8 May 2008

A new day dawns. The second day the kittens have been without their Mama. I've noticed some changes in them. Whether it's due to their continuing maturity or their life-change, I cannot say. What I've noticed is that the kittens do seem to rely more on me, not for the obvious food, but for the comfort of a warm body and reassuring physical contact.

Their play cycles are a lot more intense and now that I've taken down their big dog crate to open up the space in the room, they can fly around with ease. Elmo is starting to get to the point of being able to climb beyond the confines of just climbing up on the bed. This is always the point where I start to be glad they're due to leave in a few more days. When they can really climb, they can get into dangerous situations. The foster room has a bed and two bookcases, but it also has stacks of boxes of books and the flattened dog crate leaning against the wall. If they knock any of those over, it could be very bad, indeed.

Jelly continues to slowly improve on his ability to eat "Big Boy" food. He still wants his warmed KMR, but today, instead of offering him the syringe, I just put the food in a bowl on the floor. He lapped at it right away and seemed to be okay that I also added a spoonful of the same canned food his siblings were easily eating. As a whole, I don't think they eat quite enough. The pick a bit here and there and I throw more food away then I believe they eat. I'm assuming this will change as their nutrition needs grow and they realize it's their only source for food now.

I've also turned into a cat bed.

I have an old down comforter I cover myself with, when I visit the kittens each evening. It partially protects me from getting scratched and it gives them a fun surface to play on and under (which gets me scratched for certain!). We hang out for an hour or two, playing or just socializing. They like the warmth and softness of the comforter and easily fall asleep on it. Some times they fall asleep on me—locking me into a weird, contorted position for fear of disturbing them. Last night Elmo and Happy each fell asleep on one of my shoulders, while I sat frozen in a sort of lounging, sort of hunched position—which is why I feel creaky this morning.

While I was providing a napping platform, I watched Jackass Two on cable. I'd never seen Jackass One and only had a fleeting idea of what to expect. I was shocked, repulsed and delighted, all at once! I found myself truly gagging at one scene, which I cannot describe here! I actually had to change the channel so I wouldn't puke on the kittens! I was also trying not to laugh too loud. Sam was asleep down the hall, in the master bedroom and I thought I might wake him up over the noise of the HEPA filter running and his constant seasonal allergy induced snoring. Fortunately, the snoring is loud enough to cover any other sounds; like jet engines falling on the house or the sound of a tornado (maybe over an F-2 on the Fujita Scale) bearing down on us. I figure my giggling is no big deal.

It's too stuff in the foster room. I can't open the window beyond a tiny sliver because Buddy, the former foster feral, blew a hole through it and jumped two stories down to escape being foster cat! I've seen him over the past year and I know he's coming here for food. He's fine. He just didn't want to be helped beyond being fed. Anyway, the stupid windows in this stupid house are constructed so you can't just take the screen out and fix it. You have to almost take the window out of the WALL. I couldn't take being hot any longer so I opened the door to the foster room, blocking the lower portion with a three foot tall metal grate. I put a cat carrier at the back of the door, so my cats couldn't push the door and enter the room and the kittens would not be able to get out and I could get some air, at last!

No sooner than I opened the door, Nicky came lumbering down the hall to see what was going on. Jelly and Elmo saw him. Their tiny bodies puffed up, their backs, arched. Jelly really freaked out. I tried to comfort them and let them know it was all right. Of all the cats I have, Nicky is the most mellow guy. He's also a very big cat. I'm sure that was scary in and of itself.

Little Jelly would not calm down. He spit and almost exploded when I tried to pick him up. I shut the door to Nicky's plaintive cry. He was just visiting! Why did the kittens have to be so mean to him?

Jelly stayed puffed up. It looked cute, but that does not bode well for him. Happy saw him puffed and reacted by arching her back and puffing up at her brother! I quickly started playing with both of them. I was afraid they'd end up getting desensitized to each other and the distraction seemed to help. I hope the troubling meeting was only because I didn't introduce them properly. In a few days the kittens will be leaving to get their spay/neuter surgery and be put up for adoption. They may be held with other kittens until they're adopted. They may go to families who have other cats. Hmmm...I'm concerned, but they're so young, it should be all right. Shouldn't it?