What's going on Wednesday?

 Another week, another round of exciting changes in the house...

What has captured the attention of Rusty and Harrison?

It's Chad!  He is a new foster baby and has upset the entire house!

How anyone can be scared of this sweet little thing is beyond me.

Chad was found by a friend of a friend and we ended up with him after his first foster home became extremely allergic to him.  She knew she had allergies, but thought it would be ok.  Nope, less than a week and she is a swollen, stuffy apple head.

Flynn is trying to play with the baby, but bopping him on the head isn't very nice and sends the baby rolling!

Chad seemed "off" to us, so we took him to the vet yesterday and found out that he is visually impaired.  He has an appointment with the eye doctor in a couple of weeks to determine how impaired he really is.  I believe he can see some, but you can tell he compensates well with his hearing.

He will remain with us until his appointment and we know more about his condition.  Fingers crossed that the potential home will work out for him.  

Foster Friday

We have been doing some better in the foster world this week, but still had a sad moment...

Sweet Charlie passed away Sunday morning.  He has been the weakest of the crew, but still eating well and walking around to seek out snuggles.  Auntie and I dropped him off at the State Vet Lab to have a full necropsy done so we can hopefully get some answers as to what is going on with this group.  For those that have lost count, that is three cats (1 adult, 2 kittens) that have passed away from our house this week!  Needless to say, its been a rough one.

This little stinker, Rusty, has made himself at home.  He is the first one to come downstairs and prefers to hang out with us over the other kittens.  I wonder if Tanner is telling him something?

He loves to snuggle and sleep in your arms...

What a cutie pie...wish they could stay this size!

Checking out all the hiding places...we can still see you Rusty!

The other kittens are all doing well.  Josie has a potential adopter once she gets big enough.  She and Regina and Rusty are from the same litter as the ones that have died, so I'd like to be able to tell adopters what happened to their brothers.

Madeline and Zoe each weigh one pound and a half!!  They look so good these days and play hard.  Monte is almost at two pounds and is looking more like a cat these days.  He shouldn't have any trouble finding a home.

Foster Friday and Tanner Update

This has been a crazy week for sure and I have to say that I am tired!  One kitten, Madeline was having trouble eating and doing something funny with her mouth.  When I looked inside, there was a large ulcer...so off to the shelter she went to be looked at...home with medicine.  After a couple of doses she started eating better again, and has now reached the 1 pound mark!  She was the smallest girl at 8 ounces when we got her, so she has now doubled her weight!!

Later, I was washing the behind of Josie and noticed the water was turning a brownish color...fleas! So that meant every kitten needed a good bath!

Caleb and all the rest were wrapped as burritos when they finished to help them stay warm, and of course for a photo opp!  We combed a few fleas off of each of them, but not too many.

Rusty was not really impressed with the whole bath idea.  He is a cutie and reminds me a lot of a young Tanner. 

Charlie just takes things in stride.

   

Finally, the whole group was finished and back upstairs we went.  They gathered around on the heating pads in their cage.  We took turns holding them and rubbing their fur dry so they would warm back up.  Most would fall asleep in our arms!

Sunday, Caleb started vomiting some.  We thought, well maybe the food just didn't agree with him.  Then Regina started.  Eventually, we noticed stringy stuff in the vomit...round worms!  A call went in to the shelter...we need de-wormer!  Picked that up on Monday and dosed all the kittens.  Then the excitement really started!  Worms in their vomit, worms in their poop, worms out their bottoms...nasty worms everywhere!

How can something this cute be so gross??

After a day, the worms were all dying and we were seeing fewer of them.  A few good scrubs of litter boxes and carpet and we are back to our normal, fun, sweet and cute selves!

This is the video Auntie sent me one night while I was working.  Tanner eating on his own!!  He still isn't up to a full meal but it is a start.  I called the vet yesterday about him, and we have switched to a different appetite stimulant.  We are to continue supporting him but feel he has turned a corner for the better.  It is so good to see him eating!

Here it is on YouTube.

So there you have it...a quick happy update on Tanner and the kittens!  Enjoy your weekend!!

Foster Friday

We turned in our 4 black and white kittens on August 8th, and picked up three small babies with a mom.  The black and whites have all been adopted now!

This is Madeline, she is the smallest of the three.  She and her sister Zoe appear to be from the same litter.  In looking at their teeth, they should be 4 weeks old...but only weighed 8 and 9 ounces respectively...very underweight! 

This is Monte...he was with the group, but I'm thinking he isn't a biological brother.  He weighs 14 ounces. 

This is the mom Sadie.  She isn't their mom, but was dropped off and seemed to have been nursing so she was put with these kittens.  She has very little, if any, milk, so while the kittens were getting comfort and learning how to be cats, they were not receiving the nourishment they needed.

I worked from home on Thursday and Friday and syringe fed them every three hours to get them going...The small girls gained about an ounce a day.  They started playing more and looking less like pterodactyls and more like kittens!  Their back legs gained strength.

Monte looking proud on himself.  After a couple of days of syringing, the kittens would go to the food on their own and eat...definite progress! 

Zoe is plumping up nicely! 

Wednesday of this week, we got a call about some new kittens that had come in.  They are about the same age as our current crew, so we agreed to take them.  We traded them for Sadie, because if she isn't producing for the kittens, she should go and try to find a home.  She should be spayed today.  There is a large "Clear the Shelter" event going on this weekend at all the local shelters, so lots of people should be out looking! 

We got 5 new babies, which brings our total to 8 kittens.  This is Charlie.

Josie was so tired she was falling asleep while drinking! 

There are three orange and white babies named Regina, Caleb and Rusty.  They loved the heating pad in the cage.  Madeline was NOT happy about them taking over! 

They are all getting along better now.  Everyone enjoys a bowl of milk/food slurry. 

Seeing these new healthy babies really shows how underweight my original three are.   The new 5 are super sweet and social.  They were clearly raised in a home environment.  I hope their former home with spay the mom so more unwanted kittens are born.

Foster Friday

We are back at fostering.  We waited a couple of weeks after our trip to start up again, just so we could spend some extra time with the boys.

We ended up with a group of 4, 6 week olds, without a mom.  None of them are solid black...those two black ones have white feet at least!  Whew.  We have three girls and one boy. 

They are 6 weeks, but only weigh a pound, so they are rather thin.  We are working on fattening them up and giving them the nourishment and love they need to thrive.  Here's Eloise and Leon hanging out on the condo (laying on it's side for safety) 

Before our trip, we got a frantic call from a friend saying she had found a kitten in a parking lot.  She waited around for about an hour but never saw a mom. 

Lilly was soon at our house getting fed.  She could slurp up the canned food if you made a slurry out of it with extra water.  She also enjoyed a bottle a few times a day too.  Here's Oliver checking her out.  I think he remembered the bottle too!

Lilly was moved into another home the day we left so she would have other kittens to play with.  I have since received a new photo of her and she is growing and doing well!

We should have our current group a couple of more weeks at least.  They have to reach two pounds before they can return to the shelter for their surgery and find new homes.

Foster Friday

Pleased to report that all four of the foster kittens have now been adopted!  Bella is still waiting for her forever family to show up, but fingers crossed it will be soon!

Amos

Stella

Sophia

Solomon

They each went to their own home.  I do not know if there are already other cats or animals in the home or not.  I believe they will all be just fine.  Here's to happy and healthy lives little grey babies!

We should get another set of fosters in July.

Wordy Wednesday

 Tanner went back this morning for a recheck.  His abdomen did not appear to be painful this time.  This is good news.  He is eating well and not vomiting.  So we think the pancreatitis is on its way out the door!

The eye still looks swollen and is quite red.  He is now on a second eye drop to try and help it heal.

He is also sneezing quite a bit now and seems congested.  He was given an antibiotic to start that healing process.  While we know that colds shouldn't respond to antibiotics, they seem to be the only thing that helps Tanner overcome it.  You may recall in September we tried numerous things to combat the cold and finally, six weeks of antibiotics did the trick!

In other news, this bed of babies and their mother have been returned to the shelter to find forever homes.  It was hard dropping them off because I know they were nervous at being some place new, and they had to be separated from mom.  I hope they do well and find homes quickly.

Mom Bella was dropped off as well.  She is in heat and hopefully her surgery will be uncomplicated.  She is a sweet girl that needs a quiet home.  She isn't bothered by other cats, but sudden movements can startle her.

Harrison walked around the house last night chirping for his kittens.  He loved to play with them and enjoyed watching them be crazy.  It is an adjustment for everyone.

Fostering Friday

The kittens are growing and gaining weight.  They will probably go back to the shelter next weekend.

Here they are having some playtime downstairs.  Look at that tiny black kitten in the carrier!  Harrison and Flynn LOVE to sit in a carrier.

The igloo is great fun.  Amos loves to jump around inside, which makes it move all around the room... 

Oliver is keeping a close eye on Solomon...

Stella and Amos playing in the igloo...

Sweet Sophia is getting braver...She is more of a loner.  She loves to play, but won't seek out a human.  She still freaks out a bit when she is held.

Solomon is our chunkster...he hit two pounds this past Sunday.  

One strange thing about these kittens is they don't purr.  Sometimes you can catch them purring if they are nursing on mom, which they still do some.  

Mom, Bella, purrs when she is petted.  She will swat at you though if she gets startled.  I wonder what her story is.  The kittens have picked up on this some and will also smack at your hands.  I don't know if they think they are playing, if they are just mimicking mom, or if they are trying to attack.

I can tell we are out of practice with socializing and working with kittens!  Does anyone have any great tips for making snuggly babies?

Tanner Tuesday

Tanner is doing very well.  He loves when the babies have time to come down at night to play.

Amos playing with Tanner and his string toy.  Tanner is so patient with his babies.

Health wise, Tanner is doing well and remains stable.  We don't have any appointments scheduled until July when he needs his routine check-up.  Who would have thought in 2014 when he was diagnosed with Lymphoma that he would be thriving still in 2017?  I am so thankful for my time with him!!

Mancat Monday

So we brought the kittens downstairs for a while on Sunday.  They need to be exposed to different sounds and movement, so they will be confident in their new homes.

Tanner was in heaven!  He loved having this size baby around again.  He washed everyone and played with them gently. 

The Panthers all did well too with the kittens.  Flynn and Harrison were very curious about them.  Oliver played for a bit and then started growling at them some. 

Cousin Georgie wasn't happy at all and had to be put upstairs in another room.  He doesn't like change! 

The kittens did very well.  They explored and played and discovered the catnip banana!  They had had a big day because a friend had been over with her three children.  The kittens were handled a lot during their visit! 

After a while, everyone was wiped out.  Solomon fell asleep hugging his new toy!

Here's a video of Tanner playing with Solomon.  

Here it is on YouTube.