New foster mommy (siamese) and her 4 kittens

Update on the little Alicia.
Her eye is already better after 24 hours of treatment.
I don't know if she is repsondinc to the antibiotics or the drops, but it's already looking better. I wish I could show pictures, but it wouln't be clear without the flash and I won't use the flash until they are 5 weeks old. Her eyes opens by itself now (no need to dab it with warm water anymore).

She has huge eyes, she will be so pretty when she gets older (she is already very cute despite her swollen eye!). Her eye is still red. We will know in 3 days when I go back to the vet if there is an ulcer or not (she couldn't even tell that because the eye was too swollen) and depending of the form of the ulcer (if she does have one) we might add serum to the list of medications she receives.

Overall everyone is doing fine except there is a bit more sneezing, wich still scares me for the future. At least I have enough Clavamox for everyone, if I see that one is not nursing well, one quick call to the vet and I start the antibiotics right away.

Oh, and now theyr can really hear me well as when I go in the room, as soon as I talk to them (even if I am too far away for them to smell me) they wake up and start walking (well, not really walking, more like pushing themseves) toward me. It is so cute.

One of them wouldn't stop crying (the grey one) and I was scared that he was hungry but couldn't smell her mommy's milk/nipples (he is the one that sneezes the most). Turns out I start petting him and he just stops moving and crying... and starts purring! My first real purr. They usually do it automatically when they nurse, but this one was just for me! And I know that by this age they can now purr when they want to, it is not just a reflex. Well, I was so happy. But then a minute later he started crying and moving again. Went right to mommy and started nursing. He was hungry afterall! I just happened to distract him for a few seconds of his hunger.

I will name them all with boy's name, since the vet told me she thought they might all be boys but wasn't sure
So, no more Alice and I gotta stop calling him a she!
Here are the names I found (I am French, so maybe some of the names will sound weird to you guys, I don't know!):
The mommy: Alicia (I am keeping Alice in case the white boy turns out the be a female!)
The orange one: Xavier/Javier
The grey one: William/William
The beige one (the white one with no eye problem): MathÃ[emoji]169[/emoji]o (I wouldn't know the English translation for this)
The tiny white one with the eye problem: Loïc (I don't know the stranslation either)

Well, that sums it up for today!

Thank you for posting some cute new pictures of your foster mom and kittens.
They are all so cute.
I'm happy to hear that the eye treatment for the little one is working.
Hopefully they all stop with the sneezing soon.
Thanks for keeping us updated on the cute little ones.

I like the names you picked, the last name is the only one I haven't heard before. Do you say it like Lois or does the c sound like a k?
I see you are French Canadian, you just live a couple hours north of me.
That's close enough for me if I want to adopt one of your cute little kittens which is tempting but I am sure that they will have no problem finding new homes.
Do you think you will keep the momcat Alicia?

Originally Posted by Vermontcat

I like the names you picked, the last name is the only one I haven't heard before. Do you say it like Lois or does the c sound like a k?
I see you are French Canadian, you just live a couple hours north of me.
That's close enough for me if I want to adopt one of your cute little kittens which is tempting but I am sure that they will have no problem finding new homes.

Do you think you will keep the momcat Alicia?

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Well, it is said like Lois, but with the "s" being replaced by a "k".
I am glad you liked the names and the pictures. I have a bunch more to put up, I just have to resize them.
As for Alicia, I wish I could keep her. I gotta talk to my boyfriend about it. One part of me want to keep her and the other part tries to tell me I will save more cats and kittens if I don't. I already have two cats of my own and when I take in a foster and her babies like right now we have 8. I really have to think about it, but I am very attached to her. She let's me hold her in my arms and is purring all the time. Plus, she is beautiful. I think we have a special bond already, as she trusts me with her kittens and always gives me the eye kiss (you know when they blink slowly and keep their eyes only slightly open when they lookj at you?). Loïc cries when I give him his eye drops and she supervises me but won't ever try to take him away from me). Talking about the little guy, he is still doing good. His eye is still red, but definitely better than yesterday!
All the other kittens are still fine, but I noticed today that the orange one has one eye smaller than the other. It seems fine, it looks like it is just the way he is. I hope it won't ruin his chances of being adopted, it does gives him a strange look for now. He is still adorable though, he should be fine!
Alicia has a hard time breathing though. She eats and drinks plenty and acts normally, but sneezes and breathes heavy because her nose is all jammed. I am seeing the vet thursday and will ask her about giving her antibiotics.
Will post some more cute pics tomorrow along with my daily update!

I'm glad to hear that everything is going well!
I've gone through having to clean out infected eyes so many times, and I hate having to do it on a screaming kitten, but it's definatly worth it!
I definatly know the feeling of wanting to keep a foster- we just gave in for the first time in over 30 cats and kittens, and kept a little boy. If you did keep him, would you still foster? If you still would, and you think you have the space, money, time, etc., then, in my opinion, go for it!

Oh hun, I know exactly what you're going through. Almost every single foster I have taken in from the local shelter has developed the URI and it is NOT fun. My latest mama cat had a litter of 5 who had it right from day 1 and 3 of the 5 have passed away because of it. I am glad they are doing well. You are doing a WONDERFUL thing! Sending vibes too!

Originally Posted by Kailie

Oh hun, I know exactly what you're going through. Almost every single foster I have taken in from the local shelter has developed the URI and it is NOT fun. My latest mama cat had a litter of 5 who had it right from day 1 and 3 of the 5 have passed away because of it. I am glad they are doing well. You are doing a WONDERFUL thing!

Sending vibes too!

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URI is a terrible thing in kittens... I had 5 of 8 kittens pass away in a litter a couple years ago, and I've been talking to our shelter, and hey had a whole litter of six pass away from it. When we took the remaining 3 in our litter in, we were told that since their mom had it before they were born, thy got it passed on, and since the mom was so sick, her milk didn't have the amunities for them to fight it off. The ones that reached two weeks all survived since they could begin to fight it off themselves. Anyway, your little ones are not too young, so their bodies should be getting stronger by he day as they grow.

I am sorry you guys lost kittens to URI. I lost a pregnant cat to URI when I fostered for the first time more than 2 years ago. I didn't know an adult cat could go downhill so fast. She was fine, then she started sneezing, then a few days later she was dead, it was horrible. I went 3 times to the vet. The 2 first time they said she would be fine. The third time they said it was too late. I was devastated. Plus, I saw the 5 kittens inside her on the x-rays and I had felt them moving all the time she was with me.
Okay, I will stop thinking about bad things now! I have learned from it and would never hesitate to get a second vet opinion when unsure. Also, I have learned to be better at force feeding a sick cat and giving sub-q fluids if needed. With my first foster, of course she yelled and complained when I force fed her and I let myself be impressed by that and would stop thinking I was hurting her. All of this to say, if I ever loose a cat or a kitten, I know I will have done everything right to save them.

So, to be back on the subject, the family is doing really good. Loïc's eye is getting better. Not swollen, just a little red where it should be white. He is healing so fast, I am amazed!
Also, it turns out that Xavier's eyes are just fine and the same size. I guess one of his eye took longer to fully open and that it why it looked smaller.
William is HUGE and so round compared to the others (267 grams compared to an average of 200 grams for the 3 others!)! He is a little bear! lol
And MathÃ[emoji]169[/emoji]o's pointed color is starting to be more apparent. He will be a handsome boy, looking more siamese than the others (with his color and also because and can see his ears are going to be bigger).
They all love me except Loïc who doesn't hate me, but doesn't come to me when he hears my voice (of course, I torture him everytime I go in the room with eye drops and medication!). The others love when I pet them and talk to them. The mommy too loves me.

I rationalized and I don't think I should keep her. Financially, if all two of my own cats get health problems, I could handle it. With a third cat? Not sure. I know I would have to be pretty unlucky to have my 3 cats sick at the same time, but I don't want to gamble even if the chances are slim. Would I still foster if I kept her? Yes, but not as often, since fostering too is expensive (I pay for the emergency vet if needed (cost me 120$ monday), the expensive kitten food, the toys, the litter, the KMR and everything you need to have handy when you foster kittens and their mommy!). If I foster less often, I do save less cats and kittens. So, rationally, I shouldn't keep her. Emotionnally, that's a whole other story and will have to take care of when the time comes!

These daily posts are always so long, I'm sorry! I stop my rambling. Here are some pictures for your patience! I took some today and yesterday, but haven't gottent the time to upload them, so here are other from this week-end that I haven't posted yet.

A family picture with a happy Alicia


Kitten pile (MathÃ[emoji]169[/emoji]o and Xavier)


Xavier getting his beauty sleep


My one and only picture with flash (everyone had their eyes closed, so it was fine) so that you can see their real color.


Mommy kissing Loïc (or is it Matheo?!)


Tomorrow I will try to put up pictures of them with their little eyes open. I took a few good one of each of them today. They are getting cuter and cuter.

Sorry for not updating today or yesterday, I totally forgot!
Everyone is still doing great. Alice is really skinny, but she eats so much and drinks a lot too, so I am not worried about her. Still some sneezings here and there, but definitely better. I was so scared of URI hitting them all, but it seems they will get away with only a bit of sneezing.
Loic (the one with the eye problem) is doing great, but I fear his socialization will be impared by the fact half of the time I pick him up is to give him meds. He doesn't fear me, but he doesn't enjoy my presence like the others. I hope he will have forgotten all about thi in a little while.
Xavier and William are the most social ones. They even fall asleep in my hands sometimes! Overall they are a bunch of love and cuteness in my day. Always doing cute kitten stuff! And Alice is just wondefullÃ[emoji]169[/emoji] She has started spending a bit of time outside of the crate, something she only did to eat and go potty before!
Here are some pics (featured member of the family for today being Xavier.)

This is MathÃ[emoji]169[/emoji]o, sad because he can't get out of the crate by himself yet!


This is Loïc with his eye full of medication! It looks worse than is actually is. When there is no goopy meds in there the eye looks quite normal. This was taken a few days ago, now it is even better.


William is the cutest kittens I've ever seen. Chubby, soft, social, full of cuteness and these dropping ears, he is adorable! They all are, but he is so... round! lol


Xavier was half asleep yesterday and he was just full of cuteness, so I put him on a blanket and took a few pictures. He is the lightess of all, but strong and healthy.




Then he woke up and wanted milk from mommy, so I put him back in the crate!

Awwwwww!!!

Lots of for Loic and his poor sore-looking eye! Give them all lots of for me! OK?

I haven't updated in a little while, but so far everything is still doing great. Today I will buy KMR because I will soon start offering them dry food mixed with KMR and see what they do. I will also set up a small litter box (with corn litter in case they eat it) accessible to them. I don't know what is their exact age, so I prefer to be ready. I think they should start eating food in about a week. They have started to explore for the first time yesterday. Two of them got out of the crate by themselves. It is so cute, because as soon as they go a bit too far Alice grabs them by the neck and brings them back in the crate! Loïc went out of the crate, snuggled on me and fell asleep. I was so happy, I almost cried (after all I am the one who gives him his meds, he could very well hate me by now!) I think they love me, because they scream for cuddles when I go in the kitty room. They will cry until I am near them and kiss their little heads and pet them. Often they will come near me and play (inside the crate, but near the exit where I am). Of course, they still don't know much what is going on around them and their play is pretty basic. Theyr will throw their little paws in the air, while laying on their back, and that's pretty much it! Sometimes they don't mind when I hold them and they even fall asleep in my hands, other times they cry as soon as I pick them up. I make sure we spend positive time together, so as soon as they seem upset I put them back with mommy. I just love to put my head in the crate and kiss them all. Sometimes they will try to suckle my nose or my fingers. Alice seems like such a happy cat. She adores her baby and is always purring. I think she is pretty happy to be in a calm and loving place to raise her kittens (compared to the noisy and crowded shelter or the streets).

Originally Posted by AddieBee

Awwwwww!!!

Lots of for Loic and his poor sore-looking eye! Give them all lots of

for me! OK?

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Done!

Originally Posted by Mawilouwl

I think she is pretty happy to be in a calm and loving place to raise her kittens (compared to the noisy and crowded shelter or the streets).

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Oh yes! Sure!
Earlier you did wondered if she was a semiferale, or an stray / dumped... It is often really not easy to know.
A semiferale mom - or even a ferale - when she has "landed" and realizes nobody is threating, and the humans are docile - does accept the situation and does copyies. A mommys first duty is not "freedom" but taking care of her children. And as soon she realizes this is the best practical chance for her children - she adapts and even cooperates. If she is ferale, it is not sure SHE will be fostered into a pet cat - but her children usually are - she doesnt mind as long it goes well for them.
It is thus often easier to take care of a ferale high preg and or ferale mom with her small kittens - then an alone ferale cat...


In your case, it is almost entirely sure your mom is stray / dumped. How can we know? Easy: as she visibly was happy every time you were in her room - even in the beginning of your time together.

A ferale would perhaps accept you as long as you behaved, but she would be on her watch.

Semiferales somewhere in between...


Good luck!

Aww, what darlings! I've just got back from vacation today, and I had to check up on these sweeties! It sounds like everything's going great- a couple sneezes is normal. With my little girl with an eye infection in my last batch, she squealed, and wasn't too keen on people since being held usually meant eye cleaning, but once her eye was better, she turned into a lovebug .
I definatly know the feeling of wanting to keep one, but also wanting to continue fostering at the same time- and there's no right answer. Just think of what is going to be better for you in the future .

Sorry for not updating sooner, I have been very busy lately AND my internet connection broke for a few days(had to call the server and they sent me a new wire).

StefanZ, I absolutely agree with you. I think she hasn't been long on the streets, she might have escaped when she was in heat? I don't know. The poor Alice is in heat again and I can't wait for her to be spayed. She wants a lot of affection and keeps trying to escape from the "kitty room". I cannot let her go in the rest of the appartment because of my two other cats (even though they are both spayed females, I don't know what disease she could possibly have and transmit them if the get in contact). I feel bad because even though the room is huge, if she is used to go outside she must feel so trapped in it. I try to go in as often as I can and give her a lot of love and affection. She absolutely adores me (and so do I) and will even lay down on me if I sit on the floor. When I am with her, she purr non-stop.
All the kittens are in an incredible healthy shape. Loic's eye is now perfectly fine (thank God, it took so long to heal the vet told me it might not heal and he might loose his eye, I was so scared I did not miss even one time giving him his meds for the 2 (almost 3) weeks he had the problem). He still loves me, doesn't hold a gruge against me for it. All the kittens are uber affectionnate and they love humans. I think it is because their mommy love me and my boyfriend so much, when they see us they run toward us and are all over us.
William is still the little loud one, crying as soon as he is scared or upset. He is so soft and cute, though, I can't stop kissing him.
Xavier is the smart one. He was the first one out of the crate, the first one running, the first one to drink water and he already eats his mom's dry food (the other ones don't even drink water or KMR yet!).
Loic loves to be held. Very quiet and easy to manipulate. He loves to do things on his own and nothing scares him.
Matheo is a bit more easily scared and doesn't like to be held as much, but loves to be pet and to just walk all over me. If I lay down on the floor, he will lay down next to me and fall asleep (if he is not in "hyper-excited-kitty mode"!).
I love them all so much. Their future families will be very lucky to have such special and loving kitties. As for the mom, I cannot imagine how broken my heart will be when she leaves.
I promise to post pictures soon. I have tons of them, it will be hard to choose!
Thank you for following our story.