cat pointers from readers and friends

Deanna writes in to say that the kitten must be female due to the tortoise-shell color pattern. All right, I’ll buy that. It’s very hard to determine the sex when they’re this size. She also says that the kitten is probably 3-4 weeks old rather than a matter of days. My friend Catarina just made the same point after dropping by to meet the new pet.

And yes, I do need to take this kitten to the vet as soon as possible, but today and tomorrow are tough days for trying to get anything done; a lot of businesses have closed down for Easter and will remain closed on Monday for the Sham el-Nessim (an Egyptian national holiday dating back to Pharaonic times), just like the University itself. Any kitten with that many fleas (and there are still a few left) may have ear mites and/or worms, so we at least need to check that.

The kitten also cries pretty much constantly except when sitting on some part of my body.

One of the funniest things so far is that she (let’s shift pronouns, then) is easily able to climb the back of the couch, but then becomes too scared to climb down, and paces back and forth for awhile looking for a less steep descent down the couch that does not, of course, actually exist.