Lots of special needs right now...

  What's the best thing you can do to help a rescuer or foster parent? Come over to their house for a few hours and offer to help. I've had friends coming over to help bottle feed kittens and play with cats so they don't feel neglected. It's amazing. If you want a gold star, offer to scoop litterboxes/walk dogs or wash towels that have been soiled. But really, just playing with kittens and cats, or helping with the care of orphans, means so much. And talking to the rescuer. I feel so much saner after hanging out with a human for a little while as opposed to being alone, taking care of all the cats' special needs all day.

That being said, all my wonderful friends who have dropped in to help are making me feel like my house has officially become a shelter! Ha!

Here's some of the special needs right now:

There are 3 kittens who are being bottle fed. One, the runt, is currently getting formula when she actually drinks from the bottle, and weight-gaining gruel mixed with formula fed to her via a syringe when she refuses. I’m also giving them subq fluids (the vet gave me saline and a bunch of needles) and daily medicine. I actually have to drop off a poop sample today so the vet can see if there’s anything more to treat for, but I really just think it’s because she’s the runt. She might not make it, even with all this work. She weighs 8 ounces and her siblings weigh 10 and 11 ounces.

Then there’s one older kitten (Anne Bonny, named after the pirate because she only has one eye) whose cold is so bad, she can’t smell anything. I keep on having to clean out her nose with a bulb syringe and crack off the nasty crust. I put her in a room with a heater and humidifier to help her breath better. Since she can’t smell, she hasn’t been eating much, so I’m syringe feeding her, too. And giving her subq fluid to prevent dehydration.

Then there’s one guy (Big Papa) we got this weekend who is so upset at being abandoned, he’s barely eating. I might have syringe feed him, too. But I’m trying the smelliest, cheapest food possible and heating it up in the microwave to make it more aromatic today. We’ll see how that goes, first.

At least Mara’s eyes are doing better. They’re a beautiful shade of blue, not red! Antibiotics are the best.