Dec
25
7th Annual Cavalcade of Kittens
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Once we discovered last year that Daisy loves kittens, 2016 saw the Mackenzie Finishing School for Felines back in full swing once again! It’s been a banner season of 25, with our latest enrollees still with us until the end of the year.
The kitties we take in are big enough to eat on their own, generally five to six weeks old, and we keep them until they’re at least eight weeks, two pounds, and in good body condition. It’s so much fun, and so rewarding to watch them grow from sometimes shy, teensy little klutzes with short stubby legs to sturdy confident pre-teens who sprout legs and run thumping and banging around the house. All have been promptly adopted upon their return to the shelter.
Our first batch, all the way back in April, were Emmie, Cedric, and Benjamin.
Emmie and Cedric doing their best poses at the top of the cat condo.
Benjamin at the other end.
Next we had two siblings, Abby and Avery, and an additional singleton for good measure, Bobbie Sox.
Abby and Avery, little sweethearts the both of them.
Avery coming, Bobbie Sox going. Or is it the other way around…
Group nap.
The next batch were a group of thee brothers. The DH named them when I was out of town at a quilt show. Ace, Jack, and King. Yes, named after the playing cards. I thought King was more for a horse, or a German shepherd, so we came up with Kingsley.
Their shelter intake photos were pretty hilarious.
They were teeny tiny when I got them, and pretty messy.
Ace’s first day in foster.
I got them cleaned up, and they soon began to prosper being warm, fed, and cared for. They grew to sturdy little kittens and got snatched up by happy adopters.
Jack in the hobbit house.
Kingsley deciding if he wants to pounce on one of his brothers.
Usually three at a time is our limit, but maybe once a year I agree to take a batch of four. That’s how we got Winifred, Moo, Cooper, and Tab Hunter.
Tab Hunter was Daisy’s BFFF (Best Feline Friend Forever).
Next up were some kittens from a larger litter. One of them was a runt, and the staff at the shelter asked me if I wanted to try. I said I would give it a whirl, so home they came with me.
You can see that Kip, in the front, is much smaller than the others.
Kittens can be runty for any number of reasons, and Kip gave us some worry at the beginning. He was not a good eater, and not very social either. He just acted like he didn’t feel good and didn’t want to be bothered. If you petted him, he wouldn’t object, but pretty soon he would just get up and move away. I fed him diluted wet food through a wide syringe like the shelter vet taught me, but still he was acting pretty puny. Finally we opened a can of low-sodium tuna in water, and that did the trick! He found his stomach, and learned that eating was good! After a couple cans of tuna, we transitioned him back to a regular kitten diet (tuna does not provide complete nutrition so it can only be a temporary thing).
Jinjur, in the front, was a torbie.. that is, tortie and tabby. Jasper, back left, was a brown tabby, as was Kip. All fuzzy.
Jasper and Kip.
Because they were with us during warm weather, they could hang out on the cat-proofed back patio!
Eventually, as Kip felt better and better, he started to become more social, and got to the point where he would seek out my lap, enjoy being petted, and purr. That was a tremendous relief for me. Now for a shock.. I hate it when this happens… I took them in for their booster shots and was informed that Kip was a girl! Oy vey, he was given to me as a boy, and I never even checked!
When Kip was adopted, I believe the little girl named her Aria. :)
Next we had a brother-sister duo, two sweet brown mackerel tabbies.
Nikolai and Natasha.
The DH speaks Russian, and if you know your Russian literature you’ll remember that Nikolai and Natasha were brother and sister in War and Peace.
They enjoyed rollicking on the patio in a kitty conga line.
Cat Toy.. glasses… DirecTV remote… same thing.
There was a whole lot of grooming going on with these two.
Daisy thinks kitten ears taste delicious.
Even Max got in on the act.
The next enrollees were two kittens from different litters, both smaller than their respective siblings and in need of a little foster time.
Maggie and Misty on leaf patrol!
Shy little Misty was the smallest in a litter of 8 (that’s right, eight) pastel torties. Maggie was exactly the same size, a black-and-white “cow cat.” These girls got along instantly.
We sleeepy.
All tucked up in minkee.
Bathrobes are gud.
Big cat, little cat.
Once Misty and Maggie went back, kitten season was starting to wind down. The only kitty they had in need of foster was a scrappy little singleton. Usually I prefer to have 2 or 3, but in this case I took the little guy home with me.
There’s a whole syndrome named after single kittens. What it boils down to is that when they don’t have other kittens around to tussle with and learn limits from, they tend to treat human hands like other kittens… bite, chomp, thrash, etc., without the benefit of the other kittens letting them know when they’re playing too hard. Eddie wasn’t such a hard case, and he learned to rein in his teeth after a few well-timed puffs of air in his face. He was a super cute little dude, full of personality, and we enjoyed him immensely. Eddie stayed with us a good 3 weeks as the only kitten. He loved Daisy to pieces.
Fun to play with like a kitten.
Snuggles gud like other kittens.
Don’t ask.
Finally another single kitten came in and I was able to bring her home to join Eddie in foster.
Kitty Bella.
Bella was a fancy mostly-white calico. She was a sweet marshmallow of a girl, but when I brought her home, it was pretty hilarious. At first, Eddie in particular was none too happy to be introduced, and acted like it was a mortal affront that this other creature was breathing his air. I wasn’t worried, because I’ve seen this before. Within 3 days they totally got over it and you’d never guess they hadn’t known each other all their lives. Bella also took to Daisy.
Let’s dream together…
Last but not least, I took three from a litter of six.
One of them had a rather rotund shape, which earned her the name Muffin. The black one, Pepper, has a coat that is actually what they call a black smoke… black at the ends and light gray underneath. The third one looks almost exactly like Muffin, except more slender. We call her Josie.
Daisy welcomes one of the tabbies.
These three are still with us, spreading Christmas tree pine needles throughout the living room with gusto. They have been a delight to have… friendly, healthy lap cats. Two of them have already found a home! A family friend of one of the staff members at the shelter was looking to adopt two kittens. Kittens aren’t that common this time of year, so it was a perfect match! Pepper and Muffin will go to their new home just in time for the new year. I have no doubt that Josie will be snapped up immediately once she appears in Adoptables at the shelter.
Josie auditioning for calendar kitten.
Meowy Cwismis from Pepper and Muffin!
‘N loads of sisterly luv!
Happy holidays to you and yours,
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Kay’s Etsy Shop
Dec
25
6th Annual Cavalcade of Kittens
Filed Under Kittens Off Topic | 4 Comments
Due to the acquisition of a new canine mascot, The Mackenzie Finishing School for Felines opened its doors quite late in the season.
Daisy and her carrot. The carrot has, alas, now gone the way of all dog toys that are in any way destructible.
When playtime is over, this is one cuddly snuggle-pup.
It wasn’t until September that we brought home our first batch of foster kittens. The kitties we take in are big enough to eat on their own, generally five to six weeks old, and we keep them until they’re at least eight weeks, two pounds, and in good body condition. It’s so much fun, and so rewarding to watch them grow from sometimes shy, teensy little klutzes with short stubby legs to sturdy confident pre-teens who sprout legs and run thumping and banging around the house.
Our first group of cute blue-eyed Snowshoe kitties were Lila, Lucinda, and Ellison.
Lila enjoys the patio.
Lucinda appreciates a comfy cat bed.
Ellison chases his sister’s tail.
It turns out that Daisy loves, LOVES kittens, in fact she was likely to love them to pieces, so close supervision was necessary at all times. These kitties weren’t the least bit shy, and didn’t bat a whisker at a pushy puppy licking their ears and chewing them up all over. In fact they purred and tussled back in a sort of very fun baby-animal Fight Club.
Lila was Daisy’s favorite tussle partner.
Ellison got his licks in too. :)
Co-drinking.
Kitten vending machine.
Everyone survived the foster period, these three went back to the shelter in fine fettle, and were snatched up by adopters at once.
The second batch consisted of three fuzzy tabby sisters: Mamie, Sadie, and Paisley.
Breakfast time!
She did it. (Mamie and Paisley.)
Sadie is shocked at the egregious mistake in the labeling.
Unlike the Siamese, these tabby girls weren’t so sure at first about the whole dog thing. They established boundaries that were a valuable part of Daisy’s education. After just a few days they got over it, the Fight Club resumed, and a splendid time was had by all.
In between rounds, Daisy and Sadie enjoy the afternoon sun on the front porch.
When they first came in, these girls were a tad bit shy. It didn’t take them long to figure out that humans, big cats, and dogs were okay, and to become friendly kitties. Mamie was the friendliest of them all, in fact I took to calling her “Mamie the Everpresent,” because she was just always there.
She liked to be upside down, and was Daisy’s favorite tabby tussle partner.
DH Dana calls this one “Kitty Nirvana.”
We have a drought in California, you know. To save water, we have our kittens wash our dishes.
The tabbies went back to the shelter for adoption and were snapped up in no time.
Since then, I’ve had a weather eye out for more kittens, but so far there haven’t been any that were in the appropriate age group for the foster program. Still checking daily!
Happy holidays to you and yours!
Kay
By Kay Mackenzie
Kay’s Etsy Shop
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