Update on the babies and LittleOne

Well, they are now 11 days old. Butty (short for Butt-hole, he was stuck breach for 15 minutes, then kept trying to get back in!) has dual eye infections. I have been wiping with a warm wet washcloth and hoping that will suffice. Boy can he/she whine when I do that. Makes LittleOne a nervous wreck when I am doing it, but at least she will lick his eyes afterwards. He is also the wobbliest of the bunch, I think he may be my runt medically, but his size is about the same of the others. Junior is awesome, may wind up being re-named Sniff because if you hold or pet him he doesn't whine, he just sniffs constantly (Cat=curiosity!). Fidget and Widget are pretty laid back. They don't clamor for attention, but are willing to take it if offered. They still don't like being held much, but they are getting used to it. Am I wrong to try handling them so much? Mostly I leave them alone, but about 4-5 times a day I goof with them for about 5-10 minutes, same with the kids. Total about 1/2 - 3/4 hour each day being pet or held. LittleOne doesn't seem to mind too much unless they are meowing/whining.

LittleOne on the other hand won't eat her kitten food unless she is beyond hungry. I have been bringing her ham, turkey, bologna and cheese, sometimes some milk in a bowl to compensate. When the boys are locked up and she gets to wander she doesn't go for the grown cat food either. Any ideas?

If you at any stage get desperate to get her to eat, try some warmed up chicken or game bird breast or thighs, cats tend to find this irresistible, whereas most cats have a take it or leave it attitude to red meats I've found.

I would stay away from the pork products though - not many cats that I have known would eat the bologna or cheese or ham you are offering her. They would sniff it and turn their noses up at it, whereas game birds tend to light a fire in their eyes lol. Cats are also lactose intolerant so I'm not sure the cheese is a good idea either.

Keep in mind only the human kind & not the sliced processed kind & making it warm helps as it increases the juiciness of the meat & the smell for temptation.

Also, don't give her cheese or other milk products. I didn't know until recently that cats are lactose intolerant.

If you are going to rehome her, I wouldn't get her used to eating anything but cat food. Otherwise, her new family is going to have a heck of time figuring out why she won't eat.

Most kitties find Gerber Stage 2 chicken baby food to be absolutely irresistable. I use it all the time to get feral kitties to be my friend.

Thank you all for the advice about getting momma to eat. Any advice on the eye infection (like can it spread to the other babies?) or on the handling? I would really appreciate your thoughts.

The vet gave me a whole food diet (but she said just skip the veggies in it) to get some weight on my girl. Basically it consisted of things like salmon, dark meat poultry, chicken liver, etc. Things that are high in GOOD fat, and DHA and omega fatty acids. They need a lot of fat to make good fatty milk for their babies.

Bought a 12 pack of canned friskies. I opened up one can and dished it out to her. Would you believe that can was gone in less than 3 minutes!? Poor thing. I did give her a cooked chicken tender this morning, so she wasn't starving, but she sure is hungry. I will set out another can for her in an hour or 2.

Thanks for the advice. I really would appreciate some advice on Butty's eyes as well. They are now both closed and it takes a lot of screaming on his/her part to get them open again with a gentle touch and warm wet washcloth. Is there anything else I can do for him/her?

Once you get those eyes open, try to irrigate them with some saline. You'll need to do it a few times a day. If there's no improvement after 2 days, tops, you'll have to take her in. Babies can go downhill quickly.

She moved them again. Dang cat! Now they are right up under the head of my bed. 2 weeks old today so you know they will be crawling around soon and we will have to be SUPER careful getting out of bed!

How are the eyes today?

You can get an eye solution at most pet stores or at your vets. It's called Opticlear.

You can also make your own solution. Mix a cup or so of distilled water with a very small amount of boric acid powder. The boric acid you can get at a drug store. When I say a small amount, I mean no more than 1/4 teaspoon in a cup of water. This is the solution my farm-girl mother always used on our kittens, and it works well. Soak a corner of a clean rag or paper towel and wipe the eye carefully with it, being sure to get some in the eye. Once you have touched the kitten with the rag, do NOT dip it back in the remainder of the solution.

If you check the ingredients of Opticlear, you'll find boric acid is in there.

Well ... good and bad on the eyes. Butty now has had his right eye open for almost 24 hours, the left one keeps getting glued though but not as much time involved to get it open. Unfortunately he passed it on to his tabby twin Fidget. Fidget only seems to be affected in one eye at the moment, but I can't be sure since their crazy a** mother moved them this morning. I can't even reach them. I may wind up moving my queen size sleigh bed to clean out kitten eyes...

Well, still working with Butty's eyes, they still seal shut a lot and of course LittleOne freaks out with all that crying, guess she thinks I am killing him/her. Fidget still has a minor eye infection, not too bad, seems to be clearing up. Widget seems very personable, but he/she tends to drag her back legs a lot where her siblings are really getting up on there's and kind of slow walking around. Junior is awesome. Super personable and not a problem yet!

Sadly, LittleOne doesn't get to get out of the room as much as she would like due to the boys, but hopefully that problem will be rectified soon enough.

Sounds like you are really staying on top of things. Thanks goodness I didn't have any eye problems with my babies, although I broke one's tail accidentally when she was under the recliner and we thought she was put away. Now she has to have it amputated. I feel horrible.

OMG! That is so sad! I guess casting a tail isn't a possibility is it? Still, amputation sounds so harsh! for the little baby to feel better and recover quickly!

I know! But she severed the nerves and the joints "seized" up. We waited (after seeing vet and having x-rays) for the wound to heal. It was pretty bad, and they bandaged and splinted it. She kept hitting it on things, like walls and their playhouse. Now it's healed but there is no flexibility, and it's a liability to her balance and, IMO, her quality of life. She'll be w/ us forever, and we love her, tail or not. Since she has no feeling, she'll have an easy recovery. On an interesting note, you can tell exactly where the paralysis is. When she is startled and she arches her back and fluffs up her hair, only the hairs on the first inch down on her tail fluff up, the rest are flat.
Sorry to hijack this thread!

In regards to tail amputation, it is not a nice prospect but I hope this puts it in perspective.

Taz "delivered" himself to us at about 12 weeks of age, 11 years ago.

Something had mangled his tail. We decided to take him in and he went to the vet for the usual checks, etc., but the tail had to be amputated; he was left with something in proportion to a lynx tail.

The lynx tail is rather appropriate, he is an orange tabby, has ear tufts and weighs 19 to 20 pounds (big, not fat). His overall appearance is quite distinctive.

He is a neutered, indoor cat very affectionate and happy, he has had the "lynx tail" pretty much all of his life and is quite well adjusted with it.

That helps to make me feel a little better. She is a spotted tabby, and I think the short tail will be okay.

Originally Posted by nursedoggett

She is a spotted tabby, and I think the short tail will be okay.

Click to expand...

Another little lynx or bobcat, in those "wild" markings

Obviously, a tail amputation is not ideal to have happen but my big orange "lynx" is a well adjusted, happy guy.

He does quite well, I found the appearance strange for a little while when he first came home from the vet but it soon got to be that that was just Taz and the way he was. The next day, after the amputation, he was running around playing and generally causing havoc, like any 12 week old, with the tail stub all bandaged up.

Taz still does all the "tail things" with the stub; raises it in greeting, swishes it when agitated and it gets bushy if he is startled.

How did he handle the bandage? I think that is my only worry. We go tomorrow to see the vet that does the surgery. We're not using my vet because she had a baby. How dare she, when we need her, LOL!

This is Lucky by the way, the one that will lose the tail. (Lucky because it was ONLY her tail). Her name was Stormy, because she was born during a storm, but we changed it, LOL.



When she stretches out, you can see there are more spots than stripes.
Where the dent is in her tail is where it was broken. It is stuck in that bended position, but she has no sensation.