Finally, all the kittens have transitioned off of the bottle and are now eating solid foods. They seem to prefer ProPlan Kitten food by Purina. We have four cans left and not enough in the Kitty to get anymore right now. I am crushing down the kitten chow so they don’t choke on it and giving them the dry food as well as a dish of KMR on the side. For some reason when I mix the KMR and the dry food together, they won’t touch it. Minnie seems to have the most attachment to the bottle. When I go in there, she will promptly climb up my leg, snuggle down in my arms and suckle my arm as if to say “Hey Mom, where is my bottle?”

They are doing well. Aurora is like the energizer bunny though- as I said before. She just never stops. All three of them are love-bunnies each with their own unique purrsonality.

I have to keep putting them out in the main enclosure so when the contractors come in- I have done a major clean of the bedroom (removing litter boxes, condos, kitten toys, water and food bowls. It’s getting to be where I have it down to a system now as long as I get 24 hrs notice someone is coming by, I can be prepared. It’s the ones who just drop by that irk me.

The kittens seem to a bit scared of the big enclosure. I’m sure the barking, yapping dog next door doesn’t help, nor does the occasional visits from curious outside kitties wanting to see the newcomers. I don’t keep them out there very long- and Aurora has become quite adept in finding lots of hidey holes to dig in to. She scared me the other day, it took me four hours to find her! She had gotten back between the pile of litter bags and fell asleep in her new dark cave. I had to move over 20 bags of litter to find her. Silly girl, giving mom a heart attack!

I just wanted to check in and let you know that the kittens are doing well. We had a bit of a scare with Aurora a few weeks ago, her back legs were collapsing underneath her periodically. At first, I thought it might be kitty play, but it got worse so the vets thought it might be FIP. That’s such a scary thing to be told with a young kitten, because there is no true test for it, and there is no cure. Her lifeline was shortened to about 16 weeks.

In the past, this disease has been diagnosed with other kittens who have been here-and turned out to be incorrect, so I wanted to just wait before just putting her down. This was the first time that dry FIP was in the picture- usually it would be the wet where there would be pockets of fluid forming in the chest and abdomen. This time, that was not the case.

There is an amazing invention out that you can now order through Amazon called a Pet Therapy Pet Loop. Initially it was designed for vets to use in case of inflammation and other issues that arise in dogs and cats. I have one of those, so I decided to use it and by golly- it worked! I would just turn it on, lay it on her rear legs and because she wasn’t able to walk properly, she did manage to stay still long enough to have this done. Normally, this kitten is a whirling dervish. She never stops. After three treatments, her legs started working again and I guess she is trying to catch up for lost time, because I swear, this baby never sleeps! She is just on the other two all the time- or running non-stop throughout the room. It’s a joy to see.

There are going to be major changes here soon. My house is going to be repaired and trust me, there are a lot of repairs to make. I qualified for a special government program and I am getting a new roof, new windows, doors, the flooring that I ripped up after our flood will now be replaced, stairs repaired, electrical finished. All the stuff that Mike left unfinished during our initial remodel will be done. We had every intention and the means behind it to turn this into a nice place. House was built in 1943, but then he got sick, and then he got sicker and all good intentions went down the drain.

The loan is at 0% interest no penalties and doesn’t come due until either I sell the house or I pass away. My rafters in the bedroom look like toothpicks due to the dry rot. (The initial roof put on 10 years ago, was done incorrectly and the roof has been sweating ever since and the sweat moving slowly) Wasn’t discovered until the 5 day snow storm (not normal for Oregon) and my roof started leaking like a sieve in the bedroom. I pulled down the ceiling tiles and was dismayed to see what was above me.

I’ve had contractors coming, electricians and roofers stopping by, it’s been nuts, but I am so excited because this house is badly in need of repair. I have to keep moving the kittens out of the bedroom so they don’t get stepped on- they love exploring the main cat enclosure- but are very glad to get back “home” and snuggle down with each other.

Yesterday was a rough day for me. It was a year ago yesterday that I signed the consent for the “routine procedure” that ultimately cost Mike his life. I was having such a bad time of it, I called my youngest stepson and was talking with him about it. He listened to me blubber, then he said gently “Mary Anne, I think you are being too hard on yourself. It’s not your fault that Dad died. That guilt does not deserve to be on your shoulders.” I thought about it and he is right. I did what the doctors told me was the “right” thing to do- but the right thing went so wrong and that isn’t on me. it’s on them.