# My Kitties are Arriving on Wednesday!



## Loza (Apr 14, 2013)

I just wanted to share my excitement that my two new furbabies are coming home on Wednesday! As I live in a remote Aboriginal community, they have a long journey ahead of them. A three hour drive to the city of Melbourne, an overnight stay there, a four hour flight, an over night stay in Darwin and then a 50 minute flight here to me.
I have dreamed of being a cat owner for so long and its finally coming true!
The pic is of them on Friday from their breeder. Mercury is the one lying down, with Miss Periwinkle behind.
Such anticipation, my friends think I am crazy! 
I think it is a biological thing to be honest, like an empty nest syndrome! All my friends are just starting to have kids, while mine are nearly adults. So these kitties are going to fulfil my maternal needs!


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## Jetlaya67 (Sep 26, 2012)

They are adorable! Please post some pictures when they arrive at their new home. My youngest son is 16 so I understand how you feel about your new fur babies. My cats are my babies. Spoiled to the max.


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## Loza (Apr 14, 2013)

Thanks for your reply!
My oldest son just turned 16, great age isn't it, as you feel like they are starting to see a few things from your perspective. I also have a 14 year old son who will be 15 in December and a 13 year old daughter. They are all in boarding school and are only home during school holidays which is about 12 weeks a year. At one stage, we had 3 under the age of three, fun times! Hubby and I are only 36 and not as young as we used to be......I find it hard to comprehend my friends having babies at the age where we should all be enjoying our twilight years! I guess they find it just as hard to understand why I am so excited to be getting kitties! 
Oh well!


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## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

I can see why you are so excited as they are so cute. My furbabies certainly fill the maternal void until I can get my hands on my grand daughter. Funny how that works, isn't it?


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## cat face (Apr 4, 2013)

Those gorgeous little round faces!!! Awwwww, they are so very cute!! I'd be ecstatic too!!

Cats are perfect maternal void fillers! My son is 26 and like Jetlaya, mine are so spoiled that I wouldn't be afraid to bet that the other cats in the neighborhood hate them LOL!! (just kidding, of course, but I have found strange kitties from time to time in the house and checking out their play den!!)


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

Oh, they are just adorable! I know you must be SO excited!! My cats fill that maternal void. My husband and I never had our own children so we treat the cats as if they were kids! In many ways they are so much better! None of them have asked to go to college, none of them have gotten pregnant and none of them have tried smoking or drugs! 

I joke with my 38 yo son that they are going to inherit our belongings and he will be designated as caretaker. He fails to see the humor in it though.


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## Fran (Jan 9, 2008)

How exciting! You are going to have so much joy watching those little darling kitties get used to their new home and family! And they will certainly fill your house with the feeling of life and abundance....

(If you need tips later for keeping them in shining good health, we have seen our Gracie really flourish on a diet that includes raw as well as canned, and that she (and possibly all British Shorthairs) is very sensitive, maybe more than many mixed breed 'moggies' , to anesthesia, vaccines and chemicals...)

Fran


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## Jakiepoo (Jan 5, 2013)

Ahh, British Shorthairs are just so absolutely charming! I love their cobby little bodies!


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## Jacq (May 17, 2012)

Awwwwwwwwa they are too cute!! X)

I love kittens so much. I'm like that Youtube lady - I want to hug EVERY CAT. Especially your two beauties. eeeee.



Marcia said:


> None of them have asked to go to college, none of them have gotten pregnant and none of them have tried smoking or drugs


I don't know about college or pregnancy (imagine asking the doc to s/n our kids lol), but when Io gets into "the 'nip" she's a disaster on four legs.


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## coyt (Jul 15, 2012)

They're so adorable! Congratulations!  Please post pics when they arrive!


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## Jetlaya67 (Sep 26, 2012)

Loza said:


> Thanks for your reply!
> My oldest son just turned 16, great age isn't it, as you feel like they are starting to see a few things from your perspective. I also have a 14 year old son who will be 15 in December and a 13 year old daughter. They are all in boarding school and are only home during school holidays which is about 12 weeks a year. At one stage, we had 3 under the age of three, fun times! Hubby and I are only 36 and not as young as we used to be......I find it hard to comprehend my friends having babies at the age where we should all be enjoying our twilight years! I guess they find it just as hard to understand why I am so excited to be getting kitties!
> Oh well!


You made me feel old! I am 46! You are just what we call here a spring chicken. Just think that while your friends are just now starting, you are almost done. Give them a few years, they will envy you and your freedom :razz:!


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## Loza (Apr 14, 2013)

Thanks everyone for your reply! 

Fran, would love some advice on their diet. I will be transitioning them to a full canned diet. The only good stuff I have access to is Wellness, which seems to have a thumbs up. Otherwise we have very limited access to anything. I have to get that shipped in from Darwin. They have already been desexed and all went well with that last Monday. They have also been vaccinated twice with no side effects. Not sure if USA have the same vaccs as we do? They have already have their two main ones. The vet has then recommended a vacc once every three years as where we live there are no cats, plus they will live inside 100% of the time. 
They probably will only ever suffer with being over licked by our dogs who just cant seem to control their lickers........hmmm I wonder how the introduction is going to go!
Only two more sleeps.

Jetlaya67, did you ever hear the saying good babies, bad teens? My daughter seems to fit that saying at the moment. She is just testing so many boundaries, I just dont know what to do. I always wonder what I did wrong to make them act the way they do sometimes. She seems to be unable to accept any resposibility for her actions lately. It is hard living 1800km away from them, but I know in the long term we aare doing the best thing for their education. Sigh!

Here's hoping our new additions will help me deal with the stress of it all, plus give the kids some fur therapy when they are home!


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## Jetlaya67 (Sep 26, 2012)

Jetlaya67, did you ever hear the saying good babies, bad teens? My daughter seems to fit that saying at the moment. She is just testing so many boundaries, I just dont know what to do. I always wonder what I did wrong to make them act the way they do sometimes. She seems to be unable to accept any resposibility for her actions lately. It is hard living 1800km away from them, but I know in the long term we aare doing the best thing for their education. Sigh!


Between my husband and I we have six kids. He had four from two previous marriages, I had one and then we had Jacob, the 16 year old. The oldest is 37 (girl), then 34 (girl) , 32 ( boy), 30 (girl), 24 (boy). We have gone through our share of teenagers, they all lived with us when we got married (20 years ago!). Really you have done nothing wrong. It is during those years that kids find out who they are and they do like to test boundaries. I just learn to give them their space and hope for the best. Sometimes I just wanted to strangle them but it does get better. Just hang in there, they will grow out of it. In my opinion our girls had a rougher time than boys do.


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## Loza (Apr 14, 2013)

My eldest who just turned 16 is Jacob too!


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## Fran (Jan 9, 2008)

[Loza - I just looked at your town in Google earth - wow~! You are not joking when you say remote, but it looks very beautiful, too. My husband is so jealous, he dreams of us moving to Australia someday. We have areas of red clay soil and lots of (non-native) eucalyptus trees and palm trees here, similar climate...]

About feeding some portion of your kitties' diet as raw: maybe you'd do well with a mail-order powder supplement to mix with fresh (raw) chicken or any other meat or poultry you can readily get there, and freeze it into portions. That is what I do, and it is convenient and healthy. 

Or you could research a bit, and make up a batch of your own raw blend of muscle meat, organ meat etc. and freeze that up in portions. Many people here do that, using a bit more science and effort. The Health and Nutrition section here at the Forum has a subsection with lots of tips and discussion. Both of these methods would be less trouble than using ready-made frozen raw meals, which you would have to have shipped in at great expense and trouble. Wellness is a good choice for canned, many folks here feed it to their cats with good results. Brits do tend to gain weight when older, but since you will have a pair (lucky you!!  ) they will probably keep each other very active.

One thing which I also give Gracie is a product called ProDen Plaque Off, from Sweden, a powder made from seaweed which naturally inhibits bacteria and plaque on teeth and gums. I order it online, and so far it seems to have helped Gracie avoid any need for teeth cleaning in the last six years. Maybe that would be useful for your kittens, one less thing to worry about as far as health and maintenance. As far as vaccinations go, I am glad to hear that the kitties have been fine - it is something to continue to watch for as they get older. Your vet sounds suitably cautious on the issue, that's good. Many vets here in the States just 'go by the book' and give shots annually, whether needed or not.

Fran


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## Loza (Apr 14, 2013)

*They're here!*

Shy to start, one had done a poop in the carrier. We opened their carrier and they came out and sniffed around. Our dogs were too excited so we took them outside.

They were running around and playing like crazy things for a couple of hours, scared of us. We picked them up when we could safely and gave them cuddles which they did not mind for a short time. I don't know what happened but I think they got tired and Merc hopped up on to my lap and was rubbing all over be trying to get me to scratch in the right spot. Peri was a bit slower, but she did the same a short while later. They have had a nice sleep, something to eat and a couple of poops and are running around like crazy things again. 

Here's some pics!


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## Loza (Apr 14, 2013)

More pics


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

So exciting!! New loves in the house is always wonderful! I wish you the best. Sounds like their trip was not too stressful at all. If I was a teeny baby and put in a carrier on a big scary plane I'd poop in it too!!


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## cat face (Apr 4, 2013)

Awww, YAY! they arrived!! How cute they are!! 

They sound like they aren't having ANY problems adjusting to their new home!
.. and rubbing all over you, they are marking YOU! 
They like you and want to remember that spot (you)! 

I'm happy for you... have fun


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## Fran (Jan 9, 2008)

Oh joy! I am so glad the kittens made it just fine, now you get to fall in love . You are going to have so much fun ~ pictures, more pictures!!!! 

Fran


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## Jacq (May 17, 2012)

I came here so excited to say TODAY IS THE DAY YOUR KITTIES COME!! 

Because I forgot Oz is in the future.

I'm so happy they arrived safe and are getting used to their new homes! And I'm with Gracie - moar pictures!!


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## mferranti (Jun 2, 2013)

They are such pretty kitties! 

I bet they're so cuddly.


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## Jetlaya67 (Sep 26, 2012)

They are so cute! Congratulations and give them some cuddles from me.


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## NebraskaCat (Jan 15, 2013)

How's it going Laura? Is everyone comfortably settled in? Have Mercury and Periwinkle created some sort of ranking for the human servants in the house?


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## Loza (Apr 14, 2013)

Hi All 

Well I did not get on yesterday as I was exhausted the night before! Merc slept wonderfully at our feet, other than each time Peri me owed pitifully that she could not get up and she was still a little weary of me so evaded my attempts of picking her up and putting her in bed! 

By midnight I gave up for some sleep and let them both out of the bedroom. Peri was right under my side of the bed! By 3am I felt bad and went and joined them. They were hiding under the fridge the poor things. When they saw me, they came out and joined me on the lounge.

Yesterday I gave them both a bath as they smelled poopy still from whoever did one in the carrier. I could not find evidence of it on their fur and thought I would just do it. I used organic Castile soap. They didn't like it much, but it wasn't really as bad as I expected, although they spent the next full hour preening!

The rest of the afternoon they slept, we brant the dog in again for a second trial of getting used to the kitties inside. This time we tired him out, he was too excited last time. Peri acts like a stalker and Paddy gets all excited and wants to play. Merc completely ignores him, which helped and he even came up and gave him an ultra fast sniff.

They had their first real play on the tree last night, it was more interesting watching them play that what was on telly. They ate 3 small cans of wellness between them, I am feeding Wellness. They had a couple of poos each and tonnes of wees. They prefer the dog bowl over the fountain at the moment!

2 questions: does the wee in the litter box stay there? I use breeders choice which is the same brand they were brought up on. It is pure recycled paper. I am able to scoop the poos as soon as they are done as the paper sticks. Lord does it smell. But the paper just gets wet and I don't know how to filter it as it all just falls through the scoop. I put bicarbonate in it last night to dry it up.

2nd question: is it normal for kitties to try to nurse from you? Peri was kneading my night shirt and skin where the top of my cleavage is. Then I felt and heard her mouth trying to suckle with her little tongue poking out. She would t stop so I had to move away, but she came back. I felt bad and thought maybe she was hungry, so i fed them at 345am. They both came back to bed after that. I call and they run, so cute. Merc slept with us all night like a purring machine. Peri did lots of purring but left at about 5am and I couldn't find her. I started getting worried and then all of a sudden she was there. 

More photos coming. I uploaded 10 last time all at once but only 1 showed up. You can see my second attempt did not work either. Any advice appreciated 

They are running around like crazy things at the moment. They really are such love bugs though, loving us stroking under their chins and the sides of their fat cheekies!


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

Be sure your pics are the right size pixels. Anything larger won't show up. I'm SO glad they are settling in and it sounds as if it's going wonderfully! Within a few days they will establish a routine and it will be smooth sailing from there! They are still in the "wow, this is a big scary place" mode a bit! They'll figure out the room layout in no time. Under the fridge is probably warm and cozy. My Lacey likes to sleep by a heater vent.

View attachment 16938


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## Jetlaya67 (Sep 26, 2012)

For question no. 1, I use clumping litter so the wee hardens and is easy to scoop. Your babies are way too little for that, they may eat it and it is really bad for them. Clay litter is not too bad. I accidentally bought a bag of clay litter and have been using it, the cats do not mind. I put bicarbonate mixed in with their litter and it helps with the wee smell. Also, I was just thinking about lining the bottom of your litter box, with puppy training pads. It would help by trapping the wee, and some have built in odor control.
For question no. 2 it is normal although it sometimes is caused by being taken away from the mom too early. I got Nyska and Cabbit when they were about 7-8 weeks old and never have tried to nurse on me. Winston we got at the same age and he loves to knead and try to nurse on my fluffy blanket throw. I think it just makes him happy, he will do it until he falls asleep. I really don't mind at all, I think it is pretty cute. 
I am happy that the kittens are doing so well! They are going to be a pair of spoiled cats! Enjoy your new babies and I would love to see more pictures.


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