(no subject)
Fostering babies has been quite an experience. Mama has turned out to be FIV+. We won't know for a while whether that got passed on to her kittens or not, though chances are the kittens will be fine.
She's such a sweet kitty. She must have been someone's kitty before being a stray, because she shows no fear of humans. I'm not even sure what the shelter meant by her being timid. She purrs so hard when I pet her and doesn't put up a fuss when I hold her babies. Though, she does give me a funny look if one of the babies starts to cry and I don't immediately put him back.
And the babies! Ohhh they are precious. One is a blue tabby and he is the rolliest polliest of them all... ALWAYS latched on to a nipple and has the big fat tummy to show for it. The other three are brown tabbies with silver backs. The runt is a cutie pie but he has a swollen "thumb" on his paw; I honestly can't tell if it's swelling or just a birth defect. He's eating and moving around just fine and doesn't seem to mess with it at all so I dunno. The shelter said just to keep an eye on it and let them know if it got worse. It's stayed the same so far...
One of them nurses on his back and does this, like, kitty swimming motion with his little kitty legs. It's seriously adorable. They all crawl around on their bellies, though this morning already I noticed them moving around better.
Mama is such a sweet cat. Last night she left the kittens for a minute to come out and get some snuggles from me. She ate THREE cans of cat food yesterday! Poor kitty is soooo skinny from the hard life on the streets and the shelter. She seemed so happy to be out of there and in a quiet room. She even brought out one of the babies to lick on while she snuggled with me last night. It's like... I dunno, I feel like she and I already have this special bond and she realizes I'm there to help out with her little ones. She's a good mama and she will make such a sweet kitty companion to somebody.
I hate the thought of leaving her to go to work today, but I know Rob will do a good job of taking over on Cat Daddy Duty. He's been helping out a bunch by keeping our big cats well loved and pacified. Tux is NOT happy about this and even hissed at me last night after he smelled my clothes. Zap is curious more than anything; he was always more chill when it came to fosters being around. It just takes Tux a day or two to get used to it and chill. But, unlike the last couple times, the big guys will NOT be near mom and kittens for now since I worry about Tux starting a fight with Mama and her biting him. I think he's vaccinated against FIV but I don't want to take any chances. So I think once they get used to the smell of the fosters they will relax.
I realize now fostering babies when they have mama around is pretty easy. The hard part is when they get bigger and then I have to start dealing with five cats' worth of poop instead of just one....
Now then, time to get ready for work...
She's such a sweet kitty. She must have been someone's kitty before being a stray, because she shows no fear of humans. I'm not even sure what the shelter meant by her being timid. She purrs so hard when I pet her and doesn't put up a fuss when I hold her babies. Though, she does give me a funny look if one of the babies starts to cry and I don't immediately put him back.
And the babies! Ohhh they are precious. One is a blue tabby and he is the rolliest polliest of them all... ALWAYS latched on to a nipple and has the big fat tummy to show for it. The other three are brown tabbies with silver backs. The runt is a cutie pie but he has a swollen "thumb" on his paw; I honestly can't tell if it's swelling or just a birth defect. He's eating and moving around just fine and doesn't seem to mess with it at all so I dunno. The shelter said just to keep an eye on it and let them know if it got worse. It's stayed the same so far...
One of them nurses on his back and does this, like, kitty swimming motion with his little kitty legs. It's seriously adorable. They all crawl around on their bellies, though this morning already I noticed them moving around better.
Mama is such a sweet cat. Last night she left the kittens for a minute to come out and get some snuggles from me. She ate THREE cans of cat food yesterday! Poor kitty is soooo skinny from the hard life on the streets and the shelter. She seemed so happy to be out of there and in a quiet room. She even brought out one of the babies to lick on while she snuggled with me last night. It's like... I dunno, I feel like she and I already have this special bond and she realizes I'm there to help out with her little ones. She's a good mama and she will make such a sweet kitty companion to somebody.
I hate the thought of leaving her to go to work today, but I know Rob will do a good job of taking over on Cat Daddy Duty. He's been helping out a bunch by keeping our big cats well loved and pacified. Tux is NOT happy about this and even hissed at me last night after he smelled my clothes. Zap is curious more than anything; he was always more chill when it came to fosters being around. It just takes Tux a day or two to get used to it and chill. But, unlike the last couple times, the big guys will NOT be near mom and kittens for now since I worry about Tux starting a fight with Mama and her biting him. I think he's vaccinated against FIV but I don't want to take any chances. So I think once they get used to the smell of the fosters they will relax.
I realize now fostering babies when they have mama around is pretty easy. The hard part is when they get bigger and then I have to start dealing with five cats' worth of poop instead of just one....
Now then, time to get ready for work...