My First Bottle Baby Foster!

[Sarthur2]

How awesome! Bless his little heart.

He probably needs a round of albon or panacur, or both, for parasites and bacterial infection, and he'll be as good as new soon.

 

[Dinosnores]

Beans' vet appointment went well, his stool sample is off for testing (Lord help the poor tech who opens that bag...) and he had a negative panleukopenia test. She perscribed him 0.1 mL of metronidazole twice a day for five days and she hopes that this, in addition to the pyrantel I already gave him, will clear up his issues. If something shows up on his fecal, of course, that will change things.

He's continued to improve since I picked him up on Friday. He's been eating well and gaining weight, and his energy level increases every day. Astrid is also doing great and being a crazy little nut, as usual haha. I now have her on straight-up kitten food mixed with a little water while Beans is still getting KMR made with pedialyte in his.

 

[ileen]

I can't wait to see pics of Astrid & Beans together!

 

[Dinosnores]

ileen Ask and you shall receive! They're now together since Beans is healthy, and they do everything together. They play super rough which concerned me at first because Beans squeals a lot, but when I separate them, he always goes right back for more. I assume if Astrid was actually hurting him, he would run away, not chase after and pounce on her again. I keep both their claws trimmed and neither ever draws blood or anything crazy like that, Beans will just whine a little when Astrid is on top of him or has him in a headlock. He's a talkative kitten, maybe he just gets really into it? I was concerned in the beginning because Astrid is 200 grams heavier than Beans, I thought I might have to watch her to see if she was too rough. However, Beans more than keeps up with her. I think she wasn't used to playing with something that actually fought back.

I was concerned that Beans was full of worms because he has such a big, fat kitten belly, but he's been through one round of deworming (round 2 is in two weeks) so he might just be a chunky guy. He eats even more than Astrid and she's bigger than he is. I'll know for sure when I get the results of his fecal, should be any day now. I'm so glad they have each other to play with, Astrid has really encouraged Beans to come out of his shell and Astrid is so much calmer and well-behaved with people since she can roughhouse with Beans.

Also, they might have trapped Beans' brother, who I will most certainly take. I'll let you guys know if this duo becomes a trio...

 

[ileen]

Thanks, they look like litter mates!

 

[Sarthur2]

Aww, so glad they have each other now!

 

[Dinosnores]

I now have three, and I'm officially maxed, haha. Everyone say hi to Franklin (like Frank n' Beans). I was told he was Beans' brother, and that he was fully vetted and dewormed. The longer I have him (it's only been two days), the more I think that's not the case. He was trapped from Beans' colony, we know that for sure, but he's twice Beans' size - even bigger than Astrid. There's no WAY they're from the same litter unless Beans is a serious runt. I also caught Franklin dragging his butt around the bathroom floor so I dosed him with Pyrantel and he pooped out a dead worm a few hours later. If he was actually dewormed at a vet, wouldn't he not have any adult worms in his system? He's not showing any symptoms of being sick and there's been no more butt scooting after the deworming, so I feel like it's safe to wait to take him to the vet until all three go for their first vaccines in two weeks.

My little mixed litter is doing amazing, though. Beans and Astrid snuggle each other when they're not playing, and Beans even grooms Astrid after they eat. Beans is also completely comfortable with people now, which is amazing considering his first experiences with humans was being trapped, shoved in a shelter for a week, and then me bathing him.

Oh, and Beans' fecal was negative. His diarrhea must have just been stress-related or else something like a virus that wouldn't show up on a fecal. I'm just so glad it's not parasites!

 

[nahui]

I just read this entire thread and I am in love with your mixed litter and amazed with your hard work. Thank you for helping them!

 

[ashade1]

This thread is incredibly sweet! <3

 

[Sarthur2]

The life cycle of worms is about 10 days, so he may have more worms inside him in the egg or larvae stage. That's why he'll need dosing again in 2 weeks.

 

[foxxycat]

Just finished this thread=WOW!! MORE PICTURES PLEASE!!! I love the coloring of Astrid! The other two are cute too!

 

[Dinosnores]

Thanks, everyone! I tried to get a cute group pic of everyone snuggling, the results are what you see below, haha.

Our mixed litter is doing so well! Although Astrid and Beans are the closest, they both play and sleep with Franklin. Beans is actually growing some legs which is a little sad, I thought he would be stubby and chubby forever, haha. Astrid is still her lanky, awkward self, and Franklin is still a perfect supermodel kitten. I've also made a lot of progress with his hand-biting and although he sometimes gets too excited and forgets himself, he's finally learning that hands are for petting and toys and siblings are for biting.

They crack me up with their little personalities. Astrid is bomb-proof, nothing phases her. She loves to snuggle (after she's played) and although it takes her a long time to grasp new concepts, once she figures out something there's no force in the world that can stop her from doing it. Beans, or "Beans the bruiser" is super sweet and gentle, he purrs the second you touch him and when he tries to play with my feet, her never uses his claws or bites hard. Despite being half Franklin's size, he can more than keep up with his bigger siblings, hence the nickname. He's stocky and has a massive appetite. Franklin took a few days to get comfortable with his two foster siblings, but now he loves to chase them. He's not a big fan of petting unless he's tired (he'd rather play with hands) but he loves to hang out on laps.

Astrid is officially 7 weeks old now, and I'm planning to make a vet appointment for all three kittens next week to have their first vaccinations and all that other routine stuff. Fingers crossed that everyone is negative for FLV and FIV!

Also I have a question for you guys: I have dry food out for them all the time (Royal Canin Babycat) and feed them wet four times a day. Are they old enough that I can switch them to a different dry kibble, like a regular kitten brand? If so, are there any you recommend? The babycat was great while they were still learning how to eat dry food, but it's expensive to be feeding every day now that they've got the hang of it.

 

[ileen]

Is Astrid on the bed & Beans to the right of it in the first pic? Franklin is so adorable. Keep the updates coming, especially with pics!

 

[Dinosnores]

ileen Yep, that's Astrid on the bed and Beans flopped on the floor. You can always tell her by her small head, haha.

 

[Dinosnores]

The kittens are all doing well! I'm the most impressed with Franklin; when he first came to me, I couldn't pet him because he would instantly start clawing and biting my hands trying to play, and he was so scared of the other kittens that he would hiss and cry if they approached him. Now he wrestles and snuggles with them and he not only allows me to pet him, he demands it! The second I sit down in their room, he's the first one to jump in my lap. He really just needed to play with the others and vent his excess energy, now he's a perfectly behaved little kitten.

I went ahead and ordered the Candiae grain-free pure kitten kibble for them to start transitioning off the Royal Canin Babycat. I know the ingredients aren't the best, but it was the one I could find that had the most high-ranking meat ingredients and would fit in my budget. I would just keep them on the Royal Canin, but it's $32 for 7 pounds and that's more than I can afford to spend on fosters. They're still on Fancy Feast Turkey kitten food for their wet.

I realized I haven't updated weights in a while. Astrid is the heaviest, at 997 grams with Beans next at 914. Franklin looks the biggest, but he actually weighs the least - 905 grams. The vet my rescue uses does pediatric spays/neuters at three pounds, so I still have a little longer with these babies. The time is fast approaching when they'll be off to their forever homes, though!

They're starting to get too big to all fit on my lap together... sad times. For new readers, that's Astrid in the back, Franklin to the right, and Beans looking at us with his big, beautiful green eyes.

 

[Sarthur2]

I'll miss hearing about these little guys!

 

[foxxycat]

so adorable!!

 

[Dinosnores]

The whole litter went to the vet today for their first vaccines. They were all vaccinated for distemper and given a dose of revolution (standard procedure for the rescue I foster for, even if they don't show signs of fleas). They also all tested NEGATIVE for FIV/FLV which I'm so relieved about. The vet techs were fawning over how cute and sweet they are, Astrid was even sucking up and kissing the vet on the nose.

Unfortunately, Beans has a "moderate" heart murmur. The vet said they rate them on a scale from 1 to 6 based on how loud it is, with 6 being the worst. His is a 2.5-3. She said that it might go away as he grows, but that if it's still present at 5 months then he needs an ultrasound. I'm afraid this will turn people away from adopting him, hopefully Franklin's cute baby face will convince them. He and Beans need to go together, Beans is too insecure and afraid without another kitten around, and Franklin gets extremely lonely. Can't separate Frank n' Beans!

Here's a pic of Astrid the Donut Queen, and Franklin smothering Beans (they fell asleep while wrestling).

 

[ashade1]

Omg they are so stinking cute! I love Astrid!

 

[foxxycat]

love the pictures!! they ARE stinkin cute!!!! Hopefully the murmur goes away-there's been several kitties with murmurs that live long lives..just like people-some have skip heartbeats and they live to be 80+ years old..hoping this doesn't dissuade adopters. I wouldn't separate them either.