Category: Posts: Hazel and kittens

Our granddaughter, Katherine, stopped by today, and got some good shots of some of Hazel’s kittens.

Hazel’s kittens are ready for forever homes! There are two boys and two girls, and we’d very much like to see them go in pairs. The kittens are happier and the transition is easier – plus they are so much fun to watch!

Hazel’s kittens were born here on April 23.

Hazel thoughtfully had one of each color, so they’re easy to tell apart. Farley is the biggest, and in some ways the most confident. Puck, however, is the most curious and people-oriented. Smudge and Charlie Pie have the most distinctive markings. Smudge is a light orange tabby, but she has grey and black smudges on top; she looks like she got into some soot. Charlie Pie is a calico, but also a tabby; wherever she has color she also has stripes, including her tail.

These guys have been through a lot. Smudge and Charlie Pie had trips to the kitty ER, as they tried to fight off both giardia and a virus that left them dehydrated. They deserve a warm, happy environment where they can fully blossom into the loving kitties they are!

It’s so good to have Hazel’s kittens finally feeling better, feeling playful.

To see all posts for Hazel’s kittens, click here.

It’s been interesting to watch how these kitties accepted a blended family. Mouse and two of her kittens were adopted, leaving Harlind and Thomas with Hazel and her kittens. They get along quite well. Farley loves playing with the bigger kids. The big kids graciously condescend to play with the little ones. If they’re all chasing a toy, the big ones will often retire from the field if the littles want to play. It’s remarkably tolerant.

The last month has been an education. I never know whether I should share the tough parts of fostering kitties. I’d like this site to be a celebration of the adorable kitties we foster, so I don’t usually talk about the harder parts. Plus, things like deworming kittens is not super interesting. But it might be worth sharing the struggles of the past month.

Two of our three current moms came from the same farm – and it turns out there is Giardia at that farm. Both of our moms from there had it. Hazel tested positive for it, so her kittens also had it. Mouse’s kittens were in the same room, so they got it. Black Mamba, in the other room, was from the same farm and had it also.

Giardia is a nasty intestinal protozoan that causes vomiting and diarrhea. It is pretty unpleasant, but the most scary part is that with both vomiting and diarrhea, kittens can get severely dehydrated. Hazel’s had it the worst, and we ended up with two of hers at the emergency clinic at the UW Vet School.

I learned as I went, so scared that I wouldn’t be able to learn fast enough to keep them alive. The last two weeks have been especially tough, with first Smudge and then Charlie Pie and then Puck going downhill fast. Even Farley was losing weight.

Smudge was the first sign that something serious was going on, suddenly going droopy and apathetic – and requiring vet school intervention. I learned from her and caught the others before they got that bad. Charlie Pie wouldn’t eat, however, and I couldn’t get enough food into her to maintain her weight. I syringe fed, and we gave her subcutaneous fluids – but it wasn’t enough. She ended up at the vet school also. When Puck started going down, he was a lot easier to feed by syringe, so I managed to keep him fed and hydrated enough that he didn’t reach the emergency stage.

Today Hazel’s kittens seem to have turned the corner. Most of the day they have eaten, and that was such a welcome sight! I’ve brought them food five times so far today, and each time they were hungry and tucked in. We’re not out of the woods yet. Charlie Pie still looks pretty droopy, and feels so frail and tiny, but I’m cautiously optimistic that they’re going to be ok.

In the meantime, Mamba’s kittens were sick, but never as bad as Hazel’s. With a lot of care, they seem to be fighting if off.

Mouse’s kittens have also been fighting it. Thomas has been almost unaffected, and has flown past the others in weight, as their interest in food disappeared. Harlind went from the biggest to a distinctly smaller second; he has gotten his appetite back now, but he’s still fighting diarrhea.

We have spent all our time giving medications, food, and sub-q fluids, and disinfecting everything in sight. It has been a marathon, but I’ve learned a lot. On the academic side, I learned that humans rarely get the variety of Giardia that cats get – that was good to know! There are seven types: humans get types A and B, dogs get C and D, cats get F, and other animals get the other types. Humans can get E and F, but it’s very rare.

I apologize for the length of this post (and its array of mixed metaphors!), but I’m hopeful today that we are coming to a happy ending. Or a happy beginning! As we arrive at full health, these kittens will be so ready to be adopted to loving families – they deserve it!

The younger kittens live in the Jiro Palace, which is a pretty nice space for little guys. But they are old enough now to hear exciting things happening outside their area, and they really want to come out! So we often bring them out in the evenings, when they can be supervised. It’s really interesting watching them interact with the older kittens and Mouse, the other mom. After a few times out, they all ended up eating together, and it went well:

The younger ones mostly ignore their elders. The older kittens are interested in the younger ones, sometimes batting at them, sometimes offering to play. Mouse tolerates the alien kittens, but doesn’t hesitate to hiss and swat at them if they get too close to her. The littles seem to have a good instinct for keeping a low profile. Smudge is especially intent on being out in the big room. She loves to explore.

Hazel’s kittens still look a little scrawny and homely, but they’re definitely growing and getting cuter. I don’t think Hazel had the best nutrition when she was pregnant – and I suspect they still have some parasite activity going on. They’re very active, and very curious, but I think they might benefit from a deworming regimen.

The Jiro Palace renovations are finished, so Hazel and her kittens have been moved to their new digs. We just closed the door of their cat carrier – their safe cave – and air-lifted them across the room. Hazel was not thrilled about being moved, but she seemed to understand pretty quickly that it was an upgrade.

It was late evening by the time everything was finished, so we put in food and water – and cameras – and left them in peace for the night. The security cameras are so helpful! Next morning I could see that Hazel had come out of the carrier soon after I left. She tiptoed around at first, but seemed to like what she saw. She found the water and kibble up on the low shelf, she found the litter box, and also the wet food. Before midnight she had eaten, used the box, and been up on the shelf to drink. Throughout the night she would go in the carrier with the kittens, then come out and relax and stretch out on the floor for a few minutes before going back in. I think she likes it.

Her kittens sure do! Two of them came out of the carrier first thing in the morning and started to explore. Then a third one. It seems to be a good surface for them to walk – not too slippery. I think they’re walking better than Mouse’s kittens at the same age.

Our new tabby foster kitty is a mom! She had four kittens last evening, and they all seem to be doing well. With great consideration she had four kittens in four different colors – so easy to tell them apart! There’s a tabby, a calico, a black one, and a little light orange one.

Tabby mom is semi-feral, and feels very protective of her kittens. She’s living in a largish cat carrier inside a large dog cage, and that’s where the kittens were born – inside the carrier. Mom comes out to eat and drink and use the litter box, but she basically lives in her safe cave.

This setup was recommended to me for feral or semi-feral pregnant kitties. First, they feel safer when they have a cave to be in. Second, you can reach in the top to pet them if they allow it, so there’s a little outreach possible right away. Third, During the birthing, if mom runs into difficulties, she’s already in a carrier ready to go the vet. In an emergency, you don’t want to be trying to get a wildcat into a carrier.

Tabby mom didn’t have any difficulties. We missed the first one being born, checked on her in person in time for the second one – and then retired and watched the rest on the security camera we had set up. It’s not a great picture, so I can’t tell you the birth order, but she felt less stressed with us out of the room. And we could see she was calm, knew what to do, and things were going as they should.

Given how protective she feels, and not very trusting, it’s remarkable how tolerant she is. I open the top of the carrier and pet her head, or take photos – her response is to just freeze in place – but I can work with that.