a group of friends

so I got a call Tuesday night about 4 kittens left in a cardboard box at the end of someone's driveway. Most people have no clue what to do with an abandoned animal much less an animal that is so young. She called her nearest animal shelter who then contacted TCR who then contacted me and asked me if I was ready to start the season off with 4 little babies about 2 weeks old. Of course I was ready, nobody has to ask if I am, I am always ready, willing and so far very able.

the couple dropped me off 3 kittens last night, it seems 1 kitten went missing from their drive shed and they couldn't find it. I think momma is lurking about but since nobody can be sure exactly where the 4th kitten went i decided to keep the other 3.

They seem healthy are very noisy and their bellies were full (another fact that makes me think that mom was around at some point in the day). They each weighed over 300G, their eyes and ears are open and they can walk, though very unsteadily they can walk. It's my best guess that these babes are late 3 weeks - early 4 weeks old in age.

Nobody was willing to try the formula without some persuasion, so I tucked them in their bed and tried again later on. 1 kitten took a small amount but the other 2 were not impressed with the whole fake nipple and fake milk idea. I left them alone, prepared to get up in the night with them.

This morning, 2 out 3 ate pretty good, though not great, 1 still is disgusted with the formula. I hope by the end of the day they are all a little more accepting of the KMR and latex nipples. They are pretty friendly and not afraid of people, which tells me that these babies have been around humans. I suspect the humans threw mom and her babies out knowing or hoping that some kind soul would find them and take them in,.....SPAY your pets, to avoid this. A cat pregnancy like a human one is 100% avoidable....

I will update more later on with weights, and names. The only thing I know for certain is that this group will be named after the "friends" tv show. Last year we had, The "Arthur" group, "Raising hope" group, the "nemo" group (and a bunch of singletons that didn't have a group) so this year I decided to follow the same trend.

7:52pm

we have names and even know a bit of personalities so here is a bit about this group of friends:

ROSS - is the Tabby male, last night he weighed in at 314G today he is at 321G, once he caught on to a fake nipple and man made milk he was smooth sailing, he is the most quiet of the 3 quite content to just watch the world go by quietly at his own pace. He is probably my favorite of the 3, he lays on his belly and kicks out his back legs, his head swaying side to side b/c his little head is just so darn big and heavy. He is adorable.

PHOEBE - is the least receptive to the bottle, she finally DID take a small amount to night for me without any issue. Last night her weight wasn't written down, but today she weighs 250G. She is a peanut and like every other black kitten I have done, she resembles a baby chimpanzee, not sure why all black kittens look like that, I guess the colouring, their big heads and small ears maybe. She is pretty calm as well, she likes to snuggle and she can latch onto my nose better than anything.

JOEY - is a crybaby for sure, like Joey on the show he is a bit slow, not quite with it but doesn't seem to know it lol. He came in at 302G and today was 322G so he is doing very well also. He is a howler, and he isn't afraid to make sure that the entire toen knows when he is unhappy.

because nobody can resist such cuteness, here are our first pics of this group and the first rescues that I have had for 2012:

Ross bright eyed and looking around at his new world



And Joey hissing at me when i snapped his pic, I guess he is a little camera shy.