8 December, 2010

More info on Juniper, World’s Most Laid-Back Kitten

Juniper went to the vet yesterday for his check up/initial vetting. I am pleased to say that he is FIV and FeLV negative, which clears him for a potential home with other cats! He is also now free of fleas and has been dewormed, as well as receiving his first FVCRP shot. He goes back on the 28th for the booster and we’ll schedule his neuter then, the vet felt that he was only 10 weeks old and thus too young to get his rabies vax or a quick neutering. He weighs about four pounds.

Thus cleared for interaction with the Usual Suspects, I brought him out to spend some time on the futon last night. He was Not Impressed with the dogs. In fact, faced with dogs he achieved such a phenomenal growl from his tiny frame that he established a three foot Canine Exclusion Zone around himself. My dogs are used to much larger cats than tiny Juniper, and were not about to poke their sensitive noses at a cat who was indicating so clearly that he would bite them off, even if he is tiny.

With cats he was much, much better. Roo sniffed him all over, established that he was not a snack, and then went about his business. Juniper did not react, except to politely touch noses. Aida jumped up, and they politely touched noses, and then she hissed in his face. He did not react. Aida was confused. They repeated everything, from nose-touch to hiss, and Juniper still didn’t react. Aida grumbled and went on her way. Emmaline took one look at him and said “Oh hell no I don’t do kittens” and retreated to watch him disapprovingly from the back of the Cat Chair. The only time Juniper showed any cat-oriented hostility was when Braxton Bragg snuck up behind him and patted his butt to see if he would do something interesting; that got a little growl that sent the dogs into whimpering panic.

Gentle reader, you have not lived until you have seen your 75 pound German Shedder and your 75 pound male Doberman reduced to whimpering and clinging to their Daddy because a 4 pound kitten growled, seriously.

Juniper will get more socialization time over the coming days, we’re hoping to work on the growling at dogs thing because, well, it’s too pathetic to see the dogs like that. But he’s doing quite well, and I think we’re on track to have him in a new home come January!

6 December, 2010

In other news, I am smarter than chickens.

We have successfully integrated the babies. After much research, I learned that one of the best ways to bring in new chickens is to put ALL the chickens in a brand new coop, so no one has a territorial interest. Obviously moving our massive chicken fortress was out of the question, so we did the next best thing: we totally rearranged it. It was time to clean the coop anyway, so all the old dead leaves for them to pick through were added to the compost pile, the house was moved, their perching stumps were moved, and the food and water were moved.

All of this activity successfully confused the big chickens into thinking it was a BRAND NEW CHICKEN COOP, and the babies are now living free with them with minimal fuss. It helps that they aren’t REALLY babies, we’re still waiting for their combs to grow in but they’re making big chicken noises instead of baby cheeps and have gotten significantly larger.

The downside of all the coop rearrangement is that Matilda and Lorena swear that they cannot possibly lay eggs under these unsatisfactory conditions, even after I bribed them with collard greens, parsley, cauliflower, and mealworms. For the record, cauliflower and mealworms are hugely preferred as chicken treats. I will have to get them some more, and possibly some funky orange cauliflower.

3 December, 2010

Juniper: world’s most laid-back kitten.

Someone seriously needs this kitten, for reals. Before I get to the pics, here is the Official Kitten-Pimping Information:
Juniper (named for Juniperus virginiana, the Virginia cedar tree) goes to the vet on Tuesday, where he will get a check-up, tested for FIV and FeLV, a guess at his age, and then his rabies/distemper vax. We will then schedule his neutering! After neutering, he will be available to a good home, with the following provisos:

1) He always has a place here. If the new owner cannot keep him for any reason, I will not ask questions, I will not judge, I will not grouse on my blog. I will just come get the cat and bring him back to the Manor.

2) I will drive up to four hours from Fredericksburg, VA to put him in a new home. This covers most of the state of Virginia, a good chunk of Maryland, a good chunk of West Virginia, and even goes as far as Gettysburg, PA (I take the back roads to avoid I-95).

3) He must be an indoor kitty. Juniper has lived the outdoor life and now deserves to be safe in a climate-controlled environment.

4) No declawing. It’s mean. Just no.

5) Yes, it is December. Yes, he is adorable. But you know what? Surprise kittens make crap Christmas gifts, y’all. Therefore I will need to be in contact with the actual person with whom young master Juniper will be living. I do not care how well you know your friend/roomie/spouse/partner/parent/sibling/dentist. Juniper is not a Christmas present.

6) As of right now I have no idea how he does with other critters, because he’s still in quarantine. Look for more info after his check-up and FIV/FeLV testing!

And now…ON TO THE KITTEN PICTURES! Because that’s what you wanted anyway, right? Proof that Juniper is the World’s Most Laid Back Kitten.

Juniper, a black and white kitten, lays upside down on the hands and forearms of a woman. His eyes are open and looking at something off camera. He is not panicking, but is totally relaxed. If there were a soundtrack, you would hear purr. It is the most adorable thing ever.

Juniper, still on his back, looks up at the woman holding him, his adorable leetle white paws spread wide as if he is telling her he caught a fish and it was THIS BIG.

Juniper, STILL on his back, has stretched his front paws out in what would be a creditable SUPER KITTEN pose if he were not, y'know, upside down and purring.

How cute is that, seriously? Just LOOK at this little fella. Someone out there needs this kitten to make their life complete, I know it. All we have to do now is get the word out! If you can’t take him, can you post him up on Twitter, your blog, Facebook, anywhere?

The bathroom is infested with kitten. Again.

EDIT: Please see this post for the skinny on adopting the kitten, who has been christened Juniper because it’s nicer than calling him “the kitten”!

Despite the blase subject line, I have to say: WOO HOO I FINALLY GOT BRIAR ROSE’S KITTEN. I was sitting here in the room I share with Roo last night reading a really depressing news article when Daniel called to me to say there was a kitten on the porch. So I went and got some wet food, intending to bait the trap, but apparently kitten was starving because it thought about running when I went out, but when I took a chance on setting down the wet food it came running up to eat and I nabbed it.

Did I get pictures? No. I made Daniel get pictures while I cuddled the kitten. Behold!
A black and white kitten, about four months old, looks directly into the camera against a backdrop of fuzzy blue pajamas. The kitten has a triangular black marking over its nose that makes it look startlingly like a skull mask.

The kitten gazes wide-eyed up at the Lady of the Manor, who fed it an entire can of wet food upon bringing it in. It is working the adorability like only a kitten can.

In other news, I am dealing with the run-up to finals week at school and thus have not been around as much as I should. But things are going well here at the Manor, gentle readers!

« Newer Posts