The Feline Thread

[jmsquared]

So sweet and so tiny!! Good luck with them Aero!

[pie]

I'm not traditionally a cat person, but those little guys are simply adorable!

[dit]

Micky, Davy and Peter - anything to do with the Monkees by any chance?

Beautiful furry babies, Aeromanda, so sweet!

[jacqui]

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet ;D
Keep us updated with pics as they grow won't you

[mayb]

Oh my..... they are adorable! so sweet!

[eolise]

Mar 18, 2012 23:58:54 GMT @pie said:

I'm not traditionally a cat person, but those little guys are simply adorable!

Same here and agreed - they're so cuuuuuute!! Im happy for you, Aeromanda!

[meimichan]

I don't know how my cat does it, but every time I decide that now is a good time to take a bath, she decides that it's a good time to go take a poo. The litterbox is in the bathroom(this is easily the most sensible location), and she RUINS MY BATH. Because who wants to get out of the sudsy warm bubbly goodness to clean a cat poo?

Then after she's done, she'll come over to the edge of the tub and start kissing me. This cat.

That's all I had, really.

[aeromanda]

Mar 19, 2012 12:04:47 GMT dit said:

Micky, Davy and Peter - anything to do with the Monkees by any chance?

Beautiful furry babies, Aeromanda, so sweet!

Thanks for the nice words everybody. Yes, I named them after The Monkees. I know there is no Mike but I figured that is ok since he hasn't toured with them over the last 20 years or so. Kind of my little tribute to Davy.

The babies are doing well. They are eating every three hours or so. So, yes, I am a little bit sleep deprived. But, all in all, things are going very well so far and I am having fun with them. I'll keep you updated on their progress and share more pics with you as they get bigger. ;D

The reaction among my resident kitties is mixed. Eponine just doesn't care one way or another. Pi and Binky are avoiding the living room (where the babies are) completely. Valmont is very curious about them and often shows up when they start meowing or when I'm feeding them to see what is going on. DaVinci is somewhat curious but at the same time very much dislikes the babies. So he'll go up to the crate door, sniff them, hiss and run away. It is interesting to watch how my cats interact with the babies, although I am keeping their contact very limited.

Meim, sounds like your cat has the same sense of timing that every other cat in the world has. They automatically know when the worst time for them to do something is, according to their human, and that's when they do it. Because that is what cats do.

[aeromanda]

Thought I would give you an update on my foster babies. They are doing well. I took them in to the SPCA's clinic on Monday. Two of the three of them had goopy eyes so they gave me eye drops for all three of them. (Three days later and their eyes have cleared up.) All three of them weighed 12 ounces each, which is double what they were when I got them. They all got their first inoculation and deworming medicine. There was only one problem. Peter had a soft lump on his back about the size of a large grape. They said it was an abscess and drained it with a needle. They said if it filled back up to bring him in. By the time we got home, I could tell that the abscess was starting to fill back up. So, I took him back in to the clinic yesterday. They decided to lance it so that it would stay open and drain. They told me that I should gently squeeze it every few hours to drain out any fluid that built up. I didn't want to because I didn't want to hurt him, but I knew it had to be done so I did it. Yesterday, some fluid did drain out of it. But as of this morning, the area is flat and nothing drained out of it when I gave it a gentle squeeze. So I think we may have this problem solved. Fingers crossed! Here are some pics. The first on is of Peter's back where they drained the abscess. The second one is of the three of them taking a nap.

[mayb]

Well done! Hopefully it will stay away now, fingers crossed on this one!

They are so cute by the way, they make me go all aaaawwwww.....

[jacqui]

My how they have grown already

They really are very cute - glad your healing hands have helped Peter hope it stays away too.

Thanks for the pics and the update keep us posted ;D

[devil-may-care]

Little sleeping angels! ;D ;D

Glad Peter is on the mend!
Thanks for the update, aeromanda! ;D

[Vivienne]

How precious! Sounds like Peter and the others are going to be very healthy due to your loving attention.

[dit]

Aww, beautiful furry babies! They are obviously in the best of hands!

[aeromanda]

Thanks for the encouragement everybody! ;D I am doing my best with them and so far they seem to be doing pretty well, if I do say so myself.

My how they have grown already

Yes. Although they are still tiny, they are getting huge. If that makes any sense.

When I got them they were each around 6oz. Now they each weigh about 1lb. They grow so very fast. I am really enjoying my time with them. It has really helped to get me out of the depressive "slump" that I was in and I think having them here and taking care of them is helping me to get over Hemmie. I tell them I love them every day. But I also remind myself every day that they are not mine and that in the not too distant future I will have to give them up. I know it will be difficult but I know that in order to help other babies in the future I will have to give these babies up. I just have to do my best to help find them good, loving homes. In the mean time, I will enjoy them fully.

Peter's wound seems to be healing very well. It hasn't filled back up so hopefully that is over with. No other updates to report at the moment but I will post more about them soon.

[aeromanda]

Just a quick update on the babies. They are moving a lot more and sleeping less. My youngest cat Valmont has taken quite an interest in them. He has tried to play with them by swatting them in the head, the way he used to do with Hemmie, but they are still to small to understand that and they just kinda stare at him. So, for the most part, Valmont just lays with them and grooms them. Although, I do keep a close eye on him when he's with them in case he unintentionally gets too rough. Peter's wound is healing up very nicely. There is just a small scab in a bald patch now and there hasn't been any additional fluid build up. They now all weigh over a pound. When I got them, they were each around 6oz. And, most significant of all, I started the weaning process today. I let kitten kibble marinate in kitten formula (the replacement milk that they drink out of the bottles) until it gets squishy. Then I mash it up until it forms a thick but moist gruel. I put a bit on my finger, open their mouths and wipe the gruel on their tongue. So far, they have mostly figured out that when it is in their mouth they should chew and swallow it. But sometimes they still spit it out. Hopefully, with in the next few days they will figure out that the gruel is food and they will lick it off of my finger instead of me having to spread it in their mouths. That should be a whole lot less messy. ;D At this point, I still give them the bottle if they want it, just to make sure they are getting enough to eat. It's a lot of work but I am having lots of fun with it. I've been trying to get some good pictures of them while they're awake. But the little buggers always seem to know when I have a camera ready to go and they move so quick! I'll keep trying though so you can see how big they've gotten.

[devil-may-care]

Thanks for the update, aeromanda. Valmont sounds like good 'father' material for the wee ones. ;D ;D

I hope you can keep them still long enough for a few pics. ;D

[dit]

Good to hear that they're developing so well, aeromanda. Hopefully it won't take too long for them to realise it's food you're putting in their mouths!

My remaining cat had a tooth out the day before yesterday, second attempt as she went to ground behind the sideboard the first time and I couldn't get her out, despite trying some "gentle persuasion" with a walking stick. Understandably I was concerned at her going under anaesthetic, but she seems to have come through it fine. Unfortunately I have to squirt an anti-inflammatory into her mouth from a tiny syringe every morning, so I'm working on different techniques of creeping up on her before she can suss it out and scarper!

[aeromanda]

Hope your kitty is recovering well dit. It can be so difficult to medicate cats. It is like they have some form of extra sensory perception and just know when you are coming with the meds so that they can run and hide. Giving meds is the one condition under which I wish cats were more like dogs. It is so easy to wrap a pill inside of a piece of meat or cheese or hide it in some peanut butter and the dogs just chomp it down. With cats there is just nothing like that. Although, I did once have an old girl who would happily take her amoxicillin (a liquid antibiotic)if you squirted it onto some corned beef hash. Then she would scarf it down.

[eolise]

So good to hear your kitties are doing so well! Youre a great mother to them!

Dit, ooph, thankgod she made it through the anaestatic - I lost a dog once that couldnt wake up anymore..... Hope all's gonna be okay with your cat

[aeromanda]

Thanks nat!

We had a MAJOR, although unexpected break through today. After just one and a half days of me having to pry open their jaws and shove my finger in their mouths to wipe the gruel in, Peter and Micky figured out how to suck the gruel off of my finger. Even better yet, Davy figured out that he could eat the gruel off of the plate all by himself! I know that probably doesn't sound like much if you've never weaned a kitten but it can be a very long process. I'm still giving them the bottle. But as the intake of the gruel increases the amount they eat from the bottle will decrease until they don't need the bottle at all. Today I was able to snap a few quick pics of two out of the three of them. Here are some pictures of Davy and Peter. Micky was asleep in the carrier when I took the pictures.

[Vivienne]

They are so precious. Little bundles of fur make me happy. How old are they now?

[aeromanda]

Apr 7, 2012 19:51:45 GMT Vivienne said:

They are so precious. Little bundles of fur make me happy. How old are they now?

They are adorable aren't they. They are about three and a half weeks old now.

[jmsquared]

They are obviously thriving Aeromanda. Well done you! And thanks for the updates.

[antonia]

Awwwwww! Kitty's.I've only recently started liking kittens still being weened on to big cats.

[melly]

So cute.

[aeromanda]

An update on the babies: the weaning process is going well. Slow but sure. Davy was the first to figure out how to eat the gruel off of a plate and he is doing so consistently now. Peter still wants me to hand feed him the gruel. Micky is an entirely different story! He is incredibly stubborn and he wants formula. I have stopped giving him the bottle completely now. Instead, I still let him have formula but I put it in a bowl that he laps it up out of. (Davy and Peter drink it too which is fine. It helps them to keep their weight up.) I have to finger feed Micky his gruel and half of the time he spits it out. He is such a brat. A loveable brat but a brat none the less. But I'm working on it with him and he is getting there surely but slowly.

There is an end table in my living room between our two couches and on the table I keep a bowl of cat kibble and a bowl of water for my adult cats (they're lazy and spoiled). Two days ago Peter was playing on the table. I heard a noise and I looked over and Peter was crunching on the cat kibble. I think he was chewing on it mostly because he is teething and chewing on it made his gums feel good. Most of the bits of the kibble fell out of his mouth and he didn't really pay any attention to them. So, I put some crunchy kitten kibble in a dish for him on the table and he completely ignored it. A while later I looked over and saw Valmont eating the kitten kibble and Peter chomping on the adult kibble. Although, Davy has tried munching on the kitten kibble a little bit. Now if I can just get them to eat the hard kibble consistently they will be completely weaned.

We're still working on getting them to figure out how to use the litter box. Cats don't need to be taught to use a litter box. They instinctively like to go where there's loose material so that they can bury their refuse. So really, you just need to make the litter box available to them and let them figure out that it is the correct environment for them to go in. My little guys are just now to the point where they are starting to gain control of their bowels and bladder. And Peter has kind of figured out that the litter box is the place to go. Still working on it with the other two.

I have some pictures that I took with my point and shoot camera. It took a few days for me to get around to posting them cause I had to resize them. Hope they turn out ok on here. So here is one with Valmont and Davy.


Here is Valmont cleaning Davy.


And here is a picture of the three of them together.


I know this is a long post so far and I apologize. But, I have a little bit more news to share on the kitty front. Yesterday I got a call from one of the rescue organizations that I had volunteered to bottle feed with. The lady told me that they had several moma kitties with litters that needed foster care. They were strays that someone had been feeding and the person was going to take them to a shelter with a high kill rate if the rescue couldn't take them. So they were pretty desperate for people to take the kitties in as fosters. And they were quite short handed. So, even though I didn't really sign up to take in babies with a moma I said that I would take them. So now I have a pretty little grey and peach tortie moma kitty and here four babies. All the babies are girls. One is grey and peach like her moma. One is a buff orange color with white. The other two are both white with grey tails and ears. Super cute! When I get pictures taken of them I'll post them.

I know the woman who works with the rescue means well and is trying to help animals but honestly, she seemed a little clueless to me. When I picked them up I asked the woman how old the babies were and how many there were. She said that she didn't know. She said that the person whose yard they were living in caught them and put them in the box and then she picked them up and took them without bothering to look at them. But she said that the person who had them said that the babies were eating on their own. So they should be at least 4 weeks old. When I got them home and opened the box I was shocked at how tiny they are. If they are eating on their own they shouldn't be. They can't be more than three weeks old at the most. They're probably closer to two weeks old. They've still got the fuzzy little tiny baby look to them. I think the person whose yard they were living in told the rescue that the babies were older than they are just to get the rescue to take them. So, they'll probably be staying with us for a little longer than I initially thought. They are segregated by themselves in our spare bedroom and I go in and talk with them and feed them and pet them a few times a day. I enjoy it but I can't believe I said yes to doing this. I am such a sucker. Oh well, what else have I got to do?

[devil-may-care]

Valmont is being such a good surrogate father to the wee ones! Good luck with their complete weaning and litter box 'training'.

I would have a hard time saying no to the rescue shelter too. Who could look those kittens in the face and still put them down.

Can't wait to see the pics!! ;D ;D

[jmsquared]

I must say I've never really been a cat person but your pics are turning me Aeromanda! Your Valmont is such a handsome fellow! Good luck with your now massive family!

[dit]

You're a glutton for punishment, Aeromanda, but be proud of yourself as you're doing an incredibly important job there. Can't wait to see the photos of your new family!