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Booger Presley posted:On a lighter note, I turned the sprinkler system on tonight and discover that prior to being captured, Luna and Emma decided to chew holes in every single drip line in the yard. Spent hours on repairs while they peered mockingly at me from their room. Well, that just means they end up sprinkling in a few extra places! 
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May 13, 2016 05:15
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Well I kept meaning to get back to this but life got interesting this weekend. Which I guess can be both good and bad. Ok so when we last left our intrepid adventurer, a itty bitty dogge was in the recycling bucket.  It was hungry and thirsty and definitely an abandoned pet  The poor pawsies (hidden for the faint of heart)  Washed and treated her paws, and scheduled a vet visit. She was about 2.5 pounds. The vet said her age was about 6-8 years. Half of her teeth required extraction due to no/poor diet and decay. goddamn people quit abandoning pets. its utterly hosed up. even at full health the problem was her size. She is just way too small for the pack in the house. The puppy was doing her best "LETS PLAY" with the little dog and almost crushed it on at least 6-7 times, and while i can mitigate things, i was getting a bit stressed out about her getting killed by a puppy trying to play.  Well i thought of a coworker who is in the middle of a really hosed up divorce and figured HEY COMPANIONSHIP, here take this ugly little dogge who is sweet but will get crushed in my house. He loves her to death, named her Cayenne. got her a collar, and little shoes and sweaters and little hats..  its kinda adorable, he takes her everywhere.
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May 16, 2016 12:50
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SneakyFrog posted:
Aw, that's what tiny dogs are for
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May 16, 2016 17:48
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Kwyndig posted:Aw, that's what tiny dogs are for I almost kept it because soooo tiny and adoooooooooorable, but yeah too small for the house
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May 16, 2016 17:54
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SneakyFrog posted:Well I kept meaning to get back to this but life got interesting this weekend. Which I guess can be both good and bad.  This just made my day!
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May 16, 2016 19:01
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Just chiming in to say thanks to Chili and SneakyFrog not only caring for rescued animals but taking time to post such long stories and updates. You guys make my day!
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May 16, 2016 21:29
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Ah! Sweet little Cayenne! You're the best.
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May 16, 2016 22:43
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thank you for letting me share, i think its really rewarding and i wish more people would do it.
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May 16, 2016 22:48
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Rescue pets make the best pets. They *know* and they love you forever because of it. All of my most awesome, sweetest pets were rescues.
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May 17, 2016 01:07
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All three of my catbabbies are street rescues. They are my greatest loves.
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May 17, 2016 01:48
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I was wondering if anyone had any advice for helping a foster beyond what I am already doing. Yeserday took a litter of 6 off the local shelters hands, to be raised for a few months until they are old enough for adoption. At the moment I'd say they are 4 weeks old - they can walk (although a bit wobbly), eat wet food, and their eyes are open (but have not turned colors). Five of them are developmentally where they should be, with size, weight, and growth of teeth. The sixth is not. He is about half the size of the other cats, and his teeth are very small. The first day I got them, he barely moved and would not eat wet food. So I went and bought some kitten milk replacer, and last night was able to get him to lap it up in small amounts by dropping it on my finger (the dropper was too large for his mouth). His body temperature is good and warm, and today he drank about a tablespoon worth of milk replacer over a half hour. Since then he is a little more active, at least crawling and standing a little bit. I think when the shelter has him the kittens just had wet food so he had not eaten anything in at least a day or two. Anything I have missed to help the little guy?
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May 18, 2016 18:26
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tower time posted:I was wondering if anyone had any advice for helping a foster beyond what I am already doing. Yeserday took a litter of 6 off the local shelters hands, to be raised for a few months until they are old enough for adoption. At the moment I'd say they are 4 weeks old - they can walk (although a bit wobbly), eat wet food, and their eyes are open (but have not turned colors). Five of them are developmentally where they should be, with size, weight, and growth of teeth. The sixth is not. He is about half the size of the other cats, and his teeth are very small. The first day I got them, he barely moved and would not eat wet food. Runts can scare the life out of even the best fosters. Your already in good shape, and are pretty much doing what you need to do. Here are some other things: Keep giving him attention and keep up with the milk replacer. Are you using KMR? If not, that's the way to go and you can probably get some from the shelter. Also, consider two things to ensure proper monitoring. First, switch from spoons to syringes. Feed the kitten by using the syringe nearish to the back side of their mouth. Follow the directions on the label for how much to feed, or consult with the shelter on the right amount. Once a day works, twice a day is better. But using syringes gives you the distinct benefit of monitoring precisely how much the kitten is eating each day, and it doesn't give the kitten a choice. Kittens are really dumb and they can effectively kill themselves by electing not to eat for REASONS. Eating is non-negotiable for kittens under 2 pounds, it has to happen every day, and ideally the recommended amount. Eventually you can transition to a "gruel" substance which can consist of mixing the milk with wet food, or simply putting the milk on top of the wet food. Additionally, to help promote eating sometimes runts just need space. If there's a way to separate the kitten from the litter and feed him on his own, he may no better when it comes time to eat without your assistance. Edit; I see that you mention that the dropper was too small, there are absolutely syringes that should fit your kitten. We just got through syringe feeding some of the teeniest little kittens we've ever had. As long as your feeding along the side of the mouth, toward the back, it should be fine. Also, for the sake of the kitten's health and for your peace of mind, weigh your kittens every day. This includes the ones that are presenting as healthy. If you don't have a scale that can register their weight, chances are you can get one from the shelter or you can just get a sensitive food scale for cheapsies from your grocery store. Keeping an eye on the weight of your kittens is utterly critical and gives you the most information possible about their health. Kittens should be putting on roughly 1/4 pound a week, if that's not happening, contact the shelter. Any idea of his current weight? Chili fucked around with this message at 20:40 on May 18, 2016 |
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May 18, 2016 20:34
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Chili posted:Runts can scare the life out of even the best fosters. runts are the best though
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May 18, 2016 20:41
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My best guess for his weight is in the range of 4-5 ounces. He is quite little. Right now I am using hartz Kitten milk replacer. He absolutely won't eat from a spoon/dish - it has to be either from a dropper with a nipple (bought him one recently which he kind of understands, although its a tad large for his mouth) or he will lap it off a hand/finger with vigor. He doesn't need encouragement eating once he starts really, he just goes slowly. He ate about a teaspoon's worth for breakfast this morning (for a four ounce cat the can recommends 2 teaspoons a day in total) so he must have been pretty famished. I just hold him in my hand while his siblings eat on the floor. I put a warm water bottle in the cage, and he sat near it while napping earlier. When i got home from doing errands he got up and walked over to the front door of the cage, which is the longest i have seen him really walk/stand so far  I'll try to weigh him later using one of my old shop scales.
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May 18, 2016 21:07
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SneakyFrog posted:runts are the best though Yes this. Runt kittens grow up to be adult cats who are itty bitty their whole lives and super cuddly and loving from being hand-reared.
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May 18, 2016 21:14
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Safari Disco Lion posted:Yes this. Runt kittens grow up to be adult cats who are itty bitty their whole lives and super cuddly and loving from being hand-reared. Not my runt. He just trips me all the god drat time and screams whenever the abstract concept of the kitchen crosses his tiny mind.
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May 18, 2016 21:37
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SneakyFrog posted:runts are the best though I do love runts, and they always end up being my favorites in the litter. Makes all the more scary though. Being a foster for itty bitty kittens can be an emotional roller coaster at times. tower time posted:My best guess for his weight is in the range of 4-5 ounces. He is quite little. You're doing all the right things. As far as syringes go, the nipple one that "kinda fits" seems like an odd thing. The syringe we use looks like this:  The diameter of the whole thing is no bigger than a pea. No kitten has been to small for this to sneak into the corner of their mouth. I'm not sure how readily available that type of thing is for you though.
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May 18, 2016 22:41
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Pretty sure I got a similar syringe from the baby aisle at a big grocery store.
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May 18, 2016 23:40
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The rescue I volunteer with doesn't just do TNR. People will give us strays that are friendly so we can spay/neuter them and pass them off to no-kill shelters. Today, they got a kitten named Harry and were assured he was well-socialized. His previous humans lied. He's terrified of pretty much everything especially being alone, so my wife and I took him to get him more socialized and less afraid and nervous. He may be away from siblings. He's definitely away from his mother because his prior humans thought he was old enough and calm enough. When we got him to our apartment, he ate and peed normally, but then began screaming with all the annoyance an 8-10 week old kitten can. He will not shut up unless he's being held. He'll doze off in our arms and get put in the carrier we're using for the night, only to wake up within moments and start screaming again. I just sprayed the blanket in his carrier with Feliway, but haven't put him in with it to see if it helps. We always keep our tiny fosters in carriers and rabbit hutches to prevent them from getting places they shouldn't, such as underneath the dishwasher. None of our previous 4 have had problems with this. How can we get a scared, lonely kitten to calm down and go to bed? Placing a heating pad underneath the carrier is an option in case he's missing family body heat, but we're not sure if it'll help him or annoy him since our apartment retains heat like an oven.
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May 19, 2016 06:08
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Dad was the one that took our runt kitty (who was probably too young, really) out of the cage at the shelter, and whenever she got out of hand or panicked we'd put her on his lap to calm her down. She grew up being a cranky, dominant, demanding old lady (awesome cat, but she was a personality) who didn't like being picked up and very much interacted with people on her own terms, but she'd melt at the sight of him and just happily sit in his arms and headbutt him all day and would refuse to go to her bed at night unless she'd spent some time on his lap - she'd hop up to the sofa and basically demand he sit for lap time. Even though he spent most of the day at work and it was the rest of us that fed her and looked after her.
MikeJF fucked around with this message at 13:15 on May 19, 2016 |
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May 19, 2016 13:11
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MikeJF posted:Dad was the one that took our runt kitty (who was probably too young, really) out of the cage at the shelter, and whenever she got out of hand or panicked we'd put her on his lap to calm her down. She grew up being a cranky, dominant, demanding old lady (awesome cat, but she was a personality) who didn't like being picked up and very much interacted with people on her own terms, but she'd melt at the sight of him and just happily sit in his arms and headbutt him all day and would refuse to go to her bed at night unless she'd spent some time on his lap - she'd hop up to the sofa and basically demand he sit for lap time. Even though he spent most of the day at work and it was the rest of us that fed her and looked after her.
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May 19, 2016 13:38
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LivesInGrey posted:The rescue I volunteer with doesn't just do TNR. People will give us strays that are friendly so we can spay/neuter them and pass them off to no-kill shelters. Today, they got a kitten named Harry and were assured he was well-socialized. His previous humans lied. He's terrified of pretty much everything especially being alone, so my wife and I took him to get him more socialized and less afraid and nervous. He may be away from siblings. He's definitely away from his mother because his prior humans thought he was old enough and calm enough. Unfortunately, it really does seem like you're doing all of the right things, which makes answering your question tricky. Solo kittens are the hardest to foster, especially when they have been with siblings recently and are used to a certain level of stimulation. This is a YMMV situation, but some kittens do really well with playtime before bed. As heartbreaking as it may sound, and someone else should weigh in on this, you may want to start the wean the kitten off falling asleep in your arms. It's not realistic that the kitten will have that after he moves on from you, and though you can certainly indicate that he's a cuddle bug when you fill out his pre-adoption forms, he'll have sometime in the shelter between you dropping him off and getting adopted, and that's not going to be easy for him if he's not ready. I don't know exactly what your layout is but if you have a separate room for the kitty and a nice floofy kitty bed and a heating disc, that should be more than enough to help the kitty sleep. Kitty goes on bed, gets some scritches, and that's that. If he leaves the bed put him back on. So in short, be with the kitty but keep some boundaries, it'll likely help in the long run. Feliway is good and I was going to recommend that as well. But yeah, the big question is does he play/have you figured out how he likes to play?
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May 19, 2016 13:42
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Chili posted:As heartbreaking as it may sound, and someone else should weigh in on this, you may want to start the wean the kitten off falling asleep in your arms. It's not realistic that the kitten will have that after he moves on from you, and though you can certainly indicate that he's a cuddle bug when you fill out his pre-adoption forms, he'll have sometime in the shelter between you dropping him off and getting adopted, and that's not going to be easy for him if he's not ready. going to have to agree with chili on that one, especially if you are just temporarily fostering. It sets a precedent that is very likely to change when kitten moves outside your control which is yet another change the kitten is going to have to adjust to. In addition to that it is kind of a bonding thing you do, and as hosed up as it is to say, you are a temporary guardian. If you were planning on keeping said kitten, cuddle forever and stuff and build a cat tree voltron.
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May 19, 2016 13:48
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The runt of the litter continues to do well. She weighs in at 5.71 ounces and for the time I have nicknamed her Giant. Her mouth actually is fine for the nipple, it seems like the first day she was just too lethargic/confused to open her mouth willingly for it. Now when she wants food she opens all the way and goes right for it, eating eagerly. She has some more energy and is up and walking around regularly. I am pretty optimistic she will grow up to be a very pretty cat - manx with long fur and a tortoiseshell pattern.
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May 20, 2016 00:51
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Harry's only idea of play that I can tell is exploring the couch when he's out. I put a jingle ball into the hutch to see what he thinks of it, though. Right now he's eating and will probably fall asleep in the hutch afterwards. My wife has a couple of photos of him on her phone so she might come and post them. ETA: We are returning him to the rescue tomorrow in hopes they have or can find another kitten around his age he can become friends with because he simply cannot tolerate being alone. No amount of playing, toys in hutch, cuddles when outside, or Feliway can get him to stop screaming himself hoarse once he's put back. It's beyond our ability to manage and I think part of being a foster parent is realizing that. Our past solo kittens whined a little bit, but not like this. There will be plenty more chances this kitten season. Lord Zedd-Repulsa fucked around with this message at 06:05 on May 22, 2016 |
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May 20, 2016 02:30
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I would like some footage of Butterscotch, please.
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May 26, 2016 23:26
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Ofecks posted:I would like some footage of Butterscotch, please. I will see what I can do. Unfortunately, I just had some foot surgery and I'm in recovery at my parents house, without my Butters  . I'll see if I have any oldies.
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May 27, 2016 15:46
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Here we go, not the strongest submission I've made, but it's something: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VooLRWO5S4o
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May 27, 2016 15:53
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Was there any doubt that Fatcat would choose both dinners? 
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May 27, 2016 16:36
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"not in bowls pls fix!"
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May 27, 2016 18:26
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Ah! That's adorable.
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May 28, 2016 00:27
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Is he getting along with your other permanent kitty?
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May 28, 2016 01:01
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I want to read/see more of these adorable fosters. Oh my gosh. The adorable animals.
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May 28, 2016 21:05
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Butter MA scotch Butter MA scotch He is looking more mobile
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May 30, 2016 03:17
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Sorry for the stall in updates, the foot surgery I had last week has rendered me very limited in mobility and it's made life tricky. One nice thing about staying home in recovery is play *oh sorry, Butterscotch wants to say hi*  3wedDSSS AND APPARENTLY CAPS LOCK IS ON NOW AND THERE'S NOTHING i CAN DO ABOUT IT. Ok, he shifted a bit. Anyway, he's been such a good velcro-cat. He won't leave me side and he keeps me nice and warm. I've been able to write and play video games and do all of the things I want because whenever a random thought pops into my head, he's there to listen to it. It's pretty great you guys. Go rescue a fat cat. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MRgeJkHxxY Ruining puzzles, posts, and video games-still the best.
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Jun 6, 2016 01:10
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The wife and I have been approved to be a foster home for a Pug rescue and we headed down to one of their fund raising events today and there were 20_ little curly tailed snorty mutants who wanted rubs Also Butterscotch knows what is up when food is on the floor.
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Jun 6, 2016 01:24
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We have our very own Butterscotch at the shelter I volunteer at. His name is Sherbert and if I didn't have 3 already, I'd have a Sherbert. His previous owner passed away and he's so full of love but still very worried about what the shelter is. We've had to put him on a metabolic diet and he's doing well and has even slimmed down in the few weeks he's been with us.   edit: DAMMIT! I thought this was the cute thread. I got ButterConfused. I hope this post is OK! Geolicious fucked around with this message at 02:23 on Jun 6, 2016 |
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Jun 6, 2016 02:14
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A picture of a shelter cat that you volunteer at? How dare you! Seriously though, that post just made my day and mad up for a semi-lackluster game of thrones episode.
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Jun 6, 2016 03:39
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Epilogue of the great laptop war: Butters became quite taken with the cute and uplifting thread:  So much so that he decided that we would not be visiting any more websites for now:  I took a break to stretch my legs and check on our other, better behaved friends in the house. When I came back...  What a goonlord.
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Jun 6, 2016 05:38
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Hey man, account sharing isn't cool. So who's up for splitting the cost of buying Butters a full fledged account of his own?
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Jun 6, 2016 05:40
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