Well the kittens were neutered yesterday and for the first time in a while they came back to me afterwards. I think it is probably just easier since they are on such a restrictive diet. I don't mind one little bit as I wasn't looking forward to their not being here.
I brought them home and they sang to me the whole drive home, almost frantic to get out of the carrier. Kittens seem to have one of two reactions to sedation, sleepy or super active. It seemed I was going to have the super active. I got them home and opened up the cage and they spilled out
They immediately went on the search for food. They have been extremely hungry lately and just about 24 hours had passed since their last meal. Once again there are basically two reactions to sedation in regards to appetite, either they are STARVED or they just want to sleep and can't be bothered with food. They were H U N G R Y ! ! ! so I offered them a small portion of food. You need to be careful of upset stomachs and vomiting after sedation.
they were still so hungry, and found the storage container I brought the food down in. By the time I got my camera out and ready, there was only one head in there licking away
but she wasn't the only one to lick the plate clean. Squirrel thought that if he got it all over his head it would be his.. he forgot that he can't lick most of that off..
They were all pretty restless and wouldn't relax. they were still hungry and the sedation had filled them with energy but it took most of their coordination. They walked OK as long as they didn't attempt anything else. Looking around while walking caused them to misstep, trying to change direction caused them to misstep, trying to walk on an uneven surface caused them to misstep, and misstepping caused them to fall over.. It was just sad. OK it was a little bit funny.. but I did just wish they would settle and sleep it off.
Since they weren't settling down, and they were still quite hungry, I brought down some chunks of beef for them to chew on. I figured that would give them something to do for a while, they wouldn't be able to inhale it as they had the first portion of the meal, and it would fill them up. Well once again they got possessive of the meat and they started growling over it.
I had to open another package of raw before they could eat again. It had been thawing since this morning so it was good and ready but it took a little time to dish out. Which was good because at the rate these kittens were eating their stomachs are about to pop. About 20 minutes later I showed up with more food and the food mayhem started all over again.
I laid down on the futon to watch some TV and watch over them. Squirrel was just restless. He had no idea what he wanted. He walked around the room crying. He went over to the water bowl, meowed at it, took a sip or two, walked away, meowed at the scratching post, walked over to the litter box, meowed at it, meowed walking across the room. I put my hand out to him and he walked over for some patting, then walked away meowing again. I tried to pull him up on top of me and snuggle him into submission, but he just crawled up the back of the futon and then proceeded to misstep and fell right off the back of it.
Eventually they started to calm down. Moose fell asleep on the back of the futon looking down on me. Petra, bless her heart, curled up on my chest and then looked up at me and then promptly fell asleep.. Miriam took her place on my arm.which was right up against the back of the futon so she was nuzzled in nicely. Unfortunately Squirrel still was quite restless and kept jumping up on the futon and walked all over me and his sisters - ticking them off to no end because he kept stepping on their bellies. Every time I tried to corral him he would climb up the back of the futon and try to sit near his brother and he would fall off again. He fell off the back of the futon at least five times. I kept trying to stop him, but he wouldn't have any of it. Finally I grabbed him and shoved him under my neck and held him down with my chin and patted his scruff hoping to induce the calming reflex. It must have worked because he fell asleep with in a moment or two. Petra by this time had moved a bit out of the way and was a little closer to my stomach and had rolled over on her back so I could only see her little paws in the air over her brother. It was killer... and unfortunately photos were just not an option as I was literately covered in kittens. This lasted for a good hour or so before Squirrel got hungry again and got up and went to inspect the food plates hoping something else had shown up. His interest sparked more interest until I only had Miriam on me. I wrapped her up in the blanket I had snuggled under and moved her off me so I could get up and get them yet another meal. This time pictures are available :)
Despite their almost rock hard full bellies, they ate some more. point made..no more missed meals.. :)
They did end up taking off Moose's extra claw. It had a pad at the base, but no sheath to cover it, and he had no control over it at all. It curled under and it could easily become a serious problem for him. I am a little surprised it hadn't been an issue prior to this. I trimmed it once, and apparently there was enough blood flow to it to keep it growing fairly regularly. I tried to take a look at where it was, and while I was able to get a very good look at his paw, I almost couldn't tell where it came off of. I knew where it had been, and so I assume the spot I was looking at was where it had been, but it looked great. He was shaking his paw from time to time while walking around the room tonight, but nothing excessive.
