Warning - it's a litter box thing

Now don't forget, you were warned..

and in case you fell pray to the adorableness of Garp there, this is a litter box post.. and not a nice one.. so if you can't handle the poop, I suggest you leave now..  come back tomorrow, there is cuteness I promise..





Okay then, let's go over a few facts before we get started.  Garp, Sparkle and Tucker came to me as orphans when they were 'two weeks' old.  They had the feeling of older than two weeks, except Tucker who was little more than skin and bones.. I never did tell you how bad off he was - I could feel every rib in his body.. He also had no teeth showing at all, where Sparkle had her canines and Garp had some back molars.. so I just assumed he was so small because they were all of different ages.

Tucker also took three days to poop.. when he finally did the very tip of the stool was a whitish greenish color, and the rest looked pretty normal, so I didn't worry..

(last chance, don't say you weren't warned)

This isn't all that scary, that's just poop..
Connie, now you are just being weird

He continued to eat well and gain weight, so I put it out of my mind.. I had taken a photo in case something popped up but nothing had. A few days after that though, he had diarrhea so badly it leaked out of him.  It was watery, so getting a stool sample was not possible. Litter box compliance was hit or miss.  I contacted the shelter and told them of the diarrhea and how foul it smelled and how I suspected coccidia.  They sent me some marquis paste as well as five days of panacur to make sure there was nothing else going on and to kill it if it was.

Well two days after the start of medication (now you were warned that something came out of a kitten's but right?)

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!
Okay, that is totes gross!

If you want to biggify, feel free..

Yes, that is one freakingly long - bigger than a spoon - round worm.  When I first saw it in the box all spread out like that my first thought was not round worm, but what on earth had these three gotten into.. as it dangled from my scooper,  I started to convince myself it was a thread or something.. but then... it moved.. *shudder* the small clump of poop in front of it is also full of round worm, so I am guessing both Tucker and Sparkle had them pretty bad - since they both had diarrhea and neither feel as robust as Garp does.  I have never seen one worm that big, especially not in a three week old kitten, my goodness how fast do these things grow?!?! In fact I almost never see round worms. I deworm for them all the time, but generally it kills the worm and it is digested up by the kitten..

Fortunately after expelling that thing, we had a successful litter box morning..

really, who wants to look at a used litter box?
 couldn't you just say there was well formed stool.

Before this it was all not well formed pudding.. some was even water-like.. so I consider this a huge success. I think the fact that they have had quite a few meals of raw has also helped sooth the savage colon and helped this 'progress in an orderly fashion' if you will.

A trip to the shelter a visit with a friend and a volunteer appreciation dinner

I finally got a sample of stool from Snow that could be tested. Up to this point it was so liquid that it seemed pointless to try, but I was able to get some and so I went in. One of the staff tested it and saw round worms and something that looked very much like a 'threadworm' I had never heard of this, and the information on the internet regarding cats is very limited. It is more often found in dogs and they get ivermectin for it.

I did a little more googling on it and found that it is something that is common in goats. This worries me because I just bought some raw goat's milk at the local farmer's market to try to help supplement the kittens as the powdered KMR I bought was summarily rejected by everyone and the diarrhea got worse on those that took some of it. I wrote to the farm and asked them about it. Is it possible that it came from the goat milk? I'm guessing anything is possible. I'm also guessing it is pretty unlikely.

While I was at the shelter I met someone..

Do you recognize our little Scotty??  He was SOOO not willing to have his photo taken.  When I picked him up to say hi he totally gave me Yoda ears which made me giggle.  He also is very stocky and is very much built like a brick.  He is up for adoption with the notation that he needs to be adopted with his sister.  She's a little on the shy side and really benefits from having him around.

After I found out about the diagnosis, the staff asked if I was going to the Volunteer Appreciation Dinner at the Colony Hotel in Kennebunkport.  I wasn't planning on it since I wasn't aware of it, but we decided to go.

Apparently they got 109 confirmations and then told the Colony that 100 would be coming.  A couple of us decided to go last minute so there was a distinct lack of seating. That's OK because there was a distinct lack of people I recognized too. There were a handful there, but they all ended up sitting together and had filled up the table before we even arrived (being last minute additions)

I got a couple of gifts, a bracelet another volunteer made for everyone and a new volunteer t-shirt, and I got a too rare hamburger and a really REALLY interesting potato salad (it had all kinds of veg in it) that was yummy, and a really yummy chocolate chip cookie. Afterwards we took a drive around Ocean Ave and drove past Walker's Point and saw a large number of ocean side homes for sale.

I also made it a point to have a conversation with the awesome foster home that took home Ginger. They said she gave birth a week ago. They mentioned that she gave birth to seven kittens but two were still born. She has one calico two that look like her and two were darker. One of them was a poly.. I bet they are beautiful. I asked about pictures and she said she didn't have any yet and I explained that people were asking after her and she promised to send me some.  They also finally found a food she would eat - apparently she is very picky..   She is doing very well and is fiercely protective of her kits.

Eat kittens.. EAT!! we can't have skinny kittens

Well sadly the fab five are 'failing to thrive'.  They aren't getting sick and they aren't obviously dealing with this in any way other then they weigh the exact same amount today that they did when they showed up.  They are happy, they are playful, they are obnoxious.. so I'm not anywhere near worrying about them.

But someone or two someones has diarrhea (there are many well formed 'tootsies' as well as your poop-poop platters) and there has been some vomiting so I grabbed as good of a sample of the PPP as I could and took it down to the shelter.  They said they would call me if they found anything out of the ordinary (and no call came) and they sent me home with some dewormers for round worms (pretty standard - all kittens get strongid) and tape worms (cestex) so the kittens got their first taste of getting stuff shoved down them last night.  It went pretty well.  Only Niki overly reacted (why am I not surprised)

They also have not been eating well at all.  (did I mention these kitties have severe ADD??)

this is a toy right?

They are eating maybe a can and a half of Fancy Feast a day.  I give them a wide variety of flavors and textures and nothing really interests them.  So while I was at the shelter I grabbed a few different textures and I found a huge box of Honest Kitchen dehydrated food.

I have seen lots of recommendations for it lately and it was there so I figured it was fate.  I have tried it for The Crew, and they were less then impressed with it.  When I got home I mixed up a cup of it and let it sit for the recommended time and then dished a small amount on to a plate.  The Crew did the "YIPPIE!!" dance and sung and danced until I put the little plate on the floor.  In turn each one sniffed at it and then looked up at me as if to say "Are you freakin kidding me?  What is this??"  They all walked away.  Eli came back a few minutes later and gave it a few licks but even he was unenthusiastic.  I had higher hopes for the kittens.

Maybe if I hadn't called it 'slop' before putting it down??

So after I medicated them I gave them all a forced taste of it (by putting a little on my finger then putting it on their noses) and they all turned their noses up at it.  It was a little funny because they kept coming back to try it, and when one went to sniff at it, the others thought, hey, she is eating, it must be good, but no one got past the sniff stage.

Yum yum, you kittens are gonna LOVE this.. (right?)

Well this smells different

I'm not eating that slop

*sniff*

*sniff* *sniff* Why are you sniffing this??

I have no idea!

I also brought home a case of Royal Canin Gastrointestinal High Energy diet.  High energy, yup, they need that.  Something with their gastrointestinal tract in mind, yup, they need that.  I am NOT a fan of the ingredients, but I am a fan of anything that will work, so I popped open a can and gave it to them.  Yeah, thanks lady, but no thanks.

Fancy feast kitten.. Forgetaboutit..

Seriously guys, what on earth do you want???  Play is not food.. hey, get back here!!

*headinhand*  *sigh*  I am seriously hoping that deworming them will spur their appetite and it will be nothing but awesomeness from here..

Don't you wish this was you?

Does anyone feed Honest Kitchen?  Is there some magic trick to it??

OK then..

I could not figure out why the orange kittens were just not getting over their URI.   I've been seeing URI all over the net in other foster homes and I just figured they had a bad strain of it.

Well today while giving the kitten massage, I looked down and saw a tape worm segment.  Oh how I hate parasites.. I grabbed a Q-tip (Romeo would be proud) and removed it from the kitten and ran off to the shelter to get some medication.

So this will kill the tape worms - I'm sure they all have them - and hopefully allow them to heal up right quick since I'm going to have to give them all back at the end of this week because I am going to the Hills Media Tour of their factory in Kansas next week and DH said he would much prefer not having to take care of fosters as well as our seven by himself.

Kind of a shame too because when I was at the shelter I saw two mommas with babies, one with four NEWLY born kittens (we removed the birthing bedding while I was there) and one with two kittens and one of them looked like a baby polar bear (it looks like it might be a flame point when it grows up) and his little sister who was sickly and was breathing hard.  Oh well, I'm sure they will be fine and there will be other kittens when I get back.

I also met a really cute little kitten that was up for adoption named "Apple" she reminded me of Fleurp, and I started calling her Fleurp's little sister.  Since Fleurp came into the shelter alone, her mom very well could be still out there making kittens.

She actually reminds me also of one of the women who I know through the shelter, they have the same eye shape.. :)  Anyway, this cutie conned me into taking her out of the cage to 'cuddle'.  Of course her version of cuddling was 'you hold me while I look at the top of the cage and see if it will support my weight"  she's a little con-artist this one! When I put her back in the cage she decided to play with the kitty in the cage next to her.

I don't think I've had such a strong desire to adopt a cat in a while... but alas I left with out her.



as a side note, I was getting overwhelmed with spam comments, so I've turned off anonymous commenting.   Hopefully that will be enough for the spammers to lose interest in my little blog.  I hate this, because I really like the ability for people to comment who haven't a blog

Update - KITTENS!!

I felt the need to give Petra a little help cleaning her tushie.  We have had some diarrhea going on over here since the last feeding of canned food.  I have no idea if it is because of the canned food, if it was because it was that time for round worms to make their presence known (since most kittens are infected with them) or if there was something else going on.  I have been trying to get a sample in to the shelter to see what was up, but unfortunately it was too liquid and they would only poop after the shelter closed (seriously, the day they closed early they pooped early)   Petra seems to have the worst of it, having gas that is quite odorus, and her "pants" and back feet were less then pristine.  So I took her upstairs and gave her a rinse off.  She took it very well (and she has the start of a 'dulap' aka an extra flap of skin on the lower belly it was uber cute).  When she got back down to the kitten room her siblings were horribly confused.  She smelled different and the same (since I only washed half of her) so they were trying to figure out if the different smell was from her or from something near her.

It really is quite amusing to watch them learn that their noses are 'super sniffers'.  The night before Squirrel noticed I brought food in but he couldn't figure out where the smell was coming from.  He sniffed and followed the scent and realized I had it next to me as I sat on the litter box box.  He tried to jump straight up from the floor but there was no way that was going to happen, so eventually he realized he would have to go the long way around to get to it.  I so love watching the light bulb goes on, and thought and reasoning occur.

 ---------

Miriam would also like to show you something.  She heard of Robyn showing you Razzie's technique to correctly exit a cat tree. She says she has a similar technique.

Plan your route

Lock your feet

Extend and drop

What, you want to see it again?

locking the feet

Extend

drop - TADA!!!

Then this evening after getting home from work I FINALLY got a stool sample that was testable..Apparently it was given with love..

So I went to the shelter with it.  I haven't heard the results so I'm going to assume they didn't find anything.  There were actually several normal looking stools in the box this evening so I'm guessing things are resolving.  I'll give canned food another go once things settle and are normal for a few days.  I checked on Meira while I was there.  She was not yet on the adoption floor (not surprising) and she seemed to be doing pretty well.  I gave her some love and attention which she liked.  I took her out and cuddled her (yup, she likes to cuddle) but when she saw a kitty in one of the other cages she hissed, so I guess she's not a fan of other cats yet.  They have been feeding her a grain free canned food, and the stool in her litter box looked really good, which is such a good thing.  I was a little concerned because her mammary glands were getting kind of full.  I didn't think the kittens were nursing that much and were well on their way to complete weaning as her mammary glands were flat and I didn't see them nursing much any more.  Mastitis is a concern if she gets too much milk and it doesn't start drying up on its own.

There were a surprising number of cats in the treatment area.  Most were friendly and outgoing, including one guy who I saw when dropping Meira off who was so scared then he retreated when I looked at him, but tonight he showed me his belly.  But there was one kitty who made my soul ache.  It sat so far back in the cage that I couldn't see it, but I could hear it purring away trying to comfort itself.  I had no idea what was going on with it, if it was scared, or injured, or what.  Maybe it had a kitten in there and was really happy.. One can only hope.  I thought good and hopeful thoughts for it. 

On a personal note, Marsha aka - Simon and Leroy's Mom, sent me a few Fresh Step codes and with the extra boxes I was able to nab at the shelter I was able to order the stainless steel water fountain for The Crew. I can't wait till it arrives. I'll be using Fresh Step for the fosters into 2013. See the Rubbermaid container behind the trash bin in the photos above? it is FULL..

Update on the kittens

Well the kittens have slowly been getting over the URI they came with.  We have a runny eye here a sneeze there.  They probably could have gone back before now, but A) I was selfish B) they had soft stools and C) there is a coworker of DH that might be interested in one.. so I've been holding on to them.

Well the other day while scooping the litter boxes, one of the kittens came and left a deposit.  This is not a rare occurrence.  They seem to enjoy trying to fill it as I'm trying to empty it (and lest you think they are enjoying using cleaned litter, they generally use a box I haven't scooped yet) but this one came with a special "gift".  This little pile came with an additional "friend" and thus I learned they had tape worms.  (one great big collective EEEEWWW!!!)

So we got pills and yesterday morning they got it. I was so pleased at not only how well they took it, but my skill in giving it. (not sure who I was prouder of)  I figured this would help clear up the loose stools and would also help them recover from the URI (because worms eat up the nutrients the kittens need to get healthy)  Last night they were eating like champs and doing well.

I have been noticing that Murray is very much a "momma's boy".  He still nurses over eating, and runs to her when ever he can.  I feel bad that he is most likely going to have to face life with out her really soon, so I decided to try to break him of nursing.  I got some bitter ointment and put just a dab on each of her nipples.  As soon as Clair's feet hit the floor Murray ran right to her, but he stopped short.  Even that small amount of ointment changed the way she smelled.  He was reluctant to continue forward until she gave him a little lick.  He got closer and realized the milk bar was closed, and I felt so sad for him.  But this morning I was able to walk right up to him and pat him, so I'm thinking I made the right decision.  The ointment probably didn't last the night, but hopefully it was enough to break him of that first impulse.

Someone also vomited last night.  Not sure if it was because of the ointment or the medication.  But no one seemed the worse for it.  They certainly enjoyed watching me clean up the floor..

And on the best news yet, we have someone coming to check out the kittens tonight.  They lost their kitty a while ago and are ready to add to their family.  They know they have to go through the shelter and pay their fees (at least I hope they know about the fee bit) and are just coming to scope them out.  Not sure if they will absolutely take one or not.  And there is also talk of someone else possibly being interested.  fun fun!!

I'm guessing they will be with me another week, and then most likely the foster room will be "closed" (well except for the fact of Bea) until Spring.  The shelter does get kittens all year long, but not nearly as many during the cold cold snow filled (well usually snow filled) winters and the staff usually can take care of them.  I'm sure The Crew will greatly appreciate having me all to themselves this winter. (well except for Bea)

I'm sure I'll get kitten fever many times over the winter with all the wonderful kitten blogs I follow.

warning - gross content included

Last night I went down to clean up the foster room. I'm having company for Thanksgiving, and they need a room to stay in. Previous foster Teddy and his new sister Gypsy - who you have met before - are coming for the holiday.

Well when I was cleaning, I realized I was going to have a serious problem putting the fosters in my office. The little boy no longer wants to sit in the box. He's out 'splorin! and there is no stopping him. and because he's small enough he could get in crevices and get stuck and cause major problems. So we are going to keep them where they are, and put the house guests either in the office or in the rabbit room.

Well while cleaning, Patience decided she needed to use the litter box. Because she has had such soft stool recently, I was curious about the consistancy of what was to come. Seemed nice and firm, with a little mucus on it.. so I wasn't worried. Went to cover it up and scoop it out when I realized the mucus moved. it was COVERED in Tapeworm segments.. ewww!! Usually when there are tapes, you get segments in where they sleep, but I hadn't seen any evidence prior to the live segments..

So off I went to the shelter..

And while I was there I was almost given a dozen bunnies.. they had babies that need fostering. Talk about CUTE!! I so love baby bunnies.. They need a lot of socalization, so they are probably better off where they are, and I'm about to be overwhelmed with house guests and family for the holiday.. but I so want them!! :)

back to the gross factor.

I cleaned up the rabbit room. I knew I had a problem with the hay that I had stored in there. The rabbit had taken to sitting on it when she was out of her cage, and I had seen pellets in it. Saw the kitten squatting on it too. But stupidly I just ignored it all for so long. Well no longer. Started picking up the hay, and I was almost overcome with fumes of stale urine.. the floor was a mess! Fortunately it hadn't penetrated, and after some liberal dousing with white vinegar (miracle cleaner of urine) and harty elbow greese, the floor looks mostly normal. Not perfect, but way way better than I could hope to expect. Unfortunately I can't say the same for the baseboards.. those she has chewed all up. but that is a much more minor repair..

Fortunately Bri has calmed down a little. She jumps up to me and lets me pat her now.. Unfortunately Kit likes her too, and when ever Bri isn't in her cage, either Kit or Twee or Jack is in her cage :) its just too cute.

Deworming Jack

I gave Jack his second dose of dewormer today.. it did NOT go over well at all. It made him go all foamy at the mouth, he was quite ticked off at me. I tried to hide it in some wet food.. a total treat for him, but nope.. he ate around them. so I tried again, and poof they went down.. but he was so unhappy about it that he ran to the other side of the room when we were done.. I tried to coax him back with his ultimate favorite food - turkey baby food, and he came closer but made sure he stayed an arms length away from me. I feel so bad, but he so needed it. Well, not that I've seen any more worms coming from him, but I most definitely want to keep it that way!!

Peanut is holding weight and Jack has worms

peanut was still 6.4 yesterday. I haven't weighed him today. We have an issue with Charlie and the kittens. I went into their room yesterday and there were two stains on the piece of fabric I keep in the cage. One was beige, and looked a bit like throw up remnants, but the food I served was darker. the other was water and blood. Not a lot, but enough to be concerned. They are going into the clinic tomorrow. I'm sure it came from Charlie. She is acting totally fine. but the shelter wants me to bring her in, so in she goes.

The elder ones are a handful and a half. the litter box was a total waste land today. and absolute mess. But I will admit, having five kittens climbing up on you wanting attention and purring and being cute and having one climb up your back, and a few attacking your toes is an experience. One I can't recommend highly enough. I'd invite you all over, but ... well you know

Em is currently sitting on the arm of the chair wanting my attention, she's being adorably cute!! Now Ollie is sniffing my fingers. Gee.. I wonder if they are hungry..

Jack has tape worms. Would explain a lot. he's got some horrid smelling poops. Last night he had a cling-on, and when I was cleaning him off, I found one. So I got some pills from the clinic. He took them like an absolute trooper! He's amazing when it comes to being pilled... almost like me. I amaze my hubby cause I can take a handful of large pills at one time and often in one gulp. :)