CAT FOUNTAIN

1. The cat fountain.

It's called a fountain but really it's a waterfall. A small pump sucks the water up to the top level which then drops down into a larger one just below and the water is then channeled down a small chute.  Which is rather obvious from the photos. It also aerates the water to keep it fresh for longer. It was mentioned to me by a visitor who said that her cats loved it. I have to confess that, after nearly a week, it's yet to attract much attention from my cats who use it more when the pump is switched off.

2. Frank.

You can see him above with Aelfric. He's very much an alpha cat, or at least he thinks he is, and often bullies some of my others. He particularly went for Gilgamesh (see recent posts) which was why Gil wet my bed (which I didn't make completely clear in the post itself). As far as people goes, he is very friendly and likes sitting on knees. Just over a week and he's off to our re-homing centre.

3. Jeff's kittens.

Six weeks old now and all are on solid food. Tinned tuna is their favourite but they also eat small amounts of dried kitten (as in food not dried kittens), boiled chicken, and sachets of moist kitten food as well as still nursing from Jeff. They are very playful and this afternoon all of them ventured into the living room when I opened the door. The ginger kitten is a gorgeous fluffy bundle but he's also the most wary of the four, while the black and white is the boldest, closely followed by Tabby 1, who both like engaging with me.

4. Cat re-homing.

After a moderately busy start to the month, things went completely dead. Very disappointing, though a member of the committee is very interested in Gilgamesh if she can find somewhere for him to stay while she's away on her frequent short trips. Guess who volunteered? I'd have liked to have kept him but if she does  decide to take him then I know beyond a doubt he's going to a good home, plus I get to see him quite often and it's one less cat in my cat-crowded house.

5. And that is it...

...for May, a month in which I've published a record number of posts in this blog.

WHAT IS GINGER, BLACK, WHITE AND HAS STRIPES?

And if you don't know the answer to that then you're new to this blog.

The answer is, of course: Jeff's kittens.

And here are some new photos of them at five weeks and six days old.

 

They're coming along nicely now. The black and white and one of the tabbies actively seek me out to play with me while the other two are more reserved. They're still not eating much in the way of solid food, though all four do like tuna. Although they can be re-homed at eight weeks old, I think I'll keep them a little longer to see how they develop on the feeding front.

HELP ME! I CAN'T STOP POSTING KITTEN PHOTOS

But when they're as cute as these, who would want me to?

They're still not really on solid food yet but as they're healthy enough I'm not too concerned. A couple of them now positively respond to me, either seeking me out or rolling over to be tummy-rubbed.  I've opened the conservatory door so they can start interacting with my other cats to help their socialisation if they end up in a multi-cat household.

Update.

Frank, the two year old black and white cat, I took in yesterday is doing well. After he howled so much about being stuck in the cage, I let him out when I went to bed but ready to jump at the first sound of trouble. There wasn't any. He wanders about the house as if he'd been here for weeks, comes up to me to be stroked, sits in my spot on the settee, and is completely none-aggressive towards the other cats. He's an excellent candidate for re-homing as I think he'd settle in anywhere.   

He's just come up to me and miaowed to let me know he's there and wants to be stroked. Now he's jumped up onto the computer desk so I can do a better job. Definitely a very nice and very re-homeable cat.                                                           

His pee still stinks because he was only neutered yesterday but that will have gone by the time he leaves here. Thankfully.

Gilgamesh seems happy enough to stay in my bedroom. I'm thinking of changing his name to the more manageable Ossy as in Ocicat -Ossy Cat. Or should I spell it Ossi?

If I change Frank's name to Francis then I'll have two cats called Francis and Ossi! Oh well, Status Quo fans will get the joke.

A QUIET WEEK

No photos either. Not because I haven't been taking any but because my desktop is still acting up (see previous post). I'm taking it to the repair shop this morning but I've a feeling I'm going to need a new one which will involved a load of hassle transferring data and settings and replacing software and the horror of new passwords and all that crap.

Muddy now seems well on the way to recovery and is eating moderately well, though he prefers the special and expensive convalescent cat food from the vets. He also likes cat milk a lot which is fine in limited quantities but not as a substitute for water and is also expensive. Barring any lapses. I'm taking him to his new long-term fosterers tomorrow which I'm hoping will work out. I'll take him back any time if it doesn't and, to be honest, I'm going to miss him.

The kittens are well into exploring the conservatory and actively playing with each other. They're also into the still wobbly adorable impossibly cute bundles of fluff stage which precedes the less adorable wreck everything in sight they can get their claws into stage. I'm handling them regularly so they no longer react in the scream! it's the giant hands again! phase and don't mind being picked up. I'm pretty certain they're going to be properly socialised by the time it comes to make them available for homing in about four weeks. Anybody want to come and view them with an eye to reserving one or more?

On the re-homing front, Kiki was re-homed last Sunday, new arrivals Angelica and Rasputin are reserved, and I'm showing a couple around at lunchtime today which will hopefully result in an adoption.

All being well, by the next post all computer problems will be  resolved, there'll be lots of cute kitten photos and more good re-homing news.

GOOD DAY SATURDAY: MUDDY AND JEFF'S KITTENS, AN UPDATE

No photos as, when I needed to free up space on my hard disc and tried to do it by deleting duplicate files, among other problems, I found myself unable to access Picasa for the pictures I needed.

Dusty the kitten-cat.

At lunchtime I bid a tear-suppressed goodbye to little Dusty who went off with his two new owners, my sadness at his departure not really balanced by the fact I was sure he'd be well looked after and happy in his new home.

Muddy Waters.

With regard to Muddy, the shaven frail and skinny elderly long haired grey cat, he spent his second night here on my bed about six inches away from me. He does seem to be a quiet nice natured cat who likes people and likes gentle displays of affection. However, he consistently vomited up all kinds of food -Felix sachets and boiled chicken- not all of it but enough to give me cause for concern. This lunchtime, around 12, I tried him with microwaved fish which, seven hours later he's managed to keep down which is something I find very encouraging. I'll give him some more when I've finished this post.

The big surprise came in an email yesterday afternoon. I'd been having my usual nap but with Muddy next to me and got up to check the football results to see how badly Sunderland had been beaten by Manchester United, though I hoped they might have got some kind of result unlikely as it seemed. I checked my emails first and found one from someone offering to give Muddy a home. I'd put him on the available list more in hope than expectation; the expectation being that he'd spend the rest of his life with me.

That's about as unlikely as Sunderland winning away at MU, I thought. Not wanting to let the person -a young woman called Victoria who sounded promising- get away, I replied at once. That done, I checked the football results and Sunderland had beaten MU at Old Trafford for the first time since 1968 and all but secured their Premiership survival when once it looked an absolute certainty they'd get demoted to the Championship. Miracles, I reflected, do happen.

Muddy was sick a little during the night, thankfully not on my bed, and again in the morning when he threw up everything he'd eaten of the Felix sachet. I decided it would be best if I kept him a few more days and if the vomiting didn't stop get him to vets when they opened on Tuesday morning after the bank holiday weekend. I emailed Victoria telling her this but adding she was still welcome to come and see him if she hadn't changed her mind.

She hadn't and did.

Muddy shied away from her at first and came close to me as I sat on the side of the bed but within a few minutes he began to respond to her. Victoria did get a bit of a surprise when she saw how skinny and furless he was, the photos not having done him justice, but she quickly got over it and was soon taken with him. 

To cut a long story short as we spent some time with him, Victoria still wanted to take him and I was happy that she'd give him a good home. When he goes depends on a couple of things: he manages to keep his food and the blood tests he had at the vets included FIV and FIP.  All being well, he could go with her by mid-week. So, fingers crossed that Muddy's story has a happy end to it.

Jeff's Kittens.

Not much to say about them really. Every day they get cuter and cuter and they have begun to leave the confines of the cat carrier for a few minutes at a time. They're still wobbly on their legs but their eyes are focussed as they concentrate on what's going on around them.

JEFF'S KITTENS: DAY 20

They still aren't venturing beyond the bounds of their cat carrier home but they're beginning to actually look at things so it won't be long before they do. They've also begun consciously interacting with each other, licking and biting, Jeff now actually seeks out my knee and will sit there purring contentedly. 

They almost got some companions as I've just picked up a cat and her newly born kittens from a lady who found them in her outhouse but Andrea's taken them.

Tomorrow, or Saturday at the latest, expect a more lengthy post about the distressed grey cat featured in the previous post. By then it will be in a cage in my bedroom.

On Saturday I'll be bidding a tearful goodbye to Dusty the six-month old kitten-cat, who started out as a little monster but quickly became the sweetest cuddle-loving kitten-cat I've ever known, when he goes to his new home. I told the nice young couple who're taking him that I'd have him back any time. Really, any time!

For now, freshly-taken cute 20-day old kitten photos.

JEFF'S KITTENS: DAY 17

As you'll see below, they are starting to look like proper kittens. Their eyes are wide open and they are beginning to look around. So far they haven't gone outside the boundary of their immediate environment -specifically the cat carrier where they've lived since I first picked them up scant hours after they were born but the next photos I take will show just that and I don't think it will be long.

Jeff continues to be a good diligent mother but just now when I went in and picked her up, she settled on my knee and purred while I stroked her, showing no signs of wanting to get up and check the kittens for at least ten minutes. This just confirms what I thought about her being a lovely friendly cat, albeit one who needs a good brush to judge from the hairs I'm covered in.