6 days... my longest foster kitten dry spell since joining IBR in June 2019. My last littles included Wicket-who stayed on as my very own ear attachment kitten, and I was lucky enough to help Mango & Tango overcome their trauma and find the most wonderful new home during what should have been a much longer dry spell between kitten seasons, since I couldn't take the newborns requiring 2hr bottle feedings throughout the day and night that we keep taking into the rescue. I was fairly resigned to being foster-less for another few weeks while the bottle fosters got the new season kittens up to weaner/grower status and I could take over.
But 2 days ago I was asked if I could take in 4 4-week old babies who needed a bottle every 4-ish hours during the day and should be transitioned to food within the week. OH YEAH!
These lucky 4 were dropped at a high kill shelter in Fresno around 4:40pm. They euthanized at 5pm so we had little time to accept them into the rescue before they were gently eased out of this world where people still don't spay and neuter their pets!! A volunteer drove them to one of our intake coordinators in Natomas where I picked them up less than 30 minutes later. We don't know their story before Friday the 26th, but they were obviously NOT bottle fed as they really struggled to latch onto the bottle all night. The intake coordinator, my mom, and I got a little formula into them, but not much.
The tabby girl kept biting at my fingers, nose, lips, legs... but when I tried chicken baby food or kitten food, she was NOT interested.
They changed their minds around 4am, when I woke up to them screaming at me from my kitten room. Hungry bellies magnified their interest in the bottle, but didn't help most of them figure out how to nurse. The tortie latched on quickly, but both boys ate more passively-with me squeezing it into their mouths as they made no effort to actually nurse. The husband woke up just in time to video the most enthusiastic but spastic eater of the group. Little tabby girl was a little manic again, this time attacking the bottle instead of my various body parts.
After a 4am and 8am feeding, I left them alone for a bit to spend time with my babies and get ready to go to Petsmart to set up kennels for the weekend adoptions. My little Wicket was extremely jealous- he climbed up to my shoulders in a sprint then used his tiny paws to push my face over, then kept pushing until we fell together on the bed where he frantically nursed on my ear until he passed out on my face. I'm not sure how he's going to survive the 2 week quarantine!
After Petsmart, I returned to give them another feeding and these little love bugs then crawled up and laid all over me. Tiny tabby girl likes to sneak into my hair and bury herself back there. The runt boy with the goopy eyes likes to lodge himself in my elbow. The other two will curl up just about anywhere. I couldn't get very many pictures, and those I managed to get were pretty awful, as it is difficult to get good angles of kitten piles when you can't move your arms very much.... especially when 3 of the kittens are nearly identical and the 4th is almost entirely black. Mostly the pictures of them on the unicorn oodie (blanket hoodie) were from yesterday after Petsmart- when they trapped me for hours and refused my access to food, water, or the toilet until I finally begged my husband to rescue me... the other pictures are just thrown in to show how friendly and cuddly they are!
Could you happily spend 4 hours petting kitten bellies and watching them eat their own toe beans? Yeah, I can and did.
Late Saturday they got their first visitor. My friend loves to turn kittens belly up and rub their cheeks.
Pretty sure this is the boy tabby
Boy with eye infection
Tortie girl
Tabby girl, we think!
Which brings us to this lazy Sunday. The eye goopies and their inconsistent ability to drink from the bottle has resulted in some crusty kitten faces and fur. I've been wiping them down with warm washcloths between feedings, but it seemed to keep building up. So I decided today would be bath day!
First up was my favorite.. the little girl tabby. She was such a good girl! Husband was running an errand, so I couldn't really get many pictures. It was also very difficult to get my nosy puppy to understand social distancing, but the baby had NO fear of the huge dog tongue trying to lick her face.
Next came my poor goopy eye boy. The husband came home mid-bath and got some videos. But our space heater also broke down in the middle of his drying session. Even once we finished drying his fur with the hair dryer, he kept shivering. I *HAD* to share my body heat with him, and we cruised around for an hour while I texted everyone who lives close to me, looking for a space heater (the Amazon replacement won't get here until the 31st and, according to websites, the local stores didn't have the kind I want in stock... wrong season).
He did NOT want his eye crusties wiped off... and he inisisted he was saving the dried formula on his chin for later... but mean mom just kept cleaning him anyway!
Once a loaner space heater was obtained (thank you mentor!) we moved on to the boy tabby who had a very definite opinion about baths.... or possibly he was telling us it was nearing his lunch time. Husband was home this time and seemed to like videos over photos...
I love bathing tiny tiny kittens and being able to rinse them by running warm water over their bellies... I don't know why I find this so soothing, but it makes me smile, EVERY TIME.
Last and most wiggly was the tortie. I'm sure once they start pooping I'll have to do baths again and I can do her first to see if she is just wiggly or if it was simply that lunch was past due.
Whew!! But their day was not over!! After a short nap, my niece showed up with her brother, my parents, and human lunch in tow. My niece was very helpful, as bottle feeding 4 hungry kittens with no patience can be a harrowing experience. On the advice of one of my rescue mentors, we gave them "something they could knead" while they ate and fed them on some stuffed cows I've had laying around. Then the girl tabby, who usually instigates all the play wrestling-particularly enjoying chewing on her sister's rump, crawled into my niece's hand and passed out. My niece refused to let anyone else hold her. The little tabby napped there even when her sister repeatedly crawled over her head until I snagged the sister and rubbed her belly into submission. When it was time for them to go, tabby girl protested and didn't want my niece to leave!
This is the most active goopy boy has been, which makes me think he's feeling a little better!
My brother and his wife are on their way over soon. We don't usually get so many visitors, but today happens to also be my birthday so my phone has been pinging off the hook all day. Plus, we're on Spring Break, so this litter of kittens will get even more visitors next week! We've also got somename possibilities, so hopefully by the next update, they'll get names... I gotta stop calling my poor boy with the eye infection "Goop", lol.
Update 3/29/21
So my brother and sister in law came shortly after we posted a poll with possible kitten names on Facebook. Always hungry, we pondered yet another set of food names- this time discussing carbohydrates... we quickly decided Brioche, Crumpet (in honor of a dragon in one of my favorite books: Too Hot To Hug) were great names, and we both liked the idea of Pumpernickle. But we wavered for the 4th name... between Challah (pronounced "hah-lah"), Ciabatta ("Cha-Bah-Tuh"), and Tortilla.
Moments after arriving, my brother- who had seen the poll... picked up the girl tabby and started calling her "Cha-luh"- ignoring me when I tried to correct the pronunciation. That quickly ended the idea of that name- so she became Ciabatta. He kept calling her "Batta!" but I didn't mind that so much. Though he had started with the tortie, who became Brioche by the end of their visit, once he started feeding Ciabatta... he declared that she was the best and tried to refuse letting her go for any reason for the rest of the visit.
I couldn't get enough of watching my brother melt for tiny Ciabatta, so my camera roll is almost entirely that pair.
Sister in law did a great job feeding Crumpet... check out his nursing ears!! My favorite part of bottle babies is watching their ears flap.
Brother basically abandoned everyone to pay attention to Ciabatta, so SIL had the other 3... and my Wicket TRIED to see them, but we can't really let them interact due to the quarantine period, so Seth SHOT HIM! He is so insulted...
The carbs tend to rest up until someone enters their room, then they must cry to be the center of attention- which is difficult when you have 4 needy kittens but only 2 hands. It's impossible to get videos or pictures during that time, as they're climbing all over... but they quickly settle down, usually in a kitten pile in your lap. Ciabatta and Crumpet are very striking with their bright, alert eyes and tendency to curl up and pose for the camera. Ciabatta seems to enjoy curling up on her back for extensive face grooming sessions and I cannot stop capturing it on my camera!! I've been getting lots of "storage limit" warnings on my phone and google account... my google photos are nearing capacity and I am certain I will need to start paying for additional storage soon. I hate monthly fees... but I seem to have no will power to stop taking cat pictures, so....
I mean... could YOU resist taking this video??!!
We had more visitors on Monday... a friend and her husband who needed to pick up something from me for months but we just couldn't connect schedules- but they saw the babies on Facebook and we made another effort to find a time... the flexibility of Spring Break made it happen! I didn't get many pictures, as Wicket was so thrilled to see the kittens with other people, he attached himself to my ear and I had to hold on to him. Then, after washing their hands, they were ready to give Wicket attention, so the carbs all came and curled into my arms.
While his siblings napped, Crumpet woke up and turned on his charm! Irresistible!
Update 4/1/21
No joke! These kittens are POPULAR! They've encountered more people in the last 6 days than most of my litters meet in their entire stay.
One of their feeding times was in the middle of my cardio drumming class- which is a 20-30m drive from home, depending on traffic. They could have waited until I was home, but at this age, they're not very mobile and pretty easy to contain- so I packed up a travel bag and took them with me. My drumming family loved learning to bottle feed them after class.
The next day, they met children- and I can confidently report they'll be fine in a family with small, respectful kids. Though her older and younger brothers had limited interest in the kittens, this little girl has has a special gift with kittens. I first met this family when they tried to adopt Churro, my Toasty Marshmallow's sibling- and I was impressed by the patience and calm acceptance of this little girl. By chance, I interviewed them when they came back to adopt Poppy... months later, and we became facebook friends. They came to meet my Spice Kittens and ended up adopting Paprika, who sleeps with her little owner evry night. We've expressed interest in having them over to visit kittens, but the chaotic nature of this year hasn't left me much predictability in my unscheduled time, so it wasn't until Spring Break that we could fit it in. All 3 kids were so well behaved, sitting nicely for hours while the kittens ate, napped, and played. Several times, this sweet girl would lull a rambunctious kitten into a deep sleep. I think she would have happily continued sitting for hours with these kittens if her brother wasn't hours past his naptime (he passed out within blocks of leaving). Future foster momma here, I'm sure of it!
These social kittens are so eager to get out of quarantine... I spend a lot of time with them and take them to see lots of people to love them, but they insist it is never enough attention. Whenever we enter the room, we're greeted by a yowling ca-cat-phony and we must be careful to not crush them under feet as they frantically try to clamber up our legs. Once I sit, they must crawl onto me-first demanding food, then settling in to hold me as a willing hostage.
I must be delicious... Ciabatta has never seen Wicket nursing on my ear, but she has picked up the habit a few times!!
Update 4/17/21
In the past few weeks, these kittens have continued charming everyone they met, and that's a lot of people! This momma-to-be practiced bottle feeding these babies.
And Ciabatta stands out as the favorite, again!
During Spring Break I was available to take my mom to hand therapy, but her Friday appointments were 30 minutes after my 6am crossfit class. The first week I just woke up early and she slept in the car while I worked out, but I picked up kittens that evening and typically fed them before crossfit. Adding a drive across time was a bit early on my vacation, so mom agreed to feed them during class, to the thrill of my fellow crossfitters. Dad had an appointment that day as well, so he helped out and I could not get enough of seeing him sit there with two kittens in his lap!
Might want to turn the volume down... we were working out while the kittens were eating. Don't worry, I still got my workout in! It was 3 mini WODs, with 4 minute breaks between each one... giving me time to capture this precious moment!!
After dropping mom off at her appointment I took dad to his. I loved listening to him talk to the kittens the entire way. Crumpet was extremely playful and kept enticing his sleepy siblings into play by biting them, and dad kept shouting "PURPLE! HEY, YOU STOP THAT! I'M GONNA TELL BENGAY!" (I had my eyes on the road the entire time I was driving... just propped the phone up pointing towards dad and hoped I got him and not the ceiling or the side of the chair or something).
A few days later Carb kittens proved how tolerant they are with being handled... a lot. These two energetic girls loved them... a lot. The carbs were scooped up, packed away, cuddled, twirled, kissed, and hugged... a lot. Somehow, after a bit of mutual play, they all went to sleep.... nothing bothered them once they got sleepy.
One of my favorite videos is watching Ciabatta get rolled up into this very neat purrito, which she remained in without protest until the girls took her out. She spent at least 30 minutes tucked in their arms.
Ciabatta, again, was the favorite. These girls have met several of my litters, but the little girl told her mom she was bonded to Ciabatta! I have to admit, as much as Ciabatta becomes everyone's favorite, it really did seem that Ciabatta connected with the little girl more than anyone else.
A few hours later they had another visit. The kittens completely ignored the dog who failed to completely ignore them. The sweet old guy was disturbed by the sudden appearance of a kitten pen and unattainable kitten food in the middle of his living room and barked at them non-stop. After an initial startle response, they ignored him to eat, play, and love.
I have been training myself to be a better bottle feeder, and training all my friends as well. The adults have all had their reasons to never foster, but several of the littles have told their parents they're gonna "foster kittens like Miss Mel".
We had been attempting to transition the kittens to solid food, using a mix of wet and kibble for several days. Ciabatta, who initially had no interest in eating food, became one of the first food hounds. But Crumpet steadfastly insisted that bottles were life itself, until he finally chowed down during this visit. Once he started eating, he decided it was delicious and he ate with vigor!
Next on their travel schedule was a lunch visit with dad, since his Spring Break ended a day earlier than ours. Approximately 10 seconds after I arrived, the kittens were scooped up by his coworkers until we got our office floor picnic lunch set up.
Crumpet attempted to eat a piece of chicken, and I realized I'd need to watch his food intake carefully to make sure he was actually eating!! While nursing on the food was incredibly cute.... it doesn't provide him with the nutrients he needs to grow. (Spoiler alert, Crumpet loves kibble and has a massive kitten belly!)
On the way home, we stopped to see grandma and grandpa again. In the brief visit, almost everyone fell asleep! Good thing grandma's hand therapist cleared her for using the hand for everything and told her to work on strengthening the muscles, because these kittens had no desire to leave-mom walked around the house clutching her clowder to her chest until we left.
This is one of the few videos of my dad that IS safe for work.... primarily because he's sleep cuddling.
Our next visit took us to Lincoln. As always, Ciabatta found a human to attach herself to while Crumpet cried for... we don't know what he wanted, actually... but he entertained us with his meows and his energy.
The end of this video might look alarming, but I was close enough to see his hands and he didn't actually put any pressure in his hold... no kittens were harmed at all!
A few miles away in Lincoln, my extended family was having family poker night. They did not ante, raise, or fold for quite some time-while Crumpet slept in my cousin's arms, the entire family slept! My aunt didn't want to deal while my cousin was holding a kitten, despite our assurances that he was quite content and would not move if my cousin continued to play. The other 3 crashed for some time on the young adults. When they started stirring, I figured it was our cue to leave, as their litter box was in the car during this impromptu visit.
When visiting and for most of her home hours, Ciabatta's favorite activity is human interaction. But she DOES play and particularly liked this fuzzy twirly busy wand. I tried and tried to catch her ferocious kitten growl, but every time I turned the video on she stopped. It's probably for the best, as I try to make a family friendly blog and don't want to scare anyone with her fierceness!!! We did tell her she was OH SO SCARY.
Now that the kittens are out of quarantine, they could finally visit my parents AND meet Beignet (last visit, we held them away from Beignet and minimized their contact with surface areas... parents washed the linens after we left). Beignet was immediately fascinated and more gentle with these kittens than he's ever been with visiting felines.
Beignet talked to these kittens more than ever also... he made so much noise, the entire visit!
Although a single cat household, my mother's cat treat supply exceeds mine. These round kitten bellies were so full and tight!
The resulting food coma was impressive.
Beignet groomed each kitten while they went completely limp in our arms.
Maybe some people can let sleeping kittens lay, but sometimes I just have to mess with them a little!! I have several friends who are amazed at how social my personal cats and fosters are- they're "more like dogs" who want attention, demand attention, and come out to greet people. One of my friends calls my cat raising technique "Melhandling". Heaps of love, combined with constant touch AND a high preference treats... this is the result.
Melhandling kittens does come with some "risk". I am never, ever alone. As I'm blogging, I have a Wicket laying over my left arm and a kitten curled on the top of my foot.
Like many pet owners, bathroom visitors are common here. Sometimes, my pets have a race to see who can claim my lap first. Lately, it's nearly always Wicket, but he cheats. Even if Piggy Pig or Toasty get settled first, he will pretend he doesn't see them, jump up and crawl over them to get to me. They'll usually leave. But the Carb Kittens are just as oblivious to personal space and just as determined. The only thing keeping Wicket's claim to my ear safe is his size advantage!
Carbs are developing their distinct personalities.
Pumpernickle is the most independent. He's happy to curl up with his siblings, humans, or even friendly housecats, but he's also content if he's off on his own. For a few days, he was the loudest kitten- constantly mewling at us. Maybe he figures we're too dumb because we never figured out exactly what he wanted, and he seems to have given up trying to explain it.
Brioche is the adaptive one with social graces that can fit into any social group. She'll join and is easily accepted into every activity, whether eating, playing, napping, hunting, or exploring. Because of her unique coloring, she stands out when visiting others and is almost always the first kitten picked up and held.
Crumpet is the athletic one. If only one kitten is awake, it is probably Crumpet and he spends a lot of time failing to entice his siblings into play. Luckily, he's just as entertained with their sleeping tails as he is with active kittens, so he never feels discouraged. Crumpet plays until he drops, which leads to a very deep sleep. I'd say the deepest sleep possible, except...
There's Ciabatta. Of all the fosters we've had, Ciabatta is easily one of my husband's top two favorites (along with tiny Kitten Kyln, now Bellatrix!). Both kittens were female tabby runts (Ciabatta isn't truly a runt... Pumpernickle was smaller than her... but she's very petite and growing slower though she does everything she can to get fat). Though Brioche is nearly always the first kitten to get attention, Ciabatta is nearly always the last one.... resting contentedly as long as someone is holding her. I don't know how, but she managed to sleep while being flown, rolled, tucked into a ball, shoved into a child's shoe, and generally moved around with vigor by two children who tried, but didn't quite understand the concept of "hold them without moving around".
Out of quarantine now, the kittens spend time with me in the bedroom when we're not at work, and we added our kitten steps up to our tall bed. Ciabatta and Crumpet are experts- Ciabatta because if I'm watching a TV show while on the bed, she wants to be there too. Crumpet because he just wants to explore everything. Brioche and Pumpernickle haven't quite figured them out yet.
Ciabatta wants to be with you, no matter what!
They're all just over 1lb now... another lb to go before they're ready for their forever homes.
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