For the Love of Kittens

Christmas kittens ready for adoption

2010-12-10T11:31:00.001-05:00

I’ve been very remiss taking pictures of these guys! I’ve been so busy learning web design that I haven’t thought about photography even though they help me every time I sit down to work!

Widget is still a very friendly kitten, she’s at that playful stage where she gets into things all the time; she plays with whatever gets left lying about, steals pens, loves to help you eat, and is intrigued by the computer. She’s the first kitten that we’ve ever had that refused to eat kitten food or chicken! We’ve had many that didn’t want to give up the bottle but they always ate food too! She finally gave up the bottle at about 9 weeks old. She started eating peanut butter! She has a particular fancy for carbs and adores butter. But her main diet is Science Diet dry Kitten food. She is probably 3 1/2 months old.

This little guy is a survivor. He’s been with us since he was a day old. He had terrible diarrhea for the first 3 weeks so it was touch and go but he’s in full swing now! He keeps up with all the big guys and likes to follow me around and help me with my work as well. His favorite thing right now is pushing things off my desk while I work! He’s definitely a sweet little thing, probably about 8 weeks old (I forgot when we got him!) and very healthy. He eats the dry food as well.

They will both make a great addition to your family.

Christmas Kittens have arrived

2010-10-16T17:59:00.001-04:00

We got a nice long break between litters so I was ready to take on a new batch when they called last week. I received 2 newborns and 1 4-5 week old on the 5th.

We figure the new babies are about 3 days old here. Someone found them in a plastic bag in a dumpster. I am always amazed at how people will treat helpless little creatures. Once the animal shelter got hold of them, they warmed them up and were able to feed them.

Widget is a piece of work! She loves to be held. I do believe she was spoiled. And after spending one evening with her, we knew why they wanted us to care for her – she followed us around crying to be picked up and feed. They’d been feeding her with a syringe and she wasn’t getting enough to eat, she drained the first bottle! After 24 hours with a full belly, she has calmed down. She still follows us around like a puppy but she’s happy to play and wait her turn to eat. Her fur is gorgeous! the black is tipped white and she glimmers.

I got more pictures last weekend just as the little ones’ eyes were starting to open and they were starting to be able to walk without dragging their bellies.

Widget is enjoying having interactive toys!

The two babies developed diarrhea during the past week, it was awful! The vet found no signs of parasites or bacteria so we treated them with yogurt and lots of baths. Unfortunately the little black kitten died yesterday. So far the white and black one is doing well. His stools are solidifying but they’re still smelly and messy, still lots of baths and he is continuing to eat well. He wants to be held and is very content to sleep in my lap as long as I can sit still. Widget is not playing ‘with’ him as much but she loves to snuggle up with him at night to sleep so he shouldn’t get lonesome.

I can see I need to get busy and take a few more pictures – I need for him to stay clean long enough for me to photograph!

August 24

2010-08-24T15:21:00.001-04:00

Kittens are starting to get adopted! It’s great to see them going to such good homes. The 2 black females are still available. They have been spayed, had shots, and de-wormed. They are very social creatures.This little girl enjoys playing with the babies. She curls up and sucks on her belly to fall asleep, kind of like a child sucking her thumb. She spends a lot of time sitting in my lap trying to help me work.

This little girl likes to help me work on the computer too. There is something about the cursor that fascinates them. She loves to perch in the windows and watch the world go by. She loves to play.

These guys are siblings, 1 male & 1 female. They came to live with us when they were 10 days old. They turned 7 weeks old yesterday. They have just learned how to play but still spend a large amount of time napping. These 2 have medium length fur and are very soft and fluffy.

These siblings are also 1 male & 1 female. They have been with us since they were a day old. They turned 7 weeks old yesterday too. They are starting to communicate, especially when the food bowl is empty!

I want to share some photos from this week. some of these have already been adopted but they are still cute… Please check out earlier posts to see additional pictures of the above kittens.

August 5th

2010-08-05T13:34:00.001-04:00

The older kittens are driving me crazy! It’s time for them to find homes, 9 kittens is way too many so please help by adopting one! If they don’t get adopted by next weekend, they may have to go back to the shelter and CARE.

Here they are napping in my bill basket; actually a relatively safe place to be! The worst is when they try to help with my art work!

They have discovered the babies. The little ones have moved to the kitchen where they can have more freedom. They are learning how to play and are slowing down on the sucking and learning how to use the litter box!! They are still on the bottle but I think they are attempting dry food, at 4 1/2 weeks they should be getting close to weaning.

This little has become the toy,

then both take a nap.

This little lady woke from her nap to watch them play. The kittens

The little guys still try to stay warm either with the heating pad or the heat from the refrigerator. I’m suffering from the heat and they are cold!

July 29th

2010-07-30T19:25:00.001-04:00

So much for posting on a twice weekly basis! With the heat/humidity and keeping up with the dirty kitten bedding, I haven’t felt like chasing them to get pictures!

We had one adoption this past week, only 4 to go! The older group got spayed and neutered yesterday. I think POP must do my kittens last every time because they come home still out of it.

You can see that the tabby is giving me the eye. Once they woke, they made a beeline to the food and water!

The babies are doing pretty good. They are at the sucking stage big time. Each kitten now has it’s own separate crate/box. We started them on Albon this week, and the diarrhea is getting better (hence all the bedding I’m having to wash). The baths are slowing down and as they learn how to play with each other, the sucking may be slowing down too.

We had a little drama yesterday. The female tabby fell ill. She eat great and was playing at breakfast but refused lunch. I checked on them about an hour later and she was hardly moving. I gave her sub-Q fluids, a little Karo syrup, and she sucked weakly on a bottle for awhile. The vet recommended heat, (I was snuggling her in polar fleece) so reluctantly I put her in a small box with a heating pad. I went out to run a few errands. When I got home, I wasn’t very hopeful but… she was totally revived and trying to get out of the box when she heard me! I don’t have any idea what was wrong; I guess she used up one of her lives!

Giving herself a bath.

Snuggled and safe.

Busy morning

2010-07-21T13:05:00.001-04:00

I decided to photograph the kittens this morning as they played. It can be very difficult to capture a moving target and then they don’t look like they’re doing anything! Two of the older kittens were playing ‘attack’ around the footstool while the 3rd watched from atop my curtain.

The younger 2 were in the kitchen playing in the pantry. Bags make great play toys!

Chasing your tail is also a great game.

And then there’s Attack!!

The babies are doing great. They wiggle a lot when they are not asleep so that makes them hard to photograph. They are managing to get their belly off the floor more and more when they creep.

They have started the disgusting habit of sucking on each other’s bottoms and drinking urine. Unfortunately this is very common in kittens that were taken from their mommas very young. I much prefer the way the older kittens have handled this, sucking on the black and white one’s belly. (see picture in earlier post)

Now they are dirty birds that will have to have another bath this afternoon.

But for now, they are sound asleep.

We had company during the last feeding. The black kitten is sneaking milk.

New babies

2010-07-18T14:11:00.001-04:00

The shelter has a young female that had 8 babies last week. They were always crying and dirty so we decided to split up the litter to see if she could take better care of fewer kittens. Three came to our house. They have the same birthday as the little ones we already have.

These little guys were very dirty and the 2 already here were getting kinda’ smelly too, so last night was bath night. It takes at least 2 of us to bath them; 1 to feed and wash and 1 to snuggle until their dry!

You can see that they are the same size. Everybody’s eyes are fully open and they can walk a few steps before their stomach drags the floor.

The older kittens are running all over the house getting into things! Hopefully next week we’ll begin the spaying process on the oldest 3.

Babies eyes are opening!

2010-07-15T19:46:00.001-04:00

The tiny guys are now 10 days old and right on schedule, their eyes are opening! It’s always amazing to see that little spark of reflected light for the first time. I tried to take a picture but they kept ducking their heads. If you look closely you can see the one on the left’s eyes are opening.

Their legs are getting stronger everyday and their bellies are clearing the floor a little more each day. Here’s what they look like after they’ve eaten.

One of the males got adopted this week; the rest are still waiting for their new home. We still have 4 females and 1 male (the tabby) ready for adoption.

These guys are getting into trouble in the kitchen!

Sunday evening

2010-07-11T20:33:00.001-04:00

It’s been a hot day but the kittens have found enough energy to play ‘attack’. The tabby and white kitten got adopted today!

The new kittens are growing quickly. They are eating twice as much food and staying awake for longer periods.

They are creeping all the time. It’s hard to see, but since their legs are not very strong, the belly slides across the floor while they do the breast stroke!

They love to snuggle up with the stuffed dog, it’s like having momma.

July 8

2010-07-08T17:51:00.001-04:00

We’re all flaked out trying to endure the heat! Except for the newbies, they’re enjoying the heating pad!

These little guys are only a few days old but they are feisty and good eaters so I have high hopes.

The other kittens are getting along just great, hoping to be adopted soon.

Kitten Season 2010

2010-07-05T18:09:00.001-04:00

Kitten season started at the end of April with 2 litters of 2 day old kittens. They only survived for 24 hours. We had a puppy that was 2 days old and he didn’t live much longer. Needless to say, things didn’t start off on a good note!

In May we got a small litter of 4 week old kittens; they were already on solid food. All 3 are female and they have been extremely healthy. We needed that! I’ve looked back and I see that I didn’t take many pictures of them. We’ve been doing some major work on the house and I’ve just been too tired to photograph them. I did take a few shots.

I keep getting distracted! We’re moving furniture and trying to de-clutter; I can only do so much at a time before I loose my focus. While I was painting the trim in the stairwell, the kittens were underfoot and in my lap. When these guys got tired they began sucking on the black and white one’s belly! We’ve had kittens that were weaned too young and they tend to suck for pee, these guys are much more charming.

The black and white one then sucks herself to sleep!

Here are the current pictures of these guys.

Shortly after these guys got settled in, we got another litter of 3, this time about 2 weeks old. They were bottle babies, very affectionate. They have also been very healthy so they only had to be separated for a week. They are now in that long legged stage and are learning how to jump, climb, and go in circles! Every night they snuggle up next to our heads to go to sleep.

This is the female.

The boys.

I need to get to my painting, this time watercolor. Life is slowing down to a normal pace so I should be able to get more pictures this week (as I take them!)

Christmas kittens

2010-02-28T17:07:00.001-05:00

I know that Christmas is long past but I think of these little girls as Christmas kittens. A week before Christmas, our last litter was adopted and we were settling in for winter and tax season for me; this is the lull before spring kitten season gets underway. I got a call from a friend that is a student at ECU; she had just caught 2 five week old kittens that had been living under her porch. A few days later, she delivered them on her way home.

These adorable little fluff balls were very timid and shy. They never ran from us and they never played. Wherever the heating pad was, that’s where you’d find them. We close kittens up in the kitchen until they acclimate to our family, most kittens rush the door and try to escape every time you go in the kitchen. These girls never seemed to know that there was any place to go. They were very content to stay in their safe spot. When we started taking them to other parts of the house to be cuddled, as soon as they could escape, they headed back to the kitchen!

After a few weeks, they tentatively started playing with each other and then our cats joined in. As they became more comfortable with their surroundings, they became more active and it was harder to corral them to cuddle. I decided to move them upstairs to our bedroom, forcing them into close quarters with us. At first, they allowed us to cuddle them in bed, both purring up a storm. Our adult cats love kitten food so they were eager to get closed up with the kittens!Thus they are very social with other animals!

Last week they were spayed by POP and got their rabies shots. It is time for them to be adopted.

This little girl is the most comfortable with us. She doesn’t really like to be picked up but she loves to climb in bed and get rubbed all over! She goes in circles trying to get everywhere rubbed at the same time! And the purring is non stop! Sometimes she will settle down and sleep at my side but most often, she hops down to play some more. Some nights she wakes me up several times wanting to be loved.

This little one is still shy. She lets me pick her up but she doesn’t like to be held. She has allowed herself to be cuddled some but she’d rather play with our hands and feet through the covers or sleep behind our knees. I think that she would be less shy if she didn’t have playmates to socialize with because she is a rather social animal. With a little one-on-one, I think she would bond with her human and be an excellent companion. I have a soft spot for her because she looks a lot like the cat we lost this summer; if you scroll down through earlier entries, you will see a picture of Pansy.

Quick update

2009-12-05T15:09:00.001-05:00

I’ve been very lax about updating! My energy levels are low and it’s hard to get everything done. We need some sun shine!!

I named the kittens so that they could be listed on CARE’s website. The gray and white siblings are Ralph and Alice and the tabby is Munchkin. We were fortunate to be able to get them neutered through POP, it’s a great organization!

They are continuing to remain healthy and energetic. Ralph’s eyes still water some, I think that the eye infection in August may have damaged the tear duct.

These guys are at the age where they gallop through the house, bounding over furniture, jumping into trashcans and unrolling toilet paper! When they tire, they find a warm lap to curl up in. They are very much a part of the family and I think we’ll miss them more than most when they’re adopted!

I hope that they will find good homes for Christmas!

Daisy’s waiting for a walk; must fit it in between rain storms!

Munchkin on her favorite spot, the heating pad in the kitchen.

Alice doing the rear-end wiggle, ready to attack.

Ralph enjoying a snuggle with Daisy.

Spay and neuter adventure

2009-10-19T12:35:00.001-04:00

We had our first experience with POP (Pet Overpopulation Patrol) on Saturday. It was wonderful! Two young women spent 12 hours in the mobile unit at Morrisville Outlet Mall spay/neutering, one animal about every 15 minutes! We picked our guys up at 7:00pm, they were the last 2. They were out of it Saturday night but fit as a fiddle Sunday morning, hungry and starved for affection!

POP works with low income families and various rescue groups in the area and can be reached (919)942-2250. In addition to the surgery, they receive their rabies shot and FVRCP vaccine. Such a wonderful service.

This is White Feet napping with one of the younger kittens. We used to name each kitten that came to stay with us but we’ve run out of names so we use descriptive terms! This guy has been with us for awhile, you can see pictures and information in earlier entries. His litter was older and a little wilder than the young ones we usually get. He is very friendly now and loves all his playmates, both young and old. He especially loves our lab, Daisy. His fur is medium length and so silky.

This little lady loves to curl up around your neck whenever you sit down. She has short hair but is just as soft as White Feet. She came to us mid-August and has spent most of her time downstairs with the younger kittens. She has been extraordinarily healthy (actually both have been) for an orphan kitten. She hasn’t spent much time with the adult cats but enjoys all the other animals. She’s sitting in my lap helping me type right now!

Adoption Time

2009-10-17T17:42:00.001-04:00

So many things have been going on in my life over the past few months that taking care of the kittens has been more important than blogging. The 5 gray and white kittens were well and then a new baby came in with the sniffles. Nobody has gotten particularly sick but there have been some runny eyes. Their immune systems are getting stronger, nothing is slowing them down! They are eating heartedly and gaining lots of weight, making up for lost time! Naps are becoming shorter and play very energetic. I had a hard time photographing them, they won’t be still. Right now their favorite game is tossing dog food around the room and chasing it. Daisy sits back and watches them play.This is White Stripe, a little girl. My flash distracted her from her game.

There are 4 girls and 1 boy, the gray and white on the left, Gray Nose, is the male. Little White Feet is the miracle kitten of this litter, we came very close to losing her. It is wonderful to she her now.

This little girl, White One, is cold natured and loves to snuggle. I caught her in the middle of a wrestling match.

White face is just waking up. She is the plumpest one of the bunch!

These guys are litter box trained and eating Science Diet Kitten dry food. They all like to snuggle in the evening, it’s not unusual to have them lined up down my legs when I read in the evening.

September 9th

2009-09-09T17:49:00.001-04:00

It’s been a tough few weeks since I last posted. The newest litter developed their mother’s URI and had terrible pink eye. I have never seen an eye infection like the ones we’ve had this summer! (An orange tabby had a bad one earlier and ended up having to have surgery.) The vet showed me how to clean the infection out from under their inner eyelids with a cotton swab; I was nervous every time I did it. The result has been worth it though, their eyes are finally clearing up with no damage. A few of the kittens got congestion in addition to the eye infection. They sounded like Donald Duck! Kittens that can’t breathe through their noses have a hard time eating and can become dehydrated quickly. I was using pediatric nasal spray and giving three of them fluids several times a day. I should be thankful that we only lost one, but …..

The remaining five kittens are doing great, they’re almost litter box trained and they are growing at a steady rate. One of the kittens had diarrhea so they are all being treated for coccidia, only a few more doses.

We call this little guy White Feet. We used to name each kitten that came into the house but we ran out of ideas so now they get named by identifying marks! He is going on three months now and is looking for a home. His fur is a little longer than the others and it is silky. He has spent his time living upstairs, away from the sick crowd so he has stayed healthy and energetic. He plays with my youngest cat and loves to snuggle with Daisy (our lab).

These guys are now adoption age (7-8 weeks). They have stayed healthy throughout this ordeal. There were four in this litter, one died the first night it was with us and the little calico died this week. The two that died were very skinny when we got them and never gained weight. The vet couldn’t find anything wrong with them; they just seemed to fail to thrive. These two have good appetites and are litter box trained. They have graduated to total freedom downstairs so they think they are big guys now! They love to snuggle when they tire of playing.

New kittens and update on older ones

2009-08-22T18:03:00.001-04:00

I’ve just returned from vacation and the house is getting full of kittens! These two are ready for adoption. They have made the upstairs their home, no longer content with the baby room! They are using the adult litter boxes and making themselves right at home with our cats. I think they are about 8 weeks at this point. The solid gray on the left is female and the other is male.

When I got home late Monday night, there was an email waiting: pick up kittens ASAP. These little ones are about 4+ weeks old. They are boney but full of energy and love. They are eating canned food and every now and then a little formula. The calico noticed that the babies (below)were getting a lot of attention; all of a sudden she was dying to get a bottle! She still doesn’t drink much milk but she enjoys the special attention.

Thursday I got a call for these six little ones. The momma has an upper respiratory infection and her milk dried up. They aren’t big eaters yet but they are getting along just fine. They have started showing signs of an URI so we started them on antibiotics this morning. When you walk into the kitchen, they swarm all over your feet!

Last night we had company for dinner. They held kittens for a long time. Daisy was a wreck, she didn’t like strangers holding her kittens. When we put the kittens back in the kitchen so we could eat, she went in and counted heads! When she was sure that they were all there, she came back outside and plopped down. It’s nice to have a canine momma to help keep track of this many kittens!

Gray kittens ready for adoption

2009-08-03T14:41:00.001-04:00

The gray kittens are 6 weeks old now and so healthy that they’re ready for adoption earlier than usual. The adventurous male was adopted on Saturday. He greeted me when ever I went into the sunroom and really enjoyed helping me knit.

The 2 remaining kittens have become much more adventurous over the last few days and greet us with demands for being held, rubbed, and if their bowl is empty, food. They are starting to have more access to the house and enjoying their freedom.

The one on the left is a female and the white footed one is a male. They have been de-wormed.

Now that they are brave, they are enjoying playing together more; no need to constantly be on alert!

Update on adoptions

2009-07-25T22:15:00.001-04:00

It’s really calm and kind of lonely around here tonight because these guys all found homes this week! All the earlier kittens in the blog have gone to live with lovely people and should be very happy. I do miss them following me around and climbing up to snuggle for a nap. Tomorrow, I’m going to clean the kitchen and move the little gray kittens in there from the sunroom to get more socialized. They are starting to not be so afraid and will soon be following me around; I won’t be lonely for long!

These little guys look so much better, it only took 2 doses of antibiotics to clear up their eyes. They’re gaining weight and are already litter box trained. They’ve adjusted to Daisy quite nicely; she is very protective of her kittens. Today I gave them kitten toys to play with and they have been very busy rolling the balls around the room.

New kittens arrive today

2009-07-17T15:51:00.001-04:00

My friend, Krista, from the shelter, had to come to Raleigh today so she brought these little guys to me. They appear to be around 4 weeks old; they are stable walkers but have very few teeth. The kitten in the back corner is a little ‘hissy’ and the lighter gray one, below, is adventuresome. They’ve been eating can food and have diarrhea already along with an eye infection. When I put formula in the crate with them, 2 of them attacked it immediately! I hope that we can get the diarrhea under control quickly; at least they are using the litter box already!

Adoption update

We have found homes for 2 more kittens! The orange and white female left last night to a nice young woman. Her roommate wants to adopt the black kitten, so as soon as he’s weaned, he should have a good home too with one of his playmates for company. This leaves the orange tabby and the white with orange spots, both males.

I woke up yesterday to a very sick cat. My 13 year old, our first rescue, had been throwing up all night and was still feeling pretty miserable. It appeared that she had ingested a toxic substance (probably Claritin). Once the toxin is in the blood stream, inducing vomiting doesn’t help (plus she’d thrown up all night) and since she seemed to be stabilized when we got up, I decided to tend to her myself. She spent the morning with me in the backyard, moving from spot to spot checking things out, resting frequently. I gave her fluids to keep her hydrated. Late afternoon she took a turn for the worse so I hustled her to the vet. It turns out that she had chronic kidney disease and that the toxin was enough to send her into kidney failure. She was the friendliest cat we’ve shared a house with and she will be missed. Shortly after we got the call, someone came to look at kittens; it feels good to know that someone will be starting a loving relationship with one of these orphaned kittens. I hope they have many good years together.

3 orange kittens left

2009-07-12T14:40:00.001-04:00

There are 3 orange kittens left for adoption. They are enjoying all the attention since their siblings and playmates left! The tabby’s eye is healing nicely. They’re all getting baths today, the baby brought in fleas. Right now they are on the porch enjoying the breeze.

The baby is learning to use the litter box some of the time! And how to play. He looks pretty ferocious!

He’s still drinking formula but is finally adding dry food to his diet. Once he’s weaned, he’ll be ready for adoption.

Adoption update

2009-07-07T15:47:00.003-04:00

It's been a busy few days, 4 kittens have been adopted. Two female, the muted calico and the orange with white spots, and 2 males, the orange tabby and the white with orange spots are the ones remaining.
The new black kitten has finally settled down. He still comes to greet us when we walk into the room but the fussing has stopped. He was eating dry food when he came to us so we'd continued it. It's hard to judge age, but he could easily be 5 weeks old and dry food is okay for that age. While he ate dry food energetically, he wasn't getting enough to eat and was always hungry, hence the constant fussing. He turned down can food but took to the formula with relish. So, as of the first taste, he's off dry food and on formula and is a very contented kitten! Now if I could just get him to use the litter box!

New kitten

2009-07-04T18:42:00.001-04:00

The new kitten finally came Thursday night. The couple that found him were enjoying him so much they kept him longer than planned. He is very spoiled; he runs to greet you when you walk in the door and wants to be held. He weighs about a pound and is around 4 weeks old. He’s got wonderful big blue eyes!

When he met Daisy, our Lab, he arched and hissed and tried to look mean. Now they’re great friends; Daisy likes a challenge.

This little guy’s eye is healing nicely. As you can see, he loves to play with his sister and has a lot of energy.

Here are a few pictures of the others.

The gray kitten was too busy to be still for a picture!

The muted gray calico was adopted this week.

Quick update

2009-07-02T11:44:00.000-04:00

The gray muted calico was adopted yesterday!

The orange 'one-eyed' tabby went to the vet yesterday. Scar tissue from the infection was responsible for the eye not opening all the way. The vet cut through the scar tissue and now his eye is open again. We are keeping an eye on him to be sure that it doesn't reseal in the healing process. The cornea may be permanently damaged but he seems just fine; glad to be back with his friends.

We're getting a new kitten this afternoon, I will try to get pictures posted this evening.

Ready for Adoption

2009-06-29T20:37:00.001-04:00

The orange litter

Let me introduce myself, I am a volunteer with Chatham County, NC animal shelter and CARE. My family and I take in orphaned kittens that need to be bottle fed or nursed back to health. We usually have kittens from April to November every year. I want to share their stories with you and to provide information on caring for infant kittens. We have 8 kittens that are now ready for adoption. the kitten above is part of a litter of 5 orange kittens that I picked up one Friday afternoon.

These guys were about 4 weeks old and covered with ticks. They also had an upper respiratory infection (URI). This is not unusual for kittens at this age that don’t have a momma; it just adds another facet to their care. The kittens wouldn’t drink formula (KMR) which made my job easier; can food takes a lot less time!

The kittens got around pretty good, at 4 weeks, they’re still pretty wobbly. The pale orange kitten was the only one to feel bad at first, all he wanted to do was sleep on the heating pad. He’s very active now and explores everything.

This little guy had pink eye (which can be a part of a URI). The infection calcified, damaging his eye. Dr. Gordon, my vet at Care First Animal Hospital, removed the mass. The infection is gone, the eye appeared to be intact but he is still only partially opening it. He goes back to the vet Wednesday to see if we can get the eye open. Having mono-vision has not slowed him down! He never seemed to feel bad. He’s the largest of the litter, has a great appetite and is always ready to play.

The last 2 kittens had several days of sneezing and recovered quickly.

The second litter

This group of kittens came to us when they were between 3 & 4 weeks old. They were very boney and messy. They should have been on a bottle but they had been given can food and like the orange kittens, wanted no part of the bottle process. They were so hungry that they didn’t have the patience to suckle so I continued with the can stuff. You can see what a mess they were!The kittens had diarrhea and were taking Albon for coccidia. Coccidia are microscopic parasites that infect the intestines causing a yellow, pasty, smelly diarrhea. Their stools didn’t seem right for coccidia, so I took a stool sample to the vet for testing. The test was negative; since they were on Albon it wasn’t clear if the medicine was clearing things up or if coccidia was never the cause. We decided to worm them and leave them on the meds. They continually got worse. Only one kitten passed worms; her diarrhea became so bad that everything passed right through her in minutes. I gave her sub-Q fluids with the help of my son, but she became so dehydrated we lost the fight. Alarmed and frustrated, I rushed the others to the vet for a recheck. The stool test was still negative but the sample did show high levels of protein. The can kitten food contributed to this. I switched their diet to adult can food, changed their meds and increased the sub-Q fluids. I’m glad to say that the others recovered. Below are pictures of them before and currently.

All 8 kittens have been handled a lot and are rather spoiled. They have grown up with 5 adult cats and our Lab; they know how to handle themselves around other animals! Our guess is that they are around 8 weeks old. My son has his wisdom teeth out today so we have been rather inactive, lounging on the sofa and comfy chairs while the kittens romp and climb all over us until they get tired, then they snuggle up for a restorative nap!

Medical notes

If you find orphaned kittens there are things you need to be aware of. As we have cared for kittens over the last 15 years, we have run into a variety of issues and have found great resources and support in our vet’s office. You can also learn a lot about kitten care of the web. I will post some of the sites I refer to as I continue.

Mother’s milk has antibodies to protect her young from disease. Premature weaning (before 6 weeks) can put the kitten in jeopardy. Most of the kittens we get develop URIs or coccidia. They are very common and easily treated if you get to the vet right away. These ailments can cause dehydration and lead to death so it is important to get them started on treatment immediately.

Young kittens also need to be kept warm. They are so small that their bodies loose heat quickly. I keep a heating pad on low under a part of their bedding so they can move off when they get too hot. I can be overheating and they will be searching for warmth! So remember to give them the option of a heating pad.

It’s a good idea to keep litters separated until you are sure they are well; it’s no fun to pass ailments back and forth!