We have more additions to our house hold menagerie, I would like to introduce you to Tango and Cash. Two mischievous kittens who happened to wonder into our backyard and we immediately connected. Actually the connection occurred between my daughters and the Kittens, before I entered the picture, but someone has to buy the food and provide shelter. So you could say that the kittens were orphans, but no longer, now they are part of our family, and can stay for as long as they like.

They have free range of the backyard, and are separated from our dwarf rabbits, Jellybean and Jam. At the moment we have to be very careful that there is no interaction at this stage with George and Willow our Green Cheek Cinnamon Conures’ more on their progress in another post. For now we are all getting to know each other. Ensuring that the kittens were checked for intestinal parasites, so we brought a fresh stool sample to the Veterinarian so they could prescribe medication to kill most of the intestinal parasites. Our Vet is beginning to know us quite well these days. As we had their eyes, ears, teeth and gums checked as a precaution.

At the time the photo was taken, we estimate the kittens to be about 3 months old, if any of you reading this post have a keen eye, could you let us know the breed of cat they are, all we are getting is that they are a couple of mixes in there, so not one predominate breed. At the moment we are trying to get the kittens used to be handled, that is via stroking and grooming at least once a day, but the kids are doing this more than once I can assure you. After advice from the Vet, we took a good look at their eyes, ears, mouth, paws, nails, skin and coat. As we would like to find problems early before they become serious.

Anyway, we have been taking care of Tango and Cash the best way we can, and that involves a lot of love and attention. Another factor is nutrition, so we provide a protein rich and energy filled diet. They have a very healthy appetite, as they can eat up to 3 – 4 times daily. The kittens have taken a liking to canned kitten food, it seems to mimic the natural diet both in consistency and formulation. We are trying to mix this up between canned and dry foods, its trial and error for us at the moment, but I’m sure we will get there.

We understand that this is likely to change from 6 months, less feeding but with more quantity, and we will cross that bridge when we get to it. Right now we are interested in getting to know Tango and Cash, and them us, paying particular attention to the social aspect of the kittens, as we don’t want them to fear being around people. So we are actively involved in the process, and ensure the kittens have proper development whether they remain with us or not. As mentioned previously we have quite a few pets, dog, rabbits and birds so ensuring they all get along is a very important aspect that we take seriously. We understand that some dogs cannot decipher a cat from a rabbit and we have both, but daisy our shiatsu terrier doesn’t seem to mind. Regardless, proper inter-species interaction, and overall behavior requires hands-on, responsible and sustained social development which we think includes the following;

Time outs for bad behavior, although I think we only used this once

Ensuring they are rewarded for good behavior, usually with treats, this happens very frequently

Exploration of boxes, paper bags, newspapers, etc.

Litter box training

Petting them frequently and providing them with toys.

Redirecting them when they start to bite or scratch.

Introducing them to extended families and friends.

Grooming at least once a week.

Exploring areas around the house.

Anyway, I wanted to share the new additions to our household, so welcome Tango and Cash, if you are willing to share your experience with kittens, it would great to hear from you, just drop us a line.