Tuesday, June 23, 2009

SKIPPY!!


I have yet to introduce you to my newest foster..

yes. Go ahead and say it. I'm a sucker.

So I stopped by the shelter earlier in the week to get supplies (because OMG the nuts eat a lot of food) and the foster coordinator asked me if I wanted to take a hard luck case they had. He was found in an abusive situation, half to 3/4 dead, and then ended up with a raging urinary infection. They wanted to watch him for a couple of days to see how he was doing, but could I take him home on Sunday??

yes, I'm a sucker. I said sure. I asked if they could come up with a friend for him, since only kittens tend to not learn the manners they need.

Well on Saturday night two long haired kittens came in. So they offered those to me as well. They had just come in and hadn't been tested, so I waited while they went to test them, but when the tech went to get them, they found they had a raging case of ringworm. Since ringworm is fungal and airbone, Skippy was exposed. He was on the other side of the room, and the kittens were only in there for a short time, etc, but still.

Well after having heard Skippy's story, I could not risk him not being put in foster care (not many foster homes want to risk ringworm) so I brought him home and set him up in my bath tub:

click to enlarge
skippyskippy

Because of his urinary infection he was previously sent to the vet and sedated for a catheter, so they neutered him already. Just need to get him healthy and up he'll go for adoption. Also because of the UI he's on antibiotics and Albon for intestinal issues he's had. so he gets ABs twice a day and Albon once.

So this poor little boy, who's probably 10 weeks old and should be causing major havoc, is just as good as can possibly be. I would be a lot more concerned about how easy going he is if A) he hadn't shoved his toy mouse in his water bowl and B) he wasn't as good as he is on laying on a HUGE guilt trip. He lays it on so thick that he must have been an actor in a previous life.

right now all he wants is to be held. If I'm not holding him, he'll make attempts to get out of the tub, but once I have picked him up he starts purring like a motor boat and just revels in being held.

His fur is quite soft, like a bunny. His markings on his chin, chest and legs are in cream not white. He's got a short little nose, and almost has a tough boy kind of look, but he is a completely push over. He is very very special. I won't be able to get better pictures for about a week as I don't want him running around the bathroom while he's possibly brewing an infection, and if the door to the tub is open he's right there wanting attention.

and I don't regret taking him for one second, but talk to me again if I or any of my cats get ringworm..

Monday, June 22, 2009

Mixed Nuts at work


I love calling this crew of kittens mixed nuts (Macadamia, Cashew, Pistachio, Hazelnut and Almond)

I brought them in to work to help expose them to different things. it helps make them more confident kitties and better equips them to go to new homes. They are quite confused by having so much space that they quite often got off by themselves and couldn't see the rest of their clan, and would cry out in loneliness.

They also had a bit of a scare. One of my co-workers brings his boston in to work, but rarely on Mondays because his wife is home, but for some reason he came in today. No one heard them come in until the dog was already chasing the kittens. The co-worker insisted that the dog only wanted to play, but it was NOT play behavior. Poor kitten that got cornered ended up smelling like dog, but fortunately nothing major happened. After the excitement of the encounter we got them calmed down, and they decided that a kitten pile nap was in order...

Photobucket
Photobucket

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

The Crew


So I got a coupon for some free digital prints, and I have some cute photo frames I want to fill up with photos of the crew, so this morning I took my camera (yes, the stupid Kodak one who will NOT focus on the cats no matter how hard I try) and took about 100 photographs of the kids. These were the only ones who came out half decent (and one that isn't half decent but is too cute anyway)
Click on any photo to view the larger format:

So first I took photos of Ollie. Sitting on the fridge I figured I had a half decent chance of getting a good photo
Ollie

Then Fleurp decided she wanted in on the action
Fleurp

Then I took a few of Jack that did not come out at all (the rug he was on was clearer than he - the item in the CENTER OF THE PHOTO) and Fleurp was not amused she wasn't the center of attention
Fleurp

So then Muffin came around, and I got one of her on the chair. Unfortunately that was all blurry too, and the first one of Muf and Kit was bad, but this one was cute.
Kit

seriously, you would think this kitten never gets any attention!!
Fleurp
Fleurp

Tweedle walked by, and the first few of her were all blurry, but I got this one
Photobucket

Eli's first photo was horrid, the second was good, and he was out of there, because he knew I was going to want to clean his face
Eli

More Fleurp.. I swear...
Fleurp,Ollie

So then Muffin jumped up on the cat tree and proceeded to pose for me in the MOST DIFFICULT POSITION POSSIBLE. I love her.. really I do, and she totally makes me work for it
Muffin

so I got her to turn around with a few well placed complements and some begging
Muffin
Muffin

but then she decided she needed to wash up.
Muffin

and because that picture was just so priceless, a few close ups
Muffin
Muffin

Then I thought I'd go get a photo of Brianna, the Bunny. and guess who showed up
Fleurp,brianna

Tried to get one with out Fleup. Tried...
brianna

Monday, June 15, 2009

*hangs head*


I am a bad kitty mommy today. I think I've been forgiven, but I'm still kind of ashamed.

Jack needs to get some medication every day. I can either force him to take it, or sneak it in a little meat snack. He prefers the meat snack - and frankly I do as well because he takes it willingly. I've never been a fan of forcing my cats to do anything. I can, and easily, but if there is another way I'll take it.

So Fleurp, never one to practice self restraint, needs to be distracted so Jack can eat his "treat". She will steal anything from anyone and not show a second of fear or remorse or anything. She wants, she gets, period. So she gets a little to distract her, then I give to anyone else standing around, then Jack gets his. Usually by the time Jack has his, Fleurp is done with hers, and is in everyone else's face, but I have time to grab her and hold her.

Today though, she wasn't cooperating with the distraction, and clawed me when I tried to offer her a second piece. i'm trying to teach her that she will get food if she is calmer about it, but she's just not into that. I try to show her that other kitties get food for being calm, but she just goes and steals theirs. I'm making some headway, but it is much like moving a beach with a teaspoon.

So today Jack took his treat and ran off with it. Fleurp ran right after him, so I pushed her gently away and guarded him while he tried to get the deli meat up off the floor. I need to remember they don't do well with bigger pieces of deli meat, because it takes them longer and pieces fall to the floor and getting flat meat up off the floor is harder. So I pushed Fleurp away and she immediately ran right back, and because my hands smell like meat, I got nipped.

Now it wasn't that hard, but it did shock me, and with out even thinking I cuffed her. Now she's been tapped before, and told "NO" but she's always gotten lots of warning before it happened. This time she just got hit. I could see the shock in her face, and she was immediately fearful of me, hiding behind a chair.

i felt horrible. I did it out of reaction, not out of malicious thought. It wasn't that hard of a smack, no damage was possible, but it was enough to shock her, and all I accomplished was to make her fear getting hit again. I am pretty sure at this age she just can't make the mental connection of why she got hit.

So I went and got another slice of turkey, and gave small pieces out until she could not resist, and I offered her piece after piece. I *think* she's either forgiven me or forgotten about it, but I won't know for certain till I get home tonight.

This is the second time I've lashed out at my kitties with out thinking. I did it years ago to Ollie when he smacked me on the face leaving marks. I felt absolutely horrible about that one too.

And people wonder why I don't have kids..

the nuts trip to the shelter


I brought the kittens to the shelter to have another trip outside the house. I figured they could get dewormed again, and handled by someone other than me for a few minutes. Ended up getting dewormed, vaccinated and given marquis paste since two of them now have showed blood on their stool.

Both were bright red droplets on the end of the stool indicating an irritation or a tear in the end of the colon / on the rectum. generally no something to worry about if it happens once or twice. Blood on the outside of the body is never a good thing, so I did let the shelter know, and they thought it wouldn't hurt to give some MP since that takes care of a lot of different internal parasite issues.

They were very good on the trip, and were very glad to get home. When I went to feed them last night and again this morning, I can see a distinct change in their interaction with me. Taking foster kittens out for field trips... it's a good thing.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Sun and "The Nuts"


Well the past few days the kittens have been intent on hanging off the sheets I've used to cover up the condo that Sun is camped out in. Initially the sheets simply fell off the cage, leaving Sun feeling very exposed and unhappy. I attempted to weigh down the sheets, and that worked for a bit, but I used a case of cat food that I was using to feed the kittens, so as they got bigger, the case of cat food got smaller, and well last night when I went down to visit them the case was half off the top of the cage. And yes, I'm paranoid that something is going to fall and kill a kitten, so I wrote to the shelter to see when a good time to return Sun would be.

She is no longer nursing the kittens, and is just held up in the cage. She is still very very VERY feral, and hisses and smacks at me when ever I even remotely intrude in "her space" Back when the kittens needed her, I felt she had something in her life worth living for, but at this point I can't imagine how miserable she is.

option? well I'm hoping the shelter finds her a nice barn to take her in, as places with hay always have issues with rodents. It isn't a bad life for a cat who never got used to people. They will invest the funds necessary to spay her and let her free with in the confines of a new home.

Although this is not something that the shelter normally does. Generally cats that are not re-home-able generally are put down. I get it. I totally understand there are limited funds and limited options. You can not save them all and all that. Doesn't mean I have to like it. Course I don't much like that there are starving children around the world either.

I could ask they spay her and return her to me. I could attempt to set her up as an outdoor kitty at my house. I have a lot of frogs and chipmunks and mice. I also have a huge beaver or wood chuck or something like that living around my house as well that I wouldn't mind if it re-located. But I live on a pretty busy road near a blind curve and a set of train tracks. I also don't believe for a second that if I opened the door for her that she would stick anywhere near the house. I'm not quite sure that the life I would be granting her would be very kind to her. And with her attitude, there would be no options for her if she became injured but to lay in pain and suffer and die.

Really is a no win situation.

So I'm going to tell myself that the shelter will find her a place in a barn, and let them do with her what they are better equipped to do financially and emotionally. Do I think a barn is a true option. Yes because it was suggested to me. If they have that available or not I do not know, and I do not want to know for certain. at least not when I'm the one bringing her back. Maybe in a month or two when I'm a little more emotionally distant from the situation.

As for "The Nuts".. I'm so in love. Heck, when am I not.

their "turbo boost" just turned on, and they RUN a million miles an hour, barely registering when they run into something or another kitten. They stop and wrestle for a moment or two, but then go off running again. They LOVE hanging off the sheets and will fly quite a distance to try to jump up higher on the sheets just to hang there. Almond has completely opened up, and loves climbing on my lap for attention. Cashew is still more reserved. He lets the other kittens with more dominate personalities take up the laps, and waits for them to be done snuggling so he can play with them. He still does not like it when I reach for him, or snuggle him (aka confine him) but last night I did get him to jump on the couch next to me, and got him walking across my lap. I think getting rid of his mother's influence on him will help a lot. He is the last one to hang out with her. I was patting the couch trying to engage him in play last night and I got to hear him purr. It was very heartwarming.

Two small medical issues. Mac went and use the litter box, walked away from the litter box, and came up to me and started screaming his head off. Very much "THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG!!" so I picked him up and examined him, and there was some bright red blood lightly coating his anus. I wiped it off, and nothing else came of it. Bright red usually indicates a small tear right near the exit and GENERALLY is nothing to worry about, but it is something that bears watching. Its been two days and he's been acting pretty normal since.

Stash also had an issue. I sat with the kittens for almost two hours, and Stash fell asleep on me. He wasn't interested in dinner either - which I wasn't all that concerned about since I woke him up to eat. But as I was leaving I heard a kitten vomit. Turned out to be Stash. He was in the litter box vomiting. I didn't know if he went in there to vomit, or vomited because he was constipated. So I felt up his belly - which didn't feel extended nor did he react painfully to it - so I thought he might have ingested something he shouldn't have. So I went to bed telling him if he wasn't feeling well in the morning he'd be going to the vet. Well this morning he ate breakfast very heartily and played very vigorously.

I'm also thinking about investing in a camera. Yes, SIMPLY to take pictures of kittens. Seems like such a waste of money, but I'd like something that takes better shots than what I have now, and the thought of it self uploading really interests me. Now if I can just get off my cheep tushie and actually do it.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

wild and crazy chippies


Remember the post from the other day about the chipmunks on the porch? well this time I found those two chipmunks under the deck near the foster kitten room. They were sitting on a discarded litter box and some urine soaked linolium near a few bags of used cat litter. they were rubbing around on the linolium and pretty much acting like they were teenage rebels.

they didn't care when I walked past the window. They didn't care when I walked past a closer window. they didn't care when I tapped on the window, and they didn't care when I rattled the door knob. They did show some concern when I started to open the door, but they didn't go that far (and I didn't open the door that far).

Silly Chippies..

and the biting begins


all kittens bite. all of them. As my DH says, Just like human babies who stick everything in their mouths, it is how they explore their world!

Well over the past day or so the nuts have become EXTREMELY mouthy. Biting everything they could get their mouths on. My toes, my pants, my seams, my fingers, my hands, my elbows.. Hazel even had a go at my hair.. I don't think I've ever had a set of kittens go from non mouthy to mouthy so abruptly before. it seems almost overnight they began walking around with their mouths open in case something interesting got near it for them to nibble on.

Cash is also making some progress. This morning he didn't come to me, but he did roll over and show me his belly! :) Almond is almost completely willing to interact with me. He still has his moments..

Sun hasn't returned to her cage. I walked in on her the other day when she was out and exploring, and the door was closed enough that in her panic she couldn't get back in. I backed out for a few minutes to let her hide herself. I opened up the door, but she seems content being out. That isn't going to work for much longer. She is going to have to get back in the cage soon. I worked out a way to get her in to the carrier from the cage, but it is not going to work if she isn't in the cage.
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