Saturday, October 24, 2020

Here Be Kittens

I have been thinking of bringing in another foster-cat since Jessel’s time with me. The perma-cats have been complaisant, and it was time to confuse their world. Besides, another rescued cat ready for adoption isn’t a bad thing for a rescue-group. I had not, however, expected kittens. Meet Oleo (grey) and Bisto (black).

They were found, I was told, in a car engine, after the person who discovered them had driven some distance. I wonder about that, since they are about three weeks old and I can’t see them climbing into a car’s engine on their own. But there was no chance of re-uniting them with their mother, and the rescue-group to which I belong was called. They arrived at the Cosy Apartment at one o’clock.

I have no idea of their gender, but they seem in good health. They are active and, though they did not seem hungry when I took them in, they ate well when provided with food. I tried syringe-feeding kitten milk replacement at first. Both sucked it back eagerly. But I wanted to test their progress with eating on their own. They can. However, I will supplement this with the syringe if I feel it necessary.

I was informed that they have wet and pooped on their own, though they are not trained for litter. The woman who gave them to us did not have cats and wasn’t about to keep these, so they were using newspapers. That was good enough to start with, but I will be keeping an eye on their waste-management.

There is much to do. I have to maintain a steady supply of food for them, wash their faces – and the rest of them (I will use a cloth wet with warm water, then dry them) – arrange a very low-lipped litter-pan, spend time with them and watch everything they do. For bed-time, I think a snug, towel-floored carrier, with its door kept open, will suffice.


Oleo and Bisto will be in my bathroom for another week and a half, until I know they won’t bring anything into the household. I wash my hands after touching them, and make sure I am covered with a towel when I put them on my lap. This may be over-cautious, but no one ever adopted ‘better to be reckless and sorry’ as a motto. Not having had such young kittens to care for priorly (the partial day I held newborn Adah in my hands not really counting), I am concerned over everything. They are eating too much, they aren’t eating enough; they are too noisy, they are too quite; why aren’t they moving? Did I poison them, did I push the syringe too far into their mouths? Oleo and Bisto are why I have old cats.

Though I have had them for only a few hours, they appear typical kittens. They have already purred; they evidently enjoy being stroked down their backs. Toys will be introduced and, eventually, the babies will be moved to the library. After that, comes the introduction to my beasts. They will, of course, be available for adoption some day, perhaps in a couple of months, after they have aged me several years…

15 comments:

  1. Oh gosh! All I know about tiny kittens is that you can't use clumping litter because they could ingest it. Do you follow Jeanne at Random Felines? She's always fostering babies. I will keep my fingers crossed that they're healthy and stay healthy. Give them both a snuggle and kiss from me. ❤️❤️

    ReplyDelete
  2. They are so cute! Just make sure you kitten-proof everything they can eat, chew or climb on. Oh, and kittens pee a lot.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh, my, there’s nothing cuter (and, I imagine, nothing more nerve-wracking) than teeny kittens. I’ve never dealt with any that young, but I’m sure your other readers can give you a lot of helpful tips.

    A couple of months ago, a neighbor found a kitten about that small in the engine of his car. Perhaps the moms think they’re a good hiding place for their babies?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's certainly possible, but I would have thought these two too tiny to climb up. Then again, they've been climbing on me for much of the afternoon and evening. My Josie was found in an engine, but she was about six months old at the time.

      Delete
  4. Oh, Bisto and Oleo are so cute! It sounds like you're taking excellent care of them, John, so relax and enjoy their antics. This time of year, with the weather turning cold, it's pretty common for cats and kittens to take shelter in car engines. Unfortunately, this can result in pretty severe injuries if the engine is started while the animal is still inside. So in the winter, it's a good idea to bang in the hood of your car before starting the engine.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Ohhh kittens. I think that just broke my raisin ovaries.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh! My Goodness! I'm lost for words..! :)
    What a lovely post to wake up to..I think
    l may wear out my scrolling button on the
    mouse to~day..Bless! HeHe! :o)
    Just thinking..we have gravy granules over
    here called Bisto..! Lovely! :o).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We have Bisto here in Canada, too. This one is my Bisto kid.

      Delete
  7. They are so cute! A new experience for you. I wonder what the others will think of them when they are old enough to be introduced.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh the fun of being a father the new baby kittens. You will have your hands full as they get older and become rambunctious. Certainly better to be safe than sorry with cleanliness precautions. And as they get bigger hopefully the older cats in your house will not think they are just squeaky toys.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Oh my, this is definitely a different experience for you. When it comes time to introduce them to your older cats, don't be surprised if the permanent residents are frightened of them. Based on my experience the older ones don't seem to recognize the little ones as cats...they're not sure what the heck they are.

    Good luck and have fun!

    ReplyDelete
  10. We have had many tiny ones and Einstein was a bottle baby needing feeding around the clock more intensive care but that is his story and this is about Oleo and Bisto.
    It is most likely Mom put them in the car because it was warm, probably the night before. I would think they are older than three weeks if they are eating on their own as this is usually something you see in 4 weeks and older. As they are a bit older than three they should have gotten enough natural immunity from their mothers milk. Watch for listlessness which will be something you notice easily and not a bit of tired kitten after playing. (Einstein got very ill and it was touch and go for over a week) About litter. There is a lot of Sturm und Drang on the internet from "It will clog them to death" to "No Problem at all." Personally I have found tiny kittens are experimenting with the world so may eat litter and for that reason I never used Pine or rolled paper pellets litters. Yes they ate both. They should get used to it though so I gave them a small cake pan (7 * 11 or 9 * 13)with a folded newspaper in the bottom and a single fistful of plain litter on top. This is so easy to change every morning and when needed. They will then use litter and be good to go when the time is right for adoption. Hope this little bit helps.

    ReplyDelete
  11. mackerull was trapped feral when he was seven weeks old...this was july of 2018; I have aged 20 years since then, so has tuna !! :) ♥♥

    ReplyDelete
  12. Oh, look at these sweet balls of fluff!

    ReplyDelete