Snipped ‘n’ chipped

Rosie went to the vets recently to get spayed. While she was there they chipped her too, as it’s easier to do it while they’re under the anaesthetic. She shook off the effects of being put under really quickly and after an evening spent sprawled across my lap, she perked right up.

Once she started moving around, she decided that she really, really didn’t like the collar so used all four feet and just pushed it off. We hate the things and the way the cats react to them so looked for an alternative, rather than keep putting it back on her.

After doing a bit of research on Google, I sent Stephen to Asda to pick up a babygro. He had no clue where they were in the shop, or indeed what one looked like, so he asked for help. He then had a bizarre conversation which went something like this:

Stephen: Can you point me in the right direction for a babygro please?

Asda assistant: Sure, they’re over here. Is it for a boy or a girl?

Stephen: Ah, neither actually.

Asda assistant: ???

Stephen: It’s for my cat.

Asda assistant: *pause* So, is it a girl or a boy cat?

Yeah. Full marks to the Asda girl for not being thrown by that one. She also asked the cat’s name and recommended one that had flowers on, as they looked a bit like roses. Love it!

I cut the babygro thing as recommended on the internet. I’m thinking it was too large for her though as it lasted five minutes before she took it off. I then tried a smaller one from boots but that didn’t even last five minutes.

We gave up at this point and as she didn’t seem to be licking at the wound, we didn’t bother with any more babygros or collars.

Unfortunately she must have either licked it or maybe damaged it by leaping around as when we took her back to see the vet for the stitch removal, it was quite scabby and the stitch had to be left in. The vet was keen for the collar to go back on, but knowing how much Rosie would hate that, we shelled out for the special bodysuit. In hindsight, we should have got that to start with.

This was much better. It only affected her ability to run and jump a little and she couldn’t get it off. I rolled it up to her front legs a few times, to give her a good brush, and it was easy to redo up afterwards. It also did the job of protecting the wound as when we took her back to the vet, it was all healed and a couple of days after that stitch came out, the bodysuit came off too.

I gave her another really good brush, which she enjoyed, (she really loves being groomed) and she spent the rest of the day giving herself a thorough wash.

We think the vet may have inserted some springs while they were operating as she seems even more bouncy than before. She ‘s full of energy and apart from a bare bit where she was shaved, is completely back to normal.

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Rosie & Frodo

I love this photo of the two of them on their cat tower.

Best friends

Rosie has settled in really well now and gets on brilliantly with Frodo. She trots round the house after him and cries for him if we separate them. He’s just as taken with Rosie and plays with her, and naps with her.

Stephen got a quick snap of them on the cat tree together.

They often snuggle up on the sofa, next to me.

A couple of days ago, Frodo was asleep on the sofa and Rosie jumped up and snuggled into his back.

A noise outside disturbed him but Rosie was still happy to cuddle.

Stephen spotted them sunbathing together on the windowsill a couple of days ago.

I love this photo though. Frodo was on the back of the sofa when Rosie jumped up and started washing him.

She’s ok with Sammie now and Sammie rarely hisses at her any more, just when Rosie takes her by surprise or tries to nick one of her Dreamies. The two girls have been playing chase and even sit on the bed at the same time now so life is peaceful again.

Well, as peaceful as it gets with a naughty tortie, that is 😉

Rosie the explorer

Rosie is allowed downstairs now, apart from her mealtimes, and after being a bit nervous to start with, she’s really gained in confidence and has explored every nook and cranny.

She has the small rollerball toy upstairs, which she loves, and she has great fun with the larger one we have downstairs.

In the photo above she has her paw on a small toy, which she was tossing around and she also played with the two silver balls, putting them inside the roller circuit. I love that I caught her with her tongue out!

We have three tunnels plus a Hop-in cube which are all connected. She loves the Hop-in and sometimes has a little nap in there after playing in it for a while.

I love this photo that I got of her coming out of it.

She was meowing, hence the open mouth. We think she was calling to Frodo to come and play some more, but he was tired out and sleeping on the back of the sofa. They’re getting on brilliantly now and seem to be very relaxed with each other. They play together and even snooze together sometimes.

Rosie also loves the long tunnel and likes to nap just inside it.

We’re still only letting her downstairs when we’re there to supervise as Sammie still isn’t completely happy, but I’m sure it won’t be long before Sammie accepts her. She’s definitely getting a bit more chilled around her now.

Friends

Frodo loves to lie on the back of my sofa, on a large folded quilt. A couple of days ago, Rosie went exploring and found him. This is what happened next.

Not the best video as I was in a hurry to catch them and didn’t have time to mute the TV, or get a bit closer. Still, you get the idea 🙂

Now all we need is for Sammie to make friends too.

Settling in

Rosie is settling in nicely now. She was a bit nervous on Sunday but that’s only to be expected after taking her away from her family and putting her in a new room with only strangers for company. She was quite happy to have cuddles even then though, and purred loudly if you stroked her.

We’ve kept her in the one room upstairs so far, although she did venture out onto the landing for a few minutes this morning. Now that she’s found her feet in that room, we’ll gradually introduce her to the rest of the house.

She’s met Frodo but not Sammie so far. Frodo is so easy-going that we thought we’d let them meet first. Frodo was a perfect gentleman. He really wanted to make friends but Rosie wasn’t so sure. She did the little sideways dance with her fur up and her ears back. Frodo was a bit intimidated by her, even though she’s a fraction of her size, but he did try to approach her, very slowly. They did touch noses a couple of times but then Rosie would back off again. We’ll get there though.

I’ve taken quite a few photos, but it’s tricky as she doesn’t keep still that often. These are some of the best ones so far.

She’s living in the bedroom at the moment so has been sleeping with me. On the first day she was quite happy to lie on the bed next to me after having a little cuddle.

She was looking for places to hide when we left or entered the room though so I put the igloo on the chair next to the bed so she could take refuge in there if she needed to. She seemed to like it.

By Monday she was happy to snuggle up with me and go to sleep.

We bought several kitten toys from Pets at home, one of which is a short stick with a feathery thing on the end. She loves it and will happily chase it and pounce on it for ages. It’s very hard to get a pic of her doing that though as she’s constantly in motion, but this one isn’t too blurry.

This morning, after playing for a while, she decided she needed a nap and curled up next to me while I was reading. She kept one paw on my arm, maybe to make sure that I didn’t get up and leave her 🙂

She’s a little darling, full of life and gaining in confidence by the hour, and we love her to bits. I’m so glad we decided to add to our family.

More Rosie

I was going to post an update on the Last dance on the Beach CAL for today, but then I got an update from Wendy at Maineline Maine Coons. The kittens had their first vaccinations and vet check earlier this week and sailed through. I also got some more photos so you’re getting to see those instead of crochet 🙂

These were taken yesterday morning.

It looks like she was exploring and having fun with the other kittens.

A Rosie update

It won’t be much longer now until we can go over to Tamworth and bring Rosie home. You may want to brace yourself for a deluge of kitten photos once that happens. You know I won’t be able to resist.

In the meantime, here are a couple that were taken by Wendy at Maineline Maine Coons that she’s allowed me to share.

This is an older one and Rosie is about four weeks old here.

These two are more recent, from last week and show Rosie with two of her siblings.

Rosie is the gorgeous one with the teardrop marking. (although the other two are lovely too)

I love the second one. It looks like a proper family portrait.

 

We’re getting another one!

We spent Sunday evening in kitten heaven, trying to choose just one from Maineline Main Coons. Wendy has house full of beautiful cats and kittens and very kindly allowed us to visit after I’d finished work as I was working all weekend.

It was really hard deciding which one to pick as they were all so beautiful but eventually we narrowed it down and chose this little girl.

Isn’t she adorable? We’ve decided to stick with the Hobbit theme for a name and are going with Rosie. I think that’s a splendid name for a cat.

A couple more photos.

Wendy has promised to keep me supplied with photos so I’ll have more to come soon and we’ll be bringing her home around the end of June hopefully.