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For the kitten's fourth week birthday I decided to be an idiot and scare the crap out of them! Hurrah! I'm learning oh so much about fostering kittens; what to do, not do. Today's lesson is: “DO NOT DO THIS.”
The other day I downloaded some iPhone apps that had to do with cats. Some are educational/ reference material about what is toxic to cats or cat health and others are silly and have to do with painting using photos of cats or adding weird things to existing photos of cats (like laser beam eyes). I also got this app called Cat Sounds. It was FREE. It has all of FOUR (free) cat sounds on it, plus some wild cat sounds. Last night I played a few of the sounds and my cats almost slept through them. One sat up and looked around.
This morning, after playing with the kittens and shooting some video, as a MORONIC ACT I decided to (FAIL!) play the sounds. One sound was of a purring cat and another was was titled: “Happy Cat.” April was sitting next to me on the floor. She heard the sounds and looked around, but was basically bored.
I played the Happy sound again. I think it was a cat in heat. The energy in the room shifted. It got quiet. I looked into the bathtub and the kittens had formed a group and were huddled together-TERRIFIED!
Of course, instead of soothing them, I shot a video. Classy move on my part, I know. Fortunately the kittens don't appear to be adversely effected, but one of them is still giving me a funny look ever time I enter the room to check in on them.
Watch the video! It will explain it in a more entertaining way.
It's Sunday. Time to kick back and relax. April's kittens are one day away from reaching their 4th week birthday. They're starting to look more like cats and less like hamsters. Their wobbly legs are getting more sturdy and this week many of them have figured out what the litter pan is for.
I'm still awkwardly attempting to provide supplemental feedings for the smaller kittens, but they don't eat much and so far only Dahlia, who is one of the biggest kittens, has eaten well for me. The kittens are growing and their mass dwarfs their Mother, April as she rolls over to expose her belly so the kittens can all reach a nipple. Every day I see more of the kittens and less of April. I've got to get these kittens starting on lapping at their milk replacer, but so far it hasn't gone well.
What did surprise me was seeing one of the kittens dash over to April's plate of food and give it a lick! It was canned food so I was surprised and it wasn't enough to cause the kitten any issues. I thought that maybe that kitten was hungry and sure enough I got her to take a few syringes of formula.
The kittens are starting to recognize me. At first it was just Cutie who would scramble over to the side of the tub and cry for me to pick her up. Now Dahlia and Sabrina have joined along. They all purr when I hold them. It's a marvelous feeling to hold a tiny kitten and hear her purr and see her relaxed and inquisitive, not fearful at all.
Every day I spend a few hours with the family. I fuss over how clean their bedding is-which I change out every day. I make sure the kittens pee for me after I feed them and they always oblige by lifting their back right leg when I stimulate them to go! It's a very strange sight. I'm beginning to feel like their co-Mother and April seems to understand that. She “talks” to me and the kittens when she's not in the tub with them. She comes over to be petted and is relaxed if I'm holding or feeding the kittens. She trusts me and I'm very careful to honor that trust and not do anything to upset the balance.
I'm starting to change up the kitten's environment to give them added enrichment and also to challenge them. Yesterday I added a small cat scratching post and they all surrounded it with complete fascination. Two of them managed to climb it! I'll post a video of that later this week. Today they enjoyed romping inside a padded cube. I am completely mesmerized by their antics as they clumsily climb in, then fall back out of the cube. I can tell they're having fun and I know I'm helping them become more confident in the world around them.
I'm very grateful the kittens have survived this long. I've heard that when they cut their teeth between weeks 4 and 5 they can suddenly die. Of course I'm completely paranoid about this happening and am very glad I cancelled a trip I was going to take at the end of the week. I need to be home no matter how badly I'd like to take a break and get away. I don't want to lose a single kitten; not on my watch.
The sun is absent today and it's about 30° cooler than it was yesterday. The rains are coming, at last. It's the perfect day to snuggle up with six squirmy, sweet, impossible-to-photograph kittens and savor this special time in their lives.
Last week, our friend JaneA Kelley, lost her dear cat, Dahlia to atypical large-cell lymphoma. It all seemed to happen so quickly, just moments after JaneA moved into her new apartment, her concerns that something was wrong with her beloved cat, that had nothing to do with the stress of moving, came true. JaneA's blog, Paws & Effect, followed Dahlia's life and sudden passing in moving detail. You can read about Dahlia's passing HERE.
Dahlia, along with her kitty-family, Thomas T. Bombadil & Siouxsie Mew are well known to fans of cat blogs around the world, so we all felt great sadness when JaneA posted the news that Dahlia was gone. We lost one of our own.
As a friend, I just wanted to make it better. I hate to hear about cats passing away. I never want any cat to die-that's why I do cat rescue. I wanted to do more than simply say I was sorry or send a card. So, if you'll watch the video posted here, you'll see what I've done in honor of Dahlia's life and these photos will make more sense.
April and her kittens have been here for a few weeks and every day I enjoy seeing them making progress. It's a slow change, from being blind, to opening their eyes, to struggling to stand, to taking awkward steps. Their tiny, sharp cries alert their mama who attends to them constantly. She's a very small cat and regardless of how attentive she is, as the kittens grow, I grow more concerned about her ability to provide for them.
April has been very fussy about her food. I've even gone against my own better judgement and put down grain free dry food for her in case she'll eat it. Right now she has to eat and eat a lot or the kittens will be adversely effected. I've been trying every sort of food I can find, but few things tempt her. She loves fish based food. I don't love that for her, but at this point, she's got to eat.
A few days ago, I brought three of the kittens to my Vet so they could show me how to bottle feed them. I decided if I supplement the smallest kittens it will help them and help mom, too. The problem is getting the kittens to drink the formula.
The entire process of bottle feeding is very daunting to me, but I had to push through my fears. I've never had kids or bottle fed or even seen it been done. I did some research, watched videos. They make it look so easy, but looking down at the 10 ounce lifeform in my hands, wriggling around, not wanting to sit still, realizing she could die if I screw up, is not my idea of a good time.
First problem was getting the formula OUT of the bottle. The rubber nipples are made of some sort of self-healing material so no matter how many times I took a match, heated the tip of a big needle and poked repeated hole after repeated hole into it, I couldn't get the formula OUT. It was VERY ANNOYING. I used a knife, but I could only get a tiny tiny stream out of the nipple if I used both hands to squeeze the bottle.
I was told to try using a syringe, which did end up working a bit better. The problem is it's easy to accidentally shoot a stream of formula into the kitten, which could cause her to aspirate and there's MATH involved..how much does the kitten weigh? How much formula should she have in a day? Her mother is feeding her so she should not be overfed, but what is enough? What if she won't eat it all? The ratio of food to water is 1:2, until they get older than it changes. Weights are in cc's. Syringe is in mL. My scale weighs in ounces! Ugh.
Somehow it worked out kinda…sorta. I started with the littlest kitten. She has bizarre polydactyl toes and has a tiny white spot on her chest. I put her onto a towel on my legs, placing her at an angle so she is sitting up. I tried not to jam the tip of the syringe into her mouth. I almost stabbed her eye. Then I worried I was going to drown her in formula if I pushed the plunger on the syringe too hard. The formula was very warm, but cooling off fast. I had to get this done. She licked at it, then turned her head away from me. I couldn't see where her mouth was because her fur is black and my close up vision is lousy.
I took a breath and relaxed, trying not to panic. She will eat what she will. I'm doing my best. I wiped off her face and tried again. She licked at the syringe, but turned her head again.
I learned how to help her eliminate and I read somewhere that the kitten may not eat because they need to empty out their bladder first. I held her over a few paper towels and lightly rubbed her back end with a warm, most cotton ball. She wriggled and cried, then the pad got a light yellow stain on it and a few drops of urine fell out onto the paper towel. At least I was doing something right. April, alerted to the kitten's distress, sat up and looked at me, ready to pounce. I dried the kitten's behind and showed her that the kitten was fine. The kitten calmed down. I tried feeding her again, but it was like trying to throw a dart into a moving target when you're drunk. Good luck with that.
After what seemed an eternity, the kitten lapped up the contents of a syringe and part of a second one. It comforted me to see her eat. I remembered to tap her back with one finger to help burp her. She obliged me. I gave her a kiss and lifted her wriggling tiny self back into her bathtub home. She joined her sisters who are trying to get fed. Some were struggling to get to a nipple. I grabbed a second kitten who began the process all over again.
I only got three kittens fed before the formula was cold. I decided to make certain I weigh the kittens every day. I have to stay on top of this. With six kittens and a tiny mama, it would be very easy to lose one or more of them. Even at three weeks, they are not out of the woods.
I've been supplementing the feedings for a few days. I'm still not great at it, but some of the kittens will wriggle a bit less and let me feed them. The runt, who I am calling, Cutie, recognizes me when I walk into the room. She runs over to the side of the bathtub and stands up on her hind legs. She furiously scratches her big, clumsy paws on the side of the tub. She's reaching up to me, crying. I lift her into my arms and she quiets down. I think she is bonding with me, her surrogate mother. It melts my heart. Surely she is too young to have any idea who or what I am but I am lost in her expression. Her big round eyes, so dark and sweet, look right into my soul. Her paws, not much bigger than my fingertip, rest on my left hand while I feed her with my right. I am as in love with her as she with me. Here we go again. No foster fail this time. I must remain aloof.
Well…perhaps I'll put off being aloof for a few more weeks and just feel love for this small soul. I'm rooting for her and her sisters (and maybe one brother?). I hope their journey will be a long one, filled with good things and that I'm helping them get off on the right paw, even if it has a crazy number of extra toes of on it.
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Use the ChipIn Widget, below if you'd like to help this family. They'll need vetting (times seven) in the next few weeks and supportive care like cotton balls to help them eliminate, paper towels and cleaning supplies, kitten formula, baby food and new kitten-specific toys. We'd also like to invest in getting a web cam so we can broadcast the kittens on the net! We figure that will add about $200.00 to our fundraising.
If you'd prefer to send a check, please make it out to: Kitten Associates and please note on the check the funds should go to "April's Family" mail it to:
Any funds not used for the care of this family will go into our General Fund.
If you can't make a donation, you can help us by getting the word out. Every dollar helps and every Re-tweet or FB Share does, too. THANK YOU for caring about this very special family!
It's been quite the roller coaster over the past 48 hours since I found out that Amberly had bolted out the front door of her family's home and hadn't been seen again. After her family, myself and many of you worked on getting the word out, the call I made to my friend, Katherine, ended up being the one thing that turned this story around. Katherine met with the family and searched for Amberly. Not finding anything, she left to trap another cat who needed to have his tail amputated. She picked up Leo, who we worked together to rescue last week, and got him to the shelter. [If you recall, Leo is 13 years old. His owners dumped him outside when he peed out of the pan. Then they had premie twin babies which made them decide (due to Doctor's orders!) to get rid of the cat for good!]
Leo.
Leo is better off. Once I saw him, filthy, thin, with bad teeth, I knew he was a diamond in the rough. I got him his initial vetting, then AID covered the cost to have a dental done, some blood work (which was surprisingly perfect!) and an EKG! Leo also got a bath. I can't wait to see him again. I hear he's looking just lovely now.
After Katherine got everything settled, she could have just gone home. It was about 7pm, but something was bothering her. She just HAD to go back and look for Amberly again.
The second time was the charm. She called out to Amberly and heard her meow back! Amberly had somehow got locked in some sort of weird, storage thing, which I still can't understand what it was based on Katherine's description. All I know is Amberly went in, a door got shut behind her and she was trapped. For two days she was across the street from her own home!
Needless to say Amberly's family was thrilled to get her back. I have to admit I considered telling Katherine NOT to let Amberly return home, but to bring her to me. The family had let her get out a few times before and the area they live in is NOT safe for a cat. I was going to think it over overnight, but by the time I reached Katherine to speak with her about it, Amberly was already with her family.
This morning I got an update from the family and a few photos. Once I saw Amberly with her son, Jack, I realized she needed to stay where she was. The family said she was following everyone around, purring, eating like a champ. Clearly she was happy to be home, but I fear she will forget this happiness and try to get out again. I plan on speaking with the family about building her a “catio” or leash train her and take her for a walk. Amberly needs more stimulation, play time, cat grass. All of this can help soothe her desire to get outside.
Bobette has healed from her surgery and Dr. Mixon believes she may always limp, but her leg is now straight when she walks, instead of curved outwards. She seems to get along very well, but after playing for a time, stops wanting to jump. I'm sure she's bored, sitting in her room, alone for most of the day now that Jakey and Teddy are adopted. I only got one application for her so far and it fell through.
There's a lot of pressure to find her a new home. With kitten season here and King and Miss FP waiting in the wings, I need the space. Two days ago I started to leave the foster room door open. Bobette has NOT been thrilled seeing my cats. Though her tail pouffs comically, her growling and hissing is no joke. She hasn't been violent, but she puts on a good show and my cats are giving her space. So far she just stays upstairs. Seeing her outside her room makes me laugh because she's so excited by having room to run. She stops and plays with every toy she sees even though she's nervous about running into my cats. I'm taking it slowly with her, but I hope we can let her mingle my cats so that room can be freed up for the SIX ADDITIONAL kittens I'd like to rescue! (wait 'till you see them!)
I have a lot of guilt about Miss Fluffy Pants. She's in Maria's foster room all by herself. I need to get her out of there, but not sure where to put her. Miss FP's western blot test came back positive for FIV. The only thing we don't know is if she really has FIV or was immunized against FIV, which would show up positive as a test result. Miss FP is in good spirits and Maria tells me she is VERY affectionate. She may be ok with another cat or not, but since King has been moved out of the room, Miss FP has come out of her shell.
I've got to find an additional foster home for her in CT so we can bring her up here and start looking for her forever home. I hate that she's just waiting, but with no room at my home, I'm stuck for now.
King continues to shine bright. He's hanging out with Maria's cats and is loving life. He gets to sleep on a real bed, get good food and is in a loving home. I can't wait to meet King and I hope we can move him north soon. He's already on Petfinder and I've had one or two inquiries, but so far nothing solid.
I'm so glad he's off the streets. King's rescuer, Bobby Stanford, sent me some sobering photos of the palette factory where King and Miss FP were living. The folks who work there asked after the cats and Bobby gave them an update. I think if they could see how gorgeous the cats are they'd be very happy. Though they were kind enough to give the cats what they could. It wasn't ideal for them and they wouldn't have survived much longer in that location-especially King. There was no way he could get around very comfortably or safely.
The good news is there's no need to be sad for King or MissFP. They're in good hands. From the looks of it, King is starting to get a little bit feisty with Maria's cats now that he feels safe. The video below is a hoot! Make sure you watch it to the end!
I forgot how much I worry about kittens! It's been a very long time since I've had kittens this young. Lately I've been fostering them after Maria does all the tough work and the kittens are old enough to be spayed/neutered. Now I get to fret every morning. Will I walk into the bathroom, where the kittens are living, and find one of them gone? Today is day 17 and I still have six kittens. They are all gaining weight. I'm still confused as to which one is which. I believe I have ALL GIRLS, but after using a 8x magnifying lens to look at their private parts, either they ARE all female or I just can't tell one sex from the other.
The kittens all have their eyes open and are starting to look more like cats than hamsters. I think they can sort of see me and I've caught a few looking up at me. It melts my heart. I can't believe in another week or so they will be wobbling about even more and starting to play.
I believe that three of the kittens are polydactyls; one has bizarre shaped paws! The only tuxedo kitten has very cute markings, pink & black toes and likes to squawk when I pick her up. Another kitten has big paws like a bear and always seems to be belly-up. It's about time to name the kittens. I think I may ask for help with that, but first I'm going to get photos of each one to help us with the naming. I've named their mother, April.
Today I noticed that April was dwarfed by her kittens. She's a small cat and with six kittens who are about 11 oz each, it's getting crowded around her belly. She's clearly exhausted and I feel both terrible and worried about her. I feed her many times a day, but some times she just doesn't eat very well for me. I've opted to leave her grain-free dry food so she has something to eat 24/7 even if I'm not a fan of kibble. I hold a plate out to her to eat because most often she's got kittens nursing on her and the poor thing won't get up to feed herself.
Clearly April is devoted to her babies because she still gives me these short little growls when she's not sure about something I'm doing. I don't worry any more that she's going to attack me. She's been nothing but friendly. Some times I rub her neck or scratch her cheeks. She purrs right away and her body relaxes for a moment. I want to take her away from the babies so she can rest, but it's not possible right now. I'm half tempted to start bottle feeding the kittens, but I don't see any of them losing weight or crying. If they are ok and she is just tired, then it will only be another week and a half and I can start weaning them off her. I just hope she can endure this stress. I'm doing everything I can think of to support her.
As Day 17 for the kittens draws to a close, I got the news that our friend Janea from Paws & Effect has to make the difficult decision to put her cat Dahlia to sleep. Dahlia has atypical large t-cell lymphoma that is not responding to treatment and Dahlia has fluid building up around her heart that has to be drained every so often or she will pass away in a lot of pain. It's the most difficult choice any cat-parent has to make. We send Janea all our love and support and ask Dahlia to Fly Free to the Rainbow Bridge when it's time to go, but not a moment sooner.
Although I'm not spending much time with the kittens just yet, mama is coming around and allows me to briefly handle her babies. I think most of the kittens have gained weight. One may have stayed the same, but they are very tough to tell apart. I'll weigh them again tomorrow and jump in and give bottle feeding a try if I think the little guy isn't gaining.
Poor mama. She is clearly exhausted, but I'm supporting her more than the kittens. I feed her many times a day and bring the food to her so she doesn't have to leave the kittens-who seem perpetually attached to her.
The blissful buzz from last week's adventure with Jackson Galaxy, getting the mind-bogglingly-huge donation of cat food from Halo and having the Press here wore off faster than I had hoped. You can't be “that” happy and think that you'll feel that way forever-ain't gonna happen. The only thing was I wasn't prepared for how low I would feel the days to follow.
Tuesday was my birthday. I didn't expect a gala celebration, but I did expect, at least a few cards and a cake. I got FIVE postcards from vendors wishing me a Happy Birthday and issuing me a discount to buy cat food, get my back “cracked” or save on a new outfit at the chubby chick store. Sam made an appointment to take his cat, Nicky to the Vet so I guessed we weren't going out for breakfast as we used to do. We passed each other in the hallway. He wished me a “Happy Birthday,” then left. I found a few cards scattered around the house for me. I opened one. I sighed. Was anything in store for me today? Any surprises? Nothing had happened the weekend before and I knew this coming weekend was Easter so I doubted he would set something up for that time…what gives?
I didn't have time to think about it. Katherine, my so called “friend” (I'm joking and only Katherine knows why. We really are friends, right?), told me about a stray cat living in Trumbull (where I used to live as a kid), who had given birth to what we thought was three kittens, but turned out to be six! I wasn't sure I should take them. I have King and Miss FP in Georgia and Bobette is in the big foster room. I only have one other space for cats so if I took this family, King and Miss FP would have to stay back in GA-which is so not fair to them or Maria.
In the end, I didn't feel like I could sleep knowing those cats were living outdoors. It gets into the 30's at night here and I feared not all the kittens would survive. They were born the night I met Jackson so I took it as a sign and agreed to take them on.
While Sam was at the Vet, I went to another Vet to meet Katherine and pick up the kitties. First, Mama had to be snap tested for FIV+ and Feline Leukemia. We test EVERY cat before the come into the house. Thankfully, Mama was negative/negative, which was very important. If she was sick, that meant her kittens would be, too. If she had Feline Leukemia, it would have been a very bad day for all of us.
Katherine had told me the kittens were black and white, which was fine. I'm slow to take on kittens that are solid black because my rescue is small and black kitties are the last to get adopted. I don't want to get stuck and not be able to help other kittens if I have kittens here for a long period of time who aren't easily adoptable. I wish that wasn't the case and I wish it didn't matter, but it does. Of course, we were not given very accurate information. All but one kitten is black, the other is black and white. A life is a life and these babies would be safe, but I did feel worried that if I couldn't find good homes as soon as they were old enough to be adopted that I'd have these cats forever.
I looked at the bright side. Two of the black kittens are also polydactyl on their front and back paws. Their daddy is a big, black, fluffy poly-kitty. It's the first time I've ever known the sire of any of my cats. From the looks of it, even at just eight days old, two of the kittens were going to be bruisers.
On the way home, I stopped a Luigi's and got myself a few pastries. Luigi's smells like what Heaven should smell like-sugar. I hadn't been there for years and it was a special day so I was going to treat myself. I wasn't even going to SHARE with Sam. So there!
I got the little family tucked into their room. I left them alone so the mama could check things out undisturbed. So began my worrying that one or more kittens would die. Until they are two weeks old they have a 30-40% mortality rate! I kept thinking about Bobette's little ones who died after we rescued them. I wasn't prepared for that to happen again, but the mama is small and with six kittens constantly vying for food, it was a lot of stress on her and on them.
I sent out emails to my rescue friends who've bottle fed kittens and asked for their advice since I've never done it before. I read about ideal weight of week-old kittens and I got my scale ready. I weighed most of the kittens until Mama sat across the front of the scale and growled at me. I didn't want to mess with her kittens too much and have her abandon them, so I left the room.
The first two days were shaky. I wasn't sure she was feeding her babies. Mama began to eat, drink and use the litter pan normally. Slowly, but surely, she let me see her eat, then see her feed her kittens. I was greatly relieved to see her feeding all her kittens, not just some. None of them were cast aside. So far, so good.
Mama came over to me and let me pet her. She was very sweet, but something bothered her so growled and jumped back into the bathtub to sit near her kittens. She's very protective of them and seems to stay close by most of the time. I find that if I bring her food and hold the plate by her mouth, she'll eat while the kittens are nursing. She's eating a lot of food and I just keep it coming. I know the more she gets, the more she can provide.
I'm going to weigh the kittens today since it's been three days since the family arrived. I have to balance bothering the mama with making sure each kitten is gaining weight. This morning, one of the kittens had it's eyes open! Pretty soon all of them will-I hope. At this point, I don't even know what sex the kittens are so I've put off naming them and I think I'd feel better if they were a bit older before I did that.
It's kind of nice to have little ones here. It's been years since I had kittens this young. Usually Maria has them at her house and frankly, I think she's much less of a worry-wort and better prepared to deal with them than I am.
Oh and as for my Birthday, the Birthday that never was…as the hours ticked by I got more ticked off. Clearly nothing was going to happen. No flowers. No surprises. No CAKE! Sam was acting like he was mad at me but I couldn't figure out if it had anything to do with me at all. The only surprise was that nothing was happening. At 7:30PM Sam asked me if I wanted to go out for dinner. I basically exploded at the point and we had a big fight-just what you want to do on your BIRTHDAY. It's not worth it to go into details or ask you to take my side, even if I'm (mostly) right! It was my Birthday and no one should be told mean things on their birthday. I'm sorry but that's just wrong.
Once again, Sam and I walked to the edge of the precipice, but neither of us was ready to jump, though I certainly did fantasize about pushing him over, that's for sure.
I focus on the mama-cat. I focus on work. My birthday was just another day, but it WAS great to be part of saving seven lives that day. Whatever else is going on, I'm numb to. It's a sad place to be, but I hope I find my bootstraps so I can pull myself back up.
This past December, my dear friend, Caroline Golon, mama of the famed, Romeo the Cat, asked me if I could help photograph the delivery of a huge donation of dog & cat food to a few very lucky local shelters. I was glad to help and was curious to see how much food was being donated. I grabbed my nephew, Ryan, who enjoys photography too, and we made our way to Greenwich, CT to wait for the truck to arrive.
When a semi truck arrives, you know this is going to be a big donation. Ryan and I were amazed at how many palettes of food came off the truck for the waiting rescues. I knew that every bag would help keep shelter animals going until they found their forever homes and help the rescues be able to use their funds to cover other things, like Vet bills, instead of having to worry about finding the resources to buy food.
As payment for my services, I was told I could donate 5,000 meals of kibble to MY favorite Non-Profit Animal Rescue or Shelter! Stunned at the thought of that much food, I asked if the donation could come to my own rescue, Kitten Associates.
As many of you know, KA is a tiny rescue (right now!), but we really go through the food because kittens eat non-stop. A case of 12 cans can last a day or two depending on how many kittens we have.
Co-Owner of Halo, none other than the most supremely awesome animal lover, Ms. Ellen DeGeneres
I asked the folks at FreeKibble.com and Halo if we could get canned food instead of kibble, but was a bit scared to know how big that shipment would be. It turns out we'd be getting---2500, 5.5 oz cans of cat food, which, depending on how many cats are in our program, could last us until NEXT YEAR.
If we really were getting almost 900 pounds of cat food, I knew that storing it in my garage would expose it to strong shifts in temperatures and possibly spoil the food. I decided it would be better to grant some of our donation to our friends at Animals in Distress as well as to ship some out to our foster homes in Georgia and to a few select local families-in-need. Even doing all that we'd still have plenty of food for our own foster cats.
There WAS a “little” hitch in our plans which made for an episode of “My Backache From Heck.” The truck wasn't suited to back down the driveway because it wasn't paved. We didn't want the truck to get stuck so we were faced with tearing down the palette, moving each case of food to the garage, then re-stacking the palette in it's new location! Oops!
It took a few hours to get everything moved and I honestly would have moved it miles if I had to, I'm so very grateful to have this donation. It will mean we can use our funds to cover other costs related to rescuing cats and it will give us some breathing room and a little less to worry about. With adoptions down, donations hard to come by and more cats being surrendered and abandoned, it's very uplifting to know that there's a company out there who really CARES and wants to make a difference for cats and dogs across the country.
Because of this amazing donation, this week we'll be rescuing a family of kitties-a mama and her FIVE, 1-week old kittens. Although the kittens are too young to enjoy Halo canned food, their mama will get as much as she wants. It'll help her stay strong, which will give her offspring the best chance at a healthy future. When her kittens are ready, they'll enjoy Halo, too.
“Freekibble.com was launched in 2008, as the vision of then 11 year-old, Mimi Ausland. Mimi wanted to feed the hungry dogs and cats at her local shelter. "There are 10's of thousands of dogs and cats in animal shelters across the country, all needing to be fed a good meal." With this goal in mind, Freekibble was created.
Today, the Freekibble Network reaches over 500,000 passionate pet-lovers. This loyal community has helped us feed over 7 million meals to homeless dogs and cats in shelters, rescues and food-banks across the country.
Thanks to our Official Kibble Sponsor, Halo, Purely for Pets, we are able to donate the highest quality, all natural kibble, for happier, healthier pets while they wait for their forever homes.
All of us at Freekibble are committed to Mimi's original dream that "Every dog and cat deserves a decent dinner". And, we're dedicated to the primary mission of feeding nutritious food to as many shelter dogs and cats as we possibly can.”
On Sept. 3rd of last year, my beloved cat Bob Dole passed away. I needed to do something positive with the energy I felt from the pain of heartbreak. I decided to rescue some orange cats in Bob's honor. A few days after Bob died, as fate would have it, I was contacted about a family in need at a Kill Shelter-all orange tabbies. I took one look and knew that this was my rescue.
The mama, barely 9 months old and her six newborns were all struggling. Mama was underweight at only 4 pounds. The kittens were not getting enough nutrition because the mama wouldn't eat for the four long days she was in the shelter. As a result, within a week of rescue, we lost 3 precious souls. It was my rescue's first loss times three, all passing over the course of 12 hours. You can read more about the early days HERE and HERE.
Though we worried we would lose them all, 3 kittens, all boys, did survive so we named them, Jake O'Lantern (Jakey), Teddy Boo (Teddy) and Mikey D. Cider (Mikey). Their mama, was named after Bob. I called her, Bobette.
Bobette limped. She must have been injured at a very young age, because her leg had grown into a twisted position. We arranged for Bobette to have corrective surgery once the family was ready to come to Connecticut and Dr Mixon did a great job on the difficult repair.
The boys did very well. Without the extra competition for food, they great fat and sassy and began their wobbly walks which turned into refined graceful dances. They were energetic, affectionate and confident warriors in the world. I thought they'd all be adopted in a heartbeat, but once they arrived in Connecticut, I was surprised we didn't get many applications on them. The ones we got weren't up to snuff for one reason or another. I'm fiercely overprotective of my foster cats. I work on being open minded about adopters, but I have to balance that with the fact that Maria, our super foster mama in GA and myself put a lot of time into these cats-with careful attention to their socialization and behavior. I wouldn't work so hard to have stable, sweet kittens, then put them into a home where they would be stressed, fearful and not given the love they deserve.
It took many months but finally Teddy was adopted by a young couple with a big Great Dane. We spent a lot of time talking about separating the two until Teddy and their dog would be acclimated to each other. I warned them that although their dog was trained that she could revert to her basic instincts and that Teddy should NEVER be left alone with the dog.
I checked in with the couple periodically and things didn't sound like they were going too well. After two weeks, I wrote them to see how Teddy was. Apparently, they wanted to return him. Their dog "forgot" her training and went after the poor kitten! Without pause we took Teddy back home and out of danger.
The timing was perfect because Mikey had been adopted by a lovely couple from Massachusetts the night before and Jakey was miserable being alone.
Teddy was reunited with Jakey. You can see the video of their meeting HERE. After a few minutes, it was clear the boys not only knew each other but missed each other. After all that had happened to Teddy, I decided that the boys would HAVE to stay together, no matter what. It would mean saying a lot more "no's" to adopters. If they couldn't say yes to both, then the deal was off.
The boys were BIG and no longer cute kittens. Each day that passed I began to worry a bit more. Soon it would be "kitten season" and there would be plenty of competition, making getting the boys a home would be even harder, but every day I'd see how bonded they were, walking side by side, pressed up against each other as if they were siamese twins. I couldn't break that bond.
An older couple offered to adopt the boys. At last! A good home! But the adoption fell through 10 days after the contract was signed. I was still holding the cats here because one of the adopters had had some surgery and wanted to get the kittens after her recovery. She decided it would be too much…too much nuttiness and she worried her 14 yr old cat and golden retriever would be bothered by the new arrivals (which I had challenged her about from the get go-so I suppose she realized that I had a point).
So the boys stayed with me and as they grew, they stressed out my own cats and drove me crazy. Don't get me wrong, I love those boys, but they wanted more play time and attention and had no patience for meal time. They'd get into everything with a smile on their face, while I was constantly policing them and getting irritated that I couldn't have a few quiet moments to concentrate on work.
I wouldn't give up on them. I just waited for "the application" to arrive.
I got a promising application last week. It was from a very sweet lady who loves her cats. She met all my criteria and had a great vet reference. Sam and I did a home visit and the family went out of their way to show me they were going to do whatever they could to make the cats welcome, keep them safe and provide appropriate care for them. I couldn't ask for more-okay they have no doors on any rooms because they're remodeling their home, so introducing the kittens to their 12 year old cat was going to be "interesting" to say the least.
Yesterday morning, after taking my "goodbye photos" of the boys, the family arrived. They barely walked into the house before both boys ran over to them, sniffing their legs and rubbing up against them. They bent down to pet the cats and they were loving every second. I had them sit down on the floor in a circle. We had some toys and their son played with the cats. He started to smile after awhile and clearly was coming out of his shell. The young boy began to giggle as he got the kittens to jump and chase the toys. The sound lit up the feeling in the house. His mother said she hadn't heard him laugh like that in a very long time. He was very careful touching the cats and somewhat shy about it. His parents watched him, making sure he wouldn't harm the cats. I felt like this was a good fit and it was clear that they did, too.
I usually have reservations about adoptions and I worry that I'm missing something that would tell me not to move forward, but this was so simple and natural. Of course the boys should go with this family. These are the people who should have had them all along. After Teddy was adopted two other times, this third time was the charm. Now he and his brother were guaranteed to stay together always. I couldn't be any happier.
The family packed up the boys and I said my farewell. I thought I wouldn't cry, but instead be happy for them. As the family got into the car, it hit me. I had to turn around and wave goodbye. I hustled into the house and broke into tears. I loved those cats as if they were my own and they were just about the last of my homage to Bob, too. In a way it was like losing him again, but this was a great adoption. After my tears dry I know I'll smile again.
Jakey and Teddy are still here. I don't know why it's been so difficult to find them a forever home. Interest in adopting them together is few and far between. Applications are lacking in ways I can't overlook, if I do happen to get any. Now Jakey has gotten ringworm on his back foot and Teddy has it on his shoulder-at least I'm pretty sure that's what it is…so it means even more time here since they can't go anywhere until they clear up. In the meantime I'm itching to do a rescue, but with Bobette in the big foster room and the boys having to spend the night in their room leaves me no extra space.
I'm already seeing kittens appear on Henry County Care & Control's Petfinder page. It makes me sad and sick. Here we go again. The sense of urgency ramps up. This Animal Control is going to be overloaded any second. Lots of animals are going to die. I sit back and take a deep breath. I'm not the only rescue helping HCC&C, but that doesn't mean any of the cats I read about are safe.
This is NOT BOBETTE! This mama and her babies are ID# 2/18-0416 and need rescue! Contact: mystiblu@bellsouth.net if you are a GA LICENSED RESCUE ONLY.
Things are not looking good for any local Georgia cat who needs help. Between the news of PETA's investigation of Caboodle Ranch in Florida, which alerted the ASPCA to respond to claims that over 700 cats were being mistreated and living in poor conditions. The number of rescues helping with this situation is astounding and includes: Atlanta Humane Society (Atlanta, Ga.); Bay Area Disaster Animal Response Team (Belleair Bluffs, Fla.); Cat Depot (Sarasota, Fla.); Florida State Animal Response Coalition (Bushnell, Fla.); Good Mews Animal Foundation (Marietta, Ga.); Humane Society of Broward County (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.); International Fund for Animal Welfare (Yarmouth Port, Mass.); McKamey Animal Care and Adoption Center (Chattanooga, Tenn.); PetSmart Charities, Inc. (Phoenix, Ariz.); and RedRover (Sacramento, Calif.). Staff from the University of Florida (Gainesville) College of Veterinary Medicine and Maples Center for Forensic Medicine at UF are also assisting with the rescue operation. The news was NOT well received by many in the rescue community who were outraged that the owner of Caboodle Ranch, Craig Grant, was treated like a criminal and is being persecuted unfairly. You can read some of their comments HERE Meanwhile, others claim there are seriously ill and dead cats on the property. Add to that, the news of a hoarding situation of 40 cats in GA means local cats may have a tough time finding a rescue.
I've got to find Jakey & Teddy a home and get them out of here as much as I adore them..I mean they drive me crazy! Now that they're out of their confinement for most of the day, they get bored so easily that they constantly bug me for either attention, food, playtime or food. I had to put them in their room the other night after I counted having to scold them 15 times in 15 minutes…and this is after they had play time and it was 10pm and I just wanted a few minutes to fade out in front of the TV. Apparently the fact that I sit on the loveseat in the living room means they should lie under it with their belly up and rip the underside out of the furniture. You know..for fun. There are a billion toys inches away and they go for the furniture. Hmpf!
Then there's Bobette. What am I going to do with this cat? She was supposed to go over to AID months ago, but I held her back because she needed surgery and I felt responsible to get her healthy before she goes anywhere else. The problem I'm seeing is she HATES her offspring to the point of it being dangerous if they sneak into the room when I enter to feed her. I haven't allowed any of my cats to see her for fears of what she will do. If she won't get along with other cats, that's going to be a very tough sell. I'll have to set up a screen and do a test with my cats. I wonder if it's just her boys she wants to stay away from or all cats. Oh boy...
It's tough to say what is going on with Bobette's leg. I see her every day and changes are not so apparent to me. I can say I've seen her run with more confidence and JUMP! I also notice her pulling her self up onto the bed instead of jumping up on it so is her leg weaker or stronger?s
Three weeks ago Dr. Mixon told me she may still have a “dip” to her gait until he removes the pin in her leg. It's the last thing that will be done and hopefully removing it will allow her to be more comfortable since the pin is right under her skin and I think it is uncomfortable for her.
On Wednesday the pin will be removed. Will I get bitten again? Will Dr. Mixon be the lucky winner? Hopefully we know to go easy with her and will be able to get her lightly sedated enough so Dr. Mixon can quickly remove the last piece of hardware from her leg.
Bobette's fur has grown back. If she didn't limp I would almost not know she had surgery. Her knee has stayed in place, but when I felt her leg it felt terrible. I think it's because I was feeling the nylon sutures that will always be in her leg. At least that's what I hope I'm feeling!
The weather has been odd. It was sunny and in the 50's in February and now that it's March, it's colder and snowy. I feel uncomfortable in my own skin. I want to be free of it and do something. I don't like sitting around when I know cats need help. Behind the scenes I've been doing some things to help other cats, but it's not enough. I miss having teenie kittens around and this is after I promised myself a break.
I suppose having cats that don't require much care is enough of a break. It's almost spring, Kitten Season looms on the horizon. With the weirdly warm winter I fear it's going to be a Hell of an explosion of kittens very soon. Better take it easy while I can.
©2012 Robin A.F. Olson. Baby belly! Squeeeee!
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