Sunday, July 6, 2008

The Kittens


The most interesting activity in our lives right now is trying to tame the two feral kittens that Dennis discovered and "rescued" from our garden shed about two weeks ago! We think they were about 8 weeks old when we found them. They are so darn cute, and even though neither of us are really what you would call "cat people," we have found ourselves fascinated by them. Luckily, just before Dennis caught the kittens we had removed the UGLY carpeting from our screened-in porch off the kitchen, in preparation for putting down tile (or something), so the floor is now bare concrete. How perfect for transformation into a "kitten house."


We've printed everything that we could find on the Internet about taming feral kittens and we've followed the directions to a T. As of today the kittens have a very large kennel (it was big enough for our 75-pound dog when she was alive); a "kitty condo," which is a two-story carpeted "thing" with sleeping areas on both floors plus the top side; one play mouse that squeaks; three fluffy toys with feathers for tossing around; four balls with bells in them; three different heights from which to have a view out of the sunporch (which has windows on three sides and lots of shade). I think they should feel very pampered.
You'll see by the picture that they seem to enjoy spending time in their litter box (this is a litter box in their kennel--they don't use it for a potty, however--they just sleep in it! They use a litter box outside the kennel to do their "jobs.") I guess somehow we'll have to teach them to sleep on the nice sheepskin that we put in their box! Any suggestions about how to do that?

We are working on socialization skills right now--whew, that's tough. In order to spend time one on one with them several times a day, we first have to catch them! They hide and they run--they do anything to avoid being caught. The little black kitty even bit me one day when he was really scared (I think he's a he, but we don't really know yet). Once I catch them I spend time petting them and brushing them, which they seem to enjoy, but when I put them down they run for cover once again! This could be an interesting experience. I'll keep you posted regarding my progress.

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