String Eaters!

C_and_b_11_weeks (13)

Just look at those little monsters—one of them ate a bunch of string this morning!  You’d think TJ would have passed along the message that if you eat string, you end up with humans watching you poop for at least a couple of weeks, but apparently he didn’t.  I’d let the kittens play with a toy overnight (the same toy TJ ate last month), and when I got up this morning, the string was in pieces, but not all the pieces were present.  I really don’t understand why this is happening.  Here is the culprit toy, the Hartz Gone Fishin’ cat toy:

hartz_toy

We’ve been using these toys for foster kittens since last year, because they’re perfect.  They’re cheap (about $3.50), so it doesn’t matter if they fall on the floor and the cats tear off the feathers or chew on the suction cup and ruin it.  The suction cup attaches perfectly to the porcelain pedestal sink in our “foster kitten bathroom”, so it’s a good toy to leave up when they’re learning to jump and hunt.  The suction cup is strong, but not so strong that it can’t be pulled off, so it feels pretty safe, too.  We’ve never, ever had a problem with these toys until TJ ate the string on the last one, and then either Bunny or Carlo ate the string on the newest one.  What the heck is the string made of?  We still have one more brand new Gone Fishin’ toy, but it’s obviously not safe to give to any of the kittens, although, maybe I could soak the string in lemon juice or bitter apple…

The kittens are getting so grown up now (getting into trouble is the first step).  The both come upstairs and use the litterbox when they need to, although Carlo still has some issues with gastrointestinal pain and IBD.  Sometimes he’s constipated, sometimes he has diarrhea, and he’s always gassy.  He cries a lot when he poops, which is very sad.  I’m hoping to find some kefir to help his digestive system, and I’m expecting the arrival of bottle of homeopathic “Happy Tummy” this week, and maybe it will help a bit.  The Eukanuba Low-Residue food is helping, but of course our vet only had 12 cans in stock, and we haven’t been able to find more yet (there’s half a can left right now).  We’ll be out hunting for more today.  For those of you who recommended pumpkin, I did try it, and it seemed to help at first, but then there was a bit “poopy blowout” and I stopped giving pumpkin after that.  I’ll try to start up again using just tiny portions to see if it helps.

This week, Carlo can finally have his bloodwork to test for liver problems and FIV.  And they’ll both get their first set of vaccinations.  Carlo is almost twelve weeks old, and he weighs 1 pound, 13 ounces.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 06/11 at 04:21 AM

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  1. Your monsters are gorgeous! Hope you find that bit of string soon.

    FWIW, the shelter I foster from uses Purina DM when they need a low residue food for poopy kitties. Technically it’s formulated for diabetics, but I’ve had good luck with it in cases of etiology-undefined non-infectious diarrhea.

    I’ve also had good results with adding acidophilus to the food, either as yoghurt, of the kitten tolerates milk, or shaking the powdered capsules into the food.

    Good luck with Carlo. He sure is handsome.

    Posted by gottagopractice  on  06/11  at  05:46 AM

  2. I have had good success with L-Glutamine with my dog when his stool starts to get a little too soft. This usually happens if he eats something he has an allergy to or if he is stressed. I always leave some with the pet sitter if we go on a vacation without him.

    I am not sure how much you would give a tiny kitten or if they make a product created just for pets. I use a product made for humans and use very, very, very little.

    Cheryl

    Posted by Cheryl  on  06/11  at  07:48 AM

  3. Wow, they’ve grown a lot! Are Bunny’s paws really big or is it just the angle of the photo? If they’re as big as they look, she’s going to be a formidable girl when she grows into them! smile

    Hope the string turns up soon. Maybe they (and TJ) are just string eaters--Salem is like that. Any string or tails on toys must be removed before he can have them, or he can only play with them with me, because left to his own devices he’ll remove and eat them in record time.

    Posted by Helena  on  06/11  at  08:51 AM

  4. Bunny’s feet aren’t as large as they look in the photo.  She was “kneading” or “making biscuits”, and her paws are in mid-squeeze.  This picture actually makes the kittens look older than they really are, because they’re squinting.  They still have very round kitten eyes.

    I was able to find the food Carlo needed at the vet clinic just around the corner from us.  We don’t go to them, as they only opened a couple of years ago and we already had a vet by that time, but they were very nice and helpful.

    It didn’t even occur to me to buy acidophilus capsules, duh.  I’m toying with the idea of buying a kit to make my own kefir as well, and either of those things could be helpful.  I keep eating the yogurt I buy for Carlo, and that isn’t helpful.

    Cheryl, Carlo’s stools are just weird… I can’t even describe it.  He really has something like IBD, and not a straight-forward diarrhea.  Tonight he was constipated, and just kept putting out little drips, but when he eventually let loose, his stools were very soft.  It changes from day to day.  He’s still on sucralfate, and I think that might be plugging him up a bit, so I think I won’t give it to him for a day and see what happens.

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  06/12  at  04:43 AM

  5. Finnovar says that, much like real men eating quiche, real cats eat string. And feathers and yarn and potted plants, most especially ferns, because it’s important to show these lesser objects who’s boss.

    Posted by Helly  on  06/12  at  09:29 AM

  6. Oh my! Aren’t the adorable!  I just love the little kits!

    Posted by Cheysuli  on  06/12  at  08:18 PM

  7. And Helly, that’s exactly why we don’t have many plants around here.  The only ones we have inside are on the kitchen counter, which until recently, was only visited by the brave dog lover, Derek.  But now, unfortunately, too many of them are starting to not be afraid of the big dogs (TJ plays with their toes and rolls around on the floor in front of them), which gives them access to the plants...and in stupid Frank’s case, the doggie door.  We need a big net that drops from the ceiling, like in hockey, to stop the cats from coming downstairs at all.  It’s nice for them to like the dogs, but they can like them upstairs, where it’s safe.

    The kittens are adorable.  Carlo’s the cutest little bundle of fabulousness and Bunny has the most amazingly freaky coloring, and she’s become really sweet.  They’re both great upstairs with all the other cats.  Bunny has fallen in love with Bing, but Bing is not a kitten lover, so Bunny tries to lay down next to her, slowly creeping closer and closer to her.  It’s so cute...until Bing inevitably hisses and runs off.

    Posted by Flippy  on  06/13  at  03:06 AM

  8. what a bunch of adorable kittens! have fun watching the litter box for the next couple of days…

    Posted by karen  on  06/13  at  06:15 AM

  9. That darned string never appeared… I have no idea what happened to it.  My guess is that Bunny ate it, but gnawed it into tiny pieces that were digested.  I’m so glad it didn’t cause any expensive problems!

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  06/17  at  02:33 AM
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