Nadya Comes Home!

Nadya was released from the vet last night (4/30). She came home with a bunch of medications and a happy heart.

To my surprise, ALL of the kittens could not only walk but were more than happy to practice that newfound mobility. Translation: They're all over the place! First out of the kennel after momma was, of course, Zotz. The rest of them soon followed, wiggling and wobbling all over their room.

First task - feed momma and the kittens. A lot of the kittens have discovered the joys of eating canned food. A few that didn't eat probably don't have their sense of smell fully developed so they're not interested in (nor do they even notice) the slop on the plate in front of them. After the canned food was consumed, I brought out the bottle of formula. A little line of kittens formed at my feet as they waited (not so patiently) for their turn at the bottle. All kittens now get bottle fed. Prior to Nadya's last hospitalization, only those that were not gaining weight or those who had lost weight were getting bottle fed. Now, to take the pressure off Nadya, all kittens get bottle fed three times a day (in addition to canned food, if they'll eat that). I love that the kittens know me as the gal with the bottle. When one walks up to me and cries, I'm pretty sure they're telling me, "I'm hungry!"

Second task - build something to contain the kittens so that they're not walking around, getting into mischief. Of course, this containment arena needs to be easily escapable for momma. I built several different options. None of which were acceptable to Nadya. Instead, she moved the kittens one by one (even took one right out of my hands as I was bottle feeding her) to the cave at the bottom of the cat tower. An itty bitty cave. Very itty bitty. It barely is big enough for one adult cat let alone an adult cat who needs to nurse seven kittens. And it does not contain the kittens at all (as demonstrated by Zotz two seconds after Nadya moved her to the cave). After spending almost two hours building - and tearing down - containment centers, I finally gave in to Nadya. I sectioned off the room with planks, dividing the room. One half is kitten proof. The other half contains the power cords, laptop, heater, and all supplies (extra bowls, medications, cans of food, etc). Zotz, of course, will be the first over on that side... (And then it's back to the drawing board).

Third task - Nadya's medications. Nadya needs to have her temperature monitored... which means I get the joy of taking her temperature twice a day (once a day is bad enough). She's not happy about this and neither am I. Last night's temperature was 103.5 (higher than what is normal but not horrible).

In addition to temperature taking, Nadya needs sub-Q fluids (saline given under the skin, not in the vein). Again, Nadya is not happy about this experience. For the first time since she arrived, she growled at me. I completely understand - the needle is quite big and the feeling of water flooding into your body cannot be pleasant (even though I warmed the fluids before the procedure). Although I am quite experienced giving fluids, most of my patients have been elderly and near death. Having a young, mobile, and busy cat is a different experience. Nadya is strong and strong willed. She had kittens to attend to and didn't want to put up with something holding her back. She had words for me when I tried to confine her.

Nadya also has a few antibiotics and supplements to take. Nadya said very clearly that her antibiotics do NOT taste very good.

All in all, Nadya is enduring her treatment. She's a little more growly and vocal than she's been before but it's understandable. No one likes medications. No one likes needles jabbed in them. She and I will work on our routine. She's a good girl with a good heart so I'm sure she'll come to understand that I'm only trying to help.

Fudge Stripe also got to join in on the medication fun. She had an abscess on her rear that was infected. It was drained and now she's on antibiotics to help it all heal. Most likely the abscess was caused by Nadya accidentally nipping Fudgie. I assume Fudge sat in some formula during one of her bottle feedings and Nadya over zealously cleaned her up.

After medications, Nadya got some treats (which helps take the awful taste of the antibiotics away) and some playtime. She's not fully her happy, purry, dancing self but she did purr and she did humor me with a couple of playful bats at her toys.

Fourth task - feed the kittens again. Canned food for those who would eat the food and bottle feedings for all. I will have to wash my clothes after that. There was a lot of spillage as some of the kittens are new to the bottle experience. I was amazed that some got the hang of this bottle thing after just a few sucks. My kittens are smart. :-)

From this morning (5/1): Nadya's temp was 102.9. It's always a good sign when the temp goes down!

It took about an hour and a half to get everyone bottle fed. Several kittens did not want to get out of bed! Zotz, of course, was the first one up followed by Biscoff. After Biscoff was done with his bottle, he woke up several more kittens who then staggered like zombies out of the cave and over to me. Zagnut preferred to lick his formula off a plate, which was just fine with me. Stroopy was the last one up and would have slept right through breakfast if I didn't go get him. He loved the canned food and camped right in front of the plate.

The kittens are learning how to play. Zagnut was enjoying biting his siblings and they in turn enjoyed whapping him in the face.

Everyone is doing fine. Kittens are happy to be able to roam. I'm not as happy about that but I do love how much they're growing and learning. The kittens lost a bit of weight while at the vet but we'll make that up with bottle feedings and canned food.

BTW, Nadya's kittens turned three weeks old yesterday (4/30).