Thursday, December 04, 2008, 06:50
Almost
The five barn kittens, Rosie, Petunia, Miss Kitty, Violet and Sir Thomas have been making brief trips outside. And I mean brief. Only for a few minutes or in some cases, a few seconds. And not all at once. Monday morning, Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning, it was very windy outside and cold. I think the kittens did not really want to be out in the cold. Miss Kitty has not ventured close enough to the door to go outside. She is very shy and careful of herself. It is because she is blind in one eye. But the others have made trips outside.
A couple of them, Petunia and Sir Thomas and Rosie, have ventured down to the barn, too. But then they think they are "lost" and can't find anyone. They meow so pitifully and sadly. And they are so happy to follow me back to the basement and go inside. Tuesday morning, Violet made it as far as the culvert under the lower driveway. And then she thought she was lost and all alone in the world. I called to her, and she came out of the culvert, very happy to see me.
Maybe, if we get a nice day without any strong wind, they will feel better about going outside. I'm not going to rush them. I want them to go out if and when they feel it is right for them to go outside. Even if it is next spring, that's fine. I am, after all, protecting my investment if they stay in the basement for a time. Also, the girls have shaved bellies. Without any hair on their undersides, I am thinking they are bound to feel the cold more than they would otherwise.
It started snowing Tuesday evening about 9:30 p.m. The wind blew out of the east/southeast all day Tuesday, making it feel quite raw and cold. The snow is going south again this year as it did last year. The southern part of the state, so far, has been getting all of the snow and we've only been getting a dusting.
By Wednesday morning, we had about an inch of snow on the ground. The sky had cleared off, but even though the sun was shining, it was bitter cold with a strong wind out of the north. The high temperature Wednesday afternoon was right around 20 degrees. I have said it several times before this fall -- the weather feels more like January. I am afraid to see what January actually will be like. . .
My old friend Sebastian is not doing very well. In spite of the Procrit, the Lactated Ringers, Petinnic and canned kitty food processed in the blender that I have been feeding him by syringe, my kitty is growing progressively weaker. The past two days he has been lying on a pillow in the bathroom by the heat vent. He can no longer walk. I have carried into my office a couple of times to use the litter box. That little bit of effort wears him right out, and each time, I am afraid he will die right then and there.
I have to say that I am not very impressed with the Procrit as a treatment for anemia in cats with kidney failure. For a time, Sebastian seemed to be doing a little better with more color in his ears and his gums. But then, just like my big Duke kitty last summer, he started rapidly going downhill. The Procrit is horribly expensive, but in the end, it has done nothing for my friends. On top of losing Guinevere, Winifred, Duke, Simon Peter and Charlie this year, it appears that we are going to lose Sebastian as well.
Randy got a letter from the clinic on Wednesday, too. The radiologist, after looking at the x-rays, concluded that his little finger was, indeed, broken after he smashed it trying to jack up the tractor tire a week ago. He has been keeping the finger splinted for the most part. He is supposed to return to the clinic in a week so the doc can check on his finger again.
LeAnn R. Ralph
Monday, December 01, 2008, 19:34
The Great Escape
After I went outside to take care of the horses Friday evening, it was time to clean out the barn kittens' litter box and bring them fresh water and give them a treat of canned kitty food.
It wasn't until I was putting out canned kitty food that I noticed only four of the five were in Charlie's kennel in the basement.
"All right," I said. "Who is missing?"
The others did not answer me but instead just went about their business of eating canned kitty food. I opened the kennel door and closed it behind me, and then I went looking for the missing cat.
"Kitty? Kitty-kitty?" I said. "Where are you?"
Eventually I found the missing kitten on the other side of the basement.
"Rosie!" I said. "What are you doing here? How did you get out?"
To my way of thinking, there were only two ways Rosie could have gotten out. She either sneaked out while I was getting myself through Charlie's kennel door with a can of kitty food and a fork in my hand, or else she climbed out of the kennel. I picked Rosie up and put her back in the kennel with the others so she could get some canned kitty food, too.
Saturday morning when I went downstairs, Rosie immediately came to greet me.
"Ah, HAH!" I said. "You DID escape!"
The only way Rosie could have gotten out of Charlie's kennel was to climb the chain link. Henry, Katerina and Dora climb the chain link all the time. They have to be the climbingest cats I have ever seen. I knew, then, that after Rosie had climbed out, it was only a matter of time until someone else climbed out. And I found that idea to be particularly worrisome. The barn kittens went through spay/neuter surgery only about 10 days before. I did not really think they should be climbing around like that.
"Well," I said. "Since Rosie figured it out, it's only a matter of time until the rest of you figure it out, too, isn't it."
So, after I fed the kittens some canned food Saturday morning, I left the kennel door open. Better for them to get out that way to explore the basement than to climb over the chain link and hurt themselves.
Jeepers, you should have seen them. The kittens were delighted to get out of the kennel. I'm quite sure they were growing bored and were thinking they would be confined forever. They immediately started exploring all of the nooks and crannies in the basement. And there are plenty of nooks and crannies: stacks of wood by Randy's work bench, stacks of boxes, stacks of Rubbermaid containers, other cardboard boxes.
A couple of times Saturday, I went downstairs to see how the kittens were doing. I only saw three of them at a time, although not always the same three. And they were having a grand time.
Saturday evening while I was getting water ready for the horses, Randy came into the basement.
"I haven't seen all five of them together," I said. "It's probably going to be like the toad. I'll look and look and won't find all five of them at once."
"I don't think it will be as bad as the toad," Randy replied.
The toad has been in the basement since shortly before Charlie died in July. In all that time, I have only seen him once. I was hoping to find him so I could put him outside. It's too cold to put him outside now.
Later Saturday evening when I went downstairs to get ready to go outside to check on the horses, I finally saw all five barn kittens.
"Having fun?" I said.
From their happy, gleeful expressions and the numerous "chirp meows" I was hearing, I knew the kittens were doing just fine. When I opened a can of cat food, they all came to the kennel looking for a treat.
I am still treating Petunia and Rosie for respiratory problems, but by and large, they seem to be doing well. It will only be a matter of a few days now until I see if they want to go outside. Some of them may want to come back in the basement to stay at night where it's warm. Some of them may not. Or none of them may want to be in the basement after this. Time will tell.
LeAnn R. Ralph