This morning, Aurora’s eye completely opened and as I was putting ointment inside, I saw this dark spot on her inner eyelid. Turns out there was a dead flea in her eye! 🙁 The cloudiness had turned into some sort of lump in the middle of her eye, so back she went to the vet for another look-see. Also her rectum was starting to prolapse (like she needs another issue). Turns out she has an ulcer in her one eye, so they gave me different eye ointment and also changed her diet to help with her pooping issues. Poor kitty, she can’t seem to catch a break. She went immediately upon returning home, to “Ned’s” waiting claws and promptly fell asleep. Let’s hope the next visit in a week for a re-check will come with better news. She did test negative for the combo-test so that was good to hear.

Aurora has been to the vet and she exhausted herself throughout the visit. She found refuge with “Ned” the Lobster and also on the chest of a kindly stranger as we were checking out. She has major issues with her eyes including cloudiness to her lens of her eye that keeps swelling shut. We have special meds to give her, a special diet to keep her on because of the Giardia and keep giving her fluids when she becomes dehydrated. I need to buy a pet fountain tomorrow, mine are all dead in the water (no pun intended)

Molly was a total surprise. We were able to handle her without sedation! She got a bit grumpy when her hair was being plucked out of the wounds. She was not bitten by an animal- she had foxtails that had somehow gotten embedded in her fur and worked their way down into her skin and into her body. I am to keep her on the antibiotic and put some antibiotic ointment into the wounds twice a day. That’s going to be quite the challenge! I think she was just so painful that she accepted everything that was done to her without turning into the cat who guards the gates of Hell. LOL I was quite relieved and proud of her.

Aurora is responding to her TLC treatment, the warming fluids, the mashed baked chicken livers to help her anemia and the meds. Here are some photos of her talent (interior decorating). At first I thought she was only playing, but I think she was tired of this cat bed collapsing on her, so she made it into a couch! LOL And people say cats are dumb!

I hope these photos work- the new upgrade on this blog has me puzzled as to how to do this anymore. Sorry about the sideways view- just pretend you just had a glass of wine and the world looks tipsy right now!

This morning, I discovered that sweet Molly has been injured. I think the injury is to her right front leg, but she is also favoring her left leg and I am not sure. I can’t get close to her. She turned into a hissing, spitting, biting, clawing monster when I tried to pick her up. I had to get my cat net to catch her. I put her in the patio cage and she will go with me in the morning to the vet when I take Aurora in.

She is not my vet’s favorite patient. He calls her vicious and when she is injured, that label fits her perfectly. I will have to pull food from her at 9:00 tonight because they will have to fully sedate her in order to find out what happened to her.

I am asking if you have a few dollars lying around collecting dust, would you send them this way? This visit is going to be costly because they will need to use gas first to get her quiet before fully putting her out. Right now The Kitty has $16.00 in it and this visit is likely to be a few hundred before they are done. I do see several abscesses forming right underneath both of her legs- so whatever got her was big and merciless. I’m just glad she survived the attack and hope that when tomorrow morning arrives, she doesn’t take anything out on the vet, on me, or the vet techs.

We received this “lil mouse” yesterday. Apparently, she was found a week ago by a well-intentioned woman in bushes near the road. The woman took her home, but was clueless about how bad off this kitten really was and just fed her. No attempt to remove the hundred of fleas on her, no attempt to take her to the vet to find out why she was so emaciated. I got the call and went to help and ended up with yet another kitten who was desperate for help.

We are calling her Aurora- she has a protracted rectum- which I worked on gently yesterday and she is now able to pass watery stool. She was given fluids throughout the night, they were warming fluids because her temp was 94.2 F. It is now 100 F.

Yesterday, I decided to turn half of the bedroom over to the babies. They were currently inside a kiddie pool in the daytime- of course there was no water inside! Just lots of comfy blankets, stuffies and toys. But they were trying to jump out over the side, so I kitty-proofed part of the bedroom and turned them loose.

They will still be separated at night because of suckling issues, but I think in the daytime with all the added space- suckling won’t be much of an issue. I will keep a sharp eye out though just in case.

Enjoy these photos of their first moments of freedom:

Yesterday, I had to separate the two babies because of suckling issues. I hated to do it, because they need each other’s company for the comfort alone, but Mini developed another small abscess on her rear, and I didn’t know why.

I took them out of the carrier and put them into an open space so I could just watch them. Although, they had just eaten, as soon as the lights went dim- 21 Toes started suckling on Mini. I didn’t want to just put them into individual carriers and isolate both of them, so I tore apart a large dog carrier and upended on side. I made a screened wooden frame to fit right in the middle and secured that with cable ties so it wouldn’t fall over on the babies.

21 Toes is in one side, and Mini the other, They can smell each other, see each other and they sleep sort of hugging the screen next to each other. Not an ideal situation for either one of them, but early suckling is quite dangerous for kittens.

21 Toes aka Presto- is a lot larger than her sister and a bit of a bully now that I can see them in the open and observe their behavior. I also felt bad because yesterday, I had to run out and do some errands and I got caught in an accident scene. I was waiting on the road for over an hour before being allowed through and when I finally got home, I had missed two feedings. They about took my fingers off when I fed them! LOL That’ll teach me.

Pigeon has adopted them (sort of) He will come in when they are squealing their discontent at being stimulated and gently lick their face and ears and neck to soothe them. Although part of me wonders if he is just tired of the high-pitched fits they present when they poop and it makes Pigeon’s ears hurt. Whatever the reason, I welcome the help anywhere I can get it.

This morning, when I went to feed, I could see the growth on her rear had gotten bigger! I took her to my vet and it was determined (after an x-ray) that it was NOT a hernia, but an abscess! TYG! It has been ruptured, drained and I am stimulating her every few hours and keeping the area clean. She will be on amoxy for two weeks just because of the area the wound is in. How she got an abscess there, is anyone’s guess- but I know she feels so much better and now, so do I.

Yesterday, at 3:00 p.m. Huckles slipped away to meet Jesus. His battle for normal breath ceased. His lungs, full of liquid and putting enormous pressure on his tiny heart became weightless as he left us and became one of the brightest stars in the night sky. He took my heart with him when he left. All the challenges he faced, we faced together but his body was tired and it was time. It was actually past time and the angels called to him and he answered. It was over in a flash- and he was gone.

As rescuers, we do all we can to tend to the wee ones when they fall into our care. Sometimes, our best efforts are in vain- sometimes, they do make it.

I asked one of my dear friends, why she thought God always seemed to bring the most difficult of challenges before me when it comes to these just-borns. She replied” “Because in other hands, they would die.”

“Well, some die with me.” I countered to which she said, “Yes, some do, but they die better.”

He takes with him, a large part of my heart and I know he has met Mike and Jeremy and been reunited with Parker but it doesn’t make the grief hurt less,

This morning, I took Mini Moo and 21 Toes into the vet for their first visit. I had concerns with both kittens. Mini Moo’s rear end just looked misshapen and odd and she screamed bloody murder and would try to bite me every time I stimulated her. I could see a growth on the right side of her rectum and I was careful not to touch the area not knowing what it might be. Turns out, this little one has a hernia there- so instead of touching her rectum now to get her to poop, I will stimulate the tummy and hope that works instead. When she is old enough, they will do surgery on her- but for cripes sake, her eyes aren’t even opened yet!

With 21 Toes- the vet could give no reason why his stool looks like bile and why it smells so bad. But I had to wait in the lobby long enough (they worked me in) so I did feed them and as luck would have it, 21 left a sample of what I was talking about that I could show the vet. So I will continue with pre and probiotic powder and the benebac and hope it resolves soon.

I am exhausted beyond belief and the grief of recent losses cripples me, but I have two wee ones who need everything I know and all I can do to come out healthy on the other end. So I will continue, to do all I can to make that happen.

Yesterday, Mike’s final wishes were carried out and his ashes were scattered at Hidden Lake, Alaska by the family. Apparently, Hidden Lake was closed due to the Kenai fire which has been burning for over a month now, but my stepdaughter-Annette is very much like her Dad and she found a way to get in touch with the firemen and got permission to do the event if she promised to leave immediately after. Although, it was a smoky time, it was accomplished and now the family is together and on another Alaskan Adventure. My heart felt such a great release when I received the phone call that Mike is at peace now. He always loved that place and after our first date, we would return there multiple times for great fishing adventures of our own.

Mini-Moo, Huckles and Presto are all going strong. Although I have had one vet tell me not to worry about Huck’s inability to poop on his own, and that kittens his age don’t poop without help- I know this is wrong. Both Mini and Presto are pooping in their carrier almost daily. But, we don’t have the funds right now for me to take Huck to Corvallis to the Cat Clinic to find out the real answer, so my prayer is that he will soon develop to be stronger when it comes to passing waste. Time will tell. He is active, he is playing with me now when I take him out and he is biting me when I stimulate him. In a week, this is going to be painful because his teeth are just now coming in. LOL But he is such a beautiful boy, getting more stripes on his back and legs and where the bird pecked him, he will probably always have a dark spot on his hip from the injury.

Kota keeps trying to mother all the kittens and last night when I was feeding, he came up and started licking Huck’s bum. All of a sudden, I am getting peed on in a major way. He may not be able to poop on his own yet, but man can he pees like a fire hose! I had already done the stimulation prior to feeding- but Kota decided that helping out might be a good thing. LOL

I brought in a kiddie pool yesterday and turned it into a kitty bed. Huck and the babies met for the first time and it went okay. I stayed close because I was unsure what Huck might do to these tiny ones, but he allowed them to climb all over him while he just laid there, looking up at me as if to say: “Really Mom is this necessary?” Kota kept watch on all three of them as I cleaned out cages and made their beds more comfy.

A local lady sent me a snugglepuppy for the babies. The company was out of snuggle kitties, so she opted for snuggle puppy. The heart, the heat the presence of this stuffie has calmed the babies down immensely between feedings.