Should I bring this kitten in or leave to stay out with the mother?

Thanks so much for the replies.  I appreciate it very much.  By the way ---

I've been giving her about an ounce of the KMR about twice per day for a while now.  Does anyone know how soon I should wean her off of it?  She eats her dry food & I give her "wet" food (mixed with her kitten chow) once a day - not much, maybe a tablespoonful because she doesn't want any more than that anyway.  I'd eventually like to put her on dry food only but I'm not sure when I should transition her to it.  Suggestions?

She looks very small right now. Kittens her age need to eat around the clock.

Are you giving the KMR to her as milk to drink? She needs to drink it. She needs wet food around the clock to grow. She should have kitten chow to munch on between meals 24/7.

You should not skimp on her diet now at all. She needs as much wet food and liquid kitten milk as she can drink now to grow on. This will go on until she is six months old at least.

She should have dry kitten chow to munch on through the night right now. Do not limit her in any way right now, as she needs maximum nutrition to grow.

She is a growing kittten and her diet should not be limited until she is at least 6 months of age and she weighs at least 6 pounds.

Let us know how she is doing. She needs a growing kitten diet right niw, which is extra food.

OK, thanks for the advice.  I'll keep giving her the KMR & upgrade her wet food to twice daily.  I'll keep putting up pictures as she grows, too.  Updates to follow!

She's super cute!

We'll look forward to the updates.

I'm looking forward to more picture of Patches and Carrot. I would love to see a photo of Suzie Q also.

I am so glad patches is feeling better. Kudos to you for your quick action in taking her to the vet. These little babies can go down hill so quickly.

Yes, I'm very glad she's feeling better.  She is SO funny!  I'll definitely put up a pic or two of Suzie Q soon.  She's a "Skinny Minnie," but she's a sweetheart too.    I've put about $300 into my cats - Suzie Q, Patches & Carrots, too.  I must love them!

                                                                                                                                                              

Suzie Q  She's actually not as skinny as she looks in this pic.  

She eats a lot more than she did before she was spayed.

I'm not worried.  She's kind of little thing herself.


"Big Boy" (a.k.a. papa cat)

He still hangs around even though she'll not be coming in heat again.

I think they're a couple.  He seems to be pretty loyal to her.

I have to feed him separately.  Whatever food I put out first, if he starts to eat and she walks up, he backs off & lets her have it.  

Neat, huh?


Gotta like this effect.    

She likes to lay on the broom.  She's not a wicked witch though.    

She's very sweet.


Suzie Q on my lap at sunset.


"Hey Carrots!  Ya wanna play with my tribble?"

"Naah, you go ahead. I'll watch and see if you do it right." 


I bought a laser pointer yesterday.  

Carrots has always chased them.  

Patches took after it real quick.  

Must be a kitty instinct...

                                                                                                                                                                             

Lovely story, I love a happy ending keep posting pictures and updates!

Looks like a very happy family all the way around!

Suzi Q looks like such a sweetie pie. Thanks for posting more photos. 

They all look very happy!!

I love the tribble!

They are.  I've been blessed.  I'm doggie-sitting a dachshund ("Luna") for a friend of mine this weekend while she goes out of town.  I've kept her before and she's never a problem & is a real sweetheart.  She & Carrots know each other and get along fine.  However when she & Patches laid eyes on each other there was a little tension.  Patches hissed at Luna a few times and Luna was scared to death (wussy dog!).  Now Patches wants to play but Luna is having none of it.  She's still scared of her.  It's kinda funny. 

Sounds like they just need to work it out!

That is funny. My dog always lets Claire eat out of her dish. I can tell she doesn't like it, but all Claire has to do is hiss at her and she backs off.

I guess it is true Cats rule and dogs drool....lol  

She's gone.  My baby is gone.

I took Patches to Help for Animals to have her spayed on Monday (8/24).  She was such a sweetheart.  It was over an hour's drive but she never made a peep from her pet carrier all the way there.  I dropped her off at 8:00 am and went to run various errands throughout the day until it was time to pick her up at 4:00 o'clock.  When I got there, instead of bringing her out they called me me back to the exam room.  I got a huge lump in my throat.  Something was very, very wrong and I knew it.  That's when they told me about a condition she had that I had never heard of - Feline Infectious Peritonitis.  It's a fatal disease that they said she was apparently born with.  Mama cat (Suzie Q) is fine.  I had her spayed in July and she is a happy kitty rug on my front porch.  Apparently either her or Big Boy (Papa cat) passed on the gene to her and it manifested itself after she was born at the tender age of three months she needed to be put down.  My heart was so broken.

They said I could spend as much time as I wanted with her.  I stayed with her for over an hour.  I cried like a little baby.  Here I am a 56 year old man & I was crying over a kitten.  She wrapped herself around my neck and purred as loud as I'd ever heard her do.  She kept kissing me, over and over and over.  It was like she knew.

She loved giving me kisses.  Yes, kisses.  Right on the mouth.  At bedtime she'd attack whichever hand had the remote.  Sometimes I'd pick up a different remote and pretend to use it instead.  She never fell for it for more than a few seconds before going back to the one she knew I was using.  She was smart that way.  We'd play the game game for about ten minutes or so before she would settle down and lay against my right shoulder. She would watch TV with me., occasionally stopping to give more kisses.

It didn't matter how long I stayed in bed, she was right by my side.  If I had nowhere to go that day - even if I stayed in bed until 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon - she never left my side.  She wouldn't get out of bed until I did.  She followed me around the house all day.  If she wrestled with me and dig into my hands with her paws, she never once scratched me.  It was like she had no claws when it came to me.  She was that gentle.  I kept her kitten food bowl hidden in a place where Carrots (my 12 year old cat) couldn't get to it.  If I walked into the "food bowl room," she'd follow me there and start eating out of her bowl.  I think she did it so she could be close to me.

Every morning when I sat at the dining room table doing my Bible study & devotionals, she would get up in my lap and stand up & pull on my shirt for - you guessed it - kisses.  She was totally devoted to me.  She was the most amazing little kitty I've ever been blessed to have in my life.  We were totally devoted to each other and it was awesome.

And now she's gone.  My "Little Girl" (what I called her most of the time) is gone.  She lived for only three months.  It just doesn't seem fair.  She was just a baby and now she's gone.  Every morning when I wake up I expect her to be by my side.  But she's not and will never be again.  My baby is gone. She trusted me and I let her down.

I've long felt that the unconditional love of a pet is the closest thing we have to the love of God on earth.  To me, it's is true beyond measure.

I love you, Patches.  I always will, Little Girl...

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/health_information/brochure_ftp.cfm

I am so sorry that Patches was put down. I can only imagine how devastated and heartbroken you are.

But I am puzzled. Why did they put her down if she had no symptoms? Some cats can live for years without getting sick. The article you provided a link for explains this. Had she been sick lately?

Within the last week or two before I took her to Help for Animals, she started getting extremely overweight.  Apparently her belly was filling up with fluid and I didn't know there was anything seriously wrong.  I thought she was just eating too much so I started cutting back on her food.  But that wasn't the problem.  They discovered the disease when they opened her up and tested her to find out what was wrong.  They said they that didn't even spay her.  They said I could take her home but she would just keep filling up with fluid and that it would eventually start crushing her inner organs and she would eventually suffocate and die a slow, painful death within a couple of months and I couldn't bear the thought of watching her suffer like that.  It was like I had been shot through the heart.  All I could think of was that she trusted me and I let her down.  I had already spent some $200 or more on her since she was born trying to keep her healthy.  I couldn't care less about the money.  I would have spent $1,000 more on her if it would have saved her.  I loved my Little Girl and I failed her.

Thank you for explaining that. You had not posted in about a month, and I have been with your thread since the beginning, so I was shocked, as I know you were too. I did not know she was experiencing symptoms. The Cornell article indicates that results of a blood test alone are insufficient for a diagnosis. In the absence of an explanation I wanted to know if their recommendation was based on a blood test. Now I realize they found the fluid.

Poor Patches! I definitely feel you made the right decision. She would have gone downhill very quickly with the wet FIP. You spared her much pain and suffering.

I just recall urging you to bring her in and give her a home, and all your worries about your landlord possibly being upset over the extra cat. You were very torn over your decision, but in the end she stole your heart! She was an absolutely adorable "little girl", very sweet and loving. You only had her for a short while, but you gave her so much love and care. And she clearly followed you everywhere, slept with you, and loved you back in that special way that only an innocent, dependent little kitten can.

Again, I am so sad for you. Patches' spirit is part of yours. RIP little girl. God bless.

I'm so sorry to hear about Patches.  She had a wonderful life with you, warm, loving.  She would not have had that without you.  She also had a wonderful death.  if you had not taken her in she would still have had this disease but she would have suffered and been alone.  You did nothing to cause this.  Please do not blame yourself.

I know it's not my fault.  It just feels like it is.  I posted the story about her along with a lot of pictures on my FB page and my landlady saw them and you know what she said?

"So sorry Bob..there are more fur babies that need your love out there!"

That made me feel good.  Like maybe I could get another kitten.  Maybe, but I'm not sure if I'm ready for that yet because I know I'll always compare her to Patches.  I know there'll never be another one like her.  She was one of a kind.