# New Kittens- They've arrived!



## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

I'm picking up the little babies this evening. There has been much excitement over their arrival already! Me and the BF did some spring cleaning and reorganization in preparation for their arrival. Nito, who usually would hide or be nervous of such activities has been on the prowl and quite interested in what we are up to.

Of course, the prince of the house has been keeping an eye on all activities









He was keenly interested in our movements over by the two beds. Here you can see him inspecting after the removal of one bed (I have two side-by-side twins). Soon both beds were gone, and when they came back they had no frames! No more under the bed escapades for the naughty boy!









While moving the beds we threw a blanket on his cat tree for a moment. He loved that. 









After we set up the kitten's cage, Nito made himself at home within minutes.









He's even been trying to sneak into the mini-litter box and use it! No way I'm letting him do that- he can barely aim in his BIG litter box!










Well, that's about all for preparation. Next picture-post will contain kittens!!


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## bizarro7777 (May 2, 2009)

*Re: New Kittens- TODAY!!*

can't wait to see them!


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

*Re: New Kittens- TODAY!!*

This is an exciting time for everyone, even Nito!


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## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

*Re: New Kittens- TODAY!!*

You must be counting each minute as it passes. Good luck to all of you as you expand your family.


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

*Re: New Kittens- TODAY!!*

Gah! The suspense! They are staying an extra day with their family out of town, so I'm picking them up tomorrow afternoon, not tonight.


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## DesnBaby (Apr 18, 2004)

*Re: New Kittens- TODAY!!*

He was just making sure that everything was alright. :wink:


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

*Re: New Kittens- TODAY!!*

They will be here in about 8 hours!


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## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

*Re: New Kittens- TODAY!!*

WOOHOO. I'm so excited for you.


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Well, they are here! They are settling into my BF's apartment at the moment, and they've been exploring for a while. They seemed shy and scared at first, but as soon as the toy came out I couldn't stop the playing! The girl is temporarily called "Lil'Sista" and the boy is "Trouble" because he is such a hellion- he tugs on the toy and tries to run off with it just like Nito!! So far no eating, but Lil'Sista peed in the litter box! Trouble is more interested in food, Sista isn't interested at all. Is there anything tasty and kitten safe that I can tempt her with?

Once they are more secure, I'll take pictures. I don't want to scare them with the flash right now.

Nito took one look at them in the cage, got all poofed up and walked away. He did one small hiss and then we let him go home. He's being a big attention seeker in my room now. He'll have to get extra love and brief encounters with them until he's ready. He's not one to accept strange smells without a source, towel swapping seems to only agitate him so we figured we'd let him see them right away and then go home. And so far he isn't hissing at us, and he isn't hiding, he's cheerful and normal except for when he saw them.


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Update: Trouble is a cooked chicken fiend! I hope that's alright to feed him- just plain cooked chicken. He went crazy over it and ate several little bits of it. He even munched mine and the BF's fingers really hard cause they smelled of chicken! He isn't interested in the canned kitten food or the kibbles soaked in water, neither is Sister. I hope that's only temporary for now! I figure I should let them eat whatever they'll eat right now since they are just newly weaned. Later I'm going to bust out the KMR milk to see if I can tempt Lil'Sista.


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## love.my.cats (Jan 29, 2009)

Awww, very exciting! Can't wait to see pics


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Ok, so the boy will eat plain cooked chicken and he lapped up the KMR ravenously. The girl... no interest in either. Both are lapping water right now. What should I do about the little girl? Is she just not hungry right now?


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Yay! The girl kitten has lapped some of the KMR. Now I just have to find what food will tempt her...

Little trouble boy has drank plenty of water, kitten milk, and eaten plenty of chicken but still no sign of potty or poop. I'm keeping a close eye on him!


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Since my last post, both have made potties, neither have pooped. Both are playful, and boy are lapping plenty of KMR. Neither of them is happy to be shut in the cage :? 

PICTURES!!

The little girl helping me do my art









Sleepy boy!









Sleepy girl!


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

How sweet they are! If they don't soon have BMs, perhaps you'll have to wipe his little bottom, as if you were his kitty mom. Just use a warm wash cloth.


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## BigBurma (Apr 26, 2009)

Aaaaaaawwwww....


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Yep Jeanie, I did that for a while but it only made the little boy pee. How long should I wait before trying that with both of them? And how long should I let the girl kitten drink only KMR and not eat solids? I planned on trying again with some solid food tomorrow morning with her. Tomorrow I'm probably going to boil a chicken breast and serve it up in some cream of chicken soup, since the boy really liked the chicken but neither showed any enthusiasm for the kibbles or canned.


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

I gave my kittens a pate' when they were about 4-4 1/2 weeks. It will take a bit of patience and mess making, but she'll learn. I have forgotten their age, but I believe they are around that age, aren't they? I would stimulate the little girl's bottom every time she eats. Try some baby meat at first. I think she will be able to handle that. 

Once they start eating "solid" food, they will catch on quickly, and you can promote them to a food with more texture.


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Is it alright to give them plain cooked chicken? So I should go grab like chicken or turkey human baby food and give that a try as well? I just want to be sure before I go feeding them human baby food lol! :lol: 

Ah, the little boy is such a ham. When he gets into sleepy mode he gets "moldable" you can put his paws in whatever position, roll him over, curl him up! The girl has become the playful one, and quickly takes over any situation. She is spunky and a tad shyer. When you talk softly to the little boy, he will make little mews in response. Oh but when the girl looks at you with her expressive blue eyes!!!

And as for Nito... he's acting sulky. I suppose I'll keep it to one visit a day and see if he hisses and growls less. He's been angry about the smell on my and the BFs clothes lately and insists we change before petting him. I suppose the smell bugs him, so I may try putting vanilla extract on everyone's necks soon.


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## melysion (Mar 12, 2007)

so cute. Looks like they are already right at home! :luv


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## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

Oh Rachel, I am so happy for you. They are such precious little things. Nito may be picking up on your excitment to see the babies and be reacting to that. I would go out of my way to show him attention, etc.


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

Rach, I must have missed the beginning of this story. Where did these kittens come from? Are you fostering? 

They're adorable!


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

October- the kid who owns the mom accidently let her out. They have too many pets so the parents gave him an ultimatum to get them out. They sorta "fosters"... but my sister is adopting one and I am too if Nito will let me. They are staying next door at my BFs house for now, because i don't want them to invade Nito's private space just yet. 

So far Nito has been iffy. He was all stressed out and growling to himself last night. He'd get really mad if he was touched on his haunches. He must have smelled the kittens on us. He slept with her but then he growled and swatted my leg when I moved so I sent him away. But he came back later and was normal. This morning he was up at the sound of the alarm, ready for his breakfast. I then gave him lots of cuddles and tested him out by petting his haunches to see if he tensed up and he was fine. Today, if I let him go over to see the kittens, I'm going to put vanilla extract on everyone's necks.

They slept through the night which is very impressive to me! This morning they lapped KMR, but no interest in fancy feast or kibble. I'm going to the store very soon to get some new things for them to try out. Still no poops, but we're working on it!


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

Maybe it'll help Nito to have smelled the kittens for a while before they're actually in his home. What a good deal that your boyfriend lives next door (on many levels)!


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Yea, we're going back and forth to exchange smells. We also let him gaze at them inside looking through from outside the back door. He watched them for a while without making a sound, then gave a light growl and went home. For an anxious kitty like Nito, it was a great sign! 

Since my last message, the boy made a poop all his own! Then he tripped and fell in it and a piece got stuck to his bum :roll: We had to do some clean up, and his bum seemed to be bothering him for a bit, but it was all better after I used a damp cloth to clean him up. I am wondering if this is perhaps one of the first poops he's made on his own. 

The little girl is surprisingly nimble! She does these huge jumps after toys, and lands most of them more gracefully than Nito ever has! 

We're calling the boy Keanu now, hehe because I'm in love with Keanu Reeves :lol:


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Rach, any pate' would be all right.  They're probably too young to eat anything with chunks. If the can says "chicken in gravy," it's probably chunks. Since you can't tell by the can, I recommended baby meat, which I know is a pate'.


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

I got some different high quality brands of canned kitten food. I also picked up 2 kitten fancy feasts, which I'm using as a tester and I don't mind that they won't eat, since it was pretty cheap. I think I'm going to use some boiled plain chicken to tempt Keanu to eat some of the canned food at the next meal. And I may mix the kitten cereal with the KMR and see if that encourages the girl. 

Right now Keanu can't decide if he's sleepy or frisky rcat


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## TabbyCat (Apr 6, 2009)

How cutes the little girl
I love her markings


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## cmw0829 (Nov 23, 2008)

They're adorable! How old are they?

Poor Nito, he must be at least a little bit confused. We did the smell exchange and things were pretty good after 4 days, and now great after 4 weeks.

Enjoy those lovely little kittens!!


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

cmw: I was told they are about 7 weeks old, though I am not sure if that was accurate. There are tiny, I'd guess 4 maybe 5 weeks old. 

After several unsuccessful tries at getting the little girl to eat, I finally discovered the magic recipe! I mixed some plain chicken baby food (gerber, the only ingredients were chicken and chicken broth) with KMR kitten milk and they both went bonkers over it! They lapped up two small platefuls and now their little bellies are all round and they seem content. Both made tinkles after dinner, but the girl still hasn't pooped. I'm going to give her until tomorrow morning, since I'm pretty sure she hasn't really eaten much solid food before this. Then I will try stimulating her bum with a cloth like Jeanie suggested! 

So far so good! Except Nito, he's been on edge a bit lately. He was begging to come over to my BF's house so we let him. He decided to sit on the couch and watch the kittens and growl some. Then he ate his dinner 3 feet away from where little girl was eating hers. He growled the whole time, but I wasn't concerned because he ALWAYS growls the whole time he eats no matter what. Later, he lunged at Keanu and did a warning hiss so I asked him if he wanted to go home and he did. (My apartment shares an underground garage with my BF's, so Nito just walks himself home and I open doors for him. I knows what the words "wanna go home?" mean) I have administered some "Calm Down" to him via his water and it seems to have pacified him some. I know it is a bit early for him to be in the same room as the kittens, but he's the one who chose to! Walked right in and sat down on the couch. I planned on having him in the other connected room to smell and watch from the distance but no! Then he acts all salty about it, silly guy. He goes back to normal once he gets to my room, except occasionally he'll smell the kittens on me and get miffed.


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## love.my.cats (Jan 29, 2009)

Awww they are adorable!! :luv :luv :luv 
Hopefully Nito comes around.


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Another Nito breakthrough, though progress is still slow (as I expect it to be, since it is only day 2 afterall) 

I got Nito to sit with me on the couch, and we were going through our favorites list on youtube, which is a bunch of shots of birds at feeders. He watched videos, and all the while little girl was right behind the screen less that 8 inches away!


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

One last update for this thread:

Both have made poops... hooray! Both got breaded after walking through or falling into their poops... boo! But we got them all washed off, fluffed up, and smelling great again! They are now eagerly eating a mixture of canned food, meat baby food, and KMR. I'm reducing the KMR and trying to get them to eat more solids every time. Little Girl won't touch anything unless it is soaked with KMR, while Keanu is a piglet and stole a meatball out of my spaghettios today!! Brat! Now his little face is orange stained and it won't wipe off!!

Otherwise they are just busy being kittens!


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

That little rascal! Stealing meatballs right out of the refrigerator! :lol: I'm glad they're doing so well.  Pictures, please!


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

He stole them right from the bowl sitting on the table when I turned my head! Hehe, he's all saucy now, I wonder how long his face will be orange!

I have a bunch more pictures and a few video clips. I have a busy day today, but I'll try to get more posted tonight  

Until then, enjoy this cute one :luv


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## cmw0829 (Nov 23, 2008)

Could you please take a picture of the orange-faced little boy?


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Hehe, I'll see what I can do when class lets out :lol:


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Darn it guys! While I was away at class, my boyfriend spent some time fully giving Keanu a wipe down. No more orange stains!


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## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

How dare your BF be such a good Dad? Does he not understand the first rule of the Cat Forum- first tkae pictures of the cute stuff, THEN clean it up?


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

There oughta be a law! :wink:


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Haha, I let him read this thread and now he knows! 

So, the most recent updates: They are both eating their soft food without the addition of KMR now! I got them to eat a 70% fancy feast 30% baby food mixture for dinner tonight, then after that just plain fancy feast! They won't touch the chicken soup, or the wellness yet, so no more opening cans of those until they are ready. 

Oh and Nito... well, he ran away from home tonight and tried to find a new family. He walked right into the apartment 3 hours down and went right inside. We were frantically looking for him when someone shouted "IS SOMEONE MISSING A CAT?" I go "YEA! IS HE WHITE?" "YEA!!" So I go running outside and they usher me in. Nito was sitting in the basement right by the door that should have led to my room (all the apartments are identical) He yowled and came running to me as soon as he heard my voice :luv But the guys who lived there told me that Nito was growling and throwing a hissy fit and they were terrified of him. *sigh*


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Great news on the angry Nito front... his growly tense mode, which was once incurable, can be diverted by playing "string pong" !!!! This is huge! Normally the only thing that works to bring him out of growly mode is to leave him alone for at least an hour. Now, just the sound of the ping pong ball bouncing around is just too tempting for him. He'll forget his anger to go chase it!


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Videos!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24DJYQsgrKw (little girl and her toy)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g70zNKIjWm8 (wrestling)


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## lilyb (Dec 21, 2008)

Oh wow they're lovely :luv She's a feisty little girl!! Cute at the end of the second vid where he's attacking his shadow/invisible friend :wink:


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

They are so cute, I can't take it.


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## cmw0829 (Nov 23, 2008)

:x I can't watch youtube at work. Tell your boyfriend that we forgive him - sorta...

Just wait for the day that Nito starts to groom the babies - your heart will totally melt. Glad you found him at the neighbor's house.


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

cmw- I hope that day actually comes. He really, really hates them right now  

Though last night we had some breakthroughs. He saw Little Girl through a door crack and actually seemed interested before growling and walking away. Then he later saw them in their cage upstairs in my BF's roommate's room. He approached a bit, then wanted nothing more to do with it. But instead of getting all tense and angry and inconsolable, he just wanted to play string-pong with me and cheered right up! So we're just taking it slow, getting him used to the smell and letting him catch short glimpses of them but making sure it's a positive experience.


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

They were naughty today!!! They got so excited while we were eating our lunch! They were climbing legs, making dive attacks at plates, begging for food, and generally being just out of control. Keanu managed to sneak in and buried his face into my canned corn... he must have eaten from 5-10 kernels of it! Little Sister (also trying out "Chica" right now as a name for her) snuck up on BF's roommate, Josh, and stole of bite of cheese burger! 

I don't want them getting sick from eating human food, so they have to be put on time out. I can only imagine the horror of a similar scenario, with grown kitties climbing all over me.


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

They're not naughty; they're kittens! So funny and so mischievous! Don't you love it?


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Oh yea, they're precious :luv 

However, they are so new to eating food, and they both have pretty soft stools right now. Keanu's poops are the most runny, I assume their digestive systems are taking some time to adjust. No more human food while their tummies are still weak! The chicken was alright for when I was still trying to convince them to eat their kitten food, but now they chow it down like champions! But in the process I've created little beggers! It's sooo cute though, it's extremely hard to deny them!

They have vet appointments in the works, and will be getting their first distemper shots next week.


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Guys, great news! I have been talking to the person I got the kitten from. He has agreed to let me take the kitten's stray father (who is actually quite friendly and would like to come indoors) to the local free spay/neuter clinic here in Madison! I don't even mind the driving involved, because this is a very good thing for all parties involved! He'll have his ear clipped, but he will also be able to go inside and play whenever he wants.  

This is good, because he is the mama cat's boyfriend and she keeps trying VERY hard to get out and see him again. Now, if only we could get her spayed... that might be tough, I think the owner and his family are in a tough financial situation :? And they probably won't want their pretty long hair siamese girl to have her ear clipped too.

Oh, and I'll be picking up the third kitten from the litter today too, since there are plenty of people who want to adopt her. Figure it would work out better, since I have transportation and can meet up with people better.


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## cmw0829 (Nov 23, 2008)

RachandNito said:


> They were naughty today!!! They got so excited while we were eating our lunch! They were climbing legs, making dive attacks at plates, begging for food, and generally being just out of control. Keanu managed to sneak in and buried his face into my canned corn... he must have eaten from 5-10 kernels of it! Little Sister (also trying out "Chica" right now as a name for her) snuck up on BF's roommate, Josh, and stole of bite of cheese burger!
> 
> I don't want them getting sick from eating human food, so they have to be put on time out. I can only imagine the horror of a similar scenario, with grown kitties climbing all over me.


Gotta train them early. Our older cat (whom we have only had for 5 months) will jump on the table during meals. She HAS learned the word "down". On the counter, it means get off (which she will do herself) or step up into the deep window sill over the kitchen sink to look out. At the table, she interprets "down" as meaning "pick that far corner where mom keeps her papers and lay on the papers." At least she's away from the plates. She must have had to scavenge or fight for her food as a kitten because she has her nose in our plates every chance she gets.

Reeses (aka Little Kitty) is much better.


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## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

Good news about the Baby Daddy getting clipped, and even better that the other kitty is coming home with you. You have done a really great thing for this entire kitty family.


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

The third kitten is home, and I met Toby, the kitten's dad. He had some eye gunk, but seemed healthy otherwise. He's scheduled for his neutering on Tuesday. I am so thankful for the free spay/neuter services they have for strays. He's going to look like such a tough guy with his ear clipped and his tail clipped. (He is missing half his tail. It's healed, and no one knows how it happened)

The thirds kitten is a female and looks just like dad. She was very shy at first, but Chica soon showed her all the new toys, and she has now joined in the fun and games and is romping about. I am happy she got to be with her sister and brother one last time. I'm getting all choked up just thinking about separating them... they are such the cute little family  But it's for the best! Lord knows I can't have four cats in my tiny house!


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Trixi, as we called the new kitten for the short time she visited, has been adopted. But here is a video of her playing on the stairs with her siblings!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKkJojOXekw


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## bluemilk (Oct 3, 2005)

:luv CUTENESS OVERLOAD!!! Do you plan to keep any of em? btw,Wisconsin seems like a very feline-friendly state. Your town seems so, anyway. Give 'em all
-Nito included-a cat treat on me!

Oh,and Percy says: 'When snatching cheeseburger,always attack SUN-BEHIND-YOU!' rcat


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Hehe, Chica has taken Percy's note to heart! I do plan on keeping Chica, my sister is keeping Keanu, and Trixi was adopted by a nice lady with kids and 2 other cats. 

Wisconsin is pretty feline friendly. Except for the leash law in Janesville, where my parents live. Elfie has gotten arrested a few times for being outside, but otherwise out yard is fairly safe and large enough for them to have fun exploring out there.

In Madison, where I live, the kitties have to stay indoors, because my landlord doesn't like them. In August, I'm moving and my new landlord loves cats! 

I gave Nito a treat on you, but the kittens are still to small for the treats as of yet :wink Nito had three treats instead


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

Rach, I think you'd be wise to keep them as indoor cats. There are so many dangers outside.


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

Oh don't worry Jeanie, they will not be going outdoors on their own EVER! We will be living way too close to a busy street when I move in August for me to even think of such a thing. Not to mention I can't even begin to imagine trusting my cats on their own out there! I don't know how my mom does it, but she believes all animals want to be outside. To some extent, I like to give my pets the enjoyment outdoors if they desire it, but never unsupervised. Nito enjoys taking walks outside with me sometimes though, I sometimes let him out in the courtyard at night to sniff around. He is a nervous kitty by nature and never strays far from me, and runs back to the door as soon as something startles him. He also goes outside with Fella, and follows him usually on a trip around the house, when we are at my parents' house. But their neighborhood is pretty safe and far from any busy streets/free of dangerous predators. I still only allow him to do it if I'm outside in the yard, or upstairs in the kitchen where I can keep an eye on him from a window. He just likes to sit in my mom's crawling bush, and make tunnels in it. 

The only outside trips the kittens will have are going to be on leashes. We're already practicing using one and they don't even seem to notice it whatsoever. I may take them to a nice secluded park nearby my house, and see if they enjoy playing in the grass. If they don't, I'm not going to push it, and they'll return indoors, and will be there to stay!


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## Jeanie (Jun 18, 2003)

I think you're wise.


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## RachandNito (Nov 21, 2008)

I've been trying to convince my mom to keep the cats inside for years but she's got a different set of beliefs than I do. I think she gets it from my grandma- she grew up on a farm in Slovakia. Animals had always been either food or tools for them, she had a cat but its job was to catch mice outside. Animals just don't belong in the house according to her, and she never let my mom have pets as a child. She even chuckled when she heard about our rabbit, Bun Bun, dying and jokes about the fact that my little sister put on a funeral for her. She doesn't mean to be cruel, it's just truly silly to her that my sister was so attached to a rabbit (which to her, would be food) My mom is the same (not quite as extreme as my grandma though)- she even let our rabbits free roam in the backyard when they were younger. She got sick of having to wrangle them and chase them down every day, and falling on her face in the grass when she'd dive for a crafty, fleeing rabbit who knew all her tricks! :lol: So now they have a large pen instead.


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