I adopted 2 6mt kittens on Sept 17. Leo male and Luna female, littermates and desexed. I tried to do a slow introduction our very skittish 13yr Sqeeker. Present weights Sqeeker 6lb, Luna 6lb, Leo 9lb. Sqeeker has always enjoyed being the beta cat.
Turns out all 3 of them can turn doorknobs. As expected, Skeeter walked right up to each and touched noses but then let out a long loud hiss. Luna kind of shook her shoulders and walked away, Leo fell over. The 1st night I kept the twins in with us. By night 2 it was clear they were respecting Sqeeker so I left all doors open.
Sqeek went back to the room I set up for him and mostly stayed there for 4 days except to eat and use the box. He had dry food, water, and a box in his room and when I brought his wet in, he led me back to the kitchen. Everybody chose to use the litter box in the bathroom even though we have 3 on this level and 2 in the basement. A few days later Sqeek moved to my bed. Then in a few more days out to the living room and mostly in The Cave. The Cave = an old tv stand in a corner between a wall and my chair. When the heat is on, it’s the warmest spot in the house and one of his “safe” petting spots. In cooler weather he’s always spent long hours in here.
The twins have settled in. While awake both made themselves at home getting to know the house. I was amazed at how respectful they were, and still are, to Sqeeker. For the first 7-10 days Luna slept behind a dresser then in the cat tree tunnel. She’s a curious girl so came running every time anyone made noise. Leo didn’t leave my side and needed to be at my heart when sleeping. They’ve become more independent, will sleep and play everywhere. Leo is always ready to cuddle and Luna loves cuddles not continuously. They both let Sqeek sniff them but Sqeek gives them the look if they get too close. Leo just falls over. Sometimes he falls if he’s close to Sqeek but Sqeek hasn’t seen him yet. Luna is unpredictable. Sometimes she’ll stand still, other times tries to sniff back, and gets bopped but not upset by being bopped.
They now use 2 of the 5 boxes and occasionally use a basement box. Luna is curious about both cat and human potty time. She’s tried to get her nose into everybody’s business. She’s gotten into the box and used it with Leo. Sqeeker won’t let her do that even though he used to do it with Yoshi. But he let’s her sniff what ever she wants with no nervousness. When the twins are playing/zooming Sqeeker sits out in the open and reaches out to try and touch one as they go by. They veer around or jump over him. He gets a little surprised but stays put. Leo has snuck in and slept next to Sqeek but no cuddling. I’m hopeful and more than a little proud of “bossy” Skeeter.
Now to the “almost”. The twins are obsessed with all food. They are getting no human food. I think they get enough food ½ can each Fancy Feast kitten 2x dly and free feed Authority kitten. Skeeker get ½ can Fancy Feast and eats the same dry. He had his annual and senior blood work was all normal so was give the ok eat kitten dry. Sqeeker is not underweight, but it would be nice if he gained a little buffer in case he ever gets sick.
They both know “NO” and are learning “down” at the counters. Leo is more of a people pleaser so complies more but usually gets right back up. Luna is pure cat. She gives the “who me” look which I expect to grow into “in your dream” so she gets put on the floor. They get 2 chances to stay down then get strollered until their food is ready. As soon as they gobble theirs they go for Sqeeker’s. Sqeeker has always had a sibling trying to steal his food so even the first week he ate with them from his plate. I grab them as fast as I can. Luna always has to go in the stroller. Sometimes I can pull Leo a few feet away, hold him down, and say stay and he does. Other times he puts himself in “stay”. More often it’s back in the stroller for him too. Until a few days ago I kept a pot lid on Sqeekers leftovers for him. Leo figured out how to take it off. I pulled out my no fail cake box, popped Sqeek’s dish in, and locked it. The twins tossed that cake box all over the kitchen. Me and Sqeek just watched. Sqeeker did get new food. Now, I let them out with one hand and put Sqeeker’s leftovers in the stroller with the other hand. When Sqeeker wants it, I put it down, then catch and toss them in the stroller before they get to his food.
They are still growing and I can handle 15lb of kittens most days. Maybe even 20 but Leo is gaining ½ lb a week. It won’t be long before they are too big for me to grab both or they figure out how to avoid getting caught.
Do I put a little food in the cake box and hope they can’t get in and give up while hiding Sqeek’s food somewhere else? Any other ideas?
The twins have also discovered the trash this week. What are the best covered cans?
To make up for my long windedness I’m adding some pictures. Luna- gray oriental looking Leo- tabby with O on his side and eyes closed Sqeeker – tabby with beautiful green eyes and snowballs on his cheeks
Turns out all 3 of them can turn doorknobs. As expected, Skeeter walked right up to each and touched noses but then let out a long loud hiss. Luna kind of shook her shoulders and walked away, Leo fell over. The 1st night I kept the twins in with us. By night 2 it was clear they were respecting Sqeeker so I left all doors open.
Sqeek went back to the room I set up for him and mostly stayed there for 4 days except to eat and use the box. He had dry food, water, and a box in his room and when I brought his wet in, he led me back to the kitchen. Everybody chose to use the litter box in the bathroom even though we have 3 on this level and 2 in the basement. A few days later Sqeek moved to my bed. Then in a few more days out to the living room and mostly in The Cave. The Cave = an old tv stand in a corner between a wall and my chair. When the heat is on, it’s the warmest spot in the house and one of his “safe” petting spots. In cooler weather he’s always spent long hours in here.
The twins have settled in. While awake both made themselves at home getting to know the house. I was amazed at how respectful they were, and still are, to Sqeeker. For the first 7-10 days Luna slept behind a dresser then in the cat tree tunnel. She’s a curious girl so came running every time anyone made noise. Leo didn’t leave my side and needed to be at my heart when sleeping. They’ve become more independent, will sleep and play everywhere. Leo is always ready to cuddle and Luna loves cuddles not continuously. They both let Sqeek sniff them but Sqeek gives them the look if they get too close. Leo just falls over. Sometimes he falls if he’s close to Sqeek but Sqeek hasn’t seen him yet. Luna is unpredictable. Sometimes she’ll stand still, other times tries to sniff back, and gets bopped but not upset by being bopped.
They now use 2 of the 5 boxes and occasionally use a basement box. Luna is curious about both cat and human potty time. She’s tried to get her nose into everybody’s business. She’s gotten into the box and used it with Leo. Sqeeker won’t let her do that even though he used to do it with Yoshi. But he let’s her sniff what ever she wants with no nervousness. When the twins are playing/zooming Sqeeker sits out in the open and reaches out to try and touch one as they go by. They veer around or jump over him. He gets a little surprised but stays put. Leo has snuck in and slept next to Sqeek but no cuddling. I’m hopeful and more than a little proud of “bossy” Skeeter.
Now to the “almost”. The twins are obsessed with all food. They are getting no human food. I think they get enough food ½ can each Fancy Feast kitten 2x dly and free feed Authority kitten. Skeeker get ½ can Fancy Feast and eats the same dry. He had his annual and senior blood work was all normal so was give the ok eat kitten dry. Sqeeker is not underweight, but it would be nice if he gained a little buffer in case he ever gets sick.
They both know “NO” and are learning “down” at the counters. Leo is more of a people pleaser so complies more but usually gets right back up. Luna is pure cat. She gives the “who me” look which I expect to grow into “in your dream” so she gets put on the floor. They get 2 chances to stay down then get strollered until their food is ready. As soon as they gobble theirs they go for Sqeeker’s. Sqeeker has always had a sibling trying to steal his food so even the first week he ate with them from his plate. I grab them as fast as I can. Luna always has to go in the stroller. Sometimes I can pull Leo a few feet away, hold him down, and say stay and he does. Other times he puts himself in “stay”. More often it’s back in the stroller for him too. Until a few days ago I kept a pot lid on Sqeekers leftovers for him. Leo figured out how to take it off. I pulled out my no fail cake box, popped Sqeek’s dish in, and locked it. The twins tossed that cake box all over the kitchen. Me and Sqeek just watched. Sqeeker did get new food. Now, I let them out with one hand and put Sqeeker’s leftovers in the stroller with the other hand. When Sqeeker wants it, I put it down, then catch and toss them in the stroller before they get to his food.
They are still growing and I can handle 15lb of kittens most days. Maybe even 20 but Leo is gaining ½ lb a week. It won’t be long before they are too big for me to grab both or they figure out how to avoid getting caught.
Do I put a little food in the cake box and hope they can’t get in and give up while hiding Sqeek’s food somewhere else? Any other ideas?
The twins have also discovered the trash this week. What are the best covered cans?
To make up for my long windedness I’m adding some pictures. Luna- gray oriental looking Leo- tabby with O on his side and eyes closed Sqeeker – tabby with beautiful green eyes and snowballs on his cheeks
It really slowed them down and was fun watching them follow their plates around. I had to put Luna back at her dish a few times and Leo was calm enough to listen to "eat your own" Feeding Sqeeker is a full time job. I forgot to note his snacks. When he got his bisque the twins got their 3rd meal. He also gets a sprinkling of Fancy Feast dry. They got some in a treat ball. I realized today that part of the issue is hearing cats. Sqeeker screams, we get his food out of lock-up, and it's been that way for years. His big brother was deaf at the end of his life so slept through extra meals. Now Sqeek yells and everybody appears.
