A kitten fell down my chimney and I need advice!

[TobiDaDog]

The little guy's eyes are rapidly becoming more and more crossed. So crossed that sometimes you can't see fhe pupil. Again we expressed concern with the vet when he got his follow-up vaccinations and deworming. He took a good long look and said that everything was fine.

He doesn't seem to be affected by it at all though. We are in the process of remodeling an old machine shop into a family room and he has rapidly been catching mice in the disused space. He caught six mice in a single day. His total for the week was ten! We keep finding him lining up mice like little trophies.

I thought that crossed eyes made it harder to see depth. Especially because poor Tato has somewhat poor eyesight and depth perception..we had attributed it to his crossed eyes.

And then Pongo comes along and shows us that not all cats with crossed eyes struggle to see!

It does make him look awfully goofy though.

 

[Margot Lane]

Ten in a week! Pongo’s saying thank you for taking him in.

 

[Margot Lane]

How are the boys doing? We’re overdue on some cat tax here.

 

[TobiDaDog]

Update on all of my boys!! They are doing great. My little Tato is now much bigger than his brother. I still can't believe it! He is the sweetest marshmallow. Maybe not very bright, but he makes up for it with his sugary nature.

He doesn't have great coordination or hearing, unfortunately. He's the kind of cat that never climbs. Recently he got all happy and tried to zoomie through the house, but instead tripped over the kitchen threshhold. Then he stayed where he fell and took a nap. He's had his heart checked. He's fine and healthy. But very difficult to exercise because he is bumbling and lazy. But such a funny guy! And so LOUD! When he wants attention he screeches like a pinched child.

Nikolas is as big a brat as ever. My nephew, 3, is only just beginning to speak strong sentences, but has dubbed Niko the "monster." We are converting an old machine shop adjacent to our house into a rec room/cat play area so that the monster can have a place to be safe from the children when they visit. And they wont be chased by him anymore.

When he wants me to pet him he hits me. When I stop petting him he hits me. When he wants a cuddle and I'm petting his brother...he hits me. He might be a stinky brat, but I adore him.

As always, he's the opposite of his brother. While Tato is loud, floppy and clumsy, Nikolas is a pretty delicate cat. Very dainty and lightfooted. He reminds me of a wild animal!

And then there's Pongo. He's been such a great friend for Nikolas. Tato has never really matched his brother's play style or energy. Nikolas is always go, go, go. Rough play, with claws and teeth. Tato is known to lazily sit on top of his brother instead of actually playing. With his hilarious because he is literally DOUBLE his brother's weight. But Nikolas gets frustrated because he wants to rough house.

Pongo meets his energy. Sometimes too well. They adore one another, but I sometimes find that they've chewed each other's ears up, taken down the Christmas tree together, or dumped a garbage can full of chimney ashes.

They're two peas in a pod and I'm glad that they have one another.

Pongo is one of those cats that loves everyone equally. I'm pretty sure he'd go home with a stranger if we let him. When we had him neutered, the vet called laughing and told us that they had to separate him from the other cats because he kept shoving his paws through the cage bars to touch them all, making them angry. They said he was the only friendly cat they had all day!

Unfortunately, we learned that at some point before we found him, he had contracted herpes. He will have some recurring symptoms for the rest of his life. A runny nose, frequent sneezing, and worst of all, the occasional nosebleed from both nostrils. Its not something that we can cure him of, but we can make him comfortable and wipe his runny nose so that he doesn't develop sores.

We have a wonderful vet though, and we made her a nice gift basket as a show of thanks when we had him neutered!

 

[Caspers Human]

Some very dapper looking cats you have, there!

 

[TobiDaDog]

Tato is still a huge mama's boy. Sometimes I feel like I need a baby sling to hold him in so I can get some work done. He does NOT fit in my lap anymore. But heck if he knows that!

16 lbs of mush, preventing me from pushing my desk chair in to work. All the time!

 

[TobiDaDog]

I think Pongo will grow to be cuddly, but he has SO much energy right now and he just wants to wrestle and play 24/7. He adores being petted but it always turns into gnawing on an arm, ear, or leg.

 

[Margot Lane]

Santa sent us photos!

 

[TobiDaDog]

Santa sent us photos!

Merry Christmas from Santa Claws himself! Also known on his naughty days as Saint Dickolas. Or Krampus.

 

[StefanZ]

Tx for the wonderful report!

A comment and a word of caution:
I see you got some dark chocolade. For humans is dark chocolade very healthy, and I myself prefer dark chocolade over the sweeter milk chocolade.
But for cats and dogs its harmful!!

Some little chocolade fragrant treats arent dangerous, because its very little real chocolade in them. (but may give the foul habit of wanting chocolade)
To taste some milk chocolade doesnt need to be dangerous - the amount is still quite small...

But dark chocolate holds twice or even thrice of what milk chocolade usually has - and thus becomes harmful... Cats and dogs cannot succesfully digest some of the koffein-alike ingredients.

 

[TobiDaDog]

Tx for the wonderful report!

A comment and a word of caution:
I see you got some dark chocolade. For humans is dark chocolade very healthy, and I myself prefer dark chocolade over the sweeter milk chocolade.
But for cats and dogs its harmful!!

Some little chocolade fragrant treats arent dangerous, because its very little real chocolade in them. (but may give the foul habit of wanting chocolade)
To taste some milk chocolade doesnt need to be dangerous - the amount is still quite small...

But dark chocolate holds twice or even thrice of what milk chocolade usually has - and thus becomes harmful... Cats and dogs cannot succesfully digest some of the koffein-alike ingredients.

Perhaps we had a misunderstanding. It was for my vet to eat. We picked out the candies due to innuendo. Goobers, raisinettes, and whoppers, to make fun of her job.

The cats did not get a sniff of this gift basket. Only a long overdue neuter.

 

[TobiDaDog]

We like to joke that Pongo moved in and became everyone's ruler. The boys are always "listening" to him!

 

[fionasmom]

What a beautiful Christmas story! Those cats are all real characters.