Victory, ADOPTED 9/24/19

My neice's magical feeding skills

Although Victory seemed calm, she must have been anxious about being moved to her new foster home. She purred and never ran away or hissed (even when two humongous doggos eagerly licked her head), but she lost weight in her first 4 evenings here. She refused a bottle from me, but drank a ton when my niece offered it to her.

When I picked her up Saturday she weighed 14.3 oz. All of the kittens lost about 0.5 oz the first day, which I expected due to the stress of the move. While the rest either stablized or gained it back by Monday morning, this little tabby still in decline. I offered wet food and she ate it nicely the Monday morning, but only nibbled at it that evening and wasn't interested the next morning. By Tuesday she was only 12.9 oz and very lethargic. I called for reinforcements (the IBR team is so great!) and started round the clock fluids plus antibiotics that evening.

I wrapped her up and carried her around all night.

Her response was IMMEDIATE. After one sleepless night, Victory's belly filled up and she weighed in at 14.9 on Wednesday and has been gaining ever since! She was actually the first kitten to be named, and I smile every time I call her. She has the energy to pounce and play, but also loves to cuddle.

Update 8/15/19

Victory's short health battle means she tires sooner than her siblings. She's the most independent- more used to sleeping by herself instead of in the middle of a kitten pile. Shes also amazingly sweet and seeks human companionship often.

One of my favorite memories is watching her stalk the vacuum cleaner... she didn't want to let that vacuum take over her territory!

8/25/19 Update

I unearthed a hoard of toys when I vacuumed up under the couch. Victory was delighted with the treasure and immediately claimed them all for herself.

The kitten's contribution to my 2 hour kitten room cleaning spree...

Two hours of cleaning up... I walked out of the room to toss blankets in the laundry and walked back in to see the kittens "helping". With the first vroom of the vacuum, they all scattered again, except Victory. She seems to be so intrigued by this noisy monster!

One night, when it was time to put the kittens in their crate, we could NOT find Victory. Panic ensued. We overturned couches, searched between cushions, opened drawers, looked outside in the bushes, worried she'd snuck out with the dogs. We called her, shook treat bags... my heart pounding in my chest and tears threatening before the husband turned around and said "found her".

Update 9/9/19

Victory is napping next to me as I update her blog. She's almost always underfoot, no matter where I am in the house. Though these kittens don't often get up on the bed as a group (if in the bedroom, they prefer the cat trees), she has plopped down on my chest when I'm settling into bed and nursed on the blanket while purring up a storm.

When not following me around, Victory is becoming a confident explorer. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean she's a talented explorer. One morning as I was getting ready for work, I walked into the hall bath and stepped directly in a puddle of water. My confusion only lasted until a few minutes later when I started rounding up kittens to put them in their crate before I left. Her damp fur led me to send the husband a reminder to put the toilet seat down.

9/22/19

As thrilled as I am for 3 successful adoption stories this first weekend, poor Victory is left at Petsmart all alone now.

Adoption Bio: Victory and her siblings were rescued when their mom fled fireworks on 4th of July. While her siblings played and grew, she was lethargic and shrinking. With special care and lots of treats, she began to gain strength and start to flourish. She stopped letting her siblings push her aside at meal time and became one of the biggest kittens in the litter! Victory gets along with all the other pets (5 siblings, 7 house cats, 2 med-large dogs) and visitors both young and old. She loves to "help" you clean! She'll grab the broom, empty the trash, follow the vacuum, tug on your rags, and is always supervising the scooping of the poop. She also follows people and is developing an interest in clothes and climbing- if I'm wearing a skirt she will often try to hide under it or to climb up it- she may become a shoulder cat! She likes to perch up there but isn't very stable yet. Victory often comes when called!! She LOVES fuzzy blankets and will nurse on them. You'll want to watch her vacuum and nursing videos, and see other pictures in her blogpost in my kitten blog: https://kitteeohana.wixsite.com/website

Victory is such a unique kitten and is sure to bring much laughter into a home with her silly antics. The night before she was taken to Petsmart, she decided to explore the shower as we were heating the water up- casually walking in to check things out while the water pounded down next to her. She can't resist climbing my shoulders whenever I'm sitting on the floor. And she really is fascinated by cleaning, though she's not very talented with it!! She will follow the vacuum around, chase after the broom or any rags, and is constantly emptying the trash by jumping into it and knocking it over. She always wants to supervise the cleaning of the litter box.

Victory chased me around the house and was nearly always under or around feet. She is very gentle with her claws when she pounces to catch your ankles.

The last two nights before they go to adoption, the husband lets me keep them in the bedroom. Victory would come lay on my plush blanket, making biscuits and purring loudly while nursing on the blanket. She's such a fun girl.

I hope her new family will come find her soon!