Kitten ...

I lost Hemingway on the 29 July after 8 years. He had advanced lung cancer and I was devastated to have him put down.

After all the vet bills, and seeing him slowly get thinner and thinner, I knew it was the right thing for him, but it didn't hurt any less and I still feel the loss of him every day. I got him when he was a tiny, feral baby and I loved him and all his crazy ways.

Vale Hemingway.

I got a 6 month old kitten 4 days later and my gosh, I have suddenly become a kitten trainer for my vampire kitten.

I had to force a collar with 2 bells and a tag on him, because he is going to be an outdoor cat and I have to make sure both he and the possums/ducks/ bush mice and sewer rats are all safe.

Then I decided to walk him around with a cat harness which he hates, hates, hates! That seems to be the only way because he is a bit wild and vampirish and  I think I have to be a bit protective.

He leaps and bites so I have to use a spray bottle on him. I only have to raise the spray bottle at him and he runs away, so that works! He hates the word no, every time I say the word no, his eyes go bright green and his ears go flat.

I do believe that it is not only about feeding a kitten, it is about raising a kitten.

Vampire and I bonded straight away but because he got abandoned and then rescued, he went a bit wild and unsettled and I am responsible for raising him, loving him and making him feel safe.

How do you raise your kitten?