This morning, Prayer Boy the runt of the litter- the little white boy slipped away. The kittens all have pneumonia and URI and the swelling on their heads were a result of their eyes being crusted over so severely. Once warm compresses were gently pressed to the swelling-within seconds, the pressure released and pus started pouring out. Prayer Boy had two swellings and although he rallied after supportive fluids, antibiotics and gentle compresses, he was to far debilated to rally long.

I have moved the kittens and the queen from the closet into the main cat room. The nesting box there is larger and the queen has been ignoring the litter for the better part of last night, mainly because Prayer Boy was slipping away and she knew it. Once I took him out of the box and put him inside a carrier and in the bedroom, she returned to her remaining kittens. I did a thorough check of her today and she is grossly underweight and wormy as hell. She only has two viable nipples, I thought she had four- but there are three kittens who have survived so I will be supplement feeding them every four hours to take the load off her. I started her on worming medicine this morning- Panacur that I got from the vet.

She is a tough mother and has already beaten the pound out of two of my cats that simply came upstairs to see what was going on. We have put the door up at the bottom of the stairs to prevent more altercations- so now there are only seven cats upstairs- Onions and her family in one room and the two feral black kittens across the way.

I wish I had the money right now to get Onions spayed but I don’t. I will be talking to the owner later and I hope my temper doesn’t get away from me. These kittens, as cute as they are are suffering so early in their world and they should have NEVER been born!

The one pregnant queen I was trying to keep until her kittens were born, but I had to return her as the owners insisted they wanted their kids to witness “the miracle of birth” is now back upstairs. She had 11 kittens of which 7 have died! 🙁 The owner called this morning in tears, the 5th kitten had died and several of the others had “swollen heads.” She insisted I tell her why the kittens had died and what was wrong with the other ones, but I just told her that I wasn’t a vet and I couldn’t see the kittens. Even if I could, it is quite possible the cause of death would still be a mystery.

She was freaking out a bit and wanted me to come and get and the kittens, but I told her she needed to bring them to me and I would do what I could. So she did.

The two white babies are the worst. One little boy is so lethargic, I have been keeping vigil all night. I put a warm compress to his swollen eye and within seconds, the pus pocket broke and the dam opened. It was pretty nasty even for a seasoned rescuer. The eyes seem to crust over and swell about 20 minutes after their treatment so it has been a long night.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that the queen only has 6 viable nipples and she lacks the body weight to keep all 11 warm. I just hope the rest make it.

Since I have been able to find time to blog. The playpen kitties all went to the same loving home, and I couldn’t be more thrilled! The woman lives alone and recently lost her 16 year old to cancer. She only wanted one kitten initially, but when she and her friends came here to see the cats and kittens, she fell in love with all three of them. She took them home and I have had regular updates about their progress. I was calling them Emerson, Lake and Palmer, but she has renamed them. I guess she isn’t a rock fan! But thankfully, she is a kitten fan and the kittens are thriving under her love and attention.

I have a new addition which is partly why I haven’t had time to write. He is aptly named Lazarus because he has come back from the dead several times. He is a small orange boy, who is loaded with ringworm and he has what my vet calls sympathtic overload. Basically, if he overeats- he collapses. When I first found him, he was by all appearances dead- but warming towels a vigourous rubdown and some espresso brought him back. Then after a few days of being here in our home, his appetite became voracious. He polished off two full bottles then stumbled over to the corner, his rear legs collapsed and he fell into a heap! I rushed over picked him up, warmed him next to my heart, gave him some Karo syrup, rubbed him all over (so much for the ringworm threat) and then called a fellow rescuer who suggested that I give him some benedryl which I did. About ten minutes later, he was bright and alert- and I was mighty confused. The next day, we visited the vet who did some testing and determined he had sympathetic overload which is a neurological problem.

Laz graduated off the bottle just the other day and is now eating a homemade gruel that also has benebac in it and he is doing just fine. He still lights up like a Christmas tree when the black light is shone on him, the ringworm is on his face, paws, tail, neck, back and testicles- poor kitty. Mike said we don’t need a Christmas tree this year as long as Laz glows in the dark!

We alos had a new puppy arrive and my ever-loving only German Shepherd dogs husband, flipped for this tiny pocket pet! Minute is part silky terrier, border terrier and chihuahua (sorry I can’t spell right now) and she loved Mike from the get-go. She was smaller than Laz but she would snuggle in on MIke’s chest and bury her head in his beard and she was great comfort to him. But we are a farm family and her running under Racer’s feet and showing no fear for the tractor when it was running showed both of us that even though we loved her- she was more than likely going to get killed if she stayed here. She now has a wonderful home with a lovely young lady who carries her everywhere in her purse. I never thought I would have a dog that you had to put sweaters on- but she was a puppy mill rescue and she just didn’t have adequate body weight. She would follow me out the backyard and when she got into the tall grass, she would just shake from the cold.

I’ve also been trapping a colony of ferals. There were *supposed* to have been forty in this colony, but I believe the numbers were exaggerated. Managed to trap 12 with five already ear-tipped- but if there are thirty cats in this area, there was little evidence of those numbers.

Mike is doing better- they finally decided his wound can close and although he still can’t walk across the room without experiencing shortness of breath, he is finally able to get his shoe on for the first time in four months!

They cut my hours back at work with apologies, but the store is losing business due to the economic state that is presently gripping the nation. I generally now only work the weekends and nothing else. Everyone is scared and most are struggling to make ends meet. I find for the first time feeling regretful that so many cats occupy our home- but their needs come first.

I have found a home for Mercedes and Madison. Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, they will leave next week. Now I am exhausted and tomorrow (today) is going to be a long one. We have to drive over 35 miles to take the trapped kitties in to be fixed. Time to say Goodnight now————