Bracing for Another Goodbye

This is another goodbye week.  Turtle my 20 year old cat in 3rd stage kidney failure has hit the place that tells me beyond doubt it is time to say goodbye.  So this week I will be saying goodbye to her.  My heart is breaking already.  Rylee my true companion is feeling my pain.  I was silently crying in another room and she came running in and started being hyper then when I started sobbing she started licking my tears.  She doesn't know what is about to happen but she is so close to me that she truly feels my despair.  I feel her strength in every cell of my being and I will draw on in.  This is the part that is so hard of loving a pet for so long.

Reflections

It is this time of year that I would start getting babies.  I reflect on how much my life will be different this year.  When I was looking after 10 kittens (I had 18-22 usually once per year) I calculated how much of my "spare" time I spent looking after kittens and also working 40 hours per week(plus travel time to and from work) I spent 60 hours a week (dramatically increase that for when I had more than 10 kittens which was more than 50% of the time) bottle feeding, weighing, bathing, getting up during the night, doing laundry, taking pictures, organizing and labeling the pictures, writing my blog, force feeding, walking the floor with a kitten in trouble, cleaning 5 litter boxes in the morning and again before going to bed, scrubbing poop off practically every surface in my house that a kitten could get to, vet visits, buying buckets of litter, hauling home cases and cases and cases of canned food, getting formula, making formula, picking names, shampooing my furniture, vacuuming up the litter daily, remembering when to deworm the kittens and when it was time for their first shots, worrying, worrying, worrying about a kitten in deep trouble, making time for people to come and view the kittens up for adoption, waiting for people to drop off kittens in need of my attention.  So with 168 hours in a week minus 42.5 hours working and getting to and from work and 60 hours per week tending to a kitten family of only 10 kittens this left 65.5 hours to sleep, eat, do summer yard work (a lot as half my back yard is garden so every inch gets hand weeded), putting away my garden produce, hanging laundry on the line, spending time with my children.  What will I do with all my time?  I got a most wonderful puppy to keep me company who is my heart now and the most wonderful companion I could have ever dreamed of.  Rylee is the smartest dog I have had and brings joy to me every single day and who loves me with all her heart.  She is mending my shattered heart, makes me laugh and gives me a reason to love with all my heart again. I will survive the betrayal, cruelty and horrible ending of my 18 years of looking after orphaned kittens.  I am strong.

My Last Post

    The time has come for me to retire from looking after baby kittens after 18 years of being a kitten mom.  It has been so many things--tumultuous, happy, sad, happy/sad, exhausting, rewarding, full of love between the babies and myself, getting up during the night to feed little ones, rushing home during a 30 minute lunch/supper break to feed the tiny ones, worry, stress, many uncountable weighing sessions, tears licked away by a baby when one has been lost, learning forever learning, constant cleaning, things ruined by kittens, load after load of laundry, laps full of kittens, the first purr of a tiny baby that usually happened at 2 am, litter box after litter box cleaned and bleached, the joy of a kitten raised from incredibly tiny to big enough to go to their forever home, struggling to make people truly understand what my world is about but failing, not being able to go anywhere because I know my babies best and it is not easy to teach someone else how to bottle feed when it requires instinct with the facts of how to bottle feed, and the knowledge that I could push myself harder and farther than I ever would have dreamed possible.  I would like to say thanks to the many people who have touched my heart and so often in a moment that I so needed it.  Thanks to the encouragement I have been given and to the people who have become friends because of the kittens. I so value all the pictures, updates and stories sent to me from forever homes, these are true treasures. I would still like to hear from you as the babies will always be in my heart.  My email address is three.ladies@shaw.ca
This transition will be difficult as life will be very different than it has for almost 2 decades. Kittens have been my life.  Thank you to all who have touched my life.

Thai, Aniki, Alcott and Avis (Alfalfa Is In His Forever Home)

My house is a busy place.  The babies are energetic creatures.  They are having fun and scampering everywhere.  Alfalfa (Alfie now) has gone to his new home.  He has settled in smoothly and is learning a new routine.  Alcott is my snuggle bug.  He loves to come to my bed to say good morning.  Not so bad when I have to get up and not trying to catch a few more zzzzzzz's.  They are eating a huge amount, about 5 small cans of food per day.  They are growing kittens after all.  June Bug (and a little bit Julie) is experiencing hair loss on her face and ears.  A vet appointment this week will hopefully fix this problem soon.  They are still busy, active, playing and eating well.  They are gaining weight too so at least they are feeling good.

Sleepy Time and Play Time

Aniki, Alfalfa, Alcott, Avis and Thai were great sleepers today.  They were mellow, well the boys were mellow and the girls became mellow after a good play time.  Thai is 7 weeks old and Alcott, Alfalfa, Avis and Aniki are 9 weeks old.  The A kittens had their vet check up yesterday and will be able to be adopted once they grow just a bit more.  Alfalfa has a home waiting for him and the other 3 won't be waiting long for their homes.  They are happy babies and are discovering the cat tree which is another sign they are getting older.

Update on My 7 Babies--What a Glorious Rare Week!

What a wonderful week I have had which doesn't happen very often with baby kittens in residence.  They are all healthy and playing and becoming individual little beings.  Thai is 6 weeks old--imagine all the changes I have seen in him since he arrived at 4 days old.  June Bug convinces my cat Turtle to give up her treasured spot on the sheepskin blanket and share it with her.  She is going to have the most wonderful fur coat when she is all grown up.  Julie is a mama's girl and still insists on having a bottle instead of eating canned food.  She is the last and only one on the bottle (though Thai wanted a bottle today and I gave him one even though it has been a couple of days since he got a bottle).  Julie just isn't ready to be all grown up.  Alcott is my photogenic baby.  He loves having his picture taken and sits and poses when he is in front of the camera.  Aniki is still a busy, healthy petite little girl.  Avis was the thinnest of the 4 kittens when I got them and the one the vet was most concerned about.  What a plump treasure she has turned out to be.  Alfalfa will be adopted by the family that wanted Hiccup (gone to be at Street Cat Shelter so his food can be strictly supervised) as Hiccup is not ready to be adopted until his health becomes stable.  Alfalfa is the best sleeper and enjoys his cat nap almost anywhere.  I got some adorable pictures of him taking some of his many naps.