this kitten They were brought in to the shelter after a woman found them in her garage.
Survivors! I briefly mentioned in my post last night that I picked up a few orphaned newborns last night. They were brought in to the shelter after a woman found them in her garage. Their mother was sadly hit and killed by a car not too far away. One of her babies joined her shortly after I picked them up, leaving me with three survivors.š
These three are FRESH. Their umbilical cords are still attached and they passed meconium, which is a newbornās first poopācharacterized by a dark, tar-like appearance as opposed to a regular formed, yellow/orange stool. This is a good indicator that they were less than 24 hours old when I picked them up. They got Nuture Mate, a colostrum supplement, in their first meal (which they downed like pros) and are napping in the incubator at a cozy 90 degrees F.
Names are to come, I havenāt even had time to determine whoās male and whoās female yet between running Cloud to the vet and organizing Primroseās adoption!š
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Itās finally time to share the names of these three boys. The theme is fabric patterns!
First up is our tiny grey tabby, Flamestitch. Flamestitch is the smallest of the three kittens, weighing 90 grams when he first arrived. Heās a great eater and has the most purrfect little purrs when heās full.
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Next, the grey boy with a white spot on his chest and a teeny white tail tip is named Gingham. Heās the largest and by far the most active. I open the incubator and he lets me know he wants to eat first with a demanding mew.
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And lastly, the little panther is named Jacobean. He has thrown me on an emotional rollercoaster these last two days. He began to fade on first night here, but bounced back after 6 hours of Parker protocol. He is doing better, but still refuses to eat so heās being tube fed. He fights me on it, but thatās a good thingāit shows he has strength. His body is a little more frail than his brothers, but he is gaining weight so I have hope that he will get his appetite back soon and start packing on the grams.
Itās fascinating how one can become so incredibly attached so quickly to tiny creatures who have no eyes or ears and sleep 22 hours a day. Iāve known them for only 2 full days and I adore them.ā„ļøĀ #orphankittensĀ #newfosters
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Someone help me, Iām being eaten alive! Is this Flamestitchās way of telling me to stop feeding his brother first every time?š¤
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After 6 days of tube feeding, Jacobean latched on and chugged down his formula all on his own today! Heās also been gaining like a champ and heās putting on more muscle, so he no longer feels frail and fragile in my hands.āØ He and his brothers did experience a bout of diarrhea these past few days, but a round of PenG cleared it right up (perĀ @austinpetsaliveās diarrhea protocol). Goodbye, bacterial overgrowth!
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Jacobean has had quite the day! Yesterday I noticed he had an abscess on his rear end that was growing quickly. I put warm compresses on it throughout the night, but today I got him to the vet so she could fully drain it and prescribe him antibiotics. Heās feeling a lot better now!
In the meantime heās also turned into…a butt sucker! Whhhhyyyy Jacobean, why? Genital suckling is no joke, so heās been separated from his brothers to avoid injury. Heās got a snuggle puppy with him for now, but hopefully he will be able to reunite with his brothers in a week! Theyāre currently all in the incubator with a divider between them.
Alsoāyes, those are teeny purrs. He loves being brushed! Feels like mamaās tongue to him and lets me clean his fur.ā„ļø
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First of all…EYEBALLS! The eyeball fairy visited Gingham, Jacobean, and Flamestitch a couple days ago. Welcome to the world, little ones!š§š»āāļøš
Second of all, if Gingham looks like heās second guessing his decision to drink from this bottle itās because he is. Somehow I lost their bottle at work the other day, somewhere in the 20 feet between the fridge and the office area where I keep them.š¤¦š»āāļø This bottle had a very specific miracle nipple that was used enough that it was the *perfect* shape and texture. Now weāve had to start over with a brand new miracle nipple and the babies have to break it in. Gingham is NOT having it! Imagine the feeling you get when you wear a brand new pair of shoes. Itās different, itās weird, and it makes you miss your old pair that was falling apart after 5 years of wear and tear. So sorry, I have no ear wiggles to show you today. Theyāre being too stubborn about their new nipple.š¤·š»āāļø
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Jacobean is goneš This is the last video I ever took of him. Just 6 hours ago, he was an active, great eater. 3 hours ago he began to crash. Despite antibiotics, oxygen, a stable ambient temperature, B12, subcutaneous fluids, and strict Parker protocol, he decided it was time to leave this earth. He had been struggling with skin problems, frequent large abscesses developing on his body, and slow weight gain for the past week, indicating that he had an incredibly weak immune system. Heās also a late season kitten, whose mothers are depleted of nutrients and energy after having kittens all summer. Even though his chances of survival were slim, losing him is devastating. Apologies if my page has been sad lately, this has been the most difficult kitten season myself and many others have ever experienced. Rest In Peace Jacobeanš
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Flamestitchās lil milk moufš„°
He may look small, but he is the definition of resilient. He and Gingham have thrived against all the odds. They are almost 3 weeks old now and just starting to learn how to play! Soon they will be graduating from the incubator. He has the cutest little happy purrs and the brightest eyes and it melts my heartā„ļø
