Two months in

Hello, again, all.  No real update, just bringing everyone up to date.

Billy White Shoes has been part of our lives for just a bit over two months now, and almost in spite of me he is starting to turn into a cat.  Once in a while, he'll act like he seems to want some Kitten Glop, but about half the time, by the time I have it out and warmed up, he'll have forgotten about it and run off again.

The original idea was to keep him in the house, at least most of the time.  That attempt lasted until Billy was big enough to get down the stairs to the back door.  I spent another week or so working harder and harder to keep him in the house, than I gave up.  At first I tried to keep an eye on him, or at least make sure Grace O'Malley was around to keep an eye on him.  Now I let him go out whenever he wants during the day.  It usually isn't too long before he's back in the house, chasing a ball or sleeping somewhere.  Not perfect, but when the entire crew started as strays, you've just got to assume some street smarts on their part.


A few photos (didn't think I was gonna forget that, did you?)  Most of them are stills of Billy & Gracie rasseling.  I tried to get one of them sleeping together, but they don't seem to do that much anymore.

Billy, in the 'off' position.

Update on Billy White Shoes

For the most part, no news is good news.  Billy is still running around the house chasing everything he can get to move, and rasseling with Grace O'Malley.  He isn't quite as weaned as I thought he was, though.  Once or twice a day, he starts following me into the kitchen yelling his head off until I give him some Kitten Glop.  I'm not sure he really needs the glop all that bad, but he likes it, and I still have some.  This way at least he is staying topped up on nutrition.

I keep forgetting he still isn't even two months old yet.

I suspect Grace lost track of Billy last night.  Billy had crawled into bed with me, and was asleep against my neck.  About dawn I woke up to Grace crying and running through the house. I called her, and she came running up on the bed.  She found Billy, and they started rasseling and ran off together.


A couple photos of Billy:

Billy, sleeping a bit after inhaling some Kitten Glop.

Billy, exploring the top level of the cat tree.

That is usually Anne Bonny's spot, but she wasn't there at the moment.

Finally, Billy in a life and death struggle with a stuffed penguin.  For size, that is the same penguin that was in the box with Billy when he was just a week or so old.

Just for a little variety, this is Grace O'Malley trying to grab the camera strap off my wrist.  About 80% of my photos of her show some variation on this.

 

RECALL

Hi, everyone.  We just got an email from PetFoodDirect, and we thought we might ought to spread the word a bit further, just in case.

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Manufacturers have recently issued voluntary recalls on several brands.

If you are currently feeding your pet one of these brands, please read the details of the recall below:

Affected Brands: (Click on your Brand to see details)
- Natural Balance
- Canidae
- Chicken Soup For the Pet Lover's Soul
- Country Value
- Diamond
- Diamond Naturals
- Premium Edge
- Professional
- 4Health
- Taste Of The Wild
- Wellness
- Kirkland
- Apex
- Kaytee Fort-Diets

Click Here to View All Recalls

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UPDATE:

Earlier today we sent you an email regarding the recent pet food recall. As we continue to keep you updated, we wanted to clarify the recall related to one of those brands, Wellness.

The Wellness recall is limited to one recipe: Wellness Complete Health Super 5 Mix Large Breed Puppy, 15# and 30# bags. The recall is limited to bags with Best By dates of January 9-11, 2013.

No other Wellness recipes are impacted by this voluntary recall.

I think Billy is weaned

I think Billy White Shoes is pretty well weaned.  He still complains once in a while, like he is hungry.  But when I feed him, he only eats a little, and seems more interested in the cuddling and sucking on the mouthpiece than he does in actually eating.  I have some kitten glop left, and I'll offer it to him when he seems to want it, but beyond that, I think I can figure Billy has yet another milepost toward becoming a big kittie.

He's started climbing into bed with me at night, which is kind of a mixed blessing.  On one hand, it is nice having him cuddling with me.  On the other, he's still so small, I'm almost scared to fall asleep when he is cuddled under my arm.  I got folds in the covers that are bigger than he is.  It can also be a bit disconcerting to wake up at 3AM because Billy & Grace O'Malley are play-fighting on my stomach.

The photos are not very good today.  Billy was feeling more frisky than usual.  I finally decided "that was what I got, live with it".

One quick video of Billy eating some of the dry food.  I give him canned stuff with the rest of the crew, but I haven't seen him eating that yet.

Billy seems to be weaning himself

So far, I haven't had much luck trying to wean Billy White Shoes.  But just like he litter trained himself by watching the big kitties, he seems to be weaning himself.

A few days ago, I had a few slices of deli ham I was eating.  Billy came up to check out what I was doing.  I tore off a couple small pieces, held them in my hand, and offered them to Billy.  He sniffed them, and then scarffed them down without any hesitation.

I've seen Billy grabbing some of the dry food out of the bowls.  I'm not sure how much he is actually swallowing, but at least he has gone from just sucking on the kibble to chewing/crushing it with his jaws.

I'm not sure how much credit I can claim, but Billy seems to be growing up.

A few photos.