Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Meet Sybella


So it's been an interesting two evenings with this lady. I took a better look at her paperwork last night as I was filing it and it turns out she's not 1 1/2 - she was born 3/8/08! That explains why she has so much kitten in her. I thought about her all day yesterday as I worked and worried that she was lonely...and that she was destroying things. I came home and she was fine. The only thing she'd done was knock the stuff off the dryer - which ended up in her litterbox - the poor thing had to go pretty bad.


I brought home a scratching post for her and she went right up to it and did her thing which is encouraging - however I still need to discourage her from the couch etc. I played and played with her; Jake got here and he played with her; we both played with her. She continued to play while I went to bed. She finally settled down and slept on the bed for most of the night.


So it's going good. I think she's going to be fun. I need to clip her claws, however... I think she may have opened a door last night which could be an interesting facet. And she has spurts of utter madness which are funny to watch.

One thing that has earned my ire... Do you notice how one of her ear tips has been sliced off? Well, that's how they "brand" them once they're spayed/neutered. How awful is that? As if it's not bad enough to have your sexual organs taken away, they slice away at your ear as well??!! I really hope these are not the people who refuse to declaw - because they've just proved they're not the least bit humane!

4 comments:

Ruth's Place said...

She's very cute! Shame about the ear - that's terrible. I remember as a kid in Western Australia our cats came home from the vet with a tattoo in their ears to mark them as spayed, much more humane IMHO.

Unknown said...

What an adorable girl!

For claw concerns, try the claw tip covers (you can get them online or at PetSmart for about $20 a set). Depending on how quickly she sheds the tips, you might get those to last a while.

Also, one thing I've learned is that they scratch specific places: where you are, to show they love you (and mark it with their scent). So, you might want to put the scratcher post near you. Or you could make/buy additional posts and scatter them in the various spots.

We all have to make the best choices we can, so I won't say "Don't declaw", but I will share that we did this with our first two cats (one of which is still with us) and we still regret it. (Also, while I'm not sure of the veracity of this, I've read that declawed cats are more likely to refuse to use the litterbox.... Why that is, I've no idea!)

A very belated "sorry for your loss" seems odd---I'm a first-time visitor and only just read about your grey fellow's passing....but I still want you to know I know how that feels. Even with Sybella around, give yourself room to still miss him and cry. It's okay.

Anne.
P.S. I found you because of the FCS3 swap.

Doniamarie said...

Thanks for the tips, Anne! I need all the help I can get. I may have to try the tips if this doesn't stop soon!

the secret knitter said...

What a cutie. I hope she helps with dealing with the loss of Louis.