Elsa's babies

Primula

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I guess I was just following Elsa's lead as I don't want her being at all stressed so it just made sense. I pointed out to the boys that while she was relatively relaxed (lying off on the floor), she was still a bit anxious because her tail was flicking at the end.

They could see this themselves so it wasn't a case that I was being mean by not letting them too near the kittens, it was Elsa's choice.

They know that they will see the kittens and hold them etc when they are a little older. And they get to see lots of photos and videos each day too.

It's their first experience of tiny kittens so they are really in awe. [emoji]128525[/emoji]
How old are your children, if you don't mind me asking? You seem to be able to take care of many things in your home quite calmly. [emoji]128526[/emoji]
 
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irishmammy

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I have three boys aged 13 (who has only a passing interest in the kittens), 11 and 8 and my daughter is 6.

It was the 11 and 8 year old son who were visiting Elsa today.

Animals have an amazing calming effect on kids (in my house anyway). My 13, 8 and 6 year olds are all on the autism spectrum so not always calm but calmness reigns around the animals.

My daughter is my main partner in fostering (it's our "thing") and she is learning so much about empathy and caring for another that doesn't come naturally to her, by fostering. She's brilliant though, gets stuck in to cleaning litter trays and cleaning food bowls and doesn't mind the yucky jobs.

She checks Elsa several times a day to make sure she has enough food and water and has little chats with her.

She was so mad about visiting the kittens at the shelter that I figured if we didn't foster, she'd be a fully fledged crazy cat lady by the age of 8!!
 

opieandspuds

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All is going great. Elsa is soooo calm and relaxed and totally has it all under control. She strikes me as being quite experienced.

Ok, so we have 4 kittens and as I have 4 kids, they each got to choose a name. We are assuming we have 2 boys and 2 girls as we seem to have 2 sets that look different. [emoji]128514[/emoji] I had no input or say in the names....I think they did well. As these are foster kittens, they may end up with different names but for now, these are their names.

Tabby and white boy: Timmy (chosen by my daughter who loves The Famous Five books with Timmy the dog!)


Next is black and white boy, called Bandit!


Tuxedo girl is Lilly.

Tabby girl is Tulip.


Elsa, all loved up.

Welcome! So cute! Love the names. Its my dream to go to Ireland someday[emoji]128522[/emoji]
 

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Aww, weight gains are awesome! [emoji]128077[/emoji] They will all begin to open their eyes over the next week. So exciting!
 
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irishmammy

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Tulip has also started to peek at the world. It's amazing how quickly they grow and change.
 

Primula

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Tulip has also started to peek at the world. It's amazing how quickly they grow and change.
Totally. I've mentioned before that the thing I most loved when I fostered was going in to see them every morning. At first so relieved everyone made it through the night & then so fascinated to see them grow so quickly. Another 3 weeks they will be starting to crawl a little bit.
 
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irishmammy

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It's been a few days and everything was going well. Until this morning. The weight gains for the last 24 hours are very low:

5, 4, 1 and 6 grammes respectively.

What I have noticed is that Elsa (the mum) only ate half what she normally eats. Her poo this morning was a bit sticky. Normally it's well formed.

One of the babies has yellowy staining around his nose. He's not sneezing though and I don't see any actual discharge from his nose.

Another baby was sneezing a little yesterday but I haven't heard any sneezes today.

Yesterday, there was a lot of "fussing" when feeding...just not settling to feed. Swapping places, pushing each other off etc.

Do we need the vet today or will I give it 24 hours? I think Elsa will be stressed by a trip to the vets so I don't want to rush into it unless needed.


Photo shows Timmy with yellow around nose.
 
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irishmammy

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Update: phoned my vet and they said bring them in in case they are starting to go downhill.
 

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irishmammy irishmammy

I agree with bringing everyone in. It sounds like mom is not up to par, and a possible URI may be starting. At least no one lost any weight. Please update after the vet visit.
 
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irishmammy

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irishmammy irishmammy

I agree with bringing everyone in. It sounds like mom is not up to par, and a possible URI may be starting. At least no one lost any weight. Please update after the vet visit.
Yes, this seems to be the case unfortunately. Elsa has a temperature and as well as Timmy with his yellow nose/face, Tulip and Bandit were sneezing by the time we got to the vets.

He has given Elsa an antibiotic injection and an anti-inflammatory one and we've to follow up with antibiotic drops (Betamox) starting on Wednesday.

The kittens are all being put on betamox drops from today.

Poor little family, they must be feeling miserable.

The vet checked for mastitis too but didn't find any sign of it, which is great. As a human who's had mastitis, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

Hoping they will all pick up when the antibiotics kick in.
 

opieandspuds

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Yes, this seems to be the case unfortunately. Elsa has a temperature and as well as Timmy with his yellow nose/face, Tulip and Bandit were sneezing by the time we got to the vets.

He has given Elsa an antibiotic injection and an anti-inflammatory one and we've to follow up with antibiotic drops (Betamox) starting on Wednesday.

The kittens are all being put on betamox drops from today.

Poor little family, they must be feeling miserable.

The vet checked for mastitis too but didn't find any sign of it, which is great. As a human who's had mastitis, I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy.

Hoping they will all pick up when the antibiotics kick in.
Hope they feel better soon!
 

Sarthur2

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It's so good that the vet is treating everyone. They really should begin to feel better soon. Thank you for taking them in. Keep us posted.
 
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irishmammy

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Love that beard on Bandit!
He really is cute. And personality-wise, he couldn't be further from a Bandit! [emoji]128514[/emoji] He's the quiet one who likes to sleep. His weight gains alternate high and low each day so it looks like he feeds really well every second day and then sleeps it off. Little cutie


It's so good that the vet is treating everyone. They really should begin to feel better soon. Thank you for taking them in. Keep us posted.
It's hard to know what's the best thing to do when they're so little as I knew moving them would be stressful (poor mama jumped out of the carrier a few times till she realised her babies were in there too.) I'm glad I did as I'm sure if I'd waited they might have got worse very quickly.

Hopefully Elsa will start to feel better soon.
 
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