The Cat Report (Fr. Dec 19th 2021)

 So, after a highly successful kitten event and some follow-up adoptions, today we're left with three cats and four kittens in the Cat Room:  Our veteran resident brother-sister team SIMBA and ZOE, new mama cat ROSIE, the pair of little black kittens JET and JAGUAR (who I think are also bonded) and two other kittens MARBLE and BLACK BEAR.

SIMBA and ZOE didn't get to go out of their cages as much as the last two weeks, to their displeasure, though they did enjoy the time they had, prowling around the rooms. Both had good walks, about twenty minutes each. Interesting to watch how differently they act. Simba walks up to people and presents himself for petting. Zoe ignores people and focuses on seeing what there is to see. Both attracted a lot of attention and a fair amount to petting; good will ambassadors for the cat room.

Leisl commented that Zoe has started giving Simba the occasional swipe or hiss. I've seen this too, and think it's just too much time together in the same old place. If we're worried about this then we cd swap out their double-high space for the little black kitten's top row for a few days and see if just a small change like that helps them out.

Mama cat ROSIE is quite shy but also starved for affection. I picked her up first thing, taking cat-bed and all out of the cage and into my lap on the bench. She didn't stay long, but I repeated the won't-accept-a-no invitation near the end of shift and she was much more willing. In between I had given her a little cachet sprayed with catnip, which interested her greatly. I also knelt down in front of her cage and 'held' her by reaching in and resting a hand and arm on either side of her. And she let me massage the inside of an ear. She may have purred. In any case, think the contact helps reinforce the message to her that we're not cat-eating ogres. Suspect it won't be long before she'll be out and exploring.

The two little black panthers, JET & JAGUAR, were full of energy as kittens shd be. When their time out came they made the most of it. They tore around the room, playing with each other, exploring, and generally delighting by-passers. One of these two (the one without the collar) is a natural-born predator: he kept taking whatever toy he was playing with in his mouth and dragging it off to his 'lair' in the back of the room. The other (the one with the yellow collar) loved chasing the little red dot, which was all the funnier because he hadn't figured out how to handle corners when trying to turn, going skidding off like a Keystone Cop. They also love to purr, especially when they think they're about to get something they want, like let out of their cage.

That just left the other two kittens, BLACK BEAR and MARBLE, who explored until they felt comfortable with their surroundings. They seem smaller than the other pair, mainly staying in the back room, but showed plenty of enthusiasm when it was game time. They were willing to be picked up and held, so long as it wasn't for too long.

All in all, a great set of cats.

--John R.

UPDATE

I wrote up last week's cat report but never got it posted; I belatedly include it here.

So, beautiful Caddie’s adoption meant that our two cream-colored cats had the run of the place, which they clearly enjoyed.

They each got long walks, with a short follow-up walk towards the end of my shift. Both got plenty of attention from cat-lovers in the store.

Simba briefly explored the training room. Zoey made it all the way from just outside the training room to the grooming salon, that whole side of the store.

I learned that Zoey does not like belly rubs.

 

I bought some live grass for the room as a gift for the cats, but neither showed much interest.

He likes the string game. She prefers the laser pointer.

He likes the outer room best. She likes the inner room more.

She made a point of visiting the communal box rather than her own.

To repeat: no belly rubs, please.

health issues: 

—found a bit of throw-up in the bottom of their cage; clearly it had been there for a while.

—their ears cd use some cleaning.

P.S.: I wonder what twenty-two kittens (and one no doubt v. busy mama cat) looks like. Maybe I’ll be able to drop by at some point during the Kitten Event to see.

—John R.