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.

Bella; Once was Lost

Bella really threw me in a loop today; First off, Cassie and Bella made such a mess of my bathroom that I decided I had to move them somewhere where they had more room. They went into the spare bedroom/game room, while I cleaned my bathroom of vomit, shit, and litter. Dear god the litter. Well, I’m still not too used to keeping my game room door closed so I had left it open for a short amount of time, rushed back to close it. And since then couldn’t find Bella in my room. I looked everywhere in the room before I decided to search the house, and still couldn’t find her to give her doxy for the day.

I gave up looking, decided she’d come out when she wanted to, and laid down in bed to read. When she popped out from my closet. I wouldn’t have noticed her if Simba, the foster kitten, didn’t suddenly stand up from my lap and looked totally alert.

What happened next was really… odd. I brought her back to my room, closed the door and let her eat. But when Cassie ever got anywhere near Bella, she’d growl, hiss and scratch. Like she suddenly forgotten in a few hours that they grew up together, despite being separated at the shelter for a few weeks and behaving fine when they were first moved to my house. I still can’t figure out what happened there. I just hope it doesn’t continue.

Sisters Settling In

I was worried about Cassie for a little bit since she wasn’t eating, but I figured out she eats tuna just fine (Excluding tonight, Cassie wouldn’t eat for me and Bella vomited her meds), and Bella will hiss at Cassie when they are both eating at the same time. I now feed them separate. Cassie is having a much harder time adjusting with new people and a new place, but they are both doing leaps and bounds better than they did in the shelter. I’ve only just realized how thing Cassie really is! Cassie will still hiss at new people but never bite or scratch and she comes around rather quickly. Bella is more outgoing and curious about what’s outside my bathroom door.

I’m giving Simba some intestinal worm treatments while he is still here. His would-be adopters flaked out when they realized kittens may be work, so going back to the shelter is a very likely option for Simba, but this time he’ll go right on the adoption floor. Here’s hoping his future owners are decent ones.

Popping the Blog Cherry

Due to the nature of my work, I’m worried this blog will quickly fill up with depressing posts. So to start of on hopefully a good note, I thought my first post would be a happy one. My first foster kitten, a silver tabby the shelter named Simba, is set to get neutered today.

 

I first took Simba home after we noticed that he was losing weight at the shelter (went from 1.16 lbs to 1.12 in 3 days, which is a lot for a 6 week old kitten.). I took him home assuming all that was wrong with him was being forced into a stressful situation. However, he began showing signs of an upper respiratory infection, and by the time it got bad enough for me to get worried, vet staff wasn’t available. His nose ran like a leaky faucet, his haw covered half his eyes, constant sneezing and drooling all over his chest. Not only had his food intake decreased to only a few bites a night, but that fur-on-bones kitten actually lost even more weight. I sincerely thought he was a lost cause.

 

I kept him in the bathroom, turning the hot shower on every few minutes to keep it heated like a sauna. Left kitten food, tuna, and turkey baby food for him, all mixed with supplements. I spent hours just cuddling and petting him, wiping his nose and eyes. I set alarms up for every hour to make sure he wasn’t getting worse, or at least was still breathing. He made it through the weekend, and the vet was able to give me doxycyline for him (0.08 ml for 2 weeks). Now he’s put on weight (little over 2 lbs), and acts like a damn monkey. He is healthy now and weighs enough for the operation, which is the next

Simba, at 6 weeks

Simba, 8 weeks old, after 2 weeks of medication

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

step before he can get adopted. I believe I already have a potential adopter for him. Here’s hoping he gets a permanent home soon.