I have been remiss in  keeping up with my blog – I have so many farm related posts to write, and some local lore, and just day to day posts!

But, daughter and I have been a little busy!

A friend of mine is a cat rescuer, and I made the ‘mistake’ of saying that if she ever needed help, let me know……!!

In a past life, I owned a pet sitting service, retiring after 15 years in the business. I was one of the first services in Northern Va, when petsitting was just becoming popular. Senior cats were a large part of my business, since one of the services I offered was geriatric care!  But I digress – petsitting would be a whole other blog (and book!)

Suffice it to say, that I have cat experience!!! The aforementioned friend was rearing a litter of kittens who had been found in a box by a dumpster. They were about 3 days old, umbilical stumps still attached, and eyes still closed-and ADORABLE- as all tiny kittens are!

Well, friend was going on vacation, and I happened to mention if she needed help……….

I MUST learn to keep my mouth shut!!!! LOL Daughter and I have the kittens- going on day 5 of their 10 or 11 day stay with us! Since daughter is training to be a vet tech, she gets most of the feeding duties, and I do everything else (unless of course, she’s not home - then I get it all!!!)

We are feeding every 4 hours, cleaning crate linens, changing the hot water bottle, heating formula, weighing the teeny ones after every meal, two drops of antibiotics in the mouth 2x a day, gently cleaning their eyes, and putting in eye drops 2x daily, stimulating them to pee and poop after every meal, and loving them in between!! Oh, I forgot to mention picking every last flea off each and every kitten before they came into my house!!!!I have a ceramic bird  cage heater that we rigged up outside of the crate for extra warmth- kittens this age are unable to shiver and regulate their body temps, so need alot of warmth.

My guest bedroom has been turned into a kitty nursery!

Our very predatory dog clan prevents us from keeping any of these cuties. Two of our dogs park themselves outside the bedroom door while we are feeding, and all we can see are their paws, noses and the occasional tongue sticking under the door! I have to remember to try to get a picture of that!!!

When we received the litter Saturday nite, one little orange kitten had a respiratory infection. Even tho he was feisty and eating well, sadly, he did not make it to the early Monday vet appointment I set up- well, he made it there, but the vet gently suggested we leave him behind – which we fully expected. We got a stronger antibiotic for the rest of the litter to try to keep them healthy.

Now, we are watching everyone for the slightest illness. The little runt, who is christened Kramer (his wild hair and wobbly gait remind us of the  Seinfeld character!), was sneezing at the vet, and has been sneezing occasionally. The vet cautioned, as we knew, that he is tiny, and the respiratory thing can be deadly to tiny compromised kittens. Weighing in at 3 oz at approx 18 days old, he is literally half the size of his robust littermates! But, he’s feisty, and tries so hard, we can only hope for the best!! He appears to have gained almost 3/4 of an oz in the 4 days we’ve had him. I have a tiny postal scale covered by a single square of toilet tissue  (the metal is cold on tiny kitten tummies!) to weigh the kittens before and after every meal!

There are 3 males, and one calico female. Her name is Queen B – and we’ll leave it to your imagination what the ‘B’ stands for!!! Quirky is a peach/cream colored boy, Bruiser is a beautiful tiger like tabby, Queen B is calico, and our precious Kramer is white with gray patches. They look like they will all be long hairs, and are up for adoption when weaned!!! So, if you live in the Virginia area……..!!!!!

Not to get on a soapbox – but these little guys are a perfect example why everyone should have their cat spayed and neutered!!!! There are clinics everywhere that have discounted fees, if the regular vet fees are unaffordable. Some area vets will do free spay/neuter for feral  and barn cats. Kittens are, unfortunately, a dime a dozen. As a result, it is difficult to find good, loving, and responsible homes for them all. Owning a cat is a 12-20 year commitment! There is NO excuse for kittens (or puppies!) to be abandoned in a box, drowned in the river,  used for target practice, or as bait for dogs. Well, I guess I did get on a little bit of a soapbox…………………….

Tonite, the kittens will be traveling in a very warm truck with the daughter to her vet tech class at the local college. They will be part of the night’s lesson plan, and maybe, just maybe, will touch somebody’s heart and find a forever home!!!

 

Anyway, that’s why I have been away from the computer!

 

 

 

 

This is Kramer and Bruiser – see the difference!!!

All is well, and ‘kittyful’ at Mountain Meadows today!!!!!

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Self esteem comes from being able to define the world in your own terms and refusing to abide by the judgements of others.——————-Oprah!