Everything is Great!

The pictures are of Aster, Austin, Asia, Aspen and Tricket.  Everyone is well.  They are growing and all are eating eagerly.  Tricket has gained a lot of weight in the last few days.  Today she is really into the canned food so I will try her with no bottle and only canned food and see how her weight goes.  I think it is time for her to be off the bottle especially if she continues to gain well.  When I unofficially weighed her she was up 50g from last night.  Official weight will be tonight but I expect being very happy with her especially after having to fight with her to get her to take any formula.  Persistence has paid off!  Tricket has discovered she can climb out of the cage if the lid is up and will appear out of the bedroom.  She thinks she is a big girl and can be a "house" baby.
     The "A" babies are all getting bigger and really like to explore their larger world out of the cage.  Austin is a mama's boy and came to me a few times this morning for a hug and cuddle.  I was rewarded with big purrs.  He is the only boy so thinks he can get extra attention whenever he wants.  They are all nibbling at canned food.  Austin is really getting into the canned food and may not need a bottle much longer.  Aspen is the littlest and will be on the bottle for much longer until I see her really eating the canned food.  All of them are using the litter box.  They like the fuzzy bed that all the kittens before have loved so it is on the floor in the livingroom where they can sleep whenever they want.  They sleep only there and have a bit of a routine going.  When I am home I will let them out in the house so they can grow, be stimulated and become normal babies.

Updates

     Keelan got adopted on Wed.  She went to Petsmart Wed morning and someone who was interested in seeing her went to Petsmart to meet her.  Four hours after arriving at Petsmart she was in her new forever home.
     It has been a rough week with the babies.  Ambrose was struggling for a week.  He was holding his own weight wise but didn't have a lot of energy and did not want to eat.  I got food into him which helped keep his weight at his current weight.  I got home from work on Thursday and found he was in deep trouble.  I was holding him in one arm rubbing his face, paws, ears, nose to keep him stimulated and aware I was there.  I was feeding the other babies in my other arm as they were hungry and needed to eat.  To be twins sometimes would be great I have discovered.  I held Ambrose all night forfeiting supper so I could be there for him.  He died during the night Thursday.  Then suddenly Saturday afternoon Amaretto was beginning to be off.  She didn't want to eat and her body felt like Ambrose's was.  It is hard to describe but it was just different.  I gave her subcutaneous fluids as she was dehydrated and made her drink some formula.  I got up during the night and she seemed to be better, more alert.  Then at 5:30 am I went to check and she was gone.  Ambrose has been sent away to be necropsied which is good as now Amaretto is gone too.  I am hoping it isn't panleukopenia as that would be a huge disaster.  They didn't have vomiting nor bloody diarrhea but did have lethargy, trouble maintaining their weight and loss of appetite.  So some symptoms fit.  The others are doing okay at this moment (things can change so fast that sometimes you can only go "at this moment")  Tricket was off her food for 2 days too and I had to forcefeed her.  She fought me but I had to get food into her to keep her strength up.  This morning at 7 she finally took the bottle.  I sat without moving a hair so that she would keep eating after finally deciding that she would willingly take the bottle.  I am exhausted, sad, worried.

Pictures of Tricket, Austin, Aspen, Aster, Asia, Amaretto, Ambrose

Names at last!  There are 2 pictures of each of the babies in the order named in the post title.  Where to begin?  It has been a busy week indeed.  Tricket has grown a lot.  She has gone from 128 last week Monday to 248 g tonight.  She is very bright and alert.  I let her walk on the floor for a little every day as she is getting a bit bored.  She is about a week older than the other babies and it really shows at this age.  She is a good natured, quiet, patient little baby.
     The 6 "A" babies are also growing.  They have gained weight nicely in just the first week I have had them.  They went (in order listed in title) from 130g to 212g, 126g to 178g, 124g to 184g, 126g to 196g, 110g to 178g and 106g to 178g.  I am very happy with their weight gains.  They now sleep through the night which makes it easier for me.  They are starting to pee on their own which means we are now at the stage of needing bum washes to freshen them up.  Aspen is the last one to have her eyes open fully.  The babies have changed so much in just a week.  They are all good eaters.  Asia I have discovered does not open her mouth easily to take the bottle so I have to put the nipple in the side of her mouth.  Once it is in she readily drinks so it is just a quirk of hers.  All purr when I make them pee after eating.  I give each one a few minutes at least once a day of individual love time.  They have each other but need to know who their new mama is.  We have a routine going which they figured out very quickly.  Of course they are smart babies because they are my babies.  I am doing a lot of laundry and making a lot of formula.  Now I need 2 full bottles per feeding and it will only increase.  I love all my little babies who are happy little fuzzes with big hearts full of purrs.

Baby Update

The babies are wonderful!  They are growing well.  Yesterday all gained a minimum of 10 g and a maximum of 18g between all of them.  They are eating a lot and especially love the time that I give them individual loving after they get their bottle.  They purr and knead and rub faces with me.  The gray baby is enjoying the company now that they don't cry very much any more.  The "A" babies are starting to open their eyes.  The littlest one has his eyes open first so size doesn't matter he says.  They sleep well and drink a bottle and a half per feeding.  We will find out today if they are boys or girls then name picking begins.

Raining Kittens Again

On Monday I got my first little baby in a long while.  The gray baby (not sure if girl or boy, will be confirmed by vet on Saturday) arrived.  He was thin but very bright eyed and strong.  I got up to feed him at 1:20 and 1:00 and 1:10 on Mon, Tues and Wed morning.  He has grown from 128 g to 164g tonight.  He doesn't feel bony any more and is drinking well from the bottle.  Even though he was under the heat lamp on Monday his body never felt toasty warm so I put a heated split pea bag under his blanket and the heat lamp on top.  He was soon toasty warm and happy to drink from the bottle.
     The six "A" babies arrived last night.  They were 6 days old.  They were very loud babies and with 6 voices together you knew when they were up.  I got up at 1:10 to feed them.  I can somehow set my internal alarm to get up to the babies when they are little which is much more pleasant than an alarm waking you up in the middle of a deep sleep.  The "A" babies are absolutely adorable (don't mind including the gray baby) and all are black and white.  They are all different which makes telling them apart easy and easy to tell who has been fed.  They are eating very well and no longer are shrieking loudly.  They get fed then immediately stop crying and settle down into a pile to have their sleep.  All of them have gained weight today--from 6g to 12g (20g for my gray baby) which is good in my books.  They all purr when I make them pee after their bottle.  They are very content babies and don't cry very often.  They enjoy sucking on the bottle.  I can get all 7 babies fed in about 20 minutes at this time (will increase as they drink more and more as they grow).