Trouble Town

Well....

Scratchy and Hidey passed their vet check and were given the OK for sales. Amazingly and saddening that both Prissy and Itchy were still in sales two along with about six other kittens in assortments of tabby and blacks. Mine of course were the most unique.

Hidey ready for a new adventure

Cheeky Boy Scratchy being silly

Prissy and Itchy greeted me with purrs and Prissy tried climbing into the carrier. Hidey was off like a shot greeting a black kitten as if she'd finally found someone who looked the same as her. Scratchy was more hesitant. I'm sure he'll settle in fine. Fingers crossed they all find great homes in the days to come.

Update on Marley - now Sadie - she's been taken out of sales. No, don't worry. Apparently a group of three kittens were brought in with no mother and they were at the stage where their ears were only just beginning to go upright. Marley was introduced and immediately began licking them and is now playing mother once again. She has such a precious nature that girl.

I was kitten-less for all of about half an hour.

I now have two groups all have no names.

It seems to be quite a theme to have tortoiseshells this year.

Group one consists of a tuxedo and a torti. These two weren't eating well enough or gaining the required amount so I'm here make sure they have food available at all times. They're just under 500g.

Group Two is some more itty bitty ferals. This lot consists of Three Torti's and a black. I'm calling the shorter haired girl Rebel because she's full of spit and growl. So far she's the only 'named' one. The second lot some are already coming around and some are full on defensive. They are walking fine, ears and eyes open but are badly underweight some being around 300 something grams.

Really they should learn to name them before I take them on. I suck at naming kittens.

Pictures will probably be added upon next post of the new group. They're still settling in at the present.

Farewell Ferals

We had some issues with kittens that didn't gain weight but after some worming syrup things sorted themselves out and Itchy soon returned to his title of the biggest. I was always fairly certain that since Itchy and Prissy were first vaccinated that they would return together.

On Tuesday the day after their worming none had reached the 800 gram milestone and so all returned home with me.

Amazingly in a few days since they have lost their mother all four of the kittens are coming out of their shells. They see people and they purr instead of hiding. The instinct to hide is of course fairly strong but isn't triggered as easily as it once was and often they will resume playing as if I'm not even there.

They interact with me much easier, I can scoop them up for surprise attacks of kisses and cuddles, tickle their tummies or plop them into the scales for weights instead of wrestling hisses or reaching behind something to get to them. The change is amazing and oh-so-cute.

A few more times they've ventured out to the lounge, each time they adapt to it much more easily. Some have met Leo without the barriers of playpen fencing and I'm pleased to say they've quit their defensive acts. Scratchy for example has taken to bulldozing Leo - walking upto him and getting right under Leo's nose effectively making my much bigger cat walk backwards. Depending on his mood Leo often attempts to wash them or swats at them.

Terra seems more interested in their food, something of which she does NOT need anymore of.

Little Chubba, vet says she's not fat, I still think she is...

Before some of them inevitably departed this Friday I decided to get rid of bum-dags (unavoidable in long haired kittens) and some of the stepping in their own toilet habits making white paws a less than pretty color. They each received a bath.

Yes, I did say bath.

Here are the associated little shots of soaking kittens

Scratchy went first and lived up to his name

Scratchy 'Lemme outta here!'

He gave me some war wounds

Thanks Scratchy

Second was Itchy and he was relatively well behaved much smaller without his floof

Staring out the window cruisey as ever

Then was Hidey she had a few words and dug in the claws announcing her displeasure

Her bat ears more noticeable when soaked

Prissy I expected to be the worst but only in the last few moments decided she'd had enough.

Doesn't really show how small she is without floof

The hot water bottle meant to try and keep shivering at bay after they were dried as much as a towel would allow ended up reminding them of their mother so they were purring like mad milling all over the fluffy jacket to the hot water bottle and nursing on the fluff. It was heart-breakingly cute.

Kittens tired after their baths

Friday came much too fast. Itchy and Prissy were guaranteed to be flying the coop as they had been over the 800g for awhile. It was touch and go as to whether Scratchy and Hidey would get there as well but alas they returned with me and will probably be ready by Tuesday.

Prissy and Itchy are the only kittens in the sales rooms at the present so chances are high they will be finding their forever homes pretty quick. They are rooming with one other large cat...guess who.

Miss Sadie (aka Marley) also made herself
famous by appearing in the local newspaper
to try and get herself a new home

Yep, they're in with their mother and had a mini reunion. There were some nervous steps and hiding but by the time I left they were being picked up and cuddled by a young girl looking at the new additions. They wont be the only kittens for long as others will be coming up the ranks. Kitten season boom is sure approaching.

Wishing Marley (now Sadie) and my precious little fosters a new home for Christmas. Hopefully they will make as much of an impression on everyone else as they have on me and my family. Good luck guys and happy journey.

Updating

Well due to the internet being down I couldn't update as much as I would have liked to. So here is a summary of the goings on since...

Mother cat Marley was returned on Friday. Her Tuesday checkup the vet commented that she was extremely well off in weight and I was once again praised for stacking on kilos for cats and kittens. Marley however probably didn't need so much weight.

On the Tuesday checkup it was advised to begin weaning the kittens from the mother. I couldn't really keep them separate unless the mother was placed in the overnight cage and kittens had run of the room and with hot days that seemed a bit unfair. Marley however had a few ideas of her own and decided she wanted to meet the house cats Leo and Terra.

Kittens tired out Marley

On more than one occasion Marley could be found wandering the hallway like she owned the place and if Leo spotted her his wailing howl soon notified people that she was in his territory.

The kittens met the house residents through one of the playpen gates, there was much floofing up and hissing at the beginning but that soon gave way to curiosity and swatting through the bars. Marley was amazingly utterly fine with this interaction thus solidifying the idea that she was ready to move on.

Friday came and the vet checking her at first thought she was pregnant again. I wasn't sure how that would happen considering all cats at home are neutered or spayed and she never got outside, unless she did get pregnant soon after having the kittens she currently had. It was discovered as a false alarm and that Marley was just had a few extra kg's. With all her fur and her panting during hot days it didn't really surprise me at all. It was agreed that the mother cat would return and be scheduled for spaying before heading to the sale rooms. As mother cats' go, she was a gem and will make someone a really lovely girl.

Pretty girl

So, the kittens....

All flopped out during heat wave (Hidey in back corner)

On Tuesday weigh in it was looking like Itchy and maybe Prissy would be heading to the sales room by Friday. Around Wednesday or Thursday Itchy hit the 805g mark which would pass for sales however Prissy was only just getting past 700g and I really wasn't overly excited about one kitten going into the sale rooms alone. Sure he'd get scooped up quick but the new surroundings I feel would be better accepted if he had a buddy or two to make the transition with.

Food time

I didn't have to worry since Itchy was under weight needed by Friday. I returned home with the four kittens minus the mother and brought them out for a lounge room romp. They weren't overly excited about their new surroundings in the beginning. There was a lot of cowering and hissing and keeping a close eye on Leo and Terra who were curious about the tiny bundles of fluff.

Playpen jungle in lounge

Eventually the little tackers learned they could climb the playpen gates. My dad soon commandeered the very shy Hidey and she soon fell asleep on a pink cushion on his lap. My mother grabbed Scratchy and after a little bit of fussing he settled and slept too. Prissy being ever independent preferred to sleep in the playpen for awhile. Itchy kept climbing out but for awhile wouldn't settle down, when he did settle he went out like a light. Prissy feeling left out soon climbed up and I had two lap kittens - or rather one on my lap one beside my leg on the leather couch as Itchy had overheated...

Saturday night weigh ins left many questions. The kittens that had been gaining so well before were now dropping weight with only Prissy maintaining a proper weight range. They were behaving fine and eating normally from what I could tell but I made note to contact the shelter manager the next day.

Prissy going for the feather wand

I contacted the shelter manager to get approval to worm the kittens and see if that was causing the drops in weight. After hanging up and going about morning routine I found Itchy being less than his normal self, not wanting to eat, sitting and watching his siblings play but not doing so himself. I put him in isolation to try and track his bowel movements and eating habits.

When I returned from work training, my mother mentioned Itchy had managed to squeeze out of the cage through a gap that would have to be around two inches wide. He had climbed into the study chair with his siblings. He'd been put back in the cage by the time I got home.

I picked him up and he was a bit lethargic and still not the 'Itchy' I'd come to know. I decided to get some food into him either way since I hadn't seen him eat all day. I syringed up some wet food mixed with water and began feeding him that. Amazingly he didn't put too much of a fight up and finished off the remaining stuff in the bowl but did begin shivering like the cold food had kicked his temperature out.

In mother's arms

I fixed up a hot water bottle but he'd settled into my mothers arms and stopped shaking by the time I got off the phone and got the hot water bottle. He remained on my lap for most of the afternoon snoozing.

Itchy Snoozin'

Itchy is a talker. Not in the manner that he has to tell you every aspect of his life all the time but if he's hungry, or needs the potty he begins peeping. I noticed he peeps pitifully whenever using the litter box its a bit like he's saying 'I'm using this, don't come in guys'

I carried him to the litter tray, he ate some more food but began shaking again so I cuddled him and held him while he slept again. The other 3 soon piled on top of the hot water bottle that Itchy didn't want. Slowly as the afternoon progressed more 'Itchy' type behavior came through. When he was awake he would play and he began moving around more. Eventually moving enough that I placed him back with his siblings and he was eating on his own.

I witnessed him using the litter tray and sure enough he'd pooped in much better form with some stringy wiggly little parasites in the stool. Since he became even more normal in behavior afterwards I'm thinking the worming has helped shift things through. Prissy has also passed some worms.

Hoping this is the cause of the mystery illness and its not anything more severe or time consuming. Things will be much better for them if they're returned before Christmas.

Fingers Crossed.

Playtime

This was supposed to have been posted over a week ago but difficulties with getting the video up - and that may still not work - and also a total connection blackout that has wiped out internet and phones for pretty much a week has put me behind. I will be posting again very soon to update you with the activities of the past week.

Ladies and gentlemen I present to you....

'MAYHEM'

Starring

Itchy the gorgeous grey and white

Scratchy the dilute ginger and white

Hidey the tortoiseshell

And Miss Prissy Princess the dilute calico

Please sit back and enjoy

I am new to this whole blogging experience so please excuse technical difficulties, hoping the video works. The kittens didn't really realize the blanket was covering some of my legs and feet but I still call it progress that they stepped on me and Scratchy tried nibbling my toe thinking it was his brother.

Kitten Names

Well, they're named...whether the names are good or bad they're done now and for the time I have them they'll probably stick. Anything is better than the names they came in with (oh boy).

Mother cat is now Marley as per naming from a volunteer. Her actual name when she came in was Sadie...

Marley relaxing in the playpen

The biggest of the kittens is the grey and white boy. He is past 600 grams and dropped by the shelter today to become a big boy and get his first vaccination. He is officially called Itchy since he's been here as a friend named his other brother - will get to that later. When he was admitted he was apparently called Dodge...

Itchy climbing the scratching post

Second biggest and also a big girl now is the fluffy calico Miss Priss. Or really Miss Prissy Princess. She's pretty and hissy and quite particular. By far she's the most confident and/or outspoken of the group and the title suits her much better than her original name which was Jayla. Prissy also reached a high enough weight to be given her first vaccination.

Pretty Miss Priss 

Third is Scratchy the dilute ginger and white boy. A friend came over to visit with her boyfriend and the boyfriend mentioned he was a bit scratchy. I dived on it as a name and therefore the boys became Itchy and Scratchy. I do not watch The Simpsons anymore but I did when I was younger. Anything suits him better than Chevy...

Scratchy with his sad little face

Lastly is little Hidey. She was apparently quite wild and feisty when she came in. She was originally known as Janie I think. I think she's the one that depends on her mother the most as she's the only one I've witnessed nursing.

Hidey ' I gots a mouse' and Prissy photo-bombing
her sisters photo 'Incoming!'

I set up the playpen yesterday so I could clean the main cage they're in. The kittens had a ball. There was a scratching post, room for running, new things to investigate, ways to set up their siblings and pounce on them...it was much too cute.

Hidey after sampling some wet food 'slurp'

Scratchy being cheeky 'slurp'

After I'd cleaned I hopped in the playpen with them and stayed still or waved a little bit of string at them to see if they'd play with me. A few times they walked up to my foot or stepped on me without realizing it then suddenly it dawned where they were and they reversed backwards staring at me with wide eyes. Prissy is really the only one that hisses if she's looked at or something gets too close for comfort. Thankfully she doesn't go nuts when you pick her up.

Prissy and Scratchy sharing scary stories

Competitions on who could climb the highest

Prissy teaching her brother how to do it right 'uh now to get down...'

Finally all the little kittens were returned to their cage and soon they'd zonked out sleeping peacefully.

Tired little kittens

Miss Priss looking peaceful

Hidey & Scratchy back in their 'safe' corner

Big day for such little kittens 

The Ferals

Well last night I received a call from the shelter manager. Another mother cat with four kittens had come in...

To tell the truth the mother full of milk had been brought in Thursday and it took until Friday to round up the kittens. Needless to say they haven't had much human contact. This time instead of being barely two weeks old this lot are four weeks old and actually resemble little kittens.

I set up the cage this morning then drove out to the shelter not knowing what color these guys were or how feral they actually are.

Mother is a beautiful dilute calico - please correct me if this is wrong, I still mix up tortoiseshell and calico's.
I'm not sure if she actually has a name yet or not but a volunteer suggested Marley so until I get another name off her paperwork that's what she'll be called.

Marley wasn't outright affectionate but she did head butt my hand and accept pats without fuss. She was however placing herself in front of her kittens that were huddled against the back wall.

One by one I got to meet the pathetic little hissing bundles of fluff. Three of the four kittens are fluffy the other is not. The first, a girl is a similar dilute calico as her mother with pale orange and grey. It seems she might be the first one to come out of her shell but time will tell.

The second - assuming by gender check - is a grey and white boy. He's possibly the biggest of the bunch but that could just be floof.

The third - also assuming - a light ginger and white boy. He seems to be one of the smaller ones and much more shy. To the point when he was placed in the cage at home that he wiggled behind the bed and into the corner effectively making himself stuck upside down.

Lastly is a tortoiseshell female short hair. I'm not sure if she'll grow to medium hair or not but she's much less fluffy than the other walking cotton balls. She also hides in the corner with the orange and white boy.

Names at the present haven't been decided, one because I'm not certain of their genders - except for the tortoiseshell ones since its extremely rare to have male ones due to gene things, I've been told. Another reason is I'm drawing blanks and haven't found names that fit or know if they came in with names.

Suggestions would be appreciated, even if they don't get used I'm sure I'll store them for future reference.

At the present I dont have individual photos because they think I'm a monster and I dont really want to make them even more scared of me by grabbing them and putting a flashy thing in front of their faces.

Here's a few pictures of the little rascals.

Mother with little scaredy kittens

Pretty girl and pretty boy, other two hiding in that back corner

Zoomed out to give a rough idea of their size

Crossing The Rainbow Bridge

I knew last night that the mother and kittens time on this earth was limited.

The mother was already distancing herself from the kittens, not running to their calls, not laying down to nurse but more in an upright position to the other side of the bed. She didn't go and fetch them if they happened to fall out.

The kittens...where to begin. They weren't gaining, for awhile I feared Blaze had actually passed away but he hadn't - assuming Blaze was a he from a brief glimpse. I tried feeding formula but he didn't seem to want it the rest were following in his tracks. No White had a badly infected eye. That combined with Blaze soon made me accept the fact that these guys needed to go see the vet first thing in the morning and I was 90% sure the outcome wouldn't be good.

The shelter manager got back to me early this morning after receiving my text from late last night. I didn't even bother inquiring what I could do. I just said they weren't going to make it until Tuesday. The absolute last thing I wanted was to wake up tomorrow before work and find a dead kitten.

If the kittens weren't sneezing they had blocked noses and that made nursing virtually impossible. They were struggling and I knew deep down the best thing for these little guys was to end the suffering.

I met a shelter worker out at the vets. The little bed I brought in with the kittens went into the back room and the vet returned looking sad. She shook her head. I felt relieved. I knew they were too far gone to save, that they'd fought hard but odds were against them and now they would be at peace.

The mother had the same thing only since she'd been vaccinated her symptoms weren't showing as badly. Rather than take a serious flu case back to the shelter to expose more cats to this horrible virus it was decided the mother too, would join the kittens in heaven.

Asher wanting pats

They all crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

In the ideal world they would have recovered, grown up, thrived, found homes...but it was not meant to be.

I find peace that they had a humane ending, not a long drawn out death being left to die from exposure. I am glad someone who picked up the dumped kittens brought them to the shelter rather than leaving them there. I am grateful Asher adopted them so they did grow and nurse and have some quality of life, if only for awhile.

Some kittens are not meant for this world. From this group I have learned that no matter how hard you try not all of them will survive and its not a matter of where you failed them, its things out of your control that affect which way the see-saw tilts.

Goodbye my little angels. Your time was short with me but you left little paw prints all over my heart. May your journeys be much better in heaven, across that Rainbow Bridge....

Rest In Peace Little Angels

Latest News: The Good and The Bad

I may as well begin with the good news.

I dropped by the shelter today and found no Jimmy in the sales rooms. By now he'll be in his own home somewhere living it up and causing mischief. Good on you little Jimmy.

I was reunited with Stella and Coleman who were still in the sales rooms but...they had white neck collars. They're sold (YAY). I found out they've been adopted together so the two siblings will be together forever which makes me extremely happy. Stella who faced death so many times in her month with me pulled through and is now going to be heading off to a family of her own. I'm so happy.

I do believe she did remember me and the fact I used to feed her dine kitten food as she tried following me out of the room and was meowing at me just like she used to. Coleman also wandered over for pats but resumed playing with a track ball soon after.

Safe journeys kittens, may you be loved long and hard in your years to come.


On the bad news front. The kittens still don't have names really.

One is called Squealer because every time I have to handle that one it screams, its by far the biggest of the group and not suffering too much gunk on the eyes. There are no great pictures of this one as I try to put it back quickly.

Squealer to the left only picture I've got so far

Number two is just No White. I don't have a lot to do with this one either as its holding its weight well and doesn't seem too gunky either.

No White, not a happy little chappy

Number Three is Blaze. Yes they're nicknamed after face markings so I know which ones I've done and which ones I haven't. I shall return to talk about Blaze in a moment.

Blaze doing the silent meow

Number four is Grey. This one is the easiest to know if I've done its eyes or not. They're often both glued shut with gunk and its also not so well off as Squealer or No White.

Grey does have two eyes open after eye bathe

Back to Blaze. Blaze is the most worrying in the last few weigh-ins this ones been dropping and not rising. Its nose is often covered in snot so I'm figuring its having trouble breathing or smelling. In the few times I've witnessed the mother lying down its going everywhere but where the nipples are and I haven't actually seen it latch on as yet. Thus the reason I've had to go out to the shelter and grab some kitten formula to try and get 'something' into it between times its mother might lay down long enough for it to fumble around.

L to R: No White, Grey, Blaze & Squealer

Asher is having her own problems. She's coughing like she needs to throw up but swallows and brings nothing up. She does occasionally look uncomfortable. She keeps wanting out of the big cage and I'm not sure if she wants to search out a smaller pen for her kittens or what...she's quite the mystery. I do know she does occasionally lie down to nurse her kittens but every time I go in she hops up to eat or to sit at the door and wants out. I am assuming she's got the same virus as the kittens as well so she might be going on antibiotics at the next vet visit but I'm not entirely sure.

Asher enjoying a moments peace while kits sleep

Keep little Blaze in your thoughts, this little one is going to need all the help it can get. Hopefully next news update is good news. *fingers crossed*

Tiny little Blaze snoozing on my hand

On side note, I've changed the settings to allow anonymous comments. Feel free to write wishes for the kittens by clicking on comment at the bottom of the blog post.

Incredible Mother

Well these new kittens with their step-in-mother aren't going to be as straight forward as I had originally hoped...not that they would ever really be straight forward anyway.

I had figured if mother and bubs were fit and healthy and going strong I'd only have to keep an eye on their weights to make sure mother was supplying enough milk and keep food up to the mum while keeping her room clean.

Hah...

Went to pick them up from the shelter today where they had their vet check up. Not great news. All kittens eyes which are at around the opening stage are gunky so I'll be having to bathe them and a few of them are snotty so it wont be long before they're all snotty and gunky...fun

There is 4 kittens here

Mother coughs like she's trying to bring up a hairball and is some ointment to see if that helps but she will also probably end up catching or developing symptoms of what the kittens have due to the close quarters with them.

Any who their story is quite incredible no matter the outcome. The mother came in separate to the kittens her own six week old - or thereabouts. Her kittens had been given away or something as they didn't come in with her. She still had milk.

Not sure how long between but someone found the dumped four little teeny tiny day old kittens somewhere. By off chance the shelter staff thinking they were hers offered them to her. The mother cat accepted them and therefore gave them a fighting chance.

Zoomed out take up so little space on the big bed

When all this was going on I was still saddled with the sneezing Trio and wasn't able to take on more kittens, especially not ones that young. Another staff member took them with her and looked after them for the week to week and a half but wasn't set up for long term fostering.

And that's where I stepped in.

The days and weeks to come will decide whether these tiny little kittens are strong enough for this world or if they succumb to their illness' but I will try everything I can to give them the best care no matter what outcome.

The mother is called Asher

Asher looking for pats

The kittens don't really have a name right now beyond The Midgets. They were named after Kath & Kim names but since I'm not sure if they have been gender checked and don't particularly love referring to a snotty  nosed kitten with my own name I've decided against personalized names for now.

Will try and keep the events updated but it might be a short while between posts. Pictures of kittens sleeping with gunky eyes can only be posted so often...

Fingers crossed these little guys fight :)