Escape!

As the weeks go by Charlotte is more and more intent on getting out into the garage.  Of all the closed doors, it's the one door she really can't leave along.  She starts crying as soon as we get home (announced by the garage door opener) and is poised, ready to bolt into the garage.

We've mostly learned to open the door ready to scoop her up as we go into the house.  It's harder as we leave - how do you watch your back, open the door, go down the stairs, watch your back, close the door, and constantly watch the kitten who is intent on finding out what is beyond that damned door?  Part of the problem, besides her persistence, is that this door opens out, not in.  With the doors to the outside the door sweeps her away from the door as it opens. 

One time (so far) she managed to get past us.  Raising the garage door a few minutes and lowering it again right away - to get the opener noise to scare here - didn't work at all (that used to send Charlie scrambling to get back to the safety of the house).  Her interest in the garage hasn't waned in the least.  We will want her to patrol the garage at some point, to keep the mice from coming in.  But, she's still just a baby, so we don't want her to be out there yet.  And there are too many places to explore and hide where we can't easily reach her to rescue her if she gets in trouble.

She continues to be mostly very polite about sleeping arrangements.  Sometimes the sleeps in the closet or somewhere else, but for the most part, she sleeps with us and doesn't wake us until around 7am.  If we don't respond "appropriately" she sometimes even goes away and lets us sleep (or try to) some more. 

Her communication is pretty clear.  Simple, but clear.  Little tiny sounds to encourage us to start (or stop) stroking her.  Loud and insistent when we get near the cutting board or fridge.  It didn't take her long to figure out those places most often mean there's going to be food.

She's getting better about how she shares our dinner.  She feels she needs to try our food, but we're teaching her to stay back a bit and not try to climb into our plates (the first few times was hilarious but very frustrating).  Now, we feed her tidbits off to the side and it works for all of us.

Contact!

She may have done it before, but today I saw it for the first time.  Charlotte walked up to Max and rubbed her face on his face.  He didn't really react, but she's trying to make contact.  She's not content to be ignored. 

I don't think Max & Charlotte will have the same relationship that Max and Charlie had.  Charlie would sort of harass Max from time to time, but most of the time they just tolerated each other.  We'll see how Charlotte drives this relationship over the long haul.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Wherever you are, whatever you're doing today, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. 

We're thankful Max is still with us and still having good days.

We're thankful for Charlotte (most of the time; after all, she's still a kitten)

We're thankful for snow - that makes it possible to go snowmobiling

We're thankful for our family and friends

We're thankful we're still healthy enough to enjoy the kind of life we live.

Cheap Toy

Charlotte has a new toy that cost us next nothing.  Because she's a curious and smart little kitty, I thought she might like an "exploration" toy.  I sealed a jingly ball ($2 for 6 at the grocery store) in a cardboard box that brought an online purchase to us.  Then I cut a few holes in it - big enough for her paw, too small for the ball to come out.

Then, all I had to do was jingle it a few time by rolling the ball back and forth so she'd hear it.  She had already been making a project of the tissue box, reaching in and messing up the tissues, so I was pretty sure she'd go for the box with holes.

She will spent several minutes at a time fishing for that ball through the various holes.  She goes back to it several times a day.  The hole in the top allows her to go in shoulder deep - in the photo above her right arm is in up to the shoulder.

First really cold morning of the season

Brrr!  It was 11 below zero, but quickly came up to 10 below about the time we got up this morning (around 7:30).  It had bottomed out at 12 below zero.  By 10am it had warmed up to 6 above.  Now, as I write this around noon, it's up to 28, so still below freezing. 

When we were moving here we looked at a weather chart that showed a couple of months that listed "days below 32" and the number of days in the month.  I didn't fully understand that until we got to January and February of that first winter.  That means a couple of months where, on average, no days go above the freezing mark for the high temperature!  I understand it now.  There's nothing like watching the thermometer to see if it gets above zero, or by how much.  And we have a lot of those in the depths of winter.

One of the things about these really cold mornings is hoar frost.  That was another new experience for me.  I had heard of pogonip - frozen fog - when I was a child in the Reno area.  But we get hoar frost with and without fog.  When it's really cold the moisture in the air freezes into tiny "feathers" that cling to surfaces.  Later in the day, as the sun hits the hoar frost, we get "diamond dust" in the air.  Tiny floating ice crystals that sparkle as they float around and to the ground.

Even after 23 winters, I'm still fascinated by the fleeting beauty of hoar frost and "diamond dust".

Vaccinations took a toll

Well, yesterday really took a toll on Charlotte.  She spent most of the day napping on one or the other of us.  She did have a spell late evening when she perked up and chased anything we'd offer.  And she slept through the night, too.  I expect today or tomorrow she'll get back to normal.

To the Vet

This morning Charlotte met Dr. Brooks, our vet for more than 23 years.  She did really well.  She kept retreating into her carrier, but didn't fight or cry.  She got her second kitten shot, as well as her leukemia and rabies vaccinations.  We also had her micro-chipped.  Since we plan for her to travel with us, we want to be able to get her back if she gets lost.  To everyone's surprise she didn't react at all when he injected the chip.  At that point she'd already had 3 vaccinations in about the same spot.  When we got home, after a snack & a big drink of water,she settled in for a chest nap.

We also took Max in.  His hips are getting weaker and weaker.  He can still get up the stairs most of the time, but sometimes he needs help these days.  Also, in the last day or so we noticed his right eye had gotten very red -- not the white part but the iris/pupil area.  Dr. Brooks gave us an ointment & pills to help it heal.  Often this kind of thing will resolve itself, but we wanted to give his system some help with it.

Pleasant surprise gift

Last night we were out late at a club meeting, so we got to bed later than usual.  Our considerate gift from Charlotte was an hour delay in the foot-pouncing wake-up call.  So, is she waking us up or is she reacting to our first stirrings  - before we even realize we're waking?  Either way, it works for us.

As I write this, we've gotten past the morning frantic play period and a small quiet spell.  Tom is out blowing snow from the driveway, I've started the first stage of a sourdough pizza dough, and Charlotte is on my chest.  We spend some time like this, me on computer, Charlotte on my chest (never my lap unless I'm deviling her with the laser toy) a couple of times (or more) each day.  Sometimes she spends an hour or more, other times she spends a few minutes, then moves to the table built into the middle of our double recliner/couch or to the top of the seatbacks.  Right now, with Tom's seat vacant, she's gone there.

It's official

Well, it's official.  We went back to the animal shelter and completed the rest of the process to officially adopt Charlotte.  We had already left a check, now they'll cash it.  We have the paperwork from her first vet visit (kitten vaccination & spay) and we'll take it with us when we take her to the vet we've been with since 1992.  We also have a certificate for her first rabies vaccination, ultimately covered by the sheriff's department. 

We told to call us when they get a batch of kittens that need socializing.  Kittens need to be socialized to humans before they're 8 weeks old or they may not adjust to them.

When we go to the vet on Thursday, it will be a double appointment.  We want to have the vet check Max.  He's pretty deaf,  Now, he seems to be losing his sight.  And his hips are getting weaker and weaker.  But, he still stands up when the car is moving, and he fully expects a ride by 10 or 11 each morning, getting more frantic the later we delay getting out & about.  We still have time with him, bit the clock is running down.

She's a talker

Charlotte is very good at letting us know she wants something.  If you're petting her and she meows, it means stop.  If you're not petting her, it means she wants some petting.  She hasn't yet learned how to differential her meows to mean different things, but that will come. 

She has learned that when we've been gone and the garage door opener operates, we will be coming in the kitchen door soon.  She meets us there meowing if we don't get in fast enough.

She will also meow to tell us we need to move faster.  This is usually when we're coming back in the house, carrying food to her eating station, and so on.

The only really annoying communication method is the early morning wake-up call.  Instead of meowing, she pounces on our feet or anything else she feels will get at least one of us out of bed and available to entertain her.

She IS growing

I weighed Charlotte the morning after we got her.  She was a whopping 2.8 pounds.  This morning she weighed in a 3.2 pounds.  That's 0.4 pounds in 2 weeks.  As far as I can tell, that's abut right for her stage of development.  She's spending more nights with us than not.  Most nights she might take a snack/potty break, but comes back.  Wake up time, though, is relatively consistent - within 15-20 minutes either side of 7am, but more likely to be before rather than after. 

The collar has gone well.  The first night I took it off because it wasn't adjusted quite right yet, and it was really bugging her.  Last night we left it on and she's just fine.  Next step will be the harness.

On "good" mornings, she goes out for a snack/potty break then comes back to purr us awake.  On "bad" mornings, she starts pouncing on our feet, shoulders, heads, attacking the curtains, anything on the nightstands, or whatever it takes to get one of us to get out of bed.

Once she's got one (or both) of us out of bed, a frantic, fast-paced romp with a thing-on-a-string-on-a-stick toy (toasoas), or toasoas alternating with laser toy, gets her ready for a snack followed by a nap on a chest or lap.  After a bit of time on a person, she'll move to the top of the couch or the table between our seats.  After all, she's got to rest up for another exercise session.

She's working her way up to interacting with Max.  She's progressed from hissing in the "Halloween cat" position to just assuming the position to sometimes actually touching him on purpose.  She still tends to assume the position when he moves or comes close to her.  But then, I'll see her touch noses with him at another time.

We've had to change a bathroom habit.  We've left our shower curtain closed so it dries nicely and won't develop any moldy spots.  It's a heavy clear plastic and Charlotte thinks it's one of her toys.   That makes a lot of noise, especially when she wants to play with it at bedtime or early morning.  So now, once it's dry we flop it over the rod to keep it out of her reach.  

I keep having to remind myself it's only been 2 weeks.

Charlotte meets the collar and the laser

Yesterday we went to town.  While we were down there, we went to a pet store to get a few things for Charlotte.  One of them is a carrier - we have a loaner from the animal shelter, but that goes back when we finalize her adoption.  We wanted a soft one so it will fold and take up less space in the motorhome when not in use (well, other places too, but we'll spend weeks in the RV again next summer).  We also wanted to get one big enough for when she grows up so we don't buy a series of them. 

That was the important item, but we also got her a kitten sized collar (the one from the grocery store was beyond too big).  I did have to shorten more than once to get it down to her size, and we'll have to keep a close eye on it and adjust frequently as she grows.  She went a bit nutso at first, as expected.  It was her first experience of having something around her neck for more than a minute or so.  She tried to run away from it.  She tried to fight it.  It still needed a bit of adjustment (still too big) and we didn't want her to get her jaw stuck in it, so we took it off for the night.  This morning I tightened it up just a bit more and put it back on her.  She only fought it for a couple of minutes, then settled.  I think  we're OK now.  We'll wait a few days before introducing her to the harness.

And ... the laser pointer!  Her interest waned after a while, but we really had her going with the new laser pointer toy.  If she doesn't decide to ignore it, we'll try it to wear her out before bedtime.  Last night we (actually, Tom never got a chance to play with it) played with it too soon.  She chased it like crazy, then took a long nap.  Big mistake.  When we went to bed she'd gotten a second wind and was ready to attack toes, climb the curtain over our heads, hang from the edge of the mattress near our heads, and so on.  I even had to go back into the bathroom and flip the shower curtain over the rod to keep her from tearing it to shreds (and keeping us awake).  Eventually, she did settle, but it took a while, and she was so wound up that moving her off the curtain/mattress/quilt resulted in some scratches and bites, one of which was sort of deep.  So, tonight, whether it's the pointer or the thing-on-a-string-on-a-stick, we'll try to exercise her closer to our bed time.

Now, of course, she's on the table between the seats on our double recliner, napping to be ready for the next wild spell.

Every other night

Charlotte seems to be developing a pattern of spending every other night with us.  Where she sleeps on the in-between nights is anyone's guess.  On those mornings she tends to come in some time around 7, give or take about 15 minutes and either perch on a neck and purr loudly or start attacking feet.  As soon as one or both of us is out of bed, she seems to feel she's done her job and the next thing on her agenda is a wild game of thing-on-a-string-on-a-stick, interspersed with snacks.  She likes it even better if we run the toy up on the couch, the stairs, the piles or anything else above the floor level.  Once she's had enough of this, she's ready for one more snack, then a nice long nap on a chest.  In all honesty, most of that long nap is on my chest.  Tom does get some of her nap time.

As I write this, her head is tucked along my chin & cheek and she is draped down my chest and belly.  This is one of her favorite sleep positions.  Almost always, she's got some part hanging low.  At lease she's learned how far she can hang without falling off her perch.  But, when she's on or next to one of us she likes her face near ours.  And what a purr machine. 

Crazy Kitten

Sometimes Charlotte is the quiet, loving, lap warmer kitty.  Other times she's the wild & crazy streak of gray from one end of the house to the other and back again.  Which is to say ... she's a kitten.  We got her one of those "Pull n Play" toys.  You pull a string off the main treat and thread it through the "ears" of the "Wobbert" toy.  You also put some dry treats in the bottom so they will fall out when the toy is tipped over correctly.  In just a few days she's learned that when it rattles there might be treats.  The sound will stop her in her tracks.

Charlotte

I've decided to restart posting on this blog.  I doubt many will check it, but, what the heck! 

A week ago we adopted a kitten from our local animal shelter.  It had been a little over 2 years since we had to put down our previous cat, Charlie.  I was more than ready to have a kitty and I had apparently worn down Tom.  He tends to refer to Charlotte as "Debbie's kitty".  Not to say she isn't, but she does spend time with both of us.  That was something Charlie didn't do for a long time.

Charlotte is one of 2 survivors from a litter of 5 kittens that were found in the corner of a greenhouse.  At the shelter they think the kittens had distemper.  If that is true (they didn't test for it), she's immune.  We'll make sure she gets all her shots, regardless.  We'll also get her chipped so we have the best chance of getting her back home if she strays.  It's all the more important since she'll be a traveler with us.  We'll have to arrange a tag for the summer, as we did with Max last summer.

She's all smoke gray at first glance.  But, when the light is right she has silver accents from her under coat.  And she has amber eyes.  Other times, the light will show her nearly invisible stripes, which are a little darker than her main dark gray.  We've not found even one white hair on her.  Her nose is dark gray and her lips are almost purple since they have a gray tint to them.

In her week with us, she has slept through the night, mostly on our bed.  She is beginning to learn her name.  She eats small meals many times a day rather than bolting large amounts of food.  She's never missed the litter box.  She's learned to pull in her claws when she knows she's going to contact skin.  She's learned the sound of the garage door opener means we're either leaving (we suppose) or (we're sure) that we've returned.  She meets us at the door, crying softly to remind us she doesn't really like being home alone.