GREAT NEWS!!!! in 24Hrs Mouse has managed to gain 13 grams, he is above the weight he was when he arrived at my door last Thursday night. When I saw that on the scale this morning, I was so excited. Literally bouncing from seeing the gain. Not sure if its the new formula or if he is just feeling better, I don't really care which one, I just needed to see that gain. I am excited to weigh him tomorrow morning, I am hoping for another gain of at least 10G. He has pooped a ton today so we'll see if he still gains.
I wish I could update on the weight of the other 3 , but they are that "impossible" stage, it's impossible for them to stay in their weigh bucket, they are so all over the place, climbing out, hanging off the rim etc etc, it's like trying to weigh a monkey.
Jimmy and Sabrina are about 4 weeks old now, and Hope is about the same just a few days younger. The sibs will probably be going very soon to their new foster home soon, as Hope will not leave Jimmy alone and he would be better off in a place where some little girl cat isn't sucking on his little man bits all the time. He doesn't cry when she does it anymore and that concerns me. I think he has become desensitized to it.
Hope will be a tough one to place, simply b/c she is such a sucker, no matter where she goes with other kittens she will want to suck on them, I expect she will be here for at least another 2 weeks. She will be fully weaned probably by the end of this weekend and I am hoping she can be placed for adoption early as a single cat, this would be best for her. She also is quite spirited and must have things her own way, in a multiple cat home, I think this will cause issues that don't need to be. Some cats like people do better alone and she is one of those.
Mouse is doing great, he went back to the vet today and the report wasn't terrible, but could have been better. I think he has surpassed everyone's expectations, I know he has mine. He will be about 3.5 weeks old on Friday. Still a small little guy, but he knows what he likes, he is a quirky boy. I had an appt with my daughter in Guelph today, I knew I wasn't going to be home for much of the day so Mary agreed to "kitty-sit" for me. She picked them up about 8am. When I returned just after 1, i found Mary in her room with the kittens, the 3 bigger ones were being well behaved and staying in their bucket. On the bed with Mary was wee mouse man, soaking up all the love and attention he was given. Mary told me that he really enjoyed the blow dryer blowing on him....I knew he was an odd baby but i would never occur to me that any kitten would enjoy the blow dryer, but he loved it. One day I am certain that someone will send me a pic of a black and white kitten who is huge and studly and then say to me.....that was once your mouse baby....if only people were like cats, living for just the moment, not stressing about tomorrow or an hr from now.
Anyway, as I said the only weights I can give you are mouse's
yesterday he was 127G...this morning he was 140G...WAY TO GROW MOUSE!!!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Sunday, June 26, 2011
bad news...
Everybody is still alive and 3 are doing very well. I will post a bigger update with weights later today.
My main concern is wee mouse, yesterday he weighed in at 136G....today he weighs in at 127G...I am very worried. Been feeding him every 2 hrs, tried hrly but he doesn't want to eat that often. I am worried that he may be fading on me. Given his small size and lack of growth (keep in mind he is about 2.4-5 weeks old), I wasn't expecting him to live this long, but as they days have gone by I have gotten my hopes up more and more. So if you wouldn't mind, please think, pray or do whatever it is that you believe in, but please send wee mouse man some get healthy vibes, as well as some gain weight vibes. He needs all the help he can get right now.
Update** Mouse has managed to start sucking on hos own, I am taking this not only as a good sign but a hopeful one, maybe the antibiotics are kicking in. I dare not get to excited.
All 4 kittens have just had a bottle and a quick small bath. They are very smelly kittens, but learning to eat solid food is a very messy experience for them as well as me. I have been feeding them off a spoon to try and teach them, but this morning, they seemed to have understood that I am not feeding them poison and it IS good to eat the food. Sabrina is by far the quickest learner in this respect, her only issue????....she thinks she has to be IN the food to eat, so she ends up a smelly mess of food/fur, YUCK. Hope and Jimmy are catching on but would rather hold out for a bottle, which they will get after they eat a little bit of solids from a spoon. The vet had said that she thought Hope had some developmental delays, given her age, size, and skills etc etc...she seems to be right on target with this 2nd litter, so she is probably only a few days older than them. The only real difference i can see is her attitude. She is a very pushy kitty, with an attitude all her own, not sure if this is b/c she was an only for 2 weeks or if this is the way she is because it just is. You have to really watch when you are playing with her or holding her, when she gets her tail swishing that you need to go away, if you don't do it fast enough she will bite...trust me those baby teeth are very sharp. So as long as you know what you are watching for and actually paying attention she is a true love, on her terms only. I hope this will not hinder her getting adopted into a forever home. Somewhere is the perfect home for her.
Sabrina is still very laid back and calm, she is a roly poly little thing and will probably be very happy where she can be a cat and be loved, she isn't a snuggler as much as she just wants to sit near you, not necessarily on you or with you touching her, I think she just wants the reaasurance.
Jimmy, is a snuggler, I spend a lot of time with him rocking him in my chair (yes I rock the kittens lol). He loves to be touched, rubbed, pet any attentin he gets he will soak up.
Mouse is just to wee to know much about his personality, but given his struggles if he survives I am betting he will be the most loveable, friendly and social cat anyone has ever seen or met.
Their weights are not great today. However nobody lost any. They all had a bit of the runs yesterday due to the canned food I'm sure, so I am going to cut back today and see how they do. Instead of 2x a day I will give it just once and see if that makes an improvment.
their weights are:
Jimmy - 371G a small gain
Hope - 346G a small gain
Sabrina - 338G a big gain
Mouse - 127G a loss :(
I posted early today, but if anything new comes up I will edit this.
Final edit for the day: All is well, I found a recipe online for a homemade kitten formula using goats milk, evap milk, chicken baby food, a bit of corn syrup, 2 egg yolks. I wasn't sure what to do, but it is supposed to really pack on some weight and we all know that Mouse needs the weight, so after calling various people in the rescue and not getting a reply from anyone to get their approval for this mixture, I decided that he is so sick already and so small that it wouldn't hurt for me to at least try and see what happens. SO my kiddo and I went to the store bought what we needed came home and mixed it up...used KMR as well so it wasn't a shock to his system and offered him some...he took it easily and readily, but not much only about 3cc's, which is his usual amount. I am hoping that with all this protein added he will make some sort of improvement in a few days. The other kittens like it as well, but I am going to call the vet and get an opinion, if they say this is ok to use mixed with KMR or without than I may find our from the rescue if its acceptable to make this stuff with the KMR. KMR is expensive so if I can mix both of these together, the 1 can of KMR would last 2ce as long if mixed 1/2 and 1/2. The 3 bigger babes must have read my mind when I was cleaning up their last litter box miss, b/c they have finally caught on and only 1 more mess after that..impressive. Not genius kittens, but pretty smart just the same and I highly doubt there are any kittens in this world as smart as my last litter lol, something very special about the first ones..not that the 2nd are not, but the first ones....anyway I am off to bed, mouse will have me up in 2 hrs and i got a busy day tomorrow.
My main concern is wee mouse, yesterday he weighed in at 136G....today he weighs in at 127G...I am very worried. Been feeding him every 2 hrs, tried hrly but he doesn't want to eat that often. I am worried that he may be fading on me. Given his small size and lack of growth (keep in mind he is about 2.4-5 weeks old), I wasn't expecting him to live this long, but as they days have gone by I have gotten my hopes up more and more. So if you wouldn't mind, please think, pray or do whatever it is that you believe in, but please send wee mouse man some get healthy vibes, as well as some gain weight vibes. He needs all the help he can get right now.
Update** Mouse has managed to start sucking on hos own, I am taking this not only as a good sign but a hopeful one, maybe the antibiotics are kicking in. I dare not get to excited.
All 4 kittens have just had a bottle and a quick small bath. They are very smelly kittens, but learning to eat solid food is a very messy experience for them as well as me. I have been feeding them off a spoon to try and teach them, but this morning, they seemed to have understood that I am not feeding them poison and it IS good to eat the food. Sabrina is by far the quickest learner in this respect, her only issue????....she thinks she has to be IN the food to eat, so she ends up a smelly mess of food/fur, YUCK. Hope and Jimmy are catching on but would rather hold out for a bottle, which they will get after they eat a little bit of solids from a spoon. The vet had said that she thought Hope had some developmental delays, given her age, size, and skills etc etc...she seems to be right on target with this 2nd litter, so she is probably only a few days older than them. The only real difference i can see is her attitude. She is a very pushy kitty, with an attitude all her own, not sure if this is b/c she was an only for 2 weeks or if this is the way she is because it just is. You have to really watch when you are playing with her or holding her, when she gets her tail swishing that you need to go away, if you don't do it fast enough she will bite...trust me those baby teeth are very sharp. So as long as you know what you are watching for and actually paying attention she is a true love, on her terms only. I hope this will not hinder her getting adopted into a forever home. Somewhere is the perfect home for her.
Sabrina is still very laid back and calm, she is a roly poly little thing and will probably be very happy where she can be a cat and be loved, she isn't a snuggler as much as she just wants to sit near you, not necessarily on you or with you touching her, I think she just wants the reaasurance.
Jimmy, is a snuggler, I spend a lot of time with him rocking him in my chair (yes I rock the kittens lol). He loves to be touched, rubbed, pet any attentin he gets he will soak up.
Mouse is just to wee to know much about his personality, but given his struggles if he survives I am betting he will be the most loveable, friendly and social cat anyone has ever seen or met.
Their weights are not great today. However nobody lost any. They all had a bit of the runs yesterday due to the canned food I'm sure, so I am going to cut back today and see how they do. Instead of 2x a day I will give it just once and see if that makes an improvment.
their weights are:
Jimmy - 371G a small gain
Hope - 346G a small gain
Sabrina - 338G a big gain
Mouse - 127G a loss :(
I posted early today, but if anything new comes up I will edit this.
Final edit for the day: All is well, I found a recipe online for a homemade kitten formula using goats milk, evap milk, chicken baby food, a bit of corn syrup, 2 egg yolks. I wasn't sure what to do, but it is supposed to really pack on some weight and we all know that Mouse needs the weight, so after calling various people in the rescue and not getting a reply from anyone to get their approval for this mixture, I decided that he is so sick already and so small that it wouldn't hurt for me to at least try and see what happens. SO my kiddo and I went to the store bought what we needed came home and mixed it up...used KMR as well so it wasn't a shock to his system and offered him some...he took it easily and readily, but not much only about 3cc's, which is his usual amount. I am hoping that with all this protein added he will make some sort of improvement in a few days. The other kittens like it as well, but I am going to call the vet and get an opinion, if they say this is ok to use mixed with KMR or without than I may find our from the rescue if its acceptable to make this stuff with the KMR. KMR is expensive so if I can mix both of these together, the 1 can of KMR would last 2ce as long if mixed 1/2 and 1/2. The 3 bigger babes must have read my mind when I was cleaning up their last litter box miss, b/c they have finally caught on and only 1 more mess after that..impressive. Not genius kittens, but pretty smart just the same and I highly doubt there are any kittens in this world as smart as my last litter lol, something very special about the first ones..not that the 2nd are not, but the first ones....anyway I am off to bed, mouse will have me up in 2 hrs and i got a busy day tomorrow.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
improving
things here are improving, just a little with mouse but leaps and bounds with Hope, Jimmy and Sabrina.
I started the other 3 on canned food yesterday, nobody really had any interest, so today I ran it through the bullet with some formula added to make it runny. I bottle fed it to them and between the 3 of them they drank an full 2 ounces. I was surprised at how much they took and how well they did. Litter training is going well, Hope has been the most successful of the 3, but I expect the other 2 will watch and follow her lead and be trained within a few days. They are out of their infant boxes thru the day but at night will be returning the boxes, simply b/c I can't stay up all night and watch keep her off of him. Perhaps now with the solids, she will feel the need to suck less. Sabrina is now starting to suck more than used to, so I am on top of it the best I can be and when i see it happening I move them away from him. Hope is stubborn though, no matter how many times I move her she goes right back to him and nothing deters her.
Mouse is doing just ok, his weight this morning was really disheartening, he gained only 3 measly grams in the 48hrs he has been here. I really want to see some bigger and better numbers soon. The older he gets without growing can have some serous issues for him. He needs to grow and he needs to start growing at a semi normal rate. I wonder if he has something genetic maybe and this is preventing the growth? I am gonna give it another few days before I go to the next step if there is one, and have no clue what that might even be. I hope I am not trying to keep him alive for nothing, I hope he does have a promising future. he had a huge poop today, that required a bath to get him looking good, he hated it but I will admit he smells pretty good now :)
Their weights are as follows
Jimmy - 363G an increase of 25G
Hope - 336G a small gain of 15G
Sabrina - a gain of 23G
Jimmy - 136G, you all know how i feel about this, so I won't bore you with my sadness.
I started the other 3 on canned food yesterday, nobody really had any interest, so today I ran it through the bullet with some formula added to make it runny. I bottle fed it to them and between the 3 of them they drank an full 2 ounces. I was surprised at how much they took and how well they did. Litter training is going well, Hope has been the most successful of the 3, but I expect the other 2 will watch and follow her lead and be trained within a few days. They are out of their infant boxes thru the day but at night will be returning the boxes, simply b/c I can't stay up all night and watch keep her off of him. Perhaps now with the solids, she will feel the need to suck less. Sabrina is now starting to suck more than used to, so I am on top of it the best I can be and when i see it happening I move them away from him. Hope is stubborn though, no matter how many times I move her she goes right back to him and nothing deters her.
Mouse is doing just ok, his weight this morning was really disheartening, he gained only 3 measly grams in the 48hrs he has been here. I really want to see some bigger and better numbers soon. The older he gets without growing can have some serous issues for him. He needs to grow and he needs to start growing at a semi normal rate. I wonder if he has something genetic maybe and this is preventing the growth? I am gonna give it another few days before I go to the next step if there is one, and have no clue what that might even be. I hope I am not trying to keep him alive for nothing, I hope he does have a promising future. he had a huge poop today, that required a bath to get him looking good, he hated it but I will admit he smells pretty good now :)
Their weights are as follows
Jimmy - 363G an increase of 25G
Hope - 336G a small gain of 15G
Sabrina - a gain of 23G
Jimmy - 136G, you all know how i feel about this, so I won't bore you with my sadness.
Friday, June 24, 2011
There is a mouse in my house!!!
My 8 year old got up this morning and was snooping around. She came across the basket that was housing last nights arrival. I was awake but dozing on the chair where I had been all night with the kitten. I her her come to me and I feel her poke me and say "mommy there is a mouse in the house" when I asked her where she saw a mouse, she said "in the basket, you know the basket where the fed kittens go til they are all done"...I laughed, she was less than impressed by me laughing. The "Mouse" she was talking about was the new arrival....so thats how Mouse got his name!
was a very long night, Mouse refused to eat, I spent most of the night with him laying on my chest while I rested in the chair, I tried to feed him every hour without much if any success at all. Finally at 5:30 I put him back in his basket. He has finally managed to eat a tiny amount, and pee a small amount. He is currently at the vet's with Mary to get him looked over and see if there is another cause of his smallness.
The 3 other babies are in a room today and so far so good. I have started stretching their feeds to every 4 hrs in the day in hopes they will digress and try the food I have set out for them. these 3 are all stubborn little babies...Hope still is sucking but I am having some success with giving her a small shake and a growl or hiss when I catch her, she won't give up but she does leave him alone for a few mins.
Sabrina is also at the vet's with mary and Mouse, as she is still very bloated and I wanted her to be looked at to determine if there is a reason why, she is only eating abou 10-15lms at a time, most times, but will expand a bit up to 16 or 17 if she is in the mood.
Their weights are as follows
Hope : 321G an increase of 20G
Jimmy : 338G qn increase of 22G
Sabrina - 315G an increase of 31G
Mouse - 133G an increase of 3G
I will post vet updates when I know what they are.
***VET update*** Both Sabrina and Mouse have been returned to me (yay). Sabrina is healthy and the vet agrees that she is a bit bloated, they gave her a hot of something that will hopefully help with that. Other than that her report was awesome, good weight, looks good, meeting milestones etc etc.
Mouse was given a/b which I expected, they also opened his eye and they said there is a film over top of the eyeball (a membrane) not sure if that membrane will clear or if he will even have an actual eye behind that. Time will tell. He is about 2 week sold by their best guess but is VERY tiny, he weighs as much as a newborn kitten should weigh. I am to keep him separated from the others, not b/c they think he is contagious but because he will need to rest more than the others will and he needs to grow a bit.
So thats the latest update, things are well or seem to be and all 4 babies are home with me where they belong for now. I have asked for either Hope or Jimmy to be rehomed, Hope just will not stop sucking on him and I really fear the damage that she could be causing, it may be invisable damage now, but later in life could be terrible. So Mary is working on finding someone who will take him and continue supplementing him with his bottles...I think it will be easier to place him than it will Hope, given the fact that she is the issue and she will be an issue anywhere she goes at this point. She will probably be a blanket sucker for the rest of her life.
I wanted to add some new pics of Mouse and the rest, so you can see just how tiny he is. Keep in mind he is just a few days at best behind Sabrina (the grey one), and Jimmy (the darker tabby)
This is Mouse, the littlest one there
This gives a better idea of his minature size.
Mouse and Sabrina snuggled up after their visit to the vet
was a very long night, Mouse refused to eat, I spent most of the night with him laying on my chest while I rested in the chair, I tried to feed him every hour without much if any success at all. Finally at 5:30 I put him back in his basket. He has finally managed to eat a tiny amount, and pee a small amount. He is currently at the vet's with Mary to get him looked over and see if there is another cause of his smallness.
The 3 other babies are in a room today and so far so good. I have started stretching their feeds to every 4 hrs in the day in hopes they will digress and try the food I have set out for them. these 3 are all stubborn little babies...Hope still is sucking but I am having some success with giving her a small shake and a growl or hiss when I catch her, she won't give up but she does leave him alone for a few mins.
Sabrina is also at the vet's with mary and Mouse, as she is still very bloated and I wanted her to be looked at to determine if there is a reason why, she is only eating abou 10-15lms at a time, most times, but will expand a bit up to 16 or 17 if she is in the mood.
Their weights are as follows
Hope : 321G an increase of 20G
Jimmy : 338G qn increase of 22G
Sabrina - 315G an increase of 31G
Mouse - 133G an increase of 3G
I will post vet updates when I know what they are.
***VET update*** Both Sabrina and Mouse have been returned to me (yay). Sabrina is healthy and the vet agrees that she is a bit bloated, they gave her a hot of something that will hopefully help with that. Other than that her report was awesome, good weight, looks good, meeting milestones etc etc.
Mouse was given a/b which I expected, they also opened his eye and they said there is a film over top of the eyeball (a membrane) not sure if that membrane will clear or if he will even have an actual eye behind that. Time will tell. He is about 2 week sold by their best guess but is VERY tiny, he weighs as much as a newborn kitten should weigh. I am to keep him separated from the others, not b/c they think he is contagious but because he will need to rest more than the others will and he needs to grow a bit.
So thats the latest update, things are well or seem to be and all 4 babies are home with me where they belong for now. I have asked for either Hope or Jimmy to be rehomed, Hope just will not stop sucking on him and I really fear the damage that she could be causing, it may be invisable damage now, but later in life could be terrible. So Mary is working on finding someone who will take him and continue supplementing him with his bottles...I think it will be easier to place him than it will Hope, given the fact that she is the issue and she will be an issue anywhere she goes at this point. She will probably be a blanket sucker for the rest of her life.
I wanted to add some new pics of Mouse and the rest, so you can see just how tiny he is. Keep in mind he is just a few days at best behind Sabrina (the grey one), and Jimmy (the darker tabby)
This is Mouse, the littlest one there
This gives a better idea of his minature size.
Mouse and Sabrina snuggled up after their visit to the vet
Thursday, June 23, 2011
a little late
I got side tracked last night and didn't post, today's post will combine both today and yesterday into one.
Today I tried putting the 3 kittens together again, it didn't go quite as well as I had planned it would. Hope just will not leave Poor Jimmy alone, she is sucking on him, so I had to pull her and put her back in her bin by herself. I am going to try and figure out a way to make little kitty diapers to put on Jimmy to keep him covered so she has no access but I really don't feel that's going to work either, has he is now learning to use a litter box and a diaper defeats that purpose. I tried dabbing him with some bitter lemon to try and deter her but she is a determined little girl.
Hope will be done her a/b tomorrow, Jimmy will be done on Monday and Sabrina on Tuesday and than I can relax a bit.
Starting to litter train them and see if I can get them interested in solids, so far they must think I have gone insane and am trying to poison them. I figure if I keep offering, perhaps one day they will be just a little curious and try it, they might be surprised to see that it isn't as bad as they think. Right now they are eating every 3 hrs. I think this weekend I will stretch the afternoons to 4 to see if that spikes any interest. If that fails then I will start adding some of the food to their bottles.
Weights are good here are yesterdays and todays.
Hope - Wednesday was 270G, today is 301G
Jimmy - yesterday was 294G today is 326G
Sabrina - Yesterday was 277G today is 284, not a huge gain for her but she had a huge poop just before I weighed her so I am sure that accounts for the minimal gain.
**UPDATE**
it's 11pm now, Mary showed up with another baby for me. This wee little man weighs 130G and is about the same age as the other 3. If you remember Arthur, Kate, Muffy, my first litter, at 24hrs old the smallest was 113G. That gives you an idea just how small he is. He is sneezing more than I like so I think a vet trip is probably in order for him, hopefully its nothing, but until he recovers he is going to be using all his strength to recover and growing will come 2nd behind that growth that he needs so badly.
Today I tried putting the 3 kittens together again, it didn't go quite as well as I had planned it would. Hope just will not leave Poor Jimmy alone, she is sucking on him, so I had to pull her and put her back in her bin by herself. I am going to try and figure out a way to make little kitty diapers to put on Jimmy to keep him covered so she has no access but I really don't feel that's going to work either, has he is now learning to use a litter box and a diaper defeats that purpose. I tried dabbing him with some bitter lemon to try and deter her but she is a determined little girl.
Hope will be done her a/b tomorrow, Jimmy will be done on Monday and Sabrina on Tuesday and than I can relax a bit.
Starting to litter train them and see if I can get them interested in solids, so far they must think I have gone insane and am trying to poison them. I figure if I keep offering, perhaps one day they will be just a little curious and try it, they might be surprised to see that it isn't as bad as they think. Right now they are eating every 3 hrs. I think this weekend I will stretch the afternoons to 4 to see if that spikes any interest. If that fails then I will start adding some of the food to their bottles.
Weights are good here are yesterdays and todays.
Hope - Wednesday was 270G, today is 301G
Jimmy - yesterday was 294G today is 326G
Sabrina - Yesterday was 277G today is 284, not a huge gain for her but she had a huge poop just before I weighed her so I am sure that accounts for the minimal gain.
**UPDATE**
it's 11pm now, Mary showed up with another baby for me. This wee little man weighs 130G and is about the same age as the other 3. If you remember Arthur, Kate, Muffy, my first litter, at 24hrs old the smallest was 113G. That gives you an idea just how small he is. He is sneezing more than I like so I think a vet trip is probably in order for him, hopefully its nothing, but until he recovers he is going to be using all his strength to recover and growing will come 2nd behind that growth that he needs so badly.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Great day!!
I don't have much to say tonight. All are doing very well, Hope and Jimmy are acting like normal kittens now. Jimmy's belly has gone way down and he never cries now. He actually enjoys being snuggled and loved up now, a few days ago he hated it and screamed louder. He also screamed ALL THE TIME, even when he would sleep he would still holler, just not as much. Now he never does, he is content, happy and doing well. Hope had a normal poop today, this is the first non messy one since last Thursday night, thank goodness. Kitten poop is about as hard to get out of clothing as baby poop is, not nice.
I will post pics after I give their weights:
Jimmy - 264G a 24G gain from yesterday
Hope - 260G a a 24G gain from yesterday
Sabrina - 246G a 20G gain from yesterday.
This is Jimmy walking about the couch. I love his little ears, they are not quite erect yet so he has that Scottish fold look.
Sabrina was hard to get on camera b/c she buries her head much of the time, so this is the best one for now.
This is a video of Hope and Ruby my mini poodle, now that Hope is feeling much better Ruby is taking care of her. I love when she walks toward the edge of the couch and Ruby gives her reason to turn around so she didn't fall off. After this video, Hope stuck her claws in Ruby's muzzle, Ruby sat there very still until she released. Even when they sink their teeth into Ruby, she doesn't balk, she is so patient.
I will post pics after I give their weights:
Jimmy - 264G a 24G gain from yesterday
Hope - 260G a a 24G gain from yesterday
Sabrina - 246G a 20G gain from yesterday.
This is Jimmy walking about the couch. I love his little ears, they are not quite erect yet so he has that Scottish fold look.
Sabrina was hard to get on camera b/c she buries her head much of the time, so this is the best one for now.
This is a video of Hope and Ruby my mini poodle, now that Hope is feeling much better Ruby is taking care of her. I love when she walks toward the edge of the couch and Ruby gives her reason to turn around so she didn't fall off. After this video, Hope stuck her claws in Ruby's muzzle, Ruby sat there very still until she released. Even when they sink their teeth into Ruby, she doesn't balk, she is so patient.
Monday, June 20, 2011
stresses again!
First off let me start by saying that Hope is doing well, I truly believe that she is well on her way to a long, happy and healthy life.
Last night we had an emergency vet visit with Jimmy. Started in the afternoon, he was screaming very loud (which is usual) but was so persistent, went to look at him and found hope sucking on his boy parts, moved her away and got him settled. Fed him at 4:30 and he ate well. Put him back to bed, only for him to start screaming again, knowing that Jimmy is a crier and Hope was not with him, I let him go for a min or 2. When he didn't settle I picked him up and gave him a snuggle. About 5:30 he started to vomit, even though I had been snuggling he he got himself into such a state that his tummy was upset....I decided to take him outside to get some fresh air and hoping that maybe a change of secenery would help him settle. We walked to Mary's (3 houses away) and spoke with her. While were talking he is still screaming and vomiting. Mary called another rescue person who gave us ideas. Shortly after that is when things started to get really scary, he was still vomiting and now looked like he had some breathing issues. He would take a breath, stumble and stagger and fall over slightly. Shortly after this started he got quiet, too quiet. Mary called the vet, while we waited for her to call back, we both thought he was dying, just his breathing, the staggering, stumbling etc and he would leave his mouth open....I was really scared. If he was going to die, than ok, I couldn't prevent it, no matter how much I wanted to , it was out of my control. Watching him die was just horrible and if he couldn't breath right, it would have been death by suffocation which would be painful and a terrible way to go. Mary talked to vet, while I sat there helpless and crying watching, wondering if that last breath would be his last. Mary took him to the vet, I had the other 2 so I couldn't leave them.
I watched and the longer Mary was gone the more I worried, but the more I thought he was still alive, I mean if he had passed she would have come right home right.....they left about 7:30....I checked out my window for her car every few mins....at 10pm I started to do the feedings.....about 10:25, the dog hears someone...it's Mary...in my drievway......and WITH an ALIVE Jimmy. He was alive and doing so much better. They gave him an a/b which he will take 2x a day. Instructions were to handle him as little as possible, do the basic care and feeding but no stimulation, keep him warm and hydrated. He also had some o2 there as well since his stats were low, he had an incredibly high heart rate (240 I think Mary said). We talked, I got him settled and went to bed. Knowing that with his lungs he would wake me when he needed me...got up at 1, everyone was fine....fed at 1:30.....slept til 5:50am....It is now 2pm and Jimmy is still doing well. Very little crying today and certainly not like it was, had I known him a little better I would have known that was a pain cry that he had been doing since Friday not an "i want attention cry". I feel horrible that I just thought he was colicky from the cows milk, but am so grateful that we were at Mary's when the worst of it all happpened, I sat there and cried and she was so calm. So thats Jimmy's update.
As I said Hope is doing well, she is sucking on her own now at all feeds, but she is also sucking things that she shouldn't...like Jimmy's penis. Poor wee guy was so swollen yesterday. I don't know how to stop her from doing it and have considered making kitty diapers from some old fleece blankets just to keep him covered so she has no access. I gave her a modified pacifier to see if that helped but who wants to suck on latex....Problem was solved last night since Jimmy was at the vets and than in his hown "crib" . But this morning, Hope and Sabrina were sucking on each other...I went and got 3 rubbermaid containers, put in some memory foam, covered that with a blanket and now all 3 live alone...this makes me sad as they need each other but they don't need lifetime debilitating health issues from being sucked on, so for a week or so they will live alone in their beds, with a stuffed animal. Next week I will try to put them together again but right now it doesn't work.
Sabrina is doing well, she has been issueless since she got here except for her bloated belly, which remains bloated but not as much.
Their weights are :
Jimmy - 240G a small gain, but given yesterday's events I didn't even expect a gain at all, so I will take my 5G and be happy.
Hope - 246G a 25G gain for her, which she needs badly.
Sabrina - 226G a 10g gain for her which is a typical or expected daily gain.
Last night we had an emergency vet visit with Jimmy. Started in the afternoon, he was screaming very loud (which is usual) but was so persistent, went to look at him and found hope sucking on his boy parts, moved her away and got him settled. Fed him at 4:30 and he ate well. Put him back to bed, only for him to start screaming again, knowing that Jimmy is a crier and Hope was not with him, I let him go for a min or 2. When he didn't settle I picked him up and gave him a snuggle. About 5:30 he started to vomit, even though I had been snuggling he he got himself into such a state that his tummy was upset....I decided to take him outside to get some fresh air and hoping that maybe a change of secenery would help him settle. We walked to Mary's (3 houses away) and spoke with her. While were talking he is still screaming and vomiting. Mary called another rescue person who gave us ideas. Shortly after that is when things started to get really scary, he was still vomiting and now looked like he had some breathing issues. He would take a breath, stumble and stagger and fall over slightly. Shortly after this started he got quiet, too quiet. Mary called the vet, while we waited for her to call back, we both thought he was dying, just his breathing, the staggering, stumbling etc and he would leave his mouth open....I was really scared. If he was going to die, than ok, I couldn't prevent it, no matter how much I wanted to , it was out of my control. Watching him die was just horrible and if he couldn't breath right, it would have been death by suffocation which would be painful and a terrible way to go. Mary talked to vet, while I sat there helpless and crying watching, wondering if that last breath would be his last. Mary took him to the vet, I had the other 2 so I couldn't leave them.
I watched and the longer Mary was gone the more I worried, but the more I thought he was still alive, I mean if he had passed she would have come right home right.....they left about 7:30....I checked out my window for her car every few mins....at 10pm I started to do the feedings.....about 10:25, the dog hears someone...it's Mary...in my drievway......and WITH an ALIVE Jimmy. He was alive and doing so much better. They gave him an a/b which he will take 2x a day. Instructions were to handle him as little as possible, do the basic care and feeding but no stimulation, keep him warm and hydrated. He also had some o2 there as well since his stats were low, he had an incredibly high heart rate (240 I think Mary said). We talked, I got him settled and went to bed. Knowing that with his lungs he would wake me when he needed me...got up at 1, everyone was fine....fed at 1:30.....slept til 5:50am....It is now 2pm and Jimmy is still doing well. Very little crying today and certainly not like it was, had I known him a little better I would have known that was a pain cry that he had been doing since Friday not an "i want attention cry". I feel horrible that I just thought he was colicky from the cows milk, but am so grateful that we were at Mary's when the worst of it all happpened, I sat there and cried and she was so calm. So thats Jimmy's update.
As I said Hope is doing well, she is sucking on her own now at all feeds, but she is also sucking things that she shouldn't...like Jimmy's penis. Poor wee guy was so swollen yesterday. I don't know how to stop her from doing it and have considered making kitty diapers from some old fleece blankets just to keep him covered so she has no access. I gave her a modified pacifier to see if that helped but who wants to suck on latex....Problem was solved last night since Jimmy was at the vets and than in his hown "crib" . But this morning, Hope and Sabrina were sucking on each other...I went and got 3 rubbermaid containers, put in some memory foam, covered that with a blanket and now all 3 live alone...this makes me sad as they need each other but they don't need lifetime debilitating health issues from being sucked on, so for a week or so they will live alone in their beds, with a stuffed animal. Next week I will try to put them together again but right now it doesn't work.
Sabrina is doing well, she has been issueless since she got here except for her bloated belly, which remains bloated but not as much.
Their weights are :
Jimmy - 240G a small gain, but given yesterday's events I didn't even expect a gain at all, so I will take my 5G and be happy.
Hope - 246G a 25G gain for her, which she needs badly.
Sabrina - 226G a 10g gain for her which is a typical or expected daily gain.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Getting my "hope"(s) up
Hope has been on her antibiotics for about 48hrs now. She did well yesterday up until about 5pm, than she started failing again. She was doing so well, she looked like a different kitten, her eyes were not staring into space, she was focusing, she just looked different, even her face. She looked so different that I was afraid that I had mixed up her and Jimmy, they look very similar but she is much lighter. Only way I knew for certain that I had medicated the right kitten was to check and be sure that the one with boy bits wasn't the one in my lap sucking the syringe.
But last night about 5 pm, the diarrhea started again and her eyes lost focus and she once again refused to eat. I started wondering now if perhaps she was allergic to the formula. She was ok (small and weak but ok) when I got her, and fine into Thursday but overnight she started to fail...She ate very little Friday but ate well yesterday...I started wondering if maybe the formula was the issue. She refused anything after about 6pm....so I let her be. 6am I got up because she was hollering for food, (her pitiful cry had suddenly gotten loud and obnoxious, overnight)...she is again eating so now I wonder if this will be a evening/night thing, after having formula all day long and doing well you gotta wonder if the break overnight is what is making her feel better first part of the day. We will see what today brings but cross anything you have that can be crossed without twisting you in a knot.
The other 2 babies are doing well, their bellies are quite a bit smaller than they were, and they seem to be doing well. We have named them Sabrina and Jimmy...so now we have Sabrina, Hope and Jimmy, can you guess the tv show these guys were named after? Jimmy is a VERY loud wee boy, I can hear him outside the house, he is quite obnoxious about it all and after listening to it for a full 5 min straight I find myself wishing I had invested in some quality ear plugs lol. He doesn't cry to eat, or to get love, not even because he is cold, he cries simply b.c he can and he knows how to. If he hears me or if I am walking past their pen, he starts, if the lights are on in the evening, he cries, he cries over pretty much everything. I suspect he has a bit of colic and I am working on helping him to get over that, cow's milk is meant for calves NOT kittens. While I understand this woman was trying to help them stay alive, cows milk really does more harm than good. I also understand that the woman who did have them was 80 years old and let's face it, what they did 80 years ago was give them cows milk or let them die. Can't fault the woman, she kept them alive and did the best that she could do, many other people wouldn't have even bothered.
It's a brief update and I'm sorry, but the last 3 days have been chaos, with a sick Hope and my life etc I just was to tired last night to post.
Their weights are good for Sabrina and Jimmy. Hope again lost weight.
Hope - is 221G this morning, was 226G yesterday and 208G when she came to me on Wednesday night, so if you look at it that was she HAS gained weight, not much but something. The loss since yesterday has me concerned. I may have to look at getting something called "instant ounces", I think once she is a bit bigger she will get stronger which will help her get well.
Sabrina - was 202G yesterday and 216G this morning, she did very well.
Jimmy - Was 223G yesterday and 235G this morning, he also did very well.
But last night about 5 pm, the diarrhea started again and her eyes lost focus and she once again refused to eat. I started wondering now if perhaps she was allergic to the formula. She was ok (small and weak but ok) when I got her, and fine into Thursday but overnight she started to fail...She ate very little Friday but ate well yesterday...I started wondering if maybe the formula was the issue. She refused anything after about 6pm....so I let her be. 6am I got up because she was hollering for food, (her pitiful cry had suddenly gotten loud and obnoxious, overnight)...she is again eating so now I wonder if this will be a evening/night thing, after having formula all day long and doing well you gotta wonder if the break overnight is what is making her feel better first part of the day. We will see what today brings but cross anything you have that can be crossed without twisting you in a knot.
The other 2 babies are doing well, their bellies are quite a bit smaller than they were, and they seem to be doing well. We have named them Sabrina and Jimmy...so now we have Sabrina, Hope and Jimmy, can you guess the tv show these guys were named after? Jimmy is a VERY loud wee boy, I can hear him outside the house, he is quite obnoxious about it all and after listening to it for a full 5 min straight I find myself wishing I had invested in some quality ear plugs lol. He doesn't cry to eat, or to get love, not even because he is cold, he cries simply b.c he can and he knows how to. If he hears me or if I am walking past their pen, he starts, if the lights are on in the evening, he cries, he cries over pretty much everything. I suspect he has a bit of colic and I am working on helping him to get over that, cow's milk is meant for calves NOT kittens. While I understand this woman was trying to help them stay alive, cows milk really does more harm than good. I also understand that the woman who did have them was 80 years old and let's face it, what they did 80 years ago was give them cows milk or let them die. Can't fault the woman, she kept them alive and did the best that she could do, many other people wouldn't have even bothered.
It's a brief update and I'm sorry, but the last 3 days have been chaos, with a sick Hope and my life etc I just was to tired last night to post.
Their weights are good for Sabrina and Jimmy. Hope again lost weight.
Hope - is 221G this morning, was 226G yesterday and 208G when she came to me on Wednesday night, so if you look at it that was she HAS gained weight, not much but something. The loss since yesterday has me concerned. I may have to look at getting something called "instant ounces", I think once she is a bit bigger she will get stronger which will help her get well.
Sabrina - was 202G yesterday and 216G this morning, she did very well.
Jimmy - Was 223G yesterday and 235G this morning, he also did very well.
Friday, June 17, 2011
1 + 2 = lots of noise
Firstly let me give an update on Hope. Yesterday I posted that she was doing very well, had gained a whack of weight and a very different kitten from the day before.
At 10pm she refused her bottle, so I put her back to bed and got up at 12am, again she refused, but now she had green explosive diarrhea. I cleaned her up and tried to fed her again ended up putting her back to bed. got up again at 2 and then 4 only to have the same pattern happening. At 6 she finally took a little bit, just enough to wet her mouth basically.
At just after 8 this morning, I called Mary, worried that this kitten had more going on then we knew. Mary was kind enough to pick her up and take her to the vet. By this time, it was no longer green but white...I really didn't expect her to come home from the vet, she was going downhill very fast, she had lost 9G, between 7pm last night and 10am this morning.
Mary returned with Hope and instructions as well as some antibiotics...it seems that Hope may have a bacterial infection of some sort, they tested for worms but didn't find any. The vet decided to give her a day to see how she responded to the a/b injection and to see if perhaps she would improve. She has refused every feeding so far but is letting me drop food into her mouth. She still has the runs and it now has a bit of colour in it. While the runs are not a good sign the colour is a positive sign right? SO as it stands now, I have a sick girl who i am hoping will recover and get healthy.
2 new babies were deilvered to me a few hrs ago, about 2 weeks old and doing well. the person who had fed them had been feeding them cows milk, and their bellies are HUGE with bloat. I will be giving them some colic drops to try and take the bloat away but other than that they seem well. I will post more on them tomorrow when I know them a bit better...
I have no weights for tonight, Hope was sleeping and I don't want to stress her out in anyway, this morning she was 221 so I already know she lost weight. The other 2 I didn't weigh since they have only been here a few hrs.
At 10pm she refused her bottle, so I put her back to bed and got up at 12am, again she refused, but now she had green explosive diarrhea. I cleaned her up and tried to fed her again ended up putting her back to bed. got up again at 2 and then 4 only to have the same pattern happening. At 6 she finally took a little bit, just enough to wet her mouth basically.
At just after 8 this morning, I called Mary, worried that this kitten had more going on then we knew. Mary was kind enough to pick her up and take her to the vet. By this time, it was no longer green but white...I really didn't expect her to come home from the vet, she was going downhill very fast, she had lost 9G, between 7pm last night and 10am this morning.
Mary returned with Hope and instructions as well as some antibiotics...it seems that Hope may have a bacterial infection of some sort, they tested for worms but didn't find any. The vet decided to give her a day to see how she responded to the a/b injection and to see if perhaps she would improve. She has refused every feeding so far but is letting me drop food into her mouth. She still has the runs and it now has a bit of colour in it. While the runs are not a good sign the colour is a positive sign right? SO as it stands now, I have a sick girl who i am hoping will recover and get healthy.
2 new babies were deilvered to me a few hrs ago, about 2 weeks old and doing well. the person who had fed them had been feeding them cows milk, and their bellies are HUGE with bloat. I will be giving them some colic drops to try and take the bloat away but other than that they seem well. I will post more on them tomorrow when I know them a bit better...
I have no weights for tonight, Hope was sleeping and I don't want to stress her out in anyway, this morning she was 221 so I already know she lost weight. The other 2 I didn't weigh since they have only been here a few hrs.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
A new baby
Last night a new baby girl was delivered. She is somewhere between 2 and 3 weeks old. She is very tiny, weak, and not eating much at all. Last night she refused to suck on a bottle at all, so I was dropping it into her mouth. I hate syringe feeding, its very dangerous and not something I like to do. I CAN do, I just would rather they suck instead of having to be forced, it makes life easier for everyone. Given her small size, I wasn't going to name her, but sometime between 2 and 3am she was named Hope.
So be prepared for daily updates and pics, one kitten is harder to raise then 2, 3 or 7. cats are social and they need other kittens for them to be social, play, keep warm etc etc... I can see the next few days Hope spending much time in my bra, I did it last night for a couple of hrs and she seemed to be content and happy. The last litter pretty lived in there for the first week and a half at least. Of course my bra are not THAT big so we alternated. Hope will get the whole thing to herself lol.
I will post todays weight tonight, but her admission weight was about 208G. She feels very thin, and her back end is very prominent to the touch, our next few days will be spent sleeping and eating.
****evening update
What a difference 24 hrs can make. Hope has been here about 23 hrs now. Last night she came weak and unable to suck. By her 10am bottle, she was sucking, and eating not her usual 1 mil, but between 5-10mls every 90 mins-2 hrs. She is also sucking now and is a very loud baby lol. She is quite playful. She likes to play, but isn't intersted in being held. She would rather lie in your lap on her back and swat at the air lol.
This morning I mentioned that there was something different about her face, well after looking at her face, eyes and jaw line, i think she may have some siamese in her. Her pupils are there but do not dilate yet, I am almost sure she isn't blind as she does seem to stare into my face. Like a siamese she also doesn't enjoy being held much, as I said she wants to be with you but doesn't want to snuggle to much. She has a favorite blanket and loves being snuggled in her blanket to sleep.
Last night she weighed 208G, I had little hope she would survive the night let alone the entire day. At tonights weigh she was ***ready??? Wait for it
Wait for it...
still waiting??
A massive gain of of 21G to a weight of 229G....So my hope last night was little to almost nil ...my hope has increased 10 fold....the name Hope is perfect for her!!
So be prepared for daily updates and pics, one kitten is harder to raise then 2, 3 or 7. cats are social and they need other kittens for them to be social, play, keep warm etc etc... I can see the next few days Hope spending much time in my bra, I did it last night for a couple of hrs and she seemed to be content and happy. The last litter pretty lived in there for the first week and a half at least. Of course my bra are not THAT big so we alternated. Hope will get the whole thing to herself lol.
I will post todays weight tonight, but her admission weight was about 208G. She feels very thin, and her back end is very prominent to the touch, our next few days will be spent sleeping and eating.
****evening update
What a difference 24 hrs can make. Hope has been here about 23 hrs now. Last night she came weak and unable to suck. By her 10am bottle, she was sucking, and eating not her usual 1 mil, but between 5-10mls every 90 mins-2 hrs. She is also sucking now and is a very loud baby lol. She is quite playful. She likes to play, but isn't intersted in being held. She would rather lie in your lap on her back and swat at the air lol.
This morning I mentioned that there was something different about her face, well after looking at her face, eyes and jaw line, i think she may have some siamese in her. Her pupils are there but do not dilate yet, I am almost sure she isn't blind as she does seem to stare into my face. Like a siamese she also doesn't enjoy being held much, as I said she wants to be with you but doesn't want to snuggle to much. She has a favorite blanket and loves being snuggled in her blanket to sleep.
Last night she weighed 208G, I had little hope she would survive the night let alone the entire day. At tonights weigh she was ***ready??? Wait for it
Wait for it...
still waiting??
A massive gain of of 21G to a weight of 229G....So my hope last night was little to almost nil ...my hope has increased 10 fold....the name Hope is perfect for her!!
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