Comments on: Friday Kitten Blogging

By: Bryan

Bryan — Sun, 06 May 2007 14:40:26 +0000

Some dogs react to cats as if they were puppies and treat them accordingly, which works out if the cats don’t mind. My neighbor’s spaniel had to learn they don’t appreciate being picked up and carried around.

By: hipparchia

hipparchia — Sun, 06 May 2007 05:17:48 +0000

the dog-tongue method is way more efficient than the washcloth method, faster and definitely drier. gentler too. the dog loved it. the kittens were a bit bemused at first but it didn’t take them long to decide they liked it.

it’s been suggested before that this dog [of unknown mixed heritage] could be part cocker spaniel; people are always remarking that it looks like he’s wearing fuzzy bedroom slippers. much to his dismay, though, he is not a cat magnet. most cats take one look at him and figure they’re about to become lunch. fortunately he and the present household cat are best buds.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Sun, 06 May 2007 04:05:32 +0000

OWL, at this point I’m guessing she will have the markings of a Siamese, but they will be gray striped instead of solid.

By: oldwhitelady

oldwhitelady — Sun, 06 May 2007 02:49:10 +0000

Oh, they are so beautiful and soft looking. I don’t know if I could keep from grabbing a kitten and playing with it. Ringo has sweet babies. Oh, that little white kitten isn’t white, is he. That tail is gray striped and that fur is getting color. Wow. That’s going to be a striking looking cat (of course the others will be, too).

By: Bryan

Bryan — Sat, 05 May 2007 19:25:50 +0000

I feel bad for the poor bunny, as tongue baths are not part of their “tradition”.

By: Anya

Anya — Sat, 05 May 2007 18:54:58 +0000

It must be a thing with cocker spaniels. My roomie had a cocker, and when his boyfriend brought home a bunny as a pet, Goldie chased the poor thing through the house and gave the terrified rabbit such a tongue bath when she finally cornered it. That was one confused, sopping wet bunny.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Sat, 05 May 2007 14:29:23 +0000

Well, getting licked would certainly be more fun and dryer than the washcloth method for the kittens. My long-time neighbor had a cocker spaniel who treated all cats as kittens, and the ferals responded. Trying to walk Cody on leash was a problem as she attracted a gang of cats whenever she was outside.

By: hipparchia

hipparchia — Sat, 05 May 2007 08:33:20 +0000

the cookie pans work well. i used a couple of those.

i didn’t have a mom-cat, but i did get a lot of help from the dog [couldn't have done it without him]. feeding time was a mess, especially in the early days. i set each formula-soaked kitten in the litter pan when it finished eating, and the dog promptly licked each one clean and dry. the kittens adored this. probably as adult cats, they all now run to their litter boxes when they want to be petted.

By: Bryan

Bryan — Sat, 05 May 2007 02:11:20 +0000

I’ve hand-raised a lot of kittens, but this is the first time for my office. Normally kittens are born and raised outside. I let momma cats handle it, unless the momma dies. Ringo makes the job harder because she is really tense.

I have a set of disposable/recyclable aluminum cookie pans that I use and “kitten litter” [non-clay] to put in it. I can’t complain about kittens as Sox occasionally misses the box. He feet are in it, but his tail isn’t.

By: hipparchia

hipparchia — Sat, 05 May 2007 01:47:29 +0000

litter box: mom will probably teach them. you could try providing a very shallow box of kitty litter now, instead of waiting for weaning, for mom and the kids to use.

i provided my brood with a large tray, sides only about 1/2″ tall. their aim wasn’t perfect at first, but their intentions were good right from the start. when they needed to go, they at least took off in the general direction of the litter tray. one little guy was a tad dense, he figured as long as his front paws were in the tray, he was doing it right. took him a week or so longer than the other two to figure out that ALL paws needed to be resting on kitty litter. they were all impeccably trained by about 4-5 weeks of age.

i should mention that as they got bigger and wandered further from the nest, “impeccably trained” means that i provided them with several trays of litter strategically placed around the room so they wouldn’t have very far to go. no way is a 3- or 4-week-old kitten going to make it all the way across the room in time, but if they only have to scamper 5 or 6 feet to get to the “bathroom,” they’ll try to hold on that long.