poop storm

Well, Bosley had a great Thanksgiving. He was pampered, played with and did quite well. My niece is interested in adopting him too! He is now at 1lb, 3.5 oz. Amazing. Most of that was gained AFTER we got home!

Before we left, our 3 cats all had liquid diarrhea, and one was vomiting. I got them in Wednesday afternoon, and they were put on Metro, and some great probiotics. Buck had been on them before, but a different brand, and he wouldn't touch it. This was from a different vet, and all 3 of them loved it. Bosley is still all about the bottle, and I have been very hesitant to stop it, as he really couldn't afford any back sliding. I only had to give him 2 or 3 shots for the nausea while we were away, but I thought, what the heck. I dumped half a packet of the probiotic in his bottle. He guzzled it down like there was no tomorrow. No shots since. This morning, I added some probiotics to the Screamers food, and I looked over and Bosley was eating it too! Shocker! He loves the probiotic. It must be good. My cat Buck loves it too, and if I leave the empty packet out after adding it to food, he will grab it and run!


Boz prepares to attack.


Scooby says "Feed me!"


Is it just me, or does Shaggy always look startled?

The Screamers went away to "camp" with semi formed stools, but nothing alarming. When I picked them up, I was told they were having issues, and one had some blood in his stool. Before I got home, there was poop all in the carrier. Scooby was screaming, and so was Shaggy. I was shocked. I think I know what happened. When Scooby screamed, he got fed. I think in 4 days, they ate half a case of big food cans! I will admit, when he wants to eat (anytime you enter the room) he screams like someone is standing on him! But this was really bad. It was like a faucet of poop, with no handle to turn it off! I got them home, hit them with Metro, and gave them both a bath, which was not apparent an hour later. They were a mess, and their little rear ends were red and angry. I just didn't have the heart to take pictures of them like that.

After 3 doses of Metro, and NO canned food for a day, they are not dripping any longer, and are able to make it to the box without incident. Stools are still loose, and hind quarters are still red and they obviously hurt, but antibiotic ointment 3 or 4 times a day is helping. They got another bath Monday night, and they were so sweet. They were so nasty before, no one wanted to cuddle them, so when I held them each for 20 minutes or so drying them off, they were so happy. They were soft and fuzzy, and aside from the sore rears, felt so much better. We will keep giving Metro for another 3 or 4 days, and see how it goes. Tonight, although the hind quarters are still a little messy, and red, they managed to have a good "play time" with each other, and Bosley.


Orange kitten smackdown.


Scooby sneaks up for a blind side attack on Bosley...


...And then Bosley gives Scooby a dose of payback.


The Angels are on view. I was hoping they would be adopted this weekend, but I guess that was wishful thinking. I am pretty sure they won't have to stay at the shelter too long, because they are beautiful,and have great laid back personalities.

angels...short here and long gone!

The Angels go back to the shelter tomorrow. They have turned out to be 3 of the sweetest kittens we have ever fostered. I know Bosley will miss Dylan. She liked to clean the excess KMR off of his face after meals. They are going to be snatched up willy nilly. Dylan and Sabrina are such lookers, with those long coats, and Alex has the softest fur, one touch and you will be smitten. And she loves the attention.


Alex Chillin'


Dylan looks almost innocent.


Sabrina in mid-yawn is a bit frightening.


A more sedate looking Sabrina.


Alex and Sabrina play with the fleecy string.

The Orange boys AKA the Screamers, will be handed off to another foster home for the holiday weekend. They are fat and happy, and more importantly, healthy. They eat whenever they get the chance, and they love to be held. I betcha the temporary fosters will not want to give them back! Unless Scooby does his screaming non stop! He can really get loud. But they are snuggle bunnies, which is great, as long as you wipe the cat food off the faces first! I had to give Shaggy another bath...not that you can even tell. Look below, and you can see why it doesn't last.


Hard to tell where Shaggy ends, and the food begins.


Scooby is also in need of another bath.


Shaggy plays peek a boo.

What about Bosley you ask? Well, I have been given permission to take Bosley with me to my parents house for Thanksgiving. I just didn't think it was a good idea to hand him off to someone else while he was so fragile. I went to the vet yesterday to pick up more of the nausea medicine, and spoke to the doctor for a while. He also gave me 3 doses of penicillin injections, to see if that would help at all. They only had one tiny vial of the nausea meds, so I was really hoping we could make it through the whole weekend. Lo and behold, he has only had one dose, and that was early this morning. I have not seen any vomit (not that he couldn't have been leaving it in the litterbox, I caught him doing that Monday) but...drum roll...He is at 1lb, 1 oz! And that's not all...watch the videos below, and see how far the little guy has come. Keep your fingers crossed that he continues down this path! I was beginning to wonder if I was torturing him. I even mentioned that to the vet, and he assured me that I was not, and that we would get him through this. : )


Bosley stalks an invisible phantom.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

on a roller coaster ride

I suppose nothing worthwhile is easy. Little Bosley is a conundrum, for sure. He is sweet, seems happy most of the time, but keeps vomiting, and thus losing weight! The Orange Screamers are both now around 2lbs, 3 oz, and Bosley is still back and forth between 13 and 14 oz.


Bosley gets some TLC from Dylan while he sleeps on the warming disk.

He went back to the vet yesterday, and they gave him more meds for the stomach issues. He gets a shot 3 times a day, about a half an hour before meals. I think it's helping. I didn't see any vomit yesterday after noon, or this morning, and he was screaming for breakfast. Hopefully, he is eating when I am not around, because all he wants when he sees me is the bottle. I can't stop giving it to him yet, because he can't afford to lose any weight. I did try yesterday to syringe some Nutri-cal into him. Funny...turns out, he really likes it! He will be getting that 3 times a day too. He needs all the calories he can get.


Bentley seems to know Bosley needs some love.

The Angels are all doing great. All are up to weight, and should go back for spay day on Tuesday. They have now experienced the "outside" world of the upstairs that is outside the kitty room door, and Sabrina is always the first to run out when I come in. This morning they were running back and forth from the bathroom to the bedroom, while the screamers had their faces in the food bowl, and Bosley was sucking on the bottle.


Dylan and Sabrina get some toy time in before they run the hall.

Last night they all got to hang out with Bentley for a little while. The little 'uns have no fear, but the Angels were a bit tentative at first. Alex was more afraid than anyone, but Bentley has a healthy respect for any cat that "gets their back up" and he let her be. Eventually, she got past her fear, and was running the hall with her Angel sisters and the screamers.


Bentley gives Scooby a face washing...


...Now it's Bosley's turn.

Shaggy and Scooby are rolling right along, doing their kitten thing. Scooby has already figured out how to get on the condo. I suspect Shaggy won't be far behind. They both look all scraggly again, like they never had a bath at all! I guess it's because they tend to really "get into" their food. Aside from some loose stools, they are both doing great.


Scooby and Shaggy "get into" their meals.


Shaggy looks scraggly again.


Scooby figured out how to get on the condo.

Hopefully when I post again, Bosley will be rolling along, back on track. I have gotten quite attached to him, (as I always do when I have a sick kitten that needs a lot of my time and attention) and hope I can find a friend to adopt him.

rolling along

What a difference a few days make. The vomiting seems to be lessening, the poop is firming up, and everyone is growing.

I was worried again for Bosley, who just wasn't gaining weight. I was ready for another trip to the vet on Thursday, but decided to hold out a little longer, and sure enough, he started to gain weight. Hopefully this trend will continue!

I did move the screamers into the same room with the Angels. I was worried that the bigger kittens would be too rough with the little guys, but so far, they have been nothing but sweet with them.


Dylan plays with Bosley while the Screamers get a bath.


Alex and Sabrina lounge.

Today was a big day for the boys. They all got baths! Boy oh boy, did they need 'em! Bosley had dried up KMR all over his chin, being the sloppy eater he is. Shaggy went from fluffy to kinda stringy, and Scooby had "Oh wow, I can eat solid food" face. They were all 3 pretty nasty. Shaggy went first, as he just looked the worst. You know that look, when you have the flu, and you just stay in bed for a couple of days? Stringy bed head, just all around yucky? That's what Shaggy reminded me of.


Shaggy gets his clean on.


Shaggy, post bath. All poofy again.

Scooby wasn't so bad. He had food face, but not nearly as bad as some I have had in the past. But he had been "dripped" on too, so he needed a bath too. (They all 3 tend to get in my lap as I am feeding, and they get dripped on occasionally.)


Scooby goes next.

Bosley was a mess. The KMR drips had dried on his chin, and his neck. I tried to soak it as much as I could, but it was stubborn, and didn't want to wash out. After I dried him off a bit, I got the brush out and basically brushed it out. Took about 15 minutes! I am sure he felt much better after that was cleaned off. I think it was really irritating him.


Finally, Bosley's turn. De-crusting the chin.

Once they were clean and mostly dry, they all gathered on the bed with the heaters under it, and chilled out. They were all happily purring and playing, and Bosley crashed pretty quickly.


All the boys are clean, and hanging out with Alex.

Now my goal is to get them off the bottle completely. I am close. I think if I just mix the KMR with the canned food, it will be fine. Bosley is the hard case. He will eat the gruel, but he won't eat out of the bowl. I have to syringe it into his mouth. This shouldn't take too long, but the issue is keeping the Angels from lapping it all up before the Screamers have a chance to eat it!

I went to the shelter to see who from the Circus was still there, and Albany was the only one. I was a little worried because she was one of 5 torties, so I thought she might get lost in the forrest if you will. I looked on the site today, and there are 4 torties...but Albany is not listed! I assume she is adopted, but I will double check with my contact there to make sure.

weaning time

Yes, it's weaning time at Itty Bitty Central. The Screamers are eating solid food, but are not happy about the less frequent bottle feedings. I actually got to sleep through the night last night. I got up at 6 am to feed, and there was a lot of screaming and gnashing of teeth, but we got all 3 bellies full, and they all settled down for a morning nap.


Scooby


Bosley


Shaggy

There are still some issues...Bosley is vomiting, but takes on so much air with the bottle that I am not sure that isn't the entire reason. He is still eating like crazy, so I don't think he is nauseous. I will try to be more diligent with burping, and see if that doesn't fix the problem. Scooby is still having liquid poop. I may try some of the kaopectate for kittens, see if it makes a difference. Probably time to hit them with Panacure anyway.

These guys problems are insignificant. Unfortunately, over at 50kittens, they have had a rough time, having some sick kittens in the last 3 batches, and losing one whole litter, and 2 other singles. Seems like they are on the right track now, and hopefully they have a smooth ride for the rest of the kitten season.

The Angels are doing great. Alex is getting less shy, and both she and Dylan love to be brushed. Sabrina not so much, but she has started to come out to greet me when I come in the room, and even rushed the door a couple of times. They are all 3 sweet little girls.


Angels. (PIcture them with guns?)


Dylan plays "pole" cat.

I am thinking of putting the Screamers in with the Angels soon. The Screamers need more space, and I need my office back! Maybe this week, as long as everyone is healthy.

growing up

The screamers are growing up it seems. Using the litter box (most of the time) and getting personalities. I will admit, it's hard to get any work done because there is always something cute going on, and I have to stop and grab my camera! This time, I just grabbed my crappy camera from my Blackberry, but it was close, and they were just being too cute.

The Angels are doing great. Still a little shy, but no hiding, and they come out of the "tee-pee" to greet me now looking for food! Dylan still goes ga-ga over being brushed, and I promise to get that on video soon!

trifecta!

Yes indeed, today I hit the trifecta of kitty fostering. I was peed on, pooped on and puked on! A hat trick! But I'm not complaining. The poop is firming up, the puke is lessening, and the pee is what it is. If you are unfamiliar with little guys, they need to have some stimulation on their hind parts to pass urine and stool. Well, not always as I have found out. Sometimes they release while they are eating. Hence being peed on by Scooby. And of course, the same holds true for the poop. I was stimulating Shaggy to pee, and what do you know, a nice formed (thank goodness) little poop dropped in my hand from the paper towel. They of course, there is Bosley, who has issues latching on to the nipple of his bottle, which means he gets a lot of air in his little belly. If I am not diligent about burping him...You guessed it. Puke. Right down my shirt. So, there ya go.


Scooby bites my pants leg. Teething?


Scooby pins Shaggy and goes for a belly bite, while Shaggy does a Mike Tyson on Scooby's ear.


Shaggy vogues for the camera.


The way I normally view Bosley, trying to get in my lap.


Bosley is not happy to be back in "jail."

I need to work on getting these guys onto some solids. The 2 am feeding is getting old fast! Doesn't help that I have a cold and have a hard time getting back to sleep after feeding! They are also ready to graduate from the carrier. I need to rethink how I am going to work this.

The Angels are still chugging along, still laid back, but more interested in when I come in now. They know I am the magic food fairy. They come out to greet me now instead of running when the door opens. The poop in their room is firming up too, although I have seen a few plops next to the box. I think it's just bad aim. All 3 girls are right around 2lbs, and sailing right along. Hopefully, we will continue to sail in calm waters!

all good

The vet visit yesterday went quickly. The Angels were diagnosed with giardia, and all got a round of Metro, and little Bosley had "bacteria" in his stool, so he got an antibiotic shot. The doc tried to give him a squirt of Albon to get started, but he immediately puked it back up. Did I mention he puked on me earlier? Anyway, the shot made a huge difference, and at the 2 am feeding, he was hungry! Same at 6:30. He was as vocal as Shaggy and Scooby! I always feed him last, because he eats the slowest, and the orange boys are such pigs, they are done in moments.

The Angels are feeling better already with one does so far of Metro. I could hear them playing at 2 am when I was feeding the boys. Maybe this will make them a little less "laid back" and they will be as insane as all the other kittens I have fostered. Guess we will see in the next couple of days.

Sorry for the lack of photos. I will post more this evening.

more of the same

The weekend proved uneventful, but I do think there is going to be a vet visit in the near future. The girls stools are pretty sloppy these days. I am guessing a round of Metro will probably be in order, but we will see. Other than that, they are doing well. Dylan loves being brushed so much, it is comical. I think next time I get a chance, i will shoot a video of it.


Sabrina with the spring toy


Alex gets her turn

Sabrina and Alex are fine. Had some friends over Saturday to visit, and they all got some attention. They loved how Alex and Sabrina were content to sit and be held. They were laughing at the antics of Dylan as I brushed her.


Dylan is all chill after a brushing

The screamers are less loud these days. I guess they know they will get some food when they are hungry, so they have toned it down. I am still concerned that Bosley isn't eating enough, although we have a system now that gets food in his belly. He has lost weight since he has been here. Shaggy and Scooby have passed him. I think I may have to take him in too. He also needs a bath, from all the KMR he has dripped on him. His stools are a gelatinous mix, which is not normal.


Bosley snuggles with Shaggy...


...and Scooby


A Bosley Sandwich


It's an orange kitty smackdown!

On a happier note, the screamers are about ready to graduate to a larger area, and a litter pan. They no longer need my help in passing urine or stool. Plus, they like to get out of their crate and explore a little now. They are starting to act like kittens, which is fun to watch.

Hopefully we can start working on sampling some solid food soon.