Biggest Litter to Date!

There’s never a break from homeless animals, as is evident with my newest batch of kittens. These kittens are on quarantine for Distemper, a fatal and contagious disease among cats. The shelter had two options because they could not risk Distemper infecting all the un-vaccinated cats they get in; either euthanize all the possible distemper kittens, or find an appropriate foster home to quarantine them in. I chose the latter, obviously, as I couldn’t let the former action take place when I had a (somewhat!) empty home.

So meet the new batch of fosters! I don’t have names for them yet. The two white with flame points are very similar looking (I can only tell them apart because one has very crossed eyes!) and are both males. The orange boy is extremely affectionate and playful. And of course, my little runt of the litter, the dilute tortoiseshell. She is just as affectionate as her bigger brothers, but she’s a little bit shyer than her siblings. It’s an odd shift, going from single, special needs kittens to a large batch of healthy (besides URI, or course), active kittens. It’s a change I’ll have to get used to in the coming weeks while they nap and play in comfy quarantine.

Anyone have any name ideas for these guys?

Bic died today…

I brought Bic in for his check up; as the title insinuates, it did not go too well. I was honestly thinking of trying to lie about it, say he got better and found a new home. Or even going back and deleting other posts about him, in an attempt to erase that he ever existed. But Bic deserved better than that, and I believe that even death is an aspect one must consider when fostering. And just because he met an untimely death, does not at all mean that fostering him was not worth the experience, or his comfort.

At first the doctor was disappointed by his lack of muscle mass, and of course worried by his big tummy and constipation. Upon further examination, we found that his lower abdomen had filled with fluids, preventing him from properly urinating and defecating. This was caused by a fatal, incurable disease called Feline Infectious Peritonitis. It’s symptoms, including some of what Bic was showing, can be treated for a short time, but the disease itself is terminal. At the point where Bic was at, I had already bought him as much time as I could. To keep him suffering any further, we decided to put him down.

I took it very hard because I had felt really confident in my foster abilities up to this point. Maybe a bit too confident when I was able to get a starving kitten to eat by himself. I thought I was doing great. Hell, I thought I was pulling off miracles. So news of his eminent death was a huge shock and disappointment for me. Of course, it was no one’s fault and I don’t blame anyone for it. It simply sucks that it had to happen.

It wasn’t easy to do, but I take solace in the fact that I made his last week of life a comfortable one, far away from steel bars and a cold cage. I don’t really consider it a failure, because even though he had to be put to sleep, he was at least able to be a kitten for a little while. I will continue to keep fostering, as there are always more animals that will need help. And even if my fosters happen to pass away, it’s still a kind service to give them a loving home before they leave.

Bic got a little too big

I’ll be honest; I never thought I’d see Bic eat so much, let alone have a big, fat tummy! He is very odd looking, with a lunging belly yet his spine and hip bones protrude from the top. I suppose it takes a while for the fat to distribute.

I noticed that, besides the diarrhea he had when I first got him, he hasn’t been pooping very much. I’m guessing he is constipated – going from eating nothing to scarfing food like a hound must be a shock to the bowels. I have an appointment with the vet tomorrow to give him an enema, and hopefully he will be able to pass it with ease. Poor Bic! Life just doesn’t get any easier for this little guy.

I’ll be giving Bic extra loving tonight because I feel terrible about sending him off to get an enema.

Progress

Since he ‘re-learned’ how to eat, Bic has been a chow hound ever since! I haven’t had to worry about him not eating anymore, and he has since been switched off of Orbax to Doxycline to treat his URI. His eyes still need medication, and while they have improved a lot lately, they still look pretty bad. But he isn’t as congested anymore, much more active (not as active as a normal healthy kitten, but definitely more-so than he was previously), and thankfully he began to clean himself more! No more of my warm washcloth baths.

He is still just as affectionate, and although it is likely due to him feeling under the weather, he is a lot more calmer than other kittens I’ve dealt with at his age. He has very little interest in playing (although he did play with my hair for the first time today!) but he still loves to cuddle in the crook of my arm.

Bic’s rough begining

Vick is about 3 months and weighs as much as an 8 week old

Meet the newest foster, Bic! Bic’s story is a sad one, and it doesn’t get much better as time goes on. Bic was brought to us with a splint made of cardboard and electrical tape. From there, we had found out that his hind left leg had severe nerve damage; whether he was born with it, or happened in an accident, or worsened by the make-shift splint, we will never know. His leg wasn’t salvageable, however, and was amputated. Bic quickly adapted to three legs (his bum leg was completely useless as it was). What ended up ailing Bic wasn’t a complication due to his procedure, however; it was due to a terribly contagious and common infection called Upper Respiratory Infection.

One week ago, Bic weighed almost 3 lbs. A few days before I took him in, he dropped to 2.5 lbs, and his weight continues to plummet. Unfortunately, Bic hasn’t been eating. To keep him going, I’ve been giving him 6ml of a supplement twice a day, until he eats. He is nebulized daily and receives medication for his URI in hopes that it will, in time, return his appetite.
For now, though, this fluffy sack of bones will be resting on my lap

Some bad news and some worse news

He has quite the beer belly

 

Meet Niles, an already altered, older cat that came to us with a slight URI. We had no more room for sick cats, so I decided to foster him until he was cleared by a vet.

Niles has extra toes!

 

Niles is quite the talker! I call him my little heart breaker because he howls every time I have to leave him in the room. He also talks back to me in his old cat meow. He is pretty heavy, weighing in at 11 pounds, but still thinks he is the kind of kitty that I can pick up and carry around – which I usually do despite the aching arm afterwards. He eats like a hound and sleeps like one, too. Our nights generally include him sleeping on my belly or the crook of my arm while I read or write. He can not get enough attention, which is why I brought him back to the shelter yesterday. I felt awful for him because I really can not spend enough time with him, maybe an hour a night if I’m lucky. However it seems like he may stay at the shelter longer than I hoped due to the vet staff being overwhelmed with surgeries; They will get to them as soon as possible though.

Speaking about staying at the shelter, Noel was unfortunately returned. It’s a shame because of his issues with new environments, this is an awful lot of stress on him. He didn’t get along with other animals (cats and dogs), which is good information for any future potential adopter. Because of his severe over-stimulation of new environments, I decided that more in depth adoption counseling will be required for Noel, so I added a little snippet about his issues and asked for him to go home as an only cat with no kids or older kids. Here’s hoping his new home will be the perfect one.

Have some kitty pictures

Work has been rough on me as of late, and I haven’t been able to get any pictures up but I’m hoping to remedy that today with too many pictures.

Bella and Cassie were moved to an off-site adoption center, and although I am very sad to watch them go where I can’t keep tabs on them, it’s nice to see they were the ‘chosen ones’, so to speak. The off-site adoption center has a more manageable work/employee ratio and people should be able to spend more time there with them then here, and it gets a lot more customers so here’s hoping they get adopted soon. They were very scared when I brought them back to the shelter, I hope they are better off where they are now.

The only pictures I have of Raz are of him asleep

I quickly became sick of keeping Pudge and Raz in that little kitty corral, and they are big enough to roam my room anyways. They are now causing chaos in my room and sleeping everywhere except the beds I made specifically for them. Pudge no longer has any signs of illness but I’m keeping them both on their meds until they are fully done with them. I can already see that Pudge is a bit more laid back but curious and adventurous, and Raz is a tad crazier, and loves to be play and be the center of attention. Despite trying to get them to sleep anywhere else, they’ve spent the last few nights sleeping on my bed with me. I can see it now; I’ll soon have to wear slippers to bed like I did with Simba to keep them from waking me up via toe attacks.

Pudge Pudding

I have a lot I want to write about, but very little time to do so. I’ll try to get something done today, but this is my first day off in a while. Fridays through Mondays are rather hectic for me, which leaves Tuesdays as my day to play catch-up.

A Change of Name and Heart

I mixed up original names so this is Pudge

Only picture I was able to get of Raz

My plans to wait to bring Bella and Cassie back to the shelter until Friday fell through, when a small emergency popped up; and I sure do mean small! 4 week old ‘Mikey’ and ‘Felix’ need a place to crash for a month, and who am I to say no to these cute little buggers? I’m not so keen on the names, and was thinking of Pudge and Raz instead(also I have no idea which on is supposed to be Mikey, and which one is Felix). I wanted to give them both video game character names, but Pudge was just too perfect for the one chubby kitten with a short tail and semi-flat face. They both weigh less than 2 pounds and both need meds, but they are so small they barely need 1ml of it. I have to keep them in a little corral I assume was made for puppies so they don’t get lost in my room while I’m away. It’s very useful for young kittens and I wish I had it for Simba.

Now I just have to wait for Bella and Cassie to be adopted, and unfortunately that may take a while. I thought I’d be less attached as I didn’t have them for quite as long, they didn’t almost die on me, and they were adults. Well, now I can tell that it’s going to actually be harder; they won’t get adopted as quick as they are both adults and common tabby cats. Every day I go into work, I see them still there, watching my every move. Luckily I was able to get them in the cat room. They hang out on the highest shelves, where everyone can see but few can touch. I’ve been going in there every day to give them a few pets and kisses, which makes it hurt more every night when I have to leave them there. I just hope they get adopted to a permanent home soon.

The Issue With Taking Two Fosters At Once…

I’ve come to a bit of a dilemma with Cassie and Bella. I’ve learned that, just because two cats came into a shelter together, does not mean that they necessarily like, or will even tolerate, one another. At the beginning they co-mingled well, however that was during a more stressful time (Before they were used to me, living in a small bathroom, and were both sick.). Now, once they have settled into my bigger room, Bella has been giving Cassie ‘warning jabs’ – several soft, or at least not fully unsheathed claws, swats to the head whenever she is near. They still get along much better than any two random cats, but it makes me worry about how they would do at the shelter, in a more stressful and compact area.

Now here’s the thing; I’ve noticed people like to hear animals are good with other animals, regardless of whether or not they need an animal good with other animals. People tend to shy away from cats or dogs that have a note saying NO CATS or NO DOGS or NO KIDS, from what I hear, it is often related to people worrying about the animal’s disposition, and many people actually consider an animal that needs to be in a home restricted on young children or other pets a ‘special needs’ animal, despite having no medical ailment.

Keep in mind, I’m not going around to animal shelters across the world asking these question, as answers on another continent or even another state doesn’t relate to what I need to know for the shelter I work at. I am going off of what is and isn’t the norm for the animal shelter I go to, and disregard other humane societies when making decisions on fosters and adoptable animals and such. So what I experience, of course, may not translate well (or even at all!) for others.

So with that disclaimer out of the way, I’m now conflicted as to whether I should bring Bella and Cassie as a pair (and maybe even a bonded pair) and risk them getting in minor tiffs and scaring people off, bring them in and have them separated to avoid fights, and add a NO CATS warning to Bella, or keep them for one more week to get Cassie’s weight up and see if they mellow out any more. And I have one night to figure out what I’m doing, as Friday and Saturday are probably the best times to get animals adopted out.

Simba Was Adopted!

I brought Simba to the shelter with the plan of taking him back when I left, and only keeping him in a cage at the shelter when I worked. Apparently, I found out I could do that. Just bring my fosters in every day I work and take them home when I’m ready to leave. Not sure how that will work for my two adult fosters, Bella and Cassie.

To stay on subject; Simba was adopted before I was even able to go to lunch! It was bitter sweet. A part of me wanted to keep him desperately because  I believed I was the best owner he was going to get, and anyone else might neglect him or simply not be up to my standards. Yet in reality I was being a hypocrite; I did not have the time for a kitten. I work long hours, come home to do ‘homework’, then I’m left with very little time to do what other shit needs to get done. In the end it was for the best, but damn do I miss him. I wasn’t around to say goodbye to him, so I can only hope he went to a good home (which I’m sure he did!).

In other news, I haven’t heard a sneeze out of Bella or Cassie in days, and Bella finished her round of medications. It’s amazing how much weight they are visibly putting on; when they got here, (on a 1-7 feline body condition score) Cassie was about a 2-3 on the scale, with visible  waist behind ribs, ribs felt with every pets, and her spine and bones by the tail easily palpable. Bella was doing a bit better, I could still see a visible waist and feel her spine, but her ribs were less palpable and I couldn’t feel her wings of ilia with every pat. Now I can barely feel their spines, and their waists are getting much better. I’d place Cassie at thin (3) and Bella at  underweight (4), granted I didn’t give them a full look over and I’m not a vet or vet tech, so it’s a rather uneducated opinion. I can say with certainty though, that they are definitely getting better. It’s amazing what a little TLC can do for these cats. I’ve just about created fucking miracles just be locking cats in a bathroom with food and water.