Update

When I got home during my lunch break I opened the door to the bedroom.  The mom Fariah was not in the 2' x 4' cage which was empty. Then I saw she had moved all 6 babies to the comforter on the bed.  She looked really content and proud of herself.  I had to use a few pillows to prop up the edges of the comforter as the babies are more mobile than you would think and I don't want them to fall off the bed.  I am going to put blankets on the floor in case one falls off.  My 3 babies are now named.  The black and white boy is Joplin, the gray female is Jessa and the gray and white female is Java.  The babies are doing well.  I weigh all of them at least 4 times a day and record their weights.  The vet wanted me to bottle feed to help mom out and make sure that the mom is making enough milk with her mastitis.  So I am still busy with babies though I have to admit I let the mom take the night shift.  Once the babies are stable and not needing a bottle any more they will go back to the first foster home.  I don't want to let them go but Maxine really wants her babies back.  Mom has accepted my 3 babies into her family so of course the babies should be with a mom who walks on 4 legs.  A furry mom trumps a human mom.  I love all the babies so much that my heart is going to break when they leave my house.

What a Day!

Today sure turned out different than I thought it would.  I stayed up last night until midnight to feed my 3 babies so that I could maybe grab a 5 hour uninterupted sleep.  I had talked to another foster mom about her mom cat that had kittens the day before.  Our talk was after I worked until 10 pm.  The mom was having after birth issues so ended up being taken to the U of S vet hospital.  I got a couple of calls at 2 am from the vet who was trying to get a phone number so she could get authorization for charges that would be incurred.  Then in the morning I got a call from Street Cat asking if I would take her 3 babies (orange tabbies) and bottle feed them for a few days as mom has mastitis.  I said sure.  Then when my daughter went to pick them up the college said that they wanted the mom to stay with her babies.  But my daughter only had the tiny baby cage.  Then more phone calls as the vets were deciding if bottle feeding would be enough or if they had to be tube fed (I don't tube feed babies).  So finally at 3:30 my daughter was able to bring the mom and babies home.  The vet called me at suppertime to discuss the plan.  I asked if in a week I could put my babies in with mom after she got better.  The vet said it would be good for the mom's mastitis to have the babies on her now.  So crying I put the babies one by one in with their new mom.  They seemed to smile and the mom started washing them.  I am more emotional when I am tired so I was very emotional.  The babies have a new perfect mom that nature intended and I have to take a step back and let the new mom have my babies. But it is the absolutely right thing to do and it was perfect timing for babies who are 2 days apart in age to become a blended family.  I will be keeping an eye on them and weighing them to make sure they are all okay.  The littlest orange baby is the the smallest and most fragile.  I so rarely have had a mom with babies that it feels odd.  The babies all are going to be okay and I get to watch them grow for a while until they go to the foster mom who had them until yesterday.  What a great turn of events!

My Family Grows

You never know what a day will bring.  I got these babies right before I went to work this afternoon. These little darlings are 3 days old.  They are 3 days old and still have umbilical cords.  They were discovered in a backyard in Dinsmore a couple of nights ago.  The babies were heard crying and a young lady went out with a flashlight to see what was going on.  She gave the babies wonderful care by dropper feeding them, making them pee and most importantly keeping them warm.  They were brought to me very warm and in great condition.  The gray baby weighs 106g, the black and white is 92g and the gray and white is 104g.  Babies are usually about 100g when born so these babies are on track for weights for 3 day old babies. They are eating very well and drink even more than I would expect which makes me happy.  Strong babies eat willingly and happily.  They have even purred which is a beautiful gift given to me today.
     As soon as I found out I was getting the babies I said it will be Pierce who has an issue.  He has only been at BA (bottles anonymous) for 6 days and I knew seeing a bottle again would be very tempting to him.  I did not expect it to be the receiving blanket to start him off.  As soon as he saw the blanket he remembered that blanket=bottle.  He got all wiggly and sat up on his haunches as he was so excited.  I picked him up and wrapped him in the blanket to give him some happiness but he was too busy looking for a bottle in my hand that he did not appreciate the blanket.  So I had to put him down.  Then he saw the bottle and my goodness, he was excited.  We laughed so hard watching him.  But no, no sip for him because alcoholics can't have one drink nor can a member of BA. He is so in my heart with all his special qualities and demands that he will be very hard to part with when it is time.
     Feeding time is going to be done standing up.  As soon as I sit on the couch the babies immediately come on my lap.  So trying to feed a little one without interference won't be happening any time soon.  The dynamics of life always change with any addition.  It certainly gets more busy when I add to my family.  As I was feeding the little ones and keeping an eye on the 7 babies Garrison was busy unrolling and attacking the roll of toilet paper that I will keep in the livingroom to use to make the new babies pee.  So I had little bits of toilet paper to remove from the couch.  He had fun playing with the pieces though and was quite entertained. 

A Few Pictures to Share

Now you know why I keep my camera handy on my computer desk in the living room.  You just never know what you may catch.  The babies are all doing well and growing bigger every day.  Too soon the day will come when they are big enough for their forever homes.  Pecan has a home to go to when she is big enough as she was chosen on Saturday as the kitten they want.  They should be ready in a few weeks.  We do the vet trip on Sept 6. It is a major thing as each kitten gets examined, microchipped, vaccinated and tested for feline leukemia.  This test requires drawing 3 drops of blood then waiting 10 minutes for the test to finish.  So this is 70 minutes alone just waiting for the tests to finish.  The vet and staff and I spend our time waiting and admiring and playing with the babies so it goes by fast.

Little Update

Paige, Patton, Pecan, Pierce, Pekko, Pipkin and Paisley are growing.  They are doing well and all gained weight today.  The smallest is Patton at 460g (up from 418 yesterday) and the biggest is Paige at 604g.  One of them (amazing how babies don't squeal) set my computer to lock me out as a user.  I hate when kittens who are only 8 weeks old are more computer savy than I am.  I managed to figure out how to allow myself access again on the computer.  They are so cute and my heart broke a little bit today thinking that I will have to say goodbye too soon.  Melissa and her mom came to see Pecan and Paisley so she could pick the one she will wait to adopt. She fell in love with Pecan who promptly sat on her lap and fell asleep.  It will be a great home, Pecan is a lucky little girl.

28 little kitten feet

     I got an email Saturday morning that Georgia was being adopted and that I didn't need to go to Petsmart as everyone was adopted.  Then I got a call a 2 pm saying the adoption didn't happen so I picked Georgia up.  Then the shelter called and two people came to see Georgia and she was adopted by 5 pm. 
     Denver was visited on Monday but the man wanted to wait until the end of the month. After a couple of days I was given the number for the people who were next in line to see him. I called them and they came to see him Wednesday. They said they wanted to adopt him on Friday.  So Thursday night I held him and talked to Denver and said how much I would miss him.  Of course I shed some tears.  He was special to me but has gone to a wonderful home who will love him as he deserves to be loved. Every baby is special and unique.
     This morning (good thing it was alread 6 am) I had 28 baby kitten feet running through my bedroom, under my bed, chasing each other, onto my bed and sitting on my chest.  I had time to spare so I loved any kitten that wanted to be loved.  What happiness and much purring!  Pierce is finally, finally off the bottle.  What a determined little boy wanting to stay on the bottle.  He was the oldest baby to give up the bottle refusing to even eat a bit of canned food until he was over 8 weeks old.  He is a true mama's boy and sits at my feet meowing when he wants to be picked up.  He will sit on his haunches and reach up to me when I bend down to pick him up.  Then he snuggles right in.  Paige was 598g this morning.  She should be the first baby to reach 600g.  They are such wonderful babies doing all the things kittens should do.  It is busy in my house when all 7 are in play mode.  This morning 4 babies and Denver were playing in a sunspot.  It makes me smile and feel good.

Things Are Changing

     Things have been pretty stable for a while.  No intakes for a while so the routine has been stable and set for a while.  Today Gardenia and Ziven were adopted so only Georgia to bring home from Petsmart tomorrow.  On Monday someone is coming to look at Denver (and who wouldn't be in love with Denver as soon as they see him).
     The little babies are in a rapid growth streak right now.  So this weekend I will allow Pipkin's future possible mom to come and see him as well as Paisley and Pecan's (she will be choosing one baby) future possible mom to come and see them.  The babies are at the stage I love the most.  They are into everything and playing like big kittens with each other.  So far only Pekko has discovered where I sleep since they have been allowed to sleep where they like and out of the big cage which has officially been put away.  Then this morning before I went to work I went into my bedroom and there he was sleeping on my pillow.  He looked so proud of himself.  Yes, he is growing when he sleeps away from the group and has found his own special place to sleep.  It is a happy time yet I know too soon they will be leaving for their forever homes.  The hard part is done, now just to enjoy them and watch them grow.

The 7 "P" babies

These are Paisley, Pekko, Pecan, Pierce, Paige, Pipkin, Patton and Pipkin and Patton.  I managed to get a couple of pictures of the extra toes that 5 of them have.  They are becoming fat little babies and full of energy.  They go through the house and play under my bed.  They love to "help" me clean off my computer desk. All except Pierce are eating canned food with the occassional bottle (bottle is sometimes hard to give up when a kitten is growing up).  Their weights range this morning were 370g, 390g, 402g, 424g, 438g, 454g, 502g.  They should have a big spurt now they are eating canned food well.  Too soon they will be 800g and ready for adoption.
     Pipkin is still my little handful.  He is the one who really loves my computer desk.  He is full of energy even though he is only 390g.  Paige, Paisley and Patton are quieter and get into less trouble.  Pierce, well Pierce is Pierce.  He loves his attention and has to share being a mama's baby title with Pecan and Pekko.  There is always someone on my lap once I have a lap available.  This batch of kittens has only needed one bath which saved countless hours.  None have had diarrhea either so that has made things easier too.  Paisley and Pecan are more gray in their dark areas than brown at this point.  It can change though as they get darker when they get older.  I held a couple of babies yesterday and got tears in my eyes thinking how far we have come in the almost 6 weeks I have had them.  These guys will be hard to let go as I got them so very young.  They are indeed little kittens now and no longer infants.  It has been challenging but we did it.  Watching them wash themselves, use the litter box, play with toys and each other and doing normal kitten things makes my heart sing.  We have succeeded.

Life Today

These are the 7 babies having a nap this morning.  They are frustrating me with their weights.  Only Paisley is consistently increasing in weight and eating only canned food.  I have given in and feed bottles after getting them to eat canned food first and topping up with the bottle.  Patton and Pierce still refuse to eat canned food.  So the weights go up and down and I worry.  They are active and playing and sleeping normally so we are not in deep trouble yet, just in the watch phase.
     I brought Denver and Garrison home from Petsmart and took Gardenia, Georgia and Ziven.  The girls are identical so I had to get one of the microchips scanned so I could be sure who was who.  The boys were happy to be home and were running around stretching their legs.  Denver came and sat on my lap as he used to do before.

Isabelle and Izzy are getting adopted tomorrow morning and going to their own homes (not the same home). So that will make it 12 kittens to look after.
     The 7 little ones are becoming quite the babies. They are playing a lot and liking toys.  They are strong little babies and will soon be off the bottle.  Only Patton and Pierce are showing no interest in food--it could be sawdust for all they care.  The babies are very busy and even though small will climb up on the couch and my computer dest so are big babies in their mind though small in their body.  Too soon I will be thinking about saying goodbye to them too.

Little Update

     Ziven won't be going to Petsmart this time as he has to be in quarantine for 14 days.  So.........he is with me for a month until the next Petsmart.  He is one busy little boy so will keep me running until then.
     The 7 little ones are doing well.  They will be a bit lonely as I work this weekend but we make up for it when I get home.  Lots of love flowing then.

Quick Update

     Ziven did well at the vetès today except for taking his blood for the test.  But he was still a good boy.  He is about 14 weeks old and will be going to Petsmart on Sunday.  Denver, Isabelle, Izzy, Garrison and Ziven all go to Petsmart so my house will be quiet for a week.  Hopefully they find their forever homes and if not I will pick them up on Saturday.
     Dexter got adopted today.  She will be keeping his name which makes me smile as I put a lot of thought into picking names.
     The little 7 P babies are doing much better today.  Tues and Wed they lost weight, some up to 30 g which is a lot when they are only 300g in the first place.  Today was the first worry free day for a quite a while.  They are tiny but still have the maturity of  38 day old kittens.  They play a lot even with the older kittens who are amazingly gentle with the little ones.  They follow me everywhere in the house.  This morning Pecan, Pekko, Patton and Pierce were crying for attention. So I knelt on the floor and leaned over and had them wrapped in my arms.  They were very wiggly and totally happy.  They love to come and have some one on one time too so a lot of hugs are given during my day.

Ziven

This is Ziven.  Yes, he is much bigger than the other kittens I get but he needed a space after being found by the car wash at 8th St and Cumberland.  I wasn't sure how a 4-5 month old kitten would fit in but he has been a charmer.  The other kittens don't mind him and he doesn't mind everyone else.  In fact, he seems to be enchanted with all the activity going on all the time. He is intimidated by the little ones which is much better than being aggressive towards them.  He ill be up for adoption next week Saturday if all goes well at the vet appointment tomorrow.
     Dexter, Denver, Isabelle, Izzy and Garrison will go to Petsmart on Sunday.  The house will be much quieter and lonely without them.