Kitten fun

The kittens are settling in with us well so far. They are both extremely curious and love to play with us, purring while we dangle a feather toy for them to jump at or throw a scrunchie ball for them to chase. Although small and agile, they thunder around upstairs chasing each other and the house shakes. They are getting braver by the day, approaching us and sniffing our clothes and they have stopped running away from us if we try to touch them although they retreat if we do it without permission.

At the moment, they are restricted to D’s study but we quickly realised that shutting the door on them didn’t give them enough stimulation and didn’t give the Calamity Cat the opportunity to get to know them safely. D’s creativity sprang into action once again and we soon had a wire gate attached to the door so that the kittens could see out and Calamity could see in. The gate didn’t quite go up to the top of the door frame though and it took precisely five minutes for one of the little ones to make an escape attempt as this photo taken by D shows all too well.

We added a piece of MDF to the top to make it safe but the next day the braver of the two managed to slip out when I went in to take them food. Safely locking her sister inside, I went after her and together we explored the rest of the upstairs. Eventually she settled on our bed so I closed the door and left her alone. After a while, I heard her cry and managed to coax her back into the safety of the kitten room. She seemed to enjoy her adventure though and must have told her sister about the exciting rooms ready to explore as they have both made it their life’s work to try and get out ever since. We are planning to let them out this weekend and see how they get on.

We are still getting to know them both of course. Our escapee, Brave Kitten, tends to take the lead, while her sister watches and learns. She also appears more grown up in her interactions with us. She plays enthusiastically but with a little more dignity somehow than our other little girl. Mad Kitten, as she is becoming known, is initially shyer but once she starts to play, she has few boundaries. She throws herself into her games wholeheartedly, skidding into things, pouncing on her sister and generally behaving like a much younger kitten.

Our Brave Kitten hiding under the dresser

Mad Kitten is looking for mischief

The Calamity Cat is still trying to ignore that anything is happening. She doesn’t spend much time upstairs anyway so it has been relatively easy for her to stay out of their way. When she has seen them, she has so far been clear that they are unwelcome, spitting and growling at them. They are understandably wary as a result but still curious to meet her. I am worried, of course, that Calamity will suffer once the little ones are free to roam the house, but we are still hopeful she will adjust over time.

Kittens or no kittens, work still needs to be done in the garden and we have been taking advantage of this beautiful autumn to make some progress out there. More of that next week, though – I have two kittens to go and play with!