It's November! Have some kittens.

Discussion in 'Miscellaneous' started by Kephras, Nov 8, 2014.

  1. November 1st, I was out in the yard helping my father with some fall cleanup when what should come trotting across the road but a little black & white kitten. Apparently, someone had dropped him and his two siblings at the barn across the road.

    A week later, we've semi-adopted the trio and they're currently living under our back porch.
    This is Groucho.

    The bold one of the lot. Named for the black "mustache" on his nose, in reference to the comedian. Likes tangling himself underfoot, and is by far the friendliest.

    This is Aggy.

    The only female. Named after Agamemnon, from the 1934 children's book Four Little Kittens. She's a little aloof but seems to have warmed up to us, and will occasionally grab some lap time if Groucho gives her the room. Really seems to have it in for my keychain lanyard.

    And this is Skittles.
    Named for his "skittishness," this little guy is still pretty scared of us big stompy humans. And anything else that makes a loud noise. He's gone from being completely untouchable to "very difficult," so that's progress, but it takes patience and a lot of luck to get him closer than arm's length. Personal space issues, maybe?


    Verdict is still out on exactly how to integrate them, as three cats in the house would be quite the maelstrom, and that's before you figure in the dog going bonkers everytime they make their presence known.
  2. Haha, I thought you were having people mail order kittens :p

    They look pretty cool man, don't worry though, once the dog gets adjusted it'll be fine, cats normally hang outside around the day.
    Kephras likes this.
  3. Mail-order kittens? Now there's an idea...

    The thing is, between the weather getting colder and having natural predators like coyotes in the area, we really don't want them to get used to spending time outside. We're just in an awkward place where we don't have the collective free time to acclimate a trio of kittens to indoor life.
    The sensible thing to do would've been to collect them and take them to a shelter for care, but... they have names now. So we have sixteen pounds of kitten kibble sitting in the pantry instead, and Mom (being the most soft-hearted one) is trying to figure out how and when she'll have time to bring them inside and tend them.
    607 likes this.
  4. Ah, the joy of cats. Over the years, my gf and I have wound up with a number of cats plus a dog. They were all strays and usually kittens but they at least showed up one at a time. One has FLV and can't be in contact with the others. She lives on the front porch. In the cooler months she gets a heated "apartment" and heated water dish setup on the porch. We have coyotes here but the front yard is fenced in so they're not much of a worry. For the others, we built a covered cage out back and connected it to the house with a tunnel and pet door so they can go in and out when they want. It took a bit of work and $$ but it was well worth it.

    Best of luck getting things situated. It may take a while but hopefully it'll all work out fine. ;)
  5. Well as harsh as this may sound, you could try putting the dog on a leash and tying him to a post or something with the cats indoors, he'll get used to them being there, and in a week or so, slowly untie him then walk him around the house for an hour or so, if he's still being aggressive tie him back up.
  6. Where was the cleanup needed for?
  7. Fixed. ;)
    But when I talk about getting them inside... the dog is a question, but we're pretty sure she'll settle down once she gets a chance to get acquainted. She's been in contact with kittens before - Bowie and my sister's rescue, Misha (aka Smalls, Tiny, etc) to name a couple. The real issues are the question of litter-box training, and not destroying everything in sight with tiny kitten claws.

    EDIT:
    Oh, just raking up leaves and sticks, getting the yard cleared. Living in the countryside is nice, but when autumn comes your entire yard is buried in fallen foliage.
    607 likes this.
  8. Well, I don't have much experience with potty training cats xD but you could always clip their nails, i recommend a sedative for this especially if they're elusive.
  9. Just an update: we moved the kittens in a couple weeks ago, and they've made themselves right at home.
    Only hurdle now is getting the dog to stop going nuts and trying to "play" with them - they don't care much for her at all (and a noisy, bouncy, high-energy dog currently terrifies them).

    But when she's not around...
    IMG_20141124_111303675_low.jpg
    (in order from top to bottom, Aggy, Groucho, and Skittles).
    607, HylianNinja and battmeghs like this.
  10. KITTIES omg yay

    but I wish they were these cats.
  11. IMG_20141124_111303675_nyan.jpg
    Hm... I don't think that's an improvement... :confused:
    607, HylianNinja and battmeghs like this.
  12. OHHHH GOD

    </nyan_cat_invasion = true>