Ayup. We have a herd of seven, and every last one of them thinks meat baby food is kitty crack. Go figure.
Slight nitpick. You have a pride of cats, not a herd of elephants despite what you think during the nightly romps.
I’ll never understand why most cats like meat baby food so much. Confesses to having tasted cat food in the past, and to tasting baby food. I’ve also eaten dog kibble just to understand why a friend’s toddler would run a beeline to the dog food bowl and start stuffing herself. Or maybe I do understand the toddler…dog crunchies have more flavor than baby food.
A nitpick of your nitpick. You have a clowder of cats.
Or a nuisance of cats! Love that term!
So glad the kitten is thriving. Good for you for taking it on.
I’m very proud of my cats, but sometimes they can be a nuisance. 
Can’t wait to see a pic of the little one when she’s “ready for her closeup.” 
*“Many of these are fanciful or humorous terms which probably never had any real currency”. *
While the term has never seen prolific use (outside of lists of collective nouns), it crops up in actual use a few times in a book search between 1800 and 1950. Admittedly, most of the results are the aforementioned lists, proper names, or Shakespeare references (a dog named “Clowder” is mentioned in “The Taming of the Shrew”, which I find amusing in this context). However, a notable mention comes in a Supplement to the Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language, published in 1825. The entry for “cluther” (pg. 228)–“a heap, a crowd”–goes on to say:
This leads me to think that the term was at least in some use as a collective noun in 1825. It’s not clear if the lexicographer simply used cats as an example, or if the term had some specificity to cats. It obviously wasn’t exclusive, as the other example shows. (“Carles”, I believe, would be “old men”.)
</nitpickery>
Ahem. I haven’t piped up before, not having any useful advice, but since I’m here–good on you, half-elf for taking the mite in and looking after her. I look forward to healthy, happy kitten pix.
Sorry I didn’t respond sooner but I’ve been so busy and I’m completely wiped out. I’m taking her to the vet on Monday for follow- up and possibly shots so hopefully the seclusion will end.
Tomorrow morning it’s bathe her, spray her, leave her out on the balcony in the carrier, clean and sanitize bathroom, spray bathroom and the room I kept her in on the first night, put her back in bathroom and clean and sanitize the carrier so I can return it to the vet on Monday. Then go to the pet shop to pick up supplies. My back is already aching from all the bending down I’m having to do these days… But I’ll survive it. If she did, so can I!
Helena330 - I am happy to report that the mixing her syrup with the food is going swimmingly. She is so hungry that she scarfs it down.
Flatlined - I am actually in the “kibble is better” camp. However, most of the time I give Primary kitty a half-tablespoonful of canned food with her kibble in the morning and evening to keep it interesting. (Or the equivalent amount of chopped up chicken or other meat I may have had). That is what I will keep on doing for both of them (unless for whatever reason I stop being able to afford it).
I’m a little sad though: I had a shower earlier on, and I was a little clumsy getting out of the bath and my foot landed rather heavily on the floor and the poor thing went to hide under the cabinet. 
She wouldn’t come out when I called her. In the end I jiggled her dish which did the trick. I generally avoid “tricking” them into doing what I want by giving them false hope, but I really wanted to pet her a bit so she would forget that for a little while she had been afraid of me. Who knows what experiences she had before choosing me!
Poor little mite. I do hope I establish myself as someone to be trusted. I think clamping her between my legs and jerking her head back to administer her eye drops might have played a part.
Oh well…
I wouldn’t worry too much about it. Kittens don’t have long memories. Once you’ve earned her trust (and it sounds like you’re well on your way to doing that!) her past will mostly fade away and she’ll just be happy that she has a great home. It might take a little longer if she’s had a hard beginning to her life, but she’s only a few weeks old, right? How much of a memory can she have?
I guess we will have to agree to disagree about feeding them
I do wonder if you might want to clean and sanitize the carrier before the bath. That way you won’t be putting a clean kitten into a dirty carrier.
I agree that you don’t really need to worry overmuch about her learning to trust you. All of the cats I’ve ever had were injured and/or sick. They didn’t like many of the things I did to them, but in some part of their little kitty brains, they knew that they were safe and feeling better and had full bellies. It didn’t take long after I was able to stop treating them that they seemed to forget it had ever happened.
Sicky might be skittish because she was trying to survive on the mean streets. The world needs more people like you, how many people do you think just walked by her or shoed her off by stomping their feet? Maybe you shouldn’t think about that much, but I’d have to guess that’s why the sound of you “stomping” your foot made her hide.
I’ve had a lot of cats over the years, and I’ve had to do unpleasant things to every one of them when they were sick. Every one of them seemed to end up liking me better once they were well. I really think they do understand, in some primal way, that we’re helping them.
I have been following this thread with tears and hope.
My son adopted two stray kittens whose mother was killed by a dog along with the rest of the litter. They still had their eyes closed! He was doing a new internship at an animal hospital and the employees couldn’t take any more pets into their households. That was four and half months ago. It has been such a joy to play grandma to these kitties, though it’s been tempered with worry. Those hours of bottle-feeding led to some serious bonding!
Here’s a standing ovation for taking on the responsibility! I agree that deep down, your kitten knows you are helping him/her. It’s hard to give them the care they require but the reward is immeasurable. Thank you, half-elf, from the bottom of my heart. I will be rooting for you both and can’t wait for the photo shoot.
Update: she’s a boy!
Sorry about not getting back to this thread earlier - I have been very busy at work and tired, and the damn older kitty has been waking me up at 5am every damn day (no fault of her own, the curtain in my bedroom had fallen down ( :eek: ) so light has been coming through at the crack of dawn.) I’ve been like a zombie these past few days.
Anyway. I took him to the vet on Monday to get his shot. Second one in a month. I moved him out of the bathroom and into the second bedroom (still full of unpacked boxes and other shit). Vet said to wait a week before introducing the two kitties to give time to baby to start making antibodies.
I have started feeding them on either side of the door so they can get used to each others scent and sometimes, when I’m in there taking care of Sicky I’ll leave the door ajar and Primary will peek round.
At one point she did inch up to him (they got nose to nose) and one of them hissed a little so they both backed off. A little later she came close again, and gave one of those guttural growls so I gently put her out and shut the door.
But generally she just stares , and occasionally pats at the ball - I sit somewhere in the middle and “play” with the ball, sometimes sending it towards one or the other cat to give them something interesting to focus on besides each other.
Primary has also stopped turning away from me in disgust and disdain when I come out of that room smelling (reeking?) of Sicky.
I am also happy to report that Sicky likes playing with his toys (I hear the tinkly ball rolling around as I type) though he doesn’t do the interactive hand - attack yet. Hands are for putting one’s head under to be stroked!
(This thread is becoming quite a blog! 
).
I thank everybody from the bottom of my heart for your support and kind words as I was quite panicked and at a loss those first few days.
This is just wonderful news. I’m so glad Sicky found you!
Thanks for the update. Sounds like you’re doing everything right.
I’m glad he’s (it is a he, then?) continuing to improve! I think it might be time for us to start working on a name.
Can’t suggest names without seeing the face. C’mon, everybody, chant with me:
Pics!
Pics!
PICS!!!
Chants with PHS
And agrees with her, it sounds like you have got things well in hand.
If you think this sounds too bloggy for IMHO, maybe ask a Mod to move it. Sicky’s fans demand their pics and will happily hang out and wait for them.
I’ll tell a funny (at least to me) story. I’m one of those middle aged women you see at adoption events. Everyone at adoptions thinks I’m a total expert at sexing kittens. I can reach into a cage of kittens and know the sex before I look at the belly.
Here’s my secret…rescue vets fix kittens as young as 6 weeks. Females have shaved bellies and a few stitches, males are shaved further back.
When it comes to sexing intact kittens that young? I have about a 50% success ratio and I honestly go by color more than what I can see or feel.
Okay,okay, okay!
I’ve got a couple of pics for ya: http://i1060.photobucket.com/albums/t454/angua_half_elf/sicky%20kitty/DSC00036_zpse2482056.jpg
About the name: (I think I hinted at this in a previous post): I need something that will work in the local language (sounding OK in English is a bonus) and I think Sicky fits the bill. So I think I’m going with that.
Sorry I’m not more forthcoming but I’m paranoid about being identified. :dubious:
He’s turning out quite boisterous, and I feel guilty that I can’t/ don’t spend more time with him. I’ ve been letting Primary in to “his” room when I’m in there.
They haven’t had much direct contact or interaction as she seems wary or scared of him.
I can’t wait for the time when I can let him roam free in the house. I think if I get home from work at a normal hour tonight I will try letting him into the living room.
Thing is, if he decides to hide under the couch (for instance if Primary gets aggressive), there will be no retrieving him.
Flatlined: I know the main arguments in favour of dry food are higher protein content and better for teeth. As far as I know the main argument for wet food is that they often use useless or even harmful filler in dry food. Is this correct? I chose high-end, expensive kitten food (and will do so till they’re both a year old) and check the product label before I buy. I do also give them both a bit of wet food daily. (And see no reason to stop doing so unless I become destitute and have to chose the cheapo loose kibble they sell).
Any comments or suggestions? I don’t see myself changing camps but I want to have an informed opinion but most websites are biased one way or the other and I’m sure you’ve given your choice some thought so I would appreciate your opinion (and anybody else’s, of course).
Will also report thread for forum change.
Awwww! He’s adorable!