# Picked up new foster momma + her 4 kittens (pics!)



## paperbacknovel (Jun 9, 2010)

The poor mom, Leila, is SOOOO skinny. She looks almost 2-dimensional because her tummy is so flat!  I'm trying to fatten her up with canned food, but she has a URI, so she's not very interested in food...she is constantly sneezing.  I've also started her and the kittens on Clavamox, so hopefully that will help.

I'm not sure how old the kittens are--they were supposedly 2 weeks on May 10, when they were all originally brought to the shelter as strays, but that would mean that they will be 6 weeks this Tuesday, and they just seem too young. Also, they're not eating solid food yet (though the shelter said they were using the litterbox?

There are 4 total, all boys. Two are black and two are orange. They are all SO sweet- they purr when they see me and they fall asleep snuggled against me or in my arms. Leila is also a sweetie- she's not at all afraid of me like Brooke was last year...she just sits next to me and purrs. 

Pics!

Kittens:






















































Leila, the mom:


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## paperbacknovel (Jun 9, 2010)

BTW, I've decided to name them after Glee characters- the all-black one is Puck, the black one with the white spot on his chest is Blaine (I thought it looked a little like the Warblers blazer he wears!), and the outgoing orange one is Finn, while the shyer orange one is Kurt.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

Orange kittens! Little baby MowMow! *Head explodes*


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## paperbacknovel (Jun 9, 2010)

I KNOW, MowMow...when one of the orange ones first curled up in my arms and nuzzled against my chest to fall asleep, I looked at his little face and thought how much he looked like my Allegro...and my husband even said that it's like we get to see what our two orange cats and one black cat looked like as kittens! We could probably show people pics of them and claim they were our cats when they were little, lol.


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## jusjim (Jun 30, 2009)

What a smart mom Leila is: "Look kids, this is how to get on in the world. Go to the women and purr your heads off. It'll get you just about anything."

Leila does look kinda thin, but the kittens look wonderful, but a doubtful six weeks as you said.


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## CatsPride (May 29, 2011)

adorable. what are you going to do with them? Are you going to keep any/find homes for them.


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## Gabby169 (May 8, 2011)

cute overload X 4!! I'm not familiar with Glee but I love it when people name animals with a theme. The shelter here had a batch of kittens they named Mocha, Java, Latte, and Espresso. 

They could be almost 6 weeks. There growth could be stunted some because of kitty mama's infection.


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## CatsPride (May 29, 2011)

Maybe you could bottle feed them to help with that. Taking them from mom might be better for the mom if not the kittens, she shouldn't really be nursing in that condiction. The kittens could still see mom, just feed them regularly so they wont nurse and her milk will dry then she can focus on getting well herself.

Another thing you could do is spay mom now and feed the kittens yourself.


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## paperbacknovel (Jun 9, 2010)

CatsPride, I foster for my local humane society, so fortunately I don't have to do any of the work for finding them a home. When they reach 8 weeks and 2 pounds, I will bring them in to be neutered and adopted out--fortunately, kittens go pretty fast. I wish I could keep one, but we're at our personal limit of 3 cats. 

Also, if I took her somewhere to be spayed right now I would be banned from fostering for them! I have to do what they want for the cats. If they need medical care at all, it always has to go through the shelter. 

I cannot take her from them anyway--space logistics in my house for one thing, and time for another. I've bottle-fed kittens just for a weekend last summer, and that was so exhausting--I work 10-hour days and there's no way I would have the time! When I told the shelter I could foster again, I said that I could only take kittens that were either self-sufficient (on solid food and could be left alone for half the day) or nursing from their mom still. Between my 3 cats, long work days, and other obligations (I have a choir rehearsal tomorrow after work and will be gone from 6:30AM - 10:30PM, for instance), I simply cannot do anything more.

She has all the dry food she wants (I snuck in some Wellness Core into the mix with the Science Diet crud that the shelter requires I feed her), plus canned food as fast as she can eat it, tons of treats, and if she still isn't eating after work today I'm going to pick up some nutri-cal gel and KMR to mix with her food. Any other ideas? Someone at the pet supply store suggested making a "slushie" with crushed dry food, KMR, and canned tuna in water, and then heating it up to be extra stinky.

Also, since the kittens haven't even figured out that cat food can be eaten, and I'm not able to be there to supervise, they may also starve if I separate the mom, and she may go nuts trying to get to them.

Gabby, the shelter here pretty much insists on naming litters with a theme or in pairs/threes. They went to a seminar and one of the tips they got for how to adopt out more cats was to name cats in sets, so that people will say "oh, look at those kitties, Dolce and Gabbana. I want both, because it would be sad to separate them!" Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but anything helps, right? Also, since Glee is so popular and I pretty much picked the 4 most popular characters (I went to the Glee Live concert last Thursday, and these 4 guys got the biggest screams), I'm hoping that some fourteen-year-old girl is going to see them and beg her mom to get 2, or all four.


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## faithless (Dec 4, 2009)

beautiful! poor, skinny mom!


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## KittieLover (May 2, 2011)

Oh cute cute CUTE!! Makes me want another kitten!
I love orange kitties, they're so sweet!


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

TThere is a royal canain dry "Baby Cat" which comes in small morsels for kittens which you could have available 24/7. Id offer the momma cat anything shed drink. That UTI worries me esp with her nursing. I give skinny cats goats milk. They hate the canned stuff but like trader joes brand. Mix water in with wet food for nursing moms. When you check the cat box when you get home from work how are the p e e clumps looking?


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## paperbacknovel (Jun 9, 2010)

Merry, I can't use clumping litter b/c of the kittens potentially eating it, so I'm using the non-clumping kind. It's hard to tell because apparently the kittens use the box, too! There's not been much poo or pee yet, but I've only had her since Saturday, so maybe she's just nervous? 

She has been eating a little bit of canned kitten food, and a little bit of dry food (the shelter insists on us feeding them the food they provide, which is unfortunately Science Diet kitten formula), which she does have access to at all times. She seems to be sneezing less after a day of antibiotics, but still has a runny nose. I may have my husband pick up some Nutri-Cal for her today. I'll make her a KMR/canned food slurry tonight.


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## paperbacknovel (Jun 9, 2010)

More pics:

Here's Finn, the one who loves to snuggle up in the crook of my arm:




















And here's poor little Leila, who is so happy whenever I'm in the room playing with the kittens. She just chills out in the corner and purrs. Look at that sweet face!


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## Greenport ferals (Oct 30, 2010)

Sweet Leila. Every great mom needs a little respite sometimes.


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## melysion (Mar 12, 2007)

I've said it before, I'll say it again. All threads with kitten photos need a health warning message.

I think I've just died from cuteness overload!!


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

I know this sounds terrible but don't go by what the HS says you can or cannot do to help her get better. I know there is more experience, wisdom on this forum combined with your knowledge to help her. I have found with malnourished cats is they can't have richer food right away. Their system can't handle it. (Same with people) so Science diet mixed with better food is a good start. I freak out at UTI that's why I asked. Things can go so wrong so fast.


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## paperbacknovel (Jun 9, 2010)

I didn't catch this in your earlier post- it's not a UTI, thankfully- it's an Upper Respiratory Infection. 

I've been mixing Wellness Core dry in w/ the Science Diet.  I didn't want her to have tummy problems on top of the ones she's going to get from the antibiotics, so I didn't want to completely switch her over.

I wonder if it would be OK to feed her canned tuna in water if she continues to be disinterested in eating much? Just to get her some calories?


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

I know this sounds terrible but don't go by what the HS says you can or cannot do to help her get better. I know there is more experience, wisdom on this forum combined with your knowledge to help her. I have found with malnourished cats is they can't have richer food right away. Their system can't handle it. (Same with people) so Science diet mixed with better food is a good start. I freak out at UTI that's why I asked. Things can go so wrong so fast.


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## paperbacknovel (Jun 9, 2010)

Ohhh, Catforum. I'm in trouble. I was gone yesterday from 6:30AM to 10:30PM (my husband was able to replenish their food and water), so when I got home, I wanted to give them lots of attention.

As soon as I opened the cage, Finn ran out and scampered up on my lap to snuggle into the crook of my arm. HE STAYED THERE FOR AN HOUR. Eventually Blaine climbed up on my other lap and snuggled into my other arm. I had to put them back in the cage because I had to have use of my arms to clean their litterbox and such, and when I put them down on the floor, Finn had this horrible abandoned look on his face and immediately ran back to me and climbed back up in my lap. Blaine was okay for a minute or two, but then he started crying, and then he ran up to my leg, pawing at me and trying to climb back up, crying at me until I wrapped my hand around him and stroked him with my thumb again. By this time, the other two boys wanted to snuggle, too, but they had to settle for curling up on my knees and legs because both arms were taken.  

So I stayed that way a little while longer. I finally put them back in the cage again. Again, Finn looked totally pathetic, and kept trying to run back out and climb up my leg. 

WHY ARE THESE KITTENS SO DARN CUTE?? I already know my heart will get broken when I have to give them back!!!

Pics of Finn sleeping/snuggling on my lap (I don't have any other pics of him because he does NOTHING else when I'm there other than snuggle me, no matter how long I'm there).
FINN:
























PUCK:

















KURT:

















BLAINE: (who has the most beautiful eyes!)

















PUCK, KURT, AND BLAINE (Finn was in my lap):


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## OctoberinMaine (Sep 12, 2006)

Wow, you are really in trouble.  It sounds like the kittens really want a piece of you! They're way too cute. I can vouch for the orange ones.


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## paperbacknovel (Jun 9, 2010)

:'((((

I know that orange boys are awesome- my orange boy, Allegro, LOVES snuggling in my arms like a baby, on his back, and purring himself to sleep. But Allegro is supper ADD (our vet actually said that if they started diagnosing cats with ADD, Allegro would be the first in line!) and he doesn't stay in your lap for very long before he gets distracted by one of the other cats or a noise or a toy, whereas little Finn here would probably stay in my lap all day if I'd let him. 

I know kitty personalities change a lot, especially from kittenhood to adulthood. I hope Finn stays this sweet. His new mommy and/or daddy is going to be sooooo lucky. ((( And I'm probably going to cry. A lot. I'm already freaking out because I won't know who adopts them. I wish I could just stand by their cage and talk about them to potential adopters, once they're ready to go back. I can write about them, but usually the shelter doesn't bother putting a lot of comments from the foster mom on their tags unless it's a cat who is likely to be there for a while (i.e., not a kitten).


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