So much happening that it is hard to take in

On Sept 15 Flynn, Fenway, Foster, Fiji, Fortune and Firefly arrived.  They were about 4 weeks old.  Then on Sept 21 Gumdrop, Garvey and Gibson arrived.  With 9 babies to look after I was a busy mom.  Last Sunday the trouble began.  Fiji crashed and died in the evening.  Okay, bad stuff happens but it was only the beginning of a disaster.  On Monday morning the kittens were all not doing well.  So I gave fluids to all, started antibiotics and gave a bath and dry job to Garvey.  They had diarrhea and were vomitting so keeping their cage clean was a big job.  When I came home from work at lunch time Flynn was in trouble.  I had been keeping a close eye on Garvey too and since I was holding him when Flynn crashed I took him with me to the vet too.  I left both babies there.  Flynn died in the afternoon.  I brought Garvey home with an i.v. catheter in his leg.  I was to give fluids at 7,8,9,10,11, metronidazole at 10 and ampicillin at 11.  Keep in mind I have never dealt with an i.v. before so a new experience in a scary time.  I kept him in his warm bed in the cage on the couch beside me so I could keep a close eye on him.  Whatever he needed was his, my world revolved around him.  The 7 pm fluids went well.  He was upright and sat quietly while I helped him over the 3 minutes.  Then I was doing the 8 pm fluids.  Garvey went limp in my arms.............he had died.  I was in shock as I didn't expect it at that moment.  On Tues at lunch I noticed Fenway was 10% off.  Usually not a worry but because of all that had been going on I took him to the vet during lunch hour (eating lunch is highly overrated).  As Rekha and I were discussing the blood test results from the last 2 kittens I looked down and said Fenway was crashing in my arms.  What better place to crash than at the vet's with a vet right beside you.  They worked on him all afternoon but he slipped away in the late afternoon.  On Wed Fortune seemed a little too quiet for my liking.  I called Rekha and she said to bring her in.  When I got there I admitted I might be oversensitive and overreacting but with all that had happened during the week I was taking no chances.  Rekha said no, she was not acting like a normal kitten.  She was started on metronidazole and came home after work.  The conclusion to this story to follow.

Caesar, Cedric and Carlton

Cedric (black) and Carlton (black and white with black nose) arrived on Aug 31.  Their brother Caesar (black and white with white nose) arrived on Sept 1 after he was caught.  Their mother and sibling were killed by a coyote.  The boys were not at all sure about being in a house and everything was scary for them.  So I put them in the 2' X 4' cage in the bedroom.  I went into the bedroom dozens of times to pick each one up to get used to hugs, kisses and being held.  Then I moved the cage into the living room so they could get used to real life in a house.  Carlton was the first one to handle sitting on my lap.  It took a while for me to trust that I could catch him if I let him wander in the house.  If you have to traumatize them to catch them you undo the progress they have made.  Next day it was Caesar.  Little Cedric was reluctant to turn the corner but once he was alone in the cage and watching his brother play and have fun and begged to join them.  So the next day he was able to join in the fun.  The boys learned over the next week to love being in a house, sitting on a lap to be loved and where the meals are.  It is nice to see a kitten open its heart to a better life where they are loved. 

Panama, Pacific, Piper and Perkins

It was a short love affair.  These kittens were trapped at McNab Park where the health of a lot of the cats is not good.  I loved my four babies (they were about a month old)  for a while then they had their vet check up.  Two were feline leukemia negative and two were faintly positive.  This meant we had to wait 2 more weeks for a retest and until then they had to be kept separate from the others so no one else in my house would be at risk.  It was a long 2 weeks as the babies were kept in my spare bedroom.  I spent a lot of hours in the bedroom keeping them company.  Then came retest day which I went to with a heavy heart.  Piper had been failing for 2 days.  I kept giving him fluids but I could see he was hardly holding his own.  The test showed 2 negative tests, one slightly positive test and a very, very positive test.  I ended up leaving the babies at the vet's as I knew in my heart that things were not very good.  I called the next day to check on my babies only to find out Piper, Perkins and a tortie girl were gone.  I went to the vet's to identify the one surviving kitten.  This was hard because it hit home that 3 babies were already gone.  I gave a lot of love to Panama who looked so lonely by herself.  Panama went to another foster home where she has had health issues too.  It is a sad story.  I was glad to love those babies as long as I had as I gave my heart to them.

update on Ivan and Ike

The two little boys have grown and turned into beautiful little kittens.  Ivan finally went to his new home who have been waiting patiently for weeks for him to be big enough to leave my home.  Ivan was adopted on August 30. His new name is Cairo. I so miss him as he was "so cute" as he heard many times every day.  Ike went to Petsmart the last week of August and got adopted on Sept 1.  His new name is Shamrock.  I miss him too, emptiness when babies leave but in a good way.
.    .    .    .Nutmeg arrived Aug 3.  She was 2 weeks old and a beautiful black/gray tabby with white.  She had a brother (unnamed) who died on August 5.  He was not a strong baby but still it is hard to see them leave.  Nutmeg is a big girl now and will be ready for adoption when I get back Oct 23.  She was having a lot of bloating problems so she went to the vet last Thursday.  She got her spine realigned and put on Gastro vet food.  She has more energy to play and her tummy is less bloated.  She will be fine.

Sometimes you have to dig deep to find the energy and strength

. . . . . .No pictures yet, sorry but once you hear how life has been you will understand.  Saturday morning the little boy was crashing so I gave him fluids, corn syrup and lots of love.  He was fine before I went to work my 12 hour day (9-9).  In the morning I wondered if Ivan was alright as he seemed a little off.  My daughter was home so I knew he would have someone watching over him.  Laura called me at work at noon to say he was constipated, trying but nothing was happening and that he was quiet and not right.  The vet office as always fit us in and he went to the vet at 3:30.  Rekha rushed him right to the back and started working on him.  He was her last patient of the day.  She only had a short break for supper and was finished working on him at 10:15.  I had to go after work to pick up the three new 4 week old kittens from Linda's.  It was a quick trip as I knew I would be getting the call to come and get Ivan so I could look after him for the night.  I was extremely tired but it all had to get done somehow.  Ivan was good during the night.  He played and ate and was very happy Sunday morning but as the day went on he declined a bit.  So a couple more calls to Rekha and we decided he needed to go back before he was as bad off as on Saturday.  So he was dropped off at 9 and I just picked him up at 10 pm.  She was very happy that all the poop was out.  When I dropped him off she showed me how to feel the full intestines so I have yet another thing to add to my resume.  He is home now and sleeping on the couch.  No monitoring of the poop situation as there isn't much left to pass.  He is glad to see his brother again.
.    .  .   .   .The big 7 kittens are gone to another foster home.  I promised names so here they are.  The gray and white boy is Keller, the black boy is Keegan.  The calico is Kentucky, muted calico is Kansas and the tortie is Kenya.  Tessa went with them as she will be sharing a cage with them at Petsmart on Saturday so may as well stay with them.  So 7 kittens have moved and 6 kittens have come in.  The last little 4 week old kitten arrived this afternoon so soon a new routine will be established.
.    .    .   .   I lay in bed for an extra 5 minutes this morning listening to the silence.  I knew once I got up that I would have 5 hungry babies demanding to be fed.  One of me, one bottle and that means a lot of noise from such little babies.  Sometimes silence is indeed golden.

my family grows again

Two little 3 week old kittens arrived last night, a boy and a girl.  Their mom was killed by a dog.  Pictures to be on my next post as I am working 12 hours today. This morning when I got up the little boy was in trouble.  He was wobbly and jerky.  My heart dropped and I said no, not now.  So I gave him fluids and white corn syrup, held him for 30 minutes then put him back to bed to let time show me what was going to happen.  He is doing great again and is acting normal.  Whew! ! ! Ihope this is the only bump.
.   .   .    . The 6 new kittens are going to a new foster home as they were quite big when I got them and more kittens are arriving tomorrow since they were trapped at McNab a couple of days ago.  Life will be interesting and new babies to figure out.

Yet another new baby--it is pouring kittens

This is my newest baby girl who arrived this morning.  She is a polydactyl so has adorable feet.  She is happy to be playing with her "brothers and sisters".  She is happy to be in off the downtown streets.  My house certainly is busy with 10 babies running around though only until the beginning of next week as Tamryn got adopted today and is going to be picked up on Tues or Wed.  Things happen quickly around here sometimes.

July 29/11

.   .    .    .   Tristan got adopted on Tuesday and will be a treasured kitten.  I will miss my sucky boy who lived to be on my lap and to sleep in my bed.
.    .   .    .    .Welcome to my 5 new babies who arrived last night.  Three girls and two boys so now I have 5 girls and 4 boys.  They are a little older for me being around 10 weeks old.  They weren't sure of being in the house last night as they were dumped on a doorstep of an acreage.  They are a bit dirty so were outside kittens.  They are settling in and starting to enjoy life in my house.  Names to be picked today so I will update later.

you can't watch a kitten sleep and not feel your heart sing

You just have to smile when you watch baby kittens sleep.  Tamryn (second picture) was sitting and as she started to fall asleep slowly fell over on her side until she was sleeping on her tummy.  Yesterday was a good sleeping picture day.
.   .   .  .   .Jamieson got adopted by the lady who found him in 30 below weather when he was 4 days old.  He tugged at her heart and she couldn't pass him by.  I miss him as he was my little darling for a very long time but he has a great forever home.
.   .   .   .  A lady has fallen in love with Ivan and is trying to patiently wait for him to be big enough to come and live with her.  She has a fluffy female siamese so Ivan will be a perfect fit.
.   .   .   .  Ike and Ivan are growing and growing.  When they came in Ike was 348g and Ivan was 276g.  Now Ike is458g and Ivan is 448g.  They are starting to play with toys and each other.  They both like the cat condo.  Ivan likes to come down the hallway to my room in the morning once he knows I am awake.  They are pudgy little boys and I sure love pudgy babies.

A long overdue update

Where to begin?  The baby season has been slower than normal which is good for the babies who are not in trouble.  On April 25 my mom was diagnosed with tonsil cancer and the next 2 months were incredibly hard as we dealt with the cancer.  It has been an exhausting ordeal as I dealt with my feelings and my mom's feelings when I discovered she was not acting like the mom I knew and loved.  She passed away on July 5.
.    .     .     .  These are my 2 new babies--Ike is the orange little boy and Ivan is the fluffy siamese little boy.  They arrived a week ago yesterdya.  They are on the bottle though Ivan is starting to dig into the canned food.  They are very pudgy sweet little boys.  Ike is the adventuresome brother and was the first to climb up on the couch and into the play tunnel on the cat stand.  They are growing nicely.
.    .    .     .The other 4 kittens (Jamieson, Tristan, Tessa and Tamryn) are at Petsmart this week.  They are waiting for their forever homes.  Jamieson has beautiful fur and is an affectionate baby.  Tessa is a small girl and will be a small cat when she grows up.  Tristan is a real "mama's boy".  Tamryn is a quiet girl who loves her cuddle sessions.
.    .     .    .I promise to put more posts on my blog as the "normal" life I have longed for begins to return.

a big bunch of updates and my new family of 3 addition

Sorry for the long time between posts.  I welcomed Tristan, Tamryn and Tessa to my family on May 5.  They are 6 weeks old today and starting to show their own personalities.  Tristan is already a mama's boy and longs to be held as much as he can.  Tessa is a little doll and growing but more slowly than the other two.  Tamryn is a big girl and is loving being out of the cage to play today.  She and Tristan are definitely bigger and more physically able to do more than Sapphire and Tessa.  They are showing interest in canned food so soon I will have 2 less on the bottle.
     I just took Jamieson, Lacey, Nox and Nugget to Petsmart.  Yes, it is that time already.  The house is much quieter with the 4 gone.  They play a lot together so there is usually something going on.  I ran to Marks work wearhouse and came back to check on my babies and already someone fell in love with Lacey and is off to do the adoption. I don't think any of them will be coming home as they are so adorable.
     On Tues Sapphire ran into problems.  She got into the canned food while I was warming the bottle and must have got some stuck in her throat.  I was able to feed her at 8:15 before I went to work and some tiny little pieces came out and then she ate well and the milk stayed down.  Then in the morning she was starving but the milk she tried to drink poured out.  So off to the vet for them to sneak an examination in during the afternoon.  When I went to pick her up after work the vet and I worked on her to see what was going on.  We masked her with gas as drugs would be too hard on such a tiny little baby.  It took 5 applications as it wears off quickly which is the purpose.  Rekha tried to put the tube down but it wouldn't go into her stomach.  Finally it pushed through to her stomach.  I held her as she was waking up.  I was to feed her when she got up to make sure all was well.  She ate and only lost a tiny bit of her milk.  I fed her little bits often during the evening as her tummy had been empty all day.  She was fine and certainly hungry.  She only lost 8 g after her ordeal.  On Wed she gained 24g and Thurs 10 g so on the road to being a normal little kitten.

happy/sad

When I take my babies to Petsmart I always tell them they are going to camp.  Well, I was the camp for 2 days.  The feral mom of the 5 babies I got was caught this morning.  She was reunited with her babies and welcomed them back.  I am very happy they are with their mom as that is where every baby should be.  But I am sad as I miss them and really enjoyed feeding them.  They were all strong and eating well and little darlings.  I named the twins Riff and Raff.  It is like having 5 adoptions all within a minute.  So now my little "S" baby will be spoiled rotten as she can get all the attention.
.    .      .    .    Jamieson, Nugget, Nox and Lacey all gained a lot of weight today.  Maybe they ate not long before I got home.  They were mobbing me for their supper though so were hungry enough.  Jamieson sleeps on my bed during the night so he is close when I wake up in the morning.  He likes to come right beside me and roll over so he can have his tummy scratched.  Lacey is the serious player whether the other wants to play or not.  Nugget and Nox are the quietest of the 4.  Too soon they will be going to their forever homes.  I am preparing myself.

welcome to my new arrivals

Yesterday I added to my family.  As often happens they come in bunches.  The calico "S" girl is just over 2 weeks old.  The 5 "R" babies are 5 days old today.  The mom had 8 babies but 3 died.  They were very cold when I got them but the heat lamp soon fixed that problem.  The "S" baby (names to be determined today) is very vocal though after a few good feeds seems more content.  I walked her last night and she seemed to enjoy that.  The 5 babies are eating well.  The tiniest one is only 92g so I will be seeing a lot of growing I am sure.  One has white on the tummy and face, another has white tips on the paws, another has white tips on the front feet.  The last two are identical as far as I can tell right now.   They are only 2 g different in weight so it will be a big challenge to tell them apart.  I am having a hard time deciding if they are boys or girls so we will check in with the vet today and get some extra help with that.  Hopefully the twins will be different sexes but somehow I am suspecting not.  By the way, 4:15 this morning was beautiful.  Back to interupted nights but that's okay as long as they keep growing and doing well.

It has been a good week

All the babies are doing well.  They are another week older.  On Thursday Lacey was finished with the bottle.  On Thursday night I fed Jamieson his bottle.  When I checked on them before I went to bed I found a great big spot of puked up milk.  I decided to wait until morning to feed him so his tummy could settle down.  A few minutes before midnight I was woken by a loud cry (I sleep soundly but seem to have one ear open when I have babies).  I got out of bed to check what was going on.  Poor little Jamieson was frothing at the mouth and was in distress.  Instinctively I grabbed a blanket from the closet and wrapped Jamieson up.  He sounded wet inside as if he was filled with water.  I knew he could not get any in his lungs or he would die.  I held him at a slight angle with his head down and gently patted his back.  I walked the floor with him and went through a hard 8 minutes until he was better.  I figured out that though he had never eaten canned food before he had tried to eat a morsel of the hard food in the hallway for Hoover and must have choked.  I took him to bed with me so I could keep an eye on him.  After a few minutes he got wiggly and was nibbling on my fingers so I got up and got him a bottle as he was hungry.  He drank well and I tucked him in with the others.  I got up around 3 am to see if he was okay and he was.  In the morning he was playing with the others and it was as if nothing was wrong (though I knew it would be a substantial coffee morning for me).  On Saturday he decided he was a big boy and ate canned food for most of his meals.  Sunday it has been only canned food.
.           .Lacey is a little sweetie.  On Thursday I left the babies out of their cage for the night.  She has decided that sleeping with mom is a great thing.  She quietly comes to bed and settles in vey quickly.  Nox and Nugget are growing and love to play a lot.
.        .       .Jersey has settled wonderfully into her new home.  She loves the daycare kids and seems to wait for them at 3:30.  They say she is perfect in every way and cannot be improved upon.  She comes when called and loves to be loved.  An easy transition for all.
.     .     .Thanks for the comments.  I am so glad Griffin is a great kitten and still a sweet boy.  Thanks for giving him a great home.

Hoover's New Love

Hoover is in love again after his break up with Jersey.  He really, really, really loves Nugget.  He washed her for 30 minutes.  Lacey thought she would try and sneak in.  Hoover gave her a token 2 licks then was back loving his Nugget.  He loves his little harrem and likes being "the man".  Nugget will be clean until at least tomorrow.  Now I know who I can go to to help out with the little kittens.

It has been the best morning! I thought I would share pictures of the morning as I had so much fun and many smiles watching the babies.  All the babies are healthy, growing, gaining weight and getting older.  They are starting to play which is one of the best stages.  All 4 were having a great time with each other and the toys they are discovering.  Even Hoover and Maggie were part of the fun.
. . . . . Jersey left last night for her forever home.  When she was in the cage getting ready to go Hoover went over and put his toes through the bars as if to say goodbye and good luck.  They are the best of friends and I know Hoover will miss her.
.  .   .  .  .Jamieson is becoming a little boy.  As you can see from the picture he is starting to sleep like a "big" kitten.  He still loves his bottle and swaggers when he walks.  He does still love his nap time and is not ready to give them up any time soon.   Just yesterday I was holding him and wondering when did that little 118g kitten become a 420g little boy.  When did he grow up so fast?
.  .  .  .Lacey is becoming a mama's girl.  She comes to sit on my lap often.  She is eating canned food but still wants a bottle once in a while.  Of course I am not in a hurry to make her switch over.  I want to make sure she continues to gain weight.  Lacey scampers when she runs through the house.
.  .  .  Nugget and Nox are quite the pair.  Nugget loves to come to me to have me give her some loving.  She is feeling better since the antibiotics and has gained way more than I ever expect.  She is enjoying feeling better and running around.  Nox as always does his own thing when he wants to.  He loves Maggie and had a good nap with her this morning. 
.  .  .  All 4 babies are catching a nap in the cage.  They got tuckered out from all the playing.  It feels good to watch them all sleeping.  The best time of the day for me is at night when all have had their own bit of loving, are fed and are down for the night. After I get into bed I sometimes just sit and listen to the silence knowing all is well and all are another day older.  I take in every moment of the good days when no one is making me worry and all are happy and playing and loving each other.

Nugget and Nox

Here is Nugget (gray) and Nox (black).  They are settling in well.  Yesterday Nugget was not happy with the other cats and was very vocal about her unhappiness.  I was worried that meeting Maggie today would be stressful too but she didn't mind Maggie at all and even curled up right by Maggie's tummy.  Nox is a unique character already.  He does his own thing when he wants to.  He is a easy going little boy.  All 4 kittens had small weight gains today but I won't worry.  Note to self--feed Jamieson then make him pee and poop.  I fed him then went to give his bottom a bath.  I ended up with a pee spot on my tummy as I ran the water and poop happening during the bath.

Welcome to the two "N"'s

Two new additions tonight.  They are the same size as Lacey so will fit right in.  I will keep them separate until we find out on Monday what their mom died from.  I want them to be together but not if it risks Lacey and Jamieson.  A new routine to get everyone used to.  The fluffy gray is a girl and the fluffy black is a male.  Name picking time again! They ate canned food very well so only 2 on the bottle which makes things easier too. Jersey got adopted today and will leave next weekend.  I will, gulp, take her to get fixed on Wed so she can recover at home.  Baby season is back--so many changes and things to keep track of.

Jamieson

Jamieson is growin fast.  I had to call the vet on Saturday and got permission to put him on antibiotics.  He was off his food and had diarrhea.  His appetite is huge now!  He is gaining weight big time now--he gained 24g and 28g the last 2 days which is more than the desired 10g.  His eyes are open, he looks like a kitten now.  He is walking on his legs much better.  Yesterday I moved him out from under the heat lamp and into the big cage with Lacey bypassing the middle cage as he has company in the big cage.  The two are bonding and now sleep side by side becoming a family.
.   .   .   .Lacey is growing too.  She is gaining weight in leaps and bounds too.  When she is put on the livingroom floor she will now walk into the kitchen as she explores her world.  She seems to like the company of Jamieson too and is a gentle big sister.