Tortoiseshell cats are named for their distinctive coloring – a combination of patches of black, brown, amber, red, cinnamon and chocolate. The size of the patches varies from a fine speckled pattern to large areas of color. The term “tortoiseshell” is used for cats with brindled coats that have few or no white markings. Cats of this coloring with larger areas of white fur are called calicos. Sometimes, these colors present in lighter versions such as lilac or cream. Torties with this lighter coloring are called dilute torties. Occasionally, the typical tortoiseshell colors are also seen in a tabby (striped) pattern, and these cats are sometimes referred to as “torbies.”
Tortoiseshell cats are almost exclusively female. Tortoiseshell and calico coats are the result of the interaction between genetic and developmental factors. The occasional and very rare male tortoiseshell cat is the result of a genetic mutation.
In addition to their distinctive coloring, torties also have a reputation for unique personalities, sometimes referred to as “tortitude.” They tend to be strong-willed, a bit hot-tempered, and they can be very possessive of their human. Other words used to describe torties are fiercely independent, feisty and unpredictable. They’re usually very talkative and make their presence and needs known with anything from a hiss to a meow to a strong purr. These traits are stronger in tortoiseshell cats than in calicos – it seems as though these traits are somewhat diluted with the addition of more white to the color scheme.
As of the writing of this post, I share my life with Amber*, and those of you who’ve followed this blog for a while have gotten to know her in her Amber’s Mewsings posts. You will soon be able to read all about Buckley in Buckley’s Story – Lessons from a Feline Master Teacher. The photo above shows Buckley in the front, Amber behind her.
Prior to Amber and Buckley, there was another tortie in my life. Virginia was the first office cat at the animal hospital I managed. She was my introduction to torties, and my love affair with this particular type of cat began with her. She, too, had the “tortitude” I so love about these particular cats.
Do you have a tortie or calico in your life? Does she have “tortitude?”
*Sadly, Amber passed away on May 13, 2010, after a sudden, brief illness. I now share my life with Allegra and Ruby, two tortoiseshell cats who have their own columns here on The Conscious Cat, titled Allegra’s World and Ruby’s Reflections.
Photo ©Ingrid King, all rights reserved
Frankie is living up to his reputation (or maybe down).
I just got home from a concert (Irish music) and was greeted at the door by 4 out of 5 cats (Stir greets me at HER choosing). Well Tabby got on the coffee table and Frankie tried to play with her tails shadow. He was not able to catch and hold it. Later I was at my laptop and Tabby was next to me. Styx came into the room to see me and Frankie was at the bedroom door with his toy mouse when Styx came around the laundry basket. Frankie let out a squeek and ran. Styx casually walked out. Torties scare normal cats with just their presents.
A Tim report;
He is growing, has lost the wheeze, his eyes are cleared up, he is not sneezing and he had a red sore on the side of his jaw and that is healed up.
He is still in quarantine and will remain there, pending the outcome of his Wed., Aug 8th vet visit.
We are calling him a “little, old soul”. He is active and when he plays, he plays hard but unlike a lot of kittens I have seen at this age, he will settle down very calmly, for long time periods as a lap cat, with very adult cat posture and mannerisms.
He is very talkative, always with a chirping greeting when we come into the room.
So far, he is doing quite well.
Excellent news.
Always glad to hear a new addition to the family is doing well.
Taz will be happy to get a new friend. And Kasey will teach him to respect his elders (especially if they are black and gold).
I’m so glad he’s doing so well. The lap cat behavior is certainly unusual for a kitten his age. I think you’re right, you do have an old soul there.
I forgot to mention, he is now drinking water from a bowl, he is quite good at it, now.
If you are reading this at this hour, you know I am having trouble falling asleep. Times here at home have been chaotic in many ways. Yes in several ways. Resting is difficult when you get little sleep.
On a happier note, there will be an announcement made later this week for you all. tease Jay knows, but no one else. So wait a while for happy news.
Right now concentrate on sending Harry and his family all the love and heartfelt understanding. I know it is sorely needed.
Thanks Bernie. It’s been a rough couple of days. Trying to get on with everything, but it’s hard. Been giving our kitties extra love! Henry and Brooke and Pearl are being very comforting. This morning mom brought in Piper when she came to tell me to get up, and Piper stayed on my bed – she hasn’t done this in a while. She isn’t as attached to me as she had been when she was recovering.
I leave for school August 15 – I can’t believe it’s so soon. I don’t know how I am going to go for so long without a cat!
Rachel I wish I could help take the hurt away for all of you. I know how it feels. I am not surprised Piper was coming back to you. The kittens are feeling May’s loss as well and are grieving too. I am sure of it.
College on the 15, how proud of you we all are. You are excelling in every endeavor you have undertaken so far. I know you will excel in college.
When you are there, don’t forget us. Keep posting when you can.
It’s only been a few days, Rachel – these first few days and weeks are the hardest. And you have an awful lot going on right now with getting ready for school. Be gentle with yourself.
I wish I had words of wisdom for you about having to go without cats at school – but I can’t even stand being gone from mine for more than a few days! Maybe there’s a shelter or rescue group or veterinary hospital near school where you could volunteer so you can at least get a kitty fix on a regular basis?
I think the local shelter is 20 minutes away. Maybe there will be a bus there since I won’t have a car. But mom said she would skype me with our cats!
Rachel, it’s especially hard for you because you are moving on in your life but you haven’t had time to fully realize May’s passing in your home. I know it must feel as if you’ll be leaving her behind and even replacing her with something new, even though that’s not what you’re doing. I remember that feeling, and it’s so hard to be caught between wanting to stay where you are until you feel you’ve grieved her, and the obvious need to follow through with your life plans, and very happy ones at that. Plus going away to college is a really big deal no matter who you are. But May won’t be left behind, in fact she’ll always be a part of this time in your life, and of all the cats in your household she’s the one you’ll take with you in your heart in the first days and months of your new life.
I remember trying to stay “feline celibate” through college, enjoying others’ cats but not adopting and visiting my Bootsie at home, but it was so hard, there were so many cats on campus and it was farm country, barn cats were available everywhere. I made it to the summer between sophomore and junior years (I took classes through summers), but I’m grateful to my Kublai for rescuing me at that time in my life.
Bernadette, thanks for your kind words. I definitely feel like I want to stay here to grieve, but obviously I can’t. I’m bringing one of May’s tags from her collar to wear as a necklace.
Longwood is in Farmville, VA, which is very rural. I’ve already heard about the feral cats on the campus. I hope there will be friendly ones!
Rachel, it’s sweet to wear one of May’s tags. She’ll always be next to you.
What a name–“Farmville”! Those rural areas with cats–put up your guard. Your countdown is really starting. I hope you enjoy getting ready.
Jay needs to finish that shower stall before winter. He is not carpenter or plumber. He is an excellent cat daddy and if he is your friend, he is a true friend.
The thunder rolled her today, but no rain either. So the sun shone and I thought to myself pretty much what Jay was thinking. Take care of all the little ones Steeler and Eric.
Harry and his family are never far from my thoughts. So much heartbreak in so little time for all of them. Yet thru it all, I can tell each of you they will offer a hand of help and love to all who need it. Bless that Shubin family. <3
Just wanted to say Hi to everyone. Seems slow here today. My brother in law Doug was here today and he is installing a shower stall for ma. I only bought it in 1992. But Bernie can tell you I am no carpenter and my plumbing skills are only a little better. We had some help as Styx checked in on us and Doug did hear Stir and Frankie going at it in the basement. He agreed Frankie is cute and was friendly enuf to come over for cat scratches. And later he heard Frankie talking, to himself, the walls, anyone who would listen. 🙂
We had thunder but no rain this afternoon. Steeler is telling us that May is being well taken care of.
My condolences to you and you and Julie , Harry. It’ so heart wrenching to lose a pet. I lost my 14 yr. old dog before i got my torte Sadie. it was July 12, of this yr. I turned right around and got Sadie …my tortie
I will never forget my beautiful aussie… I never thought I’d get a kitty. But got another as our older cat was grieving for dog sassie.
Still, I know and feel your pain
I am so sorry for you…
I know that you and your wife gave her the best of care and she had a wonderful life with you both.
Lise
May lost her fight late this afternoon. In the end, we couldn’t let her suffer, and her numbers were still climbing, and she seemed to just barely recognize Julie. We did all that we could, it just wasn’t enough and we had to let her go. Sadly, we’ll never have an answer to “why” this happened, probably she was born with failing kidneys, but we’ll just never know why she was to have only 7 years. Thank you all for your thoughts and compassion. The Shubin 7 are no more.
Harry, Julie and Rachel I am so so sorry about your sweet girl. It is never easy to lose a member of the family . I do believe in the end she knew how much you all loved her. (((Hugs)))
I just can’t believe it Harry, Julie, Rachel and Michael, and I’m so sorry it had to happen. Seven years is just not enough. I lost a cat to acute kidney failure and I know what a shock it is for you to find out nearly the same day as you need to let her go. It will be a long time before you believe there is nothing you missed and nothing you could have done, but in the end that’s usually the truth.
May has some others waiting for her. I hope that helps just a tiny bit.
My sympathies to all of you.
Harry, I’m so sorry about May. The kindest thing you can do when an animal is suffering is to let them go. I know your hearts will be heavy but be kind to yourselves over the next few days. Tears are healing – somebody told me when my Dad passed away that tears are the love leaking out of our bodies. Once you get over the shock of losing her, you will remember May in so many special ways. My sympathies to you all. Marg.
Harry, Julie, Rachel and Michael, my heart aches for all of you, including all the other 6 kittens. They will feel the loss as badly as you all do. I wish I could take your hurt away, but it can’t be done.
Harry, when I think of you folks, it will always be the Shubin 7. May has gone over the rainbow bridge to be with Steeler. I remember some good advice from you all, and it is that May will never be gone. Her spirit and love, memories will always be a part of you and your lives. So when the thunder rolls, remember Steeler has May and she will not be alone. All the other kittens will also be with her.
Lots of (((((((((((((hugs))))))))))) and love to all of you at this time.
Thanks, Bernie and everyone. It was hard because it was so sudden and unexpected, but it makes it easier knowing that all of you understand. It has been thundering quite a bit today. I think, however, that the torties are in a separate room on the bridge.
Thank you Bernie. Like dad said, it has been thundering a lot today! We told May about all the kitties shew as going to meet and say hi to, including Steeler!
Rachel lots of hugs and kitty kisses for you
I’m so sorry – my heart goes out to you, Rachel, Julie and Michael. It’s always devastating to lose a cat, but when it happens as suddenly, and without an explanation, the way it did with May, it’s almost unbearable. You’re all in my thoughts. I’m here if you need anything at all.
I am sorry to read this. It is never easy to lose a friend.
It is tough enough to lose an older cat that you think you are prepared for, I say “think” because while intellectually we might think we are prepared, emotionally, it is a different story all together.
At least she had a good life with you and the best of care, who knows what the alternative might have been if you had not adopted her.
Thanks, Glen. Knowing that you all understand helps immeasurably.
Some good news – Sabrina went for a recheck today, and although we won’t have blood work back until next week, she’s gained weight, her digestive tract felt completely normal, and our vet thought that she was much improved. Pearl, who had a little anomaly in her kidneys in her last labs came back perfectly normal – probably a lab error. And – last night, Brooke came into our bedroom and settled down. I left the door open ALL NIGHT. She, Sabrina and Piper shared the room all night, and this morning Brooke wouldn’t leave to come to the kitchen to eat, so I fed all three cats upstairs, and all three ate – not all that close to each other, but within about 10 feet.
Harry, I am so sorry for your families loss. There are no right words to write at times like this. Just know that May is no longer suffering and her love will remain with you.
Thank you Betty. The fact that she is not suffering anymore is relieving.
Hey, we’re at 11,111 comments right now (until I post this one)! Maybe we should all buy a lottery ticket or something.
My webmaster was doing some stuff behind the scenes today to make the site run even faster – you should see your comments post faster than they have been. Jay, that may have been causing your IE issue. Let me know if it’s still happening.
I’m back.
Had to install Firefox on my laptop. Internet Explorer keep dropping me out of CC but not other sites.
What do you mean when you say “dropping out,” Jay? And which version of IE are you using?
As soon as CC would appear the top page was OK but when the comments came on I would get a white page and get a message
Internet Explorer cannot open the Internet site
Operation aborted.
Not sure what version I have. But this laptop did work OK when I was at Bernie’s a few weeks ago. Not sure what changed
Could you clear your browser cache, and see if it happens again? If it does, send me a screenshot of what you see, and let me know which version of IE you’re using.
Today has certainly not gone the way I expected… Monday, we noticed May, our torbie, was spitting out food and not eating much, so Tuesday Julie took her to the vet, who gave her a mild sedative so she could examine her mouth. She found a tooth with an exposed root and decay, and scheduled an extraction for this morning. Ran pre-anesthesia bloodwork. We noticed last night that May seemed out of it, maybe still woozy from the sedative. This morning, got a call from the vet – May (who is just 7) is in renal failure. She was woozy last night because she wasn’t clearing the sedative. She’s back at the vet, on IV fluids, in the hope of bringing her numbers down, but it was pretty bad. We elected not to transfer her to a specialist, as our vet was able to do an ultrasound, urine culture, and most of what the specialist would do, the only difference being she’ll go overnight without constant monitoring – but she’ll be close enough to the house so that we can see her frequently. If there’s some improvement by Friday afternoon, we’ll keep her hospitalized on IV fluids over the weekend and hope that she regains enough function to come home, but if not we’ll have a hard decision to make. This really came out of the blue.
I’m so sorry, Harry. She’s in the best possible hands with Dr. Ellison. Sending lots of healing energy her way!
Thanks, Ingrid – that means a lot. We’re still in shock. We’ve had Henry and Sabrina be so sick in the past year, and Vickie is old, and was so sick the year before… I never expected the next crisis would be May.
Sending lots of healing thoughts, I certainly hope it was only the surgery and sedative. It’s hard then they are away, but at least she’s in good hands.
Thanks, Bernadette – I’m afraid not, she never had the surgery for the tooth, just the sedative for the exam. The ultrasound showed very shrunken kidneys with a lot of scarring. Her prognosis is not good, but as Ingrid said, Dr. Ellison is awesome.
Harry, we’re all thinking of you folks and May, she’s so young for this but I’ve learned not to ask why these unexpected things happen. Will just think about hearing good news tomorrow.
Harry, I am so sorry to hear this. May is such a doll. I am sending May and your family all the healing thoughts and prayers I have. Miracles do happen. Knowing May is in good hands helps, but I know that doesn’t take away the emptiness you folks feel. Helping others always, now we are all here to help you all any way we can.
Thanks, all of you. Julie and Rachel were just at the vet, and said May does not look good. We’ll just have to be positive and hope for a miracle.
Oh No Harry! I am so sorry to hear that May is not doing well. I am sending all the positive thoughts I can muster her way. Please keep us updated.
Sorry to hear about this.
Harry, sending positive vibes your way. It’s terrible when this sort of thing sneaks up on you. Fingers crossed for a good outcome.
So sorry to hear about May. Bernie told me last night. Hope they can get things back to normal. Saying tons of prayers.
We’ve had our tortie Sophie for two and a half years now; we call her Snortuga (Snort+tortuga, the Spanish word for tortoise) or Snortie. Or Oogs or Ooglet or Oogaletta. Really, she has a million nicknames.
She is an absolutely wonderful cat. She decided early on that I would be her human, and while she loves my wife, she’s definitely a daddy’s girl. Her two favorite things in the world are being held up to bat at the light pull in our foyer and being “flopped.” Flopping occurs when Sophie starts pacing back and forth on a rug or on our kitchen table, and then suddenly drops to the side as though hit with a tranquilizer dart. This position is a signal that she’s ready for belly rubs, during which she stretches and purrs. She likes to be flopped from side to side while getting rubs as well.
About nine months ago we adopted another tortoiseshell, a dilute tortie kitten this time. Her name is Mona, and despite the fact that Sophie is ambivalent at best toward our other four cats (she especially dislikes new arrivals), she took to Mona right away, grooming her, teaching her to hunt bugs, and even letting her sleep in Sophie’s preferred spots. Mona doesn’t really have tortitude yet, but we think Sophie is giving her instruction in the finer points of tortie feistiness, so perhaps it’s only a matter of time. We call Mona Sophie’s tortégé, or tortoiseshell protégé, and in addition to loving her big tortie sis, Mona’s also decided that I’m her human as well. Am I not incredibly lucky to have two torties to take care of?
Hi and Welcome John, Sophie, Mona, et al!!
I do love it when the kitties decide to suddenly drop such as you described. My first tortie Magenta was also a daddy’s girl that’s why the ex got her in the divorce settlement. She used to play a game we called “vroom”. She would flop down on the floor, rool over on her back and wait for one of us to push her by the bottoms of her back feet so she would slide across the floor on her back. Once she stopped she would run back, flop down again and wait to be pushed across the floor again.
It sounds as though you are going to have a house full of tortitude once Mona gets a little older. Sophie is rare in that she accepted baby Mona, usually after they are a few months old they will accept no others into “their” homes.
What types of kitties are your other four? We enjoy stories about all kitties, they do not have to be tortie specific. You can also post pictures on the Conscious Cat facebook page.
Looking forward to reading more about your kitties!
We have four other cats in addition to our two torties. All are domestic shorthairs: a gorgeous black cat named Millie, who is definitely the alpha; an incredibly sweet orange tabby named Julian (who we suspect has some Maine coon in him, given his gigantic size; and two tuxedos, Henry and Leo, both of whom are adorable and full of energy and love.
It’s always tempting to adopt more — there are so many cats out there who need homes, but we’ve declared a moratorium on additional cats until we’re somewhere larger than our one-bedroom apartment. In any case, we love all our cats deeply; I can’t imagine life without any one of them.
Sounds like a beautiful kitty family you have John. I also have two pure black kitties, Brad and Janet, a tux named Rockie, and of course my tortie Columbia.
I also wish I could adopt more furry babies however my tortie will not tolerate another kitty. We have brought in newborns that were separated from their mothers temporaily and have had to close Columbia in a room while we fed and cared for them. The reason being as soon as she saw the baby she tried to attack them.
As far as an older kitty, we have a feral cat that used to be an indoor cat until my neighbors threw her and her brother out on the street when they moved. I don’t know what happened to one of them but we feed the other outside on top of the ramp which is right outside my front door and he/she has dashed into my house before and Columbia made sure that she exited as fast as she came in. Every night the kitty waits at the door crying for it’s supper and every night Columbia is inside the door waiting for a chance to get him/her.
So based on experience, we are a four kitty household with no chance of any more.
It’s perfectly clear she has you well-trained, and that she clearly ordered the universe and you to go and find Mona. Very lucky I’d say!
You are lucky indeed to have two torties, John. I feel the same way about my two!
Sophie and Mona sound adorable. Feel free to post photos on our Facebook page, we’d love to see them!
Welcome John. Hope you become one of the family here. Another multi Tortie household. Seems to be the latest thing. Ingrid started it.
Early yesterday morning Bernie heard one huge fight downstairs. She thought that Stir and Styx had got at it. When she went downstair she found Frankie had gone into the cage where Stir hangs out and has her food dish. He might have gone in for the food or to use the litter box. Stir had him cornered and there must have been a huge fight. Boxes and the cat carrier were strewn about and the cat carrier was blocking the door so Frank could not get out. Bernie had to let him out and give Stir treats to settle her down. Stirfry has taken back the title of HEAD cat and let everyone know who the Boss is.
I feel so much better knowing that the Universe is back in order.
Either Frankie has absolutely no brain cells or food is worth any risk. I kind of think it’s the latter.
Change “either” to “because” and delete “or” and I think you have it 😛
I hate to accuse a being of a lack of intelligence until I’ve met them, but I think the evidence is pretty clear.
I had to go back and read what I had written!
You were giving poor Frankie the benefit of the doubt. I, on the other hand, have seen the video…
I need to chime in here on Frankie’s intelligence level. As you all know I went to help Jay with Stir and I was going to bring Styx back, because it was assumed Styx was causing all the stress on Stir.
Well while there, every time I heard a kitten uproar, I would automatically sternly call out to Styx to stop. Poor Styx. She turned out to be on the defensive and not the offensive kitten.
While Jay and I were watching a shop, Frankie, our little not so smart fellow, went had been resting on the hearth. Styx was sleeping on the carpet near us. Well, there comes Frankie, he sits up on his fat behind and starts to try to smack Styx around. Styx did snarl and go to smack him, but he had enough sense to run like lightning, that is a slow lightning. Styx did not go after him.
Then Frankie goes after Tabbatha, who is the eldest. With the same behavior.
Of course Jay posted the behavior the Frankie going into Stir’s safe place and Stir feeling like herself again, all he– was breaking loose. Frankie again was the aggressor.
In light of this and the bond that Styx has made with not only Jay, but with the others, showing Stir respect for her top spot on the pedestal, Styx is staying where she is happy. On the other hand, Jay is hoping Frankie figures out sooner than later the he can’t pull those stunts.
Of course our hopes of Frankie learning is about a cat that chases and bites at his own tails shadow and tries to grab the shadow of the swinging mouse toy. After all these months he still has not
been able to figure out reality from fantasy.
It’s just a darned good thing Jay took him in or he wouldn’t last long in the great outdoors–or in most other houses!
If he doesn’t get his act together, he is going to face some Tortie tough times. That little guy thinks everything is a toy. I don’t know if or when he will learn. The one really great thing about Frankie is he is the most lovable kitten ever. If you call for Stir, Frankie comes, if you call for Styx, Frankie comes, if you call for Pumpkin ,Frankie comes, if you call Tabatha, Frankie comes.
So far we tried calling for bookshelf. Frankie did not come. He is a slow learner. 🙂
Shanks’ eyes are changing again, weirdly….they were brown long after a kitten’s eyes should have changed, then they slowly turned yellow, and now they’re slowly turning green. Is that normal? She’s going on a year old.
Ruby’s eyes went from a golden topaz color to more of a greenish yellow over a period of several months (between 9 months and 18 months of age). My vet didn’t think it was anything to worry about. Very strong golden or copper eye color can be an indicator of a congenital liver problem in cats (portosystemic shunt), but you’d be seeing other symptoms if that was the case.
Shanks just found out she was a girl not too long ago. Now she can decide what eye color she needs.
Steeler and Punky have the brightest Gold eyes. And it seems Justice will too.
But when Steeler was sick her eyes went from Gold to light green but as she got better they went back to gold. And last week I could see Stir’s eyes had a gold/brown color but now that she is well they are back to brilliant green. I told the Vet but she had never heard of such a thing. Has anyone else noticed anything like this ?
Changing eye color can be a sign of an underlying disease, so it’s always something that should be brought to your vet’s attention. Better to be safe than sorry.
Glen. I know this method will work with milk. I don’t know if this will work to get Tim to lap water. Try dipping his little face ,just momentary into the water dish. When he licks the water from around his face Tim may then decide this is something good and try lapping the water. Dick
Good news. Styx is staying here with me. Over the weekend we would hear 2 cats fighting and suspect Styx started it. Well the Sabrina/Brooke thing was going on. We watched Frankie start something with Styx. But after he tried to box her and got smacked he went to cleaning himself and Styx just laid down to rest. 30 minutes later we same them touching noses.
On Sat afternoon we let Stir out of her kennel to join everyone else. She did not come out at first but when she ventured out Frankie was the 1st one in line with Styx behind him. Well Stir when “Tortie” on him and he ran to the basement steps with Frankie behind her. Neither one wanted to face Stir. Then early Sunday morning Stir came up to her usual spot at the window above the bed.
This is great news.
I am majorly thrilled to hear that all is improving at casa de Stir!! I’m very happy that Stir is better and out of her kennel and that Styx can remain with the clan.
Thank you for the update and the good news!!
Excellent news, sounds like another tortie “Warrior Queen” back to health.
That sounds like normal dominant tortie behavior 😉
GOOD TO HEAR 🙂
I’m so glad to hear Stir is out of “kitty jail.” Sounds like your entire household could benefit from Peacemaker to ease things along a bit!
http://www.spiritessences.com/Peacemaker-p/peacemaker.htm?Click=644
Our new little orange guy, Tim, appears to be doing well.
Hiseeyes have cleared up. can’t detect a wheeze, now but there is still a bit of sneezing.
He is still quarantined until his vet visit next week but he did come face to face through the glass door with the “Warrior Queen”. he didn’t seem concerned and she was interested but not hostile, we will see how that goes once the vet clears him for introductions.
He is now VERY active.
I have a question; he eats solid food and wants the cat formula bottle but will not lap water from a bowl.
Does anyone know if this is a learned behaviour from adult cats or just something he will eventually start to do?
Kittens usually learn to drink water when they’re between 4-5 weeks old. If his solid food is canned food (which it should be), he’s probably getting enough moisture from his food.
I don’t recommend dipping his face into a dish of water. He’ll learn on his own soon enough.
The way I would always train my kittens to drink was to put a drop of milk on the tip of my finger and rub it gently on their lips. Usually their little tongues will come out to lick their lips. Repeat a coupld of times then show them a saucer (or other shallow container) with a little milk in it (preferably tepid not cold).
It always worked for me but YMMV.
I like your approach, Betty!
UPDATE;
He just started lapping water from his water dish this afternoon.
My husband and I are owned by 2 “Tortico’s.”
Avi (the eldest at 2 1/2 yrs) is the one with Torti traits.
Ziva (who has more white in her fur) is well, the most “un-cat like cat” that we have ever been owned by.
I have to say that Avi came to us at 7 months already having been born feral, abused and left to die with her sister at a young age.
We have had Ziva from about 7 weeks.
I love the term “totico’s,” Barb! I’m curious to hear what is so “un-cat like” about Ziva.
I want to tell you about TATER the cat that said WHAT. Margaret was setting on a bench outside the public library waiting for her father to come out from the library when she felt something brush against her leg. She looked down and thought it was a little rat. No, it was a little white kitty. I was working till noon that Saturday and when I walked in thee door Margaret was setting or rather laying in the re-clinger with a little kitten under a wash cloth lying on her chest. All I really saw were some big white ears. Margaret told me the story and said she would take the kitty to the Humane Society on Monday. That was years ago. Tater has now passed and also buried in a special place in the backyard. We needed to give the little girl a name. Margaret said she saw the kitten eating potato chips near a dumpster by the bench she was sitting on. After kicking around variations of a name related to the potato chips Margatret came up with Little Miss Tater. Over time it was shortened to Tater.Anyhow one day I was talking to Tater as she set on the couch across from me in the living room, Margaret was in the kitchen doing what women do. As I was speaking to Tater she said what I thought was “WHAT” as plain as if some person had spoken it. I didn’t say a word, no not me I wasn’t about to say anything about what I thought I heard Tater say. Then Margaret came into the room from the kitchen and asked, “Did that cat say What?” Well I guess I did hear what I thought I heard.
Hello all!
Sorry I haven’t been popping in much. I do over on FB more often but I’m back to help toward the 12,000 goal!
Things with us are about the same. The girls (Nikita & Luna) will be 2 years old on August 17th. Hard to believe.
They are still an endless form of entertainment to John and I with the way they chase each other around the apt. or play fight ( or is it play?). Nikita is still playing fetch bringing me odd objects if she can’t find one of her little soccer balls like a piece of lego, a balled up sock, pen lid, plastic fork (where she got that I have no idea) or her favorite thing is the paper instructions that come inside a box of John’s blood glucose test strips. The papers are folded small and taped together.
The still love to watch the outside world from behind the safety of a steel screen door. The big orange guy (Marley) still hangs around since his family dumped him. My neighbor feeds him and leaves a bed out for him but he is now so feral he won’t let any of us around him.
The girls got a special treat of a family of skunks in our driveway. The babies were awfully cute but nothing I’d want to get close to. Eeeek!
John went to Diabetes camp for 10 days and I think Luna and Nikita really missed him because they were all over me. Silly girls thought he was gone forever I think. When he came home he had a bag full of dirty clothes and they were in scent heaven! lol
Well I better go. Take care! I have been lurking so I’m not gone I just haven’t posted. I hope Stir recovers quickly and Glen congrats on Timmy!
Glen, I’m out of room to reply to your question about the “wheeze” from you foster, so I’m doing it in a new thread. It’s probably an upper respiratory infection, which is very typical for kittens. It’s also why a quarantine is a good idea, because it is contagious. Just like a human cold, it’s caused by a virus (so infection is really a misnomer). Usually, it’s just treated with supportive care. Your vet may prescribe antibiotics – something I’m not a fan of, since you’re dealing with a virus, but it is fairly typical for conventional vets to do.
Keep us posted!
Ingrid, Thanks
The woman that we are fostering him for runs a “day care” kennel for dogs, this is were our Lab-Pointer mix goes to run off some “steam”.
One of here clients brought this kitten to her, she has cats and rescues numerous types of animals, she has cats but hasn’t raised a kitten. This little guy was ailing, so we volunteered to take him.
We have had him since Monday and my wife, Joan, has become attached to him (so have I despite trying not to and being out of town and at work up to today).
We have concerns that she doesn’t have time to look after him when he needs frequent feeding, just too busy there.
She has adult cats but she lets them out and they, like us are in a semi-rural setting, with all the hazards.
Another cat did not fit our plans. Without trying to be morbid, our three are “getting on” and we won’t have them as long as we’d like. The plan was to adopt an adult cat or pair of cats, when the time comes.
However, this little guy is like “son of Taz” (with a full tail) and a very nice disposition; so, the comundrum unfolds 😉
That sounds like it says he is a “Forever cat” to me.
Sounds like the conundrum has been folded and put away.
You don’t adopt them, they adopt you. Best you can do is go with the flow 🙂
Is his name going to be Taz Jr. ??
We have to go over there to pick up the dog, this aft. and will talk to the “current owner” and see where this goes.
She likes him, says she wants to keep him but then “back peddled” a bit this morning when Joan took the dog over there.
It is still her cat, so it will be her choice, we have to respect that.
When adopting children the name is changed by the people doing the adopting. I would think you may want to think of a really good name for this little guy that fits in with the other Kasey, Morgan and Taz. I am happy for you. I knew you had been adopted by this little guy. um um
P.S. his name is Timmy, and I have been told if we keep him, the name says,
We’re back, and we’re keeping Tim.
He will be quarantined for another 2 weeks, then it is back to the vet for blood tests, then if those go well, the introductions will start. he will be bigger and more bulked up by then, better to escape the big orange thing and the cranky tortie.
Congratulations on a failed foster! This group is famous for those.
Now, what does the name “Timmy” say?
Congratulations on your new family member, Glen!
Now how about that. A new addition to Glen and his wife. Life just is going to be a little more exciting. Who’d have guessed this one. LOL
Welcome to your new forever home Timmy. You could not have found a better family.
Bernadette you just hit the nail on the head. This group should be famous by now for bring the best of the failed fosters of all time. Myself included. It is exciting to hear when a new unexpected kit has found a forever home. 🙂
Yesterday morning I was working till 1:45 am. Did not get home till 2:20 and was up till 3 am with Bernie. The phone rang at 4:15 and it was my son Josh. He was at the Vet Hospital. His cat Dominique had just passed away. Dominique was Stirfry’s daughter and Punky’s sister. She was a Calico and had the coolest blue/green eyes that would change color depending on her mood. She had a little Tortitude in her. Guess she got that from Stir. Josh and his Mom came here to the house yesterday and buried her out front where my dog Samatha is buried. Bernie and I spent an hour digging thru shale and tree roots in 100 degree heat (really just 98 degrees but I am being dramatic) for a cat grave. Later in the day we had bad storms but heard Steeler tell us that Dominique was being well taken care of.
Jay, I’m so sorry to hear about that, for Josh and his mom and for you and Bernie. So glad Steeler was there to welcome her.
I’m so sorry about Dominique, Jay. My heart goes out to all of you.
Last night after I got home, Bernie and I were watching Frankie and Styx. Now everytime Bernie would hear 2 cats fighting she would yell STYX !!!!! and know Styx was picking on another cat. Well we watched Frankie get closer and closer to Styx as she was laying on the floor. Finally nose to nose he raised his paw slowly as if to strike. (He will do this with Punky and those 2 get into a wrestling match then go to the food bowl together after building up an appetite. ) Well Styx put up her paw and Frankie tried to fight with her. Styx let out a growl and chased him a few feet, He then sat down and started to groom himself. Apparently Frankie has been starting the fights and blaming “The Tortie”. But Styx now seems to realize that it is his game and not a threat to her. Presently Stirfry is still in confinement until she is well but when she gets out Frankie will find some Torties don’t play well with others.
It’s been said here that all animal stories are welcome. So, let me tell you about my first dog. I must have been six or seven at the time dad and I went to get the puppy from a friend whose dog had a litter. It was going to be my dog, so I got to make the choice. I chose a black and white puppy and named him Taxi. The cabs in those days were mostly black and white, thus the name Taxi. WE lived in the country with a bare cliff 100 feet high less than a football field length away. As Taxi grew older he began to chase the rabbits that were abundant in the hills of Southern Indiana. So other dogs from the surrounding area began to hang around with Taxi and they all began to hunt and chase the rabbits. At the entrance to our property was a drainage pipe that lead under the road and exited next to the railroad track that ran parallel to the road. The rabbits soon learned they could run into this drain pipe and escape the dogs. It wasn’t long until the dogs figured out how to beat the rabbits at their own game. As the dogs were running the rabbits in the woods one dog was stationed at the entranced of drain pipe to catch the rabbit as he attempted his escape into the drain pipe. I seen this happen on more than one occasion. As far fetched as it sounds this really happened.
I have been owned by 2 beautiful tortoiseshell girls (both manx) in my lifetime. Prissy was my first baby, and Pepper my second. Unfortunately I lost Prissy almost 2 years ago, so when Pepper showed up at my house as a stray around 10mths after Prissy was taken from me, it was like my first baby had been reincarnated. Torties are definitely a different breed and have MAJOR attitude, then you add in the fact that neither one of my girls had/have tails…..well, let’s just say the description “wild as bucks” doesn’t even begin to touch either of them, especially Pepper, she’s my little wild woman!! TORTIES RULE!!!!
“Wild as bucks” is a great description for torties, Mandy!
I am so sorry for your loss of Prissy. How odd that Pepper showed up at your door since she is a tortie and a manx, what are the odds??
If you look back at some older posts by Bernie about the strays that showed up on her porch after she had lost her son and then a short time later lost her tortie Steeler. It sounds like the same type of “coincidence” you had.
Welcome!
So True Betty. Once you have been loved by a Tortie, any other cat is not the same. And after their passing they have connections to send another Tortie that needs love and a forever home to your door. Bernie so missed Steeler (as we all do) and Steeler and Eric saw that she would find Liberty and Justice on her porch. Freedom was a bonus.
how can i upload a picture of my new kitty! her name is Sadie.
You can post pictures of Sadie on our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/consciouscat
my wife and i have 2 torties , i adore them . we have chaos , actually is a male tortie !! he is 13 and still very active . and the little one as we call her is named guinness , she is just a year old and is the most vocal cat i have ever seen in person
Mike, wow – you have a male tortie? As rare as they are, it’s pretty amazing that you’re the second person who has posted here about a male! Feel free to post photos of Chaos (if that isn’t a perfect name for a tortie, I don’t know what is!) and Guinness on our Facebook page.
Welcome Mike, Chaos and Guiness! You must havea very active home with all that tortitude running around in it. Do they two get along ok?
Looking forward to pictures and more stories about your furry babies!
im going to post some pics on the facebook wall . active is not the word for our home betty , we have the two torties whom get along great . chaos althogh male has taken alomst a mommy role to guinness plus we have another lil girl named sophie she is 12 and guinness bestest friend is our 9 year old albino ferret murphy . chaos is the son of a stray i took in when i was in highschool and he most def lived up to his name all these years , but as crazy as he is he is just a big ball of love . not to mention that he is huge , not fat , but taller and longer than a pug and about 26 lbs . guinness well all i can say about her is she is a daddys girl . i cant sit out on the deck with out her freeking out , if i go to even check the mail she waits at the door crying . and god forbid we want to sleep passed 830 i get a wake up face washing . i dont support nor condone petstores kitten mills etc but when i went to find ferret food for murphy i saw little 7 week old guinness all alone in a tiny cage meeping her lil heart out and well her being a tortie i melted …
Welcome Mike. Now Ingrid has a new record. A Tortie blog with 2 Male Torties – Chaos and Doodlebug. And at 26 lbs. he is also the biggest cat on the blog (that I know of) The record was held by Taz with Pumpkin determined to catch up). Now they both have a goal to reach. 🙂
My tortie Mirage. Mirage (aka Mimi) is 16 years old & we’ve been her proud parents since she was 8 weeks old. She’s a tortie all right. Very very vocal, very loving & very determined “old lady”. I always joke that we can have a good old chat with her because whatever we say to her she always responds. She wasn’t very well a couple of weeks ago with her back legs going (arthritis) but a prompt visit to the vet & some antibiotics seemed to have done the tricks. We treasure every moment we have with her, cherish her with our love and feed her with the best food we can afford. We are privileged to have found her.
Mirage sounds like a wonderful kitty, Ginny. Do you have her on a good glucosamine chondroitin supplement for her arthritis?
Hi Ingrid, no I hadn’t thought of any supplements. Thank you for the advice. Will get something sorted. Many thanks
Mirage sounds like a very typical lovable tortie, well lovable in her own way…
We would love to see some pictures of her, which you can post on the Conscous Cat facebook page. If you do, please let us know so we can look at them. We would also enjoy more stories of the adventures of Mirage.
I am very glad to hear that the trip to the doctor brought her back to her usual self, they are a blessing indeed.
Take good care Mirage – Torties are so special and give us back love ten fold.
So glad she is responding to treatments. A Senior Tortie is still a force to be reckoned with.
Out of room to respond to Betty’s question on the two-week antibioitic injection. I do not recommend it. The drug stays in the system for up to two months, and some cats have had severe reactions to it. Unlike with an oral drug, which you can stop immediately if there’s an adverse reaction, you can’t do that with a long acting drug like Convenia.
Amber was given this drug several years ago before I knew about the potential side effects – and sadly, far too many vets either don’t know about them, or don’t inform their clients about the potential for side effects. Even my absolutely amazing feline vet didn’t know at the time. If you want to know more about it, here’s the link to my article about it: https://ingridking.com/2011/09/26/convenia-for-cats-sacrificing-safety-for-convenience/
Thank you SO much for the information and link Ingrid. I should have known it sounded too good to be true. I guess it’s back to the leather gloves and closed door method next time the babies need meds.
Folks the last 2 comments which say “Jay” are written by me, Bernie. Jay did not sign out of CC before I wrote those. I have since signed in and signed him out. Confusing on 1 computer. Whew and it is so darn hot. 🙂
That’s what she says. Just using my identity to excuse any mistakes in typing is my guess.
I love tortitude! My previous cat (tabby) Raleigh was Miss Manners, never misbehaving. When my tortie Coco came into the house she turned our world upside down with her antics, but she made me laugh every day. She was so joyful and good-natured about her mischief. At almost 14 years old she’s still a playful, fun-loving, mischievous girl who makes me laugh every day.
For those of you who haven’t “met” Coco, you can see her picture on a recent guest post by Pat: https://ingridking.com/2012/06/03/conscious-cat-sunday-life-lessons-from-a-tortoiseshell-cat/
Coco is a beauty!
Congrats on leaving the 11,000th comment, Bernadette!
I’ll collect my bean dip and fritos at any time.
Way to go Bernadette. Now we go for 12,000.
There’s no more room to respond to the news about Stir, so I’ll add it here. I’m sorry to hear that she’s having urinary tract issues. If you don’t understand what the vet told you, you need to ask questions! It’s important that you understand what you’re dealing with!
Urinary issues are frequently caused be stress – both stress from other cats, but also, stress from the cat’s human. So it’s possible that Styx was the trigger. Unfortunately, Jays’ stress is probably aggravating the situation. I know it’s impossible to not be stressed with something like this going on, and my heart goes out to Jay.
Regardless of what caused the issue, it needs to be dealt with. If she has crystals in her urine, she may have bladder stones, or she may have an infection. What did her bloodwork look like? Are her kidney values okay? If you can’t get a good urine sample with the special litter, she may need to spend the day at the vet’s so they can get a clean sample via cystocentesis.
One step at a time. While urinary issues can be frustrating, they are almost always treatable.
Bernie, you already know how to do introductions slowly. If it turns out that Styx gets along with your crew, she may be better off at your house. Oh boy – you went from zero to four in less than a few months. I have a feeling Steeler is smiling…
Thanks Ingrid, I have the new litterbox (and 1/4 cup of litter crystal – Stir kicks twice that much when she digs) downstairs now. I am presently working on my new PC to get it up and running. On Bernie’s laptop now. She is suppose to be sleeping but is stubborn and won’t sleep while I work. I am a morning person and she is an afternoon person. I miss not being able to respond to all the comments.
Stir is more perky now and has hissed at Frankie who insists on sitting just outside her cage and talks to her. Styx has chased him but today I saw him stalk her, get chased and stalk her again. Cat play I think. She still wants to chase everyone but has calmed down a lot in the last few weeks. I hope to bring her back from Bernie’s as soon as Stir is well. I do not give up on cats and if a mean vicious cat was a reason to not keep one then Stir would not be in my life. (same probably goes for quite a few on here – I will not mention any names – Don’t really need to do I 🙂 )
Jay, don’t take Stir’s feelings for you lightly–the heck with Bernie, you just brought another woman into the house! And another tortie! Really, those sorts of things can seriously affect them, but definitely keep on your vet about blood test results and don’t take, “I don’t know” for an answer. I hate it when one of them isn’t well.
And Bernie’s definitely been approved for feline rescue; Steeler sent out the word.
Steeler talks to us every thunderstorm and we hear her and she has sent at least 2 indoor and 4 plus outdoor kittens to Bernie You can not ignore a Tortie. I will ask for an interpreter at the Vet English please!!!
I didn’t meant to suggest that you should give up on Styx, Jay! But if, for some reason, she decides she wants to get along with Freedom, Liberty and Justice, it may be the best solution for everyone.
In the meantime, the most important thing is that we get Stirfry on the way to good health again! I’m sending lots of healing thoughts and energy her way.
I am taking Stir to the vet for the cystocentesis. Just spoke with the vet. She will do a follow up check while we are there. Appt is for 6:30 PM.
Now note to my friends. I am dealing with Stirfry whom I love dearly. However if you folks don’t hear from me in the next 12 hours send out the search party. I may go into hiding from Stir. LOL
I am hoping to get more info on her.
We’re anxiously waiting to hear the results. Thinking about you and Stir.
Ok everyone here are the results of the tests today. The cystocentesis was a success. They were able to draw enough urine for a good sample.
The crystals in her urine are gone. That is the best news. However she has an UTI and the infection in her ears is a yeast infection, which according to the doctor is greatly improved, although still very itchy.
She received an antibiotic injection which will give her 2 weeks of the meds. No pilling required.
Follow up in 2 weeks.
This is all good news. All is being treated. Jay will be so relieved when he gets home.
I am heading for a cold one and something to eat. It has been another very long day. 🙂 I have to say after the vets visit a good day. We got answers. Not jibberish. 🙂
Bernie – that is such good news about Stir. What a relief for you and Jay. Have a great night Bernie – I bet you will all sleep much better tonight!
Great news 🙂
I’m glad it’s mostly good news. While I always caution people against the Convenia injection (the two week antibiotic), it’s probably a good choice for a cat like Stirfry who is hard to medicate. Keeping the good wishes coming for a quick recovery and no side effects from the injection!
I am SO relieved at the results!! I have not commented yet but I have been monitoring closely and sending all the positive thoughts I could muster up in Sitrfry’s direction.
Does this mean she can come out of the carrier now? Does this change whether or not you are taking Styx for a while?
It is so nice for a change to see the strong support system that you and Jay have, it is a rarity at least that I’ve seen or experienced. Treasure it as there are many who will never find that type of bond.
The picture of your kittens on FB in their tower is absolutely adorable!!
Give Stir some scrutchies for me…
I didn’t know that they even made a 2 week antibiotic for kitties. That would make life so much easier as it is virtually nearly impossible to pill my babies. Had my friend from NH not beenin town when we needed to medicate Brad for his diarhrea (cannever spell that dang word!) he would have gone unmedicated as it was all she could do along with my husband to get the liquid meds down him. And Columbia is the same only add her tortitude to it.
Are they are effective as the single dose kind? How much more expensive are they?
Betty, Stir will be kept in her kennel for a while longer. She needs rest and relaxation now along with healing. She will be fine. I am taking Styx for a while. Stir and Styx are both trying to be the dominate cat in the house. So Stir is the one to hold that top spot. She does not need any added stress for a while. I gave Stirfry some kisses and hugs at the vets for all it was worth. She was so docile there, my heart just wanted to hold her and make her better. So I will gladly give her scratches, that is if she is in the mood today. She can change within a wink of the eye. But today she really was good with me. I am so proud of her. She never fought or hissed at me when I picked her up and put her in the carrier. What a strong little Tortie. Love her to pieces.
Thank you for your kind comments about Jay and I.
I think as you can see, and you are one of them, the support system we have here on CC is something of a rarity. Every kitten on here is important to each of us and every time one of our kittens are in trouble we are all here for each other. You see you really are a part of a very special treasure trove of friends here.
I am delighted you enjoyed my little Liberty and Justice in their kitty tower. I think that is the very best picture of them together, so far, ever taken. How rare would that be?
Betty, I didn’t know about the 2 week antibiotic shot until today. The vet says it will stay in Stir’s system for about 2 weeks. I don’t have any idea how Stir could have been pilled. I mean, once she makes up her mind, blood flows freely, anyone’s but hers.
This is supposed to be very effective. I don’t know the cost of the shot itself, I didn’t even look to see what the charges were included in the total bill.
I don’t know if this shot is appropriate for any kitten or not. You could check with your vet the next time your little ones needs help. Thanks for all your kind words and concern.
Bernie, thank you for reminding me of my new found supportive family here. My husband can be supportive he just doesn’t always understand my erratic emotions and sudden tears at times. That could just be part of being a man…lol Admittedly I am a highly emotional and high strung person and sometimes I don’t even know myself what triggers them. Does being a Gemini have anything to do with it…..lol
Oh yeah kitty board…..Uhm…day is off to a usual start with Columbia stalking and chasing Rocky everytime he leaves the kitchen…my poor little boy must feel like a prisoner.
Is there going to be a party at 11,000? Bean dip and Fritos at Ingrids?
Harry, bean dip and fritos at Ingrids sounds like a plan. Hope she knows she may be throwing a get-to-gether 🙂
Virtual party 3 – 2 – 1 comments away! Or come join me at my event on Saturday to celebrate!
I can just about taste the bean dip and fritos! Don’t think I’ll be able to make it to Virginia to celebrate for real. I’m going to make one more comment, not so we’ll be there, but to offer support to Jay and Bernie!
Where and witch Saturday. Jay and I already have this Saturday taken by his sister’s husband. A birthday party. Be a little more open for the dates. In this heat think October. 🙂
I have an event at a winery scheduled for September…. road trip, anyone?
Thanks for the insight guys, We took a Russian blue kitten, and then we took our tortie kitten, even as a kitten she acted aggressively and unaccepting, after about 2 years she finally accepted the other cat.
Problem is now she’s older and we have recently just got a new kitten, our tortie is hissing and un-accepting of the kitten not to mention acting out of aggression towards the kitten, basically want im looking to find out is if there are any ways to help a bond establish or is it purely just a time issue? being honest i don’t want to come home and find a shredded up kitten all over the place, and it would be such a shame to give away our tortie
Did you introduce the new kitten gradually to the rest of the household, including your tortie? If not, you’ll need to start over and follow a slow introduction protocol. Here’s a good article on how to do it: https://ingridking.com/2011/08/15/cat-to-cat-introductions/ There are also holistic remedies that can help facilitate the process. Don’t leave the kitten and your tortie unsupervised together until you know that they get along.
If you feel that you need help with this, I’d encourage you to work with a feline behaviorist. I can’t imagine the heartbreak of having to consider rehoming a cat who has been with you for two years – I would exhaust all possible options first.
Your at the right group to find the proper care , introductions and all around help with a kitten and especially a Tortie. As you have seen Torties can be tough to get to live with others (even their own kittens or in Bernie’s case their Mom). And you can get expert advice on how to foster – just ask Bernadette, Harry, Bernie, myself or Glen (our latest “foster failure”).
I returned from a work related trip a day early tonight.
I have been providing technical support for an unscheduled repair at the company facility where Kasey used to live.
It was actually quite good to go there and concentrate on getting things done without feeling any burden for Kasey and looking out for her with all the activity going on.
It was great knowing she was quite happy, back home, kind of a liberating feeling.
We actually finished up early, I got greetings from all three tonight, Kasey and Taz being the most demonstrative, due to there natures, I think I should sleep well tonight.
Isn’t it lovely to get a kitty greeting when you get home? If I’m late (even 5 mins!) according to Gracie’s internal clock she comes and waits at a glass panel in our front door so that she can see me coming and tell me all about her day (well, I think she’s telling me about her day – she’s probably just asking where her dinner is!). Gracie came for cuddles at 3am this morning (how can you get cross) … snuggled in for 30 mins quite peacefully and then bit me and left. Tortitude at it’s best, huh?
I am seeking out advice from some of the more expert rescuers.
We are looking after a rescued kitten for a few days, an approx. 6week old orange guy, a “baby Taz”, with a full tail.
He will be going home in a few days so introductions are not an issue but I wanted some advice on quarantine.
He was rescued in an emaciated state with eye/sinus infections, these have been treated by a vet.
Currently, he is in the sun room which is attached to the house but has an outdoor type door separating it from the main house.
Taz, Morgan and Kasey have been kept down in the basement. There is no sharing of anything in the way of toys, food, water, litter etc.
Hands are washed thoroughly after handling the little guy.
Are we prudent or over cautious; and does anyone have anything they may want to add?
P.S.
The little orange guy is slowly regaining strength and is starting to show signs of regaining health.
Hi Glen – I don’t think you’re being over cautious … but I’d be interested to see what others on here think – I think I would use the same approach. What great news that he was rescued and given a new start in life. Cheers, Marg
Glen, caution is best when dealing with a foster. I would add, have shoes (I prefer cheap flip flops that I’ll throw away) that you wear only in the foster room so that you don’t track litter out of the room.
Harry
Thanks.
The litter is in a pan of appropriate size, contained in a dog crate which has a plastic floor; quite well contained but we’ll take your advice.
He is eating and drinking quite well and has learned to use the litter-box quite rapidly. He seems quite smart.
He will be going back home soon, his new “person” was just not able to take care of his special needs to get him over his crisis stage. He will go back when he is more recovered.
Tonight he learned to chase a string, a bit unsure at first but finished up making 3 and 4 foot “charges” to attack it from a distance, I think that is a sign of feeling better.
He sounds like a fighter. There’s nothing quite as gratifying as giving a fighter the chance that he needs to make it.
Glen, if the foster could not handle the little guy in this crisis, will they be able to take over again. Kittens can be a handful.
Sounds like you may have an emotional attachment to this little guy. I would not be surprised.
I wish you and the little one a lot of luck. I hope his forever home is half as good as his “foster daddy” is to him right now. 🙂
He willl get good care at his home, the woman that we are caring for him for runs a kennel (the dogs actually fuss over and protect him) and she is involved in all sorts of rescues of critters of all kinds.
In the past couple days she just hasn’t had the time to focus on a kitten that needed to be eyedropper fed every few hours. He is beyond that now and is into kitten food, he has quickly learned nice things come from bowls.
He is very alert now and may be going home soon, we may keep him during the day for a bit longer.
I would love to keep him on the one hand but he would be a tough fit in our present “dynamics” and she really likes him and wants to keep him.
Also, it is tough to keep the three in the basement due to quarantining but we want to be on the safe side. It is tough on Kasey because I have been away for two days, she is used to going upstairs and used to “guarding” me at night and this is not an option right now. So on the one hand, I’d love to keep him, on the other hand, it will be nice to have him go back home.
You’re doing exactly the right thing by being cautious, Glen. I would thoroughly disinfect the room the kitten is in once he leaves. Use a diluted bleach solution (1 to 12 I think is the proper dilution) for all hard surfaces, and vacuum thoroughly if there’s carpet and throw out the bag afterwards. It’s better to be safe than sorry.
Ingrid, Harry
FYI
My wife took the little guy to our vet today (the good one).
Not that I doubted your advice for an instant but i thought you might like to know that the vet completely agrees.
The foster is doing well, putting on some much needed weight and becoming active, and, his eyes are clearing up with the antibiotics.
He is still quarantined in the sun room. He loves attention and has adult cat mannerisms when greeted.
A new development; now, there is some question as to whether we will keep him.
We are going to call the vet on this but the one concern is that he has a wheeze. This is only on inhale, not exhale; the concern is, is this possibly something more serious that could harm the other cats? (This is why the quarantine is ongoing).
I expect the vet will say that they need a blood test to tell but if anyone has any comments, I’d be interested.
I am on Bernie’s laptop now. My PC crashed and it will take me time to get a new one online.
Stirfry was at the Vet yesterday morning. She has been hiding from all the cats for the last week. Mostly under the couch but sometimes downstairs. The vet said she had an ear infection and was to get an ointment twice a day and every other day midway thru an ear wash in a squirt bottle. We will get blood and other tests results tomorrow. Right now she is in the kennel downstairs so we can get her treated every day. Hate to do it but we searched for 45 minutes yesterday morning. We picked up the couch and she ran with us not seeing where she went. Searched upstairs and down before we found her under my aquarium stand.
” an ointment twice a day and every other day midway thru an ear wash in a squirt bottle. We will get blood… tomorrow.”
Um yeah… you will 🙂
Kidding aside – you know we’re all worried about Stir – keep us posted.
Hi everyone. Betty I am still free. I had to leave the little at home with my son to enjoy them. He tells me they are really “bad”, but they are just to funny to be mad at them. So I am sure by the time I get home they will have done a fair amount of kitty work. Oh yeah.
Harry, Glen, Ingrid and Bopeeps.
Jay was really stressing out the past week. Stir had gone into hiding and he couldn’t find her. He would look for her, and found her once under the sectional. That time he was able to hold her for awhile. Then she disappeared again. Jay’s work schedule is such that he was frantic that he could not be home to try to find her and he didn’t know if she was eating or drinking. So I came over from the western Pa to help out. I told Jay to make and app’t with the vet ASAP. The only app’t was early, very early Saturday AM. We looked for Stir when Jay got home from work. It took us a long time, but we found her. She was not passive aggressive, but passive tired.
So early Sat AM we are at the vet’s. They drew blood, tried to get a urine sample but they could only get about 3 drops. That scared me, but I didn’t say anything to Jay. The ears were checked right away, and cleaned. They drew blood. The vet kept Stir until noon that day to try to get a urine sample. Success. As Jay said he was given the antibotic ointment and ear wash. Today he took her stool sample and was to find out about the results of the tests from Saturday.
Treating Stirfry means giving blood. However, she does resist strongly, Jay is able to hold her so I can give the meds and clean the ears. We do know there are no ear mites.
So this is where I am for a few more days, to take and watch over Stir. Helping Jay is a given. I have never seen Stir so worn. I have a lot of hope that she will be dealing only with this ear problem and return to her “normal” self for Stir.
Jay or I will keep you posted on Stir’s condition. I truly hate having to keep her in the kennel. But that is so we can administer her meds every day.
Don’t worry, I made sure my little ones were going to be well taken care of before I came here. My son is with them and he says they are just plain bad. I am sure he is just letting them get away with anything. He is crazy about them. He sends me pics daily. I will return to my home when Jay and Stir are able to deal with everything.
We all know that helpless feeling when our little ones are ill. So even if I just go in and pet her, yes she lets me pet her now, she will know she is not being punished by being in the kennel.
Jay should have all the tests results when he gets home tonight around 12:30 or 1 AM. I also am waiting to hear the results.
You know we’re thinking about both of you, and about Stir.
It’s always frightening when they hide. I hope it’s just a little infection and she can be back to normal soon, but when you need to observe her she needs to be contained somewhere you can easily see how she’s doing. We are all wishing for the best for her.
Fingers crossed for you guys. Poor Stir. It’s awful when our little ones are not well. Positive thoughts are coming your way. I’m glad to hear that Bernie is there with you Jay and that you have good support.
It’s always so upsetting when one of our babies is sick. We’re all anxiously waiting to hear the test results. Sending lots of good thoughts Stir’s way, and Jay’s and yours, too.
Sending everthing positive within me in Stir’s direction! Please post the test results as soon as you can!!
I hope Stir is OK and gets better soon.
I will be off line, likely until Wed. night, (July 25th) but I will check for news, then.
I’m sorry to hear Stir is under the weather, Jay. I know how distressing this must be for you to have to keep her in a kennel. Fingers and paws crossed for good bloodwork results.
Good luck
Jay, any news?
Harry and all, yesterday Jay went to the vet to find out the results of all the tests and deliver a bm sample. The jibberish given him was the vets’ notes that neither of us can understand. He was told that Stir has crystals and a little blood in her urine. So she gave him a very small amount of some kind of litter that Stir has to urinate in and Jay will have to watch her and get 2 sample vials to the vet within an hour of her urinating. The litter pan has to be very clean with no other usage in it for this.
She told Jay not to use bleach to clean any pan.
Today, I went out and purchased a new, unused litter pan to place with the litter with Stir in the AM.
Jay and I will take turns watching when she uses it and get the dropper/syringe to get the samples for the vials.
This is all we know for now.
Jay is a wreck, because he can’t be with her during the day. He treasures her so much, and this is tearing him up.
I will tell you all this. Stir does not need the stress of another dominate Tortie, in her territory. I will be taking Styx back to my home on Monday. She is my Mom’s cat and I will get her to learn to live with the others even if it means she has her own room for who knows how long. It is not fair to Jay or Stir to have her here. He is hurt that this is something that we have to do, but Stir needs no more stress and Styx is a lot of stress for her to handle.
So hopefully, tomorrow, Jay will have more answers and a full diagnosis for Stir. For now it is just trying to give Jay support and help Stir. I am the med deliverer and Jay is the good guy who holds her then after this meanie does her ears, he gives her all the kitty kisses and love he can.
This is all I can give you for now. I am hoping things get back to normal for Stir and Jay.
Bernie, can they not do a cystocentisis, where they stick a needle into the bladder and get urine? Then they’d know pretty quickly what to do.
Is Styx really that much stress? It sounded as if they really were doing pretty well. It’s possible that a little stress caused an existing infection to flare, but it sounded as if by and large she was able to cope. Maybe once you get a diagnosis and appropriate treatment, she’ll be fine. I’d hate for Styx to go back to an environment where she herself is stressed, if she was doing ok with Stir.
Nothing’s ever easy, is it?
Harry they tried to do the cystocentisis on Saturday. She did not have more than a few drops of urine so it was not any good. They made a mention to her temperment on the vets’ notes but like I said they are written in jibberish and we just can’t understand it.
I know Styx has bonded with Jay and is doing unbelievably well. She is a hisser and snarler and chases and slaps the others for no good reason.
I have been bonding with her this week and if you were to see the worry on Jay’s face and the stress he is under with Stir, taking Styx back with me, even if temporarily is the only thing I can do to help to let Stir and Jay deal with whatever is going on.
Styx is a handful, but it is unfair to let her here while Jay is stressing out about Stir. When I suggested this to Jay, it was the first time he ever said that it might be a good idea, even for a little while. So Styx is going to get another chance with me. I hope this will help Jay and Stir rest a while. I would not do anything other than take good care of Styx, as I promised my mom. It is just that things with Stir are up in the air and she was hiding for a good week before I got here.
I don’t want her to feel threatened by Styx. So since Styx is only 6 years old and I now have a menagerie of kittens, one being an adult, I am hoping Freedom and Styx will find a common truce.
Wow I never really knew what multi kittens families go thru until now.
I really don’t know what else to do for Jay. I have to return to my home on Monday, for my kits and business reasons, so I can’t leave Jay in the lurch with all this drama.
I know it is a hard decision for Jay to make, but his stress levels are over the top with other matters going on in his life right now. His love of Stir, is foremost to him. So I am hoping for the best, I don’t know what else to do. If or when Jay of I feel Styx needs Jay, I will immediately bring her back to him. Hi loves Styx so much. He is so proud to have two “take no prisoners Torties”.
Hmmmm……Bernie is awfully quiet this weekend…makes me wonder what she’s up to. Hope the kittens haven’t tied her up and holding her hostage demanding more kibble and toys!
I have a tortie kitten, she deffo has ‘tortitude’ I introduced her ot next doors kittens who are the same age her (from a different litter) and she hates them, she growls and hisses at them. Also, she only wants to be stroked on HER terms otherwise she will try to scratch whoever is trying to stroke her (I guess most cats are like this?) Also, she sulks. A LOT. She’s very vocal, she purrs, meows, makes other little cute noises and hisses, she has never hissed or growled at a human though. She’s very protective and territorial. She’s also very clean and loving (~Loving when she wants to be!) She hates being left alone, she sleeps with me every night, if she;s not with me she’ll meow until I let her in my room, with me. She’s like my little shadow. We love her so much!
She sure sounds like she’s all tortie, Sarah! The thought of a little sulking tortie kitten is making me smile – I’ve not thought of that as being part of tortitude, but it certainly fits right in with all the other traits!
Welcome Sarah!!
What is your torties name? How old is she? If you have any pics, Ingrid lets us post them on the Conscious Cat facebook page.
My tortie Columbia definitely sulks. Somewhere from earlier this week I posted about her being jealous of her sister who was laying on my lap. You can also tell when she is sulking or pouting as she will turn her back to me and lay in the other direction with her ears slightly going backward.
In fact most of the characteristics you mentioned are definitely a part of her “tortitude”. If you ever want ot drive a tortie nuts, rearrange the furniture! They do not like their home tampered with.
Of course other breeds of kitties can be pouters and have temper tantrums as well. If my tux doesn’t like what I give him for dinner he kicks his plate a couple of times to show his dismay.
Anyway I won’t get started on my kitties antics, as this is a welcome message to you…lol
We look forward to hearing more about your tortie baby.
If you like stories with good endings, don’t read this. Sparkle came to us through a friend at the humane society at about 4 months of age, We had two other cats at the time, so she had to be introduced slowly into the household. We borrowed a chicken wire cage from the Humane Society for Sparkle to be keep in during this introduction period. She was kept in the bedroom where Margaret and I slept. During her wake up in the mornings she would lay on her back and swat at the bell toy Margaret had tied to the top of the cage. I would awake to hear this quiet little bell sounding. It reminded me of times when our babies would play quietly in their cribs. It didn’t take long to become attached to Sparkle. She love to eat mashed potatoes and would lay on top of the re-clinger Margaret sat in and play with her hair. When Sparkle jumped any where it was with stiff legs as seen in some cartoons. She was a laugh a minute when she started her jumping. Well it soon became time to have her spade. All of our cats had been spade, so we had no worries that a different vet was going to do the procedure through arrangements by the Humane Society. This vet used a shot instead of gas to put her under. However he miscalculated the dosage or Sparkle was too sensitive to the medication. She never came out from under the medication influence. We buried Sparkle in a special place in the backyard where one of our other cats is buried. My advise is to check and see what the vet is going to use to put your cat under for any procedure. Gas,YES, shot,NO.
hi dick.. we have just went to a shelter yesterday, and found this muti colored cat which i didn’t know what it was. But then from the shelter they told me it was a tortoiseshell cat. We got all kinds of things for her, a new bowl, and new blanket, etc etc… We already have a cat, she is 3 yrs old. I had to put my dog to sleep 1 week ago, and and i could see our cat was moping and mourning. So off to the shelter we went and found this unusual looking cat,,,she was sweet in my partners arms and my arms…so i ended up getting her.
Then i was reading all about them…tortoitude! yes she ‘s got a bit of that..she’s 31/2 months… i have a feeling she is going to give our 3 yr. old sweet calm cat, a run for her money!!!! ugh…
now after reading some comments here, i am not so sure if she should be here…anyone, want a kitty?
she’s young…the reason i am wondering if she should be here or not, is that she she is jumping on our new screens, and afraid that she will destroy the furniture then i read that tortoieshell cats are very protective i read…PROTECTIVE??? oh my gads…i’m not sure about this. I hope she ‘s not so protective that she hisses at people like a siamese cat- as i don’t like them. i have to give her a break, as i returned to bed this morning, she was rubbing herself all over me..purring so loudly that i fell asleep with that purr and so did she, we slept for 2 hrs, and she had cuddled up right into my arms. I couldn’t believe i slept that long! with a cat…i have only owned one other cat except for the one that is here right now. i mean my other cat is named Emma, and i just don’t know what to name this one…she looks like colored pebbles… Pebbles maybe? can someone help me, will she be that destructive? will she hiss at people? will she settle in with the other cat?
thank you. Lise
Pebbles sounds like a great name for a tortie to me, Lise! I’m the owner of this site. She sounds like she’s a wonderful cat!
Did you introduce her gradually to Emma? If not, you may want to back up a little bit and restart introductions. Here’s a comprehensive article on how to do it: https://ingridking.com/2011/08/15/cat-to-cat-introductions/ By going slow, you’ll have a much better chance of your new tortie and Emma becoming good friends.
Cats will hiss if they’re displeased. It’s their nature. They will scratch – that’s also their nature. There plenty of things you can to do channel their natural scratching behavior to appropriate scratching places, and protect your home and furniture. Here are some suggestions: https://ingridking.com/2011/01/10/cat-scratching-solutions-and-a-giveaway-to-help/
Give your new tortie time to settle into your household. It sounds like she already loves you and has claimed you as her person.
I hope this helps.
thank you so much Ingrid, i will read, and may reply. The introduction was a bit of a startling one to me, as our Emma is always in my partners chair in the afternoon. I ?so we came in through the back door, and i was going straight upstairs when all of a sudden our cat emma was there, and as soon as she saw the cat holder, she came straight for it, and hissed…that is what scared me. We put the tortoiseshell kitty, into the guest room… ha.. and she has her litter, her water, a blanket food, etc etc and some things to play with. Right now, and since this a.m. she’s been playing with a plastic hanger. To me that is so funny!
i will look at these sights and check them out.
thank you Ingrid!
Hi and welcome Lise!!
Pebbles is an adorable name and so fitting for a tortie due to their coloring. In my opinion, you should give her more time to adapt to her new home and your other kitty.
From the nap you described Pebbles has already chosen you to be her forever mommy. Also bear in mind that at 3 1/2 months old, she is still a kitten and kittens regardless of breed are just naturally playful. The climbing up curtains, scratching furniture, etc. are common things kitten do. I have 4 kitties, one of which is a tortie, two are solid black, and the fourth one is a black and white tuxedo, I got them all as kittens at different times. They are all around 9 years going on 10. When they were kittens they all used to do the same things that Pebbles is doing, not just my tortie but all of them went through that behaviour.
Ultimately it’s up to you and your partner as to whether you keep her or not. Please read the articles that Ingrid gave you the links to. Also there are some essences that work winders on various types of cat behavior that I’m sure Ingrid or some of the other posters can recommend to you.
However, if you do decide to give her back do it now as the longer she is with you the more bonded she will be and to return her after that would be cruel to her.
Again welcome, and am looking forward to seeing pics of Pebbles as well as reading about her adventures.
lise
The introduction methods help.
Time an patience worked in my case.
I brought Kasey home from one of our company facilities in May, 2008 when she was 8 years old.
She was not treated well and things were tough for her for those 8 years but she was still looking for human attention, basically, she behaved like she wanted to be a pet cat. So I brought her home.
There were weeks of introductions, which helped, to the other two resident cats but it took some months for things to settle down, but they finally did (seemed like fore ever at the time).
She has done well and she was quite aggressive at first.
However, she has settled down and is quite happy as a house cat.
I’m so sorry about Sparkle, Dick. What an awful way to lose such a wonderful cat.
Anesthetic complications are rare, but unfortunately, they do happen and when they do, it’s devastating. All vets will use some sort of injection to sedate before using gas anesthesia – that’s standard, and appropriate anesthetic protocol. It’s impossible to place an endotracheal tube without sedating a cat first. This article provides comprehensive information on safe anesthesia for cats: https://ingridking.com/2009/10/12/safe-anesthesia-for-pets/
Hi we have a tortie with “Tortitude”! 🙂 She is about 7 months old and we think she’s pregnant, so I’m quite glad.
Tortitude. Well this certainly explains a lot.
I’ve grown up owning dogs, so I consider myself a very strong “dog person”. However, in May I found the tiniest baby kitten crying on the side of the road while I was out jogging, and I wasn’t about to leave it there all by itself (the mom never showed up). We guess she was about 2-3 days old when I found her, and we’ve been raising her since (she’s now at 10 weeks old).
From the beginning, I thought this cat was not normal. Even my “cat experts” commented on how loudly she purred and cried, and ever since she learned to walk she has been one feisty, stubborn girl. She walks up and smacks our dog in the face, she thinks she is entitled to every object in the house, and she will do what she wants, when she wants, thank you very much. I was randomly looking up physical characteristics of torties when I came upon the phrase “tortitude”. Things have never clicked in my mind so fast in my life!
Well Olive is 10 weeks old now, and she is absolutely stealing my heart. Yes, she’s ruining all my knitting, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to wear shorts again since I barely have any skin left (I don’t know why I even bothered to buy a scratching post), but she is also the most loving cat I have ever met. How something can be so destructive and so affectionate at the same time, I will never know.
She’s still really young, so I don’t know if she’ll “grow out” of some of her more extreme behaviors, but it’s nice to know that this is somewhat normal behavior. 😉
And some pictures of little Olive in case anyone was interested [I hope this is allowed]:
This is a day or two after we found her (she’s was just all head):
http://i46.tinypic.com/9t1xd0.jpg
A couple of weeks later, eyes open and starting to walk:
http://i46.tinypic.com/2lc2o80.jpg
And my most recent picture of her just a day ago. She only lays down when she’s about to sleep, so I got lucky!:
http://i50.tinypic.com/2lat3rt.jpg
Yup, your little girl has tortitude alright, Mindy! You[ll get used to it… 🙂 She’s adorable, thanks for sharing her photos! You can also post photos on our Facebook page, I’m sure other tortie lovers there would love to see her.
What a little beauty Olive is!!
First of all Welcome!! Secondly, thank you for resuing this poor innocent baby and nurturing her into a happy healthy little girl.
As far as growing out of some of her “tortitude”, she might but then again she is a tortie 😉
I’m looking forward to more pics and reading more about the adventures of Olive as she grows.
Again welcome and thank you for saving Olive.
Nice little cat, and a great rescue story.
I have never done it but I understand hand rearing one so young is quite a job.
Like most rescues, I am sure she will be a very good “buddy’.
OK gang here is my dilema. Yesterday I had 2 vary small kittens on my back porch. 2 black and 1 solid gray. Tonight the number is now 4. 2 very small black, l ting tiger silver/black tabby, l solid silver/gray. Now not to be outdone Momma is with them. Guess what she is definitely a daughter to my rescued Freedom. She is a Russian Blue also. So now what do I do??? We have not tnr or no kill shelter rescues. Damn oops going to get censored for that one. LOL
Well Bernie, you know what I would do. Bring them all in and isolate them in a room until I could decide if I were going to keep any or try to find homes (depending on the babies age). With Columbia I know I couldn’t keep any, but we are fortunate in that we have a local SPCA that is a no kill shelter.
Where you don’t have a local shelter it’s a much larger decision for you. Have you spoken to Jay about it? I’m not sure if you’re ready to take on six more kitties or not. I do know though I would have to do something if even on a temporary basis until I could find homes for them or decide to keep some and find homes for the other. It seems obvious that the mama kitty is looking for a safe place for herself and her babies and you were the chosen one.
If you do decide to take them in and want to start a spay/neuter fund, I will gladly give what I can.
Please let us know if there is any way we can help. Sorry I don’t have any better advice but I am a soft touch when it comes to stray kitties.
Bernie, I’m going to e-mail you a contact who runs a cat rescue and volunteers with the Greensburg Humane Society. He is well-known and very highly regarded by everyone who had anything to say in the Pittsburgh Feral Cat Movement group as someone who will do his best to help cats. Watch out, he’s a retired State Trooper, you may have already met him, just turn on your natural, uh, charm.
Folks based on Bernadette’s advice to turn on , uh, charm. Please start setting aside a little for bail. LOL
Really Bernadette, thanks for all your help. I really need it for these little ones.
Bernadette, thanks for helping “Nernie”. I’ve been monitoring, but my thumbs are too fat to type much on the iPhone. It’s the worst year ever, kitten intake requests every day, and we don’t have enough fosters even to spring some sick kittens already in from the vet. A quick update on us, two weeks at the beach almost over, four days home and then right back to the beach for a family wedding. Fortunately we have a great pet sitter who texts us photos every day. The Shubin 7 are doing well but there was a spot of blood on the floor so I know that Sabrina’s IBD is flaring, probably from the stress. She gets her next B-12 while we’re home.
Harry, “Nernie” is planning a road trip. “Nernie just may go by way of Harry’s and leave the gift that keeps on giving. Harry, now you better be nice.
It is hard to hear that Sabrina’s IBD is acting up. I know she is hurting. I seen it with Steeler. Please keep a good eye on her.
Hopefully, Bernadette will jump in here. There has to be a no-kill rescue somewhere in the greater Pittsburgh area.
Ingrid, there are plenty but they are all full. Actually, all the county Humane Society shelters aside from the one in Pittsburgh are no-kill, and all of them are always full and not taking any more animals at all. The two open-door shelters are taking in about 50 animals per day per shelter.
We are having an explosion of stray and feral cats this summer as well all over Pittsburgh, with groups of up to ten kittens appearing around apartment complexes where people have left cats behind, apartment managers have been trapping the cats and we often have no idea what they do with them, but the won’t let anyone feed them or step on the property to care for them. And we just found a hoarder with more than a dozen cats that are not fixed and have several litters of kittens among them.
Bernie, you might as well trap them and take them in and just get them in your basement, if only to hold them until you can TNR them. I will do my best to help you find a place for them to go, but I can’t promise anything. You do have a TNR group in Mt. Pleasant, and I believe the animal control officer in Westmoreland County is very cat-friendly.
I’d like to extend a heartfelt welcome to all our new posters. I don’t get here much anymore unless I have a crazy story, but I know everyone here is wonderful, supportive, and, as all Tortie owners must, have the BEST senses of humor and the warmest hearts. You’ve all made it into an embracing, understanding group of people who are GREAT company!
And don’t forget to add ” The Conscious Cat ” On facebook to add your pics and get helpful daily updates and cuteness.
Thanks, Lynn! You took the words right out of my mouth!
Oh great. Now I have to go find my old Meatloaf CD… 🙂
A 7 week old “tortie” made her way into our garage for 4 days before we were able to catch her. We actually had to buy a live trap but now she has made her way into our hearts and home. Several months ago, I told my grandsons that the next kitty I got would be named “Gary” after Spongebob’s pet snail that purrs and meows. So needless to say, we have a tortie girl named Gary. She is fiesty and very vocal. We are loving this lil lady and glad she found us!
Hi and welcome Robin.
You have a female cat named Gary and I used to have a female cat named Sanchez! In my case my grandmother didn’t have her glasses on when she did her gender check so until she went into heat the first time and surprised the heck out of me, I thought she was a he.
What you refer to as “feisty and vocal” around here it’s known as “tortitude”!
As I told Mariah, we love to see pictures of everyones furry babies, and they can be posted on the Conscious Cat facebook page.
Feel free to stop by anytime and share your adventures of Gary with us.
Again…welcome.
Robin welcome to our little family of Tortie servants. Sounds like little Gary is the one who picked his forever home. Strangely, but not to us, it seems our Torties pick us for their forever homes, and most of us were not looking for Torties or any other kittens. But here we all are.
Please feel free to post a picture of your little Gary on Ingrid’s FB page. Almost all of us have. We truly enjoy hearing about and seeing all the little ones.
Ok now quit laughing all of you. So I spelled my own name wrong. Had you going there for a second.
Nernie uh uh Bernie LOL 😛
And you probably wondered why your comment was being held for moderation, Nernie…. 🙂
😛
Gary sounds like a sweetheart, Robin. Feel free to post photos of her on The Conscious Cat Facebook page, we’d love to see her.
Gracie had a serious attack of tortitude last night … at bedtime, we take her up to the other end of the house with us and close the door through to the living area (Gracie is very attached to one of our couches and has clawed it every chance she gets). Last night I took her up to bed with me and shut my bedroom door (My mother, who I live with, was about 5 minutes behind me and didn’t want to play hide and seek to find Gracie to get her to bed!). Well, you would have thought that Gracie was being tortured. First, she went under my bed and spat at me. Then she bit the backs of my legs as I got into bed. Then she decided that since my dressing gown was hanging on the back of my door, she would stand on her hind legs underneath it so that she couldn’t see me (bit like an ostrich, maybe?) and start singing (well, it was wailing, really). She is such a funny little cat. It’s a good job that we both love her, though if she’s naughty she is “my cat” according to my mother!
Margaret, sounds like Gracie is just being a little Tortie. She definitely did not want to call it a night.
She sure let you know that one. I would have been laughing so hard at all that, Gracie would most likely would have felt, what the hey, Bernie doesn’t even care and walk away talking to her imaginary friends. LOL
Was she pouting because she’s used to sleeping with your mother?
It must have beena tortitude night last night. My Columbia was SO funny. She was alying on one of her “woobies” to the right of me on the couch. Her sister Janet jumped up and decided to lay on my lap. I had my right arm laying on the couch by Columbia. As soon as Janet got on my lap Columbia started thumping her tail up and down on my arm. It wasn’t a gentle thumping either, it was definitely a “how dare she try and share my mommy” thump. I looked over at her and Columbias eyes were wide and glaring at Janet, then she would look at me for a second then back to Janet, the whole time still power thumping her tail on my arm.
A little while later Janet decided it was time to jump down. Columbias tail stopped and off to sleep she went, secure that she had sole custody of her mommy. Too funny.
Gracie, in her normal tortitude fashion, has a few options for sleeping … she either sleeps with me, or my mother, (on or under our beds – she doesn’t like to be covered up, except with a small fleecy blanket … and she sleeps on a small sheepskin rug … spoiled much?) or in the spare room IN the spare bed. I think her chief complaint was that (a) it wasn’t bed time, (b) she was behind a closed door (and to her way of thinking it was the WRONG side of the door! or (c) as Bernie suggested, she was in “party animal” mode. I have to admit I did laugh, especially at the spitting noise from under the bed … when tortitude was handed out, I think Gracie got two doses.
I rescued a dilute tortie kitten from the shelter in January and named her Zoey. The lady who had her said she was quiet and reserved and “wasn’t a cat that climbed the curtains.” When I got her home she was so scared she hid for two weeks. Then all of a sudden one day while I was sitting on my bed she jumped up with me and she’s been my best friend ever since. It was like she got tired of hiding. So now, she loves to go everywhere! She goes outside, inside, plays with my dogs, plays with my 12 year old cat, and has actually ruined a set of curtains because she wanted to sit on the windowsill. She also talks constantly. She runs around everywhere talking to everybody and even sometimes her toy mice. I figured out later that she was kept in her cage while at her “foster parent’s” house so she never got the opportunity to be herself. I wouldn’t trade her for the world now.
Welcome Mariah and Zoey! When I started reading your story and how Zoey was when you first got it, it was my guess that she had been abused somehow, either emotionally or physically. I’m so glad to see that she recovered and finally became a true member of the family.
Your life will never be the same with a tortie in the house and like the rest of us, I know you wouldn’t change that for anything.
Welcome, and we love to see pictures of the kitties, all kitties torties or otherwise. You can post the pictures on the Conscious Cat facebook page.
Looking forward to reading more about Zoey, again Welcome!!
Talking constantly is definitely a tortie trait, Mariah. Zoey sounds adorable!
Mariah, what a wonderful forever home you gave Zoey. I let the kittens have the window sills. I have my sheers pulled back on the windows they seem attracted to. Then when I think I have outsmarted them, they find something else.
The vocalization is normal for a Tortie. My Steeler would walk around talking to her “imaginary friend”. I just laughed and enjoyed her. She was a treasure.
Please feel free to post a picture of Zoey on Ingrid’s CC FB page. Most of us have did that and it is always nice to see the other kits.
“Monkey brought me this creature today”
Cats…………………….. always on the job when when something disgusting must to be caught and brought to you. 😉
LOL…True Story!
Monkey brought me this creature today
http://www.whatsthatbug.com/2007/07/28/male-dobsonfly-24/
I looked it up. It’s a male Dobson’s Fly. and yes, It was at least 4 inches long…..SERIOUSLY freaked me out. Apparently it’s normally a water creature that swims around for several years, then grows wings and flies off to breed. Interesting, I love learning new things….but what I’d most like to learn is how this HUGE CREEPY &^%$##@ ENDED uP IN MY SECOND FLOOR KEY ONLY ACCESS APARTMENT!?! lol…..My cats are indoor only, so they didn’t bring it in….
Hi Lynn. The Chinese delivery man must have brought it. Maybe it was to be part of your Chinese take out and wasn’t quite done LOL
Good try but we can’t get chinese delivery out here lol’
Well, this explains my tortie acts like she does…her name is Capachino ( I spell it like it sounds) She was a stray that claimed me one day while I was out washing my car. It was summer, so she remained an outdoor cat for the next 4 months…I knew I could not leave her outside over the winter, so I started to introduce her to my house only when I was there. A couple of times I thought I had put her out when I left home, but she was lounging on the kitchen floor when I returned home…I thought I was loosing my mind. About 3 months later, I found where she had pushed in the window screen, and that is how she broke in. She’s aggravating, feisty, vocal, and I wouldn’t change her for anything. Thanks for the insight!
Yup, that sounds like tortitude, Cher! I love how she just made her way into your home when she was ready!
Cher, sounds to me like you were rescued by a very loving Tortie. Welcome to the best Tortie lovers ever. We know how the Torties can steal your hearts away.
Welcome Cher!
I also found this blog several months ago when searching for tortie behavior and was immediately hooked on the place.
We would love to see pictures of your Capachino. Ingrid lets members post their pics on her facebook page. I’m sure someone who knows it better thanI can give you the link.
It’s amazing how we become hooked on our torties and their tortitude, and none of us would trade it for anything.
Again welcome, we look forward to hearing about the adventires of Capachino…
Betty in the grand scheme of things, you have probably paid a small price to rid your self of a sister-in-law and heart breaking husband. Well I done without the computer for some days now and my scalp itching problem is still with me. Now stronger than ever it still appears to be a medication related problem. Enough about me. A little short story about Cupcake that Margaret reminded me about. When she was still able to jump upon the bed she lay between me and my out stretched arm. She lay her head partially on my arm and shoulder, re-positioned herself to be more on my shoulder with her head. I call out to Margaret to come see this cat. She took a look and when Margaret left the room she muttered something like “I don’t believe that cat.”
actually it was a mother-in-law that rid herself of me. Claimed she was only pretending to love me the 9 years I was married to her son….’nuff about that
Cupcake sounds adorable and sweet in that she found comfort in her daddys arm.