Finding Noodle

 

Say 'Hello' to Noodle

This is Noodle - but this was not always her name. Her original owner had actually named her something else entirely - something I knew  I couldn't keep.

The Pedigree name given to her by her breeder upon registration is Elizabeth Amber.

She is registered on the active register of TICA - The International Cat Association. Being active means that she is sold un-neutered and with breeding rights.

Finding Noodle 🐠

Elizabeth Amber was sold to a new owner, a lady named Louise, whose intention had been to begin a new breeding cattery to compliment and run alongside her already well established Chihuahua kennel business. To do this Louise needed to find available and buy a superior quality female on the Active Register.

Background
[Most pedigree kittens are sold by their (professional) breeders registered as inactive having been neutered (usually at 8-10 weeks old. It is rare for a pedigree cat, and in particular, a female, to be sold Active and when they are sold registered active their price tag is usually several hundred pounds more]

To further her plans, at the same time Louise also purchased an unrelated active registered male thus she would have when they reached sexual maturing a resident mating pair. However, not long after taking her newly purchased kittens home Louise's circumstances altered, halting her cattery plans. and deciding it in the best interests of the kittens, and recognising that it would be easiest to re-sell them as kittens (albeit slightly older kittens) she advertised them for sale online. The first two photos used on this page were both used in the online ad I saw and to which I quickly responded.

I was at that time actively looking for a female Sphynx kitten but I could I afford the cost of the boy. While having a breeding pair for the future would be nice, I do not have the ability at my home to keep them separate and I so did not want to take on a kitten knowing that as they became an adults (which occurs at around 20+ weeks) I would have had to isolate him in order to prevent them from indiscriminate breeding before she was properly matured to raise a litter. 

It was a shame as they were purchased to be a breeding pair, but, the only way for me to keep him would be to have him neutered.  Because he was of good stock, chosen and purchased on the active register for his qualities as a Sire, it would be sad to neuter him if there was a use for him elsewhere. 

I asked Louise if she would consider selling them individually and she was happy to. She did offer them as a pair at a discounted price but even if I did have the room or ability to take him, I did not have the money available for buying both there and then.

I  paid the deposit for the female and began preparing for her arrival. Now I was fulfilling a long-held dream of owning a Sphynx cat but unexpectedly,  as I was buying an active female this presented me with an opportunity I had thought  to be beyond me as while I had liked the possibility of breeding I would not have been able to afford the higher costs charged by breeders for a kitten on the active register.

I looked at the advert again later on the day I paid that deposit and noted the male kitten had been reduced and subsequently he sold quickly, and indeed he'd already been collected by his new family when I arrived on August 20th, 2016 to collect my female.

Louise's home was about an hour away from me. On arrival, I was shown into her kitchen-diner where there were two litters of waggly-tailed excitable Chihuahua puppies in pens.  I was invited to sit down and, as I did so my curious new kitten appeared on the stairs. Louise scooper her up and brought her over. Dear little kitten she immediately settled down for a cuddle on my chest.

We chatted a while as we exchanged paperwork and the balance owing. Louise said that the little girl had seemed happier since the boy had gone (he may have been dominant).  As we were almost ready to depart I asked Louise what she had named the kitten,  thinking perhaps I should keep it if she was already becoming used to it. Louise's reply was so unexpected; she told 'Fluffikins'. Tongue in cheek of course and while I enjoy dry humour the name was not to my taste at all, however, my curiosity was piqued.  I asked her what name had been given to the male kitten to which she replied that he had been called 'Noodle'

I did not recognise the same humour in this name nor any link to the breed,  so asked why he was called Noodle? Her answer; "Well, because he is NOOD!" Now, that did make me smile!

My new Sphynx kitten was 18 weeks old when we met and, as we drove away to begin our adventures together I re-christened her with the name Noodle loving that her connection to Louise and her would-have-been consort would be kept intact.

Who could resist?
'Fluffikins' - nka Noodle

While I was already decided upon and actively looking for a Sphynx Cat when I purchased and subsequently collected my kitten I was not fully prepared for the fall. Yes, I was quite literally head over heels and deeply in love overnight. Oh my, she was so endearing and ever so very snuggly & warm. Rather than be timid in a new home she swaggered in making herself right at home, never once getting lost & never once having an accident - even though her little legs had to get her from upstairs to down and all the way through the downstairs to the bathroom in order to use her litter tray.

That first day and night were amazing. I was dying to bath her and in particular to clean her very dirty ears, but I didn't feel it would be good to do that during her first few days here so we just spent that time getting to know one another. 

I'd bought a little cat cave with a furry faux sheepskin interior and cushion (in Asda) before she'd got here which thankfully she liked it right away. I noted that she required quite a bit of sleep that first day, perhaps this was unsurprising since she had been in a very active and busy household and then had a car journey with a new (strange!) mum followed by new home to explore.  I let her be in her little cave which I'd placed within reach and in direct line of sight so I could adore her.. as she slept, all the while I was falling a little deeper so in love with her cute wrinkly face.

Day 1 - It's been a long day!

So cute!

After a day or two, her energy levels picked up so I gave her her first bath here. Unfortunately, this did not prove to be all that successful and ended up being the very bottom of a steep learning curve.

I had thought it would be a good idea to bath her in the kitchen sink as in my mind it would be the best place... easy on my back and ideal with solid surfaced and with everything I 'd need in easy reach which left her free to play in the water. I had such expectations having watched endless Sphynx Cat bathing videos. Her ladyship, however, made it abundantly clear that this set up was not acceptable to her at all. We did manage a clean-up of sorts that say that day but my inexperience hadn't helped matters. at least we had to leave it now for at least another week before trying again!

This gave me 7 days to research. I learned that a deeper depth of water which would be up to her chest/neck would calm her but even if my experience hadn't shown me it already, it well and truly put to bed any ideas of using the kitchen sink (or of looking after my back).

So what to do....I don't have a bath in my house and while they are lovely wet-room showers were not going to cut the mustard. The solution I came up with is to use is a trug-tub filled up by the shower hose. It works pretty well even if not so good for my back to be sat on the floor and scrunched up.

I have since then found a raised lightweight pet bath online which is made and sold by Pedigroom - so I'm saving up for it - you can see it on Amazon here.  

While baths were now going better - if grudgingly accepted Noodle's mucky ears were still an issue. In particular the right ear seemed to accumulate or produce much more black grunge than the left. A vet check is so important when you purchase a new pet and we headed off to see the vet where I was able to ask for help with this.

The grunge was looked at under a microscope to see if it was an ear mite. Though it looked mightily similar this close inspection proved to be negative. I was given some prescription ear drops and this quickly did the trick to clear things up.

Her ears still get very dirty and the right side one more so than the left but I've also learned more from reading forum and discussions between other Sphynx owners that some of our naked babies are more prone to grubby ears than are others. 

And, the same applies to their skin. 

I make sure to keep on top her dirtiness by cleaning her ears with a suitable ear cleaner as part of the bathtime routine. I have set up a  Product Recommendations page listing products I use and therefore can recommend and some that I have come across that I haven't yet used - and some, like the Pegigroom bath that are on my Wish List.

Suckling

When Noodle is in the midst of her soppiest purr sessions she turn is in the typical cat curl. Her head is turned around toward her side and she will in this position begin to suckle on her own tummy. At the same time, she puts her arms out in front of her and begins Kneading just as a kitten does when feeding from the mother to encourage milk flow.

Some folk will say that cats continue to do this because they are taken away from the mother's too soon, however, I have had several cats do this same suckling and kneading throughout their lives and I feel that this is a behaviour is one of extreme affection and happiness which because they are so abandoned in this experience expresses a total trust in their surroundings. It is something that comforts them and yes in part it is a return to (the feeling of) childhood in that this action was one of nurture to them and is used to express comfort and supreme content.. Maybe when they do it in adulthood it is like having a cuddle with your mum?

Ziggy (my first cat) used to do it with anything made of nylon. Luckily in the 80's nylon bedspreads were quite 'the thing to have' in a working-class home so she had plenty of nylon fabrics to choose from. The thinest material draped down the sides was her material of choice and she would suck for ages moving from a wet are to a dryer area leaving the bed spreads 'stained' with stiff oval patches of dried cat saliva.  My mum didn't half used to moan!

Filbert my first big ol' roughty-tufty ex-feral farm tomcat used to suckle too. He chose a yellow acrylic jumper that I used to wear. For his whole life that jumper was placed in his bed where he would lay and purr happily (when he was indoors or home that was, between his hunting missions that could last days). When in the right mood he would engage in a deep-down soppy suckle session which would last ages. Because this was always done on the knitted jumper I used to make him a bed, and was forever more his bed which he would lay out on, this was most like a cuddle from mum he could have.

Lily, my lilac pointed siamese, would also suckle. She would do so for about 10-20 minutes each night at bedtime with her head pushed up in the crook of my neck and shoulder (mostly favouring the right hand side). Independent and aloof for the day, at night she would wait for me to get into bed and settle down. Once I was still she would saunter up the bed and flop down in the space above my shoulder. Then then she'd tuck her head right in tight and hard and begin purring her head off (very loud when so close to my ear) suckling my hair. Once she was finished she would get up, move to the end of the bed and settle down for her night of beauty sleep. She never did this to anyone else. 

I miss that feeling and that little girl so very much. I'd had her since she was 11 months old and she died aged only 4 having been knocked down and I was bereft.  My dream would be to have another cat who did this.

All of my beloved cats including the non-sucklers are described on the page Loved & Remembered.

Fashion

As a keen knitter, I decided that I would make a little jumper for my kitten, however, without a pattern and with a very wriggly and playful kitten it was hard to get any decent measurements or to form a decent plan or pattern shape, let alone even to knit without her helping. 

I knitted the multicolour jumper shown in the photos below from instinct/guesswork for its shape and size. It was a little short and anyway it did not fit for long.

My human knitted me a jumper!

Looking out from bed

Wiped out after all the cat-walk modelling

Other places I like to keep warm

It wasn't long after that that I found people online who handmade clothing that was much better fitting and designed specifically for Sphynx cats. Below are the first cosy clothes purchased. They were available tailored to Noodle's actual measurements and purchased on Etsy. 

Snuggly, girly in her after bath/ bedtime fleece

She'll grow into it - Her bought too big onesie!

Noodle in her 1st Christmas outfit (made to measure!). The pale pink fleece has white snowflakes on it. She also got a heat mat to sleep on too. Toasty!

Family & Friends

I've got a small but lovely family and they soon came to meet Noodle. A couple of my favourite snaps are included below of those first meetings. I've also taken Noodle on two 'holidays" going off to stay with my mum. She likes it at my mums flat where out of the windows she can see birds, other cats and lots of squirrels too.... Noodle is no trouble at all with travelling and, once again, there have been no accidents even when in a strange place (meaning my mum is kept relatively happy!)

Meeting Ari (my daughter in law)

Meeting Tia (my granddaughter)

She & Smiling T