The Babes

 

What a week it was last week.  So crazy I didn’t even post anything!  As you know, I am raising six babies, by myself.  They say it takes a village to raise children, but I am doing it alone, with the help of momma.  Momma kitty, Lucy, is just the best mom ever.  She is very attentive to her babies, even allowing them to go to the bathroom in her mouth!  Now, I know that sounds disgusting, but this is what the animal kingdom does!  Well, maybe not all, but for cats, its true!  I know I have heard about that, but never witnessed it.  And no, I didn’t sit there and stare…  it was just fascinating to comprehend.

They are going into their fourth week of life, and from alien like…  to looking like NEARLY normal adorable little baby kittens.  Give it a few more days and I am going to just melt.  I’ve watched their fur come in – man are they going to be fluffballs, all of them, and I’ve now witnessed their nails retract – I had no idea their nails couldn’t retract into their paw like normal cats do, until they are at least four weeks of age.  Fascinating!  And their eyes!  Talk about melting your heart.  They are now fully open and they can actually see movement.  They know my voice when I go into ‘their room.’  They look up, and when I lay down to look into their eyes, they are looking into mine!  It’s the sweetest thing ever.

I’ll get back to the kittens, but I almost forgot, Just one week after rescuing Momma, I rescued Sir Jonathan Willoughby Teddy Bear (Kristin named!) from the same location – Grand Avenue and Stout Street – and within days of his rescue and neuter at the clinic, he was adopted!  The couple are very sweet and just fell in love with him.  He is doing well, and I can’t thank Kristin and Darrin for opening their homes up for an adult cat to be saved from the remainder of its life living on the street.  There is such a need for adult cats, I just wish more people would offer to foster.

Its been brutally cold out there, and last Saturday, I found the red cat I’ve been feeding on Melville for many many years dead in one of the shelters.  I reached in to fill the bowls, and saw a red tuft of fur.  I knew it was him. He was old and sick.  But never let me near him.  It was devastating, but at the same time, comforting to know he would not suffer again.

And the very next week, I was able to ‘rescue’ another red kitty I’ve been feeding for MANY years on Garson, knowing I was going to have him euthanized.  He was very sick.  I had tried to rescue him many years ago from Grand and Baldwin, but when I got him out of the carrier in my bathroom, he freaked.  I wrote about this maybe four or five years ago in my blog.  I had to return him.  He migrated from that time to Garson near Chamberlain.  I could see him getting thinner and thinner and lately I had spotted blood in the snow.  His back legs looked bad, almost icy and wet.  I knew I couldn’t let happen to him what happened to red.  So he was brought to the vet and the vet told me that I had done the right thing.  He would have suffered greatly out there.  Poor baby.  I named him Garson.  Thank you to Elizabeth for transporting him to the vet for me.  She is keeping the body of both reds to bury in the spring.  Such a kind thing to do E. 

Backing up to two mornings ago, I was crouching down to pour food at a shelter on Parsells, and a cat was behind me crying.  I went to put my finger out to touch, and he took a swipe at me and his one nail got me good on my hand.  So much so that it must have nicked my vein, and it started to swell fast.  It was the start of a very large, very gross hematoma.  Sheryl and I had never seen anything like it.  Apparently neither did the doctor that looked at it after I drove immediately to ER.  He even wanted to take a picture of it!  After a dose of penicillin, a bandage wrap, and $150 co-pay, I was good to go.  Today, its much better but looks like a giant bruise on my hand and wrist.  Bad kitty!

Back to kittens, here are some adorable pictures.  PS, I have named them:  Two black kittens are Bear and Truffle, two calicos are Ginger and Georgie, the grey is Harley, and the brown tabby is Ralphie!  ADORABLE! (click on the pics to see up close!)

Have a great day!

"The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time."