Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Kitty boredom: videos or a new kitten

I admit I'm an aurilophile, in other words a cat lover.  At my worst I had 9 cats on 6 different prescription diets.  The youngest was 2 days old, and the oldest was 25 years.  Last year around July, I found myself in the unique situation of having only 1 cat.  Unfortunately, he was a bored cat, and his answer to boredom was to pester me for food.  So, to the drawing board for ways to entertain him without feeding him.  Toys that involved the kids or I pulling or throwing lasted at maximum about 15 minutes, then either we or he would walk away.  The kitty videos interested him if they were birds or small rodents, but I got sick of all my knick knacks going flying when he attacked the TV or surroundings looking for those same critters off-screen.  What to do?  What to do?  I finally succumbed to my weakness and adopted another kitten.  This one a 4 week old 1 pound waif from the middle of a street in Sterling.  The kind samaritan who brought her in couldn't afford another cat and just wanted her to have a safe home.  Problem solved, well almost, first I had to clear her parasites, get her vaccinated, and set a spay date.  While doing all that I kept her isolated in my upstairs bathroom.  This worked great until the day she broke out.  After a panicked search all over the house we found her, and my 2 year old male, engaged in mutual cuddle and cleaning in the cat scratcher apartment.  Okay, love at "first" sight!!!  No more begging at all hours, no more whining to play, no more bored kitty.  Now we have 2 speed demons who knock over everything and anything at full tilt.   Life is back to normal, and the dogs just stay out of the way.  They know better than to be in the middle of any floor, as that means they are fair game for tag or pounce.
Moral of this story, get any new pet vetted (check up, vaccines, deworm, spay or neuter), and take time to allow the "isolated" animal to integrate into the household.  (They fell in love under the door.)  There are pheromones, training systems, etc to help with the introduction of new animals to a household.  If you plan ahead and nothing is working, take the time to call a professional and have an evaluation. 
On a side note, this kitten is microchipped, we don't want to lose her ever.

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