We are expanding the foster kitten’s range and kitty proofing as we go. We opened up the hall from the guest room, but we have an open railing that makes us nervous with a small kitten, so we lined the railing with nylon netting.
The netting is see-through, but not very strong. Luckily he does not try to rip it, just looks through. It also does a good job keeping his toys from dropping over the edge. The sides are stapled to the wall, because staple holes are small and easily patched.
Thor the foster kitten was meowing upstairs, so I went up and played with him, giving him his first silver vine stick. He loved it.
I do put the stick away when I’m not in the room because I don’t want him eating splinters. And I had to put it away because Izzy started meowing downstairs. Really? Jealous much? I went down to find that she had brought a frog inside. She was praised as a mighty huntress before I caught the frog.
The frog was let loose in the garden outside. I seem to encourage talkative cats.
Izzy the cat’s favorite litter box is the one outside in her catio. When it rains, the litter gets wet (yuck), so awhile ago I put an old cookie sheet over the entrance and secured with with duck tape. It wasn’t elegant, but it worked, until the duct tape failed. Hm. I don’t know why I didn’t think of the scraps of metal roofing by the chicken coop then, but I did remember this time. A couple screws to attach the corrugated metal to the frame, tin snips to round the corners to reduce risk of injury, and tada, a outdoor resistant rain roof for the litter box. Faster and easier than duct tape. Please forgive the dirt, it will wash away with the next rain and it has been a very busy week.
My folks gave me a formed cat tunnel house (we call it a cat donut). Izzy liked it once I put a cushion in, but then stopped using it for some feline reason. When the kitten showed up, we moved it upstairs and my eldest had the fantastic idea of unzipping it to make smaller hiding spaces. Thor decided it was the best hiding space, and when we moved his food down to the floor, he also stopped pitifully crying when we left the room. Phew.
It also makes a great exercise surface since Thor has developed a love of the red light game (RLG for short, aka cat laser toy). As he becomes more comfortable in his new space, he is also settling into the center well of the cat house instead of hiding all the time.
Our foster kitten is doing well. He had his first official trip to the vet; he has had his first round of kitten vaccinations, has been dewormed, and is getting ointment for his eye goobers. He has discovered a favorite hiding/nap spot, but comes out when we come in. He has leapt joyfully into play, and has been receptive when we substitute a toy instead of fingers. His favorite thing right now is a spring toy. His purr is like thunder. The vet paperwork names him Thorn (since I pulled him out of a thorn bush), but we affectionately drop the “n” and call him Thor (or little man, or kitten, or … we use a collection). To keep his dander down, we’ll use a waterless bath foam and brushing, and a few days after his shots, he’ll get his first flea treatment.
Critters and Craft 