Butterscotch only wanted to be held the first few days. She did not pounce and play with her brothers. Every time we opened the crate, she would crawl into a lap and settle down quietly.
When we started tracking their weight, we became very alarmed. All of the kittens lost weight the first day, but Butterscotch continued to either lose weight or fail to gain any. Starting off as the runt left her with nothing to lose, so every 1/8 of an ounce was necessary.
When we introduced canned food (mixed with water and kibble), the boys all immediately gained weight with 2x/day feedings. Butterscotch was offered food every 2-3 hours. She didn't have the energy to eat more than a teaspoon of soft canned food at a time and would often stop eating quickly. We would spoon or hand feed her more until she turned away from offered food. She also started antibiotics.
We weighed her constantly, though only charting it in the evenings.
6/7 Friday 13 1/2 oz
6/8 Saturday 12 7/8 oz
6/9 Sunday 12 1/4 oz; foster adviser told us to separate her from her brothers unless supervised
6/10 Monday 12 1/4 oz
6/11 Tuesday 12 7/8 oz; Butterscotch was able to return to her brothers!
I almost thought I would need to cancel my trip to Disneyland. Though I'm off during the summer, my husband works all day. But with a tiny bit of weight gain and a neice willing to come and feed her periodically during the day, I left for 3 days as planned. I insisted on frequent updates and was relieved that she continued to improve while I was gone.
6/12 Wednesday 13 1/4 oz
6/13 Thursday 13 5/8 oz
6/14 Friday 14 5/8 oz
She was happy to see me when I got home, and I delighted in her round kitten belly.
6/15 Saturday 15 1/8 oz
6/16 Sunday 1# 0 1/2 oz!!!!
Not only did the weekend bring steady weight gain, but Butterscotch had the energy to play with her brothers and started to show her bold personality. She really tries to be the alpha with the house cats and the dogs!
Butterscotch continues to make gains, and is catching up to her brown nosed brother.
6/17 Monday 1#1 3/8 oz
6/18 Tuesday 1# 2 1/8 oz
6/20 Thursday 1# 2 5/8 oz
6/21 Friday 1# 2 7/8 oz
6/22 Saturday 1# 3 3/8 oz
Saturday was a benchmark day for Butterscotch! She weighed exactly as much on 6/22 as her chunky monkey brother, Cotton Candy, weighed on his first weigh-in, 1# 3 3/8 oz. Meanwhile,
6/23 Sunday 1# 4 1/4 oz
Update 7/7/19: Butterscotch has no idea she is the runt of the litter. She is Cotton Candy's favoriten (and noisiest) wrestling partner, and plays harder than anyone when they're let out of the crates. Non-stop zoomies leads to naptime, and she's usually the first one to curl up again. Butterscotch loves to find darker nooks, crawling into the cat hammocks, back into the crate, or under the couch.
She's a unique combination of independent and needy. She doesn't always seek out a cuddle partner, but enjoys it when a partner finds her. She likes to cry every time she poops until you come over to talk to her.
This morning she is just under 2lbs, and has gained almost a full ounce every day for the last 4 days. I'm really hoping that she'll be over 2lbs soon and plan on re-weighing her in the evening!
7/20/19 Update
Butterscotch surprised me by being the first to discover and conquer the cat flap leading to the covered cat walk and outdoor catio. See the video of her virgin voyage into the outdoors. She was later joined by Caramel, but I didn't get pics of him outside.
7/28/19 Update
I left town last week, leaving Butterscotch with the husband to drop off/pick up for her spay appointment and get her to Petsmart for her adoption event yesterday. Butterscotch had a few days with just foster dad and the household pets before her brothers returned with faked tummy troubles.
Now she's at Petsmart waiting for her forever family and I hope she finds a great home!
Update 8/4/19
Butterscotch was dropped off at Petsmart on Saturday 7/27/19 and sadly passed over that weekend. Because of the large number of kittens kept at Petsmart for adoptions, the rescue agency asked for night time kennel cleaners- up to 4 cats in one litter box can get pretty nasty quickly. I was on my last week of vacation so I volunteered. The first night, I discovered her kennel was a DISASTER. Wet litter was stuck on the floor and walls, her blanket was in the water dish, and food was EVERYWHERE. I felt bad so I cleaned her kennel first.
When I finished the second kennel and checked on her again, I was greeted to a SLIGHTLY less messy repeat.
As her foster mom, I knew she was used to a large number of play mates and was probably lonely. I also remembered that she had been upset and fought with her brothers after they had been separated for a day to have surgery. After some inquiry, it seemed she was upset at first so moved to her own space.
But every night, same thing... huge mess. On Friday, I arrived as adoption volunteers were packing up. They had tried to tempt people into adopting kittens for 3 hours, and told me they had cleaned her crate at least 8 times!! When I shared my knowledge of her, they gave me the ok to see if I could successfully reunite her with her brothers.
At first, as I expected, she was mad and unsure. I let them play or coerced them to play with each other for nearly an hour. She was still yelling at Scotchmallow, but was ok with Caramel and seeking out Cotton Candy. In the end, I decided to split them into two pairs.
Butterscotch, now kenneled with her favorite brother, was able to conquer her anxiety and began kneading him and grooming him. Over the next two days, I stopped just to check on them twice. No more frantic spinning in the kennel- they were cuddled up both times.
And finally, On the IBR facebook page I see they got adopted TOGETHER in a home with 2 little girls. My heart is so happy!!
Dear family, if you're reading this... I'd love to hear how they're doing! kitteeohana@gmail.com
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