Tag: cat

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Like Cats and Dogs

While we were away, Chris did a ton of work on the house. He also tackled a major challenge: making sure our cats and dogs get along. Merlin was old and mean, so the dogs left him alone other than an occasional nose-touch in passing. The kittens, on the other hand, are young and run and jump and play and desperately want to be friends with the dogs.

Shadow is a little afraid of them, so she mostly avoids them. Jake is still a bit of a puppy himself, so he takes much more interest in them. The problem is he is an eighty-plus pound Pit Bull and they are five month old kittens. We have had concerns that he might be interested in them as kitty-snacks, so their interactions have involved kennels or leashes and been limited.

This past week, however, Chris took advantage of the quiet to properly introduce Jake to the kitties. The end result is adorable.

  • I’m a good boy, right?
  • Nap time.
  • Friends.

I do worry about accidental injuries because Jake is so much bigger, so I still keep a close eye on them. He really is very sweet and gentle with the kittens though. When we first let them out together in the mornings, the kittens rub all over his legs and purr while he has his big, goofy, happy pit smile on his face.

Angel is the feisty runt, so Jake tolerating him is awesome.
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Cats are weird

After my kitty Merlin died earlier this summer at the ripe old age of fifteen, we decided we would like to adopt a pair of kittens. I always felt a little sad that Merlin never had a kitty friend. But, by the time we really started thinking about a second cat, Merlin was old and cranky. I wasn’t sure he would like another cat around, so we waited.

Kitty Merlin

Introducing our new kitties.

In July, I began looking for a pair of kittens to adopt and found a local family needing to find homes for their three kittens. How could I just leave one sibling behind? Not possible. So we ended up with three eight week old kittens, one female and two males.

Buffy:

Spike:

Angel:

Angel Cats

Based on our cats’ names, everyone reading now knows my age and that I am a huge nerd. 

Surprise!

Anyway, like a responsible kitty owner, I took Buffy to be spayed yesterday. Spike and Angel aren’t off the hook, but taking care of the little lady first removes the immediate litter of kitties threat. Imagine my surprise when I picked Buffy up and learned that Buffy was, in fact, a boy. 

This news, of course, left me questioning whether Buffy’s brothers were actually brothers. Again, all kitties are destined for that trip to the vet, but females get top priority due to babies and certain health risks. 

After spending a weird afternoon Googling variations of “how to tell if a cat is male or female” and comparing the results to my intact furballs, I am fairly certain I do, in fact, have three males. Typical for me, really. I also think that by their current age, I would have realized Buffy was a boy if I had actually looked. Until yesterday, though, I didn’t see the need to double-check.

When in doubt…

One thing I learned is that, at TCAP at least, when in doubt, register cats as female. If they turn out to be male, they will continue with the surgery. Spaying is harder and has more potential complications, so if your cat is a surprise female, they won’t perform the surgery at that time.

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