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.