The Week in Kitten - 13 January 2013

This week was filled with more freedom, play time and vet visits.

Bailey spent most of the week out of her little tiny room, which she seemed to love. She even has slept in the rest of the house more nights than not! Not surprisingly, she loves her new found freedom. She can bound up and down the stairs with ease and uses the big cat box just as easily as her little baby box. She’s pretty brave and has learned all of the best places to hide before pouncing!

Bailey has been getting along quite well with the other cats. She seems quite fascinated by them! However, the cats still haven’t completely warmed up to her. They are getting better…slowly. She often looks at them with a look of excitement and wonder. In return, she receives the occasional unhappy glare and hiss, but she is not deterred…yet. Mini seems to be getting along the best with this new little fuzz ball. Surprisingly, the normally hermit-like Chloe is also doing pretty nicely as well. Chloe still hisses at my last set of kittens. Emma has probably shown the most improvement by going from constantly hissing, to only once in awhile making it known that she is unhappy to no longer be the baby of the family. Moxie still hisses and growls, but not as frequently, and she has never actually acted against this new little irritant. It seems that things are moving in the right direction on the cat front.

Cooperation?!?!

Mini & Bailey working it out

Emerson (Emma) and Bailey battle for a mouse!

As for Barclay, things are going quite well! The two are learning to play with one another, but there’s a definite learning curve. Barclay will often get overly excited by the chance play with another four legged creature and almost run over her, or nip at her in hopes of keeping her close. Naturally, that frightens Bailey and she tries to hide. Typically, after a brief stint of hiding, she will then pounce when Barclay least expects it. Then they chase each other until Barclay gets too excited, ensuing a reboot of the cycle! It’s great fun to watch them and they seem to be having fun figuring each other out.

Two peas in a pod?

On Tuesday, she seemed quite lethargic and also seemed to be constipated, so I took her to the vet later that afternoon. They didn’t find any clear signs of trouble, but gave her some IV fluids to ensure that she was not getting dehydrated. They said to keep in touch, but didn’t see any reason for serious concern. She seemed to feel better by Wednesday, but she had also developed slightly loose stools. (Gross, but those are the facts! Sorry for revealing them online Bailey!) On Thursday, she seemed a bit quiet again and didn’t touch her breakfast. Back to the vet we go! At least she’s pretty good in the car, and she’s very good at the vet. She had gained almost an ounce (when you’re in the high 2lb range that’s significant J) and still seemed to be healthy. They took some blood and sent her on her way. The blood work didn’t really show much, but they want to give her a couple more medicines for a few days, as well as some vitamins. At this point, she seems to be doing ok, just not quite as active as she once was. My guess is that it is because she can run around and play whenever she wants and isn’t saving up all her energy for the times when she’s allowed out of her room. Like anyone else, she needs a rest once in a while! So I think she’s ok, and her cold seems to be pretty much gone! J

Let’s see. What else? I’ve been trying to brush her every few days. Her coat doesn’t seem to require much maintenance, despite being long. That’s great in my eyes because I am not the biggest fan of having to brush an animal daily! J I had read that rag doll cats do not require frequent grooming and are supposedly hypo-allergenic as well, which, in addition to the typical temperament, is part of what sold me on the breed…or mix in Bailey’s case – I think! J I also trimmed her claws for the first time this week and she was pretty good about it. Like all cats, she didn’t love it, but she tolerated it. I also bit the bullet and ordered a new cat tree because Bailey keeps trying to chew on the loose bits of rope from the current one. The old one is also just scratched to death and covered in loose carpet bits and deeply embedded cat hair – in other words, it looks gross! J The other cats love that one, so I’m hoping they take to the new one. Knowing cats, they will despise it and I will have wasted a nice chunk of change and ruined their favorite jungle gym! J

Well loved & well used, but kitten friendly?

And there you have the Week in Kitten!

Sausage is made of what now?

You're joking, right?

Mustache kitten is not amused!