Friday, December 23, 2016

He's a growing boy


Ashbutt, our farm kitten, is still growing like a weed, and shows no sign of slowing down.  (Given that he's only five and a half months old, he's probably got several more months until he reaches his full size.)

This is him at 3 months old, when we brought him home, showing the coloration that earned him his name:




At that time, he weighed a little under 3 pounds.

This is him yesterday, sprawled out asleep on the same sofa:




And from behind, glaring indignantly at a white cat from the neighbor's house wandering across our back yard:




As you can see, his 'ashy butt' has almost disappeared as he's grown.  It's still there in the bottom layer of hair, but the top layer has grown out, and its all-black coloring is hiding it.  Nevertheless, we won't change his name.

This morning he weighed 9.4 pounds. He's tripled his weight in two and a half months, and probably quadrupled in size. Last month he passed our five-year-old adult female cat, Kili, in length and height, and he's now considerably larger than she is. That's a bit of a problem, because he's a rambunctious kitty who's feeling his size, and she feels bullied.  However, next month he'll be visiting the vet for a little snippage, after which he should settle down quite a bit. (We're already wondering how we're going to keep the 'cone of shame' around his neck until his operation scars have healed.  Knowing him, he'll probably eat it!)

As for his beloved colored plastic springs . . . he's lost, mislaid or eaten at least a dozen of the darn things (including one down the master toilet). I've got two dozen more on order. At this rate, I'm wondering whether we shouldn't just give up, and place an order for a dozen to be shipped to us on the first of every month!

Peter

13 comments:

Rev. Paul said...

Just wait until he gets to 20 pounds - that will rock each piece of furniture on which he leaps, and he'll skid around corners on the hair between his toes - and never understand why. :)

raven said...

Those springs will be turning up in odd places for the next 100 years!

Eric Wilner said...

When we took the kittens to the county spay & neuter clinic (must have been spring of 2013), there were no cones of shame - if memory serves, they came back with some instructions about supervision and warnings regarding kitty litter, but no cones.
So that's maybe one less thing to worry about.

Unknown said...

Nice Kitty!

Post Alley Crackpot said...

Cone of shame?

Nah man, just get your katzen stoned on peppermint leaves.

They'll forget all about that "incident" ... :-)

STxAR said...

I used the purple spray. It'll stain just about everything until it dries, but it's so bitter, they can't stand it. I don't remember what it's called. But I got it at TSC once, and a vet supply the other time.

We had a cat that ulcerated itself by licking a small spot that turned into a giant wound. After spraying with the purple stuff, it quit licking and healed up nicely.

Timbo said...

We got our kitten as the reject of the litter as he was all white with two vertical black stripes over his eyes which gave him a somewhat sinister look. As he got older the white hair submerged the stripes, so you can only see them when he has a wet head.

Anonymous said...

Simple solution: get Ashbutt a Jack Russell terrier to keep him company.

Peter said...

@Anonymous at 9:30 AM: My wife is threatening you with grievous bodily harm . . .

:-)

Anonymous said...

Anon at 0930: I've been to Peter's house. It's lovely, but not that big. If he got a Jack Russell terrierist, they'd have to buy a second house for the humans and Miss Kili-cat to live in.

LittleRed1

DaddyBear said...

I'd like to tell you that snipping will calm him down, but Crash the Wonder Cat is still as psychotic as ever.

Anonymous said...

Careful with those springs. If he is in fact swallowing them it might be a good idea to take them away. You might end up with an emergency trip to the vet to get them removed from his digestive track, they could cause a serious issue.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
Simple solution: get Ashbutt a Jack Russell terrier to keep him company.
December 24, 2016 at 9:30 AM

Peter said...
@Anonymous at 9:30 AM: My wife is threatening you with grievous bodily harm . . .
:-)
December 24, 2016 at 10:24 AM


I refuse to accept any responsibility for your family's lack of a sense of adventure.