And now it's a bottle baby kitten... [12/21 And again...]

[wodesorel]

The walls were like 16 inches, once they are big enough to do that I figure they can take on anything. It gave us a few days with her contained in the bedroom which let Mao get used to the idea. Mao had been having absolute meltdowns, but she finally stopped yesterday.

Bug is fearless - the first time she got over the wall was while I was vacuuming, and she was chasing the canister around!

[Rawrgeous]

That makes sense, and it's too funny! Mine hate the vacuuum. I can literally walk too close to it, and they think I'm going to use it and they bolt! I'm also glad Mao is taking it better now. Sharing "mom" can be hard lol.

[wodesorel]

Mao is... special. It's the brain damage. It takes her a long time to understand something, and even longer to adjust to it.

[Rawrgeous]

She is so gorgeous though! I'm such a sucker for kitty eyes though. I'd have them all if I could. <3 I

[Hermiesguardian]

Bug's ears straightened up. Now she looks like Batman. Well, Batgirl. Lol

[wodesorel]

I haven't got a picture of it, but she has a perfect white S on her back with a period underneath, like "Supergirl, fullstop". Hubby says we need an S name for her permanently, but we can't find one we like. We have a Sarah already and had a Squeaks and Sue, and our neighbor's dog is Samantha.

Bottle babies always end up with three names - initial nickname (Bumble, Baby, Bug), grow out name (Monkey, Little One/Rat, Tiny Cat) and then real name (Gracie, Mao, ---). I don't know why it happens this way!

[GotButterflies]

Holy cow - she grew up soooo much!!! Thank you for my kitten fill of the day !! I love that she has graduated to the bedroom!!! That's great!!! I love that the other kitties have accepted her!! What beautiful kitties - especially Mao! You have such a gift for photography!!! I am always amazed by your pictures!!! The TY Goat is adorable!!!

[Moonlightdreams]

Squeeee! So so so cute. She's such a little sweetheart!

[curlysister]

I have a brain damaged cat too! She is a perma-kitten, her personality is so kitten like, and will never change. The brain damage makes her that much more endearing.

What about Solange? It means solemn or dignified!

[wodesorel]

Charlie was mentally stuck at about four months, we lost him last summer at 13 to lymphoma. He would get into it sometimes with the other cats out of an inability to understand them, but for the most part he was a bundle of friendly. Our biggest problem with him was his size - 22 pounds in his heyday, knee-high, and 39 inches from nose to tail tip. It was sort of like living with a lobotomized panther, and guests would freak when he would plod over to say hello. When he would spoon with me, he reached from my chin to my knees!

Mao is the bad kind of brain damage. Everything overwhelms her, and when she shuts down from it she gets mean. Her default setting is to freak out and lash out. You cannot let your guard down for a moment, even when she is happy and cuddly, because those teeth are incoming within a blink, and she will cause harm. She also has neuro blindness - she can see but she doesn't always realize she can see. The good news is she is slow and predictable in the way she snaps so my two girlies that spend time in the bedroom know how to deal with her. She also cannot jump anywhere but the bed and chair (we have no idea why, physically she is fine) so they can easily get away from her. She's also grossly obese at this point, even after being on a strict diet for five months, and she gets hangry, and flat our attacks us when she wants food, with hissing, swatting and biting. I try to look at it all as unavoidable tantrums and her being overwhelmed. I do love her, she is a unique special and we fought to save her even though she was only a day old when we got her, but she can tiring at times and my poor skin is taking a beating!

[wodesorel]

See?

S
.

It's Supercat!

[GotButterflies]

Charlie sounds like he was a cool kitty!

That is sad about Mao! Have you ever considered or tried medications with her?

So cool!!! It's definitely an S! Is Supercat her name?

Seraphim...Serendipity...

[wodesorel]

We're seeing a new vet with Mao in two weeks so we'll see if she has suggestions. I have her on Cosequin and duralactin for the reluctance with jumping and she's been much more pleasant on them! I think she has lower back or hip pain but x-rays show nothing wrong. I am very hesitant to try anything specifically for her mood. The last vet wanted to make her groggy so she could be examined, gave her half a very mild dose of DKT and said it would take 10 minutes to work. She didn't even have time to finish her sentence before Mao was face down on the table. They had to rush her in the back to immediately reverse her. For how little she was given and how big she is, she should have gotten stumbley, not black out cold. Makes me nervous!

Our Sarah does actually know her name, so I don't want to confuse her. Trying to find new monikers that do not sound the same with 29 cats is hard! We accidentally ended up with a Winter and Winston, and that is bad enough. We also have a CeeCee and took in a C.C. which is fun, because they both know their names!

[GotButterflies]

Oh wow...I bet that was scary with Mao!! Perhaps her mood is pain related! That would explain a lot. Who doesn't get moody when they hurt?! Cosequin is a great product!

Have you ever tried Feliway Plug Ins? I swear by it. It's very pricey, and does take a little time to take effect, but I've used it myself, and recommended it several times and seen drastic improvements. Perhaps that is something you can look into. I'm sure you already know about it. The plug ins are all of the time. The spray is for when you are going to have a change in the house. (Company, move of furniture, new pet, new furniture, etc.) A lot of time people just use them for behavioral or urinary issues - but I personally think they work great all of the time - especially for multi-cat households. All the animals cats feel and feed off of our stress levels. When we pet them we transfer some of that energy. Just a thought...Even some of the Jackson Galaxy products are great IMO

Don't you just love cats that know their names?!! I bet that is so difficult coming up with a name that you haven't used yet!! I don't know how you do it!!! You are an angel in my eyes!! I appreciate everything you do for the animals!!!

[curlysister]

My cat Dusty used to live at my sister's farm. She has always been a runt, like only 4 1/2 pounds fully grown. My cats were 15 and 19 pounds, so when I was out visiting I always joked to my nieces that they wouldn't even notice if Auntie put Dusty in my pocket or my purse and took her home. Being a runt, she is always looking for warm places. She was on top of a diesel heater at the farm, hanging her head over the front, when it flared. She got burned from the flare, her whiskers were burnt off, her nose was burnt, all her nasal passages too. She was in very rough shape when they found her, she couldn't stand up. My sister is a vet, and nursed her back to health....but she would not survive if she went back in the barns. So my niece phone and said 'Auntie, you always wanted my little cat, right??' And how could I say no? She has a permanent head tilt, a really wide stance, and can't jump very high (she can get onto the couch, and uses the doggie step to get onto the bed). Personality wise, she is like a kitten. And she still always looks for warm places - her favorite is crawling under the covers at night, LOL.