Un ‘tit jardin avec un petit chaton!

Ahhh…le printemps! Voyez comme il s’elever l’arbre!

Update!

Sorry that I haven’t updated in a while. It’s been about a month, and a lot of the latter half was spent out of town. During that time, Starbucks’ tin foil had gradually increased in size, and he learned to periodically use all fours on the toilet seat…however the pan in the toilet was a bit of a ‘cheat sheet’ for him. When I was around him, he would go on the seat, but he was also inclined to balance his hind paws in the pan. Also, he spent lots and lots of time inspecting the areas under the pan…So, I removed the pan completely a few days ago. The hole increased in size by about 3cm around the rim since the last update, so in no way did I wait until the bottom was completely opened up. Also, I didn’t increase the hole in a ‘perfect circle’…I took more of a integrated learning/teaching approach to the whole thing: If Starbucks was consistently eliminating in a certain section of the pan, I opened that part up so that he would get used to having to eliminate into water. Then, when I felt he was comfortable with the setup but needed to be weaned off of crowding his front paws in the pan and instead balance on them on the seat, I would slowly remove the front part, which prompted him to use the toilet seat. I admit, there is a little bit of cheating on my end with the final removal: since the toilet bowl is mostly empty (the water doesn’t rest past the very bottom of the bowl), I am able to sprinkle a little bit of kitty litter in there, to signal to Starbucks that this is, indeed, his litter box. And what happened?

As you can see, Starbucks has learned to use the toilet! There was no real ‘adjustment’…noticed the kitty litter and did his thing-balanced and all-very naturally. It’s almost as if this set up works a lot better than the pan! However, the training is not over just yet. He still needs me around in order for him to use the toilet…and he is awfully tempted to use anything else. Although, from my experience, that phase wears off in a few days since cats in general lament change. Here are some more pictures of the quickly growing Kitten!

Progress!

Bucky has finally gotten used to the hole at the bottom of his litter box. He is also becoming less and less dependent on my presence in the bathroom. The highlight was an unexpected run Starbucks made to the bathroom a couple of mornings ago where he placed his front two paws and his one back paw on the toilet lid! After about 3 weeks, I made the hole slightly bigger….he definately notices but it seems all in all ok! In fact, I think that although he notices that somehow the hole is “different” he doesn’t seem to think too much has changed.

It definately took lots of patience to get Bucky to the point of feeling comfortable with not being able to just sit in the litter box. I felt so guilty about the process…he was not happy with the set up and I was second guessing the ethics of toilet training him. After all, it is only natural for a cat to want to eliminate and then bury it and the only reason I was training him to not do that was for my own benefit. I stuck to the plan despite these concerns and now, after about 3 weeks, Starbucks is very comfortable and doesn’t seem to think twice about the setup. I am sure that anyone who has toilet trained their cat has come across a few stumbling blocks. The best piece of advice I have during those times is sticking with the plan and thinking about the goal. If kitty is not liking the setup and would much rather use your bed or the carpet or anythings else rather than his “litter box”/the toilet (as was the case with Starbucks) you need to remain on your toes! Although my cat was quite vocal about when he needed to go (almost as if warning me that he knew he was doing something bad but doing it anyways), keep a watch out and as soon as he starts pick up him and put him in the litter box and praise and encourage him to go. If he was trying to go else where, at this point he will begrudgingly go in the litter box.

Another challenge I had was that he got so used to me taking him to the toilet seat that for about 2 weeks, he stopped trying to use my bed, but instead telling me that he needed to go and would want me to go into the bathroom and encourage him while he went. He would hold it in all day and then go when I got home. Only now has he started going by himself, without needed me to follow him into the bathroom and that has definately been a great step for us!

Week 3 Part 1

So, Bucky has gone to the new litter box with the hole. Alas, he feels pretty uncomfortable by the change and would prefer it if I let him go on my bed. He definately pee’d on my bed the first morning after introducing the hole. However, I can’t blame him since he made it very clear that he needed to go (Bucky is very vocal and always lets me know when he’s going to the bathroom).  I am learning to be more perceptive of those tones which tell me instinctively that he needs to go.

This behavior has also convinced me that he has gotten used to the praise associated with going to the bathroom: he doesn’t want to go there, but he will if I tell him he’s a wonderful kitty and praise him every step of the way. When I came home Monday night from work there were no messes, but there was definately no activity in the litter box. So, the good news was that he goes on my bed only when I’m around, meaning that he’ll go when I’m around and gives me ample opportunity to encourage him to be a good kitty. The bad news is that he’s holding it in.

So, last night he was very good. We went into the bathroom, and we made progress on two accounts. He went to the bathroom in the litterbox and I introduced the sound of the flushing toilet…I was afraid that he was going to be afraid of the noise-but nope! He was mesmerized by the water. He has associated it with wonder, as this morning, after he went, I flushed the toilet and he came running back to look inside the hole at the water. This is perfect for when I will eventually train him to flush the toilet!

…oh yes….the water. So, I think aside from the fact that his litter box suddenly has a hole in it, he is facinated by what is in the hole: Water! Everytime he goes in, he sticks his head in and he is so small that he occasionally drops into it and gets both his paws wet. He is so curious about it, that he can’t go to the bathroom unless I encourage him and play with the litter and not focus too much on the water.

Patience is so important in this phase and I can only see it becoming more so as the hole starts getting bigger and kitty tries to figure out how to position himself. Starbucks’ main problem is that he is confused and he’s not sure how to sit, and whether the litter box is toy or a bathroom.  So, as he gets used to it, I might start adjusting his body into how he should eventually be-i.e. balancing on the lid, starting now to ease the transition. Just gentle nudging when he’s about to go.

Pictures to follow!

Week 2

Starbucks came home last week, and I must admit that I am at a slight advantage here. He was already litter-box trained, and all I had to do was show him where his litter box was in his new home (which I placed in the toilet) and he took to it just as easily as any litter box (meaning, for the first few days when he was adjusting to his new home, he would be tempted to eliminate anywhere he pleased). I bought an aluminum tray used for roasting turkeys, and just needed to manipute it slightly, so that it would fit inside the toilet. I wasn’t sure if the tray would be strudy enough to support the kitten-but after fitting it in and closing the toilet seat over it, it fit perfectly and was very sturdy. At first I placed the alumunium tray beside the toilet, with the intention of raising it slowly and then placing it over the toilet. However, on the very first day Starbucks seemed to prefer climbing on top of the toilet seat and looking down into his litter box…so I thought, why not just put it up there now? He seemed perfectly fine with it.

As you can see, the aluminum tray was manipulated to fit inside the toilet….

And, the toilet lid come down very easily and helps keep it in place. The entire set-up is pretty sturdy and easy to do. I used an organic, flushable kitty litter. I learned very quickly to:

1) Get rid of the bath mat or anything that would “tempt” kitty to eliminate on instead of the litter box. I had a bath mat on the floor in front of the toilet-Starbucks successfully eliminated on the bath mat and was tempted to whenever I put it there. This might be an issue kittens come across during litter box training in general though…but I would advise to get rid of items that would be great alternative places to go around the toilet.

2) Be VERY good about keeping the litter box as clean as possible. Kitty might be already somewhat uncomfortable with the setup…keep him happy as much as possible by keeping the box immaculate! He will appreciate the set-up a lot more.

3) Don’t overdo the kitty litter. Again, this is probably a general kitten-litter box issue, but don’t drown the kitty in kitty-litter.

4) Once he eliminates, he will be somewhat confused on how to cover it up…he’ll try to cover it up with the litter, but most likely he will start scratching the toilet seat. If you are NOT ok with this, then I would advice to set-up a scratching apparatus right by the toilet seat so that he can do this. For the first few days I placed an old towel by the seat to help him with the scratching….but it seems that he’s taken to simply doing a few scratching motions on the seat.

5) THE MOST IMPORTANT ADVICE: LOTS and LOTS of PRAISE! When Starbucks first came home, he has no clue where to go when it was time to go to the bathroom. So, as soon as he started to go someplace, I would prompting place him in the litter box and start praising him ‘What a good kitty…good boy!” and pet him and gently coo him. I wanted to associate the bathroom with good things. After a day, he would love going to the bathroom for the fact that he knew he would be cuddled there. After 2 weeks, he’s been almost perfect with his toilet training. There was one incident when a guest was over, and I think he was excited and started on my bed…but he knew he was doing something bad, since as soon as walking/ran towards him, he ran to the toilet. I cannot stress how imporant this part of the process is. When you are home, and you notice him going there, just shower him with praise-at least for the first week!

So, it’s been 2 weeks, and I feel that Starbucks is adjusted to learning where to eliminate. He is very comfortable with getting on the toilet seat and with the general surroundings. Now it is time to introduce Phase II: the 2 inch diameter circle.

Cutting a 2-inch diameter circle was very easy to do, and I placed it as centered as possible on the floor of the aluminum tray. The purpose of the circle is the slowly introduce Kitty to the concept of a hole in the middle of his litter box, with the hopes that as he learns to manuveur around the hole, he will learn to balance on the toilet seat, as the hole gets bigger. Apart from the small hole, nothing else changes: same kitty litter, perhaps a little less than before. And, of course, LOTS of praise in the next phase of the toilet training process.

Silly Bucky!

Starbucks came home about 2 weeks ago and he loves it here. On the very first day he let me know who was King of the House by peeing on my bed. Of course, we quickly took care of that and now he goes to the appropriate place when it’s time (although when guests are over, he gets excited and sometimes forgets)…On the first night, Starbucks cuddled up right next to me so I was convinced that his aloof F6 personality was simply him being over-shadowed by the other kitties in the litter. Alas-he certainly has asserted himself. He is very vocal and vey active. Play time is when his personality really shines through. He likes to play all the time and it’s night time, he likes to sleep in the closet….but not for too long, because he is always on the look out for hands or feet to attack! He is incredably active and completely adorable. So far, his personality is one of playful kitty. No-playful, vocal, assertive kitty! Games will not suffice unless it involves throwing a paper or shiny ball (which he will prompty fetch and retrieve) or playing with ‘Da Bird’ in a crazy manner.

The Legacy of Mr.Jinks

I’m sure most of us who have seen Meet The Parents would remember the infamous cat, Mr. Jinks. Infamous, of course, for his ability to use the toilet. Cats learning to use the toilet is actually quite common, much to my surprise. However, I never even considered training a cat to use the toilet myself. It wasn’t until my boyfriend had sent me a link to this web-site about training cats that I realized that it really didn’t seem that hard. She had outlined the process quite well (she also has Bengal cats) . I was very tempted to try it if I ever got a cat, mostly for the sheer amusement… to see if it’d actually work. Imagine a life without kitty litter. How so convenient for apartment/studio living.

So, here is a journal of the Toilet Training extravaganza! I will try to document the progress on a daily basis and provide pictures. We’ll see if Starbucks can learn how to use the toilet. I was concerned that he was way too tiny to learn to balance on the toilet seat…but Kelli thinks he’ll be fine. At 12 weeks, he is perfectly litter trained and thus a fine, young candidate for the process. I will be following the method outlined by the Douglas Island Veternary Service, Toilet Training for Cats Made Easy. If he actually learns to do this, it’s going to be SO funny. I wonder though, if I leave him at a cat sitter’s, will he use their toilet or will he only use the toilet he was taught to use? Will he be able to use litter sometimes, and then the toilet other times?

Pedigree for Starbucks (courtesy of Cheetahsden)

This is kind of messy, but first you’ll find the pedigree chart that Kelli from Cheetahsden made. She also was kind enough to send pictures as well! So I thought that it would be fun to arrange the pictures in their appropriate order. It turned out messy, but fun to look at nonetheless!

Sire Cheetahsden Tsunami SBT 031600 030 gold/black rosettes	Sire Cheetahsden Kai SBT 090197 034 gold/black rosettes	Sire Junglebook Declan Omally of Tariquat SBT 031396 028 brown spotted	Sire Nola Voodoo Magic of Junglebook
			Dam Junglebook Graphic Imprint
		Dam Heritage MeMe of Cheetahsden SBT 090595 006 tawny/black spotted	Sire Bengalpalace Calypso of Heritage
			Dam Heritage Catalina
	Dam Epsilon Pawladia SBT 032398 tawny/black spotted	Sire Millwood Shahnarah SBT 081696 tawny/black spotted	Sire Heritage Shiloh of Millwood
			Dam Millwood Crystal Prism
		Dam Cheetahsden’s Sundancer SBT 022497 gold/black rosettes	Sire Kingsmark Rajah of Cheetahsden
			Dam Hisumi’s Isha of Cheetahsden
Dam Junglebook Illustrated Fantasy SBT 091005 031 brown spotted	Sire Junglebook Margays Fantasy Singher SBT 032801 035 brown spotted	Sire Junglebook Margay Illustrated SBT 102898 010 brown marble	Sire Nola Voodoo Magic of Junglebook
			Dam Junglebook Virtual Reality
		Dam Junglebook ALC Fantasy SBT C3N 072099 026 brown spotted	Sire Junglebook Virtual Copy
			Dam Junglebook ALC Odyssey
	Dam Junglebook Raisin Cane SBT 090102 016 seal sepia spotted	Sire Junglebook Made in the USA SBT 091101 021 seal sepia spotted	Sire Kingsmark Chances Are
			Dam Wildriver Nowme
		Dam Junglebook Sweet Surrender SBT C3P 032600 019 seal sepia spotted	Sire Kingsmark Chances Are
			Dam Kachina of Junglebook

pedigree-for-cheetahsden-tsunami-x-junglebook-illustrated-fantasy-litter.doc

Starbucks, World. World, Starbucks

Sonali Goes Through her Rationalization of Getting a Kitty

For the last year I had been playing around with the idea of getting a pet. Although I was strongly considering getting a Great Dane, the fact that I live in a studio remained a deterrent. Various things kept popping up in the meanwhile, which really prevented me from staying home at a regular basis. Over Christmas, my father and sister came to visit and brought my lovely 17 year old Chocolate-Point Siamese, Toffy. Having Toffy around was simply bliss.

Now, you can call me a snob but my sister and I would glorify the fact that Toffy was a pure-bred Siamese. Toffy is intelligent. He comes running from far and beyond the great outdoors when called, fetches paperballs and is generally perfect. However, I cannot dream of getting another Siamese just yet, because I cannot bear the subconscious possibility that that would mean I am replacing Toffy. And nothing can replace Toffy. If not a siamese, then what? What bred possibly comes close to the Siamese in intelligence and general coolness? Alas, our backup was the Bengal. Of course our vanity played a role in that. Siamese were cool because they guarded the ancient temples of the Kingdom of Siam. Bengals were cool because we are Bengali.

I meet a couple of Kitties

Unlike the very long and sophisticated breeding history of the Siamese, the Bengal Cat is a relatively new breed starting out as a cross between the Asian Leopard Cat and a domestic cat in the 1960s. What is striking about the Bengal is it’s pelt of spots. They really do look like small versions of a wild cat.

I had been researching various breeders in the Seattle area and all the kittens in the winter litters had been reserved. Out of luck, one of the breeders emailed me that 2 kittens were suddenly available because the young couple who had them reserved could no longer have them. I jumped at the chance to visit the 12 week old kittens. I spent 3 hours playing with kittens that were polar opposites of each others. One of them was the Queen of the litter and completely adoring but also a bully. The other was timid and shy. While the Queen was jumping at the chance to get into my lap, the other hated being held and would rather sneak up underneath my jacket and sit covered. Once the Queen was exhausted with all her rambunctious playing, the shy one finally got the guts to exert himself. I was on the fence with my decision on which kitty fit what I was looking for. Then, the breeder mentioned that his Mom was here and I could meet her. When I saw how much the shy kitty just came out of his shell around her and loved her completely, I was sold.

I wouldn’t describe Starbucks as the pathetic one of the bunch. He is more like the aloof/ambivelant one.

About Starbucks

Starbucks is an F6 snow mink spotted bengal. The breeder, Kelli, of Cheetahsden Bengals of Northwest, is awesome. She is kind and has offered so much information about the breed and Starbucks’ family. Starbucks’ mother, Junglebook Illustrated Fantasy, an F5, definitely displays wild-cat behaviors like prowling around the room in uncertain situations. Fantasy is gorgeous and also has the longer, leaner body type. Starbucks has inherited the oriental features of the domestic cats that the Asian Leopard Cats were bred with-a siamese on the mom’s side and a burmese on the dad’s-hence the homozygous recessive albino trait from both sides making him a “snow leopard” bengal. I like the fact that he is quieter and more alusive, compared to his brothers, sisters and cousins. Perhaps that’s the siamese owner in me. I also like the fact that he is a F6…it makes me think that I have way more special cat because he is so much closer to the Asian Leopard Cat.

Argh! Pourquoi un autre blog?

Simply because I have been writing a lot in the past year and it was about time that I get the guts to share it with the world. I hope to share stories on the events of the past year, thoughts on religion and philosophy, essays on economics and development, and perhaps fun and quirky updates on important aspects of my life which might help others or, in the very least, offer entertainment.

Who am I? I am a 25 year old French-Canadian PhD student in econometrics and biostatistics (technically in absentia but I keep that small detail in perspective for one goal: publications=funding!). I am currently doing research on epidemiology and health policy for a biotech wolf (for whom I am possibly a sheep) . My current work is focused on neonatal and pediatric health care policy and I hope that the idiosyncratic social lab setting of the migrant and low-income population in Washington State will lend itself to meaningful work on market development in larger settings in the developing world.

When I am not at work, I am usually reading or listening to NPR. My tastes are rather mercurial and my essays might reflect this fact. I love reading and chances are I am at one of several coffee shops or bookstores in Seattle on a weekend. I also share in the delight of few close friends. Soon I will be getting a snow leopard bengal kitten named Starbucks. I am also learning Italian.

The highlight for me in 2006 was finishing a 10K race in Seattle.

Finishing the actual race was great. However, in the process I raised over $1500 for Ovarian Cancer research at Swedish Medical Hospital’s Ovarian Cancer Research Center. This would have been absolutely impossible without the generous love and support of my friends and acquaintances in Seattle and New York. This was of genuine importance since at the time my mother was undergoing treatment for Ovarian Cancer. She was at Stage IV and her cancer was a Grade IV by that time, and was quite sick. My father was in the process of transporting her to New York’s Sloan-Kettering for an experimental treatment for endometrial stromal sarcoma of the ovaries. Regardless of her pain, she shared in the excitment of the race mostly because she loved jogging around our neighbourhood. She certainly wasn’t an athlete but, that never stopped her from exploring the miles and miles of trails around the natural setting of our town. If there is one thing I remember about my mother jogging, it’s what she would wear. I would be absolutely mortified she would leave the house for her jogs because she would wear a bright blue over-sized t-shirt and one of my father’s company black corduroy hats with the brim completely straight. She was known around town for that outfit. She was also known as a wonderfully kind and considerate lady. All the kids loved her because she was sincere. She passed away less than 2 months after that race. That was about 4 months ago.

I hope that this is an adequate summary for my audience on the author of these subsequent posts. Please feel free to comment and relate your own experiences and opinions!