Missing Mom

My roommate and I ended up feeding both kittens three times today. Domino was hungry and I decided to offer his brother some food too and he sucked it down like crazy so I do not think Mom is feeding him enough either. It is hard because we want them to eat from Mom as much as possible, but we do not want them to go hungry either.

When I fed them the second time Domino sounded like he was breathing heavily, like he was really congested so I took both of them in the bathroom and ran the shower for steam like the shelter suggested. He was still soundng a little loud when I fed them for the last time tonight and that concerns me. Of course, I do not know what a kitten's breathing is supposed to sound like, so who knows. I have asthma so I am always hyper-aware of breathing that sound labored.

We brought the kittens upstairs to feed them and bring them in the bathroom for steam and when I brought them back, I realized that Muffin (the mom) was missing! When I did foster orientation they warned me that it was common for kittens to get temporarily lost because they are so small, but leave it to me to lose the mom. I thought at first that she might have come looking for her kittens since I had taken them away from her, but after a few minutes of searching, I found her curled up on my bed.

It seems she did not care that I took the kittens. She just wanted to be with the people in the house. That is part of the problem with her. She wants to be with us more than she wants to take care of her kittens. She acts somewhat like a kitten herself even though she is two years old.

Hopefully, Domino's breathing will sound a little better tomorrow. I would like to avoid having to take him back to the shelter before Tuesday. They are scheduled to go in then for a vaccination. Of course, if he gets worse I will bring him in right away.

If anyone has any advice for me, I would be happy to hear it. Even if it is that I am doing everything all wrong. LOL.