With kitties goes kitty litter

I'm not always ready to try something new. We are trying a different type of litter. This is what we've been using: scoopable litter. You need three litter boxes for three cats. I scoop out the stuff, and put it into the empty container with the yellow lid. One bucket holds the scooper, a metal, slotted tool.

 Kitty litter is heavy. I throw it into the forest, but city folk have to throw it into the garbage. It's made of absorbent clay. The boxes are heavy. You can buy bigger, less expensive boxes, but I cannot lift them.

The plastic containers we usually recycle for other purposes. The blue one, above, holds the tools. The large container, with the yellow lid, I've re-used for the scooped stuff.

I've tried different kinds. This box was only half-full. I didn't buy that again.



The plastic bags are difficult for me to carry, as well. The boxes have been easier.

It's $15.99

There are many who are using wood pellets instead of kitty litter. I noticed my son using it in their Vancouver bathroom for their cat. Also, they use it at our cat hotel.

I began by introducing the wood pellets to Nutmeg in her spare room. We're keeping her isolated here. Annabelle is out in the night. Then, when she sits and sleeps, we put her into our bedroom and let Nutmeg out to play. We are vigilant, and it is wearying.

The cost is quite interesting.

Compare that to kitty litter... $15.99.

The pellets absorb the urine, falling apart, and you just take out the poopies. You can see how the pellets just break up. I wondered how they would react to it, but I know they go outside, and using leaves, debris and aren't so picky. When I've gone on forest walkies with cats, it's the first thing they do!

Cat tales: 

Kitty Hormones... |   Hormones, cats – part II | hormones Part the third

PART III: Plan D
We're keeping Nutmeg isolated from Annie. Annabelle is out in the night. Then, when she sits and sleeps, we put her into our bedroom and let Nutmeg out to play. We made a mistake and while I was on a 2-hour conference call for ODPRN, we forgot about Annie in the bedroom.

We have plan D. We will try Feliway on Annabelle's collar. We can't put it in all the rooms of the house, but this could work. It could take 7 days to work, if it is going to work.

Once Nutmeg gets her stitches out on Friday, she is less fragile. Hopefully, the hormones in both kittens will work their way out of their systems, too. Annie hunts Nutmeg down, and just goes for her. Nutmeg is cautious. They are fine early in the morning, when they are hungry, then things go awry.

If this doesn't work, the vet has said they will take Annie back. She was rescued by one of their former employees, and that is where we adopted her from.

How to make a cat collar

Annabelle and her bird collar

P.S. Cinnamon is quite intense. A fly woke up and came in the house with the warm temperatures. He's having a great time watching it on the ceiling!

Cat tales: hormones Part the third

IT'S been a journey. Kitty Hormones... |   Hormones, cats – part II

Jan. 13

Monday morning I toodled off to Cat's Meow Inn to pick up cats. Annabelle had a spa morning, just before I picked them up. She is 'fresh and lovely!' I dropped off the kittens to be fixed at the vet's.
 I got a dirty look, as I called her name! She's not amused. It's a side eye, I think.

I think I see her drooling in this next photo! She was happy to be home, even though she was good for Cassandra. As I arrived to pick her up, Cinnamon leapt up at her, wrapped an arm around her neck, in pure joy, or to piss off his sister. Could go either way.

Anyway, I dropped Cinnamon and Nutmeg off at the vet's, so they don't fight at home. The vet technician will phone Tuesday, when they recover. 

Annabelle, or Queen B, as they called her, wants to be the boss of Nutmeg. They have to set up who is alpha. She just can't do this while Nutmeg is healing.

Jan. 14, 2020

The vet technician phoned. The two kittens had successful surgeries. We could have picked them up at noon, but I had my client. We also have to keep Nutmeg, especially, quiet for 10 days. No stairs. I'm stumped.

Jan. 15, 2020

We picked them up about 9:30. We have been anxious and on the edge of our seats for days with worry. Wish us luck! I hope Annie will accept a non-in heat kitten, now she's fixed.  

They told me that Cinnamon seems to like playing in water. They couldn't figure out why he drank so much water, but he'd been playing in his water bowl with both paws. Daisy used to like the stream on our driveway in spring! Cinnamon will like frogging, like Daisy!

I took photos of their surgical sites, in order to establish a baseline for possible infection.  (I did this for JB, too, after his robotic surgery!) I put her into the spare bedroom. We took Cinnamon out of his carrier, and also took a photo. Right away, Annabelle came over to inspect him. There was butt-sniffing involved. "Where the heck were you? What happened?"

Nutmeg's surgery is more invasive. Their throats are dry and sore, and she has a bit of a cough from the anesthetic tubing.  She's got pain meds for three days. When I returned with water and food, she skipped out of the bedroom. Immediately, Cinnamon jumped her bones. He's howling at her door.  

So much for restricting his activities! He's not in too much pain!

Cinnamon from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

He was sitting on the couch, in cat position, like this (below). His eyes closed, and his head want back as he went to sleep, like the subway nod! It was so funny. He's go, go, go, then crash. He still thinks he has hormones. Apparently he won't get rid of them for 4, or 6, to 8 weeks! He was jumping on Queen B, who wasn't having any of it.

  

We're supposed to slow him down, no stairs, etc. HAH! I gave up on that. He was affectionate, and went overboard. JB found him being a bit rough, "Cinnamon, you have to calm down. When I had MY surgery, I watched a three-hour documentary on the Civil War!" Cinn hopped down immediately and came into the living room with me! 

He is non-stop. I've brushed him three times, and he's shedding like mad.

Jan. 16

We'll see what today brings. They've had breakfast, I gave Nutmeg her pain meds. Yesterday we kept popping in to visit her, without Cinnamon! She goes back in 10 days to have her sutures removed. We'll get through this. 

We've had another big snow storm and I'll have to shovel before I visit my client this afternoon. It looks like about 8" or 20 cm. JB's cough is worse. We're hanging in.

Hormones...

Thursday, Jan. 2nd

Things are hopping in the house. You can see Annabelle up in her caterpillar. Cinnamon has been quite busy, and popped up for a visit. Cinn changed his mind.

What we have figured out, is that the kittens must be older than we suspected. Perhaps 8 months. Nutmeg is in heat. Cinnamon is grooming her, then grabs her neck, and then... well, 'nuff said! He's been up all hours in the night, then they fight. We are quite relieved that it's just hormones, not some evil plan to drive us nuts. (Not a long drive, not even a short putt!)

We were afraid that Annabelle was instigating things, but she's not. She comes to break up the 'fight.'

We had them booked to be 'doctored,' as my client calls it, but not until Feb. 12th. I explained the problem to them at the vet. Now, we have an earlier appointment, Jan. 14th.

We are boarding Cinnamon, to take the pressure off of all of us. We were up at 2 and 4 and 6 a.m. this Thursday morning, while Cinnamon answers the call to his nature. He was locked in the bedroom, but she was upset he was upset. Annabelle was chasing them, too. You get the noisy picture.

We locked her into the office, her favourite spot to sit and sleep is on top of the dresser. She peed on JB's office chair. sigh. She sleeps, bird watches, does kitten things.

It'll be about $200+ for boarding, but we spent $1000 trying to calm Buster down, then $1500 on Dorah. I forget how much on Daisy. sigh. These danged rescue cats!

They sleep calmly, then things get weird. The grooming, then he grabs her neck and climbs on top. I finally figured it all out.



We stopped on the way home from dropping him off for take-out chicken and pizza, just to give us a break. We found twin bucks at the pumpkins.

Friday, Jan. 3rd

Another early morning like the previous one, only Nutmeg peed on JB's chair, again, when she was locked in the office. She mrrppps away, and calls, grooms herself. She has to be in heat, although I don't remember having a non-spayed cat.

Annabelle spent the night chasing Nutmeg under the bed. Poor JB. I'd taking sleeping meds and didn't hear a thing. We have a plan B, and popped Annabelle into the cat hotel with Cinnamon. This boarding will cost us $470. I also asked them to do a grooming for Annabelle.

That was a lovely, peaceful solution. Cinnamon has relaxed the most. He was shaking when I dropped him off on Thursday, but better Friday. Annabelle likes him. She will be good company.

At home, Friday afternoon, Nutmeg has begun to relax some, and came out from under the bed where she cowered most of the night, away from Annie. She snuggled with JB.

Friday night she spent on our bed, slept there all night!

 

More critters via Saturday's Critters #316