The Kitten Update
Jan. 20th, 2024 01:22 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kristenskSo, I promised to talk about the kitten... Also, I just like talking about the kitten.
Back in September, I found this little mite (pictured here being held by my brother) crying under a car in the parking lot where I work. With the help of a co-worker, I was able to catch her and drop her off at the vet's office nearby for a look-over... and for babysitting services until I finished work. They found that she was able to eat solid food despite her tiny size, so I decided to give raising her a go. (No, I've never had to bottlefeed a kitten. All past kittens arrived in the womb of abandoned pregnant cats I took in, so there was always a mommy cat to handle the tricky stuff.) After some dithering over a name, I settled on Smokey or Smokey Bear for the kitten and regularly address her as "The Bear" and "Bear-Bear".
Although, she also gets called "Squitten" often. Because, when she was small and still not allowed to interact with my older cat, Pai-Pai, without supervision, my brother built her a multi-story playpen out of wire shelving, and she was immediately climbing it like a squirrel. (This photo was taken of the first version of the playpen. The earlier photo is a later version after we modified it to keep her from climbing upside-down on the ceiling and added space for her big girl litterbox plus some bonus upper platforms.)
Since then, it's been quite a ride. She ate well the first nights, then abruptly stopped. I panicked. There were tears and desperate prayers and a lot of flailing around. But, we got through it. I had supportive family and friends and received some great advice from a kitten fosterer I was able to reach by text. (For the record - baby food. Turkey or beef flavor. It tempted her into eating again, and I slowly mixed it with more and more of her kitten food.) Once we got through that, I learned that she has a heart murmur, and that prompted a trip to a veterinary cardiologist. Thankfully, her condition doesn't appear to be severe. At her size, even an ultrasound could only show so much, but, while there's definitely a deformity to her heart, the cardiologist gave her a good prognosis. She'll go back in the spring once she's grown a bit. Otherwise, we've weathered a bout of truly horrific-smelling diarrhea and a bad reaction to her first round of vaccines.
But, Smokey's doing well now. She and Pai-Pai get along great. I mean, they play-fight incessantly, but it's friendly. And, I've caught them snuggled together in one of the window seats.
Before I go, Smokey in her Thanksgiving bandana.
Back in September, I found this little mite (pictured here being held by my brother) crying under a car in the parking lot where I work. With the help of a co-worker, I was able to catch her and drop her off at the vet's office nearby for a look-over... and for babysitting services until I finished work. They found that she was able to eat solid food despite her tiny size, so I decided to give raising her a go. (No, I've never had to bottlefeed a kitten. All past kittens arrived in the womb of abandoned pregnant cats I took in, so there was always a mommy cat to handle the tricky stuff.) After some dithering over a name, I settled on Smokey or Smokey Bear for the kitten and regularly address her as "The Bear" and "Bear-Bear".
Although, she also gets called "Squitten" often. Because, when she was small and still not allowed to interact with my older cat, Pai-Pai, without supervision, my brother built her a multi-story playpen out of wire shelving, and she was immediately climbing it like a squirrel. (This photo was taken of the first version of the playpen. The earlier photo is a later version after we modified it to keep her from climbing upside-down on the ceiling and added space for her big girl litterbox plus some bonus upper platforms.)
Since then, it's been quite a ride. She ate well the first nights, then abruptly stopped. I panicked. There were tears and desperate prayers and a lot of flailing around. But, we got through it. I had supportive family and friends and received some great advice from a kitten fosterer I was able to reach by text. (For the record - baby food. Turkey or beef flavor. It tempted her into eating again, and I slowly mixed it with more and more of her kitten food.) Once we got through that, I learned that she has a heart murmur, and that prompted a trip to a veterinary cardiologist. Thankfully, her condition doesn't appear to be severe. At her size, even an ultrasound could only show so much, but, while there's definitely a deformity to her heart, the cardiologist gave her a good prognosis. She'll go back in the spring once she's grown a bit. Otherwise, we've weathered a bout of truly horrific-smelling diarrhea and a bad reaction to her first round of vaccines.
But, Smokey's doing well now. She and Pai-Pai get along great. I mean, they play-fight incessantly, but it's friendly. And, I've caught them snuggled together in one of the window seats.
Before I go, Smokey in her Thanksgiving bandana.
