Foster Kittens
2 September 2014
Ok, so I need to "get a life" -- or at least get out more. I volunteer with two small animal rescue organizations here in Naples: Brooke's Legacy & the Naples Cat Alliance. I always laugh and say it keeps me from becoming the Crazy Cat Lady of Naples. Or does it?
On August 23, I was visiting down at the Cat Alliance and asked if they had any kittens that needed fostering. One of the ladies said, "Take your pick!" We are absolutely overrun with cats and kittens right now -- and new ones come in every day. She picked up a very handsome red tabby who she called "Graham" and said, "This guy just needs to be handled more. He is NOT feral, but just didn't have a lot of human contact until now." As soon as I had him in my arm, he started purring -- always a good sign. So we put him in a carrier and I said, "Two might be good because then he will have someone to play with."
Well, Graham's little sister was having symptoms of a kitten cold and with Woody being diabetic, I knew better than to bring any possible sickness into my house. So she walked around until she found another kitten who looked to be the same age as Graham -- a little gray tabby that looks almost exactly like my Jake. She didn't know his name, but I said "Well if I have "Graham" like graham cracker, then this one should be "Salty" like saltine cracker. So Graham and Salty came to my house.
I set them up in my guest room with food, water, toys and a litter box and closed the door. This is the prescribed way to introduce new cats to a household with other cats (or a dog). It gives them a chance to get acquainted under the door and nobody gets hurt. I would go into the room every couple of hours to see what was going on, but knew they were going to be confined there for at least 24 hours.
The next day when I returned from lunch after church, I decided to open the door. Jake & Woody were in their usual "afternoon nap" mode so it was the perfect time for the little ones to come out and explore. It didn't take too long until I saw them come snooping down the hallway, past the dining room and kitchen. I just sat still and watched them knowing full well if I moved too suddenly, they would probably spook and run and hide under the bed.
When Jake woke up, he immediately went over to check them out. He was met by a little tiny hiss from Graham but he wasn't phased by it. Woody then woke up and came out to investigate. Woody is incredibly laid back and gentle. It was so clear that he just wanted to make friends with these little guys, but they were having none of it. They ran into my bedroom and scooted under the bed, hidden from view by the dust ruffle. I thought to myself, "This is going to take some time -- and some patience."
In just a few days, I was able to get my hands on Graham! He is very "food motivated" and if I approached him while he was eating, he would allow me to pet him and to pick him up and hold him for a short spell before getting all squirmy. Long story short, by the end of 5 days, I could pretty much pick him up anytime and on Saturday night, he came over and jumped up on the sofa beside me! Good kitty! Salty not so much BUT he was getting to the point where he would eat in front of me.
Unfortunately what I didn't know (and what they didn't know at the Cat Alliance) was that Graham had whipworms AND Coccidia (a parasitic infection). I noted the first day that he was having some diarreah but attributed it to change of diet and the stress of being in a new place. When it didn't resolve itself, I became concerned and ended up taking a sample to the vet the Cat Alliance uses to have him tested. THAT entailed two kinds of medicine; the one for Coccidia would need to be given every day for the next 5 days. Not a problem. I have had to give oral medications to 1,000 pound HORSES so a wee little kitten didn't pose much of a problem for me. Graham didn't like it at all, but that's just too bad. I was just thanking my lucky stars that Salty's poo was normal-looking because there was NO WAY I was going to be able to corral him for oral meds at this point!
Having these two little guys has been fun, BUT over the last two days Graham had started having "accidents" around the house. My two cats have NEVER EVER done their business anywhere but the litter box, so having to clean up cat poo is NOT my favorite thing to do. I decided this morning that Graham was going to have to go back to the Cat Alliance. IMO, he had passed his "socialization" test but he was going to need to be kept isolated from the general kitten population down there until he was completely done the medication for the Coccidia.
The Director assured me that Graham would be adopted almost immediately, "People come in here all the time LOOKING for red tabby kittens!" And he is a handsome one, for sure. He has no white markings on his coat, just very distinctive tabby stripes AND beautiful marbling on both of his sides. He also has BIG FEET and LONG PAWS so I think he's going to be a big one. I said, "When he grows into his ears, he's really going to be handsome!" So I felt kind of bad giving him up, but I do think that just being here by himself that I can make a little faster progress with Salty.
I'm actually not sure if I want to foster any more kittens, though, It's so hard to know if they are parasite-free and I sure don't want to expose Jake OR Woody to any sickness. They are actually acting pretty tired today, but I'm certain it's because they are up all night riding herd on the little ones. I woke up around 2:00 a.m. this morning and they were all out on the lanai checking out the nighttime sounds and sights.
So check my pictures to see a few snapshots of Graham and Salty!xoxo
Ok, so I need to "get a life" -- or at least get out more. I volunteer with two small animal rescue organizations here in Naples: Brooke's Legacy & the Naples Cat Alliance. I always laugh and say it keeps me from becoming the Crazy Cat Lady of Naples. Or does it?
On August 23, I was visiting down at the Cat Alliance and asked if they had any kittens that needed fostering. One of the ladies said, "Take your pick!" We are absolutely overrun with cats and kittens right now -- and new ones come in every day. She picked up a very handsome red tabby who she called "Graham" and said, "This guy just needs to be handled more. He is NOT feral, but just didn't have a lot of human contact until now." As soon as I had him in my arm, he started purring -- always a good sign. So we put him in a carrier and I said, "Two might be good because then he will have someone to play with."
Well, Graham's little sister was having symptoms of a kitten cold and with Woody being diabetic, I knew better than to bring any possible sickness into my house. So she walked around until she found another kitten who looked to be the same age as Graham -- a little gray tabby that looks almost exactly like my Jake. She didn't know his name, but I said "Well if I have "Graham" like graham cracker, then this one should be "Salty" like saltine cracker. So Graham and Salty came to my house.
I set them up in my guest room with food, water, toys and a litter box and closed the door. This is the prescribed way to introduce new cats to a household with other cats (or a dog). It gives them a chance to get acquainted under the door and nobody gets hurt. I would go into the room every couple of hours to see what was going on, but knew they were going to be confined there for at least 24 hours.
The next day when I returned from lunch after church, I decided to open the door. Jake & Woody were in their usual "afternoon nap" mode so it was the perfect time for the little ones to come out and explore. It didn't take too long until I saw them come snooping down the hallway, past the dining room and kitchen. I just sat still and watched them knowing full well if I moved too suddenly, they would probably spook and run and hide under the bed.
When Jake woke up, he immediately went over to check them out. He was met by a little tiny hiss from Graham but he wasn't phased by it. Woody then woke up and came out to investigate. Woody is incredibly laid back and gentle. It was so clear that he just wanted to make friends with these little guys, but they were having none of it. They ran into my bedroom and scooted under the bed, hidden from view by the dust ruffle. I thought to myself, "This is going to take some time -- and some patience."
In just a few days, I was able to get my hands on Graham! He is very "food motivated" and if I approached him while he was eating, he would allow me to pet him and to pick him up and hold him for a short spell before getting all squirmy. Long story short, by the end of 5 days, I could pretty much pick him up anytime and on Saturday night, he came over and jumped up on the sofa beside me! Good kitty! Salty not so much BUT he was getting to the point where he would eat in front of me.
Unfortunately what I didn't know (and what they didn't know at the Cat Alliance) was that Graham had whipworms AND Coccidia (a parasitic infection). I noted the first day that he was having some diarreah but attributed it to change of diet and the stress of being in a new place. When it didn't resolve itself, I became concerned and ended up taking a sample to the vet the Cat Alliance uses to have him tested. THAT entailed two kinds of medicine; the one for Coccidia would need to be given every day for the next 5 days. Not a problem. I have had to give oral medications to 1,000 pound HORSES so a wee little kitten didn't pose much of a problem for me. Graham didn't like it at all, but that's just too bad. I was just thanking my lucky stars that Salty's poo was normal-looking because there was NO WAY I was going to be able to corral him for oral meds at this point!
Having these two little guys has been fun, BUT over the last two days Graham had started having "accidents" around the house. My two cats have NEVER EVER done their business anywhere but the litter box, so having to clean up cat poo is NOT my favorite thing to do. I decided this morning that Graham was going to have to go back to the Cat Alliance. IMO, he had passed his "socialization" test but he was going to need to be kept isolated from the general kitten population down there until he was completely done the medication for the Coccidia.
The Director assured me that Graham would be adopted almost immediately, "People come in here all the time LOOKING for red tabby kittens!" And he is a handsome one, for sure. He has no white markings on his coat, just very distinctive tabby stripes AND beautiful marbling on both of his sides. He also has BIG FEET and LONG PAWS so I think he's going to be a big one. I said, "When he grows into his ears, he's really going to be handsome!" So I felt kind of bad giving him up, but I do think that just being here by himself that I can make a little faster progress with Salty.
I'm actually not sure if I want to foster any more kittens, though, It's so hard to know if they are parasite-free and I sure don't want to expose Jake OR Woody to any sickness. They are actually acting pretty tired today, but I'm certain it's because they are up all night riding herd on the little ones. I woke up around 2:00 a.m. this morning and they were all out on the lanai checking out the nighttime sounds and sights.
So check my pictures to see a few snapshots of Graham and Salty!xoxo
Replies
Lovely cats. Too bad about Graham.