Raw diet?

I started the kittens on a new diet last night. I didn't go with the raw diet, because there seem to be too many ways that can cause problems. I decided to go with a chicken and rice diet. I microwaved some frozen chicken, and cooked some rice. I cut up the chicken, and put it in the food processor. My mistake was I put the rice in the food processor too. What a big hunk of goo. I brought it up to try it out on the itty bitties, and to say the liked it would be the understatement of the century. They all 4 went nuts! I thought they would choke, because it was so thick, and they were eating so fast! I quickly picked up the bowls, rethought the whole thing, and added water to the mix, so at least they could swallow it. That made some difference, and they gobbled it all down.

I decided I needed more chicken, less rice, so I cooked another piece, and put that through the food processor. Much better! I decided to add the new chicken to the rest of the mixture I had made earlier, to thin down the gelatinous glob of rice. I thought a little more, and decided they may not be getting enough vitamins with chicken and rice, so I added some more water, and a hand full of the dry kitten food. This was at about 10:30 last night.

I went to bed shortly after that, and of course I was paranoid that one of them might have choked when I left the room. I don't think I slept well.

I got up, showered and went downstairs to warm up the food. I nuked it just enough to take the chill off, and ventured back upstairs to see what was what.

I opened the door, and all 4 came tumbling out. Whew. All accounted for. Of Course Robyn was screaming at me by the food bowls when I stepped into the room. The others soon came back in to eat, with the exception of Sully who now thinks it's cool to run downstairs. He did come back up before I had to go get him though, and I only had to go out into the hall to fetch him.

The first thing I noticed was nothing. No nasty poop smell! It was amazing. There was still some poop on the floor, and it was still loose, but it was a light color, not the dark and smelly poop of the past. Maybe I am on to something here.

I put the fresh batch of food down for them, and they all jumped right in. I have to say, I enjoy watching them eat. The interaction is pretty amusing. Robyn is always first. She usually ends up at a bowl with Natalie. Sully and Reuben get the other. I watch them for a few minutes, then I have to pull Robyn away, and try to distract her for a minute. When I let her go, she runs to the closest bowl. If that happens to be Sully and Reuben's bowl, then it gets interesting.

Both of the boys are a little food aggressive. Robyn will literally slink up to the bowl, and both Sully and Reuben will growl, and slap a paw on top of her head to hold her back! It's actually helpful to keep her at bay. She always manages to get past them, and she would push them out of the way if I didn't intervene.

I am hoping the new food will make a difference over time, and I will be able to wean them back onto the regular food.

Monday

I was away for the weekend, so I didn't get to post. Sorry. My friend Susan was here to take care of my babies, and my own cats. She was approved to cat sit last year. I never want to bring them back to the shelter, where they may catch something else, so if I can keep them here, I will.

I always worry when I am away, because of course, I know my babies better than anyone. I see and sit with them at least 3 times a day, so I can tell when something is "off". I also get text messages from Susan when she is here tending to the itty bitties. She probably thinks I am nuts. Maybe so.

The remaining 4 seem to be doing well. All are gaining, although I am still hearing some sneezing from Sully. Doesn't seem to be serious. Still cleaning loose poop up off the floor, and I am pretty sure it's Robyn. I think I will start a raw diet with her, and see if it makes a difference. Can't hurt. Maybe if she didn't stick her head and feet in the bowl, and suck as much food in as she can get, as fast as she can, she wouldn't have these issues! This photo is about 4 weeks old, but she still eats like this! She is part sow. We are still being careful how much food she consumes at one time. Seems to be helping.

And then there were 4...

It's a sad day here today. We lost Noah yesterday.
I took him to the vet, as he was very lethargic, and not eating, and he was anemic.
He never came back home with me.

This is the hard part of fostering. Yeah, I have been up in the middle of the night, bottle feeding babies, sitting in a steamy bathroom, trying to help clear up extremely congested itty bitty kitty heads, and I have scrubbed poop off of floors. None of that is hard compared to losing one of my little charges.

I will continue to foster kittens anyway. Why? Because there are still 4 kittens here that need the help. And there will me more waiting to come here when these guys go back and get adopted. I always try to look at the positive aspect of this "job." I have fostered over 80 kittens in the last 3 and a half years, and all of them were adopted except for the 12 that never made it that far, one that was mysteriously stricken with some illness, and was lost after she was put on view, and one that had a heart defect, and died at one year old.

These are their photos.

More photos in rememberance

Of course the first kitten here is Noah.

The adult cat and the little orange kitten are the same. LT was adopted by my friend Deb, and he ended up having a heart problem. He died at a year old.

The black and white kitten is Bernie Mac. (AKA Gizmo) He was already spoken for, and was ready to go back the very next day when he started having balance problems, and his eyes were vibrating. He had some neurological problem. He never made it back home either.

In the photos on the previous post, we have Sloth, and Mole. They were the last of the kittens of Shanna. She had 5, but one never even made it here. The other two, I am looking for photos, were only here for a day or 2 before they were so sick, they had to be put to sleep. Mole and Sloth went a few days later. Shanna, their mother, made it, and was a wonderful cat.

The puddle of tabby cats were Sandy's babies. I can't tell who is who, but 3 of these kittens didn't make it. Sandy didn't either.

The last little black kitten belonged to Ossie. She was the most shy of the litter, and she was on view for adoption when the morning staff came in and noticed she was lethargic, and not well. They tried to help her, but she was put to sleep that evening.

These are the babies we lost. Hopefully, this list won't grow any more.

spoke too soon...

I don't know why I ever say all is well. This evening, Noah is very lethargic., not eating. Looks dehydrated. Gums are white. I gave him 9ML of subq fluids, and he did make a small effort to pick at some food. There was two very loose cow patties...one in a bed, and one on the floor. What do you bet they were Noah?

I hope the fluids make a difference, and he is doing better tomorrow morning. I will give him more fluids in the AM, and hope it helps. Man, I hate having sick kitties. Hopefully, I caught this soon enough.

the finish line!

Well, as of this morning, Sully has made weight! He is over 2 and a half pounds. I was shocked to see that my little piglet Robyn is over 2 lbs! She is such a little porker. At least the pooping has subsided. No more drippage!

We are all still on an antibiotic, but it is doing it's job, and everyone seems pretty healthy. When they are healthy, the elephants do frolic.

I will add some photos later tonight.

Monday

Well, there was a lot of rompin' this morning in the kitty room. Robyn is better, but mainly I think because I have really reduced the amount of food she consumes at one time. She is not pleased about it either. Her belly is so bloated most of the time, I can't see how she can get one more morsel in! I even posted a side shot of her here, (photo #2) so you can see that belly!

The first photo is of Reuben. He is quite the bundle of energy when he is ramped up. He loves to mix it up with his playmates. When he is ready to sleep though, he instantly purrs when you touch him. He is a sweet little guy.

The bottom photo is Noah. He is getting ready to take a bath here. He always looks to me like he has a jacket on half way, because one of his front legs is gray, and the other is white, like he hasn't gotten that arm in the sleeve quite yet.

I will get some more photos of Sullivan and Natalie this afternoon.