Desserts Visit

We're moving into a bigger house with a dedicated kitten room! Yay! We're packing and packing and packing, Boo!! All my kittens got adopted, yay!! I told the rescue no more litters until after I move, Boo! Though I always want babies, it is not fair to not socialize them properly because I'm busy.
But short term kitten sitting gives me a nice little break from the chaos and my kitten fix!
Tiramisu (brown paws) and Panna Cotta (white socks) started with a rescue intake person before being handed off to their first foster, who later handed them off to their long-term foster. They came to me a few days after their spay surgery, the Thursday before their projected trip to Petsmart. We agreed to take them in, run them to clinic Saturday morning and then directly to Petsmart to find their forever home. But Tiramisu's spay site was a little swollen. Whether it was the upheaval of multiple changes in a short time plus the trauma of surgery, or a bad reaction to being spayed and being in pain... Tiramisu completely shut down when she arrived to my house. She flattened herself out wherever she was set down and refused to move, eat, drink, pee, or poop.

Panna Cotta was also slightly unsure, but willing to try a few bites of treats and drank some water. I decided they both needed time to settle, so I pulled out my puzzle table and a new puzzle. I put them in my lap, petting them gently and talking to them while I did the puzzle and watched a movie. Then another movie. And a third. Seriously, 4 movies and they showed no signs of moving.

Though I'm one of THOSE people that don't move cats, my aching back and bursting bladder told me I had to wiggle out from under them and escape. After nearly 8 hours, I figured they were probably ready for food and water. Panna Cotta had a nibble and a sip, then jumped immediately out of the litter box, which is in a litter box hider. When she tried to exit the cubby, she got in a fight with the kitten blocking her way... growing, hissing, and arching her back at the kitten growling, hissing, and arching right back at her... Panna Cotta finally braved her reflection enough to jump down and return to the safety of the bed. Tiramisu, however, hunkered down again. She ate a little wet food and churu when I wiped it on her lips- she licked them, then gave a few tentative hunger licks before sliding back into her scared stupor.
But the brief separation while I tended to each kitten individually threw Tiramisu off!! She had already hissed at all of my curious house pets, but now she began hissing at sister Panna Cotta too!! She growled at toys. Tiramisu would also growl when I picked her up to move her around the room, so I only moved her to offer food/water/litter every few hours, and limited myself to just petting her gently. She NEVER attacked physically, but she was very tense and scared. I typically handle kittens a LOT to get them used to it, but I think she might have snapped if I pushed her over her limit, so I was very careful to monitor and respect her body language.
I tried to keep them on opposite sides of my body so Tiramisu wouldn't be upset by her sister's presence either.

Years ago, when we adopted Musubi, we called her "the most boring kitten in the world" because for the first 12 hours, she acted very much like Tiramisu.... just laid like a lump wherever we put her. I spent those 12 hours in bed with her curled into my belly. In the morning, we changed her nickname to Parkour Kitten. She spent the next year constantly zooming around the house, rebounding off the walls. So I wasn't particularly worried about Tiramisu that first day. But the next morning, while Panna Cotta appeared perfectly adjusted, Tiramisu was still pretty withdrawn. Though not quite as flat, she still refused to move from any location she was placed and she still growled at her own sister.

Her spay site was still a little swollen and I was concerned about the tension she was still displaying, so I reached out to her foster and the adoption coordinator with a recommendation that we hold them back from adoptions that weekend. Particularly with a stop at yet another location planned for the morning, along with a needle poke- I was afraid it might be too overwhelming to then go to a noisy petstore and be abandoned in a kennel. They agreed Tiramisu needed to stay with me and not be handled by strangers- some potential adopters (particularly kids) are a little too forceful during meet and greets.

But mid-day, almost 36 hours after coming to me, Tiramisu moved!! Only about 3 feet from the food table to hide behind my laptop. But movement!! About an hour after that, I noticed her watching my mouse and cursor on the second screen. SO I put on some cat videos for her, and that started to bring her out!

Meanwhile, Panna Cotta was exploring, playing, and having a fun time. I had also discovered, while doing data entry for the rescue, that they had not had their FELV test. The rescue arranged for me to take in Panna Cotta to get tested. She was perfectly comfortable heading to the vet- where we also met the vet's office cat!

After the vet, we had two visits from cat loving friends. Tiramisu only gave a slight growl when picked up, but relaxed completely when bundled up while Panna Cotta completely spazzed out with every toy we could swish, toss, or wave in front of her. She was so relaxed, we were even able to get Panna Cotta close without any growling or hissing!

Panna Cotta recharged her batteries and Tiramisu continued snoozing for a few hours before their second visit with my cousin. But this time, after relaxing in her kitten purrito, she started showing some interest in Panna Cotta's play. She still growled at a feather toy and some balls, but when we gave her a kick toy... she grabbed it eagerly and started gnawing. In that moment, her brain seemed to unlock from her fear mode- and she was completely at ease.

After that, Tiramisu and Panna Cotta seemed to take everything in stride just like other kittens. They were fairly unfazed the next morning going to get vaccinations and would seek me out for love and attention and regular intervals. They even met my medium/large dogs- and though they were wary, they didn't run away from me or the treats we were enjoying when the dogs were allowed to approach. They got along with my friendly cats at the end as well. They also both started to jump on and run on the cat wheel entirely on their own!

I hope that Tiramisu's swollen spay surgery site was the reason she had such a difficult transition. Either way, we made this visit a positive experience and it will help her adjust to her new home when she heads to Petsmart this weekend. Good luck to both of these precious babies!!