Why I Love the Babies So Much

I came home from work and knew I was going to be greeted when I got in.  I got in the door and I had 10 very wiggly, meowing babies all telling me how happy they are that I am home and "remember mom we are all very hungry".  They made it difficult to walk as they scoot back and forth with no regard of where a foot is trying to step.  I had 2 bags of groceries and decided I was better off to stop and feed them before I brought in the last 2 bags.  Hungry babies are always first in my world.  This is the reward for the work and cleaning that is a part of loving babies.  Yes, it is worth it, always worth it.

Life is Fun

What I knew would happen next has happened.  The babies discovered where mom sleeps at night.  The first night they slept on blankets and my slippers on the floor.  The next night they figured out how to climb on my bed.  They (not exactly sure how many were on my bed at any given time) slept quietly on my bed.  This morning was the second morning in a row that the orange babies decided that mom had enough sleep at 5 am.  I thought about what I should do.  If I get up and feed them then I set the rule that if they are hungry and wake mom up they will get fed.  If I ignore them I will get no more sleep until bedtime.  They get in your face, walk on your head and are so wiggly that ignoring them is impossible. If I pull the covers over my head they squeeze into the littlest opening to find my face again.  So when a baby tells me it is hungry it will always get fed.  So I get up, feed the babies then go back to sleep until 6 or 6:30 am.  I can neve say no to a baby.

Life is Good

With so many kittens arriving within such a short period of time my world was not in a good routine yet.  We have achieved order.  None of the babies are cage babies any more which means there are 10 babies running around.  They haven't learned about being underfoot yet so it is very difficult to walk in my house when they are in active mode. All except one tiny orange baby are eating canned food.  This means one or two big plates to put food down for the first feeding of the day as they are violent when others are trying to eat close to them when they are hungry. Head counts are challenging.  Yesterday I heard a kitten crying so I tried to think what door I had closed recently.  I knew it was the closet.  So I checked the closet and no kitten came out.  I thought I had been hearing things but in a few minutes the kitten was crying again.  Dakota was in the closet indeed and was happy to come out when I opened the door the second time.  Right now I have a little orange sucky baby sitting on my lap.  Garrick is a mama's boy and tries to sneak every minute possible on my lap or being carried. You can't look into his little blue eyes and deny what he is asking.
     On Thursday I got 3 more babies.  They were found on the riverbank.  We were told they were a few weeks old so they came here.  The two boys and one girl are about 12 weeks old and very thin.  So I have kept them by themselves until I accessed how healthy they were.  They are going to a new foster home as my house is reserved for the smaller ones.  But they started declining a little on Saturday and were vomitting quite a bit.  Then on Sunday they weren't eating much at all and looked off and very quiet.  They weren't happy to see me when I came into the room to visit.  So I called Rekha in the early afternoon.  She said to give them subcutaneous fluids which I did twice on Sunday and to start them on metronidazole (antibiotic) as that would settle their tummies down and this was about all we would be able to do. They are much more perky today and more active.  No more vomitting and they are eating again.  They will go to Ruth's Tuesday eveing.  She will love them up.  They are very affectionate babies so will make out just fine with her.  They have a better life ahead of them.

Mellow Kittens Hanging Out

When the kittens play, they play hard.  When it is nap time usually all the kittens crash at the same time.

Meet Garrison, Georgia and Garrick

Two pictures each of Garrison, Georgia and Garrick in that order.  It is a challenge to figure out who is who and just makes life more interesting.  They are doing well enough though eating has become a bit of a problem.  They will hopefully be eating a bit stronger tomorrow.  They love to get out of their cage and have a romp in the livingroom.  After a short playtime they go back to the cage and show me they want back in to have a nap.  Now I feel all 10 babies and I have a routine and life is not as chaotic as it has been for the last few days. Everyone is settled in and loving being a big blended family.

Meet the "I" Babies

Here are Isabelle, Izzy and Ixy.  They are gaining weight after going on antibiotics.  They had steadily lost weight since they arrived and were starting to worry me.  But they are absolutely perfect now.  They love to play and fit right in with the rest of their blended family.

"D" Family Update

The "D" family is fantastic!  The two families have blended and decided that they love to sleep on the chair in the livingroom.  The pictures are of Denver, Dakota, Dakota and Denver, Dahlia and Dexter.  They are all wonderful, normal, very busy babies.  Denver has become quite plump and plays as hard as the rest of the kittens.  He is no longer constipated and is full of energy.  These babies are growing and gaining weight nicely.  They are in a good place and certainly enjoying life.

It's Raining Kittens Again

I got called this morning to pick up three babies at the Vet College.  I was told they were 1 week old but when I got them they are 3 1/2 weeks old.  They are fluffy and very dirty, stinky kittens.  Bath and blow dry after I get off work at 10 p.m.  Bed will be a long time in coming tonight.  These kittens are identical as of yet.  I hope to give them a close look afer bathing to see distinguishing marks so I can tell at a glance who is who.  Two ate from a bottle well, one did not so I have to keep an eye on it.
     The others are doing great.  Good thing this morning I decided they did not need to be cage babies any more and can have run of the house.  I am keeping an eye on Denver as he is a bit constipated.  I am keeping an eye on the little siamese girl as she is not eating as much as I would like.  Thank goodness the other 5 are not causing any concern.
 

My Family Grows

A picture of my new blended family.  The new additions are 2 boys and 1 girl arriving at 9 pm. Their mom was eaten by a coyote.  They blend in very well as they are the same size as my current family.  They are 3 very different kittens.  The littlest one is very much smaller and is the little princess.  She was very comfortable in the house and all she did for an hour was walk, walk, walk.  No wonder she is so small.  Soon she was playing with the others.  The dark faced boy was spitty as he wasn't as comfortable in a house and around people.  But we got him out of the bathroom and I held him on my lap.  Soon he was very interested in the activity.  I put him down so he could play and soon he was in the middle of things.  He still hesitates sometimes when I go up to him but he is not stressed at being picked up.  The other little boy is going to take time.  He is supper hissy and spitty.  For such a little one he can appear very feisty. I thought he would be lonely in the bathroom by himself for the night but he was terrified to be handled.  So I got my leather gloves and picked him up.  He surprised me by not being that unhappy at being held and even rolled over on his back so his tummy could get scratched.  I held him for a long time then decided he could sleep in the cage with the others.  "Normal" kittens show scared kittens there is nothing to be afraid of.  He is still a cage baby--correction.  As I am writing this entry he cried and wanted me to come to him.  That shows a lot of trust but considering I have picked him up and held him a dozen times this morning he was bound to open his heart and decide I was okay.  So now he is walking around and exploring the living room.  The kittens are all playing so it is a very busy scene! 

Another Great Day

We are a real family!  I have them figured out and they have me figured out.  I know when a kitten is tired and wants to go to bed in the cage (yes they ask to go back in even though there are two baskets on the floor for them to choose to sleep in.  They are super comfortable in the house and no longer give the dog a second glance.  Yes, we are a family.
     Names have been picked.  The little brown tabby boy is Denver, the larger brown tabby boy is Dexter.  The little gray girl is Dahlia and the fluffy gray girl is Dakota.  Now to set the correct name in my mind with the correct kitten.

"D" babies

The babies are doing great!  They all had a fantastic weigh in tonight.  320gto 346g, 540g to 592g, 326g to 370g and 468g to 504g.  The average gain with babies is about 10g per day when babies are with their mom so I am impressed with these gaines.  They are getting used to my routine and now are all sleeping in their bed.  The little brown tabby male is a lot more energetic today and behaving just like his siblings.  What an improvement from just 24 hours ago.

My New Family the "D's"

My wonderful new 4 babies--2 boys and 2 girls. The boys are the brown tabbies and the girls are the grays. It is always a settle in period of up to 24 hours for new babies to know who I am and for them to get a feel for their new home.  Their mom disappeared in Watrous possibly due to another animal snatching her so these babies were on their own.  Kind people rescued them and thus began their journey.  The babies are very different in size with their weights being 320g, 326g, 468g and 540g.  The babies ferociously dug into the canned food I fed them.  I ended up having to feed them one by one as they would chomp on feet if they were in the way and fought to get to the food.  The little brown tabby boy (names have been submitted and will be selected today) was in trouble.  He ate a bit of food but not as much as his siblings.  he felt very thin and after checking him I found he was dehydrated.  I gave him subcutaneous fluid twice before I went to bed.  I held him wrapped up in a blanket for 3 hours and gave him lots of hugs and kisses so he would know he was loved very much.  By bedtime the fluids kicked in and he decided he was very hungry.  He ate well and looked stronger and healthier so I went to bed less worried and hopeful.  This morning he was much brighter and a normal little kitten. He has decided he deserves to be spoiled as he insisted on being picked up first and held and loved.  They sure catch on to the being spoiled part very quickly. All ate well and let out of their 2' X 4' cage to run around the livingroom while I scrubbed the cage.They had fun discovering the livingroom.  I quickly learned that the bigger brown tabby boy is the leader.  He was the one trying to climb out of the cage and was the first one to explore.  There is indeed one in every litter. All the babies are curled up and sleeping in their bed looking very content. 

All is well

 Vixen's test came back negative today.  The one done on Tuesday was a just expired test so gave a false reading.  So off to Petsmart on Saturday for this little girl.  Her face is all healed and tissue has grown in a bit so she is looking gorgeous.  She was sleeping with Leo the other day when I took this picture.  He is such a crusty boy when new babies come in the house yet in time becomes very loving and playful with the babies.
     Today I will be getting 4 new babies.  They are supposed to be about 4 weeks old.  So my arms won't be empty when Vixen goes to Petsmart.  Four little wiggly babies to love and hold and hug!

You never know

Vixen went to the vet today to get vaccinated, microchipped and feline leukemia tested.  You would never know that a kitten with boundless energy would test positive for feline leukemia.  It is a sad situation but not an immediate death sentence.  She will be retested on Thursday.  There is a foster home with one leukemia positive cat in it so she can probably go live there if it is bad news again on Thursday.  Here I was preparing to say goodbye as I left her at Petsmart to be up for adoption.  Instead it is an unexpected different goodbye.  She is truly a wonderful little girl and will really have a good rest of her life from the time I got her.  Many kittens are not so lucky.  So.............until Thursday.

Vixen

Vixen is the cutest thing!  I took her to the Vet Wed evening to make sure her face was doing okay.  I am just to put vaseline on it so it will stay moist and heal better.  Nothing else can be done. It was deicded to put her on antibiotics as an infection in her face would be a bad thing so better to try and avoid. I had Rekha check her ears as she had scratched at them a couple of times but I couldn't see any ear mites.  I said she had a scab in the one ear from being thrown out of the vehicle.  Turns out the scab was a happy wood tick.  I was glad to see it dispatched to the morgue.  Poor little Vixen.  She has been eating and eating and stools are perfect.  She weighed 578g when I got her and as of yesterday she had gained 96 g and was 674g.  This is exactly what she should be doing.  What a good girl!