I think my cat is pregnant... - Page 4

SeaDragonTattoo · #**151** 07-13-2012, 06:56 PM

Yikes there's a lot to cover, but I'll give it a shot...

Quote:

Originally Posted by LilyoftheField

Meanwhile, I am dying the death of a thousand pinpricks! She still prefers to climb up my leg, even though she is now big enough to occasionally jump from the floor to my lap without a problem. I seem to be spending an inordinate amount of time, peeling her off my legs, my back, my neck, my chest - and she still tends to try to hang on with her little claws, although she is starting to get at least a little discreet about how deeply she digs in! I am like the mamma cat, who rejects her growing kittens by pushing them away or getting up and leaving the nest - although for me, the human equivalent is usually peeling her off and tossing her onto the bed - repeatedly! And like a boomerang, she keeps coming back! This has been really working on my nerves - although the pinpricks are not all that painful, its a bit like the chinese water torture - a psychological torment, always waiting for the next little pinprick, lol...

Definitely never too early to start nail trims. The sooner she gets used to them the easier they will be. I have four cats that get regular trims. It takes maybe 10 minutes to trim all four because they're used to it, don't resist it, and that makes it easy and quick. I generally just do the fronts every 2 weeks or so, and maybe the backs every couple of months. Useful video instructional on trimming nails.

Quote:

I am also having to teach her about biting - how much is acceptable in play, how much is too much and when to refrain from it completely. These are things she would normally learn from her mother and her littermates. She is just playing, so she never bites very hard, she doesn't chomp, she nibbles - but she needs to learn that hands and feet are not acceptable chew toys. When she starts to bite at my hands, I push her away and give her one of her toys - she has many! I think she is catching on, 'cuz lately her play bites have taken on a 'hit and run' quality - with a quick soft 'taste' and then run away before correction, lol.

Sounds like you're doing it just right. Withdraw and redirect is perfect, she should get it soon enough. A sharp "NO" is also OK at the same time as withdrawal of the hand, and even a puff of air to the face, as that imitates a hiss from momma.

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She has a vet appointment for next week - barring any problems, it may be her only vet appointment for quite some time (as I stated before, her spaying will be done through low cost spay/neuter, probably through the local humane society). Its been a long time since I took a kitten into the vet - does anyone know what's involved in an initial checkup? I'm assuming that they may do a routine worming as worms are pretty common in kittens, even when the mother seemed to be worm free. I think that the mom can pass worms on to the kittens even if they did not seem to have any themselves, as they can be dormant in the mom - and let's face it, Maddie was prowling around outside, obviously! Do vets need to do vaccinations in kittens who will not be outside cats and are not exposed to any outside cats? I'm not sure about that. Since finances are an issue, it seems pointless to vaccinate her, but I do not know the protocol... Also, blood tests? I think lab tests can be pricey and I'm not sure how necessary they are? Or even if they are routine? I have seen no evidence of fleas on her or Markie or Froggy - I treat both Markie and Froggy prophylactically,- Markie because he goes outside and Froggy because she is exposed to outside pets.... What else can I expect? I am hoping that the cost of this visit will be 'reasonable'.

Deworming is standard, as is a fecal exam. I wouldn't skip them if your vet wants to do them. Vaccines for feline "distemper" and rabies are also standard. Rabies vaccines are required by law, even if kitty doesn't go outside. I recommend these two (I'm a tech, not a DVM). She's too young for rabies vaccine - she should get it when she goes in for her spay. 16 weeks is minimum age. As to the "distemper" vaccine, it's usually a combination of panleukopenia, calicivirus, and rhinotracheitis (called FVRCP). Even though she's staying indoors, the one to worry about is panleukopenia. It's an extremely hardy virus which can travel on shoes, clothing, hands, and live in the environment. If she were to get out accidentally or if you should handle any stray cats or others of unknown vet history, I wouldn't want to risk taking it home with you and getting her sick. Panleukopenia is BAD and would likely kill her if she's not vaccinated. Bloodwork is not needed for a youngster like her. Depending on the area where you live, your vet may recommend a FIV/FeLV/HW test - that's feline immunodeficiency virus, feline leukemia, and heartworm. You can have that done at the time of her spay for probably much lower cost.

If you time her vaccines right, all she needs to get started is the FVRCP and a fecal/deworming for her first visit. Then a second visit for the FVRCP booster (your vet will recommend it 3 weeks from the first), and then when she goes in for her spay you can get a low-cost final FVRCP (she needs her final "booster" for this year at or after 16 weeks), along with a low-cost rabies vaccine and FIV/FeLV/HW test. If she's otherwise healthy you could skip the test for now and have it done when she's getting next year's checkup. I don't remember where you live, southeastern states have far higher instances of heartworm problems, so if she's at risk for being bitten by mosquitoes it's not a bad thing to check for. If she's otherwise healthy, she's not likely got FIV or FeLV, as those usually make very young kittens very sick early on, but they're always a risk for cats that have spent any amount of time outdoors. Maternal antibodies for FIV can cause a false positive, though, until they're at least 6 months old, so if she's otherwise super-healthy and you don't want to have to do the test more than once, waiting until next year should be fine.

Quote:

The other day, I lost Banshee for about 20 minutes! She was downstairs with me while I was cooking dinner and after a while, I looked around for her - she was nowhere to be found! I looked everywhere! Behind/under furniture, behind curtains, even in rooms that she (theoretically) should not have been able to get into! I couldn't find her! I even went back upstairs a couple of times to see if she had braved the stairs and returned to my room - no Banshee! I was starting to panic a bit - could she have gotten herself into a life-threatening situation somehow? Where was she? I even went into the kitchen and started checking cupboards and fridge (she has a tendency to pop her little head in, when the fridge door is open!) Finally, I opened up the door to the small closet like pantry in the kitchen - and there she was! Sitting calmly on the floor in the two inches of space between the cans on the floor and the door! The whole time she was trapped in there, she never made a peep - just waited serenely to be freed! I had forgotten that I went briefly into the pantry to get some crackers for the chili and apparently she slipped in there unnoticed in the few seconds it was opened. This is why my daughter and I have taken to calling her 'Banshee la Pita' - pita, for pain in the ass, lol! Well, anyway, I was certainly relieved and she was totally unaffected by the whole experience.

Don't feel bad. She would likely start yelling once she realized she was stuck in there. I shut one of my cats in the closet and didn't know it until I got home from work. He didn't greet me at the door and after I walked around for a bit, there were these little "meeps" coming from the closet! He was none the worse for the wear, and still walked in there whenever I opened the door. I regularly "lose" a cat from time to time, even in my 700sq foot apartment! The places they find to sleep never cease to surprise me.

LilyoftheField · #**152** 07-18-2012, 01:13 AM

Thanks SeaDragon for your info - Banshee's appt with the vet is tomorrow morning so it definitely helps to know what to expect!

In the meantime, I find that I have fallen prey to the 'my kid is so smart!' syndrome!

Banshee is a little maniac, constantly playing (pretty much everything is a toy!) and constantly tearing about. Most of the time she is in my room, but she now has the freedom to go where she pleases, so she is downstairs with us frequently. She pretty much follows me downstairs and then back upstairs again as she pleases.

Well, I have a small house. The upstairs bathroom is kind of like a 'jack and jill' kind of setup where there is one door in the bathroom that leads to my room and another door to the upstairs hallway, off which are the other bedrooms. Generally, I leave the door between my room and the bathroom closed so that my roommates have the use of that bathroom. Since Banshee pretty much follows me wherever I go, she followed me into the bathroom this morning. But she brought with her a little fuzzy cat play ball that she loves to play cat soccer/hockey with...

Well, I went back into my room, but she was too busy playing soccer to follow me. So, I closed the door between my room and the bathroom, but left the door between my room and the hallway open so she could come back in that way when she was ready.

Well, a couple minutes later, I see her little furry cat ball shoot out from under the closed door to the bathroom and into the bedroom. Followed immediately by little kitten legs and paws reaching under the door in an attempt to retrieve it. But it was out of reach. Oh, so sad - poor kitty! I laughed and thought 'I wonder how long it will take her to figure out that she just needs to leave the bathroom, come into the hallway then into the bedroom, cross the room and over to the door - and she can get her ball back'! I didn't expect her to figure it out at all really - I mean, seriously - her brain is the size of a peanut!

But less than 30 seconds later, she darted through the hall doorway, raced across the bedroom without a pause and recaptured her ball on the 'other' side of the bathroom door! I may be wrong, but I thought that was pretty good thinking!

Yeah, she may be smarter than me...

Cat Whisperer · #**153** 07-18-2012, 11:50 AM

Oh, no - it sounds like you do have a smart kitty there (my cat is a jock - athletic but not too bright - she would have never figured out the toy problem). She'll be able to get into even more trouble with her smart little peanut brain!

One thing I always recommend to new cat owners (well, you're not new to cats, but this one is still pretty new

) is to never let their cats sleep with them - to get them used to a closed bedroom door from Day One. No one ever listens to me. Oh well.

Infovore · #**154** 07-18-2012, 12:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cat Whisperer

One thing I always recommend to new cat owners (well, you're not new to cats, but this one is still pretty new

) is to never let their cats sleep with them - to get them used to a closed bedroom door from Day One. No one ever listens to me. Oh well.

But...but...where's the fun of having cats if they can't sleep with you?

Brynda · #**155** 07-18-2012, 12:21 PM

Seriously. One of the joys of my life is snuggling up to a cat to go to sleep. One of mine likes to sleep practically nose to nose.

Infovore · #**156** 07-18-2012, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brynda

Seriously. One of the joys of my life is snuggling up to a cat to go to sleep. One of mine likes to sleep practically nose to nose.

Yep. One of mine likes to curl up between our two pillows and purr all night, and another one snuggles up into the crook of whoever's arm is currently available. They do get a little warm in the summer, but waking up to purring is one of life's great pleasures.

purplehorseshoe · #**157** 07-18-2012, 12:51 PM

Yeah, one of ours has decided that human feet are Where She Belongs. It helps my insomnia trememdously to feel her soft, furry butt against my ankle, and just that is sometimes enough to lull me back to sleep.

Concur that you should get her used to having her claws trimmed. We got ours used to having her teeth brushed (with pet toothpaste, not human) and that's been a big help as well.

Cat Whisperer · #**158** 07-18-2012, 01:19 PM

Cats sleeping with me isn't a problem. It's the "I'm jumping off the bed now." "I'm jumping back on the bed now." "I want my breakfast!" "I want to play!" "I want to jump on you as hard as I can now!" "What's this lump under the covers? Is it something to be attacked?" that's a problem.

ShelliBean · #**159** 07-18-2012, 01:35 PM

Oh yeah - I wish the previous owners of my cats had taught them that. Now if we close a door (bathroom door included) you hear a constant scratch scratch scratch rrrrooowwwwwrrrr scratch scratch scratch until you finally open it. It never gets worse, it never stops. It just... continues... until you finally open the door. Well, except for the few times they have flung themselves into the door to get through it. And it worked! (It was obviously not latched properly, but wow!)

So, yeah, I wish someone had done that with these cats. I love them, but I really didn't realize what I signed up for when taking on two cats with bad habits already ingrained. You are so lucky!! And Banshee is too cute!

Cat Whisperer · #**160** 07-18-2012, 01:39 PM

We had to get a automatic sprayer to keep my cat away from the bedroom door - she scratches and mewls and thumps the door for hours if it isn't on. If we let her sleep in our bed, she's in and out and waking us up every hour on the hour all night long.

LilyoftheField · #**161** 07-19-2012, 12:20 PM

Okay - so the initial vet visit was uneventful - a quick check, a distemper shot, a dose of wormer - and she was done! Vet said she looks good, healthy and congratulated me on raising her well...which, even though I knew she was doing well, was still nice to hear...

She has to go back in a month for her next round - in the meantime, that distemper shot wiped her out! Although, she was fine for the car trip and unperturbed by the vet visit (although she did complain a bit about the thermometer in the butt and was not crazy about the deworming meds!), she came through it fine. She even played for an hour after she got home. But then the effects of the shot must have kicked in 'cuz she pretty much slept the rest of the day away!

Today, she is pretty much back to her normal, getting into everything self! So, I'm happy and the vet visit was not too expensive - so, I'm thinking she just may turn out to be a normal happy cat! Well...at least as normal as any cat can be, lol!

For some obscure reason, my photos still do not want to upload properly - and now my camera is being a bitch and just giving me wavy lines instead of pics. I'm still trying to work through this, but in the meantime...sorry - no pics! Which is a freakin' shame 'cuz I'm pretty sure that Banshee is like the cutest kitten evah!!!! I guess you're just going to have to take my word for it, backed up by her previous pics, lol...

I'm going to have to agree with Cat Whisperer about the advisability of letting cats sleep with you. I have had a number of cats over the years and the only one I ever let into my room was Frank - and Frank was an exceptional cat! Maddie never slept with me - neither does Froggy. But I've always considered that nighttime is the only time that the cats have the run of the rest of the house, undisturbed by the dog (who sleeps under my bed every night). It's really the only time that Froggy can prowl about and be a cat, so I know she appreciates it! Cats tend to be creatures of the night and they are way too inclined to raise hell in the wee hours! For now, Banshee is still confined to her crate at night, but I'm pretty sure that soon she will be consigned to nights spent outside my room...

My brother/roommate has a cockatoo in a big cage in our dining room. Maddie got along so well with the bird that it was not unusual for her, when the cage door was open, to hop into the bird cage and explore. She never threatened the bird and the bird never threatened her - they seemed to actually like each other, lol. So I was not too surprised when Banshee, outside the cage, would reach in and bat the bird on the butt or the tail - and he just didn't care! I'm pretty sure that Banshee will follow in her mom's footsteps and have a very congenial relationship with the cockatoo.

She has also established a pretty congenial relationship with the dog - its not unusual for her to attack his feet, or bat him playfully on the head or snout. He is used to cats and not bothered by this at all. So, overall, Banshee is fitting herself in quite well with the 'pet dynamic' in this household!

I still have hope that I will be able to upload some new pics - can't make any promises as technology is getting the best of me right now!

LilyoftheField · #**162** 07-23-2012, 10:07 AM

...in a brief moment of stillness, lol...

http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/911/banshee10wks.jpg

http://img826.imageshack.us/img826/8...shee10wks2.jpg

D-bear · #**163** 07-23-2012, 10:20 AM

Such a cute pink nose! I would gobble her right up!

purplehorseshoe · #**164** 07-23-2012, 11:06 AM

Oh, my gosh - she's beautiful!

Cat Whisperer · #**165** 07-23-2012, 12:12 PM

Yup, still putting on that innocent look, all the while plotting the next trouble to get into...

SnakesCatLady · #**166** 07-23-2012, 12:37 PM

She is beautiful!

purplehorseshoe · #**167** 07-23-2012, 03:43 PM

She doesn't look all that innocent to me ...

LilyoftheField · #**168** 07-23-2012, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by purplehorseshoe

She doesn't look all that innocent to me ...

Oh, you've got that right! She is totally not innocent at all - she's a little devil, lol!

As I mentioned before, its so hard to get good pics of her, 'cuz she is constantly in motion - I've got a good two dozen pics of her butt and/or her tail as she jumps out of the frame! The ones I just posted were ones that my daughter got on her cell phone, late in the evening when Banshee was winding down...

I agree with everyone above who advised getting her used to having her nails clipped now, when she's young. I've trimmed many a cat nail in my day, lol! My cat Frank was really good about being still and allowing that without fuss - but Frank was a super sweetheart! Froggy - not so much... Froggy was already almost two when I got her and apparently nobody until then had realized she was deaf, so she was very leery of any kind of handling and still is to this day, ten years later. She is one of those cats who respond well to the 'binder clip' method though. She still doesn't like it, but if she is binder clipped she will be still long enough to get her ears checked/cleaned, get a quick brushing and any mats cut off her coat and get a flea treatment. (No, she is never outside, but I still give her flea meds every couple of months in the summer, just in case any fleas piggybacked into the house on someone's shoes or another pet...) And, actually I guess I could trim her nails too, although I've never tried it - like I said before, if she is handled confidently, she doesn't kill, lol!

So...I tried to clip Banshee's nails - but I was not very successful. She is still in her 'bitey' phase a bit, so she would just squirm and bite at my hands and/or the clippers. It wasn't working. I was not able to hold her, clip her nails and keep her from biting at the same time. I had to wait until I could get my brother to hold her for me - with him distracting her and keeping her from biting at me, I was able to clip all her front nails very quickly, less than 30 seconds and she was done! Yay! I think we will do this on a weekly basis which hopefully will get her used to the whole process.

Banshee is turning into a freakin' gorgeous cat! I always though Maddie was pretty damn cute, but this one? Those eyes! Those eyes will steal your soul, lol!

D-bear · #**169** 07-23-2012, 09:14 PM

Did you ever figure out who the poppa was? Tommy Lee, or Billy Bob... I'd wager Billy Bob.

LilyoftheField · #**170** 07-23-2012, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by D-bear

Did you ever figure out who the poppa was? Tommy Lee, or Billy Bob... I'd wager Billy Bob.

Well, Tommy Lee was orange and Billy Bob was gray - looking at Banshee, I'm going with Billy Bob too, lol!

D-bear · #**171** 07-23-2012, 10:44 PM

Up for another Challenge Lily?

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151935144760408

The Arvada PD found a baby raccoon today and needs your help! The Mother was killed and the baby needs to go to a wildlife rehabilitator. He is still in need of constant care and drinking from a bottle!

We need someone to transport him up to Gross Reservoir area today!!! If you can do this life saving deed, please call Arvada Animal Management right away at 720-898-6859.
— at Arvada, Colorado.

D-bear · #**172** 08-12-2012, 09:44 PM

Hey, Lily...

How's things with Banshee?

LilyoftheField · #**173** 08-14-2012, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by D-bear

Hey, Lily...

How's things with Banshee?

hi, D - thanks for asking, Banshee is doing great! She is going back to the vet this week for her next shots. She has turned into a little maniac and is into everything, I am so lucky that everything seems to have turned out well for her! She is very affectionate and loves everyone - I'm not sure if she thinks that she's human or that we are just very ugly cats and she feels sorry for us, lol!

latest pics... (not my laptop, btw - banshee has already spent a couple of weekend overnighters at my daughter's house - and my daughter spoils her rotten, lol)

http://img228.imageshack.us/img228/2...nshee12wks.jpg

http://img703.imageshack.us/img703/8...shee12wks2.jpg

http://img832.imageshack.us/img832/7...shee13wks2.jpg

http://img155.imageshack.us/img155/8...nshee13wks.jpg