Tiger Lily’s kittens are doing great, walking (and running) around. Whenever we come into their room a bunch of them just come running over. They aren’t too interested in solid food just yet, but they are very, very curious.
Since this is the last litter that Buster fathered, and he has said goodbye to breeding (and his testicles) we decided to use different words for “goodbye” for the theme for this litter. (We’re keeping Buster as a pet, so no he’s not available!).
All of these kittens are reserved.
You can skip over this part and get right to the pictures if you want. It’s just some of the weird stuff that happens with cats and running a cattery that you might find entertaining. However, there’s more than the usual poop and pee talk, so we won’t blame you if you bypass it.
So, for a couple of days after she gave birth Lily wasn’t using the litter box at all. We took her to the vet and they found that she was really constipated, which was in turn putting pressure on her bladder. They gave her an enema and expressed her bladder, and all was well.
Except two days later she still hadn’t used the litter box. So we were back at the vet again for the same treatment (and since the weekend was coming, an enema to administer ourselves, which was… an experience).
At her next visit she did her thing in the vet’s cage without an enema or him expressing her bladder. And she did more in the carrier on the way home. So, problem solved?
We had a follow-up appointment late in the day two days later in case she still wasn’t using the box. And, of course, she wasn’t. But since she had an accident in the carrier on the way home the last time, we had an idea. A few hours before her appointment we put Lily in a larger carrier and put a little litter box inside and took her for a car ride. Within five minutes she had relieved herself both ways, so we cancelled the appointment.
Two days later it was the same thing, and and another car ride induced her to use the litter box. For about a week it became part of our daily routine to take her for a car ride.
Finally, this past weekend we decided not to take her for a ride one day and see if she might finally use the litter box on her own overnight. And she did! Then, after we scooped she decided to poop. After that she started using the litter box consistently and that part of our life went back to normal, such as it is.
We really don’t know why she needed the car ride. Our best theory is that she might have still been sore after being stopped up and only the stress of a car ride would cause her to release. Or perhaps she didn’t want to do her thing in front of the kittens (despite the litter box being far from the nest). We noticed that she would get in the box, dig around, sit for a second without pushing or anything, and then run back to the kittens. We’re just glad that we didn’t have to send her to a cat psychiatrist!
Okay, enough of that… here are the kittens!
Adieu (girl)
Aloha (girl)
Toodle-oo (boy)
Cheerio (boy)
Ciao (girl)
Sayonara (girl)
Seeya (girl)