The Orphan Kittens - Almost 90 Days Old

Readers who accessed via FB the blog post of April 27, 2014, entitled Four Little Kittens, know my sister mentioned that the very day the blog was to be posted at midnight, Peaches, the mama cat, disappeared. I plan the blog postings in advance due to devoting the bulk of our time to caring for Dad. As a result, I felt it necessary to post about the kittens and the storm even though our hearts were heavy over the loss of Peaches. Some of this blog's readers have inquired about the orphan kittens so I decided this week to give an update on them.

Update on the Orphan Kittens

            Peaches had her first litter of kittens on April 9. On April 19, she did not come for her morning feeding. Later that day, we found her kittens, but she was never seen again. That left us with four kittens who needed to be bottle-fed. Thankfully, Rick and Barbara Rice were coming to see Dad and called to see if we needed anything. We were so grateful for the nursing bottles and kitten formula they brought to us. The smallest one needed to be fed every two hours. They slept in a large box until Angie loaned us her roomy cat container for transporting the two Savannah cats that she and Ben have. This was an extremely demanding time for us, but Shari, one of Dad's nurses who had previously been a vet tech, gave us advice and encouragement.
           One of the bobtailed kittens died when it was a month old. We were left with two healthy kittens and the smallest one. On Mother’s Day, May 11, Ben constructed an enclosure so we could get them outside. The kittens really enjoyed the freedom that this enclosure gave them.

The Enclosure That Ben Built.

Bob

    

Tailer

            Mother doctored and pampered the smallest kitten, but it died on May 27. We were left with two thriving kittens. The bobtailed cat, which was the largest, was named Big Shot Bob. We have shortened his name to just Bob. Angie named the smaller of the two – Tailer – since he had a tail.

            Then one Tuesday night when Angie was staying to assist Dad, Tailer got sick. Angie had Dr. Reavis on the phone by 8:30 a.m. the next morning and was headed with Bob and Tailer to Pawnee to the Territory Animal Clinic. He prescribed a round of medication for both of them. Tailer never had another episode. They both seem healthy.

Bob loves the food bowl.

Wrestling - Favorite Pastime

           Bob and Tailer love to wrestle. It can be Greco-Roman or WWF. It doesn’t matter to them. Often smaller Tailer instigates it. Bob always is ready to participate in a tussle.

Tailer pausing before kicking his foil ball.

         They are weaned and on a more manageable feeding schedule. After their evening feeding, they use Mother’s step stool as a climbing post. One of their favorite playthings is a foil ball that Mother made from recycled aluminum foil. Tailer is quite good with the foil ball. He may be ready to try out for the U.S. soccer team.

                   This is a new adventure for us. We are giving them quite a bit of freedom during the daytime. Mother says it's a lot like allowing your inexperienced, young driver to go out on her own. So far, it's working out ok, but more than once we've commented to each other about the inestimable value of a mama cat.

Tuckered Out!