June 24, 2020

Nearly Eight Weeks!

We adopted the kittens almost eight weeks ago(!), so I thought I'd write a post about what we've learned about them and how they're fitting in.

After I wrote yesterday's post, I asked Jerry if he could try to get a picture of Duck sleeping on my head. When he got up for work this morning, he took this photo:


Isn't Duck so funny?! I used to hate that he was constantly trying to sit on my head, and I couldn't sleep at ALL. But now I think his warm little body and his loud purring are comforting. He has such a fun personality!

The kittens have grown so much since we got them. I didn't realize just how much they've grown until I was looking at some older photos of them.

Here is an old picture of Duck:



And an old picture of Chick:



This is what they looked like shortly after we adopted them--see how they both fit on this little cat bed?



And here is a picture of just Chick on the same bed, taken just now. See how much they've grown?




As far as their personalities...

Duck (the short-haired one) is extremely smart. He also loves food more than anything in the world and will stop at nothing to try to get at whatever you're eating. We have a jar with cat treats in it and whenever I shake the jar, Duck bolts to the cat tree faster than a bullet. He will literally climb up my pants trying to get to the jar.

He likes to play fetch. He's actually better at it than Joey is! He'll bring me a toy mouse that squeaks when you shake it, and then I throw it for him. He'll run after it, pick it up in his mouth, and bring it back to me. Over and over again.

It's funny, he seems to know when his toys are getting close to a spot where he won't be able to get at them (under the couch, under the stove, etc). When he gets close to a spot like that, he'll pick up his toy in his mouth and carry it somewhere else, and then set it down and start batting it around again. I've never seen a cat do this before!

His favorite toy is actually a plastic bobbin spool from my sewing machine. I have several, and he got a hold of an empty one. It's been his favorite toy every since!

Duck makes a little half-purr, half-meow noise that sounds like a question when he sees one of us walking toward him. Estelle does this too, and it's funny how much the two of them remind me of each other. Duck has the same "tortitude" as Estelle, only he's not a tortie.

Interestingly, I noticed that Duck has a tiny patch of hair on his right side that is a reddish-brown color. He's solid black other than that. I wonder how it will look as he grows! I'll see if I can get a good picture of it later.

Duck loves to sleep either draped over my head, or if I'm just not in the mood for that, he'll poke his way under the covers and sleep curled up as close to me as he can. For the first few weeks that we had the kittens, I was so scared I was going to crush one of them in the bed! They were so tiny.

Duck is super curious about everything--another thing that reminds me of Estelle. He has to be the first to check out every "new" item he comes across. Yesterday, I had a video "office visit" with my psychiatrist, and Duck kept jumping up on the table to try to play with the cords to my earbuds!

Here, he is trying to see what the heck Joey is eating--and he's definitely looking for a spot where he can poke his head in and eat it, too...



Duck is extremely playful, too--he's faster than Chick, so whenever I throw a toy, he "wins" the race to get to it first. However, Chick has his own talents, which I'll describe below.

Chick's personality is definitely different from Duck's. Chick cracks me up because he loves to balance on small things. We have a small scratching post/toy and Chick climbs to the top and then balances all four paws on the slippery plastic top. Earlier today, he was balanced on the back of a barstool--no wider than a butter knife!


Chick has a little tuft of hair that sticks out behind each ear that makes me laugh more and more as it grows longer. His fur is black, too, but it almost looks white sometimes--the undercoat is so light in color that it just depends on the angle that you're looking at him.

I took this picture just now--see the little tuft of hair behind his ear? It's so funny to see from behind!


Chick is extremely curious. He never looks directly at me--he's always noticing all the things around me. If anything moves, even a fraction of a millimeter, he notices and it draws his attention immediately. His reaction time isn't as fast as Duck's, however, so he always loses a race against his brother.

Chick is also a little "slow" compared to Duck. He usually looks for his brother's cue to figure out what's going on. If Duck races to the cat tree to get treats, then Chick is right on his heels.

While it's pretty clear that I am Duck's favorite person, Chick doesn't seem to have a favorite. He goes to anyone who will give him whatever attention he's craving at the moment--food, playtime, cuddles, etc. He typically sleeps at the head of the bed by Jerry, but he'll leave for several hours and sleep on Eli's bed (right by Eli's head). (Noah sleeps with his door closed to all pets.)

Chick is extremely bold when it comes to checking out Phoebe or Estelle (or even Joey). He loves to chase after Phoebe (who despises Chick) only to get hissed and swiped at. I think that maybe he thinks Phoebe is just playing with him? She's clearly NOT. She wants to burn this house down with all of us in it right now, hahaha.

Together, the kittens are so adorable--they love being together and they take naps together (curled in a little heap). When they play, they are constantly wrestling with each other and chasing each other all over the house. It sounds like a herd of wild animals when they run through the house.

Whenever I go near the back door where the cat tree and pet feeding station are, the kittens race in there to see if I'm going to give out treats. Their excitement causes Phoebe, Estelle, and Joey to come running in as well. This happens several times a day! Hahaha.

As far as how the other pets are getting along with them...

Joey is super jealous. Whenever we talk to the kittens, he gets up in our faces (usually bringing a toy) so that we play with him instead. I give him and the other cats a lot of attention, but he wants ALL of the attention. The kittens aren't scared of him and they'll even try to curl up with him for a nap. Joey usually looks very uncomfortable and unsure of what to do!

I was lucky to get this photo below before Joey left and slept on his own bed ;)


Estelle is warming up a little. She'll tolerate the kittens as long as they stay more than six inches or so away from her. I can tell she's very curious about them, though. When she thinks I'm not looking, she'll sniff them out.

Phoebe, like I said, wants just burn the world. She hates the kittens! She's always hated Estelle, but seems to have a bond with Joey. I try to give her space and I make sure that the kittens don't try to take her treats or preferred sleeping spot or anything like that. I give her as much attention as she lets me. Sometimes she's fine with it, but other times she growl and swipe at me.

Anyway, this is a long "update", but as we get to know the kittens more and more, they are just so much fun. I love to see their personalities unfold!

5 comments:

  1. I have had several different cats, and the only one who ever played fetch was my black cat! He loved it when we tossed the rings from milk caps, and he always ended up pushing them under the refrigerator. None of my other cats--not my piebald tabby, tuxedo, or Turkish Van--ever played fetch like the black cat!

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  2. Such fun to read about your adorable kittens and really ALL the pet life at your house! I can identify with the kitten antics, as we have a 5-month old Bulldog puppy raising H-E-Double Toothpicks at our house right now. Sheer craziness but so entertaining!!

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  3. Katie you're the puuurfect cat mom. I couldn't imagine sleeping with a purring cat on my head. But our bedroom gets pretty interesting at night too. Rita, our 95 pound black lab and Ivy, a little white fur ball mix, have so many running and barking dreams! I get kicked a lot! You just sorta get used to it. We could never have cats 'cause my husband is extremely allergic. Your pets have the best life imaginable.

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  4. Thanks for sharing! They are so cute and funny.

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  5. Such a fun post! I love your pets and your observations are so sweet.
    I'm so glad Jerry snapped that pic of your sleeping arrangement with Duck! :)

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