Saturday, November 30, 2002
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.
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.
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