Much to our disbelief, and sooner that we hoped for, Kiki reached another milestone – her puberty!

At about 6 months old, she started showing signs she was entering her first heat cycle, and we were not prepared for it. At all.

Looking back now, it was surprising, confusing, and honestly, pretty funny too. Here’s the story of Kiki’s first time showing mating signals and what we did about them.

Kiki Exhibits Strange Signs

It all started with little changes in Kiki’s behavior that caught us completely off guard. She became much more vocal than usual and started rubbing her head against everything in the apartment including our legs. She also genuinely started showing a lot more affection out of the blue.

At first, we were overjoyed by her attention towards us, but when she started meowing more often and much louder, that’s when we got a bit concerned.

Thinking she was too young for her first heat cycle, we worried that something is wrong with her, did she become sick, or is something hurting her? And then all of the sudden, she started to meow as if calling for her partner, lowering her body to the ground, and lifting her little tushy, making biscuits with her back legs in the process.

Neither of us had experienced such a thing with a young indoor kitten, so we didn’t know what to do or how to help her. We also genuinely felt awkward, like parents realizing their kid had become a teenager over night.

But, given she looked like she was really struggling, we wanted to do something about it so we immediately called our veterinarian and asked for help.

First Meows

The very first thing we noticed was Kik’s meows, as they started to sound completely different from the playful little meows we were used to. She started making long, drawn-out noises that sounded like a call to someone.

We looked at each other wondering what had gotten into her. Kiki continued to walk around the apartment, literally screaming for no reason, and no matter the attention we gave her, she would continue to do so.

With all of this happening, we had to take action and try to occupy her by playing with her favorite toys, especially the feather wands.

We hope this would calm her down a bit before our visit to the vet.

First Unexpected Situations

The next thing we noticed was a change in behavior. Kiki kept following us around, rubbing her head against our legs, and then suddenly gently bumping her backside as if she was asking us to help her with something.

She would then lower her body to the ground and make biscuits with her back legs, an obvious mating call and sign. We called our vet, asked for help, and read a lot of stuff in the meantime.

Our veterinarian asked us to bring her in for a quick check up. He confirmed that she is in heat and that this process, without having an actual partner does feel like a struggle for her.

We continued to play with her all the time in an effort to calm her down by having her spend as much energy on running around as possible.

Given we weren’t able to provide her with a mate, nor did we want her to struggle with pregnancy while being still so little, we had to come up with another, at least temporary solution.

After a long conversation about the pros and cons, we agreed that only this time, he would give her a hormonal injection to calm her down and help her pass her first heat cycle.

Looking back on those days she was in heat for the first time now, it is a funny memory, but at the time we were completely confused by our little girl’s unexpected behavior.

Kiki Doing Unexpected Things

The next day after the injection, Kiki’s behavior returned to normal, though we paid close attention to her.

However, after a few days, she got another heat cycle and exhibited the exact same behaviour. Watching her like this was both funny and heartbreaking, because we couldn’t help her. Our vet reassured us that this is normal and either we need to find her a partner or sterilize her.

So, we opted for the latter, took Kiki to the vet again for the same injection, and after a few days, we went back and had her sterilized.

These hormonal injections are extremely risky if Kiki takes them multiple times. Our decision was to do this immediately so the symptoms would pass and we would take her to be spayed.

Kiki’s Story Continues

Kiki’s first heat cycle was a whole new experience for us. We had plenty to learn as purr-ents and it reminded us of just how important it is to pay attention to your cat’s behavior and never hesitate to call your vet for help.

Heat cycles are completely normal and they actually show you have a healthy cat that’s just going through something that’s totally natural for her nature. The thing is, when i’s an indoor cat and there aren’t many male cats around to help with her needs, it’s on us as cat parents to hel;p as much as we can.

Luckily for us, Kiki was soon back to her happy, usual, playful self, and ready for her next chapter in life.

The post Kiki’s First Heat Cycle appeared first on PurrfectlyKiki.

Well, not exactly.

Turns out, our little furry princess had a different plan and she made sure we knew exactly how she felt about being left alone.

This is the story of us going away and leaving Kiki alone in the apartment for the first time ever!

Kiki Stays Alone at Home

We enjoy every minute we spend with Kiki, but sometimes we have to take a break from our jobs and our everyday routine. So eventually, we needed to go away for the weekend which meant leaving her alone for a few days.

Even though Kiki knows she is safe in our apartment, we couldn’t help but worry. After all, she had never spent that much time without us.

So, we found ourselves thinking about everything that can happen:

• Will she be scared?
• Will she think we abandoned her?
• Will she miss us?
• Will she go to her toilet regularly?
• Will she eat and drink normally?

And when we got overwhelmed by thinking this way, we started planning for every possible outcome. To make her absence easier to deal with, we did the following:

• Added two more bowls of dry food only
• Added a few more bowls of water across the apartment
• Added one more litter box next to the first one
• Added a few cat beds throughout the rooms
• Added her favorite toys scattered across the apartment

Once we set up everything, there wasn’t much else to do except hope she would be alright. We knew the apartment was a safe place for her and we had my sister check up on her to make sure she is not completely alone and see if she needs anything refilled. This was a day and a half trip but we still wanted her to have a human visit and reassure her everything is alright.

What happened next, surprised us beyond our wildest imagination, and here’s how.

a) Food Recap

The one thing that put our minds at ease when we entered our home was seeing that Kiki handled her food perfectly while we were away.

She ate just enough to keep herself full, never overeating as there was leftover food in the bowls. Moreover, we also found that the water bowls were nearly empty, which meant she drank a lot of water that made us very happy.

Takeaway – leaving multiple food and water bowls across the apartment was the best decision as she happily ate and drank from all of them whenever she felt the need.

b) Toilet Situation

This was another big surprise when it was time to check her litter boxes. Apparently, Kiki used both of them, but in a way that we never expected her to do so.

Upon seeing she has two litter boxes, somehow Kiki decided that one litter box will serve her exclusively for pooping, while the other would be only for peeing. We certainly didn’t teach her to do that, but apparently she had her own system and has been sticking to it ever since.

Takeaway – much to our surprise, we were ecstatic to find out she regularly visited the litter boxes and made the most use of both of them (we did have a lot of litter clumps to scoop though ).

Kiki’s Reaction to Being Alone for the First Time

Looking back, we worried much more than we should have, because as soon as we returned home, it was clear that Kiki handled our absence far better than we could imagine.

In addition to using both litter boxes, as well as her regularly feeding herself, we found her toys scattered all over the apartment. This was proof to us that she kept herself entertained even while we were away.

We were a bundle of worries, so seeing her this way was a nice surprise for us, especially since she is so clingy to us.

However, there was one little surprise in store that we never would have thought of. Her reaction upon us entering the apartment.

She had been half asleep, but as soon as she heard us, she jumped from the bed and came to greet us, meowing a bit and wading her tail around. This was one of those moments that melted our hearts and reassured us that she missed us as much as we missed her.

That said, the biggest surprise was where we found her sleeping. Our bed is fairly high and we had no idea Kiki could climb on top of it yet, as she was still very small. Yet there she was, curled up next to my husband’s pillow as if she was sleeping besides something that smelled like him, making her feel a little less alone while we were gone.

Takeaway – this first experience has taught us a very important lesson – Kiki was much more independent than we had imagined, and it also reminded us just how special the bond between us had already become. Everything suggested that she had settled into her own little routine until we came back.

Kiki’s Story Continues

Leaving Kiki alone at home for the first time was much harder for us than it was for her. She proved she could take care of herself and showed us how much she loved having us around.

This was another milestone in Kiki’s journey as her story continues, and one that made our bond with her even stronger.

The post Kiki’s First Time Being Alone appeared first on PurrfectlyKiki.

Over the years, we have tried numerous foods, treats, routines, and we paid close attention to how she reacted to each of them.

Here’s everything Kiki ate over the years and how each choice shaped her happiness, health, and well-being.

Basic Diet for Kiki

From the very start, we wanted to keep Kiki’s diet simple and balanced, so we weren’t experimenting with usual diets or giving her human food. Our sole focus was to provide good quality cat food with plenty of fresh water, and then we just paid attention to how her little body reacted as she grew.

1. Dry Food – Kibble

Dry food was and still is the foundation of Kiki’s diet. From the day we brought her home she happily ate her kibble and never had any issues with it. As she grew older, we tried different brands, from Purina to Whiskas, mixing kitten food and then adult food, and lastly, healthy food for the urination tract, food for a healthy coat, and food for sterilized cats.

She enjoyed both Purina and Whiskas, but we found she didn’t quite enjoy the kibble that was meant to support a healthy coat, so we decided not to feed her too much of it.

Takeaway – dry food always kept her satisfied and she never ate more than she needed to. Today, it still remains the biggest part of her daily meals and continues to work really well for her.

2. Wet Food – Canned

Wet food, or canned food, is also still part of our routine. We gave Kiki wet food in forms of pouches and cans, and she absolutely loved it, especially Whiskas’. She would get sooo excited when we were opening the pouch and she couldn’t wait to get her meal.

At first, she was adorable and ate the food, but never ate it fully or more than needed. She would eat as much as needed and leave the rest, oftentimes never going back to it again. Wet food has a short life span so we would end up throwing the leftovers away.

However, we noticed a change in her behavior as Kiki went from an adorable little playful kitten to a full-on beast, becoming very aggressive in our playtime activities.

Moreover, her skin and coat got very greasy and she would attack, in a playful manner, everyone close to her, even the guests.

This was the moment we reached out to our vet for consultation and researched the reasons why she would do this. After that, we dialed down the wet food and would feed her pouches only on rare occasions.

Soon after, Kiki returned to a normal lovable little furry baby and her coat and fur also returned to being normal, smooth, and silky.

Takeaway – wet food is a good appetizer and has many benefits, though regular wet food obviously took a toll on our baby, and we now feed her only on rare occasions.

3. Water – Fountains & Bowls

One of the biggest benefits of wet cat food is that it contains a high level of moisture, which is important for cats as many cats rarely drink enough water.

However, the one thing that surprised us the most was how much water Kiki drank each day. Many purr-ents struggle to encourage their cats to stay hydrated, but fortunately for us, this was never the case with Kiki.

We always made sure that she had plenty of fresh water available and we placed multiple water bowls around the apartment, so whenever she feels thirsty, she would immediately have a source to drink from.

Additionally, we also bought her a water fountain and instantly became her favorite place to drink from. But not before playing with it, of course, she’s a cat after all.

Takeaway – drinking a good amount of water is a must for cats to stay hydrated, and our Kiki drinks plenty of water, which makes our feeding routine pretty easy, as we would just feed her dry food with wet food on rare occasions.

Kiki’s Reaction to Dry & Wet Food

We mentioned earlier that Kiki reacted in different ways to both the dry and wet cat food. As she grew, we noticed what influenced her energy levels, her behavior, and how it affected her overall health and litter habits.

Looking back, the changes became impossible to ignore so it’s always good to keep a close eye on your cat’s food intake.

We hope this will help you whenever you have struggles with your kitten or cat’s eating habits or routines.

Dry Food

This was always the safest and most reliable choice. Her coat remained smooth, silky, and healthy, and she maintained good weight. Additionally, her personality remained the same and she loved it.

Takeaways:

• Safe and reliable choice
• Good on her health
• Maintained steady weight
• No digestive issues
• No unusual behavior changes
• Occasionally she would get bored
• Liked only certain types of dry food

Wet Food

Our experience with wet cat food was very different from other purr-ents we discussed food with. Namely, she seemed perfect at first, and even became very playful and engaging.

However, over time she became very aggressive in her playing attitude, jumping and pouncing aggressively, and her coat and fur became very greasy as a result. We believe this is likely due to the high Taurine levels within the wet food we brought home.

Our sweet, cuddly little girl suddenly became much more aggressive during playtime. She would stalk us around the apartment, launch surprise attacks, grab onto our legs with her claws, and refuse to let go. Instead of ending with a happy, tired kitten taking a nap, our play sessions often ended with scratches on our hands and legs.

Takeaways:

• Very palatable and Kiki loved
• High moisture content, though we didn’t have hydration issues
• Gained a lot of weight
• Made her coat very greasy
• She became very aggressive
• Good to give wet food on rare occasions as a form of treat

There was a vast difference in giving Kiki dry and wet food, and nowadays, we feed her dry food only, and give her wet food when we come back from a few days vacation, or rarely as a form of treat and reward, and also for additional hydration benefits. We also mix it with water as we find it very concentrated and she only likes to drink the soup and leave the little pieces of food, so this way she has more to drink. However, she never finishes the entire bowl and always walks away when she’s had enough.

Kiki’s Story Continues

Learning what kind of food Kiki should eat was an important milestone for us and it took a bit of trial and error to find the most suitable food for her. Every single experience helped us better understand her and allow us to keep her happy and healthy.

As Kiki continued to grow, our knowledge did as well, and we are now happy that she enjoys the meals and routine. We hope this will help other cat purr-ents out there who are still figuring out their furry babies’ diet.

The post Kiki’s Diet – What She Ate & Reactions appeared first on PurrfectlyKiki.

Being there to protect them and feed them, teaching them healthy habits, keeping an eye on their health, watching how their body develops and gets stronger, and seeing their personality take shape is a very special time.

It’s also what shapes your relationship with them for the years to come. Here’s how Kiki grew over the first twelve months.

How Kiki Grew Over the First Year

Me and my husband have been blessed with jobs that have us stay at home all the time, which allowed us to see how Kiki evolved with each passing day.

Oh, and also being able to love, cuddle, and play with her all day long!

While the first month when we found Kiki was filled with teaching her healthy habits, checking her for health issues, regular vet visits, and gauging what and how much she eats and drinks, the next 3 months were a bit different.

Months 1 to 3

As time passed, Kiki got healthier by the day. She was still sticking to the living room for the first two weeks, probably feeling too small to explore the great unknown – the rest of the apartment. Unless we picked her up, she was too small to climb the chairs or even the sofa so she mainly played on the floor and the cozy, fuzzy carpet where she regularly fell asleep.

She then started exploring and following us to the bedroom, but again, she was too small to climb the bed. And she also wasn’t brave enough to jump without being sure where she would land.

But, being the brave little rascal she is, this changed in a very short time. The first milestone was jumping from the sofa if we placed her there. Then she started using her teeny tiny claws to climb so she could be close to us while we were just hanging out, talking, or watching Netflix. She was still very, very tiny, even compared to our plushies, Meggie and Peggie.

Pretty soon, she was climbing and jumping from everywhere, feeling safe and secure to run around and explore every corner of the apartment.

Months 4 to 6

In the next 3 months, we saw a lot of progress in all areas, and especially with playtime activities.

Even though the comfort of mommy was something special for Kiki, daddy was the one that always knew how to play with her and keep her entertained. She couldn’t wait for him to come home, she meowed at the door and slept on top of his pajamas every time he was out.

The first time we left her alone overnight, she slept on his pillow feeling like he was close by.

He bought her all sorts of toys, a huge cat tree, plastic mouse that she can chase, an endless number of balls in all sizes and colours, and sticks with feathers that she can jump and catch.

However, the most interesting playtime for her involved us. We would chase her and then she would chase us, but always one at a time. For some reason, if we both joined the play she would back off. I guess she felt outnumbered.

She continued to grow, eat regularly and much to our surprise, drink lots and lots of water.

Months 7 to 9

By this time, she had her own spaces that she slept and played in. We had learned which food she wanted and didn’t want, and she had her favorite pastimes already figured out.

During the night, we made room between our pillows and she would sleep curled up between us. In the morning she would just eat and go back to sleep while we worked in our home office.

In the afternoon, she would feel bored already and she would start to meow and ask for attention. We took breaks from work to make sure she got the attention she wanted and played with her until she was no longer interested, which didn’t take long. We find our Kiki to be a bit lazy that way.

If she wasn’t getting the attention she wanted though, she would climb the shoe cabinet and turn on the lights. She figured out what the switch does and if we still didn’t get up, she would turn the lights off and on again until one of us finally was able to pause their work.

Months 10 to 12

When she started to get bigger, something had clearly changed in her behavior. We noticed that for the last few weeks she started getting aggressive and puffy.

She even looked like she had built muscles and she acted like she was looking for a fight. We would pass by her and she would grab us with her claws. And the play time didn’t end like it used to. It ended with her hurting us and us having scratches all over us.

We didn’t know what was going on and even though it wasn’t all the time, we knew we had to react and help her overgrow this phase, where she was literally a beast.

After doing research and consulting our local veterinarian, we found out this ratched behavior was due to her food. We were giving her wet food in the form of pouches that contained a very high level of taurine, which turned out to make her aggressive. Although taurine is healthy in small amounts and is found in almost all cat foods, it looked like those we gave her were not suitable at all.

Even though they were her favorite, we started giving her less and less, until finally switching to another brand, but also sticking mostly to dry food which suits her best.

Her aggressive behavior subsided within a week and she went back to being our sweet little baby girl. From then on, we have become extremely careful about the food we give her. Not just the brand, but the ingredients, the amount of taurine and fats in it.

Cat Food Directly Affecting a Cat’s Growth

What we have noticed during the first twelve months and how Kiki grew, was that the type of food we gave her directly impacted her growth, behavior, and energy levels.

We started with dry food, lots of water around, and regular wet food in the form of pouches. We never gave her human food or any other raw type of food.

From this, we came to the conclusion that for Kiki, dry food worked the best as she would eat enough to keep her satiated without overfeeding herself. We were also amazed at how much water she drank, so we constantly refilled her water bowl, introduced a secondary source of water, and also bought a water fountain, which she absolutely loved.

Next, as soon as we saw what the wet food did to her, in terms of aggressiveness, bulkiness, and greasy hair, we stopped giving her wet food, but not entirely, as we still give her wet food but very very rarely.

We stick to dry food only, with lots of water options around, and only give her wet food on occasions.

Kiki’s Story Continues

The first year of Kiki’s life was filled with lots of energized days, playtime sessions, and learning what she likes and dislikes in terms of food, water, and cat brands.

We enjoyed watching her grow with each day and we continue to do so to this very day, only this time, we’ve got another furry little baby to nurture as well!

The post Kiki’s Growth – First 6 to 12 Months appeared first on PurrfectlyKiki.

For the better!

We went outside to take out the trash and buy groceries when we saw a tiny, dirty, but very cute black and white furball near the garbage containers.

Upon getting closer, this little furry baby jumped on our sneakers and cried for us to take it home.

And that we did!

Kiki Found Her Home

She was so little she could fit in the palm of my hand. But she wasn’t malnourished, so she probably hadn’t been separated from her mother for long. We thoroughly searched the buildings in our neighborhood but didn’t find her.

My wife and I looked at each other, and we both knew exactly what the other was thinking – we’re taking her home!

Having grown up with cats all our lives, we knew exactly what to do, but this was actually our first time having a cat together in our own apartment. Still, we were ready for the challenge and excited to find out what kind of cat parents we’d be.

We took her in, checked her gender and if there were any health issues or injuries. Then we were really excited to have someone to spoil (apart from ourselves) so we went to our closest pet store and bought all sorts of stuff, from cat food to bowls and litter boxes, lots and lots of toys, preparing to take care of this little furry angel.

She was, of course, a bit suspicious at first, but once she got accustomed to her surroundings, she ate a bit, and she then found a cozy little sun-baked spot on our floor to curl up and fall asleep. Little did she know, she will not experience cold weather, hunger, or any danger from the outdoors ever again.

First Time Eating & Drinking Clean

After a while of getting accustomed to her new home, Kiki started exploring her surroundings. She started walking around and looking at the place, hopping around with her teeny tiny legs, eventually finding her food and water, which we placed nearby.

Kiki ate and drank clean water for the first time!

A few moments later, she found her way towards the litter box and, much to our surprise, her first time in the litter box was successful. We were so proud of her!

Kiki spent her first day in her new home getting warm, eating, drinking, getting familiar with her surroundings and sleeping comfortably and without a care in the world.

Me and my wife on the other hand, were dealing with a mix of feelings in the face of the new challenge we found ourselves in. Happiness, fear, sorrow that she had to be alone before we found her and how scared she must have been, but also hope and excitement for the future, knowing we’ll do our best to make her the happiest kitty in the world.

First Visit to the Vet

After the first day, we decided to take her to the vet for a checkup and cleanup, and the vet was amazed at how healthy Kiki was, as well as how pretty she was.

The entire way there, my wife was scared Kiki would think we’re leaving her alone somewhere. So she desperately tried to talk to her, reassuring her that we’re gonna be home really soon, even though she knew the little one wouldn’t understand her words. She still does this every time we go to the vet though!

The first trip went very smoothly and Kiki didn’t even meow one bit. It was like she knew this was for her own good.

The vet we visited was the same one my wife had always taken her cats to before, so she trusted him and knew he was the best in town. It was really important for us to have a regular vet that loved animals, cared about their patience and treated every one of them like they were the most special pet in the world. And that’s exactly what he did and we’re really happy with him and the rest of the crew to this day.

He did a thorough checkup, gave her a pill for internal and external parasites, and registered her very own passport. We were so excited!

Knowing how stressful this must have been for her, we brought her back to her new home and gave her lots of attention. She spent most of the day with mommy getting cuddled and spoiled.

First Playtime Activities

The next few days were filled with even more joy as Kiki started playing by herself, at first. Once she got her energy levels up and was safe in the knowledge that this is her home, she started playing with whatever she could find. Everything small enough she could roll around was up for grabs.

We didn’t want to just leave her playing by herself, so we joined in. Pretty soon it became our little routine, regular play sessions together that brought us even closer.

Mommy’s Bond

As kiki grew by the day, she formed a special bond with her mama. My wife would curl her up inside her blouse, cuddling and warming Kiki up, and Kiki would just enjoy this, close up her eyes, and start to purr, enjoying every second of mommy’s warmth.

Anna has had many cats before, but she lived in a house with a yard so they weren’t really house cats exactly, they spent most of their time outside. She loved them very much, but she never had a cat who stayed by her side 24/7. Or one that depended on her this much, following her everywhere, even to the bathroom.

This was a completely new experience for her, one that melted her heart and made Kiki the most loved cat of her life.

Daddy’s Bond

Kiki has a special bond with me too, but ours is more fun, playful and exciting. Since she didn’t have a fellow kitty to chase, I started chasing her around the apartment.

She would hide and then jump at me from her secret spots, and then chase me back. Her tail would puff up, her ears would tilt to the sides, and I knew she was having the best time.

After one of our play sessions, she would crash and fall asleep in random places, tired but happy from all the fun she had.

Being the “fun dad”, also means she wants me to be home all the time. So whenever I am out, Kiki sleeps on my clothes or meows at the door, anxiously waiting for me to come back.

This is why I know, even though she has that special bond with my wife, she loves me just as much.

It’s the same for me as it is for Anna. I grew up in a house with lots of cats too, but I truly feel that Kiki has made the biggest impact on my life. She’s the one I share the most special bond with, having been there for her and cared for her since she was just a tiny baby.

We’ll never know how she ended up abandoned or separated from her mom back then, but we’re so so grateful we were the ones that found her.

Kiki’s Story Continues

Life hasn’t been the same since October 28, 2022. That day marked a new chapter in our lives and in our beloved Kiki’s. We love our time together, watching her grow, play, and enjoy her little world, somehow getting cuter with each passing day.

The post Kiki’s Life Story – How She Changed Our Lives appeared first on PurrfectlyKiki.