Ex-Menace to Society

Teddy was neutered this weekend. Everything went fine and he is happy and healing well.

toeses

so i met another kitten this weekend and his toes are similar to Teddy's. I think he's okay.

This evening Teddy was out playing with another neighborhood cat, who is frustratingly named Boots. (this Boots is white and black, though, and male) When it was time for Teddy to come in for the night, he chose to ignore my call as Boots is far more fun to play with than some lame old human. But Boots heard it and, making sure Teddy was following him, ran up on our porch, which he never does. He ran back down, and Teddy followed. So he ran back up and stayed there until I picked Teddy up, at which point he ran off. I guess our pesky kitten was driving him crazy so he was happy to drop him off at home. What a responsible older cat.

Does anyone find that they're more inclined to use pathetic grammar when talking to cats? I consistently refer to Teddy's "toeses" "feets" and "toofums." I'll ask him if he "went bonk" when he slams his head unceremoniously into a wall. I do not recall baby-talking to Boots to this extreme, even when she was young. I also don't recall talking about her quite so much. I'm sure i'll tone it down a bit once the kitten-related novelty wears off. Sorry.

Things Teddy Has Tried to Eat

in no particular order: Styrofoam, a nickel, a blanket, feathers, tassels, a plate, his tail, a leather chair, soap, dried paint, a chunk of tile, kitty litter, dirt, dried leaves, his foot, a teabag, a newspaper, a coozie, my cell phone, my computer mouse, a carrot, an artificial ice cube (he doesn't like real ice cubes) a candle, a rock, trousers, my forearm, my mom's laptop, a chunk of drywall, a safety pin, a thumbtack, a screwdriver, 15 christmas ornaments, his foot and his tail at once, sandpaper, a spanner, a price tag, a receipt, 2 almonds, a toothbrush, a vitamin, and a Christmas Cactus.

He should jingle by now.

Tis Cheaper to get a new Cat than new Carpet

My kitten is that little cold skinny kid in water wings at the neighborhood pool--edging cautiously toward the water's edge, fingers crossed, eyes squeezed shut with the effort of convincing himself that there's no sharks, that its perfectly safe... getting all the way to the stairs...and then running away at the last minute. You know the only way this kid is getting wet is by means of a reckless shove or slippery deck. In Teddy's case, its a slippery bathtub rim and a tail that is far more interested in water than his nose.

rubber ducky

Neither Teddys nor buggies enjoy baths. Ridding shelter kitties of Shelter Funk is not a fun or easy process, but i've found its easier to take Teddy in the shower with me than to try and bathe him in the sink. We're taking him to the vet this upcoming week to introduce him to her and get a prescription for Frontline or something. He's about 9 weeks old and in ostensibly good health (read: he's a complete nut, which is perfect for kittens) so he should be a fine candidate for a de-bugging goop. Boots did fine with it for at least 10 years (i can't remember how long she wore a flea collar, but bugs never seemed to bother her. in any case, Boots was an indoor-outdoor cat who remained healthy and happy for at least 17 years (read: nearly 3x her life expectancy) with regular flea gooping. i don't know why some people are so freaked out about it. She got worms occasionally from eating rodents but she went crazy if we kept her from going outside.

We're trying to keep him clean and keep bugs out of his fur until we can get him some goop. It doesn't help that this is the weekend and the year-change holiday is monday and tuesday, so there's not much chance of getting a vet appointment. Oh the paranoia of knowing your pet plays home to bugs! I keep thinking i see them everywhere. Poor kitty. When he's properly insect protected i'm going to wash every item of clothing I own. Bleurgh.

Welcome Home, Teddy!

Teddy Kitty, born around October 8, 2007, moved into my parents' household December 20, 2007 weighing about a pound and already litter box savvy. Prior to joining our family he had been at the York animal control center for 2 weeks, so we don't know anything about his family or background. He is healthy and happy, incredibly friendly and playful, and cute enough to get away with murder. For now he lives indoors, but once he's big enough we'll start letting him play outside with the neighborhood feline gang.

I hadn't posted this till now because we spent several days trying to think up a good name for him. He seems pretty cool with Teddy. He loves pencils, laps, and laser pointers, sleeps through the night, and cries to be picked up when he's tired. In all I think he's a very good kitten and he is welcome. We're trying to discourage people food and toilet drinking from the outset, but we'll just have to see what happens. We're suckers when it comes to a cute kitty.

Note: Teddy is Not the cat we took from the hospital parking lot. That cat disappeared the first night he was here. No idea where he went, but i hope he's okay. He was just too wild to settle into living with humans.