New kittens and update on older ones

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.