healing

Seems like Reno is on the mend. We went to the vet, yet again, yesterday. She had started a slow decline, then the decline started to pick up speed. She is back on Metro, and after 3 doses, she seems to have perked up. I also gave her 15 MLs (1/2 oz) of SubQ fluids today, which also probably made her feel better. I opened up a can of Buck's food, which is Proplan Chicken and Rice in gravy, and she dove in! This is great news, as she has hardly been eating for the last 3 days, and had been losing weight rapidly.


Reno gets in a little work, even though she is not 100%.


Reno finally gets some of her appetite back!


She is not terribly pleased with me now. The Metro is pretty nasty, and she fights tooth and nail. She still starts to drool when I get the syringe near her, but it is helping, so we will both have to deal with it!


Colonel gets ready to pounce on someone.

The rest of the circus is doing fine. Vegas caught right back up to her brother Major, and they go back and forth between heaviest, and second heaviest. Colonel is right behind them. I think they all are ready for Spay Day, but they are still under quarantine, so I have them for at least another week. Yes, they are sweet, and I always miss them when they go, but 7 kittens who are bordering on teenagers are a lot to handle. I went into their room this week, and they had gotten a roll of paper towels down and shredded it. It looked like it had snowed in there. (Sorry, I didn't think to get a picture)

Buck always acts indignant when there are kittens here, but the reality is, he loves them. He hides, and jumps out and runs, like he is afraid of them, and he chases them and lets them chase him. Here you can see him playing with all the itty bitties.


Itty Bitties interested in the box.




Ah ha! Now we know what they were interested in.

He is also very good with Reno. Here he is chillin' with his little baby foster sister.






I have a friend interested in adopting both Colonel and Dallas! I am very excited about that. They have 4 children, so they will have non stop entertainment. And of course, regular updates!


Vegas lounges on the carrier after conquering the beast of the box (Buck).

Hopefully next week we will have more good news with Reno as she battles back from whatever is ailin' her!

new video

As requested, here's another video I shot yesterday. Shows a little fun the itty bitties have when they get the run of the upstairs.

On a bit of a downer, seems like Reno is not feeling well again. She lost weight, and doesn't play with the rest of the kids. She seems to again not be interested in eating, so I will buy some more stinky food today, to entice her. I started them all on another round of Panacur yesterday, and I can tell Reno and Vegas remember the days of me sticking stuff in their mouths. They fought me like crazy! 2 more days for this round. White spots everywhere! I gave Reno a squirt of lycine gel this morning. She was not pleased, but I got some in her. Hopefully, it will help with the URI symptoms.

biding our time

The itty bitties are hangin' here, waiting to get big enough to go back and be adopted to their forever homes. In the mean time, they eat, drink, play and poop like they have not a worry in the world, besides when I will open he door and let them out! As you can see by the little movie below, they REALLY like to get out.




Other times, they are eating, or sleeping, or screaming for food or "out time".

As much as I will miss them, I have to say I am about done for this season. When these guys go back, I will be going on vacation, and by the time I get back, kitten season should be about over.

These guys are cute, and they will all find homes, but remember, if you see feral cats in your neighborhood, there is an option besides euthanasia! You can contact Alleycat Allies, and they can help you get a program in your area for TNR. Trap, Neuter, Release. To learn more, go to www.alleycat.org. Remember, for every one we foster, another little kitten grows up to live a hard life on the streets.

chillin'

While is seems most of the circus is feeling fine, Reno is still not 100%, but she is gaining weight, and she is better, so we will work on getting her snotty nose cleared up. Vegas is back to normal, and now weighs almost as much as her brother Major. Talk about a rebound!


Still a bit snotty.


Although not 100%, Reno still has the energy to play with the duck!

The rest of the clowns are plodding along, biding their time until they all get forever homes. They sleep, they eat, they make the obligatory messes!

Although the shelter is on kitten lockdown because of a kitten that they believe had Panleukopenia, I was told that John Cougar, Jessica and Diego were all adopted out before the lockdown, so that's some good news. Bad news is, the kitten that died was from 50 kittens. : ( We are all hoping that it was an isolated incident, and all kittens will be available for adoption again soon.


Colonel gives that "Come adopt me" look.


Colonel gives the mouse a spin. The tongue is for balance.


Shoe strings are always popular at Itty Bitty Central.


Colonel and Major mix it up on a white towel. Colonel has the advantage of camouflage.


Sarge likes to foot sit.


Vegas looks like she is all filled out after her illness.


Dallas and Albany snooze in the "bucket" and didn't bother to get up.

relieved

After a week of touch and go, the Sin City girls are both back to normal! Eating, drinking and just as importantly, normal stool! We went from liquid, to normal after 2 days of the magical Metronidazole. Seems they had giardia. Giardia is a parasite, and not only did the 2 girls have it, but everyone ended up with it. The vet figured they would all end up with it, so he gave me enough to treat them all. The rest of the clan have 2 doses left, and all the stools are almost back to normal. Whew.


Vegas is feeling better.


Vegas does her impression of "Killer Clowns from Outer Space."


A nice photo pose from the Sin City girls.

So, the Sin City girls spent 2 days in my office, so I could better monitor them, and keep them from infecting the others, and keep the others from eating their food. I moved them back in with the rest of the "colony" Sunday morning. The elephants are all romping up there and should be on a fast track to get to weight.


Dallas still has that sour puss face.


Colonel has the same look on his face.


Albany stops for a photo.


Vegas just woke up from a nap.


Sergeant prepares for a nap.


Major.


Plays peek-a-boo.



Hopefully, there will be smooth sailing from here on out.

ups and downs and trips to the vet

You can never rest with 7 kittens in the house. Not because of the antics, although I can spend many hours just watching them. No, you have to be vigilant watching for signs of sickness. Both the patch tabby girls, Reno and Vegas, have been sick. Both have been getting sub Q fluids, and appetite stimulants. Finally they seem to be back on track. I have heard sneezing from some of the others, but so far, they are all eating, some better than others.


Reno has been ill, but had a big breakfast today.


Vegas has been sick too. She also had a big breakfast today.

The sin city girls (Reno and Vegas) are feeling a bit better I think, but we had some rough days. They both stopped eating, and were getting dehydrated. I had some appetite stimulant pills left over from the Cougars and Little un's, so I gave the girls a couple of doses. Well, I have explained before how it makes them drool, and the taste must be terrible. The girls hated it. The drool was unreal. We did eventually take a trip to the vet, where they both got a shot of antibiotics, and I refilled my coffers with lactated ringers (Fluid Bag) and butterfly needles. The vet gave them both a pill for their appetites that should last a couple of days. I know they are happy about that.

This morning I toyed with the idea of giving them both a squirt of Nutrical. It's a supplement that is full of calories, and helps them mantain weight while they are fighting this upper respitory infection. I got the syringe out (That I was using to give them the appetite stimulent) and when I got near them with it, much like Pavlov's dog, they both started drooling! I decided to forgo it for now, since they both ate a good deal this morning. Hopefully, they will eat again this afternoon, and again this evening.

The rest of the circus seems to be holding their own. Let's hope that trend keeps up!


Colonel looking defiant.



Dallas has a very similar look. If he was white, they would look like twins!



Major is much bigger than his sisters, much like Johnny Cougar was bigger than his.


The "phantom" Colonel scares Major.


Albany strikes a pose.


Sergeant looks like he wants to attack...