More kittens?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

[lazygardner]

I was all ready to get a new kitty from Annie in Illinois or Snow's friend Betsy (after I paid off my $500.00 vet bill from Orange Pekoe). Apparently, Fate had other plans! My DD woke me up yesterday morning and told me that I had to go help the neighbor across the street. He had found some kittens in his bushes. So, I ended up with four kittens two black with muted tabby stripes and white patch on the chest (one male and one female) and two blue point siamese or himalayan (one male and one female, about three and a half weeks old! I gave them baths and tried to get rid of as many fleas as I could, then mixed up kitten milk replacer and tried to bottle feed them. They didn't eat much, but they really enjoyed teething on the nipple (poor momma!) I get them to the vet and they clip their little claws, worm them and remove a nasty grub from under the skin on the little black girl. I add another $40.00 to my debt and throw another $100.00 in to pay it off. So far, so good.

We get home, get settled into the kennel cage in the livingroom, and there is a knock on the door. The neighbor now has my live-trap with Momma, a super skinny black kitty with a small white patch on her chest. She appears to be about a year old. This is probably her first litter. She is very scared, but doesn't try to bite or scratch when I catch her to put her in with her babies. Everyone seems very happy to be reunited and Momma is clearly happy to have real food instead of garbage pickings, and to be inside a climate controlled home. She does hiss and growl at the other kitties in the room, but she is protecting her babies. (Wish I could tell her Zippy will help her mommy them if she gives him a chance.)

Also so far, so good. So, I try to clip her claws. She actually LETS ME! No complaints! Until.... oops, Momma has to erp. Well, she throws up everything she ate and then some. Okay, no biggie. Afterall, it has been a trying day for little Momma. So, I put her back in the kennel cage and next thing I know, she makes a LEAP for the litter box, and starts to shoot out diarrhea from one end and vomit from the other. This is definitely NOT a healthy kitty!

So now, I become concerned about what I am exposing my kitties to. As soon a DH gets home we carry the whole kit and caboodle out to the garage, when they will be protected from rain but can't spread the fleas or anything else. My vet has Saturday hours so we are headed back there as soon as possible. More bills. I am starting to feel like Tundra Queen!

Oh, and let me add my voice to the others: anybody want a kitten?

[wishiwere]

OH MY OH MY! You certainly took on a bundle of joys!

Good luck with it all. Sorry, 4's our limit for animals (2 cats, 2 dogs), but will say a prayer that they are taken off your hands shortly! Poor mommy probably wasn't ready for real food huh? Hope it's not worms or such.

Your a good person to take them all in.

[Lionitus]

My Goodness, lazygardner, you sure have your hands full. Bless you for all you have taken on. I hope poor little momma kitty will be alright. And I can sure sympathize with you about vet bills, can't we all here? I've just been through two kitties with kidney failure, one that we rescued from starvation and now, my poor little Zippy with cancer. I'm going to have to get another job! I guess that's the burden of us animal lovers. I wouldn't have it any other way.

What's happening to momma sounds like the same affliction that our Emmy had, he's the one that was starving. She's probably not used to good, solid food and maybe overate. Our vet also said that near starvation and having to exist on critters and garbage can cause all sorts of bad bacterial problems in their digestive tracks. Hopefull, your vet can help her.

Good Luck with all the new family members and I hope you find good homes for them all.

Lionitus

[LucyGoose]

Oh wow about the momma kitty!! I hope she didn't spread anything, Joanna....that leukemia is what would be scareing me.....

As for the babies..........NO THANKS!! No more kitties for me after Curtie Boy I am afraid....But thanks!

I hope momma is okay after the vet visit....Let us know, and if you could show picture of the babies, I love looking at pictures!

[patsue53]

Bless your heart for taking in this family of kitties. I'll also bet mama just couldn't handle the change of diet to good nutritious food. It sure does sound like she had a real home at one time if she's letting you handle her and clip her nails and knows what the litter box is for. Poor little girl.

Good luck to you all. Sure wish they had animal medicare to help with the vet bills incurred when taking care of homeless critters.

[Snow]

Best of luck with all these foundlings - bless your heart

[jmboyer]

Kudos to you and your golden heart, Joanna. What a sweetheart you are to take care of these babies and their Mama. I truly hope that Mama is just having an episode of nervous tension and that nothing systemic is actually wrong with her. Please let us know what the vet says about her, and good luck in caring for this abandoned family.

[newtohosta-no more]

Oh Joanna!!! That poor mommacat!! I hope she'll be okay. Maybe some worm meds and antibiotics will set her straight. And once she's use to getting some regular food and a good diet things might turn around for her. It's good that the kittens are reunited with momma though. And like everyone else has said...Bless you for caring for them!!! ((((Joanna))))

[lazygardner]

Well we are back from the vet, and I got a good solid three hours of sleep afterwards. I couldn't sleep last night because of a sore shoulder and because I couldn't help worrying about Momma, babies and my other kitties.

Momma hasn't vomitted anymore, but she did have another bout of diarrhea in the litter box again, and it looked like there was a sandwich baggie in it. When you are starving I guess you eat whatever you can just to feel ike there is something in your tummy.

Here's the vet results:

heart: good
lungs: good
temperature: 102F which is normal
weight: six and a quarter pounds
age: about a year
hydration: a little dehydrated
feline leukemia and feline aids: both negative (halleluja!!!!)
ear swab for mites: negative
fecal check for worms: negative
behavior: very good

Here's what we did: gave her capstar for fleas (kills them all in about a half hour) and gave her total worming medication. I also got some nutri-cal for her.
Lionitus- what do you think about yogurt (cherry is my Zippy's favorite) to help restore digestive bacteria?

When we were waiting, I washed my hands because they had newspaper ink all over them. As soon as she saw/heard the water, she came up and reached for the sink, and made it quite clear she wanted a drink of water. So, she is a smart girl. She is being more affectionate with me as time goes on too, and she likes to bump heads, which is one of my favorite kitty traits. So, (if I don't find out later that she has a microchip) Momma has a home (mine) and she just needs a name. She is petite and elegant and nearly solid black. I am leaning toward an egyptian goddess or princess name. Let me know if you come up with any ideas. {and please do keep your ears open for homes for the babies, they should be ready to go in about 3-4 weeks}

LG, I will be picking up some film today, but I never have gotten any good at posting pics. Brenda never gave herself the credit she deserved for intelligence. SHE learned how to post good pics.

[wishiwere]

Wow! That's really surprising that she has no medical problems and is soooooo tame even at the vets? Sounds like she was well cared for a time. Wonder if the pregnancy is why she wasn't kept. Hate people that don't spay/neuter than take the animal to the country when this happens. THey aren't any better than abusers in my eyes.

Bless your heart. Wish I knew someone who could take an animal. Everyone I know has one or more already. Dd would love it, but she has one now and may be moving home this winter to add to our 4 already.

Can't wait to see pics, hope you figure it out! Can you borrow a digi from someone?

[bengal]

Do you mind a new member just jumping in here? I've read that canned, unsweetened pumpkin is good for cats that have diarrhea, so you might want to give that a try. Tender Vittles are also supposed to be good. As a cat food, I'd rate that stuff as garbage, but as an interim treatment for diarrhea, it's another one worth a try. Also, and you probably already know this, cats often have digestive upset when their food regimen is being changed. So, since you're giving that poor cat the first real food she's had in who knows how long, she may be going through that kind of transition. The advice when switching foods is to do it very gradually, but you obviously can't do that.

Good luck with the cats. You're definitely scoring karmic points!

[lazygardner]

Thank you everybody for the advice and support. Momma kitty hasn't vomitted since last night. She did have another bout of diarrhea sometime last night, but hasn't passed anthing since then. She has been eating and drinking really well, and so far (fingers crossed) has kept it all down. I have her on a mix of Purina Kitten Chow and Diamond Professional for lactating queens. This mix was recommended by my next door neighbor who breeds Persians. I also gave her some canned Iams chicken flavor food late tonight, and I think she would have eaten it til it came out her ears. I didn't want to give her too much, in case it might upset her tummy again.

This evening, I gave each kitten a diluted flea bath and didn't find a single flea, even with a flea comb. Each was blow-dried by my very kind next door neighbor. Then poor little Momma was given a most unwelcome bath with epi-soothe shampoo and conditioner. She kept attacking the blow dryer so we had to give up on that, and she just got a good towel dry. Now, Momma's fur is soooo much softer and smells wonderful. She was mad at me for a bit, but she seemed to get over it fairly soon. My DD wants me to tell you that Momma splashed water all the way across the room while trying to get out of the tub style sink. I got thoroughly soaked and even DD who tried to avoid the waves, got wet too.

Now all are back in the freshly cleaned kennel cage and resting peacefully.

Bengal-old or new, old or young, I need all the help I can get. . I never knew that about Tender Vittles! If the diarrhea continues then I'll definitely try the pumpkin, but I am hoping that now she is settled in, her tummy will settle too, and I can continue feeding her the rich food that is supposed to be extra nourishing.

Jane-Dh and I are thinking she Was dumped because she got pregnant, but just in case, I want to make sure she doesn't have a microchip. I will also call humane society etc, to make sure someone isn't looking for her. I have to admit that it is possible she is an escapee who might have gotten pregnant before or after the great escape. Maybe someone is searching desperately for her, and really would take care of the kittens. I did snap off about ten shots of the babies in the last light of day. I will have to finish the roll and get them developed, then scan them and try to post. It may be awhile. My Daughter has offered to help, you heard it here first. Dont let her forget it.... cuz, she will.

[Annie]

Aww don't ya feel for these lost mamas and their babie??
See your just like me can't turn them away LOL. I'm very happy to hear mama is in as good a shape as the vet found her to be!

[lazygardner]

Still no vomitting or diarrhea, but I am starting to be concerned about constipation. I gave her some cherry vanilla yogurt today, and she gobbled that down. I think I will try a little pumpkin, too. Right now, I am soaking some of the dry food in water and added a little kitten milk replacer, hoping that she will get more fluids in her. I also tried to give her some Nutri-cal, but she wasn't interested in eating it from the tube; so I put a big glob on one of the kittens, so she HAD to clean it off!

I just want to thank everyone here for letting me vent a little of the stress associated with taking in new/sick lovable creatures. Thanks to you all, and especially to Chris, for making it possible for me to get a little more sleep than I would have without this forum.

[PeggyC]

Awww Joanna bless your heart for taking in this precious momma and her babies. When the thread started, I was afraid it wasn't going to have a happy ending but I'm thrilled and relieved to read your last post and it is indeed a glorious ending! I can't wait to see the pics! Peg

[Ginger]

Name her Isis!! Egyptian goddess I think, but may be Greek.

Ginger

[Pandora]

You are so wonderful to take in this family.

As far as names, I remember from the movie Return of the Mummy.

Anubus Ah-new-bus: a royal child
Ahmose Ah-moze: of the moon, heehee you could spell it Ahmouse

I saw on the Internet
Miw-sher : kitten
I don't know how it is pronounced.

[lazygardner]

Thanks for the name ideas. For now she is Momma kitty. I don't want to jump into a name too fast, besides, if she doesn't change her behaior towards my other kitties, she will have to be named by someone else. Hopefully she is just aggressive towards them because she is a nursing Momma and hasn't been spayed yet. After weaning and spaying am hoping she because much more tolerant of the others.

The latest, minor trauma is I found a small grey tick on one of Momma's hind toes, AND she had somehow ripped out the claw on that toe! All that's left is the raw inside with no nail to protect it. Needless to say it is very sensitive and exposed to dirty kitty litter everytime she uses the box. So, I did the best I could to remove the tick, although it exploded when I removed it, and I used a warm wet cloth to clean it, and I am applying a prescription antibiotic (Animax) to the toe twice a day. She doesn't like it, but she doesn't bite or scratch.... humans anyway. She took a little chunk of fur out of Zippy.

I plan to spend one day just letting her out amonst the other kitties, and throwing her back in the kennel cage every time she chases them. She will have a 30 minute time out, and then will be let out again. Hopefully, she will learn. The only real problem I expect, is the other kitties are afraid to come into the living room after being attacked by Momma. It just doesn't matter that they are bigger than she is. She is wayyyy fiercer!

The babies are doing just great. Two of them fell asleep on my DD on the couch for an hour and a half. Even though she will be stiff tomorrow, she didn't want to move them. They are just so unbelievably adorable. Even though they are so small (less than a pound each) they have distinct personalities. It will be very hard to let them go!

[janet]

Good luck to you, Joanna. Enjoy them while you have them. The group I was fostering all left yesterday for new homes and now I'm going through withdrawl. Sure is quiet around here!!

[lazygardner]

Oh Janet, you have my sincerest sympathy!!!! I could sit and just watch those kittens for hours. One climbed up the couch on his own today, and you would think he had won the tricathlon (sp?), I was so proud. Then another was sitting with eyes half closed and mouth half open, and I thought to myself, "is this baby getting an upper respiratory infection"? I was staring at the kitten's face from a few inches away trying to hear his breathing, when suddenly his whole head fell face forward onto the cushion he was on. He had been falling asleep with his mouth hanging open! I honestly don't think I could let all the babies go even if I did have customers for each one.