Day 2: Nail Caps (Kitty Caps)

One of the problems I knew I wanted to avoid when I got my kittens was destroyed furniture.  I did a lot of research on Soft Claws, or Soft Paws, as they are sometimes called.  They are caps that you glue onto your kitten, or cat's, nails.  They are non-toxic, totally safe, vet approved, and last for 4 to 8 weeks.

I found some at my local Petsmart, the brand was Kitty Caps.  They were for kittens under 5 pounds.  I bought these a couple weeks before the kittens came home.  They adjusted so quickly to their litter box that we knew we wanted to let them out to run around the whole place by the second day.  This meant that we had to put the caps on.  

I knew right away that these little guys were not going to sit still long enough to glue 10 tiny little caps on their nails.  I did some more research and found a few videos where veterinarians applied them by taking the kitten by the scruff.  They assured in the video that this is painless, and actually releases endorphins in the cat because it reminds them of their mother's.  This reassured me that the nail caps could be successfully applied.

It helps to have someone hold the kitty while you apply them, because I honestly think it would be impossible for one person to do this.  It was definitely easier on Piper because she is a short hair.  We managed to get all 10 on her without too much difficulty.  We only managed 8/10 with Asher and had to wait until the next day because she squirmed a bit and some glue got in her paw hair.  We didn't want to glue any hair under the nail so we waited for it to separate on its own.  The next day we got the last two on. 

Piper got Neon Pink

Asher got Neon Purple

They seemed a little bit confused for about 2 minutes until they just went about their normal business.  They can still do everything they would normally do, just without penetrating the fabric of my chairs, blankets and couches with their nails!  They can still jump onto laps, onto their scratching post and onto my bed.  I haven't seen them trying to get them off.  I think if you want to do this with your cat you should start when they are young so they become used to it.  

I think this will also make it easier in the future to trim their nails, and handle their paws in general.

In summation, I fricking LOVE these!!!

Day 1: Smooth Sailing and Kitty Fight Club

Asher

 

 

Piper

 

First day home!!  We set up the bathroom for them to chill in until they got used to the litter box.  We set up a safety door using velcro, and a large piece of plexi-glass.  This safety gate worked perfectly for the first day because they could see out and we could see in.  

First noms!

 

They acclimated very quickly and were comfortable in their safe little space.  We put a scratching post, a bed and a roley-poley bell toy (I honestly don't know what else to call this thing, lol) in there with them.  They were very quiet the first day, just content to hang out and play with each other.  I sat down on the floor with them and within seconds they were climbing all over me.

Roley-Poley bell toy thing!

Something I learned about Piper right off the bat is that she has no sense of personal space!  She really likes faces, and will climb up your chest and stick her nose right into your nose.  Four days later and she still does this regularly.  I had a croissant for breakfast yesterday and she was very intrigued with the general smell of my face after that.  

She always wants up!!!

Asher was a lot more independent than Piper on the first day.  She was more interested in playing around with all the rad toys than sitting on my lap like Piper.  I was pleasantly surprised on the second day when she was the first to fall asleep on my lap in front of the television.  In the two days after she has consistently been the first of the two kittens to instigate nap-time, lap-time =P

They both find mirrors extremely fascinating!

For the most part the first day went without a hitch.  They were content, happy, and playful from the moment the crate door opened.  The only thing that made me nervous was that they did not use the litter box until about 8 hours after they arrived!  I did some research and that seems fairly typical, but I was still worried.  Let's just say that's not a concern anymore, LOL.

BFFizzles

Coming Home!

On Saturday, January 5th I brought home my two little buddies, Asher and Piper.  They are both 3 months old, and female.  Asher is a Domestic Medium hair, all black except for a patch of white under her chin.  She has amber/olive coloured eyes.  Piper is a Domestic Short Hair, pure white with the most beautiful light blue eyes I have ever seen!

They were pretty quiet on the way home, which surprised me.  They seemed very comfortable in the crate, likely because they were together.

Asher and Piper were both born on October 1st, to different mothers.  However, they were fostered together and so have known each other for most of their lives.  

I've started this blog as a way to journal my experiences with these two little buttheads, and hopefully to share some of what I have learned along the way with other kitty owners.

I did a ton of research before I started looking for them, so we will see if everything I read pans out.