Another one (Spotty baby Update)

Sometime during the night Spotty went and brought yet another baby to
live on my patio, which brings the total up to four. This one is
another mostly white kit, with black/gray spots. So there's 3 who take
after momma, white with spots, and the one B/W tux kitty who rubbed up
against white paint and smudged his tuxedo. Two of the spotted ones
are B/W, the other one is almost all white, with orange and black ears
and tail.

Good thing I don't have a camera, since these guys are all so cute KF
would be rampant if I were posting pix. When I got up this morning
they were rough housing with each other on the patio. I went out and
put out a can of food and dry food and the kits all vanished until I
went and sat down in the chair 15 feet away. They all came out and
helped Spot devour the food (well, they devoured the wet and licked
the dry), so they're all well on the way to being weaned. That was
followed by a kitty version of stacking as they all climbed on top of
Momma Spot to nap.

She put up with that for awhile, then nature called and she had to go
dig a hole. I stayed out until she was back, then came inside. Course
they all ran and hid when I got up, but I can see them through the
glass doors. She's given them all a bath, and now the three who were
here when I went to bed are napping in the carrier, and the newest
arrival is sleeping on Spotty.

Looks like she may be planning on keeping them here, which is fine
with me, but may interfer with the other regular visitors to the
outside food. When I went to bed I was kind of expecting to hear
Spotty chasing off others coming to eat, but putting food out at each
of the regular approaches to the patio seemed to work OK.
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy and Little Bit

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html

They sound like a beautiful family. Thank you for caring for
them now and when they are ready for forever homes. As
Christine said, please let us know if you need donations to
vet or neuter them.

Debbie



Steve Touchstone wrote:

Sometime during the night Spotty went and brought yet another baby to
live on my patio, which brings the total up to four. This one is
another mostly white kit, with black/gray spots. So there's 3 who take
after momma, white with spots, and the one B/W tux kitty who rubbed up
against white paint and smudged his tuxedo. Two of the spotted ones
are B/W, the other one is almost all white, with orange and black ears
and tail.

Good thing I don't have a camera, since these guys are all so cute KF
would be rampant if I were posting pix. When I got up this morning
they were rough housing with each other on the patio. I went out and
put out a can of food and dry food and the kits all vanished until I
went and sat down in the chair 15 feet away. They all came out and
helped Spot devour the food (well, they devoured the wet and licked
the dry), so they're all well on the way to being weaned. That was
followed by a kitty version of stacking as they all climbed on top of
Momma Spot to nap.

She put up with that for awhile, then nature called and she had to go
dig a hole. I stayed out until she was back, then came inside. Course
they all ran and hid when I got up, but I can see them through the
glass doors. She's given them all a bath, and now the three who were
here when I went to bed are napping in the carrier, and the newest
arrival is sleeping on Spotty.

Looks like she may be planning on keeping them here, which is fine
with me, but may interfer with the other regular visitors to the
outside food. When I went to bed I was kind of expecting to hear
Spotty chasing off others coming to eat, but putting food out at each
of the regular approaches to the patio seemed to work OK.
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy and Little Bit

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html

"Steve Touchstone" wrote in message
...
Sometime during the night Spotty went and brought yet another baby to
live on my patio, which brings the total up to four. This one is
kitten snip

Purrs for spot and all kittens and for you of course.
Hope you get them all sorted out.

But get a camera!! I want to see them! =)

Best
Lena
--
lewe
lewemi at yahoo dot se | cats' pics: photos.yahoo.com/lewemi

On Wed, 11 May 2005 11:43:55 -0400, Debra Berry
wrote:

They sound like a beautiful family. Thank you for caring for
them now and when they are ready for forever homes. As
Christine said, please let us know if you need donations to
vet or neuter them.

Thanks for the offer, and I'll keep that in mind. I've had a couple
days to get a closer look at Spotty. In the past I only saw Spotty in
passing, and that was usually in the dark. I now see she has a bite on
her front shoulder that needs to be looked after. Looks like an abcess
that has burst - you know the ugly look when the wound hasn't been
treated and starts oozing and losing hair around the wound site.

Yet another reason why I question the wisdom of finding Spotty's legal
home. Just how good a home is it where they leave a momma cat outside
24/7, letting bites abcess and go untreated? Watching Spot, I'm
guessing she was bitten trying to run off some cat who got too close
to her babies. I'm leaning towards just getting them vetted/speutered
and into good homes. May not be the legal way to go, but I think best
for this little family. I'll see what my vet says tomorrow when Sammy
goes in for her checkup.

Right now I think it may be fairly easy to round up the kits. They've
taken to sleeping/hiding in the carrier, so it may work out that all
I'd have to do is wait for all four to get in the carrier and shut the
door. The problem would be having Spot decide this isn't a safe place
for them, and moving the family when I bring them home from being
vetted. And, even if she doesn't move them, the kits may decide the
carrier isn't the safest hiding place. If that happens, I may be
looking for advice on the best way to trap kits. I think they'd go
into a trap, but how sensitive are those traps? Does a 9-10 week old
kit weigh enough to spring the trap, and would the others learn to
avoid it when they see their siblings caught? Oh well, that's in the
future, and may not be a factor if I succeed in socializing the kits.

I've only been around two litters as an adult. Watching Spot and her
kits, it really strikes me how different they act than LB and her
kits. At the same age LB's babes were utterly fearless, while just
about anything startles Spot's babes, sending them into hiding. When
LB's babes saw a hoomin sit down (not just me, but any hoomin) it was
taken as an invitation to climb all over said hoomin. Spot's kits
instantly run and hide upon seeing/hearing a hoomin. It's really sad
when you stop and think that Spot's babies are reacting that way
because someone is letting them grow up in the OUT. They're acting
that way because Spot has taught them that it's the way to react to
the many real dangers to small kittens growing up in the OUT.

Yep, I've just about talked myself into a catnapping. These guys
DESERVE a better hand than they've been dealt.
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy and Little Bit

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html

On Wed, 11 May 2005 19:44:48 +0200, "lewe"
wrote:

"Steve Touchstone" wrote in message
.. .
Sometime during the night Spotty went and brought yet another baby to
live on my patio, which brings the total up to four. This one is
kitten snip

Purrs for spot and all kittens and for you of course.
Hope you get them all sorted out.

I'm definitely working on it.

But get a camera!! I want to see them! =)

But then I'd be blamed for spreading KF ;-) They certainly are
something watch, as are any 9 week old kits are. Just now I looked out
the window to see the three mostly white kits investigating things
only kittens can see on the patio. Meanwhile Spot is giving their
sibling's stomach a good washing. Course he/she is squirming to get
away, but momma has a paw on his chest to hold her/him down. Just
looked out again and bathtime is over. Little Shadow, the tuxie, has
decided to lick the dry food, while the others are rough housing -
Little Goopy Eye just tackled Shadow from behind, resulting in a
wrestling match - Little Orange Ear is now biting Spotty's tail - I
don't see #4 right now - doesn't matter as they've all moved on to
other things as I typed this. Ah, the trials and tribulations of being
a kitten (or a momma cat).

And, yes, I know the dangers of giving them names. I need to call them
something, don't I? Shadow just sort of introduced himself - he
sometimes shadows Momma when she walks around - think those films of
dolphins or flocks of birds whose every movement seems to be
synchronized. He glues himself to her side, walking along so that
their tails are about even. When the others walk around with Momma
they frisk about investigating things, but he sticks by her side. Who
needs TV when there's 9 week old kits to watch? ;-)
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy and Little Bit

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html

I seriously doubt Spotty has a "real" home.

"Steve Touchstone" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 11 May 2005 11:43:55 -0400, Debra Berry
wrote:

They sound like a beautiful family. Thank you for caring for
them now and when they are ready for forever homes. As
Christine said, please let us know if you need donations to
vet or neuter them.

Thanks for the offer, and I'll keep that in mind. I've had a couple
days to get a closer look at Spotty. In the past I only saw Spotty in
passing, and that was usually in the dark. I now see she has a bite on
her front shoulder that needs to be looked after. Looks like an abcess
that has burst - you know the ugly look when the wound hasn't been
treated and starts oozing and losing hair around the wound site.

Yet another reason why I question the wisdom of finding Spotty's legal
home. Just how good a home is it where they leave a momma cat outside
24/7, letting bites abcess and go untreated? Watching Spot, I'm
guessing she was bitten trying to run off some cat who got too close
to her babies. I'm leaning towards just getting them vetted/speutered
and into good homes. May not be the legal way to go, but I think best
for this little family. I'll see what my vet says tomorrow when Sammy
goes in for her checkup.

Right now I think it may be fairly easy to round up the kits. They've
taken to sleeping/hiding in the carrier, so it may work out that all
I'd have to do is wait for all four to get in the carrier and shut the
door. The problem would be having Spot decide this isn't a safe place
for them, and moving the family when I bring them home from being
vetted. And, even if she doesn't move them, the kits may decide the
carrier isn't the safest hiding place. If that happens, I may be
looking for advice on the best way to trap kits. I think they'd go
into a trap, but how sensitive are those traps? Does a 9-10 week old
kit weigh enough to spring the trap, and would the others learn to
avoid it when they see their siblings caught? Oh well, that's in the
future, and may not be a factor if I succeed in socializing the kits.

I've only been around two litters as an adult. Watching Spot and her
kits, it really strikes me how different they act than LB and her
kits. At the same age LB's babes were utterly fearless, while just
about anything startles Spot's babes, sending them into hiding. When
LB's babes saw a hoomin sit down (not just me, but any hoomin) it was
taken as an invitation to climb all over said hoomin. Spot's kits
instantly run and hide upon seeing/hearing a hoomin. It's really sad
when you stop and think that Spot's babies are reacting that way
because someone is letting them grow up in the OUT. They're acting
that way because Spot has taught them that it's the way to react to
the many real dangers to small kittens growing up in the OUT.

Yep, I've just about talked myself into a catnapping. These guys
DESERVE a better hand than they've been dealt.
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy and Little Bit

[remove Junk for email]
Home Page: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/index.html
Cat Pix: http://www.sirinet.net/~stouchst/animals.html

Steve Touchstone wrote:
Sometime during the night Spotty went and brought yet another baby to
live on my patio, which brings the total up to four. This one is
another mostly white kit, with black/gray spots. So there's 3 who take
after momma, white with spots, and the one B/W tux kitty who rubbed up
against white paint and smudged his tuxedo. Two of the spotted ones
are B/W, the other one is almost all white, with orange and black ears
and tail.



I'm so glad that she's bringing them to where she knows they'll be cared
for. As for JPGS, why should we have all the fun. Get pictures of them
ASAP so we can all squeal with delight and want them.

Pam S.

Steve Touchstone wrote:


Yep, I've just about talked myself into a catnapping. These guys
DESERVE a better hand than they've been dealt.


Go for it, Steve. We'll be purring and sending onetruehome thoughts for
you to catch, tame, and get them into good families.

Pam, Rob, and the Fayetteville Six + Kittens and Speedy the d-thing

Thank you for taking such good care of the kitty family.
Best wishes,
--
Polonca & Soncek

"Steve Touchstone" wrote in message
...
Sometime during the night Spotty went and brought yet another baby to
live on my patio, which brings the total up to four. This one is
another mostly white kit, with black/gray spots. So there's 3 who take
after momma, white with spots, and the one B/W tux kitty who rubbed up
against white paint and smudged his tuxedo. Two of the spotted ones
are B/W, the other one is almost all white, with orange and black ears
and tail.

Good thing I don't have a camera, since these guys are all so cute KF
would be rampant if I were posting pix. When I got up this morning
they were rough housing with each other on the patio. I went out and
put out a can of food and dry food and the kits all vanished until I
went and sat down in the chair 15 feet away. They all came out and
helped Spot devour the food (well, they devoured the wet and licked
the dry), so they're all well on the way to being weaned. That was
followed by a kitty version of stacking as they all climbed on top of
Momma Spot to nap.
snip

Steve Touchstone wrote:
Yep, I've just about talked myself into a catnapping. These guys
DESERVE a better hand than they've been dealt.

I agree, Steve. You're such a good person for caring about them. About
trapping the kittens, didn't you say they were sleeping in the carrier?
Do you think, if they get more used to it, that you might one day sneak
up and just close the door on them, if all of them happened to be
inside? Would take a lot of luck and the exact right opportunity, of course.

--
Marina, Frank, Nikki, and Mere
marina (dot) kurten (at) pp (dot) inet (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki