# Hello from Reno, NV



## mumof7kitties (Jan 27, 2013)

Hello, I'm Shauna. I'm married to my bestie and we have 11 children - all of the furry (& feathered) variety. We also foster bottle baby kittens each year from about March through November. And we also foster human children, as well. I'm currently returning back to school to go into vet med so things get a little hectic for me at times!

Our house is never dull. We have 7 kitties, 3 dogs, & a parrot. We never imagined having cats in our lives since my husband is allergic but we started fostering the kittens and that was that. Now he keeps the Benedryl and eye drops close by at all times but he'd never change it. 

I've found myself looking for info on this site more than once or twice so I thought it was time to just join! 

Currently I'm dealing with a bully situation between three of my kitties. Two are ganging up on the one so I've just barely started trying Spirit Essences - Peacemaker in hopes of calming everyone down. Crossing my fingers!

Anyway, it seems like a nice forum and I look forward to getting to know everyone and exchanging ideas, advice, and knowledge. 

This is a pic of four of my sweeties when they were little. 










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## mumof7kitties (Jan 27, 2013)

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## HollyHamster (Jan 27, 2013)

Oh they are beautiful! Is the top right one a longhair? He/she looks like it.


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## mumof7kitties (Jan 27, 2013)

Yeah. More medium hair length than anything. Her and her brother (the orange boy) were huge kitties from the day they were born. He now weighs in at around 16 pounds and she's approximately 14 pounds. The black one is their sister and she was the runt of the litter and was getting fed double bottles. She's one of my bullies now! The calico is one of my original two. She's the only feisty one of my bunch and never does anything with her claws retracted. I've got lots of scars from her but she's a total love and loves to snuggle under the blanket. She's also a wool sucker and will make huge wet spots on my clothes. I feel like all of them are my babies, probably because they are!


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## Jetlaya67 (Sep 26, 2012)

Oh, they are so cute! Welcome to the forum.


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## mumof7kitties (Jan 27, 2013)

Thank you. 


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## Nan (Oct 11, 2010)

Nothing cuter than snuggling kitties!


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## krissyxboo (Jan 30, 2013)

Welcome (=


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## mumof7kitties (Jan 27, 2013)

It makes me smile looking at their baby pics when they still have their baby fuzz; my orange boy especially, since he's so huge now! Ha. 


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

That picture is incredible! Way way too cute. Welcome to the forum too.

I have a 16-pound orange boy myself! I've asked for opinions here on whether the orange boys tend to be big cats, and for the most part, people agreed.


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## mumof7kitties (Jan 27, 2013)

I also have a tiny orange guy too. I really wanted a big orange tabby at the time and along came Lincoln and his sisters. I could only hope he'd grow into his huge paws. He is now the epitome of big orange tabbiness. Ha. 

My lil orange boy is the complete opposite. I fostered him and his 2 brothers last summer and they were always so much bigger and were able to be neutered and adopted at least 3 months before my little Dickens was. Plus he's a little mentally handicapable. He's not all there and all the big kitties treat him like a beloved mascot. Ha. 


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## Jasmine12 (Dec 31, 2012)

Hello, I have had some good results spraying Feliway around the house. Most pet stores carry it now.
It's great that you are going to become a vet! Good Luck!


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## mumof7kitties (Jan 27, 2013)

I've been seeing that product name around. I'll have to try it as the flower essentials don't seem to be working for everyone involved. 

The reviews for feliway are mixed, but then so were the ones for what I'm using now. I'm going to keep trying with the FE's for a little longer tho. 


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## Mia Kalika (Feb 2, 2013)

*A Recommendation For Your Cats to get along together*

Try putting vanilla extract on your hands and rub your hands on your cats fur. Then they will all smell the same and will like each other better.


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## mumof7kitties (Jan 27, 2013)

Hi Mia. Thanks for the tip. Unfortunately I've already tried that one to no avail.

Currently my picked on girl stays up in our bedroom with one of our dogs and at least one other kitty who likes her. She plays footsies with the bullies under the door till one of them will bang the door at which point she will hiss and run. But if I let her out while they're out they'll both gang up on her and the next thing I know there's a lot of caterwauling going on in the cat room. Sigh. My sweet bullies can be so mean! Ugh. 


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

The pic you posted is too cute for words! Do you have pics of the other 3 kitties? 

You could also try pheromone collars - my vet recommended NaturEase and said her patients had had really good results.

Wow, with that many pets, becoming a vet yourself will be useful!


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## mumof7kitties (Jan 27, 2013)

Gracie-








Lily-








Athena-








Lincoln-








Dickens-








Nikita-








Josephine-








And my doggies-
Emily-








Mary-









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## mumof7kitties (Jan 27, 2013)

Peaches-








And our parrot, Nemo-









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## mumof7kitties (Jan 27, 2013)

I'll look into the collars. At this point I'd donate a kidney if it meant they'd all get along. Ugh!



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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Welcome! Do you know you have the highest unemployment but the most sucessful no kill shelter in the US! Your kittens are precious! Feliway plug in dispensers really help. Plus doing lots of soializing. Playing helps in bonding. Kittens even have a hiararchy with a low man on he totem pole. Feeding together helps too!


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## mumof7kitties (Jan 27, 2013)

@ M&T... Yes, I knew that! Ha. I started going back to school a few years ago after losing my job and not being able to find another. I decided to go into something that I'm passionate about. 

I also foster bottle babies for the no-kill shelter as well as dogs from time to time. 

I'll give the Feliway & collars a go once I get my tax return (dang country is holding everyone's back a couple of weeks it would seem.) I figure if I put collars on the three kitties and diffusers throughout the house it'll hit all bases. And hopefully will work!


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## spirite (Jul 31, 2012)

OMG too sweet for words, each of them! That pic of Mary with snow on her nose is just adorable.  You really do have kitties in all shapes and sizes! The little Athena looks like a bundle of mischief - is she?


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## mumof7kitties (Jan 27, 2013)

Oh she is. She's a real lover tho too. She loves the snuggles. She's my kitty who's being bullied by two of my others tho. I'm super hoping that I'm able to get things straightened up soon!

Dickens is my little "short bus" kitty. He didn't get enough oxygen in utero so he's a bit slow. And quite tiny too. I fostered him & his 2 brothers and initially we weren't planning to keep any, orange kittens move so fast from the shelter, but when we had to delay his neutering because he was, a) Not nearly as big as his brothers, and b) he had cryptorchid so we were hoping it'd take care of itself but it never did, we decided to keep him. Then we figured out he was slow & that endeared him to us even more. 


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## Alex Harris (May 4, 2012)

Welcome to the board!


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