Tuesday, December 31, 2002

When a negative is a positive


They are negative!!!!


Took me three hours to get there and back in the ice... but *wipes brow* thankfully they are negative.. I had all these plans to let them out slowly, and integrate them into the house slowly, but I got home and just let them out. I still need to feed and medicate them.. scooter had a snotty nose at the shelter *rolls eyes* Melvin however has found the catnip mat.. and is quite happy there. Bugsy is getting the once over from jack.. izzy has just kicked Melvin off the mat, he's now sniffing the fridge :)

*very very happy girl*
*wonders where mom is*
*goes off to find out*

Monday, December 30, 2002

Fun with bubble nip





Cleaning the litter box is FASCINATING!


I was cleaning up the litter box, an activity that prompts much attention. Izzy and Melvin were watching me. When I was done, they still looked quite fascinated. I asked them if they needed to go before I left the room.... at which bugsy who was across the room started crying, then ran right over to me and stood up on my back and started swatting at my face in a loving manner.

can we say awwwwww...

I knew we could.

Tomorrow.. *crosses fingers, toes, eyes, and other various body parts, some of which aren't even mine that they test negative*

Saturday, December 28, 2002

Melvin and the vomit


I went down this morning to feed the kitties, and melvin was laying in the kitty bed I brought home from the shelter. Everyone else was very happy to see me, but he just sat there. I cleaned up and played with the others, but he just sat there watching me. I finally broke out the food, and he still wasn't interested. So I pulled the bed closer to me and I took him out and he looked fine, so I cleaned him up, but terramycin in his eyes, and gave him his antibiotic. He went off, and crawled into the very dirty litter box and sat there. Almost as if sulking. I got him out of the litter box and proceeded to clean it, when Melvin decided to throw up. the antibiotic can cause that, so I wasn't too worried. He stuck his tongue almost completely out of his body, and had the heaves. only a little bit came out, but as soon as it did, his head went closer to the ground, and his tongue went into the litter that they had kicked out of the box (I SOOO need to vacuum that room!!) and he wasn't too happy about that. He threw up again, not nearly as much the second time. He then proceeded to stare at it.. almost as if amazed he produced something like that. I covered it up with litter, figuring the litter would dry it up. he wasn't happy with that. He continued to sit there and stare at the mound. This of course intrigued the other cats. They came over as if to ask what was going on. I tried to distract everyone away by replacing the litter box, but again Melvin was unhappy with that cause he couldn't see his creation as well. I eventually got him away from it with the cat teaser toy, but he soon lost interest in that, and went back to stare at the pile. *rolls eyes* I then grabbed him and put a little wet food in his mouth, but he still wasn't interested in eating. I had put nose drops in his nose, so I figured that it was affecting his sense of smell. Tonight he was running around like a fool, eating like a horse, attacking everything in site :)

Bugsy is still sneezing up goop. three more days.. Im sure izzy can't wait.. she keeps escaping from the room.. did it yet again tonight. Also broke out the bubbles again tonight, and mom actually swatted at a few :)

When I left the room, I started heading up stairs (I have a split entry so there is a landing half way up). Jack was on the landing, half laying half sitting. I talked baby talk to him, and then asked him if he wanted more kitties in the house. With perfect timing he threw himself backwards to end up laying on his back, as if to say "oh mom! you don't want MORE kitties"

Friday, December 27, 2002

Kittens are still sick


this URI is holding on for dear life. Each time I swear its going to be done and cleared up, they turn around and get all goopy again. at least its not as bad as its been. Four more days and I can get them tested (sends up prayer that they are negative).. I wonder if that room is affecting them as its a little mold in the room.. Some of the other cats would get all icky looking when I kept them cooped up in a room, but when they had free run of the house they cleared up immediately... so hopefully soon they will be able to have run of the house, and see if that helps. that and I can't wait to clean up that room, those kittens are so freakin messy..

Izzy escaped again today.. I was replacing the litter box, so there was a big opening when I walked in with it, and off she went. I immediately shut the door so the others wouldn't get out, she had free run of the house I was sure it was going to take forever to find her, but she only went and sat under the pool table. I got her in just a few moments.

Jack wanted to nurse on me this morning. The poor thing keeps biting me now.. Really hurt me at one point so I had to throw him off. He had no idea I felt so bad. I so love that cat..

Thursday, December 26, 2002

Five days left


Gave the kitties some premium cat food last night. sheba roast beef.. it was a big hit with the kittens, mom didn't seem all that interested. Melvin loved the taste, but wasn't that great at eating it. He's a licker of food, and that stuff doesn't break up upon licking, so he ended up pushing the tray around a bit. Several times he put his foot on the food to keep it from "getting away". Not sure he liked the feel of it under his foot though, as he often took it right off. Scooter was more interested in licking the container the food came in (yes, she is nuts) Izzy for once didn't search out what food was in every dish. Guess she figured what she had was "good enough".. lol

It snowed here something fierce last night. There was ice pellets driving against the window. That really interested mom, she ran across the room to jump up on the desk, then into the window.. but the desk was too slippery, and she ended up falling off the other side before jumping up into the window (its a basement room) she was none too happy about that. I eventually decided to lock the kittens up in the cage and play with mom. She was happy to be able to play, but she wasn't much into chasing and pouncing. She'd swat at it if it came near her, and try to eat it - with quite a bit of enthusiasm too - but one I started dragging it away she was pretty much no longer interested.

I fed them late last night. Went in quite early this morning. They acted like they hadn't eaten in days (although there was plenty of dry food left) They are such the bunch of liars.

I cleaned out Bugsy's and Melvin's ears. They get so bad. I still think its mites... but Bugsy was treated. Izzy wasn't but now her ears are pretty much clean all the time. they don't mind when I clean them with q-tips (yes.. I know.. you really shouldn't, but I am very careful) in fact they start purring. But they do NOT like the wash I have for them. Melvin took it the worst.. and fought me every step of the way... but then a moment after he was down he was cuddling up to me and purring. :) guess they are glad their ears are clean.

Sigh. five more days.. I still haven't decided how many of them I'm keeping. Some days its one. (cause the hubby wants bugsy) some days its all four.

Monday, December 23, 2002

Kittens = Gauntlet


went down last night to feed and play with the kitties. Scooter has chewed up both tubes of eye ointment I have.. *grrrr*. I should make a point to get to the shelter today to get some more as izzy is holding one of her eyes a bit closed. We were playing with them, and the hubby noticed that the four kittens hold the personalities of the characters of the video game gauntlet game (a screen shot) Bugsy is warrior, Melvin is the wizard, Izzy is Valkyrie and Scooter is the elf. I laughed so hard when I realized he was right.

There are a few presents under the tree now. Ollie and Jack are playing chase and they are getting in the way. I hope they don't "unwrap" the presents :)

Sunday, December 22, 2002

Catching up


wow.. its been since the 18th since I told you how wonderful the kittens are? lol. well then, they are wonderful. Melvin and Bugsy take tiny baby steps to being better. Today Bugsy had no snot caked on his nose, but his eyes looked like he just saw a really sad movie. Melvin had some caked on his nose. I went and saw them last night after being away for 24 hours, and they seemed VERY happy to see me. Scooter used me several times to get to some place else.. She jumped on my back then jumped on something else. She's such a riot.

Broke out the bubbles again. They so love those. They have started swatting at them more, and once they pop them, they keep looking around wondering where it just went. Bugsy tends to do it with two paws, and ends up in a praying position. Scooter jumps around standing upright on her back two feet.

They all really want to leave that room. Nine more days.. well eight.. sigh. *prays for a good outcome on their tests*

Wednesday, December 18, 2002

Catnip bubbles!


I have found an incredibly cool kitten toy.. catnip bubbles :) They were a little expensive - considering I got them at Wal-Mart, but they are quite the attention grabber with the kittens. They don't have great coherence, but the kittens can't resist sniffing them. They didn't know what to make of them for the first 10 or 20 blows.. then they started getting brave enough to actually touch them. and since they popped when they were breathed on, they were still quite stunned. after about five minutes they were swatting at them with their paws. They weren't quite understanding what they were, but they sure did like trying to figure it out. I blew some again this morning, they still loved it.

I bought home a cat bed from the shelter on Tuesday. the kittens found a grapevine wreath and threw that on the floor and were cuddling into it, so when I saw one at the shelter I asked if I could take it. the kittens LOVE it. Scooter likes bringing her toys in it and playing with it there. Melvin just likes laying in it. Mom was kinda interested in it as well. I also brought home some new toys. One was a green felt fish on a string. I held it up and the room got very very quiet as the four of them all sat under the fish trying to figure out how to get it. I lowered it a little and we spent the next half hour batting it around. I eventually tied it to the doorway of the cage, and that was a big hit. SO much so they broke the string *rolls eyes* I haven't had one stringed toy have string sturdy enough to survive the cats they were intended for. Someone really should do something about it cause most of the time I find the string in the litter box, and I don't mean put there by playful kittens.

I talked to the shelter about mom. they want to see her cause there was a round of ringworm at the shelter. I so don't think its that (which btw is fungal, not an actual worm) I just think she's bored and is grooming her hair right off herself.

*searching ebay for cat condos* I so want one for the kitties.. anyone got one they aren't using any more?

Tuesday, December 17, 2002

A game of King of Connie


This is adorable. Well except the Rio part..

In the beginning, there was the heaven and the earth, and a cold breeze was blowing. This sucked, and the Lord was displeased. And the Lord said, "Let there be kitties!" and there were kitties, with whiskers and fuzzy ears, who twitched their tail-tips adorably, and it was good.

But the Lord wanted more. So the Lord said, "Let there be stripes!" and most of the kitties received this blessing, and showed off their precious, adorably cuddly tabby coats. And this was good.

So the kitties romped and played, but they became hungry, and asked the Lord for help. So the Lord said, "Let there be all manner of creatures from which the kitties can feed from!" And there were, and a wide variety of animals came into existence, whom the kitties hunted and played with. And this was good.

But the kitties were still bored. So The Lord said, "Let there be humans!" and the humans came into existence, to forever be slaves of the adorable whiskered kitties and entertain them until the end of time. And it was good. The Lord was happy, so he retired and went to Rio.

Bugsy's eyes were watering last night. I was looking him over, and peeking in his ears (these ear mites are awful tenatious) and scooter came up and started washing his face. I could almost hear him roll his eyes.. but he let her. I hung out there for a while. Laid down on the floor, and a nice game of king of the connie ensuded. after a while they just settled down and sat on me and purred. That's always fun. :)

Mom seems to be doing a bit better. She's been bored out of her mind and spending her day licking her ankles. Ive been praising her when she plays, and spending time patting and paying attention to her. She's still having a hard time not giving in to the kittens.. but at least she's willing to eat around them now... well a bit.

and speaking of food.. the Iams ocean fish.. EEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWW.. that stuff looks horrid, it smells horrid, and of course that means the kittens really like it. but then again its not iams kitten food.. so that's good for them. Some of the cans of the kitten food... the consistancy has been off.. kinda like pudding.. made me think of mushy poop.

Monday, December 16, 2002

Feeling better


Went down last night.. Bugsy not only didn't have watery eyes, but he had no snot crusted on his nose *does quiet happy dance*. Melvin looked almost normal as well. Had a little something stuck to the side of his nose.. *crosses fingers that this is the end of this*

The kittens have found themselves a new toy. I found a draft stopper I made a while back, and rather badly too. Its just a really big round pillow - a bolster if you would - that I had tied up the ends with ribbons. Well the ribbons are gone.. and now the stuffing is coming out with their help.. but they love crawling under it, and jumping over it, and attacking it and rolling around on it. Sigh I miss them running around the house. Two more weeks.. sigh.. part of me wants this to be over, and part of me really really really doesn't.

They also aren't eating very much. I'm not sure if its the food (back to Iams kitten food) or something else as the resident cats aren't eating either. They aren't begging me for other stuff, and they seem to be doing fine, so I'm not going to worry about it.

Saturday, December 14, 2002

Catching up with the kittens


Well it seems two of my fosters are taking after my eldest cat Em. Bugsy goes poo, and then scrapes at the side of the box and never actually covers it up. Scooter is becoming obsessive about this licking thing. *rolls eyes* although one thing Scooter does that Em doesn't is she's kinda perverted about it. Last night Bugsy had a little something left on his behind when he was done with the litter.. I grabbed him and held him while I went to get something to clean him off. Scooter took care of it for me. Then this morning she was attacking my leg, and trying to nuzzle into my crotch.. she is one weirdo kitty.. She also seems to be begging for attention but when I give it to her she runs away. Not sure what that is all about.

Bugsy and Mel are on the med. They both look like kitties that have suffered a cold... but bugs isn't wheezing nearly as bad, although most times when I go down there he does have a bit of snot caked on his nose.. and Melvin looks a lot better. His eyes are obviously still doing something cause I cleaned his face off last night and this morning it was dirty again Although I say that hes doing better and this morning he had blood on his nose. . Izzy had some on hers last night but it turned out to just be a small cut. guess she got a little too rough with something or other.

I think the mom cat is going insane. She's missing patches of fur off her back legs probably cause she just licks them all day long. She's quite submissive when it comes to the kits.. letting them eat the food she wants to eat, and play with the things she wants to play with.. so most of the day she's just sitting around looking at them. Last night I got her to play a little, but as soon as she started, a kitten would jump on the toy and that would be that. Although she did chase Izzy a little, but once she caught her, I could tell she realized she was doing something wrong. I tried to praise her, but I don't think she cared what I thought.

I need to go to the shelter today and get some more meds for them.. they are having an open house so I'll probably be there for a while.. :)

Thursday, December 12, 2002

Cleaning the kitten room


I did a little reorganizing in the kitten room today. I was planning on taking the kittens out of there and vacuuming, but I realized it will only be two more weeks, and they will just mess it up again, so I just used a carpet broom to get the worst of it up. The kittens quite enjoyed having me in there for an extended period of time. I have a carpet square ( you know the kind.. they are about the size of a placement) in there that I was using in front of the litter box to try to catch the most of the litter as they walk out, but alas, that was futile, so I threw it on top of the dresser that is in that room, when I was just in there I found the carpet upside down and under the dresser. I can't for the life of me figure out how they did that.

When I was done, I did some other cleaning, much to the dismay of my sinuses. I took a break and went back into the kitten room and sat on the rocking chair. Scooter and I did a little cuddling, then Izzy jumped up on my lap all on her own. That made me smile. I put my legs up on the other chair in the room. Then Melvin joined in and then my legs became the coolest playground. *rolls eyes* fortunately their claws didn't get past my jeans..

What I don't understand is why they are soo food picky. Probably cause they keep getting different foods. for the past couple of days they haven't finished off what I have given them... but yet they are begging for more.. *sigh* guess that's the downside of living off donations.. no consistency. At least I've been having luck getting good litter. I make a point though to always take the brands that I like when I see them, even if I'm no where near being out. That one time I got a store brand.. *shiver* will not do that again..

Bugsy's eyes are still watering, but his nose wasn't caked. Melvin's eyes look better, but his nose was worse. I hope this storm coming this weekend isn't too bad so I can get down to the shelter to get some more meds when I help out at the open house..

Wednesday, December 11, 2002

Bugsy is sick.





Sigh. Yet again Bugsy has decided that he is actually sick. His nose was all most all plugged up again. I went to feed them this evening, and they were happy about it. I got home from shopping this afternoon and mom was meowing. I sent the hubby down to check it out, and izzy escaped. She got all the way upstairs and under the bed. *shakes head* hubby is so slow some times *wink*

Anyway.. they were fine, just out of food. I put some dry food down then went out for a while. Just came home and sat with them for a while. As soon as bugsy's hunger was slaked, he crawled up in my lap for some lovin. Izzy walked by me and so I reached out to pat her. We are still working on that whole not cowering thing. This time she laid down and took it like a kitty. Even started purring... and at one point was louder than bugsy!! lol. She then proceeded to climb up into my lap!!! Have I mentioned she has this kathleen turner kind of purr? Very deep, kinda sexy.. well for a cat..

I got some more food from the shelter. they had real live kitten food.. (no.. not made out of real live kittens.. geeze) so I grabbed it all. I felt a little bad, but these guys have been sick for so darn long, a good influx of nutrients hopefully will do the trick.

I also bought a thermometer. a nice digital one that has a high low memory. I went down with it. its 60 degrees down there. the heat finally kicked in and after a few moments it was up to 62. I definitely think that room needs a heater... that can't be good for them. although I have a question in to my yahoo cat group to see what they think the room should be set to. One of these days I'm going to have to investigate why that room is so freakin cold all the time. The house is only five years old (we had it built) although the contractor was ... well let's just say not totally thorough. He left a hole in the house big enough for my 17lb cat (at the time) to get out.

Monday, December 9, 2002

Kittens are distructive


those kittens can destroy a room faster than any set of kittens I have ever had, and that includes the set of six with a mom. I went down this morning to find someone had knocked a popcorn tin I have off of the dresser it was on. They are eating everything in site too. Its good, but its frustrating too.

I am slightly concerned about Melvin and Bugsy. Its been 10 days for Bugsy on the meds, and he's still stuffy. Granted not nearly as bad. Melvin seems to be ok.. but his eyes still look horrid. I've been meaning to wash his face, but I keep forgetting. I know he doesn't mind a bit... he's not one to have his face washed. :) Now that school is basically over for me I'll be able to spend a little more time with them. Three more weeks.. I think I'm going to ask to take melvin, bugsy and scooter home if they test negative and see how the three of them deal with my three. I so want to adopt them.. but six cats.. *shiver* this is such a small house...

Sunday, December 8, 2002

Melvin loves his nip


Melvin LOVES catnip. He attacks it, rolls in it, attacks anyone who comes near it.gets the munchies after consuming it all.. :) at least he's not an angry nipper. My first cat would take your hand off when under the influence. Mom really likes it too. So does scooter. Bugsy really wasn't that interested, but I think he couldn't smell it. Izzy got into it a little, but when melvin came flying at it, she ran. it was ever so adorable. Bugsy's face seems to have cleared up. He was slorging a little when eating, and wheezing a little when breathing, but nothing as bad as he has been, his eyes have cleared up and there wasn't anything crusted on his nose. YEA!. Melvin is still weeping a little, and snotting a little, but he's getting nice and plump, and being downright adorable.


Small Jack update. Today he decided to eat cheez-its. man that cat will eat just about anything.

Friday, December 6, 2002

Set #9




There are four kittens in this set. They are not siblings. One had a mom who was lactating heavily so she went to live with set #8.. but when it got cold I put them all in the same room. The result is a massive round of URI, so in some of the shots they look a little downtrodden.. but they are incredibly sweet.




  • Bugsy is the long-haired tabby. He is very friendly and likes to have his tummy rubbed. Before he got sick he would sit at the door and cry to get out and explore
  • Izador-able not quite sure on the name for this one.. she looks like Isabel from set #7.. White long hair with dark spots but with more spots. So I've been calling her Izzy.. she'll be going back soon so something should come soon.
  • Scooter - white with gray.. and incredible blue eyes. Likes to scoot around the door as I'm trying to shut her in
  • Melvin - black and white. Loves to be cuddled too.



  • Update
    I ended up adopting three of the four of these kittens. Bugsy whom we named Kodi, Scooter who we named Muffin, and Melvin who we named Eli. Sadly Kodi became very sick and needed to be put to sleep. His story is here


















    Jack


    Its official. Jack is insane. Either that or he was a human in another life. He eats ANYTHING. the other day it was cornbread stuffing. I could justify that cause it might have had some gravy on it. Last night, it was popcorn. Kettle popcorn too, so it was sweetened. Today its acorn squash. He's not just eating it, he's devouring it. Jack over there, trying to find a good place to play with his ball. He walked around with that thing for five minutes looking for a good place to play. *shakes head* he's nutso, but I love him. In case you don't know... Jack was originally a foster.

    Emerald, the eldest resident cat, decided to sleep on my pillow last night. although I think it was more so she could sit closer to and look longingly at the treat jar. and yes.. I gave in.. :)

    the kittens are doing well. Last night bugsy was attacking the stick toy. It's a long black plastic stick thing (about the width of a pencil and about three feet long) that has a suede tassel on the end. I had him running around like an absolute fool. The others like to chase it, but bugsy just pushed them out of the way. Melvin and izzy love jumping up in the air for it. Scooter likes to stand up and bat at it. Izzy also likes to climb the chair to catch it. She is SOOOo the hang in there kitty. She jumps firsts then wonders if it was a good idea later on. This morning bugsy was wheezing pretty badly and wasn't so much into chasing it, so I used the pediatric nose drops that someone in the foster care newsgroup recommended and poof, the wheeze was gone and he was almost obsessive about getting it. I would let the others bat at it, and I could hear bugsy saying "that's not how you do it! you kill it not bat at it! geeze!". He also has THE biggest paws. They are about two thumb widths big, where as the others are the width of one, and maybe a little extra. Melvin and bugsy both still have runny eyes, and snotty noses... but its so much better than it has been in such a long time. Melvin's is goopy and bugsy's is crusty. Scooter was sneezing a little too.. sigh.. I so hope she's not coming down with anything.

    Btw.. don't forget. Tis the season to remember your local animal shelter. If you don't have one, please consider helping out the Kennebec shelter. They recently had to take in 170 cats from one man who recently died. They were all under fed and in bad shape. you can read the story here or contact them directly at Kennebec Valley Humane Society Augusta, Maine 207-626-3491

    Wednesday, December 4, 2002

    Feeling better


    well it looks like the kittens are on the right road.. :) They were running around like fools yesterday. They even did a flying belly slap.. where they run at each other then jump up at the last minute and look like they are slapping bellies.

    that move never fails to make me laugh. Melvin was attacking his siblings which was a great sign. Also loved to get some attention from me. :) Tonight I was cleaning up the room and scooter went to use the litter I hadn't cleaned up yet. I figured that was a good thing cause then she wasn't going to go in freshly cleaned litter which is always very frustrating. I still haven't figured out why when your cleaning it out litter is the worlds most fascinating thing. Anyway, she crawls out of the box and starts doing a sit scoot around the carpet. I grabbed her and found she had some poop stuck to her tail. I threw her in the cage and locked it while I cleaned out the litter. Found out the whole thing needed to be changed out, so we did that, and poof, izzy is in there playing like there's no tomorrow. *rolls eyes* Grabbed scooter, brought her up stairs and proceeded to try to wash her off. Fortunately she had taken most of it off herself, (YUCK! but YEA!) She doesn't take baths well. even spot baths. So I grabbed her front legs in one hand, and the back legs in another and proceeded to slide her under the water. and what does she do? she BITES me. grrrr.. I moved my hand out of her mouth, and so what does she do? she bites me again, and harder!! I thought I was ok till after the whole shebang, when I see I am actually bleeding a little. not much. probably not even enough to get a dna sample out of (yes, I watch too much law and order) but its enough for me to be annoyed. She really is a very adorable kitten, but she is no good at listening. But she did enjoy the food I gave her

    I was 'lucky' and got some Iams kitten food for them. Now, if you've never had kittens and Iams kitten food, you will not be aware that this stuff is to kittens as liver and onions are to kids. They do not like it at all. Well.. they'll eat till they aren't hungry any more, but that's it!! I'm only feeding them a can of food cause if I give them too there is a lot of waste, and this way they will eat the dry food as well. Well yesterday they ate the dry food and left quite a bit of the kitten food for me. lol. Well either way, they are getting the nutrients they need, which is important. Tonight I went back to the salmon food and I gave a small can of fancy feast to mom. well izzy and scooter (the girls) ditched the salmon and went for mom's food. Poor mom doesn't eat if the kittens push her out of the way. However, mom's tail is like the best kitten toy in the whole room. When ever she walks anywhere they couldn't resist attacking it. Izzy also likes to attack the fuse box. No idea why, but she does.

    They are so cute. I should get some more pictures put up for you guys.

    Monday, December 2, 2002

    Melvin is home!!!


    MELVIN IS HOME!!!!!


    Got a call this morning from the vet saying his fever was down, and he looked a lot better, and things were good enough for him to come home. He's still sneezing a lot, and his eye while it looks great needs meds, but he's home!! Was so happy to see me, purred like a fool. Did the not so silent meow on the way home.. cause he knew I wasn't looking at him so he made it squeak a little. I felt horrible leaving him in the cage to drive home, but hey.. safety first. Got home, put him in the kitten room. I was curious how they would react to having him back.. scooter and bugsy were more than happy to see me. Could not have cared less if melvin was in the room.. lol. I sat in there and cuddled with them for a while. Eventually izzy and mom figured out he smelled a little off, so they spent some time sniffing him and head butting. It was cute... even when izzy shoved her nose right up mel's butt.. lol

    He is on meds for a minimum of 10 days.. but HE'S HOME!!! yea!! Man I missed him.

    Sunday, December 1, 2002

    Melvin update


    I got a call from the vet this morning. Melvin still isn't eating. :(

    Checked in on Bugsy last night.. he was wheezing something fierce. and his eyes were still watering. sigh.
    I have a feeling this blog is going to get pretty boring till the new year. :)

    Need to get down there and feed them and medicate Bugsy soon. I really hate this quarantine thing.. and I know they do too.

    Saturday, November 30, 2002

    Sad, but I love this


    Melvin update


    Well.. we called the vet this morning, Melvin still isn't eating, so they want to keep him till Monday. :( But I'm assuming that means he tested negative, cause if he were positive (for leukemia) they wouldn't be treating him any more. I sent the hubby down to feed the other kittens last night. This morning when I went to go feed them they were STARVED cause they had turned over their left overs and couldn't find them under the bowl. Also the dry food bowl was empty. Bugsy looked a LOT better. By the time I got to him to give him his meds, his eyes were watering a little, but he did look good. He also took his meds pretty well. Only one more day of deworming. Scooter's foot pads have gone from pink to blanched, and she wasn't eating vigorously.. although with me in the room she is usually over stimulated. I will need to take down some formula to supplement them. Since I rely on the donations given to the shelter to feed them, they don't get kitten food, and usually there isn't enough nutrition in cat food for them. White kitties with pink paws show the lack of nutrition faster than others.

    Friday, November 29, 2002

    Melvin is sick


    Melvin is sick. really sick. Last night he was very aloof. I figured it was just the noise and excitement of the day, but this morning he was most definitely ill. I called the shelter and they recommended bringing him to their vet, so I did. He had a fever of 106, so they are keeping him the night. When I found him this morning his nose was caked in snot so bad that it covered both his nostrils. I tried to get him to eat, but he totally wasn't interested, so I took him upstairs and cleaned his nose off the best I could. He didn't like that one bit (think raw "cold" nose). when i got his nasal passages open, the snot just RAN out... he sneezed a couple of times coating everything, and one of his eyes started getting a little cloudy. It was weeping badly the night before so I put some ointment in it. sigh. He looked HORRIBLE this morning. by the time I got to the vet (cause they couldn't take me till a little later on in the day) he looked horrible again, and had gotten snot all over his tail, and two of his feet. I felt sooo bad. I brought bugsy too. he's the only other one that's been suffering so long, and I wanted the vet to take a peek at him, and to give her some idea of what he looked like yesterday, and cause bugsy seemed to have worms, from what I could tell with my limited experience

    the vet agreed.. his abdomen is distended, and feels rope-y so he's back on .. on.. shoot.. I can't remember the name of it.. I'll remember the minute the post is done.. lol.. well its standard deworming meds for kittens. He's also got a more powerful antibiotic which is good. He also has ear mites.. so we revolution-ed him. Antibiotics for two weeks or till its gone, which ever is later, and deworming meds for two more days.

    She took a look at melvin. He was 2.1 lbs.. which is a big weight drop from a few weeks ago when he was 2.5 lbs. that worried me. Then the snot thing, then the vet took his temp, and it was 106.. (ave is 101). she didn't want to let him go home with such a high fever, so they are keeping him till the morning, to cool him down with fluids and alcohol on his pads. also going to test him for lukemia, and start on antibiotics. they will call me in the morning to update. *says little prayer* the four of them were tested for lukemia a few weeks ago and were negitive, and I believe they got something to help protect them, but they are still vulnerable. Melvin spent the most time with the kits, sleeping with them, mothering them it was really quite cute. *sigh*

    on a different note. I found a website of a woman in canada that fosters. One of the cats she kept looks JUST like a former foster of mine in group six, jenna.. :) she's a very talented painter, and also a red head ;). fluffytails.ca

    Thursday, November 28, 2002

    Not easy to talk about


    posting in this blog has become kinda hard.

    Anyway. I didn't take them in to be tested. I can wait. Either they are sick and I'll loose them, or they wont be. But I'd rather put off the loosing part till after the new year... although I suppose there is something to be said for putting your mind at ease, but they look healthy (well more in a minute) and so I'm keeping them here.

    I moved them downstairs. Its chilly down there... I don't think the builder put enough insulation over there.. anyway.. a day or so after they moved down there the case of ear mites that I thought I would never get rid of pretty much cleared up. There is still a bit of debris in their ears, but one good cleaning should fix that right up. There was that incident with Scooter, but in the morning she was clamoring for food, so I was instantly relieved. The newest thing for me to fixate on is that fact that melvin seems to be loosing a bit of weight. I scooped the box last night and found what appeared to be blood. It was hard to be sure though. Every one else seems beyond fine, so I put melvin in the cage by himself with a fresh litter pan. I checked his sample in the morning, and besides being a little soft, it seemed fine. he's still not eating much, and he and izzy seem to have lost the pinkness in the tongue and the pads of their feet. That happens when they aren't getting enough nutrition. I gave them one of the two cans of high quality kitten food I was able to scrounge at the shelter when I went in on Tuesday. He seemed to like that a lot, but still didn't eat a whole heck of a lot of it. Guess I'm just comparing them to Em who eats .. and eats.. :) So I brought a few choice cuts of left over turkey down to them. they seemed to like that quite a lot, except bugsy who would have rather played. He's such a cutie. Im not spending a lot of time with them, and I feel bad about that... part of me wont let me spend a lot of time though.. guess we are back to that whole they could die thing. sigh.

    No one in my family knows about the loss. I don't think my family could grasp what it meant to me. I just hold on to the fact that I know they had a great life. *must let this go and not think of it again*

    Sunday, November 24, 2002

    This is not going to be easy.


    well.. *sigh* this is hard... we have to quarantine the older kittens and mom for six weeks starting last Monday.. so at least they will be here for Christmas. :) we moved them down stairs into the future master bedroom suite. It's a little chilly down there, but they seem to be coping just fine. in fact their ears have cleared up considerably. I don't spend nearly enough time with them, but I think that's more of an emotional thing than a they are downstairs and I never go down there and there's no chairs or tv down there thing.

    Last night however I panicked something fierce. I was late in feeding them, it was about midnight, an I decided to medicate them first (they are still on antibiotics for their URI) then feed them. Everyone ate but Scooter. She just sat there sniffing at the food and then walked away. She did have a small lick at the empty can, but soon gave that up too. Wasn't even interested in playing with her favorite toy. You know, it really will destroy me if these guys have to be put to sleep. Fortunately this morning she was eating just fine. She still wasn't interested in her toy, but she played with my toes and a few other attacks on things. I still think I'm going to insist they test mom early.. like this week. She was living with the kits for the whole time, and was cleaning them up when they couldn't go on their own. But I think I'll wait till after Monday. Hubby wants to bring them back and have someone else foster them during the next five weeks, but I don't think I could handle that either.

    Tuesday, November 19, 2002

    Felv


    I'm still kinda a mess, but I figure now is as good a time as any. So Andrew didn't eat on Sunday night or Monday morning. Nor was he interested in food on Monday night. I was getting concerned but I knew I was bringing them into the shelter today for their check-up anyway, so I didn't do much more than force some more food into him. Monday morning his stomach felt like he had eaten, just not when I was around, but by Monday night he seemed weak. Tuesday morning he seemed very weak and thin. He was having a hard time holding his head upright... just seemed to tilt to one side. I fed him, and he decided he wanted to jump down. I put him on the ground and he toddled off to the litter box. He seemed a little drunk. So I quickly medicated everyone except him and ran down to the shelter. They didn't like the way he was acting either so I left his sisters there while I took him to the vet. We had to wait a while, and Andrew decided to go to sleep.. and didn't I start to panic.. I kept telling him that he could not die. After losing his sister I didn't think I could handle it. The vet took a look at him and thought it might be leukemia, but thought it was a little late for it to be showing up. They started thinking it might just be an inner ear thing and started tossing around the word treatment. I was starting to hope when someone from the shelter called to tell them that his sisters tested positive, and pretty much that was that. I broke down in the vet's office. I hugged Andrew tight and eventually let him back into the carrier and back to the shelter we went. Kirsten gave me a big hug when I got there, and I broke down all over again. I know this was an emotional moment, but I didn't want to make the shelter workers feel any worse than they already did.





    Andrew's sisters were still there in the carrier, so I put him back in with them and gave them all one last cuddle and hug and kissed their tummies before leaving. I'm not quite sure how I got myself out of there. Nor how I got home. I guess a lot of avoiding my feelings and denial.

    Since the kits lived with the kittens, there is a chance they were infected. I need to keep them for six more weeks in case, which is the incubation period. *prays they weren't.. I have no idea how I'd survive losing them all*

    (added in 2015 - FELV should not be an automatic death sentence as it was in the case of Andrew's family. Two of this litter died and it was obvious throughout my fostering of them that there were other issues. I still regret the entire family being euthanized, and if this happened today I might have fought to keep the remaining kittens with me for a few more weeks and have them tested again, but in 2002 no one would have adopted these kittens) 

    devastated


    the kittens are gone. They tested positive for leukemia. More later when I'm not such a wreck

    Monday, November 18, 2002

    I have a kitten on my shoulder


    I have a kitten on my shoulder *grin* the three tiger kits "escaped" out of the kitten room tonight. Galatea tried to climb into the oven tonight.. guess she liked the smell of our dinner. Andrew decided he wanted to sit with me. he was on my lap for a while, but quickly climbed up onto my shoulder. I pulled him off and cuddled him a little, but he climbed right back up there. and I think this is the most adorable thing any kitten has done so far..

    Andrew is sick


    Andrew didn't eat last night either. I forced some more food down him. Wasn't interested this morning either. Was wheezing up a storm. I piled him on the couch with some other kittens and went to exercise. I figured I'd take him in the bathroom with me when I took a shower cause I take REALLY hot showers and they create a lot of steam... so I went and got him, and he seemed to not be wheezing so much, but away we went anyway. He wanted to sit on the shower's edge and see what I was doing. He was amazed.. that I would voluntarily get into water.. When I got out he was purring like a fool.. sounded better, so hopefully that did him some good. I'll check in on them a little later... and if he sounds better I wont worry so much. They are going in tomorrow for their first round of shots and what not.

    Last night we were watching tv in bed, and EVERYONE was in the bed.. they were being as adorably evil as kittenly possible. You probably don't understand just how evil these kitties are. they are cute yes. but I've had cute kittens before. These guys have kittenie wiles.. and they use them to their full advantage. Now we want to keep Bugsy, Scooter AND Melvin.


    help me

    Sunday, November 17, 2002

    3 AM


    I woke up at three am last night/this morning. when I got back into bed Bugsy was sitting there waiting for me. I picked him up and cuddled him to my chin. He just sat there and purred. Then Melvin and Scooter joined the cuddle fest. it was so sweet. Then of course the morning time came and the bed once again became a giant cat toy.. *rolls eyes*

    The elders except scooter have ear mites. I'm doing my best to keep their ears clean, but the mites make dirt faster than I can clean it - or so it seams - and the kittens really don't like it. I can't blame them. I remember when I was little and my mom would clean out my ears, I hated it. Looks like they have worn themselves out again. *looks around for Izzy* okay. .if she's behind me, where's Bugsy.. *looks under monitor* hey.. there he is.. on the back of the table. they were running around like fools this morning. I swore one of them was just about to climb the curtains.

    Andrew aka snot boy didn't eat this morning. Just sat in my arms shivering. I forced a little something into him,and he ate it, which is good.. I think I should check on him again and if he hasn't eaten on his own make up some formula for him. *crosses fingers*

    Friday, November 15, 2002

    I am not a "Muffin"!


    I told my hubby that I didn't have a name for goldie's sister, he suggested muffin. I tried it this morning and she gave me the most disgusted look.. it was a riot

    Names


    I think I've come up with names for them.. but I'm missing one.. It started when I started calling the little black one little miss. So I thought I'd call them all after the movie Bicentennial Man. But no one lists the other daughter's name.. hum..
    male tiger: Andrew
    girl tiger (aka goldie): Galatea
    girl tiger:
    girl black: little miss
    girl black: Portia


    I'll have to check and see if it is playing sometime soon.

    SHE ATE!!


    WHOO HOOO!!!


    Yup.. Goldie actually ate on her own!! Okay.. so it was only if the plate of food was on my lap, but it is a start! I moved the plate off my lap and on to the couch so I could feed the other kittens. It never left her sight, but the second it was off my lap it was no longer food I guess. Although half an hour later she was looking around the other plates of food.. so there is hope that she's eating when I'm not in the room.. *does a little dance of joy* I was afraid she'd be 12 years old and still being fed.. *rolls eyes*

    I went in there last night and the floor was freezing, and the kittens toes were freezing, so I made a decision to use a bit of left over carpet from the sun room to cover up the kitten room floor (which is vinyl tiles) This is not going to be fun to clean, but hopefully it will keep the kitten's toes warmer and indirectly help them get healthy faster *crosses fingers*

    the kits are getting so big so fast. Snot boy escaped from the kitten room the other day and the hubby picked it up and asked if it was okay he was out, looking at who he was talking about, it took me a second cause he was so big. They are pretty much right on schedule.. at about a pound and a half for six weeks

    Tuesday, November 12, 2002

    EEEEEWWWW


    EEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWW!! bugsy just had a major sneeze fit, and I put my hand up to protect my keyboard.. and my hand got covered in snot.. big gobs of green/brown snot.. YECH!.. but hey.. I bet he feels a LOT better. *goes off to wash hands again*

    Four wheezing kittens


    I'm sitting here surrounded by four wheezing kitties.. sigh. I thought they were getting better! I just gave Bugsy some pediatric nose drops.. hopefully that will help him breath.. One nostril of his is completely blocked.. poor thing. I went into the kitten room to get the drops, and Goldie and little miss were laying on the couch next to each other, with their front paws intertwined.. it was almost as if they were holding hands. It was SOOO cute. I patted little miss, and she wouldn't let go.. Goldie wasn't very active this morning.. I hope she's okay.

    Snot boy got back out into the house last night. MAN he's gotten big. in this past week alone they seem to have almost doubled in size. I don't think they have, but it seems that way.

    Hold on, I think Bugsy wants to type something.. nope.. n/m.. he has laid down.. although he's thinking that my thumbs are moving in some weird sort of game. *giggle*


    You know. I can not recommend fostering kittens highly enough.

    Sunday, November 10, 2002

    This kitten is never going to eat.


    well.. I tried the meat baby food. Goldie didn't care. The other kittens cared.. big fight over it.. I tried roast beef.. this time she took a snap at it, but then acted oblivious to it. I offered it a second time, and a second time she made a small attempt to eat it, but then blew it off. The third time it was like it wasn't even in my hand. So I offered it to the mom cat, who was happy to have it, but quickly gave it up when Melvin decided it was going to be his. She's so good that way. waits to eat till all the kittens has had their fill.. but why on earth wont she nurse them!!?!?! ugh.

    Snot boy is still all snotty. Getting to the point where his face is so raw it seems bloody. sigh. The kittens also seem to have swollen glands. This can not be good. Will have to do a little research on this one. Bugsy's snot is getting green (man aren't you glad you read this blog?) so I think that means he's almost better. I'm really getting to the point where I want to separate them.. so the kittens don't reinfect the elders, and the elders don't reinfect the kittens... but part of me thinks it is pointless cause the kit's own sisters could do it.

    I also decided to put in a second litter box in the room. The mom kicks the litter right out of the box, so I put a covered box in the room to prevent that. I don't have another covered one, so I was reluctant.. but the box gets full fast.... so I brought a box in the room, and the kittens had so much fun playing and laying in it I didn't have the heart to fill it up.


    I suppose I should get in there and feed them.. *dons protective equipment*

    Thursday, November 7, 2002

    Running with the big boys


    the little boy kit decided he wanted to run around the house with the older kittens today. It was sooo cute. He's also has the nick name of snot boy right now. I cleaned his face off this morning, and then an hour or so later it was covered again. He had a lot of fun attacking my toes as I worked out. Scared me silly that I might step on him, but he luckily didn't get under foot at all. Goldie still isn't eating on her own. I think its time to break out the meat baby food. She weighs over a pound.. its about time she starts. I'm also having a harder and harder time telling little miss from her sister. They are now both about the same size. I will have to find a way to mark them.. a nice pretty ribbon collar would probably be best.

    Tuesday, November 5, 2002

    Check up


    well I brought everyone in to the shelter today.. (the elder four) they were looking really good this morning.. and poof, the stress of bringing them in made their uri known... so they came back home with me... and scooter proceeded to fall asleep on my lap, and purr and be all cute and stuff. evil kitty.

    The little boy kit is too precious. he crawled up into my chest and fell asleep.

    Monday, November 4, 2002

    When will this kitten ever eat on her own??


    Goldie is STILL not eating on her own. I'm trying to shove food in her mouth and see what happens, but 75% of the time she just spits it out. sigh. Her striped sister is quite ill, her nose clogs up regularly, and this morning some blood dripped out of it. Little Miss (the smallest black kitty) is breathing quite hard. She seems fine, just sounds congested. I took real pictures of them today. that was a treat. I did the two black ones first. that was kinda easy as they were half asleep. they just sat there and looked cute. The three striped ones were a bit more difficult. I used a toy to get their attention, and Goldie grabbed on to it and wouldn't let go.. I got some GREAT shots of Scooter, and some good shots of Bugsy, and some okay shots of Melvin, but Izzy would not pose for me.. so hopefully I've got something that looks decent.

    I finished scrap booking the kitten photos that I do have. Reliving the memories was a lot of fun. Seeing jack so small was a treat too.

    I need to call the shelter tomorrow and see if they can take everyone back. and see if they need to do anything to the little ones.

    Saturday, November 2, 2002

    Still sick, still clueless


    well my little sickie is still clueless. I put her down among her litter mates as they were all eating nicely (well okay.. not so nicely.. they usually end up covered in the stuff) and she just looked around completely confused, and screaming like an idiot. She so reminds me of someone.. :) I medicated her first, I think she thought I was feeding her, cause after the medicine hit her tongue she gave me the nastiest look. But hey.. its for her own good. Then when I tried to feed her she wasn't all that interested... till a few drops hit her lips.. then it was all yes yes.. give me that.. give me that.

    Not much new to report on her siblings. The little black one that had a sty type thing on her eye.. that has cleared up. A couple of them have eye issues relating to the URI.. but I keep them medicated and hopefully this will clear up. They HATE the warm packs I put on their faces to help clear up their sinuses. I so wish there was something.. a kitty decongestant if you would. But hey..its only a little snot. At least they are all eating well, and playing well, and climbing up on my lap when I'm in there (and that's a good thing why? lol.. do you know how hard it is to dish out food when you have six kittens in your lap?)

    Bugsy, Izzy and Melvin have to be of size to go back now. They so have to have their noses clear up first *crosses fingers that happens by Tuesday* I don't know when Scooter will be. but then she's always been on the small size, I think she was a week younger than the others and they just put them all together to get mom to nurse.

    Speaking of mom.. she's become a quite friendly cat. She still doesn't like Jack, but that's understandable. She's also loaded with milk. I'm surprised she doesn't willingly let the kittens nurse to get rid of it all.. but nope.. she doesn't. They get a few suckles in when she's trying to eat. I feel bad for them, but they are growing and doing really well, so I'm not going to push it on her. She didn't give birth to 9 kittens. I can understand her reluctance.

    I was cuddling with the little black one last night. She looked up at me with her big eyes, and I got a mental image of the black kit that died. It felt like little one missed her. I started crying all over again. I have to say, I really have to applaud the people who work at the shelter. They must go through a lot.

    Thursday, October 31, 2002

    Not the momma


    One of the set of five kittens I'm rescuing, has a major case of URI.. so she has NO sense of smell..  and at this point I think she has no sense at all. Since she can't smell, she isn't eating on her own, actually, I just think she doesn't want to take what is offered to her.. so I have to force feed her. I bring her outside the kitten room and let her run while I prepare her food, and she starts routing around looking for something from the resident kitties.. which is pointless not only cause they aren't her mother, but because they aren't even girls.. :)

    she just doesn't have a clue that she's routing around in the totally wrong place, and they just couldn't care less about her. :)

    btw.. I have some new medicine for her.. so hopefully it will shed some light on her cluelessness..

    Tuesday, October 29, 2002

    Still sick


    two weeks with URI.. Bugsy is blowing nose bubbles.. :(  He's so cute though.. Goldie decided she was NOT going to eat solid food this morning.. no sir-ree bob.. :) she's cute when she's obstinate.. the room was a mess again, but I suppose when you have 10 cats living in one room you kinda have to expect that. I'm going through so much litter and food.. and clavamox.. ugh.

    Today was shelter day, and I didn't go cause I wasn't feeling all that well. I most definitely have to go on Thursday though as there is no way the food that I have will last me that long.

    Pretty uneventful day so far as I have been a little under the weather, and they have all been pretty quiet.

    Monday, October 28, 2002

    Hungry hungry kittens


    oh my freakin goodness.. those kittens of mine are a handful and a half and do NOT listen!! I got home tonight and brought in some mush (KMR, pumpkin, and kitten food) to supplement the kittens. They are supposed to be weaning on to solid foods.. they are currently all eating solid foods, but when I walked in there with a cup full of mush, they would have tackled me and held me down if a) they could and b) they thought it would do any good. They were HUNGRY and wanted their mush!! they got all up in my face No idea why.. my face has NEVER fed them.. but.. whatever. they were pushing each other out of the way, licking off the syringe as it was in someone else's mouth, and when I moved them to the ground so I could deal, they would scale up my leg and be right back in the fray. Goldie was the worst.. the give-mes didn't stop.. her belly was about to explode and she still wanted more. I so just want to chain that mom cat down so they can nurse..

    bunny girl is also starting to annoy me. I still feel the need to put ointment in her eye, but she fights me at every move. I had to wash her foot cause she stepped in something and she fought me on that one too. I don't mind a little good-natured "I don't like this" but when they start saying to me "I don't think so" its annoying.

    Saturday, October 26, 2002

    Kittens are feeling better


    well this morning bugsy looked a LOT better, in fact he looks almost fully recovered.. my little goldie locks though.. that's another story. I've named one of the kits.. she's a sandy colored (golden) tiger.. has a very tiger look about her too. She's the sick one.. wheezing and watery eyes.. and totally unresponsive to food in a bowl. has been since before she was sick. Even becoming a little clueless what to do when given to the lactating mom cat... so she's 100% hand fed at the moment. Last night I was out of KMR so I tried to make do with a powdered supplement I bought a while back.. but nooooooooooooooooooooo that wasn't good enough.. I tried to hold her and comfort her, but noooooooooooooooooo that wasn't good enough either.. I put her down on the floor.. noooooooooooooooooo that's not what I want either. I have to cut her a little slack as I know she's small and confused and sick.. so I've nicknamed her after the pickiest literary character I could think of. The little black kit is also not doing very well. almost looks like a sty on her eye. sigh.. I'm sick of sick kitties!!! the only one who's not obviously sick in even the littlest way is Izzy.. well and the bigger black kit..

    I went to the shelter this morning to get some KMR.. and fed it to goldie.. and she's mellowed out quite a bit. Still quite independent though.. doesn't want to be where you put her, wants to be where she wants to be, even if that is one step over from where you put her. She jumped off my shoulder this morning.. (when you pick her up she clings to your shirt, climbs to your shoulder, once even tried to get up on my head) that was scary for me.. but she.. was fine.. :)

    this evening I realized I left the clavamox out.. so they are all going to miss their evening doses.. I'll have to run back down to the shelter to get some more.. You know there were a few houses for sale next to the shelter.. I was seriously considered looking in to moving down there.. (its an hour ride) today I'm kinda sad I didn't.. (they have since sold)

    Friday, October 25, 2002

    Sick kittens


    sigh.. seems everyone now is sick with URI except my own.. this is not good. Bugsy has a split lip, and now it looks like hes bleeding from the nose too.. I think he also has swollen glands.. Im seriously considering bringing him into the shelter to see if they can do anything for him..

    Thursday, October 24, 2002

    Scooter's eye update


    well scooter's eye look WAY better (in fact she's right here really wanting to type too) still not 100%..probably 80% man she is SUCH a sweetheart.. and I had absolutely nothing to do with it.. *smile* totally up in my face though.. *wipes nose*

    Last night, one of the kits - the boy, had an eye problem that really worried me. His right eye had quite a bit of blood in it - below the ... the.. frick.. I can't remember the parts of the eye.. the black spot.. what ever that is called. It was in the iris.. which is still quite blue :) I checked this morning though and he's fine. The sandy girl tiger kitten is quite congested though.. :( she's also the one that doesn't eat on her own.. maybe its cause she can't smell it.. maybe its cause she's not ready.. who knows. Someone is going outside the box.. in fact they are going to the bathroom BEHIND the box... *rolls eyes* I just cleaned the kitten room.. and I actually smell like kitten pee.. I NEEED a shower..

    currently bugsy and four of the kittens are on the couch sleeping all cuddled up.. its very very cute.. I was feeding the kits this morning and 'lost' one.. she had made it up to the second level of the 'kitten' cage (ok.. so its a ferret cage, but it works REALLY well with kittens with out a mom) and couldn't get out.

    oooh.. scooter is back.. purring up a storm. She wants to cuddle.. g2g

    Monday, October 21, 2002

    I feel HORRIBLE!


    I stepped on izzy when I was exercising.. I felt her, so she didn't get all of my weight.. but I panicked something fierce.. but she got up and ran away with out limping. I caught her and felt her over and she didn't get pissy with me.. so that's good.. she's currently sleeping right next to me so I think all is forgiven. I took a shower afterwards, and brought melvin into the bathroom with me so the steam could help him a little. I got out of the shower to him purring up a storm. He got quite cuddly for a while there too.. very sweet... although I think they might be hungry :)

    Melvin has Calci


    I went in to feed the kittens this morning, and it looks like Melvin has Feline Calicivirus. He's got a classic case of it.. he's sniffling sneezing (coughing aching stuffy head... no.. wait.. that's a NyQuil commercial) ... and now he has a beautiful blister on his tongue. It's a beaut. I'd take a picture to share, but he's not very keen on people looking in his mouth.

    I'm letting the four of them run around the house for a little while.. get some exercise, get their feet off that cold floor.. give mom a break.. that sort of thing. Set #6 would get horribly gooey-eyed if I left them in the kitten room too long.. so I'm sure this is doing them some good.. :)




    Scooter's eye was completely shut when I went in this morning. I think she was keeping it closed though. After I added a little ointment she had it opened and it looked about as good as it did before.. or bad.. depending on how you like to word that phrase.

    Sunday, October 20, 2002

    Scooter's eye






    On the 18th, Scooter's eye looked even worse so I sent a pic via email to the shelter, and the director wanted me to get her to the vet asap.. so I called them and went in that afternoon. She wasn't sure if it was a scratch on the eye or something else so I got some antibiotic ointment to put in there that scooter HATES.. don't know why.. I wouldn't think it would hurt. She didn't mind the Terramycin.. oh well.. I'll give it to her, and she'll eventually get better. The next morning though it looked way worse.. the eye was almost totally swollen shut.. but she doesn't care.. running around like a fool, loving a little puff ball I put in there for the kittens.. growling at anyone who comes near her when she has it and carries it around all over the place.

    Melvin and Bugsy are looking better, but their noses are running and globbing (yes.. that is a totally made-up term) on their face.. Melvin is breathing much better which is a total relief. The mom now though is coughing up a storm.. sounds like she's coughing up a hair ball.. sigh..

    the kittens are doing all too well.. we have two now that are obviously eating on their own... the second being the littlest one.. I think a couple more might.. cause last night when I went in to feed them no one was clamoring for food. this evening though was a completely different story.. cause I didn't put down any food this afternoon like I did yesterday. Yesterday morning they were so anxious to eat that one scratched my leg hard enough to make it bleed. Needless to say, I clipped their claws after that. They are doing wonderfully when it comes to the litter box.. I haven't had to change their bedding since I put it in there.. not only are they using their own, but the other that is in the room for the older ones.. We've had one - possibly two - accidents since.. one was #2 that someone hid in the corner.. the second was a wet spot in some spilled  litter in front of the box.. so even if it is pee, I don't think I can quite call it an accident..

    the littlest one is able to get out of the box.. occasionally they'll still get back in and sleep on the heating pad. If I go in when they are hungry, they follow me around and if perchance I have to leave the room before I feed them, they'll follow me right out of the room, they have no fear when it comes to getting their dinner *smile*

    Thursday, October 17, 2002

    Big kitten day


    Big kitten day today.. this morning was a bit uneventful.. the regular medication and feeding and what not.. I was feeling bad about them walking on the vinyl all day and their feet getting cold.. so I wanted to stop and get something to put on the floor.. which I did.. Went in there when I got home. and put the carpet pieces down.. and they were peed on.. by the kits.. also.. one went pee in the dry food bowl.. and one pooped on the carpet.. so now we have a litter box in the kitten box..

    We also have one eating regular wet food. Not enough to not ask for the slop I've been feeding them, but its a good start.. I think there might be more than one, but its so hard to tell cause they don't sit still very long.. even if there is food involved.

    Scooter's eye now looks absolutely horrible.. the lid is all swollen and the inner lid looks like it is stuck half way closed. Bugsy isn't breathing as hard, but still looks just as bad, but LOVED to have his tummy rubbed.. Melvin still is wheezing badly.. I talked to the shelter and they said it just has to run its course and to continue on the Clavamox. Izzy got a bit of nutrical on her head.. its a high calorie supplement for kittens.. its a bit thicker than molasses.. its right on her 'third eye'.. she's looking quite Indian tonight.. and having a fun time running around like a fool. She still doesn't like cats older than her though.. although she was in the kitten box last night playing and washing the kits.. it was beyond adorable..

    I've still got one that can't get out of the box.. I hope the litter box helps her. although if she's out.. how will she get back in??

    awww.. they are awake and in the box *crosses fingers they know what its for*

    Wednesday, October 16, 2002

    Changing up the kitten room


    I felt the need to rearrange the kitten room this morning.. I think this layout works the best. This is like the fifth layout.. the couch has always been in front of the heater before, but now that it's getting cold I needed to redo it. The kitties weren't too happy about the move, but I think they like the layout better. Unfortunately, when moving the computer table the tv fell off and broke it. Not bad, but I don't know exactly how bad.. the table top punched down and now the screw is exposed.. but sadly the tv still works.. lol (this tv is from 1980 and only has 36 channels, and the kittens threw up on the remote the other week and that doesn't work either)

    The kittens have started licking me when begging for food.. I'm so frustrated.. if they can lick me, why oh why can't they lick food out of a bowl.. but noooo.. we're too young for that woman.. *rolls eyes*.. but hey.. they do recognize the syringe I feed them with. I called to the last one to feed it and she kinda blew me off till I showed her the syringe, and she ran.. it was all too darn cute.




    Bugsy is still not feeling well. eyes watering the works.. Melvin is having a hard time breathing.. sneezing watery eyes.. Izzy's eye is watering.. and now I think a few of the kittens are too.. sigh.. I so need to warm up that room..

    I downloaded a bunch of pictures from the digcam.. I need to update my foster website soon..maybe tomorrow after I do my homework? who knows

    Tuesday, October 15, 2002

    A kitten dies


    I have just had my second kitten fatality.. she just couldn't survive.. I am much more a wreak about this one than the last.. but I do know they both had a pretty good life up until they died.. well except this one who couldn't breath.. but at least she couldn't breath being held and loved..

    The first official post


    I've been wanting to set this up for a while, but I've been a little too overwhelmed with the needs of my kittens to deal with it.. but at the moment I am forced to sit down and be still for an extended time due to the fact that one of my three-week-old kittens is quite ill with pneumonia.. it's absolutely heartbreaking to even look at her, let alone try to give her any medicine.. but it needs to be done if she's to survive.. so I will do what I need to do.. as I always do. I have another blog where I talk about my life, but I felt it was being overwhelmed with kitten stories, so.. tada! aren't you impressed? I doubt anyone will ever read this including me.. but I love telling stories about my kittens.. thus the creation.

    I am currently on my eighth and ninth set of fosters. The eighth are four 6-8 wk old kittens. they were quite frisky and active when I got them, but two of them currently have a URI (upper respiratory infection). Bugsy got quite ill with a bad case of diarrhea and URI.. the back end is cleared up, but his eyes are watering badly, it looks so much like he's crying. He gave it to Melvin, and Izzy has a slight touch of it too. Only Scooter is fine at the moment..


    I also have a set of three-week-old kittens. They are a LOT of work.. Two are currently ill, one - the one on my lap, is gasping with every breath, and is quite weak. and cold.. we are wrapped up in a towel and a blanket.. hopefully, this is helping.. She's also on Clavamox.. but since she has a hard time breathing and is doing so through her mouth its quite hard to get the meds in her.. not to mention they do NOT like the taste of it.. *sends good thoughts her way*

    sadly not many good stories to post at this point, but there are many to come.. like the story of how scooter got his name.. and the time bugsy got lost in the room.. well he wasn't lost, but we could not find him..

    ugh.. I'm being drooled on.. *blows kisses at little sick kitty*
    Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
    Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...