Rescue Momma and Kittens... Advice Needed Please!

[Sarthur2]

It may still be infection. Get the terramycin going in the meantime.

I’m looking for a thread to share where the kitten’s eyes looked exactly like this, and with treatment, became perfectly clear and he sees just fine.

It was a recent thread. As soon as I find it I’ll post it.

Take no chances!

 

[lavishsqualor]

I remember that thread, Sarthur2, but I can't find it either!

Fingers crossed for your baby. You do such fantastic rescue work.

 

[Kimberly07]

I have one of the bigger carriers that opens from the top that I plan on bringing them back to me then. I have a few people donating me KMR and my veterinarian office is going to give me syringes. Can I get a kitchen scale at Walmart? And I have a Medium dog crate, can I place them in that in a bedroom by themselves? Or should it be a box? I am not sure if I can find a box big enough. Thanks!

I just bought a scale at Target last night, and it has a small bowl on top to keep the kitten in the bowl. It was $23 I think.

 

[Kimberly07]

I just bought a scale at Target last night, and it has a small bowl on top to keep the kitten in the bowl. It was $23 I think.

sorry, wrong thread somehow. I'm new.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

sorry, wrong thread somehow. I'm new.

That happens, and not inappropriate in this thread, either!

Hey, Jake! Hey, pretty Orange Mama! You are in safe, loving hands now, and your future looks much better!

Between the ointment, you can also use artificial tears if Jake's eyes look very dry. I keep a bottle in Hekitty's first aid kit, just in case.

 

[zed xyzed]

Jake is a beautiful little soul. Bless you for taking such good care of him

 

[ashade1]

I know some of you follow us on facebook and you have already seen this news, but little Jake went to the vet today! We were able to get in with one of the best vets for kittens in the area(she is hard to get an appointment with), I have never used her but other rescues sang her praises and I was really impressed by her!
As of right now I have mostly had Jake in my darker living room (I work night shift and frequently compare myself to a vampire). So I haven't gotten a REEEALLY good look at him in good light lol. On our way to the vet I had him out cuddling him and noticed his eyes are already changing color and are more of a gray than the blue kittens eyes should be. Also his toes are very long. And his ears have a lot of really developed cartilage. So at this point I am really curious with how the vet was going to age him. When the vet came in I told her the main reason I was there was because of his eyes but I also wanted her to get a good look at him because he developmentally was very confusing.
She looked him over really good and was like wow.... he has a full mouth of teeth... he has to be at least 6-8 weeks old. Which matches with his eye colors changing. His claws aren't retracting which they should be by now but his feet are odd... like elongated... he looks like he has raccoon hands so I am wondering if he is missing tendons or something. Another supporting factor is that his mobility is great! No wobbling like you would expect a 3 week old kitten to sort of have when they are starting to explore the world... so what we have here is a 6oz 6-8 week old kitten- how crazy is that! The lady that had found him said there were a few strays outside and one had a few older kittens but we didn't think anything of it because there was a significant size difference but now I am wondering if those were his siblings... I am pretty sure she found homes for them and the mom is getting fixed with us on Monday!
Finally his eyes... the vet said they look normal except for the clouding on the lens behind the pupil. She looked at them with a ophthalmoscope and said she can definitely see that it juvenile cataracts... not really a whole lot that can be done, especially at this size. There is a specialist in Pittsburgh we could take him to when he is bigger to have them removed apparently. We are trying vitamin B12 she said that might help some especially if they are from malnutrition- which could also be why he is so tiny. Could also be bad genetics... when she took him so the other vet could look at him (since she was perplexed she has never seen a kitten like this) the other vet mentioned how short his legs are so maybe he has munchkin gene in him?
He is in great spirits and was snuggling everyone at the vet. I tried to see if he would lap up some kitten mush when we got home but no such luck. I am going to start mixing a can of kitten food in with his formula and syringing it to him a few times to get the taste of it (and the calories) to him!
Overall he is a strange little dude and I love him so much! Can't wait to see how he grows!

 

[catsknowme]

I had a tiny, underdeveloped kitten named Polly who hardly grew. It was a worry when she got spayed but she did just fine. It was a lot like the movie "Keanu". The other cats loved treating her like a toy. Sadly, she disappeared from the yard in broad daylight - I wish I could get her back.

 

[rubysmama]

Thanks for the update on Jake. Looking forward to future updates on his growth and progress.

 

[Sarthur2]

I hope the vitamins and improved nutrition help Jake’s eyes. He should also begin to grow soon!

At least the cataracts can eventually be removed. Does it seem like he can see somewhat for now?

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Looks like Jake might just be one of those miracle kitties, who have a host of odd genetic issues, but who are, on the whole, happy, fairly healthy, bright kittens. Just makes him unique! The Munchkin gene, I believe, is a spontaneous mutation, so he may not have actual "Munchkin" blood, just...that mutation. The long toes make me suspect that. And with ferals, there's always a lot of inbreeding and line breeding going on in colonies. It's a wonder that so many of them are born without any issues!

 

[ashade1]

Little Jake seems to be doing great! He is up to 6.7 oz now that we have started mixing wet food in with his goats milk. We are still syringing it, I am hoping he will lap soon. His eyes seem to look better (I hope I am not imagining it). They look better when I take him outside because his pupils are smaller and you cant see the cloudiness as much. He is a snuggly happy little guy!
Our orange momma is still pregnant but I dont think for much longer, one of our partner rescues about an hour and a half away in Pittsburgh is actually going to take her in this coming Wednesday. I would love to keep her here but we have a wait list of cats and kittens coming and we have a couple of moms with kittens at our new colonies that we need to get in before the kittens are feral.

 

[Sarthur2]

How old would Jake need to be for cataract surgery?

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I may be fooling myself, but his eyes maybe look better to me, as well!

 

[ashade1]

Not sure that there would be an exact age for anything for Jake... I guess it depends on how he grows lol. We are going to another vet with him tomorrow. Just to get a second opinion on his oddness lol also to ask things like the cataract surgery, when would we give vaccines, etc. Because developmentally he could have vaccines now... but he is so tiny lol.
Our orange momma had babies today! 6 orange tabbies!

 

[Sarthur2]

Six ORANGE kittens???!!! Wow!!!

I can’t wait to see pictures!

Mama mated with an orange male. I wonder how many might be female.

How are they all doing?

P.S. Is Jake continuing to gain well?

 

[ashade1]

They all seem to be doing great... They will be going to another rescue on Wednesday to open up room for us... Just took a feral momma and her 4 2-3 week olds. Also took 2 older feral kittens who need treated for a URI before they can be fixed. Then we just found another litter at a different colony. Ugh. So as much as I love this momma, moving her is for the best.

 

[Sarthur2]

I saw that you had taken in more in another post. I understand!

Mama is beautiful! Look at those little orange babies! Oh my! Hopefully the foster will provide pictures as they grow.

 

[rubysmama]

As the "mama" of an orange female cat, who I adopted as an adult, I love seeing pictures of orange kittens and wondering which of them looks the most like Ruby would have when she was young.

That group shot of the orange mama and her orange babies is adorable! I too hope the foster mom is able to send you some updated pics as they grow.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

How adorable! Now, just in case you want to have some fun with names, here's a site that will give you "orange" in LOTS of laguages. Some of the words are very pretty. LOL, you could name the whole blasted litter "orange!"

Colour words in many languages