Category: Hachitaro News

Hachitaro News, 25 to 31 July

Tuesday, July 25th

His weight today – 441g

 

Wednesday, July 26th

The rainy season finally finished in the north part of Kyushu.
His weight today – 459g

 

Thursday, July 27th

Today’s reaction to Hachitaro by Kyoku and Kuro
Did Kyoku have a chance to be playful with other kittens when he was a kitten? When I was watching him, I thought that maybe he doesn’t know how to treat a kitten. Hachitaro has been playing with his rough brother Kuro recently, but even Kuro sometimes get tired of playing and he leaves him alone. When that happens, Hachitaro goes to Kyoku and asks to play with him, but usually Kyoku almost tries to play with him but then walks away from him without doing anything.

The person who rescued Kyoku (before he showed up at our house) said Kyoku was almost dying at the time. Kyoku’s condition was worse than Hachitaro’s was at first. We never saw small Kyoku being playful with other cats of the same age. (We didn’t experience the tiny Kyoku time.) And Kyoku was the youngest cat (the only cat) in our house this past year.

Kuro is still one year old but he got scared of Komoku’s kittens; however, he was playing with Icchan and his other brother when he was a kitten, and he was playing with Kogu until a few months ago. Maybe he got back his childhood feelings after the surgery? His way to treat a baby is indeed rough, but he often plays with Hachitaro.

The relationship of Hachitaro and Kyoku may be become better after some weeks or months.

His weight today – 459g

 

Friday, July 28th

Hachitaro could poo every day for the last three days! He often goes to the litter box whenever he feels like it. (I wonder if he’s going there too many times a day?)
I’m feeding him every one or two hours. I think the book on how to bring up a kitten says we should give him five times feedings a day. But I feed him more. Hachitaro also got used to sucking milk from a syringe, so he doesn’t kick my fingers anymore. Sometimes he looks like wants to hold the syringe by himself. (He does get in a pose like that, but he actually doesn’t hold it.)
If he could drink milk from a tray or eat dry food soaked in milk, our feedings would become a lot easier. We tried to feed them to him, but it seems he is not interested in the tray. And if we don’t watch it, Kuro eats it. Aa-ah.

It has been two weeks since Kuro had the surgery. Have his male hormones changed yet?

His weight today – 471g

 

Saturday, July 29th

I was out all day, but Chris said Hachitaro ate pasty food with some dry food in it. Dry food soaked in milk may not be not popular with him: doesn’t he know how to eat it?

His weight today – 481g

 

Sunday, July 30th

Hachitaro sometimes goes to Kyoku. He seems to like playing with Kyoku’s tail. Kyoku is also getting used to being with a kitten (or giving up?): he’s slowly starting to put Hachitaro in a headlock and chew on him. He is clearly different from Kuro: maybe he is still hesitant. Kyoku’s treatment of Hachitaro is slower, and he grooms him. Now he’s become good old uncle Kyoku.

But, strangely, Hachitaro enjoys it when he gets rough treatment, and he seems to ask Kyoku to be more aggressive. (For our thinking, Kuro’s treatment of Hachitaro is too rough so we often get worried.)

His poo colour changed to dark brown because he doesn’t drink milk as much as before.
Talking about changing colour: Hachitaro’s eyes are grey, not blue as we thought. I heard that Caucasian newborns have blue eyes: are cats also the same!?

His weight today – 545g (Although he became 536g after poo.)

 

Monday, July 31st

We are woken up by Kuro’s noisy voice at five or five thirty every morning. He runs inside the room busily. But we don’t get up. We want to sleep until six a.m. Kyoku jumps up on the low shelf by the pillow. We give up and go to our living room, and see Hachitaro sleeping in a basket we originally bought for Kyoku. But our presence wakes him up. Kuro and Hachitaro are indeed brothers. Their requirement for food is very aggressive. When I’m moving in the kitchen, I accidentally kick Hachitaro because he is always near my feet for breakfast. I am afraid of stepping on him some day.

I prepare three kinds of breakfast for three cats.
Hachitaro: A half can (half portion) of adult wet food and some grains of dry food for kittens.
Kuro: A half pack of tuna and chicken white meat low fat wet food.
Kyoku: One third pack of tuna and bonito and chicken white meat wet food.
(He doesn’t like the low fat wet food Kuro eats.)
If Kyoku and Kuro want to eat dry food after that, we give them some. But they usually leave a bit, so it becomes a target for ants. Hachitaro seems to like adult cat dry food, so even if I give him some milk, he puts his face in the bowl and eats them one by one.

After the morning work, our breakfast starts.

His weight today – 564g

–YS, 31 July 2006

31 July 2006