Tuesday, July 3, 2012

They're teeny. They're tiny. They're tabbies. And they're here!!!!!

As you all know by now, I have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of kittens to the front room.  I assumed that we would be waiting until after Penny was spayed and vaccinated later this week, but apparently the universe had other plans.

I received a call early Tuesday afternoon from Paula, the wonderful lady who runs our rescue.  There was an emergency situation.  Was there any way that I could meet her at the vet's office and bring a few kittens home with me?  Um.... YEAH!  We shuffled the feline sleeping arrangements, moved Penny upstairs into our family room, and cleaned the front room in preparation for our new arrivals.

I will admit that I was not completely prepared for the situation that awaited me at the vet's office.  My new charges were rescued just that day... from a rescue.  Apparently, the foster mom who had my babies was overrun with kittens.  She took on much more than she could handle on her own and waited far too long to ask for help.  Our rescue is in the process of taking more than a dozen kittens from her home, in varying states of health, sorting out their issues, and getting them into new foster homes asap.  We have three kittens here... a mixed litter that we are combining into one (a pair of siblings and a singleton).

The wee ones were sleepy, sluggish messes to behold.  Our babies have a touch of upper respiratory infections.  One of the boys has a set of goopy eyes that we will be medicating for the next week.  They have worms.  The worst part, though, is that my munchkins were covered in creepy, crawly fleas.  I'm not squeamish, but this was disgusting, unnerving, and angering to see.  The boys were immediately dosed with CapStar at the vet's (our petite princess is too small to receive the meds) and each of them received a bath with Dawn dish soap in the laundry room sink as soon as we walked through the door.  Only one of them drew blood in the whole experience.  I'll try not to hold it against him.  I've only seen a few half-dead bugs on them or their bedding in the hours since.  Each will get a dose of Frontline first thing Tuesday morning.  The not-so-teeny-tiny set (already on regular Frontline) got another fresh dose right away.   After I sterilize their bedding and give the foster room another good vacuuming later today, I think we will be set.  In the meantime, I have already vacuumed three times, done 2 loads of laundry, sprayed down the car and carrier, and checked the kittens about a million times.  I'm heading to Petco first thing in the morning to pick up some DE.  I read that you can use it as a flea remedy too.  Everybody's getting some!!  And before you ask... yes, I am the mother that goes nuts and gets imaginary itches whenever a kid in my kid's class gets lice.  So I'm sitting here, itching imaginary itches, and planning to do another round of deep cleaning in the morning, just in case.

After a bath and a good nap, our babies are completely different kitties.  They are playful and adventuresome and complete snugglebugs.  I have witnessed each of them eating, drinking, and using the litter box (boy, can they use the litter box!), so I am relaxing by the minute and enjoying watching my little ones run and climb and play.

About their family name:  I have a BA in History and nearly an MA in Humanities.  I taught high school history before my kids were born.  I'm a history nerd and proud of it.  In order to keep the litters straight in the future, we figured out a plan to give them surnames of a certain order.  Especially relevant given the fact that tomorrow's the 4th of July, we are naming them after our U.S. presidents beginning at the first... George Washington.  The next litter will be Adams and so on.  


(Left to Right): Henry, Eloise, and Porter Washington snuggle into the foster room following their baths.

Henry says "Hi!" (Admit it.  You totally want to snorgle those belly spots!)

Henry's sister Eloise has some of the biggest ears that I have ever seen on a kitten.

Porter is the singleton.  He is roughly four weeks older than Henry and Eloise (they are about 8 weeks old, while he is estimated to be 12 weeks) but he is very close to Henry's size.  Goopy eyes, upper respiratory yuck, and bit more cautious than the trouble twosome, with the help of a little TLC he is already starting to blossom and is currently swinging from the upper level of the cat tree. 

Henry and Charlie are already anxious to meet.  I'll have more in-depth introductions as the week goes on.














29 comments:

  1. wow! so much work! so - ummm - you're teeny tiny bloggie is gonna reveal a bit more about the realities of kitten rescue than the glamour, I'm guessing!

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    1. We'll be mostly concentrating on the cute around here, but there's no getting around the fact that these guys came from an ugly, ugly situation. Now, that they're here, settled, and apparently flea free (whew)... let's party! (I know they intend to!)

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  2. Love love love the belly spots!

    I hate fleas so very much, just thinking of them makes me itchy, too. And isn't it amazing how much laundry you go through with such tiny creatures?

    I love their names. :)

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    1. Henry's sister has an equally lovely set of spots. I'm going to have fun trying to get pictures!

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  3. Yay kittens! Porter looks so rough, poor little thing. And count me in the "I'm itchy just thinking about fleas" club too. When I was a kid, I was convinced I had lice even though we never had any scare at school. I thought that just putting my hat in my locker was going to make me catch them. And still today, I hate trying on hats in the store. But, you know, in a cold climate, you don't really have a choice.

    First time I comment, but good job on the blog! I've been reading from the beginning and I love it!

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    1. Oh you don't want to hear the drama in the store when one of my kids wants to try on a hat in the store. ;-)

      Glad you're here, Annie!

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  4. Kelly, I have had foster kittens with fleas and I am the same way..so worried about infesting my house. I have a large crate that I set up with litter box, blankets, food. When i bring home kittens with fleas they stay in the cage for 24hrs after the flea application. Then i give them a good bath. You see a lot of dead fleas in the bedding after 24hrs and it keeps them confined. Having a large cage also comes in handy if any of the kittens come down with diarrhea. They have run of the foster room but at night I always keep them in the crate with a light blanket over the top. They seek out this crate when they nap during the day. Safe place. I have fostered over the past 6years and have been thru a lot of sick kittens. Have learned a lot and loved a lot. Someone always has a new great idea to make things easier and better. As you will learn as you go along. I don't know if I read your post correctly but don't frontline kittens more than once a month. It works and but can be deadly for kittens if overdosed. Good luck with the new kittens. They will begin to thrive with love and a relaxing atmosphere :)

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    1. These are my first foster kittens (and the first kittens I've had in the house in nearly 9 years!) I'll gladly take any advice on whatever we've got going on around here.

      No worries about the Frontline applications. It's the adult animals in the house who were already on it. It was time for their monthly update anyway, so they got treated yesterday when the kittens came home. Two of the kittens got CapStar from the vet and they all got Frontline this morning. I haven't seen a living flea in roughly 16 hours. I think we're in the home stretch (although I will keep vacuuming like a fiend for about the next week!)

      It's amazing the change in them with just a few hours of love and care. We're going to have fun!

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    2. I ended up getting a cage rather quickly. I originally used a large (2' x 3') rabbit cage that worked really nicely until I needed to get into the back corner to pull out a kitten. You can find good cat cages online for about $100 shipped, or you can find dog kennels. You could even use human play pens/gates to corner them off as long as you don't mind that they will be able to climb out when they get older - but when they get to that size keeping them in a cage is hard to listen to because of the complaining and the whining :)

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  5. Yay for little kitties being rescued! Good job Kelly. I'm looking forward to hearing more about this clan :)

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    1. Thanks, Holly. I'll keep you filled with all of the updates you can stand. :-)

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  6. When I found Trixie and her siblings in my yard, they were about 5 weeks old and covered in fleas. I had no idea fleas could kill kittens but my vet was more worried about the fleas than anything else. But since everyone was a pound or less, he toldis me to cut the Capstars into quarters, grind them up and feed to each baby in some wet food. So depending on Eloise's weight you could give her probably half a Capstar.

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    1. My vet was pretty insistent that she needed to be two pounds before he'd give her the Capstar (and she's not that far away). Between the bath and her brothers getting the Capstar yesterday, I haven't seen a living bug since early last evening (and they all got Frontline with breakfast this morning). Penny goes in first thing Thursday for her spay. If I see any fleas between now and then I will ask about half a dose for Eloise. Thanks for the information. Every little bit helps so much!

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  7. Great save. It is sad that people will keep taking on more and more thinking they are helping when they really aren't. I get the sentiment, but rescuers have to know when to say no. I hate doing it, but have on more than one occasion. I know my limit - and sometimes push it - but I always make sure everyone is staying healthy (as possible with rescued kittens) and safe. Glad you were able to step up and help the kitts. :)

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    1. Thank you. It's hard sometimes for them to realize that they're not really helping unless you can get them healthy and keep them that way.

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  8. I too am considering surnames.. You do know the presidents will only get you so far since we have had two sets of family member presidents.. :)

    I am so with you on fleas. I really hate them, but thankfully they are manageable. I haven't gone the DE route yet I can't wait to see how you like it.

    it is sad that a 'rescue' got in this state and needed rescuing. I am glad they were able to ask for help (some aren't) and there was help available. I too know that feeling of thinking you are going to have a little breathing room but getting the call for help... which is why Simon and Schu ended up in my bathroom for a while :)

    Yea for them for being in such great care. Yea for you for getting such awesome belly spots to snorgle..

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    1. We decided that when we get to John Quincy Adams, their surname will most likely be Quincy or the hyphenated Quincy-Adams. I've got time to figure out the Roosevelt issue ;-)

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    2. And a bit longer for the Bush situation (can't believe I nearly forgot about them). Perhaps Walker or Walker-Bush?

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  9. Those are some adorable kittens! Glad you were able to get the fleas under control. I love your naming idea - glad I'm not the only history nerd out there!

    Sharon

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    1. History nerds unite!! Keeping my fingers crossed on the fleas. Looking good tonight.

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  10. I like the presidential naming convention. There have been 43 presidents (not counting Cleveland's two non-consecutive terms) so you have a long way to go before you'll have to think of something new.

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    1. You've caught on to my evil plan ;-) No worries about the surname, so I just pick first names to go along with it.

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  11. Ok Kelly, I wasn't going to post this question since it would make me look stupid (I did go to college but I wasn't a History major) SOOOO...
    Is it just that you added surnames to the cat's first names to keep them straight or are there real people these kitties are named after? Because I have no idea who Porter Washington, Henry Washington, or Eloise Washington are!

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    1. The question doesn't make you look stupid at all! I was a bit unclear in that respect. They get their surnames from the president (to keep the litters straight), but we choose their first names. If there is a Porter, Henry, or Eloise Washington, the naming of these kitties after them is purely coincidental. Generally, I'll just try to choose an old fashioned or traditional first name that works well with the last name.

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    2. Thank you for answering and not thinking my question was dumb. I do a lot of genealogy and it was just making me think hmm. The names fit them very well actually. I'm pretty into names too btw so if ya need any help down the road let me know ;)

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  12. Poor little monkeys! Fleas are just the worse. Sounds like they are in terrific hands. A bath and a nap always makes me feel better so I can only imagine how good it felt for these three. I'm a huge history buff as well (my degree is in Russian history/political science but I'm pretty much into any kind of history) - so the naming theme is very cool!

    How is Miss Penny adjusting to the new room? Seems from the previous pictures she's thrilled to not have Norm looking at her, lol.

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    1. British and Reformation History were my specializations when I was working on my Masters. I really should have finished it... another military move tanked me towards the end and I ran out of options. I LOVE that so many historians are showing up in my blog about cats :-)

      Penny is doing quite well in the family room. She misses her windows (she does have one window, but not near the view from the foster room), but has more comfy furniture. The kids watch television in there and are having a sleepover with her tonight so she's getting lots of snuggle time.

      Yep, Norman is now stalking the kittens.

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  13. YAY they're awake I can squee as much as I want lol! :-) And double yay that they're in a safe happy place now. :-)

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    1. These kittens would never mind being woken up anyway. They love the attention and will come over an snuggle the minute they wake up. ;-)

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