The Furballs are five weeks old

[chowmama]

3 of them have now topped a pound (Relleno is still leading the pack there at over half a kilo) and Tepin is 350g. The 2 girls are eating canned 'mousse' (not mouse) really well and one of the boys (Ancho) finally sniffed it this morning. He might have barely touched it with his little tongue. I've tried KMR in a flat dish, but no dice. He and Relleno is still insisting exclusively on the cafe of Audrey, but she's going to be closed for business before too long.

Audrey's putting on weight, too - nearly 7 pounds. Still bony, but not skeletal. She's going to be a bigger cat than I first thought. Have I mentioned she's a longhair? They're all going to be longhairs.

We've got the whole household living together now. There's an occasional hiss or growl between the two adults, especially if Fast Eddie gets too close, but there's been no actual fighting. Audrey's feeling more familiar with the place and Eddie is trying to insist on his supremacy. The Furballs and mom still spend the night in the bathroom, when we can't monitor them. Otherwise, the 'Balls' have been either on the bed, in their playpen (which was just peed in - one of them hasn't discovered the itty bitty litterpan yet) or on somebody's lap.

We're seeing personalities. They purr for cuddles. They're all fearless in their own ways. Tepin is adventurous, spicy and a little bit spoiled. Cascabel likes to sleep under the covers, and Ancho has discovered the floor heating vent in the bathroom. He likes to sleep with warm air blowing through his fur. Relleno tends to sleep a bit apart but is curious about things like Radar, the dog. He walked across Radar on the bed; the pooch barely woke up and cared not at all. Relleno has also been nose-to-nose with Eddie, which confused Eddie greatly.

There's only a few more weeks before they'll be ready to find their new places. 3 of them haven't found people yet, and I may have to go farther afield than my work. Worst case, there's a rescue that would probably take them, but all the rescues are bursting at the seams right now. And I'd really like to be sure that they were adopted by people who will alter, vaccinate, and microchip them, and not let them go outside.

[slightlv]

1. Good for you for being so picky about their forever homes!

I so agree with the "not let them go outside" part! We spent quite a bit of money on materials to build our group a fairly large catio for them to experience the outdoors. It's near trees, and I've added tree trunks and split logs in their for them to practice doing their nails. They've got small cat trees inside, as well as hammocks and, on the part of it that's bare ground, we've added an outdoor "turf" rug that runs the length of the catio. The other side of that is the sidewalk, which they love to roll around on and rid themselves of excess fur. There's so much you can do for them that doesn't put them at risk to the big, bad outside world.

I have one big old part Norwegian who was always trying to rip out the back door as soon as we opened it. He got out 3 times, and all three times he headed for the trees. He'd get about 6' up the tree, and then hand on with all his might while yowling for 'Mom'... and mom had to bring a step stool to reach up, pry him off the trunk, and carry him back inside. My great big hunter was terrified of going more than 6 feet off the ground! (LOL) Luckily, he allow me to pick him up and carry him... no one else can do that... only "Mom". He's the biggest scaredy cat I've ever seen, and I love him to pieces. In fact, in today's Salmon Enchanted Evening post, the last image of a blonde long haired cat wearing the little witch's hat is an exact double for him!