'kitten Season' Is Upon Us - New Stray Litter

[Grillby]

Momma only has two babies, so it's a very small litter.

My cat hasn't had her kittens yet, not too sure exactly how far a long she is, but she's rather big. She hasn't begun milk production yet, but has started scouting about for a area, so it could be anytime in the coming weeks.

I hope they can, if I can jut get a hold of them, Called a few times and left a message with the vet.

If they can't I did find eye ointment online I can buy without a prescription. But who knows how long it'd take to get shipped here. Gonna cost me about $20 for it though to order it online.

Terramycin Opthalmic Ointment | Eye Infection | LambertVetSupply.com

I see Clavamox can be bought online too, but it's about $20 too. Bluh. So expensive.. but I'll see if I can buy it if my vet can't get me any prescriptions. Maybe I can get a few people on DeviantArt to commission some art and such for me to get the funds so it wont break me if all else fails.

 

[Grillby]

Got a hold of vet, they can't prescribe anything without seeing them.. Just like I figured. And I asked them how much the examine would be alone and it'd be $60 just for the examine, not including any medication.. Ugh. I can't do that right now. So ordering it online is the way to go I suppose.

 

[surya]

I'm saying a prayer for the babies.

 

[Sarthur2]

Get the terramycin ointment online if you must. Sounds like they need it. It is sold over the counter at tractor supply stores if you have one nearby.

 

[Grillby]

With the help of a lot of very precious, generous people on DeviantArt I have enough for the initial vet examination and the antibiotics if I can hopefully cover some of the difference. I've ordered the Terramycin Ointment online since I don't have a tractor supply store nearby. It should get here between 4 - 7 days. I was initially going to order the antibiotics online too, but it requires a prescription.

In the meantime a co-worker had left over eyedrops from her cat when it had a eye infection. There's not a lot in there, but enough to hopefully help the kittens until the ointment in shipped.

I'm amazed at the support and kindness everyone has shown and I'm honestly so grateful. I was so scared and worried for these babies and I still am, but so many people have shown support and kindness and now I'll be able to get them some proper antibiotics hopefully.

Calling the vet when it opens to try and get them in asap.

 

[Grillby]

Got them in.. cost a lot more then I planned or had despite help but my grandma was sweet enough to cover the $75 that I was short on, despite telling her I could just not get the eye drops or powder. The antibiotics was the big cost. Yikes.

Gave momma a FVRCP vaccine and gave me medicine. Zithromax, Viralys Powder and Tobramycin Opthalmic drops for them.

Both babies are male and vet confirmed about 2 weeks old. Both of there eyes have slightly improved since using the drops my co-worker gave me and now these new ones will make sure it stays that way. Momma no longer has diarrhea either and just seems content to be inside and cared for. I'm almost positive now she's a stray, a pregnant mom that no one wanted to deal with and dropped off. Which is really heart breaking.

The little light grey tabby one had an abscess on his shoulder that had burst last night. Vet didn't honestly look at it, just said to keep it clean and put a warm compress on it. Which was what I'd been doing anyways.

URI is pretty contagious, but I've brought them inside the house. I have them secluded in my bathroom with the door closed so my own cats can't get in. Got her a pan for a temporary litter box and now that she's not making such a mess I've let her use some extra blankets as bedding that I'll wash daily. Also doesn't appear they have fleas which is great! Probably because the weathers been so cold, but yes.

I wanted to update everyone on how they were doing now. So the antibiotics will definitely help them out and if they make it to 3 - 4 weeks they should be able to be strong enough to fight it off and survive healthily.

 

[Sarthur2]

Bless your grandma! Thank you for getting them to the vet. They will hopefully get better every day now.

 

[surya]

Yes, good grandma. I hope babies and mom feel better soon.

 

[Grillby]

Named them after suggestions from some others. Momma Cat as I've been calling her is now Cinnamon. Little solid black cutie is Gabriel and the dilute tabby baby is Jasper. I'm hoping he stays 'dilute' when he ages, but he'll more then likely grow out with some color like his mom.

For Jasper's abscess, how long do they take to heal usually? I keep checking on it and clean it with lukewarm soapy water once a day because it gets matted and super gross from drainage. I don't want to over clean and irritate it, but it doesn't appear to bother him much. It looks super gross though. It's just this hole smaller then a centimeter in the skin. And underneath it's somewhat hollow and pulled away from the underlying tissue and skin. And I've had to gently press around the area to drain out some pus a few times. Is that normal? Should I try flushing it out with a saline solution? I've never done that before so I'm a little too scared to.

I'm also worried about re-homing them once they get healthier and age. It's really hard to adopt out kittens around here and I definitely can't keep them myself. Too many kitties as it is inside. My six are already a handful. Sadly I'm really doubtful Cinnamon will find someone to take her.. She's such a sweetie though. It's really obvious she used to be someones pet, or at least cared for. When I go in the bathroom to check on her and what not she always looks at me or cries and gets up and rubs up against my legs.

Once I get some money of my own and pay back my grandma, I plan to get her spayed. If I can't re-home her, do you think it'd be ok to let her back outside after having her spayed? She constantly tried to bolt for the door when it was opened when I had her on the indoor back porch. If I could keep her inside with my kitty family I would, but I don't have the room to do it permanently. Plus with my boy Sunny having FIV I don't want to bring any new cats into the household. Y'know?

 

[Sarthur2]

Once cats are vaccinated they do not usually catch FIV. You could probably let mom be indoor/outdoor after she is spayed.

I’m concerned that the kitten needs antibiotics like clavamox for the paw. Cleaning it and letting it drain as you have been doing is good. Can you call the vet tomorrow and ask if you could pick up something for the paw?

 

[Grillby]

I could try and see what they say. It's not on her paw but on the shoulder. The vet has me giving her antibiotics already, so I'm not sure.

It looks a lot better this morning. There isn't any pus now and the area looks pretty clean, no matting or even discharge around it. Instead of being super red looking inside it's gotten a bit more pink. Maybe it's healing ok?

Also a little worried for little Gabriel. His very vocal.. which concerns me. I've been feeding kittens KMR, but he doesn't seem to latch onto mom very well at all. Or if he does it isn't not for very long. I've been feeding him every 3-4 hours, especially when he's mewing. But I don't want to overfeed him and he meows for a bit after I place him back with mom after feeding.

And that rescue group called me back finally! She's going to look around for any TNR groups or anything near me to help. And gave me he number to call once the kittens are older for her to take and find homes for. (And maybe momma too. Not sure)

 

[Sarthur2]

It sounds like the sore is healing now, so that’s good!

The little guy sounds like he’s hungry. It’s almost impossible to overfeed a growing kitten, so keep feeding him as much as he wants.

 

[surya]

I'm glad the rescue lady can help you find homes for them. That is better than trying to do it yourself. They have experience and know what to look out for and can do background checks. I hope the mom cat is adoptable too.

 

[Grillby]

Ok. I wasn't sure or not if you could overfeed and cause tummy issues. I try to feed about every 2 - 3 hours or if I hear them get super fussy and vocal. Jasper is feeding off of mom still easily so he doesn't want as much, but Gabriel is taking like 6 - 8 ml each feeding or so.

I'm so glad too. I'm really hoping they can get momma Cinnamon adopted too or at least find a nice place for her. She didn't really mention the mom much just the kittens, so I'm not sure. But she's a super sweet girl, so I really hope so.

 

[surya]

How are the kitties? Any updates?

 

[Grillby]

Sorry it's been a busy last few weeks. The kittens are doing well, and so is momma. They're URIs are gone completely and they're eating well. After a week of TLC of me solely feeding him KMR, he's started eating off of momma Cinnamon. I'm still feeding them KMR when they get fussy, but not so much on a set schedule as I had been because it's a hit or miss depending on how much they got off of their mom.

I've slowly been introducing them to wet food. Just putting some on their lips or on my finger for them to nibble on when I feed mom.

Gabriel is harder to take pictures of since he's so dark and my phone is a potato.

 

[Grillby]

Bonus video.

Sorry for my phones quality, it's a StraightTalk phone, one of the cheaper ones and pretty old. lol

Ignore my messy floor, I just took it as soon as I came home from work so I hadn't swept up their litter pan mess yet. They were too cute not to film though.

 

[surya]

Oh my gosh, how cute! I'm glad they are doing well.

 

[Sarthur2]

Yes, very cute! Good to hear that mama is mostly providing now!

 

[Grillby]

Last update for the kittens and momma. It's been awhile since I last posted, sorry for anyone still curious. Figured it was best to post the final update and the end of the story they'll share with me.

They're around 7 weeks old now and have gotten so big! Both are loosing their soft kitten fur, especially little Gabriel. Both are active and playful. They're eating solely wet food now and are sorta going in the litter box. It's a hit or miss honestly, they're still learning lol

This is my last evening with them as tomorrow I'm taking them to the lady that runs the shelter. She has a cage ready for both of them and they'll get their vaccines and get ready to be adopted into their forever homes.

They can't take mom, but she will get spayed by the humane shelter in that area, they said not to worry about costs as they'ed rather have her be able to just be spayed. Which is a huge blessing as I'm between pay checks. I'll pick mom up on Wednesday, keep her inside for the rest of the week and if she's well I'll let her back outside Saturday. She'll probably stick around with my other strays and ferals I take care of once more. I feel bad I can't keep her inside, but I can't have anymore. And I've tried and unable to find her a home.. At least she'll still be taken well care of, fed and more importantly spayed.

It's been such a blessing watching them go from weak and lethargic 2 week old kittens to being strong and playful, ready to find new homes. I'm going to miss the little fellas, but I've done my best to not get attached to them to make this a little easier.