Author Archives: Charles Huss

Kittens! Need I Say More?

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Yesterday we visited my sister-in-law. I like going there, in part because I like her and her husband, but also because she has a house full of cats that are a great opportunity for photographs. This day was even better because she is fostering three seven-week-old kittens that are almost ready for adoption.

Kittens

Felice works for a vet and has taken in many cats that others rejected. She has experience with bottle feeding infant kittens and has brought several back from the brink of death. She has also lost some, but fortunately these three survived and are now happy and playful. The kittens were found by a client at around four days old and brought to the vet. Their umbilical cords were still attached. Felice took them home and bottle fed them every two to three hours for several weeks. She has a method and I hope to get her to share the details.

I noticed that a couple of the kittens backed away slightly when I tried to pet them but then were okay with it. Felice told me that the mother’s milk has natural antibodies that keep the kittens healthy but bottle fed kittens are subject to a variety of ailments. These ailments lead to a lot of necessary but unpleasant human contact, which explains the hesitation, but now that they are well, I’m sure they will get over it soon.

Kitten Kitten Kitten Kittens Kittens Kittens Kitten Kitten

The black and white female kitten (without the mustache) is spoken for but the two males are looking for a good home. If you, or anyone you know, are near Tampa Bay Florida and would be willing to adopt one, or both, of these cute kittens, please email me at: me (at) charleshuss dot com.

Vacation is Over

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We just returned from a week-long cruise on Saturday. We were supposed to go to the Virgin Islands but a hurricane forced us to different ports, but that is another story. By the time the cruise was over, we were more than ready to get home to see our boys.

We had no phone service for a week so we had to trust that our cats were being taken care of. Service returned Saturday morning when we arrived at Port Canaveral but we had no messages from the cat sitter. After we finally left the ship, Rose got a text from our backup cat sitter with a photo of each of the cats but no real explanation as to why she was there. At least we knew they were okay, that is all we cared about. We learned later that our cat-sitter had to go out of town that morning and just missed one visit.

When we got home Chris, Puck and Frankie were waiting for us at the door. It was like we had never left. They were happy to see us and wanted me to open a can of food for them right away. Even thought it wasn’t dinnertime, I couldn’t say no. I thought there was a small chance that at least one of them would be angry with us for leaving them but that didn’t happen.

Later I noticed that Chris had gained weight while we were gone. I have been concerned lately because he has plumped up a bit and I have tried to cut back on the dry food that I leave out. Chris does not eat enough of the wet food because he is addicted to the dry food. I have been slowly reducing his dry food in an attempt to reverse that problem, but my fear that something might happen to the cat-sitter promoted me to put out a gravity feeder in addition to their regular bowls.

Fat Cat Chris

Fat Cat Chris

Well, Chris seemed to take advantage of that. As I saw him lying on the floor like a beached whale, I petted his belly and said something about his weight gain. He didn’t like that. He growled and tried to bite me. I tried talking to him to calm him down but he kept growling at me so I just left him alone. Later he came and lied on my lap like nothing happened.

He also wasted no time in getting on the counter to beg for kitty treats and catnip. I guess everything is back to normal.

The Lizard Dilemma

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The other day Chris was outside and caught another lizard. That is bad enough but he has this irresistible urge to bring his catch into the house and doesn’t know what to do with it when he can’t get in.

I’m not sure why he has to bring it inside. At first I thought it was instinctual but then I realized that lions don’t kill a gazelle and then drag it back to the den to eat it. Maybe he just wants to show it off to Puck and Frankie.

The Hard Part of Going on Vacation

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We took out the suitcases for our upcoming vacation and, as expected, all the cats had to lie on top of them. It happens every time. I think they know what is coming and they want to make sure we know that they don’t want to be left home again.

Cats on suitcase

We’re going with you.

Cat on suitcase

I’m staging a sleep in until you agree to take us with you.

I hate leaving them alone for so long. We do have someone who will come in twice a day but that won’t be the same for them. Honestly, I don’t worry about the diminished attention they will get. They have each other and they can survive a week with little human attention.

What I do worry about is the unpredictable. What if the cat-sitter accidentally lets a cat out? Worse, what if something bad happens to her? What if a burglar invades our home and leaves the door open? What if someone gets sick? What if there is a fire? The possibilities are endless.

Yes, I’m a bit of a worrier, and no, I’m not going to let it ruin my vacation. I will just make sure I do everything possible to lessen the chances that something bad will happen and leave it at that.

I’ve taken out of storage our gravity feeder and water dish that holds several days worth of food and water. The cat-sitter may be a bit insulted by this but that is the least of my concerns. I also plan on giving a key to the neighbor for emergencies. In addition, I will unplug everything I can to reduce the risk of fire. I can’t do much about burglars but hopefully our lack of valuables will be a good deterrent.

Hopefully I will be able to enjoy a worry-free vacation. If anyone has any other tips, please let me know.