Well these two lads are apparently already ready for the Minnesota winter.
So. Much. Floof.
Apparently, they come looking for cuddles whenever someone is in the room and are curious about the world around them.
When I reached out to the breeder, I had asked several times about food they feed the kittens to avoid that stomach/digestive upset that goes along with switching them over to another food. I have one in mind that ranks high on ingredient quality, but wanted to load up on what they were feeding the boys so I could transition them over a week or so.
Learning point: It turns out that the conventional wisdom has changed with feline diets. Instead of “keep cats and kittens on a small diet rotation”, it turns out that this is no longer the recommendation. They’ve discovered that it can cause food sensitivities and pickiness compared to kittens who are fed a variety of foods; not just brands, but textures and types as well. It teaches the cats, rather than encouraging “finickiness”, to enjoy what they have and they have fewer digestive issues as an added bonus.
Seven years ago, the conventional wisdom was the exact opposite. Minimize variety and texture so they always eat what you give them because there is no benefit with variety. In other words, meatloaf M-Sat and Sunday, too. If you only know meatloaf, you won’t hanker for something else.
So, I’ll take her word (as well as a little research on my part that confirms it) that they should be ready to go with whatever we feed them.
Seems almost sacrilege to think that way after all these years being told otherwise. But I will accept it, seeing as there is science backing it up.
And they are slightly delaying the vaccinations and checkup to 9 weeks instead of 8 weeks, which also makes some sense. A week difference is not a huge difference and it gives their bodies more time to develop to get a better baseline on.
The breeder has invited the family down there for a meet and to meet the boys, but there is just too much going on in the coming two months to break away. Plus, it is a longish drive (2.5 hours each way). I might zip down myself, while the kiddos are on a roadtrip elsewhere, but I haven’t decided for certain if that will happen.
I still have so much to do to prep this place for kittens. I can’t hardly imagine how I will get it all done and still keep on top of the other chores I have ready at my feet.
