big adoption day - sorta

The kittens went in today to be adopted. It was way harder on me than it was on them. I don't know why it was so hard for me to give them up this time. Eliza took the move very badly, growling and hissing a good deal of the morning. I did what I could to keep her calm, but it didn't take much to set her off.

Gizzy got adopted first. I'm glad I didn't have to leave her there tonight or she probably would have come home with me. Adopted by a nice husband and wife who live out of town - but yet near where I work. They were actually in last year around this time adopting before. I thought I remembered them. They took a kitten named spike - which was a girl - and named her Nala. I'm pleased with this adoption. They plan on keeping her in.

There was another woman with a daughter who was looking at kittens other than mine. I was glad, cause when they settled on one, she stated to the staff that she was morally opposed to keeping cats inside, despite almost loosing one to a fisher cat. The circle of life she stated.. yea well lady, circle this *rolls eyes*

Then a woman who recognized me from a job I had over 10 years ago came in with her husband. I didn't much recognize her, but she came in very well prepared. They came in with the application from the website, a signed note from their landlord, and they knew they wanted a pair. They were looking at Kau. They looked at a gray one from another litter, and that was that. One of the fastest adoptions I've seen in a long time. I think they will give him a really good home.

Two different families looked at Cloud and Scarlet. I decided they needed to go together since Scarlet was so reserved and had bonded so deeply with her brother. One woman came with her two daughters, and the daughters did everything they could to convince her... didn't work. An older gentleman talked to me twice about them, but nothing materialized.. so they are still there.

Eliza didn't show well at all. Probably won't for a week or two till she calms down. I hope someone gives her a chance before then.

I ended up with four very adorable kittens. I'd show you pictures but I'm not allowed to per Taz :) One has a ruptured ear drum and is in major need of some help. She's on Baytril, but there is a ton of puss coming out of it. Other than that she is doing well, eating and acting fine, so I'm hoping to avoid a weekend jaunt to the vet... although when I might have time to get her to one is a good question.. curse having a RL job. Hopefully, I can't just consult with one and don't need to actually bring her in, but I doubt it. But you know me.. run to the vet at the drop of the hat.. why do you think I want to work in the field again..

big day

Well the kids are off to be neutered today. what a big day for them... and I am stuck half an hour away at work. I sure do miss being able to be there for that. Oh well. I brought Scarlet to work yesterday to give her a little more socialization, and I must say it did her a world of good. She was shaking the entire time she was there, but when I got home that night, she was right up front to see me, unlike her reserved self of normal.

They are going in today, and I'll pick them up tomorrow. I think I'll bring them in Friday for their FVRCP vaccine, then Saturday for adoption. Here's hoping mom gets adopted too!

things that make you go "awwwww"

hairballs

Well, apparently the source of the problems was/is hairballs. After the catlax, she vomited up a large one. Then she vomited up one yesterday, and a smaller one this morning. It's nice to know WHAT caused the problem, but the major question I have now is WHY?? I have no idea where all that fur came from. Yes, mom is shedding, but still.. that is pretty excessive. I've been feeding her catlax on a regular basis and putting it in the food for the others as well. She has been very sedate since this whole thing started.. not lethargic, just quiet. She will play when provoked, or looked at funny by a sibling. She is also still eating, but she is also not gaining weight. Yes yes.. its only been a few days.. but still. I worry.. and there is nothing you can do to stop me

:D

crash bang boom

I'm just sitting here checking my email and what nots, and Eliza is in the other room crying for me to come feed them. It was next on my todo list, but I wasn't going to rush in there.. well I guess that wasn't good enough for her because she jumped up on some plastic drawer / bins I have in there and was crying through the wall.. She then did something which caused the whole thing to fall over. *rolls eyes* Fortunately, no one was in the way, but now I have a big ol mess to clean up, on top of the mess Scarlet has been making for me, on top of the general kitten mess that is standard operating procedure.

no seriously.. I do this for fun?

round two?

I went into the kitten room last night, and apparently, Scarlet is blocked, again. I won't go into the gross details, let's just say that room needs to be stripped down to the walls and bleached.

I isolated her last night to see if she really is blocked, and nothing showed up in the litter box. There were a few drippings on the floor. I don't really want to give her another enema, as I'm afraid what that might do to her colon. I gave her some cat lax and isolated her again for a bit. *crosses fingers that works* Although honestly, I don't think it will. There is no reason for her to be constipated - that I can tell anyway. She's been on the same food for weeks. The only new difference in the room was the dry food that no one eats anyway.

arrrgh

kitten enema

In case you haven't guessed, this is a poop post, so if you're easily grossed out, you should move on.

Now I told you about the gross squeak toy incident. Well, things weren't seeming to get any better. Scarlet didn't eat the other night, but she did the next morning... however that morning there was watery vomit in the room. I came to the conclusion that she was the one vomiting once a day. Because I have had kittens who were deformed and were vomit-ers, I felt the need to bring her in. The uber nice Dr saw her and took a picture of her (x-ray) and found out that she was constipated. The leaking stuff must have been stuff pushing its way around the blockage. It was very late in their day, so he offered to give me an enema to take home to give her. I had never given one before, so I asked for instructions. He said to lube up the end, stick it in about half way (cause it was made for an adult) and to give her about a 1/3 of it. I asked how long I had to wait for results, and he said it should be immediate. I then asked what happens if nothing came out, and he said he should see her in the morning.

So I took her and a clean litter box into my bathroom and put them in the tub. I did what I was instructed to do, and it went all too well. I put her in the box in the tub, and she immediately jumped out of it and started walking around. I hoped that she wouldn't go on the actual tub, but a few moments later her tummy made a gurgling noise and she went right for the box and out came a nice strand of poop. She covered it up, walked around a tad more, then squirted out some 'debris'. I'm sure it felt very weird, cause then she started cleaning her behind. I'm going to leave her in there a bit longer to make sure she's 'cleaned out' before putting her back in the room with the harder to clean areas.

PSA before photos

The other day I stumbled across a link to an "advertisement" for a Ford product. It was a UK ad. It showed a cat climbing up on top of a car with a sunroof, the cat looking in the sunroof, then the roof closing, the cat going limp and sliding off the car. The ad ended with a little statement calling the car the evil twin.

I was SHOCKED. In this day and age, I can't believe ANYONE would think that pretending to harm an animal is a good way to sell a product. In research for protesting, I found there was a second ad for this vehicle that involved a pigeon, and revenge on it for stuff that pigeons are known to do around cars.

I wrote to PETA about it. As much as I am not in favor of their over the top antics in a lot of instances, I knew they would jump on the is bandwagon. They wrote and told me that they had already dealt with this issue and that the clip was never 'supposed' to 'leak' out and ford was 'very sorry'.

I wrote to Ford. I got this in reply:

Dear Connie,

Thank you for contacting the Ford Motor Company Customer Relationship Center regarding advertisement for the Ford Sportka.

We find this unofficial "advertisement" totally unacceptable and reprehensible. Two video clips featuring the Ford Sportka were proposed by our advertising agency, Ogilvy, as part of an internet campaign. Ford accepted one of the video clips, but this second clip was definitely rejected by Ford. A full investigation has been ordered by Ford and Ogilvy to determine how this unapproved material found its way into the public domain.

The video clip, which is known in the advertising industry as an example of "viral" marketing, is by its nature difficult to contain once it is published on the internet, officially or unofficially. The clip does not appear on any official Ford website, but it is appearing elsewhere on the internet. The action in the video clip was totally computer generated, and we would like to assure customers that no animal was harmed in its making. Ogilvy has indicated to Ford of Europe its regret that the unofficial video clip has been accidentally released. Ford of Europe apologizes for the offense it may cause.

We consider the satisfaction of our customers one of our most important objectives. If you have any other inquiries or concerns, please feel free to contact us and we will be happy to address them for you.

Sincerely,
Lana
Customer Relationship Center
Ford Motor Company

Yea yea yea.. all well and good, but in my opinion, since this Ogilvy is STILL their advertising agency I refuse to ever even consider buying or owning a Ford product. Computer generated or not, is not the issue. Money was spent to portray harm to animals. And surprisingly enough, it was 'leaked' onto the medium of choice for their target audience. I can only pray that no one who saw that said, oooh.. cool.

Now, as promised.. photos!

That toy scares me, so I'm as far away as I can get!


Um.. hello :)


This is comfy


MOM! I want to nurse!!!


Twee, get out of the baby room!!


No, this is not a trick, her leg really does look like that.


Mom, are you done YET?

a really gross squeeze toy?

I've been noticing that the kitten's poop has been loose and smelly, and I've done the standard deworming, so I figured they had something else. I took a sample to the shelter to be checked out, and they saw nothing. They offered me some Albon, which is good stuff in my opinion, and off I went.

I got home tonight and someone had vomited in the room. I went about cleaning, then stepped out to get some claw trimmers. When I came back in, I noticed quite a few loose poop droppings around. Scarlet was leaking. I went to pick her up, but she scooted out of my way, so I went about cleaning up before everyone stepped in it all. When I was done I went to pick her up to help her clean off, when she panicked and for a moment there it truly seemed like I had a really gross squeeze toy. Poop came flying out of her and all over the floor. It was so foul smelling too. Again, went to clean that up before everyone figured out they could walk through it and make a bigger mess.

I was a little hesitant to pick her up again, but I found her cowering in the corner. She seemed so confused. I cautiously picked her up, and gave her tummy a little squeeze to make sure it wasn't going to come out anymore, and then carried her into the bathroom where I ran her under some water. She seemed fine with it, probably happy to get the poop off.

She and her siblings all had their first dose of albon before that, so hopefully this will be the last of it. Keep your fingers crossed for me, cause if this happens again I know I'm going to hurl!!

Update on Em. I did one test in the middle of the day. not the most accurate picture of her health, but it gave me a ballpark, and it was 149!! yea!!

a round of updates

Jack is doing well. I, however, am a bad mom, and keep forgetting to give him his antibiotics. I think I have a new system down where I pull out the pill the night before and put it on the counter. I'll see it there and know I have to give it to him. I've been trying to monitor his urine output, which is very hard, cause it requires that I separate him out. Not a very nice thing to do in the cat world. He seems to be going very frequently. In an 8 hour period the other night he went three times. Each time wasn't that much, but in all I'm satisfied. Hopefully, the next time I do it, it won't be so frequent and he'll have a big output like the rest of my kitties.

Emmy is also having her issues. I tried to do a bg on her the other day. Her AM sugar was 299, three hours later it was 319. It is supposed to go down not up. But her glucometer was wonky, so that might have been it. I went out for new batteries and test solution, and ended up with a whole new meter, since this one tests with WAY less blood. Em doesn't like to bleed so I think it worked out for the best. oh wait.. I wanted to do a bg on her today with the new meter. Guess I'll have to open up the package right quick. She also started limping Monday. No idea why. None of her joints seemed painful. Nothing was swollen or out of place. I started making sure I did her cosequin more regularly (see Jack's meds) and that seems to have helped. You know, some days (some days? who do I think I'm kidding. read every day) I just want to be a stay at home furkid mom.

The kits are doing well. Kau is a toe biter. I went in with socks.. he chewed. I covered my socked feet with towels, he climbed under them and found my toes. I gave him hubby's toes, he came back to mine. Obsessive little boy. Scarlett seems to have a crooked front leg. Doesn't stop her at all, but it does look a little off. I'll make note of that when they go in for neutering. Kau is two pounds, the rest are about five ounces behind him. Gizmo eats like Tweedle used to. Starting before anyone else can get their nose in, and finishing LONG after everyone else, then wandering off then coming back for more. She ends up with a belly bigger than her head.

well the sun is coming up (yes, at 5 am) and I'm up, so the kids think it's breakfast time. they soo should know better, and they should know I won't give into the guilt! (really.. I won't)

oh the guilt trips cats can lay

It's amazing.. it really is. Last night we were out late, so the kids didn't get their dinner till almost 11. Eli and Jack get fed wet food upstairs - because of their previous history with crystals, and the rest go downstairs to get dry. Well, Eli dug right in, and Jack sniffed and walked away. He then proceeded to do what looked like a pee pee dance, or for more official terminology, he looked like he was trying to spray. I felt his bladder, it didn't seem that big, but he was dribbling a bit, and looking very uncomfortable, so we took him to the new local emergency clinic. Almost 400 dollars later, he's here with a catheter in him being very pathetic. I set up a cage for him because the catheter is causing him to leak urine uncontrollably, which is a good thing for him, but not so good for wandering the house. He also has an E-collar on, which makes him act very pathetic. I took the collar off him for a while and went and cuddled him in another room with a towel, but he didn't want to sit there, he wanted to go conquer his domain. I feel bad, but I'd rather he be here than spend the day at the emergency hospital.

As for the guilt trip, last night when we called the vet, Jack gave a startled expression when we mentioned the vet clinic. Yes.. We are probably projecting. Then once we got there, he cowered in my arms making me not want to leave him. Which was his plan all along, but since I AM the human, I knew better and did. After the tech took him away, he started crying out, but when I didn't come to his rescue, he hushed, and the tech said he settled in great out back and was purring away.

We picked him up this morning, brought him home. I took off his collar and he ate some. I then left him alone for a bit while I caught up on some sleep. Then the cuddling, which of course caused me to notice that the urine coming out was now pink not clear as it had been. I can't help but wonder if all his moving around caused the catheter to irritate something so now he's bleeding. So I'm going to leave him alone in his party hat in his sad little cage till dinner time. It's amazing how docile he is in that hat.

As for the fosters, they are doing really well. I dewormed them. I think there might be a different parasite involved than what nemex will kill, cause their bellies are still very round, and their bones still are very evident. I'm going to try to catch some fresh kitten poop next time I'm in to get analyzed. They are really very cute and friendly. Their thing is to crawl into the couch. The couch is a base, with two pillows to sit on, then three for the back. The back ones are movable, and the base pillows don't stay tight to the back, so it creates caverns. They love to sleep in that. They are still VERY messy but are looking very good. Gig's is doing well too. Still a bit of a wobble, but she is climbing the scratching post thing, and being a terror.

I smell like urine. I need to do some gardening, so I'll probably just head outside, and hope no one just drops by.

kitten update

oh they are so cute. sadly they are too fast too. For example, yesterday i went into the room and Kau was sleeping in the dry food bowl, but the second he saw me he got up and ran toward me. Cloud was sleeping on the couch but also on the pillow, so he was practically upside down, but again moved by the time I even thought of getting a picture. Scarlett and Zhannah - who I'm changing the name for now to gizmo, are both very affectionate. Scarlett in an "I'm a princess, adore me!" kind of way, and Giz in an "I like it when you pat me so I'm going to walk all over you" kind of way. Giz still obviously has issues. It's not IMMEDIATELY apparent, but it is pretty quick. I suppose if you weren't used to what kittens do, you might just think it was young kitten uncoordinated, but I know better.

Cloud finally started eating the other day. I once again put food in his mouth and he tried to spit it out, I put it back, and out it came, but by the third try, he figured out it was supposed to go the other way and he liked it.

on an off note, Kau is starting to remind me of a previous foster I had named Domino. it's cute.

and we have two eating

I again tried to introduce wet food to the kittens. Scarlette and Cloud weren't interested, but Kau was. He very much liked it, but couldn't quite figure out how to get it into his mouth on his own. After a few attempts, he got the hang of it and started eating out of the bowl. Mom is so nice to wait until they are done eating then goes to eat. I truly appreciate a good mother cat. She gathers up her babies and puts them back in the 'nest' (aka cage) One of them went poo on its own during the kitten shower this weekend, but she takes total control of that now so that they don't have to at home. I appreciate it as there is less for me to clean up..

mmmm food

I introduced wet food to the kittens yesterday. only Zhannah had any interest at all... and boy was she interested. She ended up sucking my fingers, which was beyond cute. Her coordination is a bit better. She can walk now without totally falling over, but still even shaking her head causes her to loose her balance. I have to say after my experience with FIP, I am a bit quick to jump on the "there is something wrong" bandwagon, but I'd rather be wrong than miss something. Thankfully my vet understands that - even though he wasn't around for Kodi. Fortunately for this particular something is wrong thing I know there is nothing that can be done but love and care, so I'm not bugging anyone :D

we have teeth... and are starting to pounce

I just LOVE kittens at this age

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.

:)

One name down

I found a name at work yesterday that I really like, Zhannah. It belonged to an Italian woman. But, of course, I have no idea who is going to get it. I am convinced that there is something wrong with the little black and white kitten.. I was sorting through my stack of "Cat Nip" a paper newsletter I ordered, and there was an article about a cat who had a problem with an undeveloped brain. The cat could function, just had horrible coordination. The owner named the cat Bobbles. The other kittens are wobbly, but don't fall over and aren't nearly as uncoordinated as she is. I keep telling her to slow down, cause as long as she walks slowly she is fine... it is when she speeds up there is a problem.. but she has no patience. She wants to get where she is going now.. which of course leads to her falling over and taking even more time, but since she really isn't going anywhere at all, it seems pretty silly. They haven't even figured their way out of the cage at this point, which is perfectly fine with me... although I am considering putting "bumpers" up on the cage like they do for baby cribs, but while that would protect her from banging her head on the bars, it might possibly suffocate her if she worms her way under it.

On the home front, I really have to learn to not give into my Muffin. She is spoiled rotten. Very pushy and demanding, but so utterly uberly cute when she does it that it is hard not to. Last night I woke up and she had commandeered my pillows. She is SUCH a princess!

Twee's obsession

Well, its official, my Twee is messed up in the head.

 I suspected this obsession for a while now, but I just found evidence of it this morning. Twee likes to chew strings in half. I first noticed it on a sweater that had the loops to help keep it hung up on a hanger. Then the hubby noticed his sneakers had laces that were 90% chewed through. I just found two shoe laces on the floor completely detached, like two little white worms in front of the shoe rack. *sigh* Oh well. guess this means all the shoes need to be kept out of her line of sight.

The kittens went on a little journey yesterday. I took them all up to work so the girls could see them. They were a big hit. One woman acted as if she knew EVERYTHING about cats and kittens and was saying how it was best to hold them by the scruff. Not true. She kept holding them only by the scruff, and it kept freaking me out, so I kept reaching over to support their butts. Watching mother cats carry their young around, they actually very rarely do it by the scruff. And they only carry for short distances. its better to give full support and only scruff when you need to for exams or baths.

Em is still doing well. I tossed my new bra on the bed, the one I actually shelled out real money for, and which I totally love, and she "pounced" on it. Her version of pouncing is to tag it with her foot. I picked it up and she swatted at it, and pulled it toward her mouth to bite. I played with her with it for a few moments, then remembered we had an actual cat toy in the bedroom, and went and got it. She wasn't interested, but my bra was a big hit. :)

Checks temperture in hell

I swear it has frozen over.. I was getting breakfast this morning and someone (looks at Tweedle) left a cat toy in the middle of the kitchen. I swatted it out of the way with my foot, and Emmy went after it. Yes, my log of a cat actually went after a toy. When she got to it, she swatted it, and watched it go under the chair, which caused the other kitties to look, and she became intimidated.

She actually jumped up on the bed the other day too. I swear that cosequin is a miracle.

The kittens are doing well. The black and white one seemed hungry, so I made some KMR. She liked it, no one else did. I left the rest for mom. That kitten is WAY too precious. *makes note, seven kitties is way too many