daily dose of dogs (aka cats with your coffee)

Five is a Fabulous Number

I had planned not to post today so that the Kitten post from yesterday could run another day.  It still looks like four kittens can go to the shelter this weekend.  We'll keep Dearest and Max here because of eye problems.  Dearest is like an adult in the tiniest body imaginable.  She plays but there is definitely a maturity about her.  Max is such a happy boy.  He romps and runs like there's no tomorrow.  Golden is eating much better now, but still has ribs and spine sticking out.  (I don't know how I'll ever have the heart to pull her away from her beloved mother Luna.)  Soapy will stay here as well.  She was the last to come around, and though she seems to be doing great, I'll keep her a while longer to make sure.  It is absolutely wonderful to see her play. 

So Frosty, Saucer, Trex, and Sweet Pea will go.  We end up calling Frosty "Frosting" because she is so beautiful she reminds us of cupcake frosting.  Saucer got her name because of her giant, round, gorgeous saucer eyes.  Trex is a laid back sweetheart who is a bit of a loner.  Sweet Pea will surely be a talker.  She started off screaming (which worried me initially) and now those screams have muted into gabbiness.  

  Any takers?

The three adult males were neutered yesterday.  More on them very soon in case someone is thinking of adopting an adult.   And more on the three females, two of which have been spayed.

We set the trap last night in an area where the scruffy tortie and kittens have been spotted.  No luck.

I have a handful of blog friends who each have five cats.  I've always thought five was the perfect number of cats.  (Of course, we are a little over that here.  Or should I say alot.)  In households a little more normal than my own, I've always thought having five cats was fabulous.  I am officially making this adopt-until-you've-got-five day.  I have absolutely no vested interest in this new official holiday.  None of the management or employees of the daily dose corporation will profit in any way from this announcement.   Recommendations are purely suggestive and we are not liable for any decisions made in households across the world as a result of this holiday or any of the activities therein.

Dearest and Sweet Pea

                                                                     Trex

Max

                                                                            Soapy

Pictures of all kittens are in yesterday's post.  My email address is c3k@lazernetwireless.net 

Kittens

I’m getting a later than usual start writing today’s post.  I delivered the three adult males from the Fantastic Fifteen to the vet this morning for their neuter surgeries.

I have good news and bad.  The good news is that WE THINK four of the kittens here can go to the shelter this weekend.  The bad news is that there is a new feral group in the same spot that the feral six came from last fall.  If you remember, we got that mom spayed and released.  Her kittens were Leo, Tuxie (now Trixie), Glitter, Cashmere, Spritz, and Mitts.  Now we have a new mom.  The report is that she is a very scruffy tortie with four kittens.  The kittens are older than the eight we have now.  If we take four of the eight to the shelter this weekend and then pick up four feral kittens about that same time, then I’m still loaded with kittens.  The only other option is to leave the new feral five to fend for themselves (which means five will turn into ten and twenty and fifty . . .).  I’m thinking you can guess what I plan to do.  Thank goodness we have Winnie’s Room and the chip-in for the Fantastic Fifteen that recently filled to overflowing.  Have I mentioned how much I appreciate that!!!!!

Today’s objective is to get pictures to all of you of the “Awesome Eight” - the kittens from the Fantastic Fifteen.  (OK, so we’ve got kind of a group name thing going here.)  Goldie, you said in a comment that you would look at the current group to see if any tugged at your heart.  If you are interested in any of these kittens, speak now.  If you KNOW of anyone interested in a kitten, please let me know.  The four healthiest will go this weekend if someone doesn’t dump off a new load at the shelter before we can get there.  Remember, folks.  Kittens can be acclimated into a new environment quite easily.  Although I LOVE to see adult cats get adopted, if you want an easier adjustment period, the thing to do is to grab one of these kittens (OR TWO).

Sweet Pea

Trex


Dearest


Soapy


Golden


Max

Frosty and Saucer

If anyone is considering two, Frosty and Saucer are inseparable.  There are some interesting relationships between some of the others, too.  Dearest and Max play together more than either of them plays with anyone else.  And that sad little Golden has blossomed since her mom (Luna) got here. 

Another picture of Frosty and Saucer together.

 

Here are some pics of Dearest and Max together.





And here is Golden.  If you want to find Golden, just look for Luna. 

Every single one of these kittens is awesome.  The fact that I can possibly send four to the shelter is a relief we desperately need - espcially if we have four feral kittens on the way.   But I would MUCH rather send every one of these kittens to one of you than to the shelter.  I have seen too many kittens grow up in cages and spend their whole lives in shelters. 

Now a shout out to Deb (Taylor Cats) for getting a company to send us cat food.  I plan to do a post better explaining what happened in the next few days.  (It is wonderful!)   A shout out to Virginia (Poupounette Gang) for sending more premium kitten food.    And we received two cases of kitten canned food from somebody, but no name came with it.  Stand up and be recognized, you wonderful person!

If you are considering one of these kittens, let me know RIGHT AWAY.  I don't want to send a kitten to the shelter who might have a potential forever home out there with one of YOU. 

Gabriel's Transport Day

Thank you all for the kind words concerning Bitsy.  She, like Scroungy, had been with us for so many years, none of us can really remember when she wasn’t here.  For sure, this was WAY too close to losing Scroungy and Elfius.  We’d like to take a break from loss for a while.     [Mindy (Slimmer Pugs) - thank you for the donation.  In Mindy's words - This donation is in honor of Bitsy and all other babies that we had to help or could not help over the Bridge.]

So let’s talk about something SO much happier.  Little Gabriel started toward his forever home yesterday.  Originally, Karen and I were working out a transport date for later in the month.  It was looking like June 22 might work.  Karen’s friend, Scott, was coming from Columbus, OH to Indianapolis, IN.  We hoped to find someone who might meet me in Effingham, IL and take Gabriel to Indianapolis.  Then Scott found out he might be called back to work before the 22nd, so Karen had to think fast and shift gears.  When it was all said and done, Scott offered to come all the way to us here in southern Illinois because he needed to do this right away.  This is an extremely long trip for Scott.  He must be a really good friend.  I said that to Scott when I met him on the road.  He said it was Karen who was the really good person.  Considering what she has done for us by adopting, I’d have to second that.

I had kennel business off and on all day yesterday.  But I wanted to help Scott out by driving at least a couple of hours.  We normally get to Effingham which is about an 8-hour day for us (round-trip).  It takes quite a bit of preplanning for me to be away for that long.  It was impossible to do that yesterday, but I hoped to go a couple of hours towards Scott and then get home, all in about a four-hour period of time. 

Everything dropped neatly into place, and we took that precious sweetheart Gabriel to Scott.  I had been emailing Karen with updates about the new little Monkey.  You might remember that when we took Gabriel back into our home after our vacation (to wait for his transport day), we wanted to bring along another kitten from his group so that he would not suddenly be all alone.  The foster mom had worried that something might be wrong with Wendy because she was not growing like the others were.  She seemed to be staying so tiny.  We decided to bring Wendy so that we could observe her for a while.  We settled Gabriel and Wendy in a large cage in my kennel office, and Karen and I started planning.

Gabriel’s eyes and nose continued to run off and on like they had been doing since he came back to life.  The drainage was always clear, except for a couple of times, and he seemed to feel great.  No one could figure out just exactly what was going on.  (Karen is going to check with her vet when Gabe gets to her.)  Wendy also seemed to feel great.  She was, in fact, smaller than the others from that flood litter, but by all indications, there was absolutely nothing wrong with her.  So the two lived in the office, and played with each other, and slept with each other, and ate with each other.  No doubt, they were buddies.

We didn’t worry about how this would affect Wendy when Gabriel finally got to leave because she would be returned to the shelter and she would go in with the group she had always been with.  What we didn’t expect was what happened instead.  Just when I was being notified by Karen that Scott would need to do the transport earlier than expected, a development was occurring at the shelter.  Because Wendy was “the property” of the shelter but was not actually physically there, her picture had been placed on the bulletin board.  On Saturday, while Older Daughter was working, a couple came in looking for a long-haired kitten.  There were two or three in the shelter (whom they met)  and they looked at Wendy’s picture.  After some debate, they chose Wendy.  Older Daughter came rushing home to snatch up little Wendy and take her back to her new forever family. 

Later, we talked about how the timing couldn’t have been better since little Gabe would be leaving on Monday.  But little Gabe was heartbroken.  He simply was not happy in that cage without his Wendy.  He cried a lot and reached through the bars at me as I flew in and out of the office working.  Every time I sat at the desk to make phone calls or do paperwork, I let Gabriel out of the cage to be with me.  Normally, he would play on the desk, making it much more difficult to do what I needed to do.  But cute!  Oh, how cute!  He also developed a habit of patting my face when I picked him up to give belly kisses.  What a kitten! 

Yesterday, Younger Daughter and I drove a couple of hours north to meet up with Scott.  We turned little Gabriel over and sent him on his long journey to his new Canadian home with The Monkeys.  A little kitten, lying in the road, completely motionless but still breathing.  That should have been the end.  But someone picked him up and took him to the shelter.  He was put in a carrier on a blanket where he would have stayed all night.  And that should have been the end.  But Older Daughter brought him home.  Gabriel literally came back from that place just before death and returned to life.  Because of Karen, he will now have a REAL life.  He will not grow up in a shelter cage.  He will be one of The Monkeys. 

Some pictures from the trip.

Our Bitsy Has Gone to the Bridge

Last week was a week full of cats and kittens - fifteen new ones to be exact.  On June 2nd, Older Daughter discovered the fifteen - 6 adults and 9 kittens.  As you would expect, I have spent countless hours with this group ever since.  Over that same weekend, however, I was dealing with another issue, too.   At the time, I thought we had a minor health issue with our own cat Bitsy (Little Bit).  It was not until Thursday night that I became truly worried.  And by Saturday morning, it was all over.

Our Little Bit has been with us for nearly fourteen and a half years.  She was quite a rescue story.  You can read about how we came to have Miss Bitsy in the ARCHIVES.  Bitsy lost an eye in April of 2010 and I told about it on the blog (4/17/10).  The two posts that followed are her rescue story (April 20 & 21, 2010).

Bitsy has been on a special diet for over a year.  Our other kitties free-feed at night, so when we go to bed, Bitsy goes to the upstairs bathroom, where she can only access her own food.  She has her own litter box in that room, so it isn’t difficult to monitor her stool.  Over the weekend of June 3 & 4, I noticed that stool to be smaller and more compact.  By Monday, I was thinking that Little Bit was constipated.  I called the vet and the assistant gave us some things to try and that if we came that way, to stop and pick up some laxatone.  On Tuesday, my husband stopped and got the laxatone and we gave it per our instructions - very large doses for three days.  That was Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  I was worrying a little more now because even the laxatone wasn’t making any difference at all.  I decided on Thursday afternoon that I would call Friday morning to see if I could get Bitsy in for an appointment.  Then Thursday night, she seemed really lethargic.  I laid on the bathroom floor with her that night for a long time and stroked her and talked to her.  She didn’t really respond which was very unusual.  I would report this behavior to the vet tomorrow as well.

When I got up and checked on Bitsy first thing Friday morning, I was horrified at what I found.  Her abdomen had swelled overnight.  I told myself it was bloat from the constipation.  But I could feel that sense of dread.  I got Bitsy in before noon.  Younger Daughter went with me.  We got our wonderful Dr. A.  She was almost immediately alarmed because she knew the abdominal swelling was fluid.  She told us straight away that this was not good.  During the course of the examination, she explained that for fluid to accumulate in her abdomen so quickly, we were dealing with failure of some type inside that little body.  As she palpated, she discovered what she believed was a tumor.  She took a sample of the fluid from her abdomen.  I could see that the fluid was not clear - it was pink.  The slide under the microscope gave us the news - blood in the fluid and cancer cells.  At the end of what seemed like a l-o-n-g examination, we were given a list of four diagnoses.  Dr. A explained that she often sees two, three, or even four of these conditions show up altogether in an aging cat.  The fact that Bitsy’s symptoms came on so suddenly meant that her condition was acute and we would see a rapid decline.

As Younger Daughter and I stood there in shock, Dr. A said she could buy Bitsy maybe another month with several medications.  It would mean poking four to five pills down Bitsy’s throat every day, plus two injections a day.  We would need to leave her at the vet’s office for about three days to begin with so that they could start Bitsy on IV meds, keep her hydrated, and drain the fluid from her abdomen.  Bitsy HATES to be at the vet’s office and HATES to be away from home.  She is also the absolute worst cat we’ve ever had in terms of taking medications.  This cat even fought us like crazy over eye meds and ear drops/cleaning. 

Dr. A said that because Bitsy was over 14 years old, we might not want to put her through that.  She said if she had only one or two of the conditions listed, and she was a six year old cat, it would be worth trying some things.  Bitsy could not come back from this.  We could buy her a few weeks but they would NOT be quality weeks.  Dr. A said she could euthanize at that time if we chose to.  We could take comfort in the fact that Bitsy had felt good and been herself until just a week ago.  She left us (Younger Daugher and I) alone to talk about it.

At first, we both just stood there, staring at Little Bit.  I had read on the internet that a vet could give a cat an enema.  I thought we were coming to figure out what to do about the constipation.  Now here we were, faced with that horrible life or death decision.

When I finally started talking, I saw that Younger Daughter had already teared up.  As the tears then spilled down my face, we tried to decide what to do.  There would be no reason to force meds for a month only to just keep Bitsy alive.  And to leave her there . . .  she would be so afraid.  We knew what the decision needed to be.  But how could we just let her go, just like that.  We needed time to wrap our minds around this.  We needed time to say goodbye.

When Dr. A returned, I asked if we could take Bitsy home and come back the next day to assist her to the Bridge.  She said absolutely.  The next day was a Saturday, but she and Dr. O would be there during the morning.  We put Bitsy in the crate and headed home.

The drive home was very quiet.  My husband was at a golf tournament and Older Daughter was at work.  Unfortunately, I had lots and lots of kennel business to deal with on Friday evening.  I tried to paste on a smile and greet the people as they came and went with their pets.  I had emails to send and arrangements to make.  I just kept moving forward.  I was sharply aware of time.  It was ticking. 

Each of us said our goodbyes.  By Friday night, Bitsy could no longer pull herself up to stand.  Dr. A had said she would decline rapidly.  That night I gave Bitsy a small bowl of milk.  This was a cat that had been trying to get in our cereal bowls and glasses of milk for years.  We don’t give our cats milk; she was never given the milk she coveted so.  I held her in a sitting position and our sweet Bitsy lapped up that milk.  I was so glad I gave it to her. 

On Saturday morning, I made that terrible drive.  I had Bitsy in the crate that opens from the top and I kept it open and kept my hand on her the entire way there.  I talked to her continuously.  Dr. O (who was my vet on the morning I let my Scroungy go) was the vet who assisted Bitsy to the Bridge.  He is so kind and compassionate and takes this part of his job so very seriously.  I was glad it was him.  And then it was over.

Bitsy is buried beside Scroungy and Elfius.  I told her on the way to the clinic Saturday morning that she would soon be freed from that body.  I told her she would see lots of friends at the Bridge.  I told her to run and bounce and that I would see her again.

Bitsy - farewell.           

Gray Day

This is a special post because I am hoping to draw attention back to the kitties who have been living in the cathouse for a while now.  I had planned to do a post called Gray Day when we returned from our vacation because the ENTIRE remaining cathouse gang was gray.  You might remember that when my sister and brother-in-law were here for Older Daughter’s graduation, they adopted and took back home with them THREE of our kitties: Alice, Possum, and Handsome.  I was thrilled to see each of these get chosen because Alice and Possum had been here too long, and Handsome is one of those poor black kitties who never gets chosen.  It was amazing to have THREE go all at the same time into a wonderful home.  The first trip to the cathouse after they left that morning put us in shock.  We stepped into that cathouse and were greeted by gray - nothing but gray.   So the decision was made to put those grays on display in the hopes that someone would fall in love. 

Then came the Fantastic Fifteen.   As the girls and I were talking, somebody said - Well, now we have a handful of boys again.  We all stopped and realized - not only was everybody in cathouse #1 gray, but all were girls as well.  There are the two matriarchs, Circe and Tibby Bean.  They live there full-time and sort of run the place.  They also act as the welcoming committee.  Then there are the “feral” four.  These four girls started out as a group of six feral kittens that we took in last fall.  Their tuxie sister was adopted by Amy (House of Cats) and their only brother, Leo, by Andrea (Celestial Kitties).  The four who remain are girls . . . and gray:   they are Spritz, Mitts, Cashmere, and Glitter.   The seventh cat in that room is Tulip.  Tulip joined the gang more recently after we took her in as a pregnant mom-to-be who nearly died trying to give birth. It was a rough road back, but she is now a healthy kitty living as one of the Gray Girls.  

There is also Daphne (not a gray), our beautiful lovebug calico who is FIV-positive.  She has been living in a cage.  I cannot expose her to the incoming cats and kittens as I never know what illness the new rescues might have or be carrying.  And I haven’t freed her into the gray girl population because I don’t want anyone out there who might have adopted from us to fear doing so because an FIV+ kitty has been in the mix.  Cheri (Cats of Wildcat Woods) has been working tirelessly to find a home or rescue for Daphne.  Deb (Taylor CatSSSSS) did an entire post about how taking an FIV+ kitty into a family of other cats is NOT in fact dangerous.  We do need a home for this sweetheart.  I would keep her in a heartbeat if I could.  When I take her out of her cage to hold her each morning, she cuddles against me in a koala position and hangs on.  She kisses me and smashes her nose into my face and head bumps me over and over.  I hold her really close and talk to her.  She listens intently.  All she wants is love.  I just don’t know if I can send her to a rescue.  I guess I will, if one ever accepts her because she shouldn't be living in a cage.  But what I wish she had more than anything is a real home with a human who would love her deeply and forever.

If any of these Gray Girls is someone you could love, let us know and we’ll start planning.  If anyone out there might adopt Daphne, you will never be sorry.  She is a gentle sweetheart that I sure wouldn’t want to see live out her life in a rescue.  And then there are the Fantastic Fifteen (now Fourteen since Aeon was accepted into the shelter).  If you live anywhere along the northeast route to Canada, we can get one of these precious ones close enough for you to grab.  [MAJOR CHANGE:  GABRIEL WILL BE LEAVING HERE THIS MONDAY - JUNE 13.  IF YOU LIVE ALONG THE ROUTE GABRIEL WILL BE TRAVELING AND WANT TO ADOPT, PLEASE CONTACT ME ASAP.]  If you cannot make a decision as quickly as this weekend or do not live along this route, don’t forget Deb’s offer to fly a kitty to someone.  And keep in mind that we can set up transports to just about anywhere.  I hope you’ll consider adopting one of our sweeties - you’ll be glad you did! 

You can see Daphne on the CB.  Her story is on my blog in the ARCHIVES - May, 5/4/10. 

Now here are the Gray Girls with their descriptions.

Spritz.  Polydactl.  This girl still has issues.  She will require someone with patience.  She loves us and wants attention, but lots of things still spook her.  I don’t want her to end up as a lif-er like Tibby and Circe.  She needs a home where she will be allowed to come around in her own time, with lots of reassurance, patience, and love.

Mitts.  Polydactl.  She is completely friendly - nothing left of the feral background.  We fought for weeks to bring her back from near death this past winter.  She is a sweetheart who will fall in love with her new parent(s), and she easily gets along with all other cats.

Cashmere.  A long-haired beauty with a slight streak of mischief.  This one still hides when we open the door, but she comes out when she hears our voices.  I believe Cashmere will require patience at first, but will come around pretty easily.  

 

Glitter.  Another long-haired beauty with a giant floofy tail.  She wears white eye-liner which makes her face absolutely stunning.   This girl is completely friendly - nothing left of the feral background.

Tulip.  This one demands attention.  She has an underwater-sounding purr and she peeps  and talks to get your attention.  She runs to the door to greet us every morning.  

You can read the rescue story of the ferals throughout October 2010 (ARCHIVES), starting on October 8.         

There is a story about Tulip on May 5, and a story about Daphne on May 4.  Also, there are posts scattered all throughout the month of April about Tulip and Daphne, and even about Mitts, Glitter, Spritz, and Cashmere.

OK, CB.  Start your engines.  Take a look back at the Fantastic Fourteen and memorize this post about our Gray Girls (and Daphne).  Can you find us some homes?



     

The Fantastic Fifteen

Pam wrote in a comment that she’s calling this group the Fantastic Fifteen because she expects nothing less than fantastic things for them.  As with many of Pam’s previous nicknames, this one stuck.  So The Fantastic Fifteen it is. 

Just last night, there was real improvement in three of the four kittens that I’ve been most worried about.  On Tuesday, I saw Dearest try to play a little bit.  Well, last night she really got down to business.  Two of the kittens, Frosty and Saucer (who are ALWAYS together), have felt like playing for a while now.  Miss Dearest walked over to where they were playing and sat right down to watch.  She watched for a while and then I guess it got the best of her.  She batted at them as they bounced close to her. Then, all of a sudden, she jumped straight up into the air, all four feet off the ground, and landed in a slightly different spot.  Frosty and Saucer never even noticed her, but she must have felt like she was playing with them because she started skipping sideways and running around in a tiny little circle only about six inches from where the other two played.  She got completely wild, raced away, and then raced directly at the playing pair and landed right in the middle of them.  This shocked everybody, including Dearest, so much that all three took off in different directions.  My heart lit up enough to illuminate the night.  Later, she even had a go at the circle-and-ball game.  Dearest was in such terrible shape when we took her in that my true belief was that we would lose her.  I’ll wait to officially announce her health, but I think we may be on the way.

Dearest, then.

                                                                           Dearest, now.

Little Sweet Pea follows me around in Winnie’s Room.  Wherever I stop, she stays at my feet, looks WAY up at me, and screams.  She screams and screams and screams.  Of course, she knows I’m the formula-feeding lady.  She does not “wait patiently” for her turn.  But even if I feed her first, and even when she can’t possibly want any more formula, she screams at me anyway.  This worried me at first.  I felt like she must feel bad, or hurt, or still be hungry.  But I think I’ve decided that Sweet Pea is simply a screamer.  I guess this could mean she is a talker.  She may become one of those cats that follows mom or dad around talking.  Or maybe in such a large group as the Fantastic Fifteen, Sweet Pea has just decided this is the way to get noticed.  

                                    That's Sweet Pea towards the back  -  screaming.

There hasn’t been much improvement in Soapy.  A couple of you have asked about the name.  Let me explain.  You know we have a cat named Suds.  It’s a long story, but basically, we fostered a kitten that we named Bubble who had the failure-to-thrive condition.  She died, but she actually was the reason that we then ended up fostering another dying kitten.  We named this second kitten Suds, in honor of Bubble and after a l-o-n-g, trying struggle, Suds lived.  We adopted him, naturally.  (That was back in the days when we had only a handful of kitties.  Was that another life?)  Anyway, Soapy is colored up SO much like our Suds, that we had to have a name that continued the tradition.  Bubble, Suds, now Soapy.  I can only hope that Soapy follows Suds’ path and not Bubble’s.

Now about Golden.  I must tell you about the mom cats in order to tell you about Golden.  When we examined the three moms, we discovered that one of them had severe mastitis.  (I have now learned a lot about mastitis.)  Older Daughter gave me the initial information, and the vet finished educating me.  There are three types of mastitis:    

Septic mastitis is when the nipples have been opened up to infections or an ongoing infection in the cat’s system is carried in the bloodstream to the mammary glands.

Acute septic mastitis is when the mammary glands become so infected they abscess.

Non-septic mastitis occurs if there is milk in the mammary glands, and the teats are blocked, or the kittens are not around to relieve the pressure.  The queen’s milk accumulates in the glands.  This is more likely if the queen has been nursing a large number of kittens and the kittens are pulled off too early.  In our haste to get the kittens out, we had left mom with no one to nurse. 

So we had a mom with non-septic mastitis.  The vet explained that relief could be provided by putting the kittens back with the mom.  But first, we were to express some of the milk.  If it was of normal consistency, white, and odor-free, it would be safe to let the kittens nurse.  We checked and all seemed good.  When we introduced mom to kittens, she dropped to her side and several of the kittens piled on.  What happened next was interesting (and sad).   Three of the kittens didn’t approach.  These were Aeon, Trex, and Golden.  Aeon was past that stage.  But Trex, and especially Golden, are too thin and still very much babies.  As mom nursed the six, Trex and Golden stayed back.  Later, when we introduced the other two moms, Trex and Golden went to the calico mom.  She has no milk, but they followed her around anyway.  Trex quickly tired of this.  Golden, however, doesn’t leave this mom’s side.  Even with all of the formula-feeding and special attention, Golden had seemed not to have a real will to live - until calico mom joined the group.  Golden has perked up considerably, and literally follows this mom everywhere.

                                            I LOVE this picture.  Mom (Luna) and Golden.

  The nursing mom is named Stella.  We made an executive decision to cancel her spay surgery for today.  At the vet’s advice, we will allow her to nurse the babies.  This will provide extra nutrition for the kittens, and we can SLOWLY wean them away so that mom will not suffer in the process.  Today’s spay date for the other two moms is still on.  Older Daughter delivered them this morning and then headed to work.  We will pick them up tomorrow.   (I’ll have to explain to Golden that her favorite mom kitty in the world WILL be back.)

                                                                   Stella and entourage.


The Fantastic Fifteen (which is how we will forever remember this gigantic group) has actually become the Fantastic Fourteen.  Aeon went along with Older Daughter this morning to the one and only open spot in the shelter.  I hope she doesn’t grow up there.  Let’s all hope she gets adopted really soon.

Now to the males.  They will all be neutered next Wednesday.  We have two orange & white, and one black/tabby stripe & white.  We’re just getting to know these boys.  We already have the possibility of a home for one - the one with the most orange.  The shelter has so many cats that it is scary.  But they have no orange males.  There was a request in for an orange male and since Older Daughter works there, she was made aware of the request.  It is possible that our more-orange boy will have a home waiting as soon as he recovers from his surgery.  Our other orange guy is needy and stays as close as he can to one of us when he is out of his cage.  The black & white is so young that all he does is play when he’s out.  I’m guessing he is less than a year old simply because of his insatiable need to play.  Here are the boys.

Tomorrow is Gray Day.  This is a special post.  Let's all hope it does what I'm hoping it will do.

See you then.

     

Pictures

If you’re like me, just LOOKING at animals generates joy.  You’ve all done so much for me that I wanted to give you pictures today.  So I sat in the floor of Winnie’s Room last night and tried to capture the beauty of this group.   

But before I write anything else this morning, let me say this.  I typed the sentence: “All of you are keeping me buoyed.”  I wondered if that was the term I really wanted, so I looked it up.  Webster tells me “to buoy” is - to uplift the spirits of, to cheer, to hearten.  Yep.  That was definitely the right word.  I check email throughout the day - five minutes here and five minutes there as I can.  My blog comments load on the blog itself but also individually as emails.  As I’m running around all day, I’ll stop briefly to read a thought or sentiment that someone has left, and I feel the connection.   I am completely overwhelmed with this rescue.  Fifteen cats and kittens is WAY more than my tiny little rescue operation can handle.  But I know that ALL of you out there will agree when I say this - Every single one of these fifteen cats and kittens is an individual with a personality and each one deserves love.  Every single one of them.  So, in honor of all of you, whose financial and emotional support is keeping me “buoyed”, I am focusing on the positive things.      One, as some of you noted, it was fate that my daughter ended up going to the “friend’s” house to begin with.    Two, she got out of there with every kitten that very night.  Three, though we are far from out of the woods, none of the kittens has slipped away yet which means they have all had the opportunity to live a few days free of fleas and with love and nourishment.   Four, the rescue of the adults went better than it certainly might have.   Five, entirely because of you, I have the money NOW to get surgeries and vet care.  Six, I have all of you supporting me with your comments, best wishes, prayers, and positive energy.  Seven, there will never be another kitten produced by this group of six adult cats - think of the numbers they could have produced (and the suffering that would have followed).  And finally, we wouldn't be able to do what we're doing right now if it weren't for Winnie's Room. 

It is difficult and sometimes impossible to keep kittens alive who have had such a rough start in life.  So many of you have written to me that you are praying hard for the survival and health of these babies.  Donations came in like wildfire, even after I reached the goal I had set.  Just this morning, I read the comment attached to a new donation.  Susanne wrote - I see you have more than what you originally asked for.  My donation is only $–, but please use it for any of the expenses for any of the kitties that need it.  Sentiments like this are amazing.  So many of you did just what Susanne did.  And at least a couple of times, someone has left me a comment about putting the rescue story on Facebook or Twitter.  I’ve received comments and donations from people I never knew before this rescue.  I feel like we’ve broadened our outreach - which could mean more opportunities for wonderful homes now and into the future.  If I could, I would acknowledge EVERY donation and EVERY supportive comment right here in this post.  But you know who you are (and I know who you are).  Thank you to every single one of you for your support!!

We are beginning to name the kittens.  The four I have been most worried about are Dearest, Golden, Sweet Pea, and Soapy.  Just yesterday, Dearest played a little and Golden groomed herself briefly.  Sweet Pea looks WAY up and screams at me every time I walk in the room.  (At least she has the energy to scream now.)  And Soapy is just not coming around.  Any of these four could fail at any moment - I’ve seen it too many times before.  We just keep working and hoping.  The other five kittens are doing really well.  The older one (we think about two months old) was the healthiest all along.  I imagine that she was the only survivor from her litter, so she must have been strong from the beginning.  Her name is Aeon.  There is a cage at the shelter where Older Daughter works that has room for four kittens, and one of those four got adopted.  So Aeon can go to the shelter because that one space is available and because she is healthy.  Speak now if she touches you.  Otherwise, she will go (tomorrow, I hope) to the shelter.

We are just beginning to know the adults.  I said only one of the females is skinny, but they are actually all under weight.  The males’ weights are much better.  We can’t figure out why unless it was because they were eating somewhere else in this little town.  I have more to tell you about the adults, but I’m going to stop typing and get back to work.  The rest of this post will be pictures.  (I don't have pics of the males yet.   Soon.)  I wish you could know these kittens like I do.  They are WONDERFUL.

The kittens.  There are seven girls and two boys, we think.  (Sometimes it's hard to tell at this age.)

 

Max

Frosty and Saucer.

Trex


Sweet Pea and Dearest


Golden and Dearest


Soapy

And this is Aeon.
      




Here are the moms.  The one in the tunnel is still afraid of us.







Please keep in mind that Deb (Taylor Cats) left a comment yesterday offering to get a cat to a forever home through the airlines - even overseas.  Please don't let distance stop you.   (Deb, you've got a shout out coming very soon for the food!)

SUCCESS

We did it!  All six adults are with us.  And - all nine kittens are still with us, too.

The rescue of the adults went smoothly.  The people didn’t want the cats so they actually helped us get them loaded up.  I had worried that we might arrive and find that we had to “talk” these folks out of the cats.  I also worried that there would actually be more than six.  But all went as planned.  We got them home and started examining them.  We do not believe any of the three females is pregnant - two of the three were the moms of the nine kittens and were still nursing (or trying to).  We cannot yet figure out why the third female had not been pregnant with the other two.  She is the most timid of the girls, so we haven’t been able to look her over very well yet.  One of the two mom cats has mastitis and it looks firmly established.  If she has, in fact, had the condition for a while, that would help explain why the kittens were starving.  There might have been only one mom cat who was actually able to nurse the nine kittens.  My guess is that the kittens belonging to the mastitis mom are the ones that are such skeletons now.

The males actually look pretty good.  It doesn’t look like they have been fighters.  They had been straying around in this tiny little town, apparently finding enough to eat because they are not bone-thin.  The biggest issue (besides everybody being unspayed and unneutered!) is the flea infestation.  All six adults were as flea infested as the kittens.   In this part of the country, fleas are a BIG problem.  So most of the rescue cats & kittens, dogs & puppies we take in have fleas.  The flea infestation in this group was atrocious.  I bet each animal was carrying around 50 to 100 fleas.  The adults are slightly anemic.  Nothing like the anemia in the kittens, but enough that we will add liver to their diets for a while. 

Appointments are already scheduled for the three females.  They go to the vet on Thursday.  We set that up before we even had the cats in our possession.  I will call today to get the males set up now that I actually have them here.  I will get pictures and descriptions of these six sweeties on the blog very soon . . .  because I have a new mission for you.  I MUST tell you a story now because I need your help.

Just before our wonderful, amazing, restful, paradise-like vacation (merely a dim memory now - smile), Older Daughter brought home a group of six flood victim kittens plus one coma kitty that we named Gabriel.  No one expected Gabriel to live - in fact, my daughter brought him home that evening so that he could die in the presence of love instead of all alone in the shelter that night.  But Gabriel lived.  He joined the six and they slowly got healthier.  Just before we left for vacation, I posted that they had been delivered back to the shelter.  As soon as they were returned, they were registered and became the “property” of the shelter.  Once registered, any adoption is through the shelter by way of application, approval, fees, etc.  Something happened, however, just before our vacation.  Someone in blogland contacted me about Gabriel.  This person described a deep connection and told me that if Gabriel lived, she wanted him to become one of her . . . .    Monkeys.  Yep.  The Monkeys (in Canada) wanted to bring Gabriel into their group. 

Things had been crazy and chaotic at the shelter on that fateful day when so many flood victims were coming in.  My daughter had snatched up the six plus one and brought them home to be cared for more stringently by us.  In all of the confusion and busy-ness, none of the seven had been registered to the shelter.  So when Karen (The Monkeys) contacted me about Gabriel, I sent Older Daughter to ask the Director if Gabriel could be ours to adopt out.  She, of course, said yes.  That was one less kitten they had to find a home for.  When the kittens went back to the shelter, my daughter registered everybody.  Everybody except Gabriel. When we got back from vacation, we retrieved Gabe and brought him here.  We planned to bring a “sibling” from his group along with him so that he wouldn’t be alone while he waits to head to his forever home.  The little girl we named Wendy came along for company and the two are happily playing in my kennel office.  In the meantime, Karen and I have been frantically making our plans.

Here is where I need your help.  We need two things.  We have the transport route planned and taken care of except for one leg of the journey.  CB - is there anybody out there who could get Gabriel from Effingham, Illinois to Indianapolis, Indiana?  One of Karen’s friends can get to Indianapolis, and I can get Gabriel to Effingham.  We need a connection person between those two places.

Second.  With a kitty going such a long distance to his forever home, that long path could be the route for another kitty (or two or three) to be delivered to his or her own forever home.  Our greatest hope would be for someone anywhere along this path to consider adopting a somebody from us whom we could send along on this transport.  This path will include Illinois, northern Indiana, northern Ohio (Michigan could come down), upper Pennsylvania, New York and into Canada west of Kingston and on to Montreal.  Is there anybody out there who would consider adopting one of our adult kitties?  This rescue of fifteen, along with the eight we already have in our cathouse, is too many.  We need homes.  If anybody anywhere along this route knows of an amazing home, PLEASE contact me or Karen.  Taking an adult from us at this point would be an amazing gift to that kitty and to us.  But it is also a gift to any future needy cat or kitten out there yet to cross our path.  It’s only the first of June.  There will be more needy ones in our immediate future.  Even one home would make a difference.

Tomorrow, I will update you on the kittens and the new adults.  And before the week is over, I will do my Gray Day post (which I had planned weeks ago) to re-introduce you to our current crop of gray girls.  It might be that somebody out there just has to have one of those girls.  (I sure hope so.)

I still have not stopped reeling over the chip-in.  We put $60 worth of flea meds on the adults last night.  We capstarred the kittens and will have to do so again (not a cheap product).  We have the three spays scheduled, and I will schedule the neuters today.  Your donations are helping SO much.  And as I told a friend in an email - not one dollar that comes in here as a donation goes to waste.  The costs of rescue work are enormous.  They cannot rescue themselves.  These furry babies that we save are 100% dependent on us for their health and safety.  CB,  I remain IN AWE of what you’ve done here. 

Thank you for your comments on the blog as well.  The emotional support helps to sustain me when I get so very tired physically and emotionally.  I am grateful at this point to have all of these fifteen in our care - I do take joy in providing for these helpless creatures.  Knowing that there can be no future litters that would have gone the way of the current nine kittens brings such relief.  And if I can just keep these nine precious little babies alive, they will hopefully spend the rest of their lives in the arms of love.  My hope is that these six adults will have that opportunity as well.

If you can help with transport or with adoptions, please contact me.  You can leave a comment on the blog or email me at c3k@lazernetwireless.net .

I will leave you with a picture of the angel Gabriel - who has been chosen.

If you have donated or emailed, and I have not emailed back, please know that it is because I have barely five minutes here and there just to read my mail.  As soon as things slow down a little, I will start getting some emails out.  Until then, I hope you understand.
 

The Fifteen

Oh, my gosh, you wonderful people!!!    As I reluctantly added the Chip-In to my sidebar on Saturday morning, I had mixed feelings.  I hated to ask for help.  But I also knew that I DID NOT have the resources to take on fifteen cats and kittens.  And I knew, for sure, that I could not turn my back on that nightmare.  I posted about 10am Saturday morning.  As you might imagine, between this being my busy season at the kennel and nine new sick kittens to care for, I was a little stretched for time.  I wasn’t checking my blog comments or the chip-in.  I can’t remember at what point I finally checked, but as the comments were loading, a huge smile started spreading across my face.  There you all were, leaving your comments of support and chipping in to help me do this.  Late in the day, I checked again.  More comments.  More donations.  Before Saturday was even over, the goal I had hoped to get close to over the next couple of weeks had already been reached.  My hope had been to maybe get close to the amount it would take to get the six adult cats altered.  I figured that if I had to borrow some money initially then that’s what I would do so that those adults did not have a chance to become pregnant again.  I hoped that maybe some money would come in over the next couple of weeks to pay back for the spays and start working on the neuters.  Now, because of your generosity, I can get ALL of the surgeries scheduled ASAP.  My daughters and I are planning to go to the property TONIGHT when Older Daughter gets off work to get the adults.  Please cross your fingers that we will be able to come out of there with all six adults.  I’d just rather go ahead and have them with us (now) rather than take any chances.  I will be calling my vet this morning to see when I can start scheduling.  YOU have made this happen.  I am absolutely IN AWE of what you have done here.  I can never thank you enough.  Consider this post a GIANT thank you for your well wishes, prayers for the sick kittens, and for the donations.  As you know, I’m stretched a little thin time-wise right now, but individual thank you’s WILL go out very soon!!! 


Now let me get to what I know you’re waiting to hear.  The kittens . . .         Against the odds, they are ALL still alive - even Dearest.  There are four that are struggling.  The other five are doing REALLY well.  Of course, I’ve learned over the years that things can take a bad turn at just about any moment.  The four that aren’t doing as well have shown signs of improvement in terms of eyes, but they are still lethargic and three of the four aren’t eating well.  I know that because of the level of starvation they had experienced, tiny little organs can begin to shut down.  In addition, they were all severely anemic because of the masses of fleas.  The five that have improved SO much are beginning to play and bounce.  That is what all kittens should be doing.  That is their job.  The sickest four have very little energy and are also the skinniest.  Holding them is truly like holding a little skeleton.  It is appalling to feel every tiny  bone.  They are no more than a bit of fur over rib, shoulder, and hip bones.  I continue to hope they will pick up their eating.  It’s hard to watch something that skinny NOT want to eat.  I am, of course, supplementing around the clock with formula.  At first, they didn’t even want that, but now the four are drinking for me.  At least this is a way to fight dehydration.     

There is one - one of the bigger ones - that has broken my heart.  She is older than some of the others by a week or two, I guess.  It’s hard to tell because none of these kittens has grown like they should have.  She is the skinniest of all nine.  She has no energy.  She has very sad eyes.  I have named her Golden because of her gold-colored face.  She seems to be struggling to hold on.  I was so sure that if we lost only one it would be Dearest.  But now I fear that Golden may not be able to come all the way back.  She seems to have lost the will to live in these first few horrible weeks of her life.  I keep telling her everything will be OK now, that she can come back and thrive because never again will she be left to fend for herself.  Two others are nearly as bad as Golden.  And then, of course, there’s Dearest.  For the first 24 hours, we could not keep Dearest’s eyes from re-sealing.  She did not eat - she was SO tiny that I was pretty sure she was too young to eat on her own.  She was also not interested in the formula I was force-feeding.  But she is now taking formula, and yesterday she tried and tried to eat some of the softened kitten food that others in the group are eating.  At least she is now showing some signs of desire to eat.  And her eyes stay open for hours at a time now. 

So here’s the plan.  We will travel to the property this evening.  We will attempt to get all of the adults.  I hope there are, in fact six, and not actually more (that we don’t yet know about).  I will call the vet’s office when I get done posting here, and schedule some of the surgeries.  We will keep treating the kittens and pray that they will survive and thrive.  What we need so desperately are homes.  I know all of you are trying.  If you can find even ONE home at this point, it would be a tremendous help.  I am unsure of the personalities of the six to come, but I can tell you that I have some gray kitties in the cathouse that would be perfect for someone.  And I will begin to post about the new adults as soon as I get to know them.

So . . . .    please keep your fingers crossed for us this evening.  I really have no idea what we will find when we get there.  Please keep a vigil for health and homes.  I’m sorry to have no new pictures for you today.  There simply has not been time.  (The one picture is of Dearest against Younger Daughter on that first night.)  Tomorrow I absolutely HAVE to tell you a couple of stories that were planned for this week anyway - they take on new significance under the current circumstances. 

Once again, let me say thank you.  Those two little words seem so trivial in response to what you wonderful people have done.  In a comment on the blog just this morning, “DB” wrote this -       Hey Chrystal, If you have any doubts we all want to help you, just take a look at your Chip-in! :)

DB - I have no doubts.  (Giant smile)

THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART.

 

Rescue - Fifteen Cats and Kittens

Without giving a lot of detail about “who”, here is how we have ended up with nine sick kittens, and unaltered adults still to figure out about.  Older Daughter went to “hang out” with a friend she had virtually lost contact with over the last three years.  Older Daughter pictured herself and the friend going to the mall and maybe to dinner, looking at cute guys and doing some shopping.  What happened instead was that she stepped directly into a nightmare. 

I won’t give the details of the living arrangements.  I will let you use your imagination as to what the property was like.  What I WILL tell you is that when my daughter arrived at the property, she was shocked at how her friend was living.   There were sick cats and kittens everywhere.  She said she started having that swimmy feeling as she quit hearing what was being said to her and her eyes locked onto kitten after kitten.  She discovered that the kittens had hundreds and hundreds of fleas.  Some couldn’t see because their eyes were sealed shut.  She picked up one kitten after another and most were absolute skeletons.  There were two female adult cats indoors that were too skinny to have properly fed their litters.  Older Daughter asked about the total number of adults and was told there were three females inside and three males outside.  Obviously, they regularly mixed.  My daughter asked if any had been spayed or neutered.  No. 

The clear goal became how to get out of there with the kittens.  Her heart was racing and she was overwhelmed.  She texted her sister so as not to have an “outloud” conversation with one of us.  Younger Daughter began to relay messages to me through her texts from her sister.  Older Daughter texted that the shelter might be able to take some of the kittens, but would NOT be able to take any of the adults.  (She wasn’t even sure they could take any of the kittens.)  She would try to talk her friend into letting her take the sickest ones.  The friend agreed, but Older Daughter started feeling panicky about leaving ANY of them behind.  At some point, the friend’s boyfriend arrived and met my daughter.  Because she was talking about the kittens, he said - The yellow -&-white one died.  My daughter’s friend said - Oh, no.  When?  He said - Oh, earlier today.  That was it.  My daughter wasn’t leaving without ALL of the kittens.  She was secretly texting to Younger Daughter all the while.  Younger Daughter and I got busy.  We cleaned and prepared a cage.  Before long, Older Daughter called.  I’m on my way - she said.  I have ALL of the kittens.  But what do we do about the adults left behind?  In a matter of weeks, this very situation will be re-running.

Everything got blurry around the edges for a while.  Younger Daughter and I were flying around, preparing for a huge load of kittens, wondering how sick they were and how many would fall to the yellow-&-white one’s fate.  Older Daughter was making her way home with two cardboard boxes of flea-infested kittens.  Un-altered adults were left behind.  Older Daughter had been in touch with the shelter.  They are overloaded with kittens right now, but might be able to take some if they get some placed.  The adults they simply could not take - ever.  They are severely over their maximum numbers because of all of the flood victim kitties that recently came in.  Adult cats simply do not get adopted.  They could not help us with those. 

 When she got home, Younger Daughter ran out to meet her.  We got the two boxes unloaded into a cage.  The kittens couldn’t stop scratching because they were crawling with fleas.  Yet three of them barely moved they were so weak.  We decided to try baths, but the first kitten we bathed was so frightened (and the fleas were too numerous), so we abandoned that idea.  They were too young for anything but Capstar, so I started weighing them and the girls started giving the proper dose to each.  Then the girls started bathing eyes to gentle open them.   Antibiotic drops in the worst of the eyes was next.  While the girls worked on eyes, I started fixing food and warming kitten formula (which I always keep on hand).  We thought the kittens were old enough to eat dry kitten food.  I put out the superior-quality food that Virginia had recently sent to me.  Some of the kittens raced to the bowls, growling and trying to push others away. 

The kittens are of so many different sizes that it appears these are kittens from four or five litters.  The friend told Older Daughter that there were three litters.  But we have one kitten that is twice as big as the others - she looks to be about two months old.  There are a couple of kittens that are next in size - maybe six weeks old (but oh so skinny).  Then there are four kittens that are all about the same size, maybe only a week or so behind the two.  A little gray-&-white, the only one of that color, is so small I would guess four weeks.  And the last one is so tiny that it is just impossible to believe that it is walking around.  It is the tiniest kitten I have ever seen - bone thin and in the worst shape of all.  I know it surely has to be at least four weeks old, but there must be something wrong.  Even if it was the runt, it is SO much smaller than all of the others that you can hardly wrap your mind around it.  This one’s eyes re-seal after every round of drops and almost immediately after bathing them open.  And it doesn’t eat so I am feeding it with an eye dropper.

The condition of some of these kittens is as bad as I’ve seen (and I’ve seen some pretty bad things).   The most shocking thing is their weight.  They had access to momma cats, so all I can think is that the moms were not producing enough milk.  I have been formula-feeding the tiniest one (now named Dearest), but I discovered last night that two others are not eating.  They are bigger than Dearest, but for some reason won’t eat.  So I have started formula with them, too.  The flea situation is now under control.  The Capstar got rid of the masses of fleas.  Because of the massive infestation, all of the kittens are anemic.  The only one we couldn’t use Capstar on was Dearest.  She is so tiny, there isn’t even a dosage for her size.  And she is so weak that we didn’t dare stress her with a bath.  So we are picking fleas off of her.

Yesterday, I said I might need you, CB.  And I got comments on the blog and many emails - all with the same message - “How can we help?”  You all have been so good to us here that I told a friend in an email that I didn’t want to ask for help.  Here is what she said in return -    

I realize that the CB has already helped you and you are hesitant about asking for more help, but as a member of the CB I can tell you that this type of situation and the fact that you're there to help is exactly the type of situation the CB is there to help with.  I can't speak for the other members, but we're all in this particular group because we love animals, and obviously these animals need our help too. You're on the front lines fighting for the lives of souls that we all hope we can save, so I don't think you should fight alone. Those of us who are not directly involved in a rescue group but wish we could help, can help by donating to or adopting from you and people just like you.

As she said - she can’t speak for the CB, but she sure did make me feel better with her words and that sentiment.  In comments and emails, people are asking me how they can help.  So I’m just gonna say it.  We’re on our own with this one.  The shelter where my daughter is employed is in the middle of a funding crisis and way over their numbers on animals.  To do this right, we need to get the six adults from that property or there will be three more litters and then three more and then three more . . . .            We have nine kittens.  I am hoping beyond hope that the shelter will be able to take the kittens (or at least some of them) when we get them healthy again.  The shelter is currently over-run with kittens and will have to get lots of those adopted out first.  My daughter said that her friend’s boyfriend said they want to get down to ONE cat.  I’m worried about what that means in terms of the fate of the six adults there.  Some of you suggested spay/neuter and release.  That is definitely an option as we cannot move FIFTEEN cats into our cathouse even with the addition of Winnie’s Room.  But if these people are going to take any of these cats off to be dumped somewhere, then I will have no choice but to take them.  Not speaking to the needs of the kittens at all, the cost to spay & neuter the six adults will run right at $600.  I will set up a chip-in just in case any of you can help financially.  I will only do this because so many of you have told me I should.   The other thing is homes.  I was going to do a big push this coming week on the blog to try to get some of our remaining cathouse gang into homes so we could make lots of room for the inevitable.  But the inevitable got here sooner than I had planned and in numbers I never could have predicted.  So if any of you can find a spot in your home for an additional cat or kitten, that would be the greatest gift of all.  If you know of a home other than your own that would adopt a new kitty member, just please remember that we want ONLY amazing homes - indoor homes where kitties are family members, not just pets.  I thank you in advance for any effort you are willing to put into this endeavor.  And please keep the prayers and positive energy coming for the health of the kittens.  At least three of them are struggling.  Dearest is hanging in the balance.  I want this group to follow in Gabriel’s footsteps and not follow the path of Elfius.  Thank you.

Thursday night.  The first picture is Dearest.  (Does she remind you of anybody?)

Fleas: