs out at Frankie's door.  He did the same thing when we socialized and introduced Sweet Pea.

We have exchanged scents and are now feeding Leo and Sweet Pea on a towel that carries Frankie's scent and so far so good.  I can't believe we have five kitties again, and it all happened so fast!

Frankie, the new kitty in the Isaac residence

For the past couple of months we have been feeding a stray black kitty boy in our backyard.  He is very very chatty, skinny and very subdued.  The plan was to catch him or trap him and have him TNR.  Well, plans have changed.  A week and a half ago he stopped coming in for food for two days.  When we saw him again he was sick; was not chatting at all, looked letargic and just picked at his food.  So, we got him in at the vets for a physical and neuter.  They confirmed he was running a fever and boarded him until he was OK for the neuter.  He is approx. 1 1/2 years old.

I contacted every cat rescue group in our area and offered a donation, but nobody would take him in.  They are all over capacity with kittens and adult cats.  As we all know, black cats are not easy to adopt out.

We just did not have the heart to put him out so...he is ours.  He has been recovering in his room from the viral infection.  Thank God that he eats very well, drinks his water and uses his litter box like a champ.  He does vocalize sometimes, missing the outdoors and I know he is stressed from this major change in his life.

We will take it very slow with him, letting him getting used to his room and new life etc and later on we will start the intros with the other babies.  For now, I started the scent exchange process.

Oh, and his name is Frankie and I am certain that our sweet RB Sammy told him there is a vacancy at the Isaac Hotel:)

Summer is here!

For the past three days the temperatures have been in the 90's.  Even with the AC on, the kitties have been sluggish and did nothing but slept all day long.  I can totally understand, all that fur must keep them so warm.  They have been hanging out in front of the vents, exposing their bellies to the cool air, so cute.

Chloe who is our long hair baby must be the warmest of them all. 

Last night we took Da Bird and The Kittenator out for some interactive playing, and they played for just a few minutes and then looked at us " But we are tireeeeeeed" and plopped themselves on the floor.  Usually they run themselves exhausted when we have these toys out.