Koko & Kaito bringing a new ray of hope in lockdown life
Emma House with Kaito
Lockdown was a difficult phase for everyone. But for pet parents the positive thing to look for was their companionship. Reiterating in our 100th issue that responsible pet parenting is the way to go! Find out how Koko and Kaito made Emma’s lockdown more adventurous and full of positivity.
When lockdown struck in March with the outbreak of the COVID – 19 virus, we needed to stay at home in order to stay safe and control the spread of the disease. This was the perfect opportunity for me to adopt some rescue kittens. Working away during the day was always a barrier to bringing new kittens home, knowing how much attention they need in the early stages of their life. But all this changed with the start of the lockdown. Assuming there would be a period of at least 6 months of staying at home, I jumped at the chance to find myself the perfect feline companions.
Giving the kittens a warm welcome with a Japanese touch
A lot of others had the same idea, and of course lockdown applied to the rescue centers as well which meant a little waiting period. After a short period of time and lots of phone calls, special arrangements were made for 2 kittens to be delivered to my home. The pair (a boy and a girl) were found at estimated 2 days old, abandoned by their mother (we think she was killed by a car) along with 2 other siblings who unfortunately did not survive. They were taken in and hand-reared until they were 12 weeks old and were rehomed with me. I named them Koko (girl) and Kaito (boy), giving them Japanese names with an anglicized twist (I love Japan) ! I immediately fell in love.
They thrived thanks to the kindness of the animal rescue centre that hand reared them and have since gone from strength to strength, in their size, stature, and confidence. The first 3 months of kitten’s life was as expected, racing around the home at top speed, chasing each other, playing with cat toys, discovering any small hole they can hide in, and of course sleeping and eating. They provided endless entertainment in that gloomy and sad phase.
After 5 months I finally let them out to explore their outdoor surroundings. Their first tentative steps on grass were a sight to behold. They quickly grew accustomed and loved exploring the great outdoors, staying close to home for the first few weeks then moving further afield. Within the first month Kaito discovered a love of climbing trees.
Life lessons from adventures gone wrong
Unfortunately, he hadn’t quite worked out how to climb down from the tree. He disappeared overnight and I couldn’t find him. Upon exploring the woods area close to home I heard a meowing. I looked up and saw him perched at the top of the tree. He was unable to come down and was really scared. He had spent the whole night up there. Ladders were brought and Kaito was finally rescued. That was the first and last time luckily. He stayed away from trees for a few weeks and can now scramble up them – and back down again with ease.
Stronger each day, that’s the way!
Koko and Kaito are now almost a year old. Koko is a hunter and will catch anything that crosses her path – mice, frogs etc. She doesn’t kill them, she just wants to play. Kaito is more laid back and prefers to watch his sister sitting back on his haunches. Neither of them is a lap cat yet, I hope they will become so as they get older. They both love exploring, but always come home in time for dinner and bedtime when they thoroughly enjoy watching the television! Lockdown life has been brighter thanks to these 2 rescue kittens with their unique antics and loving nature. I look forward to spending a long and healthy life with them in our new way of working from home.