Foster Kitten Chatter

The four week old kittens are eating canned food that has been watered down. I plan to mix milk in with their food, but they won't need the bottle. I won't be getting them until after I return some of my own kittens, I wouldn't have the time or space otherwise.
Gerbil, our poodle, trying to get the kittens to play as they explore the parlor.


Cash saying hello!!! He's my big baby, the most mature in some ways, a bit of silly-boy in others.


The six eating together. I have three different dishes for them so they can all get their share, but sometimes Tess tries to keep one all to herself.


Oliver reminds me of a small tiger with his gorgeous red ticked coat and mackerel tabby stripes.


One of Lyla's little guys.   : )


One of the new trio. Their names are Hermoine, Genny and Beatrix.


Nocturne saying hello. He's starting to try to walk! I would call it more of toddling, but it's so cute!!!


Lyla's three, staring at something they find interesting in the corner.


Cash and his handsome classic tabby swirls.


Tesla always gives this wide-eyed look. She was smelly and greasy after getting over her fleas and got a bath and now her coat is so soft and silky!


Bee checking out the litter box. It is far larger than the one they had upstairs.


Cash again. I think he poses the best.  : )

I love the picture of the dog and kitten in this thread. So cute.

How is everything going today? I know you are trading kittens and bringing in some newbies. Give us the update once you know what's what. [emoji]128522[/emoji]

Sure thing.  : )

Right now I know that I'm keeping Bee at least, she isn't feeling well and is throwing up and having bloody poop. I'm worried about her, but at least she isn't suffering and respiratory issues. She is going to see the doctor today and can get wormed if needed. I gave Bee (and all the cats) lots of cuddles to keep them content and their immune systems at their best.  : )

Lyla has worms again, even though she was wormed before she gave birth, but I'm not bringing her in today because it will be too crowded. I think I'll bring her in tomorrow or next week.

We'll see what kittens are needing fostering when I get there.

They should be able to give you a dewormer for Lyla without bringing her in. She will need multiple treatments, 2-3 weeks apart.

Is Bee around the other kittens? Or quarantined?

Vomiting and bloody poop are serious. That could be feline distemper, or a bad case of worms. I hope not. If she's contagious, you'll need to quarantine her.

Can't the vet give you worm medicine to dose Lyla with at home?

She needs a 2nd dose two weeks after the first. Cats and kittens often need worming several times. Her kittens need worming too. If she has worms, they will have worms. I'd move that up to a priority.

They gave us some meds for Lyla to bring home with us. Then she can be dewormed again in a couple weeks when she goes in for her check-up with her kittens.

Today we brought home Banjo and Spoons to baby-sit for the week-end. They are very cute and lively and healthy. Banjo is about 2 weeks old but is the size of Lyla's kittens while Spoons the calico is heading on about three and a half.

I won't be taking Hermoine, Beatrix and Genny until next week, which is nice, as I can focus on the cats I have.

Ollie, Kai and Cash got fixed today. Kai actually got to fall asleep in my arms, which was good because he was getting nervous.

There are a lot of kittens coming in, most of them fairly healthy which is nice and most of them a little older in age and able to be fixed right when they come in. Right now we've got three new kitties in foster with another family for a week or two. They are Sticky, Petunia and Huck.

I think Bee was having issues because of the change in diet (she had a couple cans of fish cat food, which gives them diarrhea) and possibly worms contracted by Lyla (they are not kept together but they were in adjacent rooms and Bee would try to sneak in with Lyla). She seems to be doing better now and she was also dewormed again so that should help her too.

Lyla is now up in my room living in my closet (she can leave if she wants) as her den with her kittens. The study room is home to Bee, Trouble and Tesla. Spoons and Banjo live in carriers because they are so small. Because Spoons tries to nurse on Banjo the two are separated right now, but as they get older they should be great friends.  : )

gitabooks

How are Spoons and Banjo eating?

Can you put them with Lyla?

It sounds like they need bottle feeding and companionship.

I'm glad Lyla and Bee were wormed.

Spoons doesn't drink from a bottle or drink milk so I'm trying to find out what to do with her. She instead eats canned food mixed with water from a syringe. I'm going to see if I can get her to start on some milk since it has the calcium she needs for good bones.

Banjo is doing great with his bottle and is lively with a healthy, round belly. Both of them are curled up in my blanket right now, just like my five liked to do when they were that age.

I'm a little worried about Lyla's kittens. They seem too thin. I think I'm going to start bottle feeding them when I bottle feed Banjo, see if I can get a little more nutrition into them in case their mother isn't producing enough. I'm going to weigh them today as well. So far they were growing a lot every day, but they seem to be slowing down just a little.

I'll let you know their weights once I get them.

Please do!

I've felt all along that Lyla's kittens needed supplementing. Let's see if they'll take to a bottle. I'll tell you how much they need once I know weights.

Thanks!

I weighed the kittens and have been spending extra time with Lyla. Nocturne is around 12.4 oz, Ozzie is around 13 oz, and little Twilight around 11.7 oz.

When I was petting Lyla she seemed to want me to rub her belly. Her nipples feel hot and swollen. Could this just be because she was full of milk or because she has mastitis? She let me rub them and laid down, so I put the kittens next to her. She let them nurse, but she seemed to be hurting when they did, especially if they clawed at one another over a nipple. I kept petting her so she would stay laying down, she seemed to be asking me to stay or she would get up and not let them nurse. They are teething, which could be a reason for this, but this change in behavior from her near constant nursing in the past has me worried.

While I was rubbing her tummy, back and head I also felt a strange hard something in her belly. Either she has some serious constipation, I'm feeling a bone that I didn't know existed, she has some kind of massive kidney stones or she has an unborn kitten in her (after 3 weeks?).

I want to get her checked out but the vet isn't coming back until Wednesday next week.

Lyla seems to want to eat wet food more then she did in the past and today she was ignoring her hard food, another change in behavior. Her droppings look fine, she seems to be gaining weight, and she isn't acting any weaker then before. Could it just be that I brought her upstairs that I'm starting to notice things more that were always there?

gitabooks

It sounds like Lyla may have mastitis. Hot nipples are not normal and would be very painful. This is easily cured with antibiotics. Are you able to pick some up?

In the meantime, apply a warm, damp compress to her nipples to help the swelling.

She may also need Udder Balm, or even olive oil, applied to her nipples to help with obvious chapping.

But if she is not treated she may stop nursing, which is not good.

How old are her kittens now? Their weights are that of 3-week-olds.

How are your 2 new kittens doing today?

Spoons and Banjo are doing great, though I'm still learning their schedules. Spoons prefers milk mixed with canned kitten food in a syringe and is very messy about it. However, even though she is only three weeks old she uses the litter box on her own!

Banjo is a good little boy and nurses, then goes back to sleep. He's a lot easier to handle then her.

As for Lyla, I'll talk to the vet's assistant tomorrow. The vet won't be in until next week, but she might have something that could help Lyla out. Lyla's nipples actually are nice and soft, not chapped or scraped up, which is nice. However, some of them seem to be producing less milk then others as the kittens will often switch nipples after just a few seconds of latching on.

Being born on June 7th means these little guys are now 4 weeks old! They walk around and will hiss if surprised, they even seem to be investigating their mother's food and water, which is good. Hopefully they can start trying some of the canned food + KMR I've been offering to her, that will take the strain off of her and give them a boost.

My trio are at Petsmart right now. Everyone said Oliver was a beautiful, unique boy so I think he'll go pretty quickly. Cash is such a friendly little baby that he'll win people over also. I'm worried about Kai though, since he is shy, doesn't like being held all that well (it scares him to be lifted up quickly) and is black. People like the interesting colors and it can be hard to adopt out the black or plain grey tabby ones.

I'll bet Spoons will be eating on her own soon!

Considering how tiny Lyla's were, they are doing great at 4 weeks. It will be a big relief when they start on some mushy wet food to help them gain. At 4 weeks they should weigh one pound.

It's always hard when you know "your" babies are in a cage at Pet Smart. Bewildering for them, I'm sure. And you can't help but worry, but they need homes. Poor Kai. I love black kittens myself, but not everyone does.

Keep up the great job!

Yeah, I've learned that no matter how plain an animal may look at first, whether it be a dog, a cat or a chicken, the closer you look the more you can see just how beautiful they are. Kai is a very handsome dude if someone takes the time to look close.  : )

Yesterday Lyla and her kittens got their first check-up. They did well and the kitties, though little, are nice and healthy. The vet said that Lyla is producing good milk also, which is so nice to know. I'm still offering them some milk as well as canned food. They are also starting to use their litter box! They all got wormed and Lyla got vaccinated and given a shot for tapeworms (which she had) so hopefully all the worm issues will be gone.

Tesla, Bee and Trouble are getting fixed today and put up for adoption but we got three new kittens. The trio, Narcissa (Sissy), Genny and Bellatrix (Bella) are staying with us for a couple weeks while their original foster parent is on vacation. They are adorable little things, six weeks old but a little stunted because of flea issues they had a couple weeks ago. They are doing very well though and just got vaccinated.

I'll post some update pictures soon.

As promised, some update pics of the foster kitties.

Currently in foster homes for UCHS (Union County Humane Society) are Sticky, Huck, Petunia, Banjo, Spoons, Lyla, Moo, Mr. Cool, Nocturne, Twilight, Oz, Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Genny. About seven of these are with my family at our house.

Here is a picture showing the difference in color between Lyla's kittens. On the left is Nocturne, the darkest, and on the right I believe is Twilight, though it could be Oz. They are a roan-like misty grey with dark points and a dark undercoat. nocturne is basically a darker version of them with a red tinge to his fur.


Nocturne also happens to be shockingly adorable! his eyes bug out of his head like they don't fit, his forehead is so large an round its like a baseball and his little ears curl down at the tips still. He loves tummy rubs and cries (okay, screams at the top of his lungs) for attention and food when bored or hungry. He's the cutest little guy ever!!!



Oz showing off his walking ability. They still fall over a lot, but at least they can walk and even attempt a run!


First introduced into our house, the new trio (Bella, Genny and Sissy) are checking out their new room.


Lyla chilling with her babies.


Nocturne and Oz playing by the litter box.


Oz with his cute little white locket on his chest.


The trio (left to right Nocturne, Oz and Twilight) nursing from their mommy.

The foster kitties are all doing well. I've got three weeks with Lyla and probably 4-5 weeks with her kittens. The three "Harry Potter" sisters will be here for one more week and then can return to their home with their first foster mother.

Lyla is getting more willing to leave her closet, especially after her nail trim. She is sweet, talkative, and cautious as well as very gentle and calm. Twilight is curious and a tag-along while Oz is the leader of the trio. Nocturne, as always, is the trouble-maker. He wanders off from his family to look for me, screams (you can hear it from down-stairs) for attention and loves to cuddle. I think being premature caused him to become developmentally disabled because of oxygen issues. He walks different then the others and his head is shaped different. He tends to fall over a lot, run into things, trip, and stick his tongue out a lot. He is so sweet and cute and beautiful that I don't mind a bit. I might even decide to keep him should his mental issues stay. We've had experience with oxygen deprived cats, they have a special spot for me. We raised a kitten named Miracle who we brought back with CPR and she had issues with her third eye-lid and controlling her claws. She was totally sweet and playful though, perfect for our family.

The three Harry Potter sisters are very sweet as well, and love to cuddle. I think Sissy is my favorite because he goes floppy when picked up, like a Rag Doll.

gitabooks

Do you mean that you are only keeping Lyla for 3 more weeks? If so, why is she being separated from her kittens early?

It does sound as though Nocturne has issues. It might be best if he stays with you. He looks adorable though!

What happened with Spoons and Banjo? Did I miss an update?

It sounds as though things are generally going well for you! [emoji]128522[/emoji]

GitaBooks - what a saint you are. I couldn't begin to do what you do.