Cleo the Charming Kitty

Well I've still got Cleo.

Cleo's such a pretty girl

I'm also seeing signs that she's at the stage where she'll do better with her forever family.

The longer she's here the harder she bonds with me and I cannot keep her.

Cleo would do better in as a single cat in the household. She did spend time with another foster kitten that was slightly younger and she did alright but her attention was on that kitten and she sought no human interaction. Its only after she's been a single kitten that we've had a lot more progress.

She would also do better with an older family or one with older kids that can read basic cat language.

Cleo isn't much of a handsy cat and doesn't like being held or patted if she doesn't seek it out herself. Over time I can pick her up and give her a cuddle and place her back down but when she leans away I put her down.

If a kid cannot read that she doesn't want the attention and give her time to seek it out on her own I fear she'll revert back to being timid and avoiding human contact.

There is nothing to say she wont eventually become a lap cat she's already allowing herself to be picked up without tilting her ears back (a sign of discomfort).

I have never seen Cleo reach the stage that she lashes out. She has hissed in the early days but it was simply a don't touch me warning.

Occasionally when she's being over patted she'll say she's had enough by turning around and grabbing your hand in her mouth. She has never bitten or drawn blood doing this but its also a warning to let her go. I notice she also does this right before a hit of the crazies so directing her attention to toys provides her a much better release for her cooped up energy.

I think the biggest thing I have noticed with Cleo is her not liking anything done to her where she cant react or get away. To be comfortable with something she has to make sure and check it out herself.

I had a friend over and it took roughly 30 minutes for Cleo to feel comfortable enough to allow said friend to pat her.
The friend won her over by playing with her and offering her treats. Once the friend had allowed her to sniff the back of her hand without Cleo moving away the friend was able to pat her without any problems and Cleo got more confident moving near the friend knowing she wasn't suddenly going to be picked up.

In the last week where Cleo has had no other kitten to distract her I often leave her for hours at a time to entertain herself giving her free run of the study floor. At one stage I wouldn't be able to catch her to put her in the cage overnight but now every time I step in I'm greeted with chirps and she's rubbing against my legs.

I am able to pat her without introducing myself first (by offering the back of my hand to judge her reaction) and I'm also able to pick her up give her a cuddle and put her down again with no signs of discomfort.

I fear the longer she is here the more she'll bond with me and that will be cut off dramatically when her forever home turns up. I am hoping said forever home turns up sooner rather than later for that reason.

If anything Cleo deserves a loving, understanding family so they too can be rewarded with this...

* Introducing self with back of hand - I once got told reaching for a cat with a claw like hand is often read as a threat by timid cats/kittens. By offering the back of my hand I hope to appear less intimidating and I can carefully read the kittens reaction before offering the back of my hand and turning it on the side before reaching to pat her. I very rarely if ever just reach for Cleo but she is getting better at receiving affection or pats when she's not even looking at me (often when she's weaving around my feet).

Slow Progress

Well nearly a week ago JoJo moved out.

Where Am I Going? ~ JoJo

No she didn't return to the shelter she was scooped up by a loving family and I'm pleased to hear updates that she's settling in well.

My Auntie had been tossing up on whether to introduce another cat to their household as their now four year old ginger tabby Milo was spending long periods alone.

Handsome Kitty Milo

Milo (taken quite awhile ago via Mobile Phone)

He had originally been bought with a sibling Cocoa but unfortunate circumstances of having indoor/outdoor cats meant Cocoa used up his nine lives all in one go.

Cocoa RIP

She also felt that her son would love the attention of a kitten all his own. He shared a close bond with Milo but Milo never chose to sleep on his bed.

Having spotted me pimping out JoJo and Cleo on Facebook they inquired about them and turned up on Saturday for a meet and greet. I am pretty sure their minds were already made up before laying eyes on her...but then again who wouldn't melt at those big expressive eyes she has?

You know you want to take me home ~ JoJo

JoJo went home with them on that day as she was already micro-chipped and spayed and they tossed around a few names trying to get the right one. Millie ended up being the final choice.

So Millie and Milo, the M&M's. Although there's still an adjustment period it seems Milo is slowly accepting his new roomie.

Best part to all of this is I'll get to keep in touch.

Farewell Millie may you live a long and happy life

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On the other side Cleo.

Since JoJo left Cleo has begun transforming. She readily purrs and seeks pats from anyone if they approach her cage, I think she'd still be wary of a complete stranger but she has accepted both myself and my mother.

When picked up and held for a few moments her ears aren't tilted back and she doesn't feel as tense. In fact most of the time she actually purrs.

Only recently I've been giving her a bit more access to the floor mostly so she's not completely trashing her cage but also to get her used to having people walk around her and hoping to make sure she doesn't hide in corners. With help of a laser light a few nights ago I was able to lure her over and pat her freely while she isn't confined.

Cleo not quite sure of the flashy thing

Today that has progressed to being able to pat her (as long as she knows you're going to and its done slowly) while she was out and about. She's peeping at me whenever I show up and will walk past me and even touch my leg without thinking I'm going to eat her.

She is still a very long way from a kitten who has been exposed to people all her life. I'm not entirely sure she'd suit a family with young kids as she needs patience to earn her trust. Cleo also does get over stimulated so if you pat her too much or she doesn't want to be picked up she can gently grab your hand in her mouth but she's never outright bitten. I'd also love to clip her claws but scruffing her sends her into survival mode and doesn't really get the whole 'relaxed kitty' results that it gets with others.

Such a pretty girl

I have never seen any aggressive behavior in this kitten. Ratty when thoroughly excited with toys yes, scared yes, wary yes and she's still very jumpy at times but I also see a kitty that's really trying to understand what we want and deciding we're not so bad after all.

She pops in for a vet check tomorrow and hopefully I bring her home again to continue working on her. I am not sure if she'll return to her timid self if let loose in a unfamiliar area.

As always Cleo is available for adoption. She is already spayed, micro-chipped and up to date on vaccinations. If you want to meet her I'm happy to arrange a meeting so you can meet this charming pretty little girl in person and all you'd have to do is pay her fee and sign papers and she can go home straight away.

For further information please call the Portland RSPCA. I'd certainly love if little Cleo was given the chance of her own forever family like Millie has.

Here's a video of Cleo accepting some pats and playing

If Only....

Well the kittens did return on the 3rd of July but they went straight to the vets for spaying and neutering. Squish, Milky and Whimpy remained behind but JoJo was doomed to wear the bucket to keep her away from her stitches.

Family Portrait (from L clockwise) - Milky, Wimpy, JoJo & Squish

The three stooges that returned

JoJo (who's crazy as a YoYo) isn't a huge fan of being kept confined so I was offered the chance to foster her again until the stitches came out. Such hardship for me (rolls eyes).

Well, I never really bonded with JoJo (still Judith by RSPCA papers) when she was one of the four kittens, in fact I tended to gravitate towards Squish because he was happy to hang out whereas JoJo was off being a...well YoYo...

Some Examples of JoJo's YoYo-ness

Come and get me! ~ JoJo

SPROING!!

CHOMP!! (JoJo laughing maniacally at her brother)

SPROING!!!

Can I has some halp? Bit Stuck ~ JoJo

Now that I've had one on one time for over a week I've seen a different side of her. The title of this new post is a reflection of 'If only I could keep them all'. Yes, JoJo has wiggled her way into my heart and if I didn't have Leo I probably would be darn tempted to sign some papers.

Alas I do understand that three cats in one household is enough and Leo would get his nose out of joint if he had to share me any more than he does now. There's also nothing to say JoJo wont change out of her cute behavior as she gets older (seriously doubt that).

So what does JoJo do? Well its not really anything that every other cat doesn't do. She purrs, she cuddles, she doesn't want to be left alone and she's a cheeky little girl.

Normally when a kitten is sick I enjoy cuddling them and watching them sleep while tucked up around my neck. By the time they get better they don't want to sit still and hang out. JoJo isn't sick and yet she'll just hang out with me purring and snuggling against me and generally turning those big expressive eyes on me.

Cuddles with little Jo

Hey look I found a warm spot (sitting on heater vent)

Side Note: While wearing her hood little JoJo also slid down the treadmill belt when she accidentally wandered onto it. She wasn't overly worried about it or the noise...the vacuum is another thing...

On Friday she went to the vets to possibly get her stitches out but the vet advised to leave it until Monday. Everyone was enchanted with her little sock.

****Story of the sock****

The hood of doom was not JoJo's cup of tea and one morning she managed to get herself into an awful mess. Somehow while using the litter tray she'd managed to shift the neck part of the hood to nearly down to her waist and had trapped her front legs in the hood also. If I'd thought about it a picture would explain much better but either way she couldn't get out of the litter tray and had spent quite a bit of time struggling and getting poop everywhere. (exasperated face)

Since the altered socks with leg holes and the toe cut off seemed to work with previous kittens we went down that path with this one and beyond walking like a drunk kitten for a few minutes she soon adapted to it and motored on like nothing was different. (She never showed any signs of pain from her spay site to the point that even with a hood she managed to climb cage walls).

JoJo modelling her sock

Cat Walk

Side View 

On Friday I was introduced to another kitten Cleo who's story is quite a bit sadder. She was born either feral or semi feral and has never had decent human interaction before the RSPCA. Her brother reacted in a manner which was dangerous and unadoptable and the shelter manager bore some nasty scratches and bites. Cleo however seems to freeze when handled but you can tell she's not happy or comfortable with humans hands on her or when she's off the ground.

Cleo ~ I'm watching you

She was adopted out for a full three days before being returned as unsuitable for that home.

I've had Cleo now a heading close to a week. I see a kitten that is trying but is also very distrustful. She is 15 weeks old so the window of turning her into a cuddly little purr bucket has kind of passed.

Cleo stalking JoJo

HISS!!

Taking a breather where its 'Safe'
(Meaning I was on the other side of the room)

Within moments of having room to move in the big cage she was tentatively playing with some toys (she did have a freak out at a dome bed hissing and swatting at it like some monster until I removed it) but otherwise she was fine and did nothing more than hiss or shift to the other side of the cage whenever I had to clean/check something.

I began offering her bribes of nice food to try and get some sort of level playing field. By late day two I think it was the first time Cleo accepted and sought out some attention. Depending on her mood sometimes she'll purr up a storm and head butt your hand allowing you to pat her on the head and down the back. Legs, belly and movement to pick her up is rewarded with her tensing or backing off.

The last 3 days (stitches all out by Monday for both Cleo and JoJo) I've been giving them supervised 30 minute play sessions. It saves Cleo from turning her cage into an absolute trash site and gets her interacting with another kitten. She's quite a bit bigger than JoJo so I cant leave them alone together. Mostly it seems they're playing but occasionally it seems to get a bit nasty from my view (probably normal behavior but I try to split them up if I hear too much hissing or yeowling when ones been tackled).

Cleo and JoJo playing Hide and swat

Cleo still totally prefers to stay away from people rather than be with them and is overly cautious of going near or past a human (which makes catching her again quite difficult because I don't want to just pounce on her and ruin all the trust).

Long term with a patient loving owner I see Cleo being a quite affectionate cat who might be a lap cat but only on her own terms. I cant see her tolerating being picked up and carried around or cuddled at least not anytime soon. I also believe she'll be shy around strangers but alas I'm hoping she'll prove me wrong in all areas.

JoJo will adapt anywhere but I'm pretty sure given the right attention she'll return it tenfold. The trips to the vet have been quite overwhelming for her and she trembles like a leaf tucking herself closer to the side of the box that I'm on or trying to squish herself through the bars. When out of her carrier she tucks in and cowers on my lap but is quick to purr up a storm if she's reassured and given scratches.

Both JoJo (Judith) and Cleo are available for adoption and once paid for can go home immediately as they're both desexed. I will probably have these guys until Monday but if anyone is interested in them I'm happy to swing by the shelter with them so you can meet them.

If interested ring the Portland RSPCA and inquire after Judith (JoJo - is what I call her, Judith is what her paperwork says) or Cleo or Kim's Foster Kittens.

I'll be soaking up all the love from JoJo I can get in the next few days and working on Cleo's fears of humans.

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Leo the Loony Boy

Former foster toy a kitten sized kicker laced with catnip that he's now calling
MINE!!!!!!!

One of the odd ways this boy sleeps all tucked up....

Until next time....

Kittens Gone Crazy

Still got the little seekers. The little girl with no nickname is now JoJo. There is the possibility they'll be returned tomorrow but alas not entirely sure.

Anyway the kittens are much better in human company and are quick to purr. They have had a few days released onto the floor of the study so I'm not continuously redoing their cage when they go spastic.

And they go Spastic....

I shall leave you with pictures of just how spastic....

JoJo taking a minute out of the mayhem

Milky and umm... (either Squishy or Wimpy)

I'm going to guess Squishy in flight here (His tail poofs up in excitement)

SQUISHY!!!!!

Milky ~ Just sharpenin' my claws, nothing to see...

JoJo getting ready to ambush a brother (she starts it...)

Pretty sure this is Milky and Wimpy (Wimpy's lankier)

The three ginger's (Love how their tails stick up)

JoJo being ambushed

Crazy Kitteh's

Squish trying to avoid a butt bite

Mexican stand off, in the left corner is  Squish

In the right corner Wimpy (why identical kittens *sigh*)

JoJo ~ My brother's are crazy

Vrroooom! JoJo ~ Eat my dust!

Milky preparing to pounce on Wimpy (?)

A white tip on the end of either Squish or Wimpy's tail would have been nice. I can tell them apart when standing still or while I'm in the room...looking back on photos not so much.
Squish is more compact looking and he gets quite some puff on his tail when he's going nuts but he often camps out on my knee while the others go mad.
Wimpy is lankier and I think he has more stripes. He's also less likely to seek out human company but he is getting better.
The other two are no brainers.