July 25, 2021
Day 17
I offered Mitsy a treat on my self-made extendible spoon and she accepted it! Did it twice – really nice to see she did not hiss. I had first dipped the spoon into cat nip, admittedly, but nevertheless: it is another first step.
We woke up to a very quiet Basecamp, everyone seemed A-Okay. We checked the night footage to see what Mitsy was up to with the Ensuite. She did not spend much time in it, other than to eat from the new food bowls that are in there, so it was a good idea to move them out of Basement. Man, that cat can eat!! But around 6 in the morning, she actually did explore a bit more and even lounged in it for a bit. I am not sure that Wim coming in for breakfast interrupted her or not, because she did not stay there long, maybe 10 minutes and not long after that Wim arrived.
You can tell that she is a bit fearful and I think this is because the Ensuite has 3 open sides. I have now covered part of it with a towel. Let’s see what happens tonight.
The space behind the Nest door
In the evening we agonised about the space behind the Nest door. Have been doing this for a couple of days. On the web cam it looks as if kittens can get stuck there. But tonight I seriously assessed and found that this is just because of the way the camera looks down on the scene. I was all ready to try and squeeze a towel in there or that piece of carton tube that is on the inside of kitchen towel rolls. But in reality the space really is too small to allow kittens go to through and get stuck. Phew. How much stress do I give myself with the fear of a kitten getting hurt!
Wim’s turn to touch the kittens!
Tonight Wim had the opportunity to touch one of the two eldest kittens. Pumba (the new name Wim has come up with for the eldest black kitten ) and Kabiri came to the side opening of Basecamp after mom had settled in the Nest, after dinner. We have to be careful with those two: Kabiri all but walked right out! Hopefully they will soon venture out into the Ensuite, where we will have a more secure place to touch them and play with them. Wim said he had the impression they came out of the carrier because they perceived him.
Adding kibble from the bag
Another milestone: I refilled the dish of kibble straight from the bag right under Mitsy’s nose. Well, sort of. I was in the side door of the Ensuite and she was lying right at the threshold of Basecamp and Ensuite. I saw her being very alert, but not hissing. She observed it all and it did not take her long to come to eat. When I then filled the second bowl in Basecamp, she kept eating.