Oh my goodness, I cannot express how excited I am about this post. 5 weeks ago when he he arrive unexpectedly he was a scrawny, sneezy, sick little kitten. Nobody expected him to live, not even me. We lived 1 day to the next, sometimes 1 minute to the next. He has been by far my most neediest, sickest and scary baby every to look after and raise. It seems like he has been here a lifetime (mine not his), it's really been just a short time.

Mouse has made huge accomplishments, yes he is blind in one eye for sure, not sure about the vision in the other, but I think he CAN see, I am almost certain of it. He plays and chases things like any other normal kitten. I no longer have to give him a toy so he knows its there, he is able to seek them out on his own. I no longer have to force feed him every 2-4 hrs, he does this on his own. I no longer have to potty him, he does this on his own. Of course I still get all the great stuff, the cuddles, the loud purring of contentment, the play time and yes even the odd bite.

Those of you who have met Mouse, will agree that he has come so far. He is 100% a normal little kitten. He still gets congested from time to time but its much better and he might always have rhinitis. the vet explained that in his nose are little spiral type thingy (great description eh lol) and when a kitten gets stuffed up sometimes they unwind and lose their shape. Chances are they may never go back to normal and he will be congested, not always. As long as he is able to breathe with his mouth closed the vet assured me that he WILL BE FINE. He will learn to live with it and will adapt.

I had a terrible time getting the boy to eat on his own, I spooned food into his mouth many times a day assuming that he would be like the other kittens i have done and catch on in a few days, but not Mouse. He was stubborn and/or lazy. Now while I don't agree with how I got him eating, it didn't hurt him, or hinder his progress in anyway, in fact after seeing the change I feel it was the best thing I did for him. I had to let him get a little hungrier than normal, he was never starved, so don't think it, all I did was make him wait a little longer for his bottles. I also went and bought several cans of different kinds of cat food for him to try. After a few failed attempts I offered him a can of that fancy feast cat food...and low and behold after a few bites being put in his mouth he ate on his own. He has been going strong ever since. He would only eat fancy feast for a bit which in no way impresses me, but he is now finally eating pretty much anything soft from a can. he is also down to only 1 bottle a day which I will be attempting to drop within the few days. if he can handle it great, he will be a fully weaned kitten. if not I will continue with the 1 a day until he is ready.

he also is up over a lb.....he came at 130G and is now over 460g. Thats some pretty impressive weight gain from a kitten who was supposed to die. he still sleeps on his back much of the time but he also likes to sleep on his side. Today I caught him playing and the little bum was trying to climb my door...my door, I couldn't believe it. He jumps, he chases, he hunts, he is a normal baby except for vision. I am so happy and proud of his success. He will probably be my biggest kitten accomplishment ever. It was good for me, it did a lot for my self esteem and my confidence. After losing those puppies and DW (my first rescues), I don't think I could have dealt with another loss. he will be an awesome pet someone and all I can say is I better get updates on this guy.

Mouse's story would not be complete without some visuals. So here goes:

This is mouse with another litter just 2-3 days older than him, this will remind you of how little he really was. He is still stunted and he may be forever but he has come so far, and as a mom of a child with a type of dwarfism, I can honestly say that great things come in small packages.

this is my mouse with a litter just 2-3 days older than him


He eats, on his own. Now I did feed him from the spoon to get him started, lowered the spoon until he was at the plate.


It must be a man thing, feed em full and they lay down and go to sleep lol


another sleeping pic, but he is just so sweet snuggled up to his stuffies. Don't mnd the litter all over, not only is litter good to poop in, but when you kick it out of teh box apparently its a great play thing as well, thank good he kickes out clean litter lol.


And a video of mouse playing. He has his really hyper peroids they don't last long but I enjoy watching him play.



Once he is weaned, he will be on his way to his next phase..socialization and learning how to be a cat and good cat manners. Since he is an only, this will be vital for him as he will need some basic cat skills if he is to become a family member for someone. This will be happening in the next week or so I imagine. Out off all 9 kittens i have raised this season, he will be the one I remember the most, he is also the one that has a huge place in my heart.

Thank you all for reading, and sending good thoughts for his recovery, they obviously worked and I think you will all agree that he is a pretty darn good looking little boy.