Tutta and Critters

Rufus and Tutta

Tutta and the baby chicks

Tutta

Tutta, Rufus and the toy the cats love.

I haven't posted for a while because I was working twelve hour days. First scaffolding at the paper mill. Then Andrea and I went millwrighting in a taconite processing facility.

Our kittens are exposed to older cats, dogs, and chickens. Rufus is a mastiff St Bernard mix. He is Andrea's rescue dog. Tutta and Rufus are buddies. It has become difficult to get the kittens photographed. If the shutter speed isn't fast enough, I end up with a shot of their back end. Going through the pictures Tutta seems to be the most photogenic.

Andrea got new baby chicks about a week ago. Four Araucanas, four Rhode Island Reds, four Buff Orpingtons, and four Silver Laced Wyandottes. The kittens love to watch them. Andrea's current chickens are two or three years old. Their egg production is decreasing so it is time for some new chicks. Her older chickens started to fly the coop this spring. They like to wander the yard and spend time near Einsteins dog house if they feel threatened. Einstein is Andrea's dog she got when she still lived at home. He is the chicken guard dog. She has a harmonious animal farm.

Kitty's playing with Tupperware

Benji in a bowl playing peek-a-boo

Bjorn in the bowl playing peek-a-boo or hide and seek

Bella holding the bowl down so it quits rolling

Bjorn sitting in the bowl

Bella trying to decide which bowl of Evo canned food she is going to eat. They are all the same flavor, so she must be deciding which color of Fiestaware she likes best.

You know how you buy small children toys and they enjoy playing with the box the toy comes in more, well kittens are the same way. Our kittens find a certain Tupperware bowl fascinating. They sit in it, play peek-a-boo with their siblings, and roll it on the floor. This was the thank you gift for having a Tupperware party last summer. I don't think the designers at Tupperware envisioned this large salad bowl becoming a kitty toy.

The third and fifth pictures show the kittens food. I feed the kittens Evo canned Cat & Kitten, it is chicken based. http://www.evopet.com/ucts/default.asp?id=1501prod Currently I also give them Chicken Soup for the Kittens Soul kibble. http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/products/kittens/dry_food/kitten_formula/


I discovered also that Fiestaware small fruit bowls make great dishes for the kittens to eat out of. Saucers they walk and lay in. When the kittens were smaller our usual cat dishes had too high of sides. Fiestaware fruit bowls are sturdy, colorful, lead free, made in the USA, and they aren't just for cats. The fruit bowls cost about the same and many times it costs less than the pet crockery. When I look at the crockery marketed to cat and dog owners many times it says not microwaveable and not dishwasher safe. Most of the time it is made in China. This concerns me because it probably contains lead or other metals if it isn't safe for the microwave. Most of the time there isn't any visible metal details. I don't microwave the cats food, but I don't want them consuming lead. We must remember the tragedy of the tainted pet food a few years ago. The safety standards for pet products are not the same as products consumed by humans. It is our duty to be informed and provide our pets with safe, nutritious food and safe pet products. I try to feed my pets food that is made from human grade ingredients and without byproducts.

Here is a link to Fiesta dinnerware. http://www.hlchina.com/fiestaretail.htm It can be found in many department stores.

Swanskovkats Midnight Blue

This is Swanskovkats Midnight Blue. He is the newest member of the Norsejenta cattery. He came here from Michigan. His mother and father are from Denmark. His father is the top Norwegian Forest Cat in the Great Lakes Region of TICA for 2009. His father is RW SGC DK* Elkington's Gibson and his mother is GC DK* Minor Lynx Duchess. Blue's maternal grandfather is GIC Gillians Hvirkelig Hviid. In 2009 Hviid was the the best white Norwegian Forest Cat in the Northern Europe region of TICA, and the third best internationally in TICA. He is a triple grand champion in TICA. The GIC is from FiFe, the European registry. Considering the largest concentration of Norwegian Forest Cats is in Northern Europe, of course, this is quite an honor. Here is a link to some pictures of this beautiful cat. http://www.minorlynx.dk/230-172-gic.gillians_hvirkelig_hviid.htm

Blue likes to eat, which I am thrilled with. I want him to be a big boy. He loves toys. And he likes to chase Chloe, one of our old household pet cats. Jane, Blue's breeder named him Blue because his litter of four kittens were all black. Jane put a different colored collar on each kitten in order to tell them apart. Just like dog breeders do. Of course Blue had a blue collar. I added the Midnight to his name because Midnight Blue is the darkest shade of blue there is, it is blue/black. Just like Blue, my sweet boy.

Dille

Here are some pictures of CH Vinlands Dille. Dille is the mother of Norsejenta's A litter and B litter. She is pictured here with her A litter kittens. Dille still likes to sit in her kitty house that is pictured here. The B litter kittens sit on top and try to get their mommy to come out and play. Dille lives at my daughters house most of the time. That is why I don't have many pictures of her on my camera.

Thor

I thought I should post a few more Norsejenta family pictures. This is GC Norskipoints Thor, the kittens daddy. He is a black/silver classic tabby with white.

Eight week pictures of Buster

Eight week pictures of Benji

Wow Blue, I don't need a bath.