Aristocat Kittens - Week 7

The little babies are ready for adoption as of this weekend (labour day 2010! Michelle and I vaccinated the kittens and mama Duchess yesterday and it was like an assembly line of kittens! Luckily, we had some special helpers organizing the kittens as both Jackie's and Michelle's little girls were on hand to assist.

It's gone so fast - hard to believe these little kittens, taken into foster care at 10 days old, are ready for forever homes! Two are adopted so far; there are still 4 gorgeous sociable kittens and the sleek and lovely Duchess as well.

Week 7 – AristoCats are nearing Departure

The kittens turned 7 weeks old on Saturday, August 28th. We are weaning them from Duchess so they will be ready for their new homes on the Labour Day weekend. What started out as an all milk based meal from momma is now a combination of soft cat food and the raw diet we favour for our other family pets. The first trial of raw beef went well with all the kittens eating until their bowls were clean. We mixed Spring Meadows Raw Beef Diet with the Wysong chicken soft canned food to make it something they were familiar with and something they already enjoyed eating. The texture of the raw diet along with the soft cat food made it an easy introduction for the kittens. The staff at Metro Pet Market suggested that if we feed the kittens a variety of flavours, they will be less selective eaters as adults. As the kittens are growing in leaps and bounds a complete and balanced diet has been our main concern. Our feeding the kittens has been consistent and we have introduced new flavours gradually, not switching back and forth, to avoid upset tummies and diarrhea. Whatever we are doing has been successful for all 6 kittens as they have had no issues.

Our veterinarian says it is almost impossible to over feed a kitten. Their daily food requirements for proper growth and maturation at 10 weeks of age are eight to nine ounces of canned food or a quarter of a cup of dry food daily. Because we favour the raw diet at our house the kittens foods are mixed together to get a balance of texture and nutrition. At four to six months of age, the daily requirement will closely resemble that of an adult cat as growth of the kitten slows down. Between 8 months to one year of age a kitten will reach its adult body size and weight. The daily requirement for adulthood is roughly an eighth of a pound of raw diet, or one ounce of canned food per pound of body weight. The average cat weight is 7 to 8 pounds. Our family of animals are fed in the morning and at supper time and with the addition of 7 mouths to feed we have continued that with the AristoCat Family. Who would have thought that feeding 11 cats would turn out to be a math lesson! Can you guess how many cans of soft cat food we go through in a week? Three 14 ounce cans a day just for the Aristocat Family! It sure was nice to have donated food to supplement our cat food pantry.

With our focus on food and diet what more do kittens need than a warm place to sleep and plenty of exercise? Duchess has been getting longer separations from the kittens in the house. We have put our resident cats safely in the basement to roam. We have found out one too many times what a mother cat will do to protect her litter of kittens. On Saturday morning I was the victim of her latest attack. Buddy, our dog followed one of the kittens into the bedroom where I was sleeping. Duchess quickly followed him to protect her kitten. Buddy jumped over me on the bed and Duchess flying with her claws bared landed straight at my head. By the time I realized I was getting attacked by our momma Duchess she realized too she did not have the dog. I was confused as to why I was attacked and have scratches in my hairline to prove it was not my imagination.

We are now looking for a foster home for Duchess to unwind from her hormones as a momma cat. Somewhere she can be the only pet for a few weeks so we might get her dried up from nursing the litter as well as spayed and ready for her own forever family as well. We have seen many good things in Duchess that will make her a loving companion for someone with children. She has shown her best side as an attentive mother in her caring for the kittens and as they reach 8 weeks of age next week the litter will be moving on to their own fur-ever homes. So must Duchess move on as well.

Duchess is a young cat and loves to play along with the kittens. Her favourite toy was a recent purchase we made at the PFA BBQ at the Golden Mile. Someone, I am not sure who, made these sachets with catnip in them. I purchased 3 for our house and they have been a hit with all the cats, especially Oliver and Duchess. They like to roll on them and love them up against their cheek.

Do you know someone that might like to be a temporary foster home for Duchess? We hate to see her have to go to the vet to get spayed and then get kennelled there until a spot becomes available for her in the foster homes PFA has already. PFA is always looking for more homes to open their doors to the stray cats of Regina. Food and supplies can be provided in return for your loving care and attention given to one of these strays.

As a new foster family ourselves we have seen the rewards of fostering cats for PFA. Lolita was our first foster cat. She was mostly black with two patches of white fur. Our foster home coordinator advised that black cats are sometimes difficult to find homes for and we should not be surprised if she was with us after a few months. At 8 months into our fostering Lolita we were certain she was going to be staying with us and then a lovely family came to meet her and they were swept away by her gentleness and her quiet ways. Duchess reminds me a lot of Lolita and it is not just because she is a black cat. She is gentle with our girls. She lets our 2 year old carry her around the house without a fuss and that is saying a lot for a cats tolerance of small children. If it was not for her momma hormones making her a crazy kitty we would allow her to stay with us, but, with the kittens it can be difficult to make that situation work. We could shuffle the kittens and Duchess around from foster home to foster home, but, in the end all we want is what is best for each of them and their future opportunities to find good homes.

If you can offer any of the kittens a forever home or maybe a temporary foster home for Duchess contact Alanna at HYPERLINK "mailto:abanana71@gmail.com" abanana71@gmail.com September 10, 11th and 12th is Adoption Days at Pet Smart and we will be bringing the litter, what remains after adoptions, down to meet and greet people. Oliver will be there too! Come out and show your support, maybe take home a kitten as well.

See you at Adoption Days!

Jackie Kruger
Foster Mom