daily dose of dogs (aka cats with your coffee)

To Be and Not To Be

I’ve been writing on Wednesdays for “Wildlife Wednesday,” but it’s been quite a while since I wrote a Tuesday post about the NON-wildlife around here.  It’s been really hard to write ever since losing Little Roo in such a traumatic way.  I only continued to write about Older Daughter’s wildlife (on Wednesdays) because she is in the thick of her busiest season, and those stories need to be told.   Today I have a sweet (and one part sad) story.  It involves two VERY tiny kittens.  I’m going to say right up front that one did not make it.  I don’t want you reading along, hoping for something that wasn’t to be.  But this little guy got to know love before he moved on.  And it looks like the other little kitten now has her very own home.

A couple of weeks ago, my husband and a friend went to play golf.  He hadn’t been gone long when it started raining here at home.  His golf game was about half an hour away, so I texted and asked if the rain had hit there and ruined his game.  He said it wasn’t raining yet but it looked like it might.  About that time, it absolutely unloaded here.  Hard rain, big wind.   About half an hour later he texted – Well it’s here now.  It’s raining so hard that we are stuffed into the golf cart shed trying to wait it out.  And then only a few minutes after that text, I got this text (only a picture) –

 

I immediately called him.  He said that he and his friend (M) were sitting in the golf shed and suddenly this tiny little dot of a kitten pushed into the shed through a very small opening.  It was soaked with fur dripping wet, and it scrambled through the hole and sat down.  And there she was. 

So now the dilemma.  The shelter where my daughters work is the obvious option.  But they are currently overrun with kittens, and people are on long lists waiting to bring kittens as space becomes available.  So that wasn’t going to be a possibility for at least a long while.  In the meantime, Husband and M were sitting crammed into a small golf cart shed with the tiniest kitten on the planet.  I told Husband to NOT set that kitten down for even one second.  Clearly, she was not old enough to be on her own.  I couldn’t get over how tiny she was and I couldn’t figure out how she was surviving on her own at that age.  Also – what were the chances that this tiny baby pushed into the very shed that MY husband was sitting in.  He wouldn’t have even been in there if it hadn’t been raining heavily.  And my guess is that’s exactly what this little baby was doing – getting out of that hard rain.  So as fate would have it, this baby was saved.

The golf course is only about ten minutes from the Humane Society where our daughters work.  I alerted Younger Daughter that her dad would be dropping off this kitten and then we’d figure out what to do with it.  Older Daughter certainly couldn’t take it with the enormous load she was already carrying (baby wildlife season).  It would have to be either me or Younger Daughter.  As Younger and I were talking, she said she would just go ahead and take her for the first few days anyway because she had a critical situation of her own with a kitten at the shelter.

 

Younger Daughter sent me these pictures of the little golf shed kitten as soon as Husband delivered her.

 

 

 

There was a particular litter of kittens (at the shelter) which included one that wasn’t doing very well.  He didn’t seem to be growing like his littermates.  And that very morning, when Younger Daughter got to work, she found this one in the midst of a low blood sugar spell.  So weak he couldn’t stand, just lying on his side in the cage with the mom and siblings.  Younger Daughter immediately started doing the things you have to do for this condition – sugar water, heating pad, etc.  The little guy was starting to come around a little but it just wouldn’t be safe to leave him in with his family.  My daughters had been watching him for a couple of days, worrying that he wasn’t growing as he should be.  It’s hard to know if everybody is getting to nurse as much as they need to.  And also, sometimes there are litters from which one (or more) simply fail.  So now that this little guy had had this spell, Younger’s plan was to take him home with her to foster for a few days so that she could feed him a/d and formula and try to build him up some.

 

The shelter kitten after a bit of a/d canned food.

 

I received a text from Younger Daughter that evening.  The little golf shed kitten was extremely young.  Younger would have to syringe feed her.  And the little kitten from the shelter was coming around, seeming to feel better.  Younger would be syringe feeding him, too, because he was used to nursing from mom and had not been joining his littermates as they learned to eat from a dish.  For the next few days, Younger fed these two tiny dots of kittens every few hours, including getting up in the middle of the night.  (She said she got a dose of what her sister does every night all throughout wildlife baby season.)  She said even though the two kittens were about the same size, the little male from the shelter was older by at least a week.  He was so tiny because he was failing to grow.  But Younger hoped that the supplemental nutrition would keep him going. 

Another fateful occurrence in this story is that both of these two kittens were black.  I don’t know if you remember this (I’ve written about it before), but all of Younger Daughter’s cats are black.  She has always adopted black cats only.  She has fostered cats that were not black, but her own family of cats is all black.  Younger mentioned a couple of times that fostering these two kittens was going to be rough – it would be hard to let them go when (or if) they got old enough/strong enough to go back to the shelter.

 

 

The little shelter kitten was being called “Bean” by the shelter workers.   And Younger Daughter named the little golf shed kitten “Eden.”   Eden was doing really well, but little Bean was up and down.   The worst thing was that he was getting plenty of nutrition now, no more low blood sugar episodes, but he still wasn’t growing.  You have probably heard of Failure to Thrive in kittens. I’ve written about it here on the blog.  The vet visit doesn't turn up any diagnosis.  It's a wait and see nightmare. Everybody was afraid that little Bean might succumb to this disorder.  So Younger Daughter made sure he had as much love and fun packed into his days with her as possible.  On the days that he felt better, he would play and even purr sometimes.   I visited one evening and watched little Bean playing.  WHAT a cutie!  He got held a lot, played with, fed good nutritious food.  But it just was not to be.   After a slightly worse 12-hour period of time, he slipped away about midnight one night.  Younger was very sad.  She said she’d been telling little Bean that if he would just survive he could live with her.  We had our usual conversation – why should such a tiny baby die before he had the chance to live.  And then I reminded Younger that because of being with her, little Bean DID have some Life – some GOOD life.

 

 

Younger Daughter has Bean buried in her own pet cemetery.  She orders a special marker for every animal she buries there.  Even though Bean was a shelter kitten, a foster kitten, barely in Younger's life for any time at all, he has a spot and a marker and flowers forever.

Little Eden is doing extremely well.  We all know that a kitten that young can turn on a dime and go downhill.  But as of right now, we are all hopeful.  We don’t have to put little Eden on one of the lists at the shelter to be taken when space opens up.  Younger Daughter will not be giving little Eden up.  Eden has a home.  And she is loved!

 

 

 

Younger Daughter is usually the DOG foster person and Older Daughter usually fosters the needy CATS.  In this case, however, it seemed only logical that Younger Daughter would take these two kittens home (temporarily) since it so oddly occurred that two tiny black kittens needed her on exactly the same day.   The main reason she took them home, however, was because her sister, Older Daughter, was too overwhelmed with wildlife to have the time to care for these feline babies.  Then, another kitten emergency occurred  . . .     and this time Older Daughter took them home.  That story next week.

 

 

Wildlife Wednesday – Ins and Outs

This week it was going to be exciting to report how many raccoons moved to outdoor enclosures.  It’s exciting for them, obviously, but also for ME.  Because when Older Daughter moves wildlife babies outdoors, her workload lessens a bit.  Cleaning multiple crates (indoors) every day is more work than cleaning an outdoor enclosure a couple of times a week.  And if a baby has reached the point of moving outdoors, it means it doesn’t have to be hand fed anymore.  All good for Older Daughter.  The nice thing is that it’s also great for the wildlife babies.  They have SO much fun moving outdoors where they romp and play and learn the things they’ll need in order to one day be successfully released.

Last week I reported that five raccoon babies had moved outdoors.  Now several more have moved.  A few were released into the same (largest) outdoor enclosure that the first five went into. 

 

introductions

 

 

checking out the new roommates

 

 

I told you last week that Ms. Wobbly had come to one of the outdoor enclosures to have her kits.  Well, she moved them out at the end of last week.  It’s a smaller enclosure, so two siblings moved into that area.

 

 

Finally, the third raccoon enclosure now houses a group of babies as well.

 

 

 

These two little sweeties are still indoors.  These are the two who were in pretty bad shape for quite a while.  They came from separate situations.  Now that they are showing signs of improvement, they have moved in together for company.

 

 

The opossums have also reached (finally) an age where they can move outdoors.  They have a doghouse full of straw (which opossums love) in their outdoor enclosure, but at first they still needed the tiny little house they were used to from when they were indoors.

 

 

So many babies finally old enough to move outdoors and begin to learn how to survive.  There are still six babies inside.  AND – unfortunately, Older received a call on Sunday night about some raccoon babies that didn’t even have their eyes open yet.  The people who found them explained that a tree was down and they heard the babies screaming.  They only scream when they are starving.  The tree was hollow inside and there were the babies.  These people live over an hour and a half from Wild Angels.  But they had called EIGHT other wildlife rehabbers before Wild Angels and either got no response or were turned away by all.  So Older has these bottle babies now.

 

 

 

In addition to the tiny new raccoon babies, a situation at the humane society where my daughters work has added a bunny to Older Daughter’s population.  Younger Daughter was working the morning shift.  All day long dogs are turned out into the large grassy play areas.  I’m not sure how she knew, but Younger became aware that something strange was going on.  She ran out to investigate and a dog had grabbed a baby bunny.  It was too late for that one, but there was one still scrambling around in the grass.  So Younger Daughter grabbed it and brought it inside.  These two little bunnies were just barely old enough to be out of the nest.  They weren’t as fast as adult rabbits.  After getting the dogs back inside, she walked the entire play yard but found no additional baby bunnies.     Then when Older Daughter got to work that day, she took over with the saved one.  Luckily, it had gotten old enough not to need formula.  But it was truly tiny, so Older set it up for some days indoors and will release it very soon in a safe place.

 

 

Just as her workload had gone down a bit by moving so many outside, new babies have joined Wild Angels – the ins and outs of wildlife rehab.  It’s a good thing Spring doesn’t last all year long.

 

Wildlife Wednesday – Raccoons, raccoons, raccoons!

It’s been a couple of weeks since I updated you about the goings on at Wild Angels.  Well, there is hardly anything to talk about that doesn’t involve raccoons.  I think I titled a post a few weeks ago – "Raining Raccoons."  I should have waited to use that title.  Because WOW is it ever raining raccoons now!

But before I catch you up on raccoons, let me give the opossum and starling updates.

 

The starlings have now been successfully released.  What a wonderful end to that story!  These were three tiny baby starlings that had fallen from a nest that was way up on a building.  Two of the three broke legs as a result of the fall.  Older Daughter successfully splinted the legs and all three were eventually able to perch.  Birds grow SO quickly that it wasn’t long before they moved to an outdoor enclosure.  These three were quick learners and passed all the tests for release.  And now they are gone.  Lovely!

 

The two little opossums are still doing very well.  This is great news considering the condition they were in when they came to Wild Angels.

 

 

And now to the raccoons . . .

Let me start with the sad news.  Of course I’ve already told you that two of the three “air conditioner” babies did not make it.  (The survivor is doing great.)  And since I last wrote, a little single baby came in who was past the point of return, so that one did not survive.  It’s hard to keep track so I’ll just give you the FINAL number.  The current raccoon population at Wild Angels is NINETEEN!  This is Older’s new record.  One problem is that one of the big wildlife rehab centers in this area (about an hour away) had to reduce its numbers and they are having to turn away lots of wildlife at this time.  This is putting a lot of extra pressure on Wild Angels.  I’m not sure I have been able to keep up on all of the details of the ones who are growing and learning and the new ones that continue to come in.  So I’ll just share some pictures and tell you what I do know.  I definitely hope you read to the very end, however.  There is a continuing story that you’ve read parts of before, and it is extremely heartwarming.

So here is a new little baby who was found sitting in the middle of a road with his head down and his little hands over his head.  When Older received him, he was extremely thin and had probably been starving for a while.  She found mud and leaves caked in the back of his throat.  Fingers crossed for this little baby.

 

 

These two came in together.  They were found by someone who said they were sitting in the road.

 

 

These three needed a rehabber in a county north of here.  That rehabber could not take them so the person who found them had to keep them while she was on a waiting list.  Finally, the rehabber asked Wild Angels if this group could be accepted as she just didn’t think she could add them to her load.  Older accepted.

 

This little rowdy group has moved to a large cage and will soon be moving to an outdoor enclosure.

 

 

This baby had been hanging around someone’s yard for about a week. There were two of them initially and then one disappeared.  They watched this one for a while and no mom ever came for it. They finally went out and got it and contacted Wild Angels.  It is really thin and dehydrated, on the verge of death.  Fingers crossed. 

 

 

The next set of pictures are of a group of five – a combined group all about the same age.  They have moved to an outdoor enclosure and are having great fun!

 

 

 

 

 

The following is the promised ongoing story.  Earlier this season I wrote that Older had spotted Ms. Wobbly Raccoon.  This sweetheart has come back year after year since being released by Older Daughter.  Last year, Older discovered that she had delivered her babies in one of the outdoor enclosures on the property.  When Older spotted her earlier this year, there were no babies with her.  And then one day when Older’s husband was working on a metal roof for a nearby enclosure, he heard a raccoon snorting at him.  It was Ms. Wobbly Raccoon from inside the open enclosure that she had taken over to have her babies in.  The babies were terrified to have their picture taken; momma Ms Wobbly was quite protective of her babies.  It’s amazing and so great that Ms Wobbly feels safe enough at Wild Angels to have and raise her kits there. 

 

Ms Wobbly

 

 

Ms Wobbly's babies

 

Ms Wobbly - feeding her babies. Older is grateful!

 

Raccoons, raccoons, and more raccoons . . .

 

Wildlife Wednesday – Some Good, Some Bad

Let me start with the bad news.  Last week I wrote about three baby raccoons that came to Wild Angels after being without their mom for several days.  An air conditioner repairman found the mom dead and then several days later discovered the babies.  When Older Daughter received them, they were cold and very weak.  Unfortunately, Older was not able to save two of the three.  Older cares so much for each and every little creature that ends up with her – it’s very hard to lose one.  She had hoped that these three had not gotten to her too late, but they just couldn’t come back from that long without mom.  The one that did survive is doing well.

 

 

The rest of what I have to report today is all good.  There are a total of TWELVE baby raccoons at Wild Angels this year.  And ALL are doing well.  Here are some photos of some of these babies.

 

 

 

 

 

Some time back two little opossums in really bad shape came in to Wild Angels.   They are doing really well and are so cute it’s hard to look at them.

 

 

 

 

And the three baby birds . . .  remember two had broken legs.  Older was ecstatic when her splinting expertise worked and all three baby birds were perching.  Well, the three have now moved to an outdoor enclosure.  It is shocking to see how fast birds mature.  Take a look at these three now.  They do not have their adult coloring yet, but they look very grown up.

 

outgrowing their cage

 

 

now in their outdoor enclosure

 

 

 

So far Older hasn’t taken in any fawns.  She has had a couple of calls, but they were from out of state and fawns can’t be taken across state lines.  So Older referred these people to wildlife rehabbers in their own states.  

Fingers crossed that all of the babies at Wild Angels continue to survive and thrive [and that no more come in for a while – I’d love for my daughter to get some sleep (smile)].

 

Before I close, two thank you's for gifts in memory of my Little Roo.

Ginny - THANK YOU.

Myra and Frank - THANK YOU.