Kitten Round Up: 30 Dec 2012 - The Week in Kitten

I thought I might try to do a post every week where I track the life of the new kitten (she still doesn’t quite have a name). I’m sure it’s not interesting to a lot of you, but I want to keep a record for myself. I figured I might as well share it since this blog is supposed to be animal-friendly, and what’s more animal-friendly than talking about animals? J So I guess this was the week in kitten!

Last Sunday I actually picked up the kitten. Very shady arrangements, but it all went well. Basically, I had to wait at a rest stop on the Turnpike for a red minivan filled with kitties. Cash only for payment. I gotta say, that made me a bit wary, but it ran like a well oiled machine and I picked up the little cutie and have had no troubles, so all is well. The shelter said that they were still without power from Sandy and, given their location, I kind of believe it! J

She is either a pure Ragdoll, which I doubt, or a Ragdoll mix, which seems more likely. Her coloring is considered to be a blue point and her blue eyes have faded a bit to a blue-grey. I thought she was a boy until I picked her up and they told me she was a girl. I guess they were referring to her littermate in the ad – I found her through PetFinder.com. They also said she was 3 months old, but the vet thinks it’s closer to 2 months. Either way, she’s old enough to be weaned, but 2 months seems a bit young for adoption to me. But she’s doing fine and seems happy. She’s a huge bundle of energy and plays virtually all the time! J Her favorite toy is one of those sparkly blue tinsel-like balls. She also has a really nice mouse track-like toy, but it’s not just a ball in a track, it’s a mouse on a turntable with a bunch of holes on the top and sides and she loves it – just can’t leave her alone with it because she might get stuck in a hole!

She’s been living in the powder room until she’s over a cold and is cleared to be without parasites. And, of course, all the pets have to adjust to one another before I would leave them all alone together. At this point, she’s aching to get out of that little room! I let her out from time to time and either keep a really close eye on her while she wanders around the house, or let her run and play in another enclosed room that has more space for her to run. And, of course, I go into the powder room for visits too.

Wednesday she went to the vet and got a clean bill of health minus the cold, but they weren’t too concerned about it. She’s on 3 medications for the moment and is learning how to fight to keep me from giving them to her like any good cat should. J She discovered the stairs on Friday and is now a pro and getting up and down them, making my job of watching her a bit more difficult. She’s eating like a champ and putting on some weight which is good. She weighed in at 2.12lbs on Wednesday and was a bit on the skinny side. The shelter was giving her a mix of Weruva canned food and Royal Canin dry food, so I’ve continued that. She loves the Weruva and her favorites seem to be the Mideast Feast, Mediterranean Harvest and the Mackrel & Skipjack (can’t remember the exact name). The stuff looks just like shredded meat in a can and it doesn’t stink which is amazing. I actually feel like I’m feeding her something good which I never think about canned food! J

As far as introducing her to all the other pets – 4 cats and 1 dog – she has at least seen all of them briefly. She sees the dog pretty much every day and they’re doing well together. She will run right up to him and then look a bit intimidated if he moves. He desperately wants to play and tends to get overly excited so I have to stick close when he’s around. He loves to chase her and I’m not sure she knows that it’s just playing yet. But so far so good with those two. The cats are a different story. Each one has hissed at the poor little girl. I’ve held her every time they’ve been close and she gets pretty still and seems uneasy. The others are curious about her, but there’s always a hiss after some wide-eyed sniffing. Hopefully that will pass soon.

The naming process isn’t going too well. I have a long list of about 100 names at this point. Nothing seems good enough! J Some names are good, but just don’t seem to suit her. Others kind of suit her, but aren’t the greatest names. I liked the suggestions of Mojito and Noel, but I’m not really sure they’re her. I’m just too picky I guess! J Most recently, meaning last night, I was thinking of Faraday, but this morning I'm not so sure. It’s a reference to the character on “Lost” as well as the physicist who is best known for his work with electromagnetism. And it goes well with Emerson, another of my kitties. I like Thoreau (even better with Emerson) and Einstein is funny because of his hair and her fur, but I’m not sure they are quite right for her either. So, as of last night, I was thinking Faraday – perhaps Danielle Faraday to make it more girly and to avoid the nickname of Fara, but I'm not sold yet.

I think that’s about it for the week in kitten! Thanks for reading and any suggestions about anything – food, introductions, toys, names, etc – please leave them in the comments because I’d love to hear everyone else’s thoughts!