We Love Our Cats: Chico, Chaco and The Pink-spotted Thing (A Happy Ending)

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  Chaco August 2012 (http://animalhumanenm.org)

We love our cats! They are aesthetically pleasing and endlessly entertaining. In this episode: the adventures of two abandoned feral kittens. Learn how they were rescued and started their journey to a new life.

      Chico September 2012 (http://animalhumanenm.org)

The beginning of the story: http://gomestic.com/pets/we-love-our-cats-chico-chaco-and-the-pink-spotted-thing-part-1/

The Dynamic Duo were fed only formula, with extra water available, for another week. We estimated their age at 5 weeks at that point. Weaning can begin at 6 weeks. We’d seen the two brothers trying to eat the minced cooked chicken and the dry cat food we put outside. Wet kitten food, mixed with a bit of boiled and cooled water was served. Gone!  The minced cooked chicken was also presented, mixed with formula. Disappeared! The length of time between feedings was lengthened to 4 hours, so we got a bit more sleep.

There was stil the matter of naming the brothers. Various names were tried out, not that the kittens responded to any of them. Eventually we settled on Chico (little one) for the grey kitten and Chaco (unexplored territory) for his slightly larger brother. Succinct, crisp and perfect for our two guests.

Animal Humane wouldn’t take them for adoption unless they weighed at least 2 lbs/1 kg and were 8 weeks old. The kittens couldn’t be neutered or fully vaccinated before that point. So we needed to keep them until they hit that target. They weren’t that much work once they were eating solid kitten food in addition to formula. It was still necessary to get up very early but in summer that’s not too much of a problem. They got weighed every other day (on a kitchen scale) to keep track. Initially Chico was much smaller than Chaco but was catching up quickly enough.