Updates on the nuts & others

I brought them into the shelter on Saturday to be adopted, and well frankly it was a serious mistake. It was the first sunny warm day around here all month (no, seriously) No one was at the shelter, so I left.

Stash got adopted first. Mac second. They told me that Hazel went home, but when I went to look at Cash and Almond, she was sitting right there. They mixed up the other girl tiger kitten that was in the cage with them (and who was a bit older and a bit bigger - hazel's paperwork said she was very petite.. and this other kitten wasn't) so we re-adjusted the paperwork.

Today I got an email that Cash and Almond went home together. I'm so thrilled over that. Cash really will benefit from having a friend with him. So Hazel is still there at this point.

Benny is still at the shelter. They are working very hard to find her just the right home. I suggested she might benefit from a harness and walking outside. I took her for her first walk on Saturday and it went very well, but I noticed she seemed to get over heated and her fur easily mats, so I suggested that they give her a lion cut. They gave her one and she looks really good. I think she actually really appreciates it.

Happy & Joy are still at the shelter. I checked in on Joy (Happiness is still in treatment room for a little cold) and she was interacting with the volunteer who was in the room with her. I was so thrilled!!! I sent in a little write up on them hoping to find them just the right home - as I so do not want them going to a barn.

Until they all have a home..

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...

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.

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.

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.

a faked outing.

Since the big boss is back in town, getting the kittens out for an outting to my work is a little hard (he is allergic) so I took them to the shelter to be dewormed, and it seemed to help Cash and Almond.

so tonight I brought them up to the room I keep my rabbit in. Bri's cage really needed to be cleaned out and I thought it would do them good to have a new experience. The rabbit kinda freaked them out, there was some hissing before I got the carrier open. Bri was completely unimpressed by their little hisses. It was quite cute.


Mac was the most vocal and fluffy over the whole thing, as you can see, Bri is unconncerned.




Stashio was very unsure of walking away from the carrier.


Cash thought it would be safest to hang out in the box.

Almond was the most relaxed




Then I brought them back to the kitten room and tried to get good close ups of them. My battery was dying, and they were being uncooparative. All except Stash. He apparently LOVES the camera..

Almond:


Mac:



Hazel:




Stash:




Cash:

The opposite of Murphy's Law?

so I complained yesterday that Sun was being anti-social and that we'd probably have to .... well anyway.

Last night she was backed into the corner (her standard position) and I thought I would attempt to give her some wet food. I didn't even feel comfortable getting the bowl out of the cage (it was right by the door) so I put on leather gloves, and explained to Sun what I was doing. She just stared at me. I got the food in the cage, and covered the front back up. I went and sat on the couch and watched the kittens eat. They are REALLY into food right now. They have gotten to the point where they can eat so much food that their bellies end up bigger than their heads. Stash is a little food aggressive still, but we are working on that. I tried to introduce dry food to help them cope with the 12 hour stretches between meals but they really weren't interested.

anyway.. as I was watching the kittens, Sun got up and started eating.

That cat confuses me. I am just so not used to the feral brain

foster updates

well it has been a while hasn't it. I know I need to get new photos uploaded, as they have grown quite a bit.

I was so hopeful for Sun. She ate while I was in the room, and she pulled her back away from the wall, but events since then have shown me that I'm just deluding myself into thinking she is going to be anything but the wild child she is.

First there was the incident when she got out of the cage. She freaked when I tried to get her back in. Finally did and she hasn't left since (that I'm aware of) even though I've been keeping the door open. Then two days ago I reached in the cage for her food bowl, and she lashed out at me. Fortunately I was faster, but she did intend to do me harm. She spent the evening growling at me. I locked her up in the cage, intending to return her to the shelter the next morning. I am still not quite sure how to accomplish that. I have ideas, and I hope they work. The next morning she was still growling at me and I was all ready to try to capture her, but seeing the kittens curled up next to the cage really tugged at my heart strings. I was not quite ready to leave the cage door open for them, but I decided to give her another day to calm down a little.

It's now been three days, and I've started leaving the door open again. the kittens were normally sleeping with mom until this morning. this morning I found them in places other than the cage. I'm still very reluctant to give mom any wet food. Wet food went down on the lower level with her. I'm filling her water bowl through the cage. Her dry food is up on a higher level, so I feel safe refilling that.

She is a beautiful healhy kitty. It is a shame to have to put her down simply because she doesn't get along with humans... but what is the alternative? if she is actively going to go after humans then there is the risk she could hurt someone.

She isn't going back to the shelter immediately any more, but I doubt that she will stay with me the entire time the kittens are here. Several of the kittens need to learn to bond with humans, and they just aren't getting that with her around. now that some of them weren't sleeping with her, I'm thinking it is just a matter of time before they are comfortable with out her.

I'm going to ask the foster coordinator to tell me she went to a barn to be a feral cat. What they really want to do with her is up to them.

As for the kits.. Cash and Almond are holding back. They are the ones sitting looking at me from across the room. Stashio is still full tilt and he's starting to get food agressive. Hazel and Mac are completely human dependant. Totally under foot, wanting to be held and patted. Seems I have the whole gambit of neediness going on.

When five cats becomes 14

When I go and feed and play with the kittens, I let them out of the cage, and when I am ready to go, I pick them up and put them back - usually one or two at a time. I count them as I put them back to ensure I get all of them in there and no one is left out.

When I get past the original number of kittens I usually giggle and keep on collecting and counting, and generally herding kittens.

This weekend though they were so determined to not stay in the cage that I finally ended up picking all five of them up at the same time and putting them away. The next morning I decided to leave the cage door open and see what happened.

Last time I left the door to the cage open, mom got out and would not go back in. Where as the kittens had yet to show they were good about finding the litter box (when they are little they'll just go in any corner that is close) I wasn't willing to let them have free run of the room. I figured I was asking for trouble, but how much more trouble was it to round up 14+ kittens??

When I went to check on them that afternoon, they were all out playing. Mom was once again under the couch. I decided to put some food down (and in the cage) and left to see what would happen.

When I went to check on them that evening, mom was back in the cage, and so were all the kittens. Just warms the heart to see them all pouring out of their "nest".

So they have had free run of the room for a little over 24 hours, and they seem to be doing well. Mom has been in the cage each time (save for the first) I went down to check on them. I'm still feeding them in the cage, so that might have something to do with it.

I also had another little milestone with mom. She got up and had a few bites of the food while I was in the room. Again this might not seem like much to someone who has never dealt with taming a wild kitty, but it does take some trust for her to move closer to me (the food was between me and her - even if it was in the cage) and to allow herself to be vulnerable enough to eat.

I'm having my wisdom teeth out on Thursday, and taking Friday off. I might just park myself in the kitten room all day Friday and see what happens.

No no, the OTHER hand

Well Mac is eating food but only if I hand feed it to him. I have been able to trick him in to eating off a spoon, but once he figures it out it is no longer food, and he screams. And that boy SCREAMS!! He's worse than Twee ever was in regards to eating, and he's only three weeks old!! Seriously! he shouldn't even be eating at this point. Ok, so they are coming up on four weeks, but still!

I wasn't going to feed him last night, but the screaming just got to me. So I picked up a little food in my left hand and offered it to him, and he summarily rejected it. Apparently the left hand smells different from the right hand, because the moment I transfered it to the right hand it was acceptable to eat, and he ate.

the other oddity about him is he can only seem to eat about three mouthfuls at a time. He noms and then walks away, then two heart beats later he's screaming for more food. Man I can't wait for that lightbulb moment to come on and he can feed himself.

I don't know who is worse though, him for demanding it, or me for giving in.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures

feeling more relaxed?

This is the first time I've seen Sun with her back to the front of the cage. She's always been upright or with her back to the back wall. I suspect she is feeling a bit more relaxed in the house.

Cashew is eating on his own, has for a couple of days. At first I thought he was just sucking the gravy off the outside which he might have been doing, but this morning I fed food that was so well mixed together that there was no gravy.

Mac is a riot. At this point he wants food, but he believes that only food flavored with finger is actually food. He sits there and SCREAMS at me until I offer him some food. If I offer him the plate of food, or a spoon of food, he keeps screaming.

Introducing

Macadamia

Pistachio

Cashew

Almond & Hazelnut

I call Pistachio, Stash, or Stashio (and crazy boy, since he's so walk first and look where he's going later) Macadamia is called Mac. Cashew is Cash, and Almond is generally "the other tabby boy" and Hazelnut is Hazel. Probably not very fair to Almond, but at this point he is not distingusing himself in any way shape or form. He's just the other one.

Mac decided to eat litter. Since they are getting out of the cage, he went to investigate where I keep the litter. He thought it was quite tasty. Why? I have no idea. It isn't like he's eating solid food yet.

Contentment

I mean come on, doesn't this image just scream contentment :)

I decided on names last night. The petite boy is going to be Pistachio. The girl, Hazelnut. The gray boy is Macadamia, the boy with the white feet is Cashew and the other boy is Almond. Yup, they are a bunch of nuts. I've decided to call the mom cat Sun. I tested her this morning, by reaching around to the side of the cage where she was hanging out. She immediately tensed up. I know if I am going to save her I am going to have to push this, but I'm scared to. I was even frightened to take the bed out of the cage. The irrational part of me is fearful of what she might do to the kittens. Might she kill them out of her own fear of wanting to keep them safe??? probably not, but part of me thinks that. Until the kits are old enough to eat on their own I'm not going to push myself on her.

Will pushing myself on her work? Maybe given enough time and her inclination and past history. *shrug* It is sad all around. I doubt she'll ever make it to be a lap kitty.

sad

http://www.messybeast.com/feralkit.htm#Adults

Taming adult ferals is traumatic for both parties, time-consuming and often unsuccessful. It is not usually possible to verify whether late-tamed cats were feral from birth or strays gone wild which were subsequently re-tamed, in most cases I suspect the latter. I do not promote the confinement and taming of adult ferals - these are not temperamental pets, these are wild animals which find close captivity and forced human contact stressful. Most are best neutered and rehomed to a semi-wild environment, e.g. as working cats at stables, where they can choose whether to socialise themselves with people.

Well it isn't like she can go anywhere at the moment.. so I'll give it a shot.. While I have hopes, I'm a realist and have been since the begining.

Picts

I have the webcam running again.






The kittens are getting adventerous. Their teeth are just starting to come in too which is uber adorable. The tiniest boy is the first one out of the cage and 'runnin'. He has no idea where he is going, but he wants to get there. I think he might remember I gave him KMR once. Today I offered him a little smoosh of canned food, and he thought that was very tasty. None of the kits are super thrivers. They are getting by. The girl and the tiny boy are very very petite. The little gray boy is round and filled out, but he too isn't as plump as he could be. they are about three weeks old at this point, so they shouldn't be on food for at least another week, but I can't wait for them to do so.

A post in Picts

*click to enlarge photos*

Here is my "Good Morning, yea yea yea, now where is my breakfast!" hiss


Sierra is not sure about things..


Oh NO! the kittens escaped the nest


Stop looking at the kittens and pat me! Garfield says.


I open the cage and mom assumes the standard position. Although if you take close note, there are an extra pair of feet in there. Poor kitten nursing got caught up


While mom is not interested in me, the kittens are


aren't these little guys cute?? it is too bad that mom is so stand-offish. She is beautiful. But because of the lack of warning before she lashes out I fear she won't ever come to accept me. I hope I'm wrong.

I got slashed

Ok, slashed is a little dramatic. I lost a drop of blood from where FM's claw hit me. At this point I am reluctant to give her a real name. Probably shouldn't, as every cat deserves a name. Maybe she might be more receptive to me if I had a name for her, but I fear if I name her, I'll attach to her. We'll see.

I like to offer feral kittens food, so they know food comes from the human, and thus the human is not all bad. It works with the kittens.

With FM, I watch her as I offer the food. She is cowering in the back as she always does when I enter the room and remove the covering from the cage. I slowly bring the food (or the bowl as in the other day) and very slowly (very slowly) inch it towards her. Letting her sniff at it. I watch her nose start twitching, so I move a millimeter more forward, and wait. often it is a few seconds after the last move, sometimes it is during the move, but she lashes out. No growl, no tensing up (well maybe she is just too tensed up to get any more tensed) no warning what so ever, just a fierce lashing. This time I was stupid to do it with out gloves or a towel and she got her claw into my index finger.

Don't really know how to handle this, because the bedding is getting to the point where it really needs to be changed out. I hate to say this, but I think I'll wait the few more days until the other crew goes back to their original foster home. Because Hunter and Garfield REALLY want to get into the cage to play with those babies..

I pulled the runt of the litter out last night to look at it. He had a little scab under his chin. He is small, and his eyes seem watery and he might have been a little dehydrated. I'm worried. But then again when am I not worried about kitties?

Little Orange Kitties

Ok, I am starting to see the appeal of little orange kittens.

For a long time I have heard how loving they are, and how they easily adapt. Which is amusing since the complete opposite is true of their counterpart - the tortie.

Genetically it has been thought that all orange kitties were male - but that isn't true. Also it is thought that all Tortie kitties are girls - this is much more true. There are male Torties, but because of genetics they are all thought to be sterile. Orange and Tortie both come from the same set of genes.

So anyway. I was in the kitten room this morning hanging out with the feral mom cat (who would prefer it if I just disappeared all together) and Garfield crawled up into my lap and started purring. We sat there being glared at by FM (feral mom for lack of a proper name at the moment) and cuddled. I'm hoping her seeing me interact with other cats will help her adjust. I also need to get some cat proof coverings for my hands so I can interact with her and not be so fearful when she lashes out. If when ever I react to her outbursts, it just reinforces that acting out is getting her what she wants.

I pulled a kitten out of the cage yesterday. They are active and squirming so I wasn't horribly worried, but FM hadn't eaten since that first day so I was getting concerned. It was a little dehydrated. I thought FM would appreciate being able to view the rest of the room, but since she wasn't venturing out beyond the nest, I had to do something, so last night I clipped a water dish to the lower level, and also covered the entire cage.

Well this morning the food was gone, a lot of the water had been consumed, and the babies weren't as dehydrated.. so I'm thinking full cage coverage is the way to go.

I'm still trying to figure out what I'm going to do with her once the other kittens have gone back to their foster parents. Do I let her out of the cage? Certainly would make it safer on my hands to clean the box and put food in, but I also think it would severely limit my interacting with her, because I'm sure she'll just sit under the couch any time I'm in the room. Would be great if I could figure out a way for the kittens to have free run of the room while she is contained, but I'm not sure that is the best option either.

Now that I know she'll roam the cage if it is entirely covered, I'm going to move the litter back on the top shelf, and put the food back on the lower level with her. Easier to sneak in and refill the food than it is to scoop out the box while being aware that she is likely to lash out.

and this carrier means 18

So, I think I need to go into kitty counseling.. or maybe Kitty Anonymous, because I just can't turn my back on a kitty in need.

The shelter took in this feral mom and her five kittens. They are very reluctant to put feral cats in foster, well because they are feral, and the risks that means to the foster parents, then the inability to place these cats in a home is the other downside. It sucks that we are basically using her to nurse the kittens and then will most likely put her down. But better to save them, then to lose them all. Isn't it?

and you never know what kind of progress I might be able to make with her.

I took in a feral cat several years ago. I was given warnings about this overly protective mother, but someone really wasn't paying attention because she was feral. I could only touch her if she wasn't looking and I snuck up on her. I tried. I went very slowly, I offered her yummy tidbits to distract her, but she was just not interested in working with me. The day I went to pack her up for a trip to the vet and she ended up biting a stuffed animal that was near her (thankfully she was unable to get her teeth into me) and sunk her entire fang into it I knew there was no chance for her. It was very sad, but I think she was the one that taught my soul the reality that you can't save them all. It is something we all know, but yet we still try. I still try. I tried with little Cupcake, but when I lose them, I some how am able to make some sort of peace with it. (although it did take a little longer with Cupcake)

Maybe this mom is just REALLY freaked out of her gourd, and after spending some time watching me feed her and listening to her needs, maybe she'll realize humans are ok.

or maybe not, but maybe the shelter manager will find a barn for her to go to..

But.. we will end up with five happy content babies out of this, that I vow to make happen.