odds and ends

Rose has come along way in the year and few months she has been with us. She has been taking an anti-anxiety supplement (Anxitane) which seems to be helping reduce her 'human is too close' anxiety quite a bit.

Can you believe she settled in the cat bed behind me on the chair?! I was there first and she actually choose to be near a human! More and more she asks for pets. If she keeps it up, maybe she'll be a lap kitty in a few years! I'm very pleased to see her calming down around humans. She even bounces back very quickly after being handled to get her claws trimmed.

Of course Rose still loves to cuddle with her fluffy Nahum!

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Earlier this week, I was able to watch one of the kittens to see where it was going as it left my property. My heart sank as I watched it cross one of the very busy roads near my house. I hate thinking of Mama Kitty and the two kittens crossing that busy road each time they come for a visit. Then less than an hour later on my commute to the office, I saw not one, but two dead cats in the middle of the interstate. I so wish I could get Mama Kitty and the kittens to call my yard home, like Oliver does.

I continue to be amazed by Oliver's generous nature. The other morning, I gave Oliver his warmed wet food breakfast as I usually do. About a minute later, I look out and see Oliver sitting a few feet from the bowl watching one of the kittens eat! He seems more than happy to share his food with his family. It's not uncommon now to see the kittens in the Dining Hall eating dinner and Oliver to be waiting in the yard.

We have had a stretch of unusually warm dry weather but these last few days the temperature has been dropping to below freezing at night. Oliver has been enjoying his heated home more and more.

I am thrilled to report that last night was the first night I saw Oliver sharing his heated home with one of the kittens! They were both snuggled in together. enjoying the heat. I don't know if all four could fit in Oliver's home. The other, smaller kitty home has been vacant, maybe I need to get some heat going in there so there will be heated space for them all. I sure hope Mama Kitty and the other kitten move in too.

Oliver and a kitten sharing his warm home!

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This coming weekend, Purrfect Pals, my amazing nearby cat-only shelter, is hosting a class for people who are interested in learning how to trap feral cats for TNR purposes. This class could not come at a more perfect time for me, because I need to be trapping Mama Kitty and the kittens very soon. I'm really looking forward to meeting more local cat-people. Maybe I can even borrow a few traps which would make the operation so much easier.

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Buddy is eating more food but not consistently. I'm starting to wonder if he's not eating as a protest of not getting to eat the way he wants to eat. He is very particular with how he experiences his food. He would prefer to freely feed all day, but with Theo, that isn't an option.

Buddy doesn't like to eat with the other cats. His preferred breakfast and dinner ritual consists of being locked in the bedroom with me (away from the other cats). He'll eat a few bites of food and then take a break and snuggle with me on the bed for a few minutes. He then goes back and eats a few more bites before he needs to come back up to have his tummy rubbed some more. Sometimes he changes things up by going to the window to look out before coming back to eat a few bites. On average, he asks for his tummy to be rubbed about five times a meal. It can easily take between 30-60 minutes for him to eat his meal.

I have tried just locking him in the room by himself with his food and he won't eat! He insists on having a human companion join him for his meal or no deal.

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My beautiful Nahum

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I know Christmas is long done now, but I wanted to share this Christmas card we received from one of the great vet techs at our vet's office.