All Those Kittens in the Room

Mr. Darcy

Rhett Butler

So for this group, I had planned on posting weekly articles about them... but that did not happen at all. And not only have I not bragged about how wonderful these guys are, I haven't formally introduced the new ones or announced adoptions. Part of the reason is because I have been a little busier than previously. I was "promoted" the Feline Rescue Foster Program Director! I run the Foster program now.

These amazingly kissy kittens have been such a joy to foster. From the moment they popped out of their carriers after the ride home, they have been so incredibly friendly.

Dorian Gray

Don Juan

Dorian Gray, at one time one of the smallest kittens, is what I refer to as Patient Zero. He developed a cold within 24 hours of arriving and by day 2, was absolutely miserable. I chose not to separate him from the rest as I didn't want to have him alone... plus, all the other kittens had probably already been exposed to his germs. One by one, every kitten got that cold. We're going on four weeks now. Some had it fairly mildly. Some had it pretty bad. They've been without antibiotics for more than 24 hours. There's some sneezing and a bit of runny noses but I'm hoping that will work itself out soon.

Barney Stinson

Lord Byron

Now for the adoptions. The very first to get adopted were Warren Beatty and Don Draper, two panther brothers. They've already left and have been at their adopted home for almost 2 weeks now. They're doing so well! The next two were Don Juan and Barney Stinson. Don Juan (DJ) goes up to everybody and kisses them and then curls up on their lap. He's quite the lovebug and would probably be adopted a half dozen times over. The next two to get adopted were Rhett Butler and Dorian Gray. They're going to a home with a 7 year old and an 11 year old girl and boy. Rhett was quite fine being lugged around by the little girl while she was visiting.

Casanova

After a lull in adoptions, Casanova and Lord Byron finally got adopted. They're going to a home with quite the energetic three year old boy. After his visit, both kittens slept for a long time. Since both kittens are normally very active, this was a refreshing surprise. Mr. Darcy is the last and has an interview on Sunday evening.


William Blake

The new ones. Several weeks ago, within a day of each other, I brought home a litter of three and a single. The single is William Blake. He is the botfly boy. I pulled him from the room a few days after arriving since he lost a lot of weight. He stopped eating and was vomiting up a storm. I had to give him sub-q fluids and force feed him formula. Since both of these tasks have to be done quite frequently, I brought him to work so that I didn't have to travel home to feed him. Another caregiver lives close to where I work and offered to take him after she found out he was with me at work. She is the one that noticed the oozing hole and sore on his chest. I had noticed a sore a few days ago. The oozing hole was new. Turns out, he had a botfly. Over the next few days, he would develop sores and then within 24 hours, a hole in the sore would emerge. This was the botfly making a hole to breath. He had seven removed from him total (although he actually had 9 in him - 2 were dead and the extraction of those 2 would be surgery. No sense in making him go through that). He had a record number of botflies in him. One of them did have to be surgically removed but he came out of it like nothing happened. After the first botfly was removed, William felt so much better and began eating on his own. Within a month, William went from 1 pound 1 ounce to 4 pounds. He's quite the chunk.

Elizabeth Taylor

Katherine Hepburn

Percy B. Shelley

The litter of three kittens are incredibly shy. Two sisters - the black one is Elizabeth Taylor and the tuxy is Katherine Hepburn. The brown tabby is Percy B. Shelley. Percy developed Dorian's cold and had it even worse than Dorian. Percy suddenly realized that the medicine I was forcing upon him made him feel better so this undersocialized kitten actually started seeking me out so that I could give him medicine to make him feel even better. It was quite interesting to watch him overcome his shyness. Elizabeth was the smallest kitten in the room and lacked confidence. She was easily bullied from the food and as a result, was not gaining weight. I removed her from the room for a few days (and let her bunk with William Blake upstairs) to give her a chance at food. It was this one on one time that helped her start to like me. Katherine is absolutely not fond of me. IF I can grab her, I can get her to purr. But that's IF. It doesn't happen very often.

Ron Howard

About a week after William Blake started feeling better, I got a new little kitten. He had coccidia and couldn't mix with the downstairs kittens (coccidia causes diarrhea and if the other kittens stepped in it, they'd get coccidia, too). The new guy is a little orange and white tabby with orange dots on his face like freckles. I named him Ron Howard. Unfortunately, his diarrhea was quite bad and he very quickly became dehydrated. He stopped eating and dropped a lot of weight. Again, I had to do sub-q fluids and 3am feedings. After four days, the medicine finally kicked in and Ron Howard started eating on his own. A week later, Ron Howard had gained a whole pound (kittens typically gain 4 ounces a week). Once the diarrhea subsided, he was introduced to William Blake and the two became best friends instantly. They're now inseparable. They've made friends with my own cats and are quite responsible little kittens so they get to stay upstairs and have pretty much free roaming time.

Ingrid Bergman

Another new little orphan made her way into the foster room. She looks almost identical to Dorian Gray. I had to clip a piece of her fur so that I could tell them apart. She came from a tree farm in Plato, MN. She was NOT fond of super friendly, in-your-face kissy kittens and growled up a storm any time a kitten approached her. I had to kennel her for a few days until she calmed down. She now really likes some of the other kittens. Casanova has a crush on her. I named this brown tabby Ingrid Bergman. She is a cuddler and a purrer and has invented several games that the other kittens now play.

Herman Munster

And the newest addition to the room - Herman Munster. He looks a lot like Ron Howard. He's an orange and white tabby. He was found under someone's porch... who then left him there overnight. He was brought to our shelter as the shelter intake person was under the assumption that this kitten was a good 4-5 months old (she got that impression because his rescuer told her that he was 10 inches long). He's about 7 weeks old and 1 pound 5 ounces. He ain't even close to 10 inches, tip of his nose to the tip of his tail. He's a wee little thing. I was going to name him Jimmy Stewart but changed my mind after I saw him in action. This little guy is a spitfire! He backed Mr. Darcy into a corner, jumped onto Casanova's back (the biggest kitten in the room) and rode him around the room, made every kitten freeze and stop eating their dinner, and has greeted every single kitten with a flying crab walk and hiss. Oooooh! He's a tough little monster. But he's also loveable. He fell asleep in the crook of my arm last night... after he stopped gnawing on my arm.

William Blake and Ron Howard

The seven Kissy Kittens will be neutered on Tuesday. Dorian, Rhett, DJ, Barney, Cas, and Byron all leave by the end of next week. Fingers crossed that Mr. Darcy will also be going to his adoptive home!

So by next week the room will not as chaotic... until I find more kittens who need rescue.