Pregnant Stray Decided She Lives Here Now.

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Ceeedge

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I cannot believe how big they have gotten. Draco is weighing in at nearly what her two brothers are now. The sheet is in my office with the kittens, but I'll try to remember to post them tomorrow.

We are working on a "kitten corral" this weekend. I'm thinking cardboard boxes taped around the small mattress in there. I can make the walls high enough for her to get in an out of easily and it will contain the kittens well. A board will give us a solid place for food and water for the babies when they are ready and a small litter tray will fit well. I can put some plastic under the sheets.. probably two layers of sheets, and cover that with one of the many blankets that have been set aside for things like this (let's call them semi disposable) that will be easy to change out.

To be honest, I've never been crazy about guests sleeping in my office.. so if the mattress gets ruined there is a good reason to get the small bed out of there all together. There might just have to be a mishap when the kittens are ready to be rehomed that makes it too icky to keep. :devilish:

In other news, I have been leaving food out for the little girl I saw the other day, but have yet to see her back, I think I must have startled her when I opened the door. There is a big boy that is not nice at all, and he will probably be our first TNR. Also, a little black male that I am almost sure belongs to the neighbors... who looks like a bigger version of Draco.. so I think I may have found daddy. I made an offhand comment about neutering to the guy..and he kinda blew me off, so I am thinking of having the GF approach his wife and see if they would be willing to let us neuter the little guy before he spreads any more love. I would be willing to pay for it and keep him here for the couple of recovery days, he is a sweet boy. I wouldn't mind spending some downtime with him after surgery.

I guess I just have a hard time understanding people who get a pet without a clear plan to take care of it, and then just let it wander at will. In my 32 years I have never owned an animal that was not a complete part of the family.. so it hurts my heart to see this little guy...who is desperate for just a little affection wandering the neighborhood all the time...and so skinny. I have to stop before I get angry. I just can't with these people! ...it would probably be awkward to just decide to keep the neighbors cat too....right? ....right?
 

catlady76paws

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I loved reading this thread. People after my heart.
I think it's great little PK kept dropping kittens on your feet. Like this bond you share, she just made you the 'catdaddy'.
 
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Ceeedge

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She still does kitten gifts! I got one about an hour ago.. Slowly they are becoming mostly Draco. She is the lightest and the only one that mama doesn't drop a few times on the short trip from the nest across the room to my desk. Mama kitty was so small to begin with that the kittens are just too heavy at only 3 weeks!

I also got with the neighbor about neutering the little black cat. His name is Jack and I need to remember to take pics tomorrow morning.. he will be here for breakfast.. Sure got me trained fast! The (Insert Nasty Name Here) next door basically told me if I wanted to "waste" my money than I was welcome to do whatever I wanted to the cat. They are clearly caring owners, eh? So I am looking into some lower cost options and will keep him around for a few days after. He is a very active outdoor cat.. so I am not going to take that away from him.. but no more babies and I am pretty much considering him mine at this point. He just wants to be loved!
 
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Ceeedge

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Oh! I promised weights!

As of 11am yesterday:
William: 403
Hunter: 402
and Draco: 349.

Draco is still the smallest, but has gained the most weight. She is also the bravest as she was the first kitten to make it all the way out of the nest. We are still working on the kitten corral.. the duct tape just isn't holding the way I need it to, so I need to grab some packing tape when we do groceries tomorrow. I have designed a little door in the build so I will have easy access in and out and will be able to change the blankets easily.

Also, I don't know if anyone has a Walmart close, but for those handling kittens and the mess they make they have soft fleece blankets for only 2.50 right now. I bought 10.. They can be handy in so many situations and they are great for the kittens. We had a pile here that we have been using for her.. so this gives us a few more options and I can cover a larger space on the small bed for them and change out easily and frequently. We had the first kitten "accident" today from Hunter. Man, you rub him just a little too low on the tummy and he will gift you with a potty.. today he went over the blanket just right and POOPSPLOTION happened right behind him... I have a feeling these blankets are going to come in REAL handy!
 

orange&white

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I buy several of those Walmart fleece throws every year...they're always $2.50 here year round. Love them for pet beds. I wash them with bleach to knock out odors, which wears holes in them, but at that price I don't really care. :p
 

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Oh we don't have that here maybe I will find an equivalent ! Get you !! You've turned into a 'crazy' cat lady lol !! Fantastic .. if I had extra room I'd help all I can . I don't get either how people get pets and don't treat them like family. My dog growing up was my best friend (sad I know ) and the only family member who never let me down and was there for me - 5 years old to 17 years. Miss her to this day. I don't think I've seen a stray here . people let there cats out to roam here (not my Gracie though) so can only tell by a collar ! I do get annoyed with the homeless guys who live near the station. They beg with their dogs who look so unhappy . I nearly took a dog from one of them the other day . Makes you wonder do they really love them or using them to get money !!! Anyway my rant over - well done again. Love your thread . Will read about your other kids later
 
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Ceeedge

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There will be many more pics to come, I promise.

I forgot to tell ya'll that Dany plays! up until late last week I had seen her shred a few tissues on her own, but every time we tried to play with her she was just disinterested. Last week she got kitten eyes and kinda swipe-y when I was petting her so I grabbed the feather stick thingy (That is the technical term) and gave it a go and she LOVED it. There were flips and slides and more acrobatics than I have ever seen her do. After about ten minutes she was done and lost interest again, but the process has repeated every day since. SO.. She does like to play, it just has to be on her time. Which is perfectly okay. It made me sooo happy!

In not so happy news she has gone into heat so I have gotten quite firm on the two door rule. I do like her to be able to hang in the living room to get away from time to time, but I am not about to let her outside again so she is to be in her room before any outside doors are opened. Unfortunately, the noise also attracted Zoe who was sniffing the door, being curious and Dany flipped out on the other side and was hissing at the door. Because of this I have also decided that the cat room/office door cannot be opened when the dogs are in the living room. I want to make sure that everyone (Including me!) is safe and secure here. Zoe quickly decided that she was not all about what was happening in here so she went away and laid down, so she is still being a very good girl. Loki... doesn't have a clue what is happening, but this is the norm for him so we are good there.

Draco and Hunter are able to get out of the nest now so the corral has to be done TODAY, the GF is going to help me with it when I am done with work for the day. She has the day off so I am wrapping up at three and we are getting errands done before we build. I need better tape. Kittens might have to hang in the bathroom next week for a while while I do some video conferencing :*(. IUsually it's not a problem, but next week is a special one and I have to be all professional. Yuck.

In Jack news I got Pics!
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How could you not want to love that sweet face! also.. I need to take care of the paint on the porch. It's looking rough after this summer! He was here at 7 on the dot for breakfast. I could see him trotting across the lawn as I opened the door. I think he sleeps outside his actual home... I don't typically see him during the day, but he has been here every morning since I started putting chow down. He sure is a hungry little guy! There was quite a lot of noise between him and Dany through the office door to the outside.. so I am getting more and more sure that he is daddy.. and about the same size.. so even possibly a brother? I don't know where they got him from, so that could be totally wrong too. They are both very small cats.. compared to my buddy's little bowling ball kitties as I call them. They are happy... but MAN they are fat. I don't want to sound like a jerk.. and please don't take this the wrong way, but I would like her to stay a little more fit than that. It cannot be good to have that much weight on such a small frame, especially as tiny as she is built. She is rather active, so I don't see this happening.. but we will be encouraging play time as it makes me get up and move too!
 

ileen

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Sorry I don't remember, do you already have an appointment for Dany to be fixed?
 

daisyd

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Jack the daddy looks cute !! If you keep them active should be fine .
 
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Ceeedge

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His eyes look JUST like hers.. so they might be related too? In this neighborhood there is no telling.

Edit: Or are those eyes common? I just realized I didn't know.
 
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Ceeedge

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The kitten corral has been built and updated a few times in the past few days. Mama and babies are settling in nicely and everyone is much more happy with the kittens enclosed and off the floor. It actually worked out better than intended!
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Ceeedge

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Some hot and fresh pics of mama and the babes coming right up! The kitten corral turned out way better than I thought. It was my GFs idea to slip the box tabs under the bed and then we taped the whole shebang together with duct and packing tape. You can't really tell, but there is a tarp and three layers of sheets under the fleece blankets to make changing the blankets themselves rather fast. There have been no accidents yet.. but as they start to wean I wanted an easy way to keep them clean.

Mama is much more relaxed now that her little ones are contained.. she was starting to lose it when they were crawling out of the box. This also allows Dany to continue using her own litter box and the kittens will eventually have one in the corral when they start needing it. I put a smaller box in the room with the pine litter we found for the kittens and she was.. unimpressed. This might be better anyway, then I can keep better track of her..movements vs the kittens.

The kits have started to be cuddled by visitors and they are handling it beautifully. Willy makes some little almost whiny noises.. but nothing like when his eyes were being medicated and as long as Hunter feels secure he is just fine. Draco is the chillest kitten. She loves to be cuddled and held and has a tendency to crawl up and snuggle right under chins. She has stolen a few hearts this way already. Dany did try to bring Dracs to me a few times in the first days they were contained and dropped her once.. oh my god my heart stopped.. but she seems to be okay and Dany has not done it since. She was up on the box part with Draco in her mouth and without thinking I said "drop it" (Dog command) and to my surprise she did! Right onto the floor. Oh Dany, I didn't mean drop the kitten OFF the box! Off to a craft fair for the day! Happy Sunday Ya'll!

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So cute! I love reading updates about them. The kittens are growing so fast and they look so fluffy! Do they feel as soft as they look? lol :lol:
 
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Ceeedge

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Found the cutest Halloween blankets!!
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Draco is the softest. She is super silky and loves to cuddle, hunter and Willy are softish, but have courser coats than Draco or mom. New kitten pic round up! It has been a super busy week, but they are all still gaining like crazy, starting to eat watered down pate food and Willy has figured out the box, so the other two won't be far behind.
 
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