Monday, September 17, 2012

Whining through the Weekend

You may have already heard some of the news in our introduction on Facebook.  Please bear with us while we catch everyone up.  You also might learn an extra thing or two ;-)

If I told you that I finally broke down and bought a new carpet cleaner in addition to doing roughly 103 loads of laundry this weekend, would that give you a clue to how our weekend went here in Teeny Tiny Tabby Town?  I.am.exhausted.  

Please excuse me if I whine a little bit while recounting our news.  Before we get started, I promise that we're all okie-dokey... but it's been a lulu of a weekend (makes mental notes to remember to name Lulu for a future litter)

On Friday afternoon, our Adams litter was back to the misadventures in the litter box.  I decided it was time to get to the vet before the weekend struck.

Diagnosis: Diarrhea (Hey, I already knew that!)  The vet prescribed a lovely brown liquid... one full milliliter, twice a day.  She said I could just dose the kittens with the issue, but YOU try figuring out which one of the five to leave out in a shared box.  At least one kitten has confided that she would rather have diarrhea than take that swill again.    

**I truly wish that I could get a shot of Cruz whilst taking his medication.  He leans back, goes completely stiff, acts deader than the proverbial door nail, and forces that lovely brown liquid to seep back out through his tightly clenched gums.  He's just a bit dramatic.

Also: Upper Respiratory (Yeah, yeah, yeah, goopy eye... I saw you)  Bentley and Shelby get to chase their brown tonic with 0.2 milliliters of Clavamox.  They're already looking nearly perfect.

And (this is where I start to lose it) fleas.  Yup.  No idea how or where the cross-contamination occurred.  Each kitten had a handful of hitchhikers.  

Made all the worse when you recall that this precious scene happened mere days ago*.

We made a quick trek for home for baths with Pert Plus and an application of Frontline.

**The permanent residents are on routine Frontline monthly, but may or may not have been a week overdue when this development came to light.  Rather than worry about (or stress over) checking everyone, Frontline was dispensed immediately upon returning home.  So if my big guys were in danger, they're not any longer.  Mother Jefferson had a dose before I brought her home and the babies are clean.  But while they may be protected, my house was not.

I've been washing everything that will fit in my washing machine with hot water this weekend.  The rest of it got a visit from my new Bissell carpet cleaner.  I **think** we're in the clear now.  But I shall refuse to admit to it lest fate prove to have a wicked sense of humor.

But it's just SO difficult to be irritated when they are so stinking cute.
Our kittens have decided that their kibble dishes should be cleared before nap time.
How else are they going to fit in the little serving areas?
Let it be known that on Monday morning the little monsters were sitting in the chip and dip platter and eating the kibble off the floor.  

By the way, we can't see Bentley.  Please play along.

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Other Fun Facts

**The kittens are 8 weeks old this week, making them blissfully close to adoption-ready.  They will have their vaccines early next week and then move on to the next step.  Not sure where or when that step will occur, so I'm just going to enjoy them while I can.

**Weighty matters... I finally got my hands on their health certificates so I could see how much our munchkins have grown.  Let's compare their growth in a single month:

Hudson     (8/14) 14 oz     (9/14) 1 lb, 8 oz
Cruz     (8/14) 14 oz     (9/14) 1 lb, 11 oz
Shelby     (8/14) 11 oz     (8/14) 1 lb, 11 oz
Malibu     (8/14) 11 oz     (9/14) 1 lb, 13 oz
Bentley     (8/14) 1 lb 2 oz     (9/14) 2 lb, 1 oz

**Two of our Jefferson kittens have eyes full of yellow gunk which seals their eyelids shut.  Under instructions to give their eyes saline baths and keep watch until Monday... when   I will be calling the vet to get things settled.

**I have a spot of ringworm (and Norman might, too).  He has a bald spot on his face, which happens to coincide with the angry red spot on my calf where he rests his face at night.  AGR!  I have so been there, done that.  Not freaking out... I will heal much more quickly than the Washington kittens and so will he.  Although I'm betting I'm better first since I choose to leave the medication on instead of licking it off.  Debating yet another trip to the vet.  I do believe all of our kitties could drive themselves there if need be.

**There are days when I say that I am done doing this.  Sunday was one of them.  Here's to a better Monday.

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Let's check in with Jeffersons.   Can you believe Monday marks their 2 week old birthday?

Clay at 2 weeks old, notice the yellow gunk underneath his eye.  Apparently yellow gunk could be used in place of super glue in case of natural disaster.
"Clay KNEW those eyeballs should have stayed shut!"
Willie Rae also has one uncooperative eyeball.
"Willie Rae was just celebrating 'Squint Like a Pirate' day.  She learned all about it on Facebook."
Big baby Florence isn't so sure she likes those hands touching her.
But she makes a pretty picture regardless.
Chunky Monkey Lionel, the big round teddy bear of a kitten, looks for his mama to come to his rescue.
"Why, Mama?  Why does Lionel have to let this other lady hold him?"
Roxie made quite the fuss during her portrait session.
Did I mention that our toothless wonder is also the drama queen of the group?
 Her mama did come to investigate Roxie's complaints, but merely told her to knock it off.
Look at her ears changing colors!  Her ears, toes, nose, and tail are all developing a healthy shade of gray.








17 comments:

  1. Goodness Kelly! I think I would lose my mind between the cute and the aggravating! ((Hugs)) to you but I will reserve my kisses for the kitties till they get a little better.

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    1. Oh, the aggravating is out in full force right now. I have threatened to quit at least a dozen times over the weekend... but it all melts away when I cuddle a kitten. I just need lots of good kitten drugs to get them better. ((And a trip to Starbucks... that always makes me feel better))

      I will say that I am scaling back after the Adams kittens leave our nest. One litter at a time. I would prefer a healthy one too. ;-)

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  2. Oh, ugh, what a yucky weekend! I hope everything clears up quickly. But those Adams kittens sure are cute, sleeping in their food dish!

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    1. Aren't they adorable? Things like that is why I still do this, even through the yuck.

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  3. Yep - the cute overweighs the yuck - once you can get some perspective. In the middle of the yuck, ALL kittens stop being cute. :) Purrs to a quick recover - for EVERYONE!!

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  4. But sleeping in the food dish means when we're ready for a midnight snack, all we have to do is roll over, Silly Lady!!

    What a week-end you had! I hear you about Starbucks - that's saved many a morning for me, since I just can't roll into work with a glass of wine now, can I?? ;)

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    1. Oh, and you might want to skip reading the latest Pitter Pats story... I think you have enough to obsess over right now! :)

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    2. Yes, and I have witnessed a sleepy kitten wake up with kibble stuck to her face who ended up eating said kibble before falling back to sleep. That would be Princess Malibu, who is apparently at it again according to this picture. Cruz is usually the one in there with her.

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  5. Amy's right, skip the Pitter Pats! Just reading it made me itch. :)

    This will pass - I know that when I'm in the midst of a sick litter, it's like it's going to last FOREVER, they will ALWAYS be sick, and I'm going to spend the rest of my life cleaning up diarrhea and giving them meds and putting goop in their eyes and WHY did I want to do this again?! But then it passes and I have healthy kittens running around, and I can barely remember the frustrating times. Of course, you know how it goes - you've already been through it before.

    I think you're smart to scale back after the Adams have moved on, though. Between the kittens and all the kid-related stuff you have to do, I don't know how you have a moment to relax! :)

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    1. Oh, and I meant to say - the sleeping in the food dish is SO freakin' cute!!!

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    2. You realize that after TWO of you told me not to read Pitter Pats, that I clicked straight over? I'm like a preschooler that way. Actually, I'm fine after reading about that particular malady. Is it bad that I wished for that instead, seeing that it's species specific and couldn't infect my kids or dog? ;-)

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  6. So sorry to hear about the revival of the r word. I'm hoping Norman's bald spot is just that -- and that your spot isn't what you think it is. I was going to suggest the scaling back -- even a month-long break -- so you can get everything shipshape. But those kittens and grown-up cats and dogs of yours are so sweet. I'm sending scads of good luck your way.

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    1. I really home I'm wrong, but in the case I'm not... It's treatable, just a major pain in the rear (and since I already know what to do and have all of the supplies...) Just going to be more careful about mixing permanents with fosters for the time being. Honestly though, I'd rather is was my animals than the fosters. That way the fosters can still move on when ready. The r-word (I like it and I'm keeping it) isn't painful or health-threatening. Just contagious and irritating as all get-out.

      And yes, once the Jeffersons are gone there will be some time off. Their departure will probably bring us close to the holidays, so it will be the perfect time for a break.

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  7. Oh my goodness those kittens on the serving dish are SO cute! How in the world is that comfortable though.... Silly things!
    Love the tiny baby kittens! Watching points develope is just too much fun!

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    1. We may have a second point kitten after all. I'm dying to know what they're going to look like!

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  8. so what is said brown liquid?? (oh so curious)

    LOVe the kitten in the food bowl, that is too funny.

    bath/frontline. They say you should wait 24+ hours after a bath to apply frontline because of how it works. If you find that it was ineffective, that might be why. but giving everyone else a dose will help, since fleas don't live on the kittens but jump on and off, so they might be OK on one pet but then die on another.. (frontline actually kills fleas for longer then 30 days, the package used to say 90 but now I think it says 60 - but it is totally safe to reapply after 21 days if necessary)

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    1. The bottle says Enteromycin/Mallo Pectin. The kittens just say "Yuck". Mother Jefferson got a prescription for another something-Pectin (it's too far away/I'm too lazy to go get it at the moment) but her's came in a easily dispensing paste form. I'm thinking about calling in the morning and begging for more for the kittens.

      Vet said that I could Frontline as soon as the kittens were dry. I trust you more. So far, so good. If I see any more fleas, I'll call back for more drugs. But I think we're good at this point.

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