A kitten fell down my chimney and I need advice!

[TobiDaDog]

They hooked you & snookered you & are now living off the fat of the land.

Oh for sure! They're turning into a pair of BIG boys. Tato still eats everything in sight. He is constantly hungry. I've never seen a cat before that actually licks their plate clean after eating. When you pick him up, it feels like he's full of sand. Just so, so heavy. I weighed him yesterday and he was 15 lbs. I actually weighed him 3 times to make sure because I was shocked! He was SUCH a tiny little kitten. His legs are still pretty short...but he is solid.

I haven't weighed Nikolas yet...he's still taller than Tato with a bigger frame, but he's not nearly as dense.

 

[TobiDaDog]

Updated pictures to show just how enormous this guy has gotten. And a bonus pic of his neck rolls falling down into his face.

 

[Margot Lane]

Could it be, he likes blood rushing to his head? Or maybe all of YOU are upside down and you just don’t know it? It’s an adorable party trick & I think he knows it!

 

[StefanZ]

Updated pictures to show just how enormous this guy has gotten. And a bonus pic of his neck rolls falling down into his face.

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Trying to prove his ragdoll Ancestry?

Dreaming of "my Father, the King"?

 

[TobiDaDog]

Trying to prove his ragdoll Ancestry?

Dreaming of "my Father, the King"?

He is absolutely guilty of impersonating a ragdoll! Unfortunately, I had to tell him that evidence is not in his favor since I pulled him out of a stack of firewood in a snowstorm! Nevertheless he has so many similar traits that we can't help but call him the discounted version. And boy does he SHED! We have white fur on every surface of our house. I swear Nikolas hasn't dropped a single hair, but it's a wonder that Tato isn't completely bald.

 

[TobiDaDog]

They are both turning into sweet little work buddies! Niko sleeps in the desk drawer to my right pretty much every day and Tato sleeps ON my feet. I've accidentally kicked him so many times but he just comes right back.

Someone on Facebook Buy Nothing was giving away this brand new cat bed that their cat didn't like...

And it has given us a perfect compromise. Now I have a loudly snoring kitty tent tucked away at my feet while I'm working.

 

[TobiDaDog]

This guy gave us a very strange scare yesterday! I still cannot figure out how he did it.

I was cleaning the litter boxes and he was hanging around nearby. Not really goofing or anything...just sitting by me. I turned to scoop the box and heard a strange commotion behind me.

Turned, and he had his ENTIRE front claw hooked through the inside of his top lip like a fishhook! Like all the way through. I had to call on a second pair of hands to unhook him while I held him still. The whole time my partner was asking "how on Earth did he do this?!"

He bled a little but then shook it off and was completely fine.

But I'm still wondering how he managed such a feat. I'd have never thought that possible!

 

[fionasmom]

Will he let you trim his nails? It is odd because cats are usually not prone to those kinds of accidents.

 

[TobiDaDog]

Will he let you trim his nails? It is odd because cats are usually not prone to those kinds of accidents.

Yes he will. He's pretty good about having his feet touched. But his nails don't seem long to me either! I can't see them when he tucks them away.

 

[fionasmom]

Look at those cute little paws!

 

[TobiDaDog]

Update: My "little" guy is now 16 lbs. I never in my life would have guessed. He's a gigantic marshmallow who loves everyone, especially kids. He loves to be flopped right in the middle of whatever you're doing.

Saint Nikolas is still a stinky brat. His dislike of children has turned into outright hatred. He now lunges and swats at the nieces and nephews when they even enter the same room as him. Thankfully 99 percent of the time he'd rather run and hide away until they leave. But they've nicknamed him "devil cat" and run the other direction when they see him.

And now we have another. He just showed up in the driveway one day and followed us in like he owned the place. VERY friendly, always wants to be held and cuddled. Runs to greet every single stranger he meets. Adores children and dogs...he definitely belonged to someone.

We posted flyers, Facebook ads, checked him for a chip, everything we could to find his owner. Even went door to door asking if anyone knew him with zero luck. When we'd take him to a neighbor's door to ask about him, he would immediately run back "home" to our garage the second he was put back down.

Completely unexpected...but I guess he lives here now. He's been here for three weeks and he's scheduled now for his neuter at the end of the month. I've lost all hope of finding his person but I'm sure they miss him. He's just too sweet.

We've named him Pongo.

I can't help but wonder why there is such a disproportionate ratio of male - female strays in this area. ALL of the ferals we've fed are obviously male and ALL of the kittens we've found are male, save for Reese 6 years ago.

 

[Margot Lane]

Update: My "little" guy is now 16 lbs. I never in my life would have guessed. He's a gigantic marshmallow who loves everyone, especially kids. He loves to be flopped right in the middle of whatever you're doing.

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Saint Nikolas is still a stinky brat. His dislike of children has turned into outright hatred. He now lunges and swats at the nieces and nephews when they even enter the same room as him. Thankfully 99 percent of the time he'd rather run and hide away until they leave. But they've nicknamed him "devil cat" and run the other direction when they see him.

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And now we have another. He just showed up in the driveway one day and followed us in like he owned the place. VERY friendly, always wants to be held and cuddled. Runs to greet every single stranger he meets. Adores children and dogs...he definitely belonged to someone.

We posted flyers, Facebook ads, checked him for a chip, everything we could to find his owner. Even went door to door asking if anyone knew him with zero luck. When we'd take him to a neighbor's door to ask about him, he would immediately run back "home" to our garage the second he was put back down.

Completely unexpected...but I guess he lives here now. He's been here for three weeks and he's scheduled now for his neuter at the end of the month. I've lost all hope of finding his person but I'm sure they miss him. He's just too sweet.

We've named him Pongo.

I can't help but wonder why there is such a disproportionate ratio of male - female strays in this area. ALL of the ferals we've fed are obviously male and ALL of the kittens we've found are male, save for Reese 6 years ago.

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Thank you for being so very kind to all of these kitties! Pongo looks like a sweetie! What long whiskers! I’ve never owned multiple cats and wonder if it becomes difficult to give them all love in equal portions so nobody gets jealous. You must have some kinda cat magnet buried under your house. Good luck at the vet’s!

 

[TobiDaDog]

Thank you for being so very kind to all of these kitties! Pongo looks like a sweetie! What long whiskers! I’ve never owned multiple cats and wonder if it becomes difficult to give them all love in equal portions so nobody gets jealous. You must have some kinda cat magnet buried under your house. Good luck at the vet’s!

I have never had this many cats either! Most of my life only one...then two, then one again, and my partner and I both agreed that we would stick to one for the foreseeable future. The kittens didn't get the memo. So we said three is the ABSOLUTE max. And now we have Pongo.

No more, no more! The CDS can write me off the list. I'm happy as a clam with my bunch.

To be honest it isn't TOO hard at four...you always have one or two who aren't in the mood for cuddles, leaving room for the one who is demanding attention. They rarely ever ask for it all at once unless they're piled all over me at bedtime. Nights sure are hot with four cats sprawled on you head to toe!

But I am definitely done and hoping we can figure out where the heck they're all coming from.

Any strays that step foot into my yard are getting an immediate snip.

 

[StefanZ]

I think friendly Pongo is Santas compensation to the children of your family, as Nikolas didnt become a child friendly gift-...

 

[TobiDaDog]

I think friendly Pongo is Santas compensation to the children of your family, as Nikolas didnt become a child friendly gift-...

Haha sounds about right! A little replacement gift! Although we won't be returning the "faulty" grump any time soon. We'll just keep that Devil Cat title and tell the kids to run when they spot him during a visit.

 

[TobiDaDog]

This one has no such problems with the kids and I've had to rescue him from the toddler several times after realizing he's being dragged through the house upside down or slung over a shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

When I free him he just flops down at their feet and waits to be picked back up, so it must not be as uncomfortable as it looks!

I DID have to give the three year old a stern talking to (while trying not to laugh) this weekend when I found him dragging Tato through the kitchen being held FIRMLY by a hand gripping each of his fat cheek rolls. The entire rest of the cat was dangling limp like a doll.

We had a talk about how you should hold the kitty nicely, not by his face. Sure those rolls are fun to squish but they aren't handles!

The only time I've ever seen him exhibit any obvious signs of stress, ever, is when he can't find his brother. (Example, when brother is away at the vet)

He becomes extremely agitated and clingy, whimpering and calling, searching high and low and pacing around unhappily until his brother returns.

Nikolas doesn't seem to struggle with this nearly as much, though he is rarely ever far from Tato and will get up to go find him if he realizes his brother has left the room.

 

[TobiDaDog]

Meanwhile, with Pongo, this little one has left us scratching our heads. He acts like he's lived here all of his life. It is VERY strange.

He knows where everything is. From the moment he stepped foot into our home, he has just...known. Every bed. Every litter box. Every toy stash. Without being shown he just casually strolls into even the most hidden cubbies like he's been there before. Reached under shelves to yank out a dusty toy like he left it there himself.

He had never been fed in our house before. Ever. Yet, he went and sat on the feeding placemat to wait for breakfast as though he had been doing it forever.

He heard me crack open the canned food cabinet for the first time and completely flipped out, somehow knowing that this was where I kept the good stuff.

The first day he was here, he barged past me into our house and made a straight shot for the litter box area like he knew where it was.

We have a workshop attached to our house that I work in every evening for a few hours. The first time he saw me turn to the door, he raced ahead of me and stood scratching on the door to be let in. Now he waits for me there every evening at 5 like he knows my routine.

And I truly don't mean, "he picked it up fast!" I mean, he automatically knows routines and routes without ever having experienced them.

We've been calling him our little haunt.

 

[StefanZ]

Re Pongo.
Sorry If I dont remember- HAD you earlier another cat whom went onto the last journey?? IF so, here you have probably the answer...

My residents of today, 6x grandchildren of our first residents (both working studs) - do behave in much as their great Ancestors. Even into some ridicolous and not so common details.


Re Pongo 2: He seems to have some problem with his right eye. Had you a vet look onto it?

 

[Margot Lane]

This thread makes me believe in Santa again.

 

[TobiDaDog]

Re Pongo.
Sorry If I dont remember- HAD you earlier another cat whom went onto the last journey?? IF so, here you have probably the answer...

My residents of today, 6x grandchildren of our first residents (both working studs) - do behave in much as their great Ancestors. Even into some ridicolous and not so common details.


Re Pongo 2: He seems to have some problem with his right eye. Had you a vet look onto it?

We lost our 20 year old cat about a year ago very suddenly to a stroke. Pongo doesn't act like the guy we lost at all, but he certainly acts like he's been here before! It's very odd. We have cat beds stashed throughout the home in weird locations (like on top of wardrobes or under shelves in the workshop) to give the cats a hidden reprieve from the kids and he seems to know where they all are. Maybe he's just psychic!

Both of his eyes are very crossed - one even turns in towards his nose and then upwards at times. He has also been suffering from watery eyes, but he is on antibiotics and it's clearing up. We had him looked at again by a vet recently who said that everything looks to be going in the right direction and the intense crossing doesn't seem to be causing any issues at all. We were concerned that the crossing might be causing irritation of some kind but nope - the antibiotics are doing their job.

This is what he looks like today. Still a little staining from the tears, but not nearly as drippy as it has been.