A kitten fell down my chimney and I need advice!

[TobiDaDog]

Yesterday they were acting like nothing ever happened. Absolutely bouncing off the walls! They had to be crated separately at bedtime because they wouldn't stop wrestling and climbing the curtains.

Today they're a lot more subdued. Tato is VERY clingy and won't let me leave the room. Nikolas alternates between being clingy and wanting to be left completely alone.

When they did get a little playful I turned on Cat TV and it occupied them for about an hour.

Yesterday they sent us home with cones because they kept licking themselves. Today I haven't seen much licking but I think the cones were just awful. They kept doing backflips trying to take them off.

I'm a little worried that the vet did a complementary nail clipping without asking...it was a nice gesture but the kittens keep trying to leap into their cat tower and falling because their claws don't catch them anymore.

 

[TobiDaDog]

Meanwhile, my clingy baby. I have no idea where his brother has squirreled away to, but Tato just wants to be close. I hope this doesn't mean he's in too much pain. We'll need to combine snuggling and working from home today.

 

[Caspers Human]

I'm glad your kittens are doing well!

Yes, they will be groggy for the first day or so. That's normal. Now that they are up and running around, that's a sign that they are doing well. If there aren't any setbacks, they should be right as rain in another week or two. After that, smooth sailing!

You don't have to use the "cone of shame" if your kittens don't need them. It's okay to let them lick "back there" but if they start chewing on their stitches, that could be a problem.

As far as activity goes, you can mostly let the kittens run normally. IF they do something that hurts they should stop on their own.

Just check up on their surgery site every day to make sure everything's okay. Keep it clean with a wet cloth if you think it needs to be.

As far as what a cat thinks about being neutered... The only thing they should notice is a little bit less wind resistance.

As to the claw clipping... We don't normally clip our cats' claws but, when they go to the vet, they sometimes get clipped. They will grow back. With kittens, they should grow back even faster. As far as we're concerned, on the matter of claw clipping, it's "six of one and a half-dozen of another."

 

[TobiDaDog]

I'm glad your kittens are doing well!

Yes, they will be groggy for the first day or so. That's normal. Now that they are up and running around, that's a sign that they are doing well. If there aren't any setbacks, they should be right as rain in another week or two. After that, smooth sailing!

You don't have to use the "cone of shame" if your kittens don't need them. It's okay to let them lick "back there" but if they start chewing on their stitches, that could be a problem.

As far as activity goes, you can mostly let the kittens run normally. IF they do something that hurts they should stop on their own.

Just check up on their surgery site every day to make sure everything's okay. Keep it clean with a wet cloth if you think it needs to be.

As far as what a cat thinks about being neutered... The only thing they should notice is a little bit less wind resistance.

As to the claw clipping... We don't normally clip our cats' claws but, when they go to the vet, they sometimes get clipped. They will grow back. With kittens, they should grow back even faster. As far as we're concerned, on the matter of claw clipping, it's "six of one and a half-dozen of another."

Smooth sailing it's been! You'd never know they had surgery if it weren't for their shaved bottoms.

They've been poking their little noses into everything.

 

[Caspers Human]

You'd never know they had surgery if it weren't for their shaved bottoms.

Yeah! Less wind resistance!

 

[TobiDaDog]

Yeah! Less wind resistance!

Yep! Tato finally figured out how to jump onto the counter pretty much immediately after he came home. Either the pain meds gave him confidence or he felt a little lighter in the backside.
These two have me safety locking everything.

 

[fionasmom]

I love the determined look on his face that he can take care of the lizard who is bigger than he is. Fiona had a particular dislike of lizards for whatever reason.

 

[Margot Lane]

….Could it possibly be a Tiger salamander? Some of those guys glow in the dark! Ooooo.

 

[KittyCat_chitchat]

I love how Tato is all "Ooooh, what are you?" and the salamander's just sitting there like it doesn't care.

 

[TobiDaDog]

….Could it possibly be a Tiger salamander? Some of those guys glow in the dark! Ooooo.

Yep! I rescue salamanders and have a sanctuary home for them. (Salamanderwithasign on Insta) I actually have about 42 right now looking for homes. I've sent over 50 to zoos around the U.S.!

 

[Margot Lane]

Yep! I rescue salamanders and have a sanctuary home for them. (Salamanderwithasign on Insta) I actually have about 42 right now looking for homes. I've sent over 50 to zoos around the U.S.!

SO TOTALLY COOL!!!!!! So, does it glow it the dark?

 

[TobiDaDog]

SO TOTALLY COOL!!!!!! So, does it glow it the dark?

Not the one in the pic!! But I do have quite a few that glow. They don't glow in the dark, exactly - But they glow bright green when a blacklight is shone on them due to a jellyfish protein that was implanted into their genetic code by scientists decades ago.

And this one is actually really special because only HALF of his body glows. He is one of a kind in all the world. Genetically, he is different on either side of his body.

 

[TobiDaDog]

I love how Tato is all "Ooooh, what are you?" and the salamander's just sitting there like it doesn't care.

If I let them meet face to face, Norbert would definitely bite him. He has absolutely zero sense of self preservation and thinks everything that moves is food. I have been bitten before pretty hard.

This is a salamander bite. They're feisty!

 

[KittyCat_chitchat]

The thing with amphibians is that, like the line from Jurassic Park, their vision is based on movement, so they'll grab anything that moves thinking it's a prey item. I really admire what you're doing with the salamanders. There are so many reptiles and amphibians who suffer because people don't understand how complex their care needs are. Sadly, where I live, a lot of zoos get saturated with rehomed reptiles and amphibians and they're unable to take in any more, but the problem is still there because there's very little regulation on the welfare and trade of anything that isn't a cat or a dog, and what regulation there is is next to impossible to reinforce.

 

[JamesCalifornia]

I'm a little worried that the vet did a complementary nail clipping without asking...it was a nice gesture but the kittens keep trying to leap into their cat tower and falling because their claws don't catch them anymore.

~ Indoor cats need claws trimmed. When too long they get caught in drapes , curtains and carpet — very dangerous for kitty .

 

[TobiDaDog]

Welp, looks like I have a bad case of teleporting cats.

I opened the front door to check the mail this morning, grabbed it, and started to shut the door..and heard a high pitched mewling coming from our front planter bed. My heart dropped. Another kitten?? I ran outside...and it was REESE! Huddled up behind our wooden planter crying pitifully.

I have no idea how she'd gotten out there. She was present and accounted for at breakfast. Then a few hours later I go to check the mail and she's outside on the porch looking VERY confused!!

She has never wanted to go outside, ever. She's one-hundred-percent an indoor cat. I just can't think how she'd gotten out there. First a kitten in the chimney and now a cat teleported outside. So weird!!

She is fine, by the way. Very ruffled and slightly grumpier than usual, but fine.

 

[fionasmom]

Definitely a disgruntled little face.

 

[TobiDaDog]

Tato's ears are starting to curl backwards, what's up with that?

 

[Caspers Human]

If the ears just curl a little, I'd chalk it up to growth. Sometimes, a cat's, a dogs or even a human's ears change shape as they mature.

If they get a crease and fold over so that the tip of the ear flops down, that's something to have a vet take a look at.

Until then, just keep an eye on it and, if it doesn't get worse, nothing to worry about. If it changes, call your vet.

 

[Sarthur2]

I’m guessing it’s a genetic trait she inherited and likely nothing to worry about.