Exploring the house

Mom and Dad gave the Chaos Kittens free roam of the house this weekend -- supervised. 

I'm still a little unsure about them now that they are in my space. It's one thing when they are confined to Mom and Dad's bedroom or bathroom, but now that they can come and sneak up on me at any time, I just don't know about that. Aslan has been a good big brother, snoopervising them and babysitting them as they explore. 

 Castor liked checking out the books in the parlor.

Pollux was really interesting in getting under the buffet in the dining room.

All the exploring really wore them out. Castor is really turning into a snuggle bug and loves to curl up with Mom and nap.

There was some scariness today. Mom and Dad put collars on Castor and Pollux so we can keep up with them and they won't sneak up on us as easily. Well, Castor somehow managed to get the snap of his collar in his mouth. Mom found him in distress. Mom had to cut the collar off of him because she couldn't really get to the snap, and it didn't break away like it should have. Castor is doing fine now, and I'm keeping a close eye on him. But it was really scary!
 

The interlopers

We have some intruders in the house, and they are making all kinds of noise in Mom and Dad's bathroom! One of our friendly neighborhood cats -- Ziggy -- ended up having a litter of kittens. Mom and Dad thought she was a tiny boy, turns out they were wrong. There were four kittens who showed up on our back deck a few weeks after they were born. Then they went away for a few days and two returned. Turns out our neighbor adopted the other two. But then Ziggy went MIA for a few days and left the twin boy kittens on our front porch. Mom and Dad were very worried about Ziggy. She was looking real bloated, almost like she hadn't weaned them enough. She showed up again for a day or two, but mostly kept her distance from the boys. So Mom and Dad decided they needed to get the kittens to the vet for a checkup and bring them in. They are in isolation in the big bathroom right now as Mom and Dad de-flea them (no one wants that in the house!) and then we'll get to meet them. Mom and Dad would love to find them a home, but also know that we may have just become a four cat house.

Look how cute they are! Dad snapped this picture after they returned without their sisters and were just hanging out around the front porch.

Meet Castor and Pollux! They are twins, just like the Gemini twins. The only big different is Pollux has pink toe beans (P) and Castor has chocolate toe beans (C). Other than that, Pollux's left back sock is pulled up a little higher than Castor's. They are really hard to tell apart!

This is Castor. He has a little dot on his toe that looks like a flea but isn't (we've tried to get it several times...). 

 

There's a camera in the bathroom so we can check on them all the time. They like the camera. They really like to knock the camera over so we can't see them. 
 

The Twins

I mentioned in my past post about kittens around our house. There were four. Two were adopted by our neighbor (a calico and a tortie) and the twins have been on our front porch. Their mom went MIA for about six days. We've been nervous because she looks a little bloated. We think the kittens were separated from her too soon. But she showed back up yesterday. The twins were lounging in the planter when Dad came back from work at lunch and he snapped this super cute picture. These sweet guys love wet food and found their purrs recently. Mom and Dad have talked about fostering them while they try to find a good home for them. 

Happy birthday to us!

This is a late birthday post because our actually birthday was on Wednesday but Mom and Dad's have been crazy busy at Mom's theater getting ready for Legally Blonde that opens next week so we'll properly celebrate this weekend. Plus there are kittens hanging out on our back deck so that's been distracting. Pictures coming soon! As exciting as that is, the biggest news is that Aslan has started coming out of Mom and Dad's room after about seven months!

Happy Jasper Day

Happy Jasper Day! Today would have been Jasper's 23rd birthday. He was the founder of our blog way back in 2004. Jasper was Mom and Dad's Big Orange Boy — part Manx and part Maine Coon — he weighed in around 22 pounds at his biggest (not fat, just a big boy). He loved to sleep in sinks and boxes and to play in paper bags. He left us in 2018, but he set the standard for the rest of the McKitten-Cats. 

Downstairs?!?

After two months of mostly hanging out under Mom and Dad's bed and occasionally on the bed chilling with Mom or trying to eat Dad's food, Aslan has ventured downstairs three mornings in a row. He'll poke his head into the foyer or the parlor off the foyer, but that's about it. Then he'll go back to the middle of the stairs for a minute before returning to the bedroom. This is usually right as Dad's getting ready to leave for work so Dad can't even spend a lot of time with Aslan encouraging him. But we're both getting extra treats because of this. We're proud of him for being brave. 

Of course just as he's making progress he's developed a sniffle and his left eye had some goop in it last night and he was really squinty so Mom's going to try to get him to the vet this morning and make sure he's ok. They're really cautious about those eyes because of Maggie. Hopefully this isn't a big setback for Aslan. 

On the cat tree

We are so happy to see Aslan out and acting more like himself. You can't see it, but he's getting his nip dynamite here. Hopefully this is a sign that he's ready to venture our from under the bed. 

Under the bed again

Aslan went back under the bed eight days ago. Mom and Dad had been out of town for a funeral and after they came home he and I had a little spat and he decided to go under the bed. Today he finally came out and snuggled with Mom for a good long time. (He did pop out Sunday for a second when he realized Dad had food but quickly went back under.) The photo is him about to come out to visit Mom. Hopefully this is a quick thing. Last time was five weeks. 

We're not sure what triggers it. Mom and Dad think the outdoor cats who visit the deck get me fired up and get Aslan anxious, which is a bad combo. So now we need to figure out what to do about the outside visits. We like to help care for them, especially with winter coming, but if it continues to cause issues with Aslan and me then hard decisions need to be made. Mom and Dad would love to find home for the two sweet, social ones. There's a more feral boy cat who we think is the real problem. We just aren't sure what's best. 

Up in the tree

Baby girl (the outside cat who visits us for snacks) was playing in the tree outside the kitchen window this past weekend. We're not sure what her goal was, but Dad coaxed her down before she got too far up.

She's very sweet and Mom and Dad are trying to socialize her so she ::might:: join our crew. It really depends on how our health is after my big health scare and Aslan's six weeks hanging out under the bed. Mom and Dad are cautious about introducing a source of stress. But we visit at the back door and don't act out. So paws crossed … 

I’m home with new boots!

I'm home after a three-day adventure in the very hospital. On Friday they discovered that I had a blockage in my bladder that wasn't letting me urinate so my bladder was distended and I was in all kinds of pain. My kidney levels were through the roof. The vet was able to catheterize me and drain my bladder. Mom and Dad visited me and snuggled me and I fell asleep in Mom's arms. It wasn't the kind of adventure I was expecting this weekend. But I'm healthy again and home. And I'm sporting some cool Ugg-style boots until my furs grow back. This was super stressful for all involved. I'm happy to be back home, even if Aslan is a little out of sorts and hissing at me. He's coming back around. I just smell like the vet. I get it. I'm not sure why I developed a blood clot that clogged things up but I'm starting on a new kidney food so hopefully this won't happen again. Keeping purring that things continue to go well. I'll keep you posted. 

On the mend

So I'm having an adventure that I really hadn't expected. On Thursday I was being very lethargic so Mom took me to the vet. My blood tests were OK expect for a heart enzyme that was concerning. Friday I was in lots of pain and I kept trying to use the litter box but nothing was happening. Mom took me back to the vet and they said I had a bladder blockage and I needed to go to the emergency vet. As soon as I came in they swept me away to get a catheter and have my bladder drained. Turns out I had a blood clot blocking my urethra and my kidney levels were elevated. I'm spending a few days at the vet hospital recovering. Last night they said my kidney levels are down which is great news for me to return home. Mom and Dad are going to come visit this morning and hopefully I'll start eating again. I'm ready to come home. Mom, Dad and Aslan really miss me, and I'm ready to come home where there are no weird noises and I can rest. I did fall asleep in Mom's arms yesterday so maybe I'll get some rest again today. 

Pretty much back to normal

Aslan is pretty much back to his normal self. He's remembered how much he likes tormenting Mom by knocking everything off her bedside table and then being super sweet and sleeping at her feet in the morning like he didn't wake her up a dozen times during the night. Mom and Dad were hoping during his time under the bed he would have unlearned that one behavior. But he's such a good boy that they just give him all the treats anyway. Thanks to everyone for their support while he was going through his under-the-bed phase. 

Trying to play

I was trying to get Aslan to play again today but you can see my his expressing that he wasn't having any of it. He wanted to relax and chill in bed with Mom and I wanted to run and chase again. That's OK, we don't always want to play at the same time. At least he's out and not hissing at me. 

Play time!

Aslan and I played together yesterday. Actually played! Not fighting, not swatting at each other, no hissing. He would dart out from the bed and we would chase each other, then he'd hide again and start over. We were super cute and kitteny, but no good pictures because we were so fast. 

Downstairs!

Aslan came downstairs last night for the first time in about seven weeks. He had made it halfway down the stairs a few times but never all the way downstairs until last night. Mom was meal prepping for the week and Aslan's under-the-bed food bowl was empty, so he may have been food motivated, but whatever gets him there. He has started lounging on Mom and Dad's bed, and wandering around the upstairs. Dad took the litter box out from under the bed Sunday, which is a big step (and made them very happy). Hopefully Aslan will continue to be a brave boy and get his routine back.

Big steps for Aslan

The last two days Aslan has been acting more like his old self again. He's been coming out from under the bed and snuggling with Mom and Dad for hours, he's been chewing on the straws of their drinks (not Mom and Dad's favorite behavior, but so Aslan), and knocking stuff off the bedside table (also not a favorite, but his normal). Today he and I played in our new scratcher together. He still won't go downstairs, but he's also not just under the bed. 

Aslan sighting

Yesterday when Mom was on the stairs putting her shoes on Aslan came halfway down the stairs and sat with her for a minute before going back up and getting under their bed. Late last night Mom and Dad's had Sonic for a late late dinner (Mom runs a theater and they're in Tech Week) and Aslan popped out for a sec to see what Dad was eating (he loves Sonic). Then today Mom had just gotten out of the shower and she saw him walk down the upstairs hallway to the back room for a minute then go back to his under-bed apartment. It's a start! 

Happy 5th Birthday

April 30 was our fifth birthday! We celebrated with a Stinky Goodness cake topped with Temptations! Moon and Dad made Aslan come out from under the bed to taste some cake, then I got to finish it. I'll add some more pictures later. With all of Aslan's under bed issues I forgot to post this until today. 

Aslan on the stairs

On Saturday Aslan came halfway down the stairs. Mom was putting her shoes on and Dad was by the door and he said, "Slowly look behind you." Dad walked to the kitchen to grab some treats but I was coming from the kitchen toward the stairs and Aslan heard Dad say, "Loki, you want a treat?" Dad was trying to distract me, but Aslan heard him and turned tail and went back to the bed. A few times last week Aslan came out and even got on the bed when Mom had snacks. He's always been food motivated. I think I'll probably spend some time in the bathroom and Mom may try to entice him with some cheese. He needs to get his groove back. But the stairs was a huge step! 

21 Days

Aslan moved under the bed on April 4. It's now been 21 days that he's made under Mom and Dad's bed his apartment. Mom and Dad have a litter box under the bed for him because they were having to lock me in the bathroom so he could come out and use the litter box at the foot of the bed. They still give me a time out every now and then so he has some space. A couple times he has come out when Mom and Dad have food, but then he goes back under. Mom and Dad will force him to come out and put him in their bathroom where there's a cat bed, food, and litter box. He'll lay in the cat bed and let them love on him and he purrs so loudly! 

There are Feliway diffusers all over the house now and they've been sitting a calming spray under the bed and in the bedroom. He has food and water and gets lots of treats. Every now and then we'll hiss and fuss at each other, but other times we're cool together under the bed. He's got a pretty sweet setup, if you ask me. But Mom and Dad are ready for him to come out and hang out with them again.