Kittens, Cats & Calamities Part 1 of 2

Here’s a quick recap of what the HECK has been going on with our kitties since there have been so many calamities lately that I haven't had adequate time to write it all down.

Laney and Winnie

Laney had her six, fat, healthy, HUGE kittens just four weeks ago. They’re all about to hit the 1 pound mark in weight (a few are over already), proving just how fat and sassy they are. Most kittens their age are about 25% smaller. Initially Moe, our foster mom, sexed the kittens and we went about the task of naming them. Then just a few days ago I got a “whoopsie” text from Moe saying that no, we did not have the number of girls we thought we did. In fact, most of the kittens are boys.

©2014 Foster Mom Moe. Laney, her daughter Winnie (behind her) and their combined family are all doing well.

We had to do a quick name adjustment and in one case we were very surprised because the one boy we were certain of turned out to be a GIRL. That GIRL is Piglet, Winnie’s sole surviving kitten. Piglet, who has also surprised us by not being a white kitten, but rather a flame point Siamese in the making!

©2014 Foster Mom Moe. Piglet with her mom, Winnie.

We worried a lot about Piglet, who had a tough start in life. Being grossly underweight we didn’t think she’d make it, but with having her devoted mother AND her grandmother, Laney at her side, Piglet began to thrive and is slowly catching up with her Aunt and Uncle-kittens even though she’s a week older than they are. [update: Piglet weighs a pound!]

©2014 Foster Mom Moe.

We had a terrible scare with Laney, too. The night after she gave birth Moe noticed her abdomen was quite huge. She was rushed to the ER Vet where they took a number of x-rays and had a radiologist weigh in on the findings. They felt she had a great deal of fluid build-up inside her but were not sure what the root cause was. They threw around horrible terms like FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis) and doing a fluid study, because she was so full her intestines were pushed way out of place.

©2014 Kitten Associates. Laney's Belly full of fluid and stool.

After staying up almost all night at the ER Vet, Moe let me know that they were going to watch and wait. I agreed. We needed to find out if Laney just needed to literally pee this problem away or if she indeed was really sick. We’d ruled out she was carrying a 7th kitten so the rest was up to her.

It’s easy to look back and realize we should have just given her some time, but she had newborn kittens to tend to and if she was sick we needed to know right away-or worse if she’d retained a kitten she’d need help getting it out or she could die, too.

Within a few days we got our answer. Laney passed a ginormous stool and peed a great deal. After that her belly began to reduce in size and she did not require further vet care. Now we could focus on the good stuff, watching the kittens grow, get love from their moms and get their names locked down.

©2014 Foster Mom Moe.

The J’s

Jasper, Julep, Josh, Junipurr, Jules, and Jasmine, some of Laney’s older kittens from a previous litter and some who were from even older kitten’s of Laney’s (can you do that math?) are doing well. Jasper and Julep were chronically sick to the point of us fearing they might not survive their severe flea infestation and upper respiratory tract infection.

©2014 Foster Mom Moe. Jasper (bottom), Julep (middle), Jules (top) look so healthy and vibrant. No more fleas for them!

Now that everyone has been bathed, vetted and fed really good food for over a month, I’m glad to say they are thriving. Moe reports that they are some of the friendliest kittens we’ve ever had and were so rambunctious that Moe ended up opening up her guest room to give the kittens more space to play. They LOVE being out of the confines of a small bathroom and we’re really happy to see their amazing transformations.

Celeste’s & Family

Many of you know that Twinkle-Twinkle, Celeste’s daughter, had an accident two weeks ago [update now 3 weeks ago and the cast just came off!] and broke the “heel” bone of her back right leg. Twinks is confined to a big dog crate for another few weeks as her leg heals. She’s in a cast, but doesn’t let that stop her. Though her first few days were tough, she’s back to her old cheerful self.

©2014 Robin A.F. Olson. Happier times just a few days before Twinkle broke her leg.

Her cage is in my living room so she can be in an area where we all gather and where our cats hang out so she won’t be so lonely. Fluff Daddy is fascinated by her and often reaches into her cage to play pattycake with her.

We’re getting used to the new routine of caring for her and she’s finally settling down. She can get into an outrageously long crying jag if she’s bored, lonely or hungry so we do our best to keep her entertained and happy. That’s not to say I won’t miss it when that cast is off. I can’t wait!

©2014 Robin A.F. Olson. Get Well Twinkle!

Meanwhile, her mom Celeste should have been spayed months ago, but for one reason or another had to have the surgery date changed. Our foster family in a nearby town offered to take Celeste so she can “dry out” her mammary glands and have a safe spay surgery. This also meant I had to take her from her kittens which I did not want to do. I hate when it’s time for our mama-cats to be taken from their offspring, but I know it has to be done.

©2014 Robin A.F. Olson. Celeste looks so much better now. Her fur is soft. She looks a bit plump but in reality she's very sleek. This is a far cry from the pregnant cat who came to into the Kitten Associates rescue program.

In nature the family would go their separate ways to keep their genes stronger and in rescue it’s just how it goes. Rarely do people want to adopt a mother and offspring and in truth some times it’s not such a great Hallmark-card ending anyway. Celeste has gone through being in heat already and she’s been short-tempered with the kittens. She lashes out and growls at them from being so frustrated. She’s also gotten to a point where instead of guarding them she plays with them. They’ll run past her and she’ll grab them, give them a few licks here and there and basically send them on their way. I love to see this but I also know it has to come to an end. I know she'll be all right and they will be, too, but I feel reluctant to do it.

©2014 Robin A.F. Olson. Handsome Hubble.

It’s not fair to the other three kittens, Little Star, Hubble and Astro, to remain in the blue bathroom. It’s just too small and now that they are 14 weeks old, they need more room to spread their wings, but I can’t move them out until Celeste is gone.

©2014 Robin A.F. Olson. Astro and Little Star, growing fast.

So I’ve “done the deed” and the kittens are adjusting to their life with Mia’s kittens and Wallace. There’s some growling here and there but mostly they're all settling in together. Their room is CROWDED, more than I’d like but I added an extra cat tree so they’d have more escape routes. It seems to be helping and so far there haven’t been any fights. I’ve even seen Celeste’s kittens interacting with some of Mia’s. It’s never ideal to put so many kittens together but so far so good.

Next up----whatever happened to Wallace? The kitten rescued out of a wall? What about Junebug, Maggie Mae, our almost 1-year old fosters? Will they ever find a home? And now there's even more news!...stay tuned for part two next.