Eeeeeek, I haven't posted in a month! But I was finishing my master's degree, so you'll have to forgive me. :-)
The week after I finished school, Sarah's mom and sister came to stay with us so the cats got to meet their other auntie and see grandma Kay again. Then the week after that MY mom finally made it here, so now the kitties have been patted by all of their aunties and grandparents! Cute pictures from both visits will be posted promptly.
During the family visits, our moms helped us figure out that feeding the cats only a quarter-can of cat food each in the morning and evening (one can total per day between the two of them) was not enough food. That might explain why they were constantly badgering us for treats and meals! Now we've doubled it so they get a half-can each in the morning and another half-can each in the evening. They've filled out a little bit and seem much more content. They weren't crazy skinny before, no ribs were showing or anything. But now they still have waists (the vet said that indicates a healthy weight) without acting famished all the time. I feel so bad that they've been hungry for so long! But they were certainly getting a lot of crunchy treats too, and they were never bony, so I think they're ok.
We've started making the cats sit and be quiet for a few seconds before they get their food, so as to discourage the constant yowling that often precedes their meals. River has figured it out pretty quickly, Simon is still getting the idea. It's hard with two cats though, because if I'm standing here holding the two bowls of food waiting for quiet, and one of them is quiet then the other one meows, I can't time it quite right to put the food down while everybody is silent. But it's getting better, they're quieting right down once I'm holding the bowls. Progress continues! Whoever said you can't train a cat didn't have much patience.
New nicknames include Squeaklet and Squeakaletta (for River) and Derp Man (for Simon).
We've written a few parody songs for the cats, many of which are improvised but there's one that's pretty consistent. I should record and post it since we sing it pretty often.... (oh my lord, we're so obsessed with our babies!!)
I just now saw this - didn't realize there was more on the next page. Oops.
ReplyDeleteI realized you had your hands full. I hope you'll forgive me for asking for more kitty photos, but I knew you were now done with your Master's Degree! Maybe now you had a little more time. It is fun to see their cute little faces.
Sounds like it is helping that the kitties are getting a little more food. Good idea! Also really smart to have them wait a bit before eating. They'll get the idea. They really can be trained, it just takes some patience. Just look at all the cats which are on TV and in commercials. They've all been trained to hit cues and do various things. I trained some of my cats to do tricks on command in the past too! It can be done!
Hugs,
Erin
Hi Auntie Erin! I'm actually really glad you reminded me about the blog, there were so many adorable pictures and videos just waiting to be posted! And of course, every time I post things I get to re-live the cuteness all over again. :-)
ReplyDeleteWe're thinking our next training attempt will be to get the cats to say "ma-ma" on command. Should be interesting!! They already make similar sounds fairly often, so it will just be a matter of naming what they're doing and getting them to recognize what we're asking. :-)
HUGS!
-Shauna