Author: annagoebel

Bottle-feeding the tiny one

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We didn’t realize it right away, but one of the kittens was not getting food. Foxfire was very protective, and curled tightly around them. We intended to weigh them, but we only managed two the first day, and two different ones the second day. They were all nursing, so I didn’t realize until day three that the smallest one was not actually growing – she was losing weight, and she was only 80 grams to begin with. She was now down to 65 grams – 2 and a quarter ounces.

Sometimes with fostering kittens, you suddenly find yourself needing to know things urgently before someone dies. Last year it was my first experience with Giardia, and what severe dehydration looks like; that resulted in a trip to the kitty E.R. This year I learned that 80 grams is a very low birth weight, and I should have been watching the little one especially closely. I chose to respect her mom’s stress, and not insist on taking them away every day to weigh them – so it was already almost too late by day 3.

My tiny one, one day old.

9 Lives Rescue is very supportive of their foster families, and I got immediate and excellent advise on how to proceed. Syringe feed her until another foster – an expert on bottle-feeding kittens – could take her. I had bottle-fed once before, and I had milk replacer in the freezer. I mixed a tiny amount with warm water and put it in a syringe without a needle, from which I could dribble a tiny bit into her mouth and see if she would take it. My goal was to feed her every 2–3 hours around the clock.

What an opinionated little bean! The first time she was pretty limp, just holding on. But she struggled mightily when I carefully picked her up, yelling loudly. “Help! Help! Mama! It’s a horrible monster! They got me! Help! Ma…! Oh. Food. Well. I could do that.” Every time. She was noticeably stronger the second time, and could struggle harder and yell louder – until she tasted the milk substitute. She was good at swallowing when she was hungry, and adamant when she wasn’t. She would turn her head to the side, struggle, and clamp her tiny mouth shut.

In less than 24 hours the bottle-baby expert could take her – but I declined. It would have been good to turn her over to an expert, but moms and families are so important, so I didn’t want to orphan her unless I had no choice. So I left her with her mom and siblings, and took her out frequently to make sure she got fed. I fed her every 2 hours during the day and got up twice every night.

The little bean with the rest of her family. Keeping warm in the kitten pile.

I still have no idea why she wasn’t getting nourishment from mom. She got latched on, but apparently couldn’t suck properly. Mom’s milk is rocket fuel, because the other four kittens have been little butterballs from day one. She wasn’t getting pushed out by the bigger ones – she has always been tough and determined. She seemed to be doing all the right things, but it wasn’t working.

She started slowly growing, 5 grams a day, and then sometimes 10, and she started looking round. And she became happy – sleeping well in the kitten pile with her siblings. After a few days she broke 100 grams, and I started cutting back on the feedings, and a couple of days later stopped completely. She’s over 150 now. That’s less than half the size of most of her siblings, but for her it’s awesome. She may stay tiny, become a small adult – but her small body will always house a might heart.

I wrote a poem that she inspired, called “Raw Kittenhood,” that you can read here on my Patreon account.

Foxfire and her kittens

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Foxfire is part of the “Farm Kitties” group we currently have. It includes her sister Nalia and her kittens, and also Felix. There is an excellent chance that Foxfire, Nalia, and Felix are all sisters from the same litter.

Foxfire was pregnant when we brought her home on July 20. I originally put her in the Jiro Palace with Nalia and her kittens, but she didn’t seem to like being cooped up with the kittens, and didn’t seem to have a close bond with Nalia. After a few days I noticed her growling at the kittens, so I decided I had to move her. It might have been a low-key warning that she wanted space, but I didn’t feel I could take the risk.

Foxfire in her private popup, about a week before her kittens were born. She’s not huge, so I estimated 3 kittens, but she had five.

Foxfire was moved into a popup by herself, but in the same room as Nalia and also Flora and Fauna. I didn’t like cooping her up, especially by herself, but she seemed to handle it ok. I knew she would prefer it once her kittens were born.

Foxfire is a very pretty kitty who is part Maine Coon. She has long hair, but not all over. She also has ear hairs that are very long and stick out, and a very fluffy tail. She’s only 7 pounds pregnant, so she’s like a miniature Maine Coon. Her face is pretty, and delicate, but from the side it has something of the Maine Coon shape. She has tabby stripes on her face and legs, but her back has more of a flecky pattern. Very unusual and quite pretty.

Foxfire’s kittens at almost 3 weeks. Note the tiny one in the middle right.

Foxfire’s kittens were born on August 8. It’s her first litter, but she has good instincts, and she did well. There are five and they range from a dark tabby with white feet to a couple of sable ones. These guys are going to be beautiful cats.

One of the kittens needed bottle feeding (click here for her story, and here for the poem she inspired), but she’s doing well, as are the others. They are 3 weeks old tomorrow, and really starting to move around on wobbly legs. They have started playing with each other a bit, and are becoming very cute!

Guest kitties – Ducky and Agatha

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We have guest cattos to feature today! These two are in a foster home with Cayla, a specialist in cats with trust issues. Cayla is developing a system for working with feral and other fearful cats that is showing excellent results. We’ll be hearing more from her in this blog. Today we are featuring Ducky and Agatha.

Meet Agatha and Ducky

Featuring Agatha

Agatha is a sweet and silly girl. Her favorite thing in all the land is a solid cheek rub; she’ll lean in so hard that it’ll nearly squish your hand against the floor. She struts around to receive pets and gives the most preciously adorable meows for more. Agatha enjoys every style of ball track and is enthusiastic about catnip. Agatha loves treats, so she likes to clicker train, but wants pets so badly that she’ll often lean her head into a hand gesture instead of performing the commanded skill. Her cutest skill by far is to “sit pretty” like a squirrel.

This sweet girl is initially so shy that she’ll hide for a few days in a new place, but then she’ll suddenly realize that she is safe and will come asking for her beloved cheek rubs. 

Agatha is spayed, tested negative for FeLV, and vaccinated.

Meet Ducky

Ducky is a funny character with a silly meow and adorable coos. She’s full of energy and darts faster than lightening when she has zoomies. She loves pounce toys, hunt wands, and play with her best pal, Agatha. Ducky is highly treat motivated, enthusiastically participates in clicker training, and learns new skills quickly. She may not become a lap cat, but she does thoroughly enjoy pets, rolling around the floor while receiving pets, and rubbing herself against you and Agatha. Ducky becomes scared, skeptical, and skittish in new places and with new people, but she’ll certainly be willing to play and train in her new home, and she’ll accept pets from new people with time. Ducky is spayed, tested negative for FeLV, and vaccinated.

Ducky and Agatha must be adopted together, as they have a strong bond. They often play with each other and  can be found grooming one another and cuddling as well.

Ducky and Agatha are available for adoption through 9 Lives Rescue. Visit the Adopt page and scroll down to adult cats. Their adopter will be provided with virtual post-adoption support to aid in their smooth transition of becoming comfortable in their new home.

UPDATE: Ducky and Agatha have found their furever home! We wish them the best future!

Welcome Lady Felix!

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On July 31 we brought one more young cat from the farm that Nalia and Foxfire came from – very likely a sister or half-sister – and they seem to be the same age. “He” was named Felix and then discovered to be a girl. For 9 Lives, we settled on Lady Felix.

Sitting behind the computer on her first day in the big city.

We’ve had her now for three weeks, and she’s a real sweetheart. We didn’t have room for her in the big room, so she is a guest in George’s study. It turned out to be a good thing we did that, because she tested positive for Feline Leukemia Virus, which can be transmitted to other cats. More on that here. We are hoping it was a false positive.

Felix is probably a bit under a year old – and it shows in the way she plays! She is still wary and a bit jumpy, but at the same time she loves pets, and will get in my lap. She has gotten gradually more comfortable, and she loves to play more than she likes food! She loves the Cat Dancer especially, and plays like a kitten – rolling on the floor, jumping after it, zooming around.

Felix with her favorite toy on “her” yoga mat.

We brought in a yoga mat for our own comfort when joining her on the floor, but Felix has no doubt it’s for her. She rolls on it, balls up part of it and kicks it – and it gives her a better grip when playing.

She certainly has come a long way.

Philosophical post

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Transitions. Highs and lows. Felix, one of our current foster kitties, has been a case study in the challenges of this rescue work. I, and I think most rescuers, question all the time whether they are doing the right thing. Sometimes it’s obvious – if someone is threatening to shoot the cats, and you can get permission to go in, taking them away is clearly the best thing for them, even if it’s a huge change and a huge transition for them. Taking in an abandoned and injured cat is a no-brainer. But when you take in a cat and she pushes a screen out and jumps from a second-story window to get away – as Felix did – you wonder if you did the right thing “rescuing” her.

The answer is “yes” in her case – but it is for sure a time when you wish you could explain to the cat: “Remember the coyotes who came to the farm and tore apart your relatives? There are no coyotes here. Remember the farm owner you were very fond of? She’s feeding cats because it’s the right thing to do – even though she’s stretched thin doing it. She didn’t ask that cats be dumped at her farm, pregnant ones, but she takes responsibility because she is an honorable person, unlike the people who dump their problems on someone else to deal with. She was fond of you and wanted you to be safe and have a better life. Adjusting is hard, but there are good things ahead.”

She was recovered from her adventure, thanks to the farm owner dropping everything and driving into town to walk through back yards and call her. Felix came running. Such a relief to have her safely back! But from her point of view, she was just brought back to the room she had gone to great lengths to escape from. Transitions. So hard.

On top of that, there was good news and bad news when she went to be spayed. She was declared healthy, and the procedure went well – but she tested positive for Feline Leukemia Virus. The first thing that means is that she has to be isolated from other cats. For a friendly, sociable cat this is hard. So she lives in George’s study by herself, and has company when he’s working, and listens to him practice the flute in the evenings. It could also mean – if it’s true – that she will not live a normal lifespan. FeLV compromises your immune system, and cats who have it don’t often live more than a few years; most die as kittens. And it’s contagious to other cats. But false positives are not uncommon – so we can hope for her.

And in the meantime, in three weeks she has come a long way, settling in and starting to think things might be ok.