Nursing mama SO SKINNY!

[calliemaylily]

That's what the vet said, too.  They said it will depend on her weight and overall health.  When we got Baby May, she was under 5 lbs and starving, too.  We found her in the weeds by the creek and took her in.  They went ahead and vaccinated her, but she didn't fare well.  

 

[calliemaylily]

Just a quick update. Lily just returned from the vet.  Her leukemia combo test is negative and that means her babies can be fostered by the no-kill shelter.

Lily got a lot of vaccines and other tests performed today.  The vet said she's up to nearly six pounds now!!  (thanks to the advice from here--she was under 5 pounds when I first wrote).  They also determined that Lily is not pregnant, so they will do her spay sometime after this coming week (she's SO thin, they wanted to wait till a week after vaccines on her under-nourished frame to not stress her little body too much).  They will do the spay even if she is impregnated before the week is out, so that's ok by me.  

The vet said that considering all she's been through, she's advancing very well and is likely not yet a year old.  I'm just hoping now that our inside girls will accept her after the babies leave and we bring her in.  

Thanks again for all the advice. It made all the difference, I know.

 

[Sarthur2]

This is good news, though she still needs to gain weight. I'm glad you still plan to adopt her.

How old are the babies now, and what are your plans for them?

 

[calliemaylily]

The babies are just over 8 weeks at present and will be fostered by a local no-kill shelter with one of their fosters.  Vet says they're doing superbly and it's time to make the switch so the mama can beef up for her surgery.  I'm working now on a transfer date closer to 9+ weeks for the transfer to foster care.  The vet suggested we begin to take the mama for some bits of time so they'll all not miss one another as much. The babies all get fostered together, though, which is an additional blessing.  I asked the vet about boarding the mama with the babies for the additional few weeks and she advised against it.  She's really wanting to beef up the mama and as the babies are hale and hearty, she wants to make a clean break of it instead of the stress of moving to a new location and all that stuff.  She was so exhausted today at the vet, she fell asleep on the exam table.  Poor baby.  Anyhow, this is Lily now 6.1 lbs. total and fast asleep.

                       

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• calliemaylily
• Jun 6, 2016

 

[Sarthur2]

calliemaylily

Well, you won't like what I have to say, because I believe moms and kittens need a full 12-16 weeks together before re-homing. They are much better adjusted, and make better pets if they stay with mom and siblings longer. It can be traumatic for both moms and kittens any earlier. Your poor mom has been through so much already. Separating now is needlessly stressful for both. Mom might fare better if you could adopt one of her babies along with her. And quite honestly, mom doesn't sound like she's anywhere beefed up enough for a spay yet. As long as she's not around males, it should not be an issue when her spay is. Can you keep them together for a few more weeks? It would be ideal.

 

[calliemaylily]

Just a final note as an update here:  Mama Lily got her spay yesterday and seems to be doing ok considering how emaciated she was.  Kittens are in foster care and their vet has checked them out saying they're doing great and are extremely healthy.  They will be spayed or neutered before adoption as per the protocol of the rescue group, so this bunch will not be out there creating more babies.  So glad that is the case.  

The vet sent us home with a higher calorie food for Lily to give her in her recovery period, but said that she'd already gained a half pound and her blood work was good, so they're optimistic that she'll recover with little issue other than the usual soreness and fatigue of post op.  We're hoping so anyhow.

Thanks to all for the help and advice.  I love my vet to the moon and back, but it's also nice to be able to just "confirm" with other folks from time to time as well. 

Thought you all might like to know the end of the story.

 

[calliemaylily]

I asked for some help awhile back from the group for an emaciated mama cat and her five babies dropped off on my property.  I had to update somewhere, so I chose this forum.  Hope that's ok. 

As of tonight, I have the mother inside with us and all FIVE of her babies that had been sent to foster care have been sent to their forever families (already fixed--that's the rule there) OR are going this coming week to new families.  I am so thankful for the rescue operation for taking my babies and finding them good homes.

What a lovely success story, so I had to share!!  

 

[Sarthur2]

Thank you for the update! It's heartworming to hear stories like this where everything turns out just right. Your efforts have made a difference in 6 lives! Thank you so much for rescuing these cats! [emoji]128522[/emoji]