Admin & sea water drinking!

Yes, you read that right, sea water. It’s new to me too. So, how did I come across this knowledge… well Grogu’s new family asked me about water fountains & asked what I used and I was delighted to let her know about my ceramic fountain bought from www.miaustore.co.uk which is the standard size one, and rather roomy which for one cat is rather a lot of water. So, upon re suiting their website I discovered they now to a mini plus since my purchase had redesigned the flow pump. Anyway, as a breeder who supports use of appropriate products I was interested to scroll a while and I read one review/recommendation about sea water and its benefits particularly with older cats who are prone to kidney issues. This piqued my interest having lost a very old moggy (Willow, who I’d had for 19trs) to kidney issues (though to be fair he had a great innings) but sea water! Really??!! I immediately looked up this feline health professional to ask questions only to find the whole website was not in English and there was no English language version.

Unperturbed I made contact via their Facebook (ashamed that I had no option but to write in English) and same day I received the following important information in response: 

“Hi, Dee Collette! No, unfortunately I haven't yet published any article about sea water, we usually give this information to our clients, but the basics are easy. Be careful as salt water is not the same as sea water, sea water contains many more micronutrients and elements beside salt (sodium chloride). You can get sea water directly in the sea or buy it. For cats you must dilute it, 1 part sea water / 2'5 parts normal water, you can start with less than that as sometimes they don't like the taste and will reject it. You can also put different recipients with different proportions so that they will drink from the recipient they like. All this applies in healthy cats, in case of any disease always consult with an integrative veterinarian that is used to alternative therapies. Hope this is useful for you!”

In case you need help with the above,  maximum/ultimate is a ratio would be 1 part sea water to 2.5 parts water but suggests that possibly using less sea water to begin might help them to adapt. Additional The lovely lady suggests using different receptacles (not recipients!) each with different (lesser( strength ratios (eg 1 / 3pts or 1 / 4pts ) to see if the cat(s) prefer one over the other with the assumption that having some of the sea water is better than to have none at all. 

I wanted a little more guidance before heading off to Southampton docks with a bottle tied to string to collect some local sea water so asked what benefit this has (other than perhaps the living organisms in it) and if actually storing the sea water for cats to drink was wise at all given that if the organisms were the important part they were surely going to die off when stored ….and I then received this extra detail below which has helped me understand: 

“The benefit is not in the organisms but just in the salts and minerals you find in the sea water. It helps with hydration and it provides many minerals that are hard to find in common pet food. All the elements in the periodic table, they all are in sea water, so it's fantastic to maintain the inner balance in cells. It's also good to prevent kidney failure in the future. We've seen many cats in shelter, some with infectious diseases, improve a lot just adding sea water in their bawls, as it's also good for the immune system” 

Here is their website https://almaveganavets.com/ they are in Galicia in Spain and the site is all in Spanish. I’m feeling happier with the information now that I have researched them a bit and can see they are licensed vets! 

I have seen sea water for cooking, wound & skin care and yes, for drinking, is widely available to buy and get delivered. This has to be a clean source (or cleaned) so my girls can breathe a sigh of relief that the murky and undoubtedly polluted water at the local docks is not going into the water receptacles or recipients living here any time soon! 

So, it is with thanks to this year’s new families, that I even visited the miaustore again & ended up seeing this review & following down that particular path. Plus, because they’ve added the smaller mini fountain I’ve started off by treating my dear cats as I always do when they have provided me with beautiful kittens and so I went ahead and ordered for them a new mini fountain. 

It arrived so fast! It’s much easier to lift than the larger one plus having the two will if I decide to try it, give me the option to introduce a sea water element to their hydration routine. I do however plan to first ask my own vet about this first - which I hope to remember to do on Thursday when taking the kittens in ( will I remember!?!)

The new fountain owing to the design difference means that the water sound is much louder than the larger one. I’ve popped on the sensor which I had with the first which means the sound is silenced unless someone triggers it. Actually, it might be that the sound of the water entices encouraging that all important interest in drinking since like us, cats too need to up their water consumption. 

On the admin front I’m feeling much more on top of things after my printing yesterday. I do need to add in handwritten details ahead of time and I’m hoping I’ll get to do this without my “assistants  as I want to use my very best writing on those documents. 

This evening I’ve enjoyed some music much of which has taken me back to my (misspent) youth compliments of Global Citizen Live. Breaking this up into two sessions was week 1 of Strictly Come Dancing (John & Johannes were brilliant, the dance of the night imo and to Blue Monday by New Order too - a stunning 80’s classic!)). The felines meanwhile have been going crazy running around the place like they are powered by Duracell batteries. This might be because they were so kind and allowed me to have a well deserved (much needed) granny-nap earlier on. 

                         

Here’s Humphrey doing his impression of me (only he is much, much cuter!

Aaanyhoo , following my mega-siesta & strictly which everything stops for I’ve made up for “lost time” by going online to set up & activate the complimentary free 5 week Agria Pet Insurance for Grogu, Basil & Vincent so that it’s all set up ready to start on each of their collection days. 

Oh, and this dropped into WhatsApp today & this doting grandma couldn’t resist - that beaming smile - and oh, that hair!

11 weeks & counting!!!

I know that my wonderful new families are eagerly counting down the number of sleeps until their new babies arrive, with Grogu being the first to leave in exactly one weeks time! Just 7 more sleeps Willow & he is arriving on Damian’s own very special diaversery day! 

Firstly, please forgive the lack of stories, images and videos posted during this last week, I’ve been a bit knocked a bit off kilter having had a call to go to get my third Covid (right arm) and at the same time my flu (left arm) jabs done. The first I had were both Astra Zenica, but this time it was Pfizer. Which along with as a sore arm, left me in a shivering within about 12 hours of having it. It’s A a small price to pay for the important protection it offers (or will in 2 weeks time) . 

Meanwhile the kittens have been climbing, leaping & running around all over the place and as each day passes they discover a new ability to reach a surface that up until 24 hours previous had been “#kittensafe” . 

I’ve been revamping & printing out kitten sales agreements so that they’re ready to complete as each collection visit occurs. Willing there to be sufficient ink and started the print run which consisted of 12 pages per kitten (2 identical sets per kitten). Having started the print, I walked away thinking I’d grab a shower then come back to staple them into their sets. Well, you know already that it was at this moment a kitten appeared, eager to learn what this new sound was. And as anything that is moving is magnetic to any kitten worth his salt, young Basil got to interview & have a trial for the role of chief clerical officer.

In the real-world scenario that plays out in my brain (which by now you may have developed sn appreciation of that it’s a little peculiar) security had to be called to show him unceremoniously off the premises. He didn’t get the job but as he was pushed out of the door, Alan Sugar calls after him “You’re Fired!”

I duly picked up the papers which no longer neatly stacked as they were spat out by my Epson and stapled them before having a game of ball with the lads before going to partake in my ablutions! 

I have a draw, the sound of which draws my girls from slumber. No, surprisingly, it’s not the treat draw but the draw where I keep the toys that require supervision or participation. There are three draws and I hold my breath any time I open one of the others because I know they all sound the same and that the cats will appear eager to play and I don’t like disappointing them if al I’d wanted was a new set of batteries or a tealight candle. Anyway, this draw is like magic. 

Inside are the high jinx toys that result in high velocity and high jumping activity. Noodle, the matriarch, bless her heart she still shows up but rarely gets involved these days. I’ve not seen her spring effortless into the air n a very long time. Prune can still execute standing jumps leaping high but like Noodle she has always stepped aside with an awareness that kittens are underfoot Not so Floozy who, Miss Nosey-Got2Be-Centre-of-Attention herself has no such scruples. She gets right on in, launching herself and mowing down anything ir anyone who might think they are playing, and, having won the toy, goes back to her roots and growls. Floozy was one of a litter of TEN and I believe that she had to learn quickly how to fight her own corner where toys and food are concerned. Most of the time now she has learned that she doesn’t need to voice her desire to keep whatever she has, but as I tried to engage the kittens with a toy from this sacred drawer and attempt to make a video that had a whiff of being “professional” first I learned Floozy had no self-restraint & would launch herself unceremoniously in and then that she had reverted to type and growled! 

I fully expect that Noodle & Prune having both mothered their own kittens have an appreciation for nurturing the young, and this is why they hang back so patiently but, while while Floozy was VERY keen to be with and care for the kittens a few weeks ago, now that they are so able when things get exciting (high velocity/speed game play) she forgets her manners entirely. 

On Wednesday afternoon the lads lost their cardboard box fort. It has been demolished, flattened and gone for all time. Sad really as they’ve had THE best time playing in, on, through & over it. Id noticed recently a certain kitten was stood in the cutout doorway, his head tilted back as he chewed the door frame. I looked closer and the door ways were all pitted & peppered with teeny-tiny teeth marks. 

I was enjoying a cuppa with a friend on Wednesday lunchtime, when she said, that kitten is breathing all funny. I looked and said “nope, he is about to be sick”. Now don’t get jealous here, not everyone can have this lifestyle but I noted his little vomit puddle contained something not food. I felt in the warm and wet mess, discovering plastic. No wonder little Vinnie was retching! But I could not recognise where this plastic was from. As I thought and thought as the day progressed, was called for & went for my jabs and returned, I trawled my mind, looking for some way to work out what this plastic was. 

As kittens were sleeping I took an opportunity to tidy up a bit and as I did I saw that the bite marks were not only in the door frames but also on the parcel tape I’d used to create the structure with some integrity of strength. Not only were there teeth marks in the cardboard and tape there were ragged bits of tape missing! There was the lightbulb 💡 moment that I’d discovered the source of Vinnie’s tummy ache and so, the fort was consigned to the recycling bin. 

The kittens have a big week ahead of them. From now until Tuesday we will continue our day to day of eat, sleep, play. Then on Wednesday they will each be bathed for the last time here & their ears will be cleaned and their claws cleaned & clipped so that they are all smart ready for Thursday afternoon’s trip to see the vet. I will microwave my snuggle pad & bundle them all into a pet carrier taking them to receive their final health checks, weigh ins & 2nd vaccinations. And with that we begin our final countdown as just 24 hours later, one by one each of the blue brothers will be off to begin their lives away from us with Humphrey being last to leave being collected during the week. 

As I’ve been typing away, Noodle has been pestering me to cover her with a blanket. She pokes and taps me for service! I looked over to see this absolutely glorious vision unnoticed beside me, if a kitten so totally deep in sleeping that he is oblivious to the goings on over and around him. Heart. Melted. Again.