Yesterdays Arrivals! (Kittens)

Makunouchi · 5 May 2008 at 16:26

I've seen a couple of kitten threads around so i thought i'd share my experience

Below are some pictures of the two Maine **** kittens that came yesterday. I had to drive to Nottingham (from Buckinghamshire) which is about a 3+ hour drive each way, longer on the way back because i didn't want to stress them out too much. The breeder i got them from was a really decent person and helped me out loads which was pretty lucky i reckon. After much crying in the car they seemed fine as soon as i let them out at home, and by this morning it was almost as if they'd been here for ages, they are sleeping in the sun as i type.

They are pedigree kittens bred from two champion parents so they weren't cheap, but the money was worth it because of the much better temperment that the parents (and the kittens) seem to have. I don't intend to show them or anything i just wanted to know that they came from a decent home and were well looked after before i got them, I didn't have much choice anyway, there aren't many Maine **** breeders around.

They are pretty much like puppies or human babies at this stage, they have short bursts of acivity followed by long periods (thank god) of sleep. Regardless of this they still managed to keep me up all of the night. I slept downstairs with them for the first night so they would feel safe, but tonight i think ill be shutting my bedroom door to get them used to how things are going to be from now on.
I haven't yet decided wether i'll be letting them outside or not, i'm pretty sure i will though, i don't have the time or energy to dedicate to them to give them the range of activity they need, evem though i work from home and will be there all day for them,i'm one of those people that believe cats should be allowed to be outside as well as in.

Without further ado, here they are, the one with more brown on his face is called Ippo, the one with more silver is called Age, but the G is pronounced more like a J, more of a 'Jeeee' sound (anime names for the win).

Makunouchi · 5 May 2008 at 16:31

Oh, things i forgot to mention. Incase people don't know about Maine Coons as a breed, they come from America, and are one of the largest domestic cat breeds there is, all those pictures you see on the internet of people holding giant cats are Maine Coons. They take a good 3-4 years to actually grow to full size which is very unusal for cats, so in those pictures they probably look pretty small for their age, but they are already climbing up the curtains

Oh and the best thing about pedigree kittens? Litter trained from day 1.

Makunouchi · 5 May 2008 at 16:54

Yes its so tempting

Makunouchi · 5 May 2008 at 21:01

Cheers Sunama, yeah im prepared for the shedding, i actually bought a hoover that has a powered brush on the head specifically for it

It was either Maine Coons or Norwegian Forest Cats, another large breed, i went with these in the end purely due to availability.

Makunouchi · 5 May 2008 at 22:06

Voltar said:
What colours are most popular for this breed? Do they come in Jet black with little white boots? Out of all the breeds that I've seen this would be the one I'd personally get if I got a cat.
Wonder what Sunama's Mau would make of one of these a big friendly cat against a boisterous and agile one.

Usually they are either tabbie or tortie. Brown/black with white is most common but they come in silvers and solid colours as well. Here you go: http://www.maine-****-cat-club.com/gallery/

@sunama, yes they are slower, the main reason for that though is that both your breeds are a lot closer to wild cat in terms of domestication i believe, so they still have their inbred instincts. However the **** is pretty special as well, seeing an animal the same size as a dog jumping and slinking like a cat is stunning, at least to me ^^

Also thanks for the pics eidolon.

Makunouchi · 5 May 2008 at 22:58

sunama said:
They are not terrifically active, so they wouldnt need to eat as much as you might think. As comparison, my Egyptian Mau would probably eat more than a Maine ****.

Hah, they are currently on 2 pouches of Whiskers kitten food a day! But they probably spend 2 hours sleeping to every 1 hour of activity currently.

Makunouchi · 6 May 2008 at 10:13

I found out while sitting at my desk this morning that my New Most Painful Thing in the World is a kitten trying to claw its way up your exposed shin, round your knee and along your thigh in an attempt to get on your lap from underneith the desk. "SON OF A ****!" i believe were my words.

And has anyone found a way to stop kittens chewing computer wires? Ive spent half my time so far keeping them from electrocuting themselves.

Anyway im off to the pet shop later to get a scrathing post and something for them to chew. Ill probably get some different food as well.

Makunouchi · 6 May 2008 at 12:09

Well i get the feeling that they want to scratch something, they are constantly trying to scratch the fire guard (wire mesh thing), and i dont plan to cut their claws, if im letting them outside once they are older nature will do it for me for the most part.

Makunouchi · 6 May 2008 at 12:25

Ive had cats before so im not stupid. I live in a very rural area and my house backs onto fields and woods, and everyone in the village knows everyone else, its going to be fine.

As to shorter lives, id rather they had a higher quality shorter life than a long inside life. I made that decision a long time ago when i got my first dog, i was going to let him roam free and if he got run over then as sad as it was i would have known he had a much nicer life for that time. Which turned out fine, eveyone in the village knew him and looked after him if they saw him walking about.

Makunouchi · 6 May 2008 at 12:31

Your an idiot KittensCake. That is all.

Makunouchi · 6 May 2008 at 12:43

Indeed, but that doesnt give him the right to tell me i shouldnt own a dog based on what? No knowledge of the situation at all.

Makunouchi · 6 May 2008 at 12:46

Your thinking of america?

Makunouchi · 6 May 2008 at 12:49

Oh well i dont really care, can we end this now?

Makunouchi · 6 May 2008 at 12:56

Fine, great. I'd do exactly the same again.

Makunouchi · 8 May 2008 at 20:48

Well just to give you guys an update.

Yesterday i noticed that Age was having difficulty breathing through his nose, so i thought id leave it over night and see if it got better or worse. This morning it seemed better so i went out for 2-3 hours for a meeting. When i got back it was quite a bit worse and his breathing was laboured so i made an appointment with the vet.

Apparently he has a form of feline flu, i did get told the name of the virus but i have instantly forgotten it. This diagnosis was apparently made based on the fact that there was ulceration in the mouth and the laboured breathing i reported. The reason i say "apparently" is because as pedigree cats from a registered breeder, they have ofcourse had their full course of vaccinations, and the other cat is fine, no symptoms, which is strange because if one cat had flu they both should. Anyway, im not one to argue with the vet. The vet said watch him for 5 days or so and see if he goes off his food, if he does i should take him back in. To be honest Age is fine, he is still eating and drinking normally and playing the same as before, the only diference is his breathing.

Oh well, i rang the breeder and she said it was almost impossible due to the fact that all her cats have had the vaccinations, so its definately strange.

Apart from that everything is going well, i managed to sleep a full night last night for the first time since Sunday as the kittens have adapted pretty much to my sleep pattern i think, eitgher than or im sleeping through their nocturnal activities better. Ippo is much heavier than Age, probably due to this illness, and they ate a good two thirds of a pack of Sainsburys Lamb Mince between them which they are now sleeping off. Ippo also managed to send an email to my boss via walking on my keyboard which i wasnt so happy about.

Ill post some pictures in a week or so to see how much they have grown.

Makunouchi · 8 May 2008 at 20:54

sunama said:
stuff

Well i agree with what you say, regardless of the stupidity of the last page or so. The reason i feel completely fine letting a cat or dog of mine roam about is because of the totally unique situation. The village has less than 150 people in it, i know them all pretty much by their first names, and they all know me. We are completely surrounded by fields and woods, and although there are obviosuly roads going throuhg my village its only used by villagers as they dont really provide a short cut to anywhere, which is usually why country roads are heavily used.

If i lived in London of course i would let my £300 cat out, and i wouldnt let my dog roam about random children, the fact is my dog knew all the children and got on very well with them, the only danger was that someone might actually ask me to pay for the dogs bar tab at the local pub.

Makunouchi · 18 Jun 2008 at 14:01

Sunama's thread reminded me ive got to update this, so i snapped some pictures for you all to take a look at.

So if you remember Age had feline influenza, which still hasn't properly cleared up, and its left him unable to meow or purr properly, which is a real sadness because Maine Coons make unique noises in the cat world and the other one (Ippo) is always talking to me. But the worst of the flu seems to have passed, he can breathe normally now after running about, and he has put on more weight about the same as the other one.

Ippo is fine, he has actually gotten quite fat, but i still dont want to limit their food at this stage as i want them to fufill their growth potential as much as possible. he is definately the alpha male and is quite a bit bigger than Age, he is also the more affectionate of the two.

They are now eating a mixture of Wiskers kitten pouches food and Royal Canin Maine **** dry food which has a high protein value. Ive also been leaving the back doors open for the past 2 weeks so they can have use of the back garden which has been totally fine. They mainly stay near to the house and close to me but they have been off for 10-15 minutes on their own a few times. After worrying about wether or not to let them out im really pleased I did, they have put on more muscle weight and looks healthier for the outdoor exercise, and it means i dont have to feel guilty about not having time to play with them enough, and it means they fight less although they never did it much and it was always play fighting which ended in a long session of licking each other.

Anyway, pictures, i really like the look or their front leg stripes, it makes them look like tigers

:

Heres Age, the one who had flu:

Heres the bigger one Ippo:

And heres both of them together:

Makunouchi · 18 Jun 2008 at 15:17

platypus said:
I really want a Norwegian Forest Cat when I've a place of my own.

That was actually the breed i was originally looking at getting, because they have a lot of Maine **** characteristics and i know someone who breeds them, but unfortunately she stopped breeding before i asked so i went with Maine Coons which is better for me anyway as they grow to a larger size.

(Maine Coons also make much better vocalisations than NFC's)

Makunouchi · 18 Jun 2008 at 15:56

Yeah to be honest with you they do shed a fair bit but its not really that bad, its not like ive got a second carpet of hair in my house or anything. And im the kind of person that wears one set of old clothes round the house and then i change to go out, so no one would ever notice cat hair on me anyway.

They currently weigh in at 3.2Kg's abd 3Kg's, so the flu did take a toll on the lighter one, but not by much.

Edit: it was pretty obvious when it happened, i could hear it was having trouble breathing properly, and it was coughing and sneezing and it was basically snoring all the time even when awake. Eating habits werent affected at any time though so i wouldnt use that as an indicator. Ill be honest with you, if you suspect it has flu just take it to the vet, i wouldnt hang about, its really nasty stuff. Oh and if you feel up to it you can hold its mouth open and look for nodules/lesions, thats one of the main symptoms.

Makunouchi · 18 Jun 2008 at 19:06

sunama said:
What was the cure BTW? Is it like humans, just let the immune system fight it or does the cat flu work in a different way?

No its the same with cats, theres no cure to common flu, they just have to get over it. Vets do however proscribe antibiotics, but mine didnt untill the second time i took them in, which im angry about because i reckon that if he'd had the antibiotics sooner he might still have his meow/purr. So if you think your cat needs it just hassle the vet to prescribe the pills, although they are a pain in the arse to feed to the cat.