we have names...

I was looking at the little tiger boy thinking how much he looks like the clouded leopard from the "Growing up clouded leopard" show on Animal Planet, and decided to name him Cloud. Then the little gray and white boy needs to be named Kau, cause he has the markings of a cow - sorta - and I have a friend with the online screen name of CloudKau. Then the girl tiger I'm going to name Scarlet because I think it fits her and because CloudKau has a cat named Scarlet, which leaves the black and white one with Zhannah. I swear sometimes coming up with names for kittens is the worst part of this.

Kitten shower is coming up this Saturday. Last year I spent my day in front of a display of foster kittens. I personally have so much fun talking about kittens and fostering, but it is so hard to fight the idea that people have that they couldn't do it because they could never give them up. Trust me, when you have five three-month-old kittens - or 10 at one point as I have had - by the time they are ready to go back, you are so ready for them to go back. Most of the time I know by their behavior more than putting them on a scale when they are of size to go. Yeah, there are those special ones that you worked hard with to get healthy but you know you can't keep them all, and if you tried, you'd have no room left in your life to help the next set that comes in.

An update on Giz

yea! just heard back from giz's new parents.. she's doing well. Was a little scared at first, but has come out of her shell.

*big goofy grin*

At the shelter

The first photo is us waiting at the shelter so they could be spayed. The second photo is of a number of the kitties waiting to be adopted. The cage on the left was where my five were stored, then there were two other cages of kittens as well.

can you say "overwhelming"?

Gimmie was adopted

yea! Gimmie was adopted today.. I'm so glad. She was so obnoxious, but she grows on you, and if I could have I probably would have kept her. Here's hoping that they bond to each other and are very happy with one another.
Star and Stripe are still up for adoption. I'm thinking it's going to be a while for them, as I asked that they go together. They were so bonded, that Stripe was starting to nurse on Star and she let stripe do it (man I hope who ever adopts those two comes up with better names!! lol) Since stripe has had that vaccine reaction, I'm sure that's going to make her more difficult to place, and that they should go together will also deter people, but I KNOW the right family will come along in the next week.. possibly two. *crosses fingers that who ever adopts them brings them to the clinic that I work at* But even knowing all this I still cried on the way home. Leaving kittens at the shelter after they are ready for adoption is VERY hard.

I also gave the kittens their first shot of distemper vaccine. Went over fairly well. The girls were hard to catch. I so need to get a TV in that room, so they get used to the sounds of people.

Pumpkin and Giz were adopted

Pumpkin and Giz were adopted today. :) I had a couple people looking at Gimmie, but sadly she didn't get adopted today. I am going to go back tomorrow and try and find her the perfect home. I am very much wanting it to be my home, but sadly I can't bring any more cats into the house due to the fact that Jack is Felv positive, and the FIP.. *sigh*

Tonight driving home from the movies we hit a kitty running across the road. The cat ran off, so we have no idea how injured it is.. hopefully not very. Totally shook me emotionally, though. Driving home from that, I saw a couple more kitties dead on the side of the road.

I really hate people.

Life with kittens

well blogger is down so I have no idea when I'll get to post this. It's Wednesday night. It's quite warm here, but the kitties don't seem to mind.

The elder set is getting VERY sneaky at not taking their medication. I drop it into their throats, and wait till they swallow it, and then I check to make sure it's gone, but twice tonight I found pills on the carpet.. *rolls eyes* Someone also still has quite loose stools, but since they all seem to be doing very well.. active, eating, growing, playing, friendly... I'm just going to let this one go. Their lymph nodes are still swollen.. but there isn't much I can do about that either. I will miss them. Gimmie has decided to lay on my shoulders instead of sitting on them. it's really sweet. she also had a slight nibble on my ear. Pumpkin crawled right up into my lap this evening.. he's so friendly. He's getting past his "bite everything that moves" stage. he's still nibbling.. but it's just a taste.. not an actual nip.. He likes it when I crawl around on the floor too. Likes to be between my arms and legs.

I've left the younger ones out for the past day or so.. they did well yesterday, but today someone had gone pee on the towel I keep in the cage... so back in the cage they went. Fozzie didn't seem that interested in eating. If I put food in her mouth she ate it right up and seemed very interested, but not so much in the fact that I was the one to put it there. She is still hand shy.. so is Miss Piggy... although we are working on her.. was patting her tummy this evening..

Muffin has decided she likes looking out the window in the bathroom. It's the only window on that side of the house, so I suppose I can understand. It was ollie's favorite place to sit for a while.

Swollen lymph nodes

*flomps in chair - covers self with a quilt*

ok.. 'Im a little scared now.. Stripe's lymph nodes are swollen. This is NOT good.. she's been on antibiotics since Saturday now.. they shouldn't be swelling up. a few of the other's aren't not swollen if you know what I mean. Only one of them weren't at all.. but I can't remember at the moment who it is. Stripe also had a belly full of gas. felt a lot like Kodi's did .. I can't go there, though. she's fine.. she's fine.. she's fine.. she's just having a reaction to the vaccine, and it will be fine..

the kittens are getting good at not taking their pills.. it's frustrating. They are going back Friday though, for a Saturday adoption - providing everything goes well at their check up Friday afternoon - when they get spayed / neutered.. if not I guess I'll take them home on Saturday..

Peanut weighs a pound!!

peanut has hit one pound.. yahooie!! lol
fozzie is 1lb 6oz.. I couldn't get anyone else.

my elders are doing well. The growth on Stripe's back has diminished. I haven't found anyone who hates clavamox as much as she does though.. starts pawing at her face after I give it to her. Only Gimmie is under weight at this point, and she'll definitely be ready by the end of the week. I thought I'd bring the elders in on Thursday but I called this morning and there is no one there that early. But there is on Wednesday.. hopefully, they won't go up for adoption till Saturday. I can bring the kits in on Saturday too for their vaccines. *crosses fingers that all goes well*

Adoption day

Peanut is getting so big.. I had to do a triple take the other day to make sure it was him. :) its great. Still not interested in food, but that's okay.. neither is Gonzo or Fozzy... although walking on the side of the couch like Spiderman is one of their favorite activities..

Five of the elders went back to the shelter on Thursday.. Hanz, Franz, Splat, Edgar and Willow. Willow and Hanz were adopted by a guy who commutes from Florida to Maine.. had his cats for 15 years. Franz was in someone else's hands but unfortunately they couldn't adopt him because their vaccines weren't up to date on their current pets. Franz and Splat were looked at by another family, but they just couldn't "make a connection". Edgar and Splat were considered by a family with two children.. the girl wanted what ever kitty she had in her hands. :) The dad and the son wanted Edgar. I pointed out he was obnoxious, but they were willing to take him. They also go to the clinic that I work at, so I'll see him again. Splat and Franz were starting to get quite grumpy at this point. Another family came in with two boys. I didn't get a good feeling about them, and when the younger boy asked to hold Splat, he dropped him right away. They ended up taking another kitten - Jenny - that was available. One of the other volunteers knew of someone who was looking for a kitten. She called up her friend and she came down with her son. They had recently adopted a kitten from the shelter who was quite sick, and died soon afterwards. I assured her that Franz was very friendly - just a little grumpy after the day he had had and after just being neutered - and VERY healthy. I was so lucky with this set. She adopted him. Then towards the end of the day someone had come in for the kitten shower, and a staffer was saying I was a foster parent with kittens up for adoption. I showed her Splat, and she said that she had an all black cat in mind before coming. it was a perfect fit. She took my email address and said she'll let me know what she names him :)

after being there for 8 rounds of adoptions, so far only one kitten wasn't adopted the day they were available - and he was adopted the next day. Leaving him at the shelter after being up for adoption all day was quite hard.. and I was so glad I didn't have to do that again.

Five down.. 11 to go.. lol. well 12 if you count Charlie...

The kittens are like weeds

Well, the little ones are growing like weeds. I can't even weigh them any more, they don't sit still on the scale. I have to really look to see which one is peanut.. its awesome. Tonight I put a dab of real cat food on their muzzles.. Peanut Gonzo and Fozzie weren't all that interested, they chose to go explore.. but Miss Piggy and Kermit went and ate some of mom's food. They both started out by chewing on the paper tray the food was in.. it was cute. Afterwards Miss Piggy went off to groom herself. they are getting so ultra cute!. I have a few more pictures to edit and post.. you'll love them.

I have five of the elder kitties that are going back to the shelter tomorrow. Hanz and Franz and Melody and Splat and Edgar. Im not 100% sure that Splat and Edgar are heavy enough.. I'm 90% sure on Edgar .. Mr teeth and claws.. man that kitten is obnoxious. He was attacking my hair today. And I'm 50-75% sure about Splat. sometimes the scale read 2.35.. sometimes it read 2.5 its a totally whacked scale.. its so old.. but hey.. its better than holding them in your hand and trying to guess their weight.. lol.

Pee in the litterbox.

the kits have a new milestone.. they are now going pee in the box!!! I saw Gonzo digging around in there, then his tushie was a little wet. I then changed out the litterbox and put everyone in it. Peanut - all 8.9 oz of him started digging around and then he made a piddle.. :) then Kermit joined in the fun. Not much better than a clean litter box to mark when you're a kitten.. the only thing better is to have someone digging around looking for your "little treasures"

which seems to be the favorite past time of the elders.. lol they love getting in my way, watching me dig, occasionally they will get in the box and either try to find one for me or make a new one for me to find.

they had free run of the whole room today cause I was running late, and they made an absolute sty out of the room again.. even pulled a label off of one of the food cans. I eventually found it stuffed under the heater.

Way to go Peanut!

ok.. my little nutcase is now .. ready for this? 8.4!!! his breathing, while abnormal, wouldn't be something you would notice about him now if it wasn't mentioned to you. Miss Piggy is 14 oz.. :) they are walking much better now, running fairly well, and starting to get teeth - well except for Peanut.. I think this is the first thing that he is last at doing.. no wait.. having BOTH eyes open he was last at.. but second in having an eye open. They still don't know what food is for, but they like dunking their noses in the water bowl. MP and Kermit aren't all that adventurous.. they usually stay in the cage and play with one another while I'm in there. Gonzo is Mr. Explorer.. peanut is usually on my lap or asking for help getting there.. Fozzie just toddles around. I put a second towel in their cage so they would have a "mountain" to explore, they loved it.

The elders are .... well they really are too much. I never thought I'd say that, and frankly if I had a few more hours in my day I probably wouldn't mind them a bit, but with my work day, and travel, and eating and sleeping, I don't have much time for much else. I haven't been able to even work out for the past couple of days. I brought home some more supplies for them on Tuesday. a banana box FULL of litter and food. I'm already thinking it's not going to last the week. They are now eating four large cans of food plus some per day, plus the bowl or two of dry food.. I also got a new toy. the small pieces of wood covered in carpet, with a spring coming out of it, with a puff ball at the top. that was a big hit. One of the calicos I named stripe (cause she hangs around with star) got a hold of that puff ball and became so territorial of it I was starting to fear for anyone who went near her to find out what she was complaining about. I've got names for just about everyone, except one or two calicos and the fluffy black kitty. I named the fluffy tigers mike and ike. The short haired tiger is Pumpkin. The calico with a dot on her head is Star, the one with the white eye is Stripe. The calico that has the most white is Gimmie.. the black kitty with the white chest is Edgar. so that's *counts in head* seven.. so there are two calicos and fluffy who don't have names.. any suggestions? (fluffy is a boy, the other two are girls)

As for my own brood.. they are doing well. Eli is starting to sneeze again. I think he's going to have to be on doxy all his life.. poor thing.. he doesn't like getting pills. Muffin had a growth spurt. she seems absolutely huge now.. as does Jack. Part of me wants to believe it is because I spend time with the little ones, but Eli hasn't seemed to have gotten any bigger. I would have been totally happy with Muffin staying little all her life, but alas, it was not to be. That's ok. I really love bigger kitties. There was a HUGE cat at the shelter a month or so back.. huge is an understatement. He wasn't overweight.. just had a huge head, stood taller than I have ever seen a kitty stand. He looks a lot like my Ollie (second button from the left up at the top there if you want to see him) I would have adopted him in a heartbeat if I could have.. oh well. One day when I can start adopting kitties again, I'll have to keep my eye out for a large one!

Charlie is vomiting.

I went and took care of the kittens last night. Charlie had thrown up again. I changed out the litter she was using, cause it had started soon after I gave her this new brand. It looks like Styrofoam. I really liked it, but if it was causing her to throw up.. then out it goes. She threw up again this morning.. *crosses fingers that it is just a left over reaction to the litter* The kits seemed a bit dehydrated. Peanut went from 7.4 to 7.1 this morning (yes.. seven!!) so I'm going to go stuff them full of KMR.

Peanut has also shown signs of wanting to eat. Only problem is that he wants to eat litter. yes.. litter. Three times now he's found a pile of litter at the edge of the cage and gummed it.. I had to pull a few pieces out of his mouth. This morning he dipped his muzzle in the water bowl, it was uber cute. Gonzo's eyes have turned an incredible shade of blue, it's mesmerizing.

the elders are doing well as well. I fed them two huge cans of food last night and they gobbled it all down. won't be long now. :) I am thinking Im going to bring them back in time for the "Kitten Shower" that the shelter is going to be having on the 14. its a fundraising day for the foster kitten program. We are always in need of kitten food, litter toys and other accouterments for kittens.. I personally would like a good digital scale, so I can keep a good eye on their weight. I have a food scale I'm weighing peanut on, but it's not going to last much longer.. and I'm weighing the elders on an old baby scale that gets out of whack after almost every time I use it. I donated a cute kitty set of a photo frame, place mat, bowl and treat jar I found in a set at the store for a raffle. I'm thinking of making up a few pillows out of the leftover fabric I have from the making of the litterbox box. Should be fun. If you are interested in contributing to the fundraiser for the shelter, let me know and I can get you in contact with them.

Vet visit

got the pictures figured out :) I was playing with the elders tonight, and I so wish I could have gotten a few shots in particular but you know kittens.. by the time you can even pick up the camera they have moved on.

Charlie and the kits went to the clinic today.. Charlie checked out ok. the dr thinks she just threw up.. and it looked like blood cause it was tuna. I know tuna throw up, and that wasn't it.. but whatever. her stomach wasn't tender and she didn't have a fever so as long as she doesn't do it again, and she continues to act fine, then that will be that. Had him look at peanut too. he said he was deformed, but he was strong, and his lungs were clear, so there is hope that he'll be able to live with it. He is still too young to x-ray so there is no saying for certain, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Peanut is holding weight and Jack has worms

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

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

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

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

Peanut is gaining.

SIX POINT FOUR!! yea!! KMR is a wonderful thing.
His breathing doesn't seem to be as bad as it has been. its still obvious, but slightly better, unless I'm imagining things.. which is fully possible.. its been a long day.

We are in the process of moving the kitten rooms around now. The elder ones are going to have the bigger room, so they have more room to run around. Only problem is that they were using the bottom of the ferret cage as a litter box.. they absolutely destroyed the last one with use. I covered the bottom with a trash bag then put the litter in, and they tore up the bag digging around, so that wont work again. question is do I want to just put the litter on the badly worn out and rusted tin, or do I want to cover that up with soft cushy towels and a quilt so they could sleep down there and put a litter box on the top level... decisions decisions.. I'm afraid if I put the litter on top they'll start sleeping in it... and getting covered in poop. I just took some pictures.. will have to process them and see what we've got.. Hopefully there is a good one of peanut's chest.. if not I'll have to wait till there is some daylight out. You would think since I knew that the flash distorts things a bit, I would have gotten around to taking some pictures when the sun was up.. oh well. I'll post any good ones in a bit.

Trying to put weight on Peanut.

5.7 for peanut tonight. I decided to give him kmr with a syringe instead of the bottle - which never worked except the first day, and it went well, except the fact that I didn't warm it up enough. well actually I did, but the glass it was in didn't warm up, so it cooled down the formula by the time I got downstairs, so I had to warm it up by sticking the syringe in the back of my knee. Got him to eat a couple of cc's. He didn't seem to happy about it. I hope I'm doing the right thing... there is always the risk of him getting the kmr into his lungs when you force feed... that is the last thing he needs. he's got such a large breastbone.. he looks so strange from underneath. I really need to work on getting a decent picture of it so you can all see what I mean.

a number of the elder kittens have "retractable brains". one in particular. I picked him up and he seemed to just totally lose interest in anything outside of his body. I put him on his back, and put both his arms up in the air.. then I played peek a boo with him. I love that kind of kitty. :) The torties are all girls. the orange and the black are all boys. so I have five and five. Nice mix.

I've got a new referrer This blog is getting more and more popular. How cool is that? - although I'm going to feel the need to spell check more often.. *sheepish grin*
(update 2016 - I'm spell checking now, and sadly that referrer is defunct)

another set of weights

today was weighing time for the kits..
MP 10.3
Kermit 10.5
Gonzo 9.0
fozzie 10.3
Peanut 5.4

I decided to give kmr another chance. He wasn't all that into it, and I ended up with more on me than in peanut, but this evening he weighed 5.65 so I think I'm going to give it to him daily if he likes it or not.

the poor kittens are all stuck in that ferret cage. There is enough room for them, but not any running room. I let them out for a while this morning while I gave them all their meds. they are terrors. Going to have to switch rooms, cause there is NO way on earth I can let them run free in that room and be able to get in and out without escaping kittens. A number of them reacted violently to the worming med I had to give them.. I have scrapes on my leg (yes.. I wore shorts.. My bad) and my hand. Will have to remember to take more precautions tomorrow. Fortunately, they don't all need to be done. The four bigger ones only needed one dose, but sadly one of them slipped the collar I put on it, and I can't for the life of me pick out which one it was. The two orange tigers are easy, cause they have longer hair.. when I saw the collar, I hoped it had been one of them, but alas, it wasn't. It was the tortie. There were two bigger torties.. so she'll end up with an extra dose.. but that's ok. No biggie. It's so much fun to go in there.. they all run up to the front of the cage and start purring.. 10 kittens just looking up at you purring.. Made me smile all day!

Photos of the new kittens

Ten more

yes.. 10 more kittens.. that makes ... ready for this.. 21 cats in my house.. :)
yes.. I'm tickled..
Yes.. I've gone beyond "crazy cat lady" to freaky insane cat lady.. LOL. But the shelter loves me.. called me a life saver.. and they won't be here that long, as you can see they are quite big already. four of them are a bit older than the other six..

It's going to be one heck of a weekend!!

peanut is still 5.4 MP is now 10.0... so maybe the scale is off a bit? Hopefully. I'll go down and weigh them tomorrow on a stable surface. I don't like to go down too often and let mom out of the cage, cause that's time she's not nursing. She does a great job of cleaning up after the little ones.. the covering never has anything on it but fur. It's awesome.