# He's here!



## Leah00 (Aug 26, 2010)

Here's the latest update on my ongoing kitten saga. 

Recap: Friend found taped up cardboard box in ditch with four tiny kittens inside last week. No mother, just abandoned in a box and thrown out like trash. I've adopted one.

He's home! I was going to wait a couple weeks because he's so small and seemed so young. She was feeding them kitten formula because she thought they weren't even ready for canned food. Well yesterday she called me saying that they had diarrhea, and then called back and said there was blood in it. I started getting scared and asked her if she was going to take them to the vet. She said she couldn't right then because of money and work but would be able to on Monday. I was kind of panicking because I wanted mine at the vet right then. About an hour later she texted me saying that she was worried because when she came home for their lunchtime milk feeding they weren't excited about it and didn't want to eat (they've been drinking it out of saucers) and she thought they were acting a little lethargic.
Needless to say, I panicked. I couldn't just take mine to the vet and leave the others so I told her to pack them up and I took all 4 to my vet. 

So even though I'm much poorer, I'm happy to say that they seem ok. The vet said that the diarrhea could be from a number of reasons and gave me a wormer and an antibiotic. They acted just fine at the vet and were climbing up his sleeves and meowing their little heads off. I told him that they didn't want to eat the milk and he opened a can of food and they went nuts for it. They were trying to eat the stick he was feeding them with and then they were trying to climb out of the box to get to the can. He said to stop giving them formula and that they need canned food.
The vet thinks that they are older than we thought because they have top and bottom molars. I still can't believe that they would even be 7 weeks though because they are so tiny. The biggest one only weighs 14 oz. 
I asked him about taking mine home and he said that he thought it would be fine. I still wasn't sure because I hated to separate them but the vet called my attention to some hygiene issues he saw and he thought that the kittens might be better off with some one on one attention....

When I took them back to my friend, she was thankful but sort of upset that I took them...I don't know. It was just weird. She complained about having to give them medicine (she kept saying that her vet would have given them a shot for the worms?). Then I mentioned that the vet said to try to keep them as clean as possible and she got upset. She started crying and talking about how she feels overwhelmed with her pets and how no one helps her take care of them. I offered to take all the kittens home with me until they were ready to go to new homes but then she changed sides and started talking about how much she loves them and that she's going to keep two of them, maybe three. So after all of that, I just sort of told her that I was going to take mine home.

I don't want to say anything negative about her. These kittens still owe their lives to her! I know that she loves them and all of her pets, she's just overwhelmed and not very stable. 

I'm just so in love with my little kitten that I want him here with me so that I can watch him closely and take good care of him myself.

So anyway, he's home! 

His name was supposed to be Marshall but now my husband wants to change it to Mugatu.... Which I don't like but we have this dumb agreement that I get to have the pet if he gets to name it. I'm trying to think of a cute nickname that I can use because I can't make myself say "Here Mugatu!" MooMoo? Muggy? MuGu? I might just beg for Marshall back.

Here's some cute pictures! 

This is all of them at the vet. See how tiny they are?? They still have those baby blue eyes too... I'm so confused about the teeth thing though. They seem too young to have their molars in.








Here's my baby boy sleeping on my leg.








He's just so cute!








I was holding him while he was going to sleep and out of nowhere I look up and Artie was walking over to sniff him. Artie rarely ever leaves the family room so it was a surprise. He just walked over and sniffed him. He hissed once when the kitten moved his head fast but other than that was calm.









I have a little funny sort about Artie though. He's a scaredy cat. When we moved Ito this house 8 years ago, it took him a whole day to come out of his litter box. Then for the next week he was darting around and hiding. Years ago my dad was visiting from out of state and staying with us. Our cat Steppenwolf came out and my dad petted him and everything was fine. Like two weeks later we are eating dinner and Artie comes walking out of the bedroom and my dad's like "Whoa! Where'd that cat come from?" Lol. The whole two weeks Artie had been sneaking around hiding because my dad was there.
Anyway, we have the kitten set up in a small animal cage with his litter box, food and water, stuffed animal, and toys (it's a big cage) in the bathroom. This is also where we feed Artie. Artie is usually a food hog but this morning he didn't eat all his breakfast. It was pâté though and he doesn't care for that so I didn't think much about it. So put some treats on the counter in there at lunch and I came home and they were still there. I put his dinner in his dish and he sniffed it and ran out of the bathroom. I was thinking "oh no, we get a new kitten and our old cat gets sick". I was really worried. I cooked some chicken tonight and went into the family room and put it on a plate in front of him. He sniffed it and then started eating it. So then I brought his dinner to the family room and he cleaned his plate! He just won't eat in the bathroom because the kitten is in there! Lol. This tiny 12 oz kitten (in a cage) is scaring my huge old cat. 


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Having the kitten in the bathroom where you normally feed Artie, is also an infringement on his territory! 
Remember to give Artie lots of special attention! I know kittens are so hard to resist...
It would be good to give Artie a New Special Spot to eat or like you did in the family room with his dinner!
Kitten is a Cutie!!


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## Leah00 (Aug 26, 2010)

Yeah, I should have thought that out. Bringing him home was kind of spur of the moment and I didn't have time to think things through. I guess I was thinking that since the kitten was caged, Artie would feel comfortable checking him out and if he ate in there everyday, he'd have to check him out.
For now I may start feeding Artie in his little hidey shelf in the family room computer desk.....although he still hasn't eaten his breakfast that I put there about 10 minutes ago. 

He's actually doing really well with the kitten (other than his hunger strike!). I'm comfortable giving them supervised time "together". I've been sitting on the kitchen floor with both of them in there. I just know Artie and he's not an aggressive cat. He's a nervous cat sometimes but I don't feel like he would seek out to hurt the kitten. If the kitten cornered him or something then sure but I can't see him attacking unprovoked. Everything is very supervised though. Artie has acted mostly comfortable with him and has come up on his own to sniff. At one point I got nervous because the kitten sort of walk under Artie but Artie looked at him and then backed up to get away. Then came right back over a few seconds later. Artie even layed down on his side next to me while I was petting him.
I just brought the kitten back into the living room and Artie is doing that super loud "I want something" meow from the kitchen. I don't know why he doesn't just follow us in here.


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## dt8thd (Jan 7, 2013)

Sounds like everything is going well! Just make sure you lavish extra attention on Artie, so that he doesn't start to act out in other ways. My eldest boy, Galileo, is wonderful with other cats, but he took to pooping on the dining room carpet when we first got Dante. Dante was a crazy kitten who jumped on him all the time, which he was very tolerant of, but pooping outside his litterbox was Galileo's way of expressing his displeasure with the situation. I also think it was a bit difficult for Leo to go from being an only cat who received our undivided attention to playing second fiddle to the kitten.

Your friend sounds like she's having a tough time holding it together. I think it's absolutely wonderful that she's willing to do so much for animals, but she really needs to prioritize. It sounds to me like she would be making a mistake to keep any of these kittens. Compassion fatigue and compassion burnout are very real concerns for people involved in animal rescue and fostering. Your friend might find that she's actually able to do more good by picking her battles, rather than taking on so much by herself. It's difficult to be an effective caregiver when your own mental health is suffering.


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

I came across this the other day and couldn't wait to use it!! Let hubby have his name. I don't like it either :dis but it is a small price to pay for his support! Choose a knick name you like. I lean towards MuMu or some other cutsey name!

Your friend will come around. Be sure and reach out to her with support. Someone that is this overwhelmed shouldn't take on 3 more new kittens too.

View attachment 28810


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## Leah00 (Aug 26, 2010)

She was just going to keep one and the other three were all spoken for. Then she had second thoughts about the black one's future home so she decided to keep him too. Then she was talking about how she's really attached to all of them. That freaked me out enough to want mine right then! She has a lot of pets but she's not an animal hoarder or anything. She has at least 3 cats (they hide but I know there's at least 3) and she has 3 dogs. She takes good care of them but it is a lot for one person. She also has a husband and two teenage children that could help but apparently don't. 
I was trying to talk her into giving one of the kittens to my mom but no luck. 

My little MuMu is doing great though! I'm treating him more like a small animal pet than a cat right now. He's stays in his cage when I'm not watching him 100% since we have young children and dogs. He's out with me most of the time though.

He's eating and drinking very good. He ate a big breakfast this morning! About half a 5.5 oz can. I gave him a few spoonfuls and he ate it and he meowed for more and ate that too.


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## Leah00 (Aug 26, 2010)

Also, I don't know if you call tell from those pictures but he's kind of fluffy. He's the fluffiest one of the bunch. Do you think he'll keep the long hair? 
I'd love for him to have medium length hair at least. I've only had short hairs before. 

I'm sure I'm just being partial but I seriously think he's the cutest thing ever.


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

He will probably keep a medium coat length - but I'm just guessing, I have nothing to base that on. He IS a cutie!!! I think you were right to take him home. I think you would have lost him if you hadn't, but again, nothing concrete to base that on except your thoughts.


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## Leah00 (Aug 26, 2010)

I do too... I know I could have just found another kitten but there was something about him that I fell in love with the moment I saw him. I felt almost desperate to have him. 

I am seriously annoying everyone in my life because I cannot get over how adorable he is. I love his little face! I'm really excited to watch him grow too! I think he's going to be beautiful as an adult. The vet mentioned that he thought he'd have a longer coat too.


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## Leah00 (Aug 26, 2010)

You guys might get sick of seeing him but I can't help it! He's so cute!












































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## pkbshrew (Feb 13, 2013)

Cute? CUTE????? Cute doesn't even come close!!!!!!!
He could be my Lisbeth's twin! She was also found in a box with her littermates .... Here she is when she was little; a day after she came to us -


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## Leah00 (Aug 26, 2010)

pkbshrew said:


> Cute? CUTE????? Cute doesn't even come close!!!!!!!
> He could be my Lisbeth's twin! She was also found in a box with her littermates .... Here she is when she was little; a day after she came to us -



Sweet baby! They do look similar. Our little box babies!


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## Jetlaya67 (Sep 26, 2012)

Ahh, those are adorable box kittens! I want one!


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## kittiesmom (Aug 27, 2013)

Gorgeous box babies so so cute.


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

Lisbeth, such a cute baby! So alert and I love how clear and crisp his baby eyes look! All dewy and glossy and sweet! Both of these box babies are adorable!!! I don't blame you for wanting to get him right away before foster mom changed her mind! Good call!


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## cat owner again (Dec 14, 2012)

It sounds like a good call to me! He is so cute with those blue eyes. I hope he fits in nicely with all of your family. Kittens are a lot more work and your friend may have forgotten that.


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## Leah00 (Aug 26, 2010)

Little Mu is doing great!! He is eating and drinking just fine and his poops are getting more solid. 

He's such a cute and curious little guy. He's getting more active and it's becoming harder to keep him contained but he just has to deal with it until he gets a little bigger. He would be way to easy to step on!
He's already so affectionate. He loves to have his head scratched.


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

Sooo...are you going to pronounce it like...
Moomoo or mewmew!!


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## Leah00 (Aug 26, 2010)

Lol. It's like MooMoo or Moo. My husband hates the nickname and I hate the real name, so it works!


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## Carmel (Nov 23, 2010)

Leah00 said:


> View attachment 28882


More importantly... for a moment I thought you had stolen my dog! Seriously. Like, twins? Yours might be closer to 10 than 15 pounds... so more like my dog's puppy (if she could have such a thing :lol.

Lovely kitten too! Have fun~


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## 10cats2dogs (Jun 16, 2013)

leah00 said:


> lol. It's like moomoo or moo. My husband hates the nickname and i hate the real name, so it works!


ROFL!! YEP! Sounds fair to me!


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## Leah00 (Aug 26, 2010)

Carmel said:


> More importantly... for a moment I thought you had stolen my dog! Seriously. Like, twins? Yours might be closer to 10 than 15 pounds... so more like my dog's puppy (if she could have such a thing :lol.
> 
> Lovely kitten too! Have fun~



I know! I thought the exact same thing when I saw your avatar, how much alike our dogs look. Here's another coincidence for you... My dog's name is Jasper! Lol. 
My Jasper weighs about 12 lbs. He's actually a rare "short hair" Havanese. The Havanese breed is supposed to have super long hair but every so often, if both parents carry the gene, a short(er) hair puppy will be born. It's an undesirable trait and the dog can't be bred or shown. 
I was just looking for a cute little dog who would be good with kids and I was directed to a breeder who was looking for a good pet home for him. He's perfect for us. 
He looks absolutely nothing like a Havanese though so I usually don't even tell people what breed he is and let them assume he's a mutt since I really don't care anyway.


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