Smooth sailing

The 5 little ones and mama are doing great. Had a little scare with a lethargic Twinks and some vomiting, but after their worm treatment, all is well.

It is hard to get the little ones time to meet the dogs because mama is very protective of them. Once they get their shots, we will probably take the itty bitties out a couple at a time to meet them. I feel like we haven't spent enough time with these guys. It's easy to just let mama do the heavy lifting, but they need socialization! This week, at least an hour a day, minimum.

Boom

Boom

Donk

Bean and Twinks

Joe

Round two

Another set of kittens have arrived. Mamma and 5 babies, all very healthy. Carlotta the mamma, came with the name Fluffy. Then we have Donk and Twinks, and Bean, Joe and Boom.

Hopefully they will stay healthy. They were born march 9th.

Back in business

I had a mama and 2 babies dropped off with me Last week. One kitten was doing pretty well. One kitten was not. My foster friend Marnie showed me how to tube feed him since he wouldn't eat on his own. They were all in medication, but the little guy was getting worse. It was a struggle for him to breath, so I took him to the shelter and had him euthanized. It was sad, but it had to be done.

The mama cat is a sweet girl, and takes good care of her last baby. I found out that she started out with 5. :( I also found out they were born on valentines day. I want to call the last baby Love. Mamas name is creamsicle muffin. Ugh. I have no idea which name of the 5 is left so I think Love is what I will call her.

Both mama and baby seem to be out of the woods. I am bottle feeding couple of times a day, but I don't think I really need to. Mama has milk, but she latches on like she is hungry so I feed her.

They will be with me until Love is weaned, then they will go back to their first foster mom. She isn't able to bottle feed which is how I ended up with them. That should be about 2 weeks.

A late update

Logan is growing up!

I know, I know. I don't update enough. For example, the last time I updated, Logan/Hildy was tiny. Ears still folded, eyes barely open...and all alone. Things have changed. We went back to calling her Logan. I just like it better! Who says it has to be a boys name? She has grown! She weighs 1lb. 5oz now. The people that found her have since found a couple of siblings too. I don't have them. Only because I took in 3 others before they showed up.

post bath

We got he call while attending a wedding on October 19th. About the same size, 3 little black kittens. They were all 4 on a bottle, which was a bit challenging, but we made do. When I went to pick them up they had not been named yet! Hurray! I got to name them. Since we were close to Halloween, a friend suggested three names from a child's book about three witches. So we have Ziggy, Zara and Zoe. They were all really sick with URI's but we got them on antibiotics and they are all great now. They have been weaned but they weren't happy about it. Logan was better than the others about it. Now the only issue is they try to suck their food. This of course is quite messy. They have been bathed three times in as many days! Ziggy and Zara are the worst and they have longer hair. It's quite the mess.

So, I will try to do better with updates. I have a phone app now, although it doesn't format very well. I can at least upload photos!

dirty face

Lone Ranger

I just got back from a great vacation in Rehoboth Beach DE on Sunday. Monday, we got another kitten! Initially they thought this little one was a boy, so they called him Logan. Turns out no...he is a she! Another fosterer had her for a couple of days until I got back, and renamed her Hildy. She is adorable! (Shocking, I know...)

She is maybe a week old, so yes, she is a bottle baby. Here eyes are partially open, and she is a really good eater. That's always a great sign. If they don't latch on well, it's always an issue getting enough food in them. She just downed a half an oz, and is sleeping now. I will give her another shot at the bottle in a few hours.

I think her story is someone found her, and waited to see if a mama would come back and get her. After  a while it was apparent she was alone, they took her in, and got her to the shelter. I assume we will eventually get a "friend" for her once she is a little older, as singleton kittens don't do well socially. (That's how we got Bishop...Ripley was a terror as a singleton.)

 So, for now, it's 1:30 AM feedings again. I really don't mind. There is something very soothing about a kitten suckling and purring.

Oops. Looks like she is awake again. Might as well see if she wants another go at that bottle!

Candyland

Two more kittens joined us recently, both boys, both black and white. I understand there were 5 in this litter, but they split them up to make it easier on the foster homes. I have to admit, it is easier. Anyway, welcome York and Nestlé. I don't know the names of the other kittens, but I am gonna take a shot in the dark and say they were candy company names. :)

They both seem pretty healthy, and weigh in at 1.11 and 1.9 pounds. York, the one with more white, is a little bigger, and a little more shy. Nestlé is a purr machine and always wants attention. Lots of it.

They have been out of their room to run around and meet the "staff" already, and an though York is a little fearful, both have been seen rubbing on Bentley and Pancito. It's very cute. Bishop was giving York a bath, and York was hissing the whole time. Bishop didn't seem to notice.

Speaking of Pancito, when we got back from vacation we decided the next step in his medical care was to get a bone marrow biopsy, since his platelets didn't really budge on his meds. We took him in and dropped him off in the morning. They called me back at around 10 am to tell me his platelets had gone up to 175,000! We were all shocked. Pleasantly. So, no biopsy, and Wednesday a recheck. If we are still good, we begin to taper off the prednisone. Fingers crossed!

Pancito watches the kittah action  

Nestlé looking innocent. 

York found the well used kitty condo. 

Empty Nester

Jimmy and Jammie

The last post I told you about Twinkie. He was pretty sick when he came in. By the next day, it was obvious to me he was pretty far gone. I was syringe feeding him, but he was not swallowing it. I was allowed to take him to the vet, and when they examined him, he was hardly able to hold himself up. There was food in his mouth still from the last time I had tried to feed him. There wasn't really anything anyone could do at that point. He passed quietly, in the hands of the foster coordinator. Very sad.

Back at home, Jimmy and Jammy were pretty much oblivious that there was ever another roommate with them at all. They were doing their own kitty thing. Crying every morning for hours, wanting to be let out of their room. It usually started around 5 AM. It got old pretty quickly. I started letting them out before I went to work, and in the evenings to run around. They were never concerned with Jessica's hissing, and they were never concerned with the 4 cats that live here, or the 3 dogs. Those little guys will be ready for anything.

Jimmy & Buck Chillin'

The boys find a warm place to snuggle

And speaking of ready, they both made weight and were neutered on Monday, and BOTH of them have already been adopted! Jammie went home with a friend of a friend, so hopefully we will get updates. They adopted another kitten from us about 3 years ago. Jake was a tuxedo cat. They adored him. One morning they got up, and Jake had passed away. No idea what happened, and they were heartbroken. They decided they were finally ready for another one, so they chose Jammie. We tried to talk them into taking both of the boys, but Jimmy looked too much like Jake, and they just felt like it was too much. They also have an older cat at home. I am sure he will be sleeping with her soon enough.  Jimmy went home with another kitten from the shelter, so they will both have playmates.

Jammie hides in the crock

Boz is still the king

That wasn't a typo about having 3 dogs here. We have had a friend staying here while he worked through a divorce, and his dog Kobe came to stay for a few weeks. He was a gentle giant, and fit in just fine while he was here. He left Tuesday, and will be heading to Texas. We will miss him, but the house was starting to get pretty small!

Pancito's platelets finally started to come back up! Yay! Still have a ways to go, but at least we are moving in the right direction. It's been a scary time (not to mention expensive!). We should have some more information back soon. Hopefully we can start to taper off those steroids soon.

So, right now we are at a normal level of animals:humans in this tiny little house. Our friend will be back on Sunday nigh, but he has his eye on a condo, so he will probably be heading out soon. I guess it isn't really like empty nesters. We still have 6 animals here full time.

"I know I heard a car door shut."

Beggars