Bubble Wrap?? General Chat

Yeah, she seemed to jump at it as soon as I told her it was an option. I do think it's the right choice for her.

When she finally came out of hiding, I made her sit with me and discuss it. I explained that now it is official, she has to stop hiding from me. That I won't expect her to cuddle with me all the time, but she has to let me touch her and see her every day - to make sure she stays healthy. And she has to go see her Doctor every year for a checkup and get her shots.

About an hour later, I went upstairs and she and Looney2 were sprawled out in the Cat's Room, not cuddling but definitely hanging out. She let me sit next to her and pet her. She was even purring. So at least she listens to me.

Tornado-dog barely notices her, he's still too interested in the little ones. He'll annoy her I'm sure, but she's already learned how to avoid him. Rabbit just ignores him and pretends he isn't there.

I think Cat-dog will be happy to have one stay. She seems to notice as they don't come home.

Panther of the Rain Forest is now her title. The boys are Lion of the Desert (Looney2) and Tiger of the Forest (Looney1). Given names are The Bug (L1), Harry (L2) and Emma (L3) - Harry was named after Henry II because of his big voice, so it seems fitting to name his sister Emma.

I thought you would probably end up keeping one of the kittens, and hope Tornado dog is going to accept her. Good luck with little Emma, I'm sure she will soon come out of her shell and end up as pack leader.
I had been wondering whether Looney2's viral leukaemia might pass to the kittens. When I had a LV cat it didn't pass to the other cat and neither was vaccinated - it wasn't commonly done at that time. Do kittens carry maternal immunity up to a certain age?

Yes, mama cats provide antibodies to their nursing babies that can protect them from catching it. In general, babies are more at risk of catching it from their mamas than from other cats. And many cats are carriers who never get sick themselves. It's possible Looney2 is a carrier and his sudden weight loss had nothing to do with the leukemia but was simply because he decided he didn't like dry food - he certainly put the weight back on quickly once I increased the canned food amount.

With these kittens, they came from a situation that had a lot of cats in a small space, all unvaccinated and unneutered, indoor/outdoor, interbred, and with a lack of food. The mamas stopped nursing early on. The little ones were only 4 or 5 weeks and already on solid foods 100%. So their immune systems are not very strong. The seven did all test negative so that is good.

That is why I didn't allow them upstairs. The boys' box and food are all upstairs. So by keeping the kittens downstairs, they wouldn't be at much risk of catching it. I also didn't want them passing anything to Looney2 with his compromised immune system.

They say leukemia is highly contagious, but I think that is an over-exaggeration,. I never vaccinated for it before when I had a positive cat and it never spread - like you, it wasn't done then.

I vaccinate Looney1 because the boys are very close and groom each other often and always eat out of the same dish - both dry and wet - so there is a lot of shared saliva. When Looney2 was diagnosed and losing weight quickly, the thought of potentially losing him made the thought of losing Looney1 that much worse. And I can easily afford the $50 per year shot. So he gets vaccinated.

And, since I'm vaccinating Looney1, then it's only right I vaccinate Looney3.

Tornado-dog got in trouble last night. He chased little YumYum and scared her. The little ones really have all his attention. He was also very interested in Andrushka - she was the smallest of the seven and extremely active and playful and ran around the downstairs. He barely notices Looney3.

And it appears that Looney3 already recognizes her name as Panther, so she will not be Emma after all.

Today, Looney3's harness and leash arrived. She let me put it on her without any fuss. She wore the harness for about 15 minutes and did very well, just a little hesitancy with walking around in it, but no fighting to get it off. We haven't tried walking with the leash yet - we'll give her time before we start that.

The harness fits nicely but is at the biggest setting, so we'll exchange it for the next size up.

Right now, she is upstairs playing with a bunch of new toys. Looney1 was playing too for a bit.

Busy weekend. Rabbit's last night with us was Friday. He spent the night giving Hobbes last minute instructions on how to be The Big Brother.

Saturday I took Rabbit to his new parents and said goodbye. Yes, I cried. But they promise to send photos and to call me when they need Rabbitsitting. They thought about names but they may end up keeping Rabbit. He'll always be Rabbit to me.

Panther is so happy. She has learned to stay below the pillow line on the bed while Looney2 gets his cuddle time every night. Once he's done, she comes up for her turn. She ignores Tornado-dog for the most part.

Hobbes declared that as The Big Brother, he should be allowed upstairs at night with The Twooney and A Looney. So we came to an agreement. The four kittens can come up for the day and play and nap in the Cats' Room, but they have to come downstairs at bedtime.

Yesterday, YumYum went into hiding after breakfast, so the other three got to go upstairs. The rule: no hiding from me.

They loved it! They were running around and playing and exploring and napping on their daybed. Around 4:30, YumYum came out so I took her up with them. Of course the rules do not apply to her so she hid from me at bedtime. Finally got her and they went downstairs.

After dinner, Hobbes and Gertie climbed in their cat tree and spent serious cuddle time with their faux fur pillow cover. Hobbes was embarassed at first, after all he is The Big Brother, so I told him how Uncle Looney2 always has cuddle time at night nursing on his faux fur pillow - even at 4 years old and 15 pounds. It's hard work being a big man and it's only right to have cuddle time at the end of a long day. Gertie understands too.

Meanwhile, Punx is REALLY skinny. I can feel every bone in her spine and ribs. The other three are big and filled out and doing great. Punx is only 20 ounces still.

Panther had her appointment for her first annual exam and vaccines today, so I called and got Punx in too.

The doctor looked at Panther first and declared her Gorgeous! She loved Panther's brown striping - even more so when I explained they had been red until she developed her Looney2 crush and then they went brown overnight. Panther is very healthy!

Punx is definitely not good weight wise. The doctor used the term "failure to thrive" - but Punx has more energy than all the other kittens put together. She eats, but it's a nibble here, nibble there. She was slightly dehydrated. Pee and poop fine. No couching, sneezing or vomiting.

So, full panel bloodwork is being done. It took them ages to get enough blood out of her little body. We get the results tomorrow. FeLV and FIV both came up. All the older kittens tested negative for FeLV so it's unlikely - at least one of them should have tested positive as a carrier at least. The doctor is worried it's FIP - caused by feline coronavirus. If it is, it's basically incurable. She said the blood test won't give a yes or no answer, but will give a "highly suspect it is" or "probably not" educated guess.

I'm pushing Punx to eat more and she's going to be dropper fed extra water daily - hopefully that will punch up her appetite. Tomorrow the doctor will let us know the results and offer suggestions.

Meanwhile, with the kittens upstairs during the day, the dogs are sleeping - well like dogs. It was a lot of work trying to supervise all those kittens.

I hadn't realised that you still had so many left to care for, you must be constantly on the go supervising them. When is the next rehoming session?
Not happy news about little Punx. FIP is a new one to me - I'm guessing the 'I' will be influenza? It looks as if you will have to hold her back, at least for a while. Will the charity cover the vet bills for the kittens? I certainly hope so.

After having to run after 11 of them, these 4 are really easy. Without the older kids around, these guys don't wander as much.

The next neuter party is the 22nd. Kittens have to be at least 2 pounds. Hobbes and YumYum are big enough already - they're about 34 ounces each. Gertie is about 26 ounces right now, hopefully she will pick up a bit of weight. As that's a Friday, I won't take them to adoptions until the following weekend - I just don't like putting that stress on them the day after surgery.

FIP is new to me too. It actually is Feline infectious peritonitis.
https://www.vet.cornell.edu/departm...e-health-topics/feline-infectious-peritonitis

If it IS FIP, then Punx will live out her life with me - however short or long it is. To be honest, if I had been adopting and saw all these kittens, Punx would have been the one I chose. As the foster, I knew I didn't have a chance of keeping her - she's way too charming to not get adopted. I really hope I don't get to keep her and that she is healthy.

I'm still hopeful that she is just failing to eat enough. She has no other signs of illness at all. Just a bit dehydrated. So, last night, I dropper fed her more water. She was pissed. I'll keep that up in the hopes that it will kickstart her eating more. I'm also supervising her eating and not letting her walk away so soon.

The rescue will cover medical. I haven't always been impressed with the vets that the rescues use - had a couple bed experiences. So I prefer to pay myself and get them seen by a vet I know and trust. I do miss my old vet - he would always wave additional exam fees if I brought multiple cats to one appointment. My current vet is great, but each cat seen is $80 - no exceptions. Makes it difficult when you have a bunch of kittens all showing upper respiratory, etc. With my old vet, I took them all and he took a quick look at them and did a thorough look at one or two of his choosing. Now, I have to decide which one(s) to take in and hope I chose correctly.

When I got up today, waiting on the step below the stair door were Hobbes and Punx. I made the dogs wait while Hobbes immediately ran upstairs. Punx waited for me.

I took Gertie and YumYum upstairs, then cleaned their litter boxes. Looney1 saw that I was going outside to dump the "poop bag" and was at the door. I said "if you want to go outside, you need your leash" and he jumped up on his throne (a piano stool) so I could attach his leash. We took out the garbage and Punx was inside the door watching.

So I brought her outside and carried her while Looney1 made his rounds. Then we sat on the porch - Punx on my lap. She really wanted to get down and explore, so I told her:

Big strong cats with their shots like your Uncle Looney1 are allowed to walk outside. Sick little kittens with no shots are not allowed on the ground. If you want to take walks and go camping, you have to start eating a lot more and get big and fat.

We came back in and I took her upstairs and she ate more than I've ever seen her eat. I added that this includes drinking lots of water - and she went over and drank.

I hope she keeps it up and will grow into a big strong cat.

The doctor called this evening.

There wasn't enough blood to do the FeLV/FIV test, so I'll take her in next week for another draw. Apparently she fought them tooth and nail the entire time. The doctor was very impressed with Punx's moxie.

She does have titers for the FeCV (coronavirus) but that does not mean she has or will ever get FIP. Her protein levels are normal - that makes it much less likely that she has FIP. But not guaranteed.

The doctor agreed that because all seven of the older kittens tested negative for FeLV that Punx is unlikely to be positive.

Her kidneys and liver are perfectly fine. So no real issues there. She is slightly dehydrated so I may have one of the rescue volunteers give her sub-Qs if needed. I made a promise years ago to one of my cats that I would never stick a needle into another animal ever (that poor cat was very understanding).

It could be another viral infection. So we may put her on another dose of antibiotics if there is no improvement.

The good part is that the doctor doesn't believe anything she could potentially have is a risk for any of the other kittens or my Looney2. And none of the already adopted kittens are in any danger.

So overall - good news. Now we just encourage her appetite and watch.

Today, the Amazon man brought Hobbes and Gertie their very own cuddle bankies (actually pillow covers). These will go with them to their new homes so they can always have cuddle time. Looney2 felt they should have them to take to their future homes. It is a great stress reducer.

Yes it is. I used to like to my puppies to take a used blanket and a familiar toy with them. New owners were advised to buy a small wind-up ticking clock to wrap in a blanket too. I imagine you would have trouble finding one of those now!

I just had a quick look and there are lots of small wind up clocks one can order

Oh that's good. I thought that battery and rechargeable ones would have taken over by now!

Ah yes, the ticking clock! You do have to read the reviews on the wind ups - a lot are silent and don't actually make a ticking sound.

I searched for ages to find a clock with a loudish tick for my living room. I find it soothing.

With the kittens, it is less about the familar scent and more about their need to knead...

This morning I foung YumYum in the cat tree with Hobbes enjoying the bankies. She never bothered with the one I had already - she preferred to sleep in the bowl of the cat tree. So I'm ordering another pair for her and Punx.

Punx gained about 0.3 ounces since Monday. Not a lot but something.

Poor Panther. She was a bit upset with me after the Dr appointment and didn't cuddle in bed Monday night. Last night she decided to forgive me and came up to visit. She touched my finger with her nose and got shocked! She did finally come back up, she's a bit hesitant still.

Tally has spent most of the afternoon ignoring me. I have committed the sin of ordering an ultrasonic dental brush/scaler for her. When it arrived I switched the motor on, but soon as she heard the bzzzzzing sound she decamped to a rug on the driveway and stayed there for a couple of hours. It has been on charge, but she knows where it is and if I reach for anything close to it she gives me that suspicious slinky stare.
Tally is actually very tolerant of having her teeth cleaned, and occasionally scaled. I thought this would be a gentler method for her, but it's looking as if it's likely to do more harm than good. I'm thinking of starting to use the brush to clean my own teeth - maybe that will make her realise that it isn't an instrument of torture.

It sounds like maybe YumYum has been callimg Tally on the sly and telling her Bad Mama stories...

Yesterday I weighed Punx. She was very squirmy, but it seemed to settle at 20.3 oz.

When I weighed her at bedtime, she was 20.8 oz.

When I weighed her today, it read 21.3 oz.

She's still way too skinny, but she is eating a lot more throughout the day. Why? Who knows. Maybe she needed me to encourage her more at the dish. Maybe she really doesn't want more blood drawn (shh, that's still happening next week - the test is paid for so it's getting done). Maybe she really wants to be a camping cat like Uncle Looney1. Maybe her tummy caught up with the rest of her.

Meanwhile, I left the three kittens (YumYum is avoiding me) upstairs with Looney2 and Looney3. I went up to see how everyone was doing after a couple hours and Gertie's tail was hanging down. I checked for any obvious damage and there is none. No swelling or bends or such - but it is sensitive. So I told her to take it easy today. I just checked and she is holding it out more now, so it appears to be just a bruise.

When I came upstairs, Hobbes was laying with his Uncle Looney2. Hobbes adores Looney2 now. And Looney2 has come around and is giving him face washes and letting him lay against him and nuzzle him. It's like watching an African Lion keeping watch over his pride with his young heir at his side.

Tornado-dog is feeling a bit neglected again. Once these babies are adopted, I have to plan a special outing for him and Cat-dog.

Perhaps Hobbes will have to stay too!
It seems you have turned the corner with Punx. My guess would be that it was due to the infection and she is now recovering - but what have you done to upset Yum Yum so badly?
Beagles, and some other breeds, can occasionally suffer from a drooping tail. Limber Tail, (usually just called Beagle tail in the breed), usually happens after a swim or a bath - probably caused by vigorously shaking the water off themselves. It is a bruising of the base of the tail which usually self-heals in a couple of days, but occasionally is so sore that it needs a dose of Calpol. I wonder whether kittens can get something similar? I can't see why not.