It's been awhile since I updated here. Things have been going pretty well with Kaida. The biggest news to report is that Kaida is now spayed! For the most part, she seems to have come through the surgery with no ill side effects, with the exception of a very impaired meow caused by the tube they had to insert down her throat during the surgery. It's only been in the past day or two that she's produced anything close to her normal meow. We also can't wait for the fur to grow back around her stomach, as the shaved area makes it awkward to pick her up. To her credit, she doesn't attempt to lick or otherwise disturb her stitches. She didn't have to come home with the "cone of shame".
We've also learned that Kaida has only gained 12 ounces since her last vet visit one month ago. Currently she weighs 4 pounds, 12 ounces which apparently is very tiny for her age. I asked the co-worker whose house she was born in, and she told me that Kaida was, in fact, the runt of the litter and had something of a rough beginning, which explains her tiny stature. Her light weight is not for a lack of eating; she eats a ton of different foods, not to mention the abundance of treats. The only time I noticed her being so tiny was when I tried to get a collar on her. I ended up having to try three. The first one, which I purchased before even bringing her home, was made of a leather-like material. When she rejected that one, I thought that it must have been the material that was the problem. So I bought one that was closer to nylon. That one got rejected, too. The manner of rejection was also a cause for concern. Kaida would get her lower jaw under the collar, which would then be locked around her mouth despite the "safety buckle". The problem actually stemmed from the size of the collar rather than the material. The collars I had tried were for adult cats, and even adjusted down to the smallest size they were still too big for Kaida. I then purchased a "kitten collar". It still has to be adjusted down almost as far as it can go, but it fits and I was finally able to get a tag on her. I also had to remove the bell that came with the collar. Kaida didn't like not being able to move around undetected.
Kaida's also found a few new favorite toys. The first one was actually an impulse buy at the grocery store. We have two of them now in different colors, because she loves this thing so much.
All this thing is is a stuffed fish on an elastic string, tied to a plastic stick. It also comes with a suction cup to attach it to a table or wall, but we haven't used it in that way yet. Now, we have a ton of these "stuff on a stick" toys for Kaida, but for some reason she will chase this only this fish for 45 minutes at a time. And that's until we get tired; I have no idea how long she would keep going. We don't even have to swing it very hard. Just some small movement while we're watching TV or talking is enough. I think it has something to do with the bounce of the elastic, but I'm not sure.
This thing my mother bought with the intention of giving to her following her surgery. I think we've only heated it up once, but Kaida doesn't seem to care. Every time she falls asleep with this thing in paw's reach, she'll have her head resting on top of it and/or her front leg wrapped around it. We've taken to calling it her "baby". I really like the Petstages stuff so far. Not everything they make and we've bought has been a huge hit, but they have a pretty good track record.
