Silvermist is a little white Angora kitten with chocolate point markings. She is beautiful and has had a hard life so far. She was found alone in a local state forest at about 4 weeks of age. She has always had trouble with eating and came home with me to learn how to eat solid food and gain weight. At first I was feeding her with a medicine syringe while she learned to eat the wet cat food.
She never really was all that interested in eating and pretty much just laid around and slept. She did not play or run around like the other kittens I have had. She mostly wanted to sit on my roommate's chest and sleep. And while watching a little tiny white kitten sleep on the chest of a big tough burly guy is amusing to see, it was not quite normal. Being less active is normal for her breed, but she seemed more worn out than just relaxed.
She was one pound four ounces when I brought her home and I managed to get her up to 1 pound 9 ounces before she started losing weight for no known reason. This continued for a few days even though I resumed force feeding her. When she got down to 1 pound 2 ounces, I brought her back to the shelter for help. They decided to keep her to give her fluids twice a day and treat her for worms in the hopes that this would make her feel better.
After a few days, she was doing a little better and since she was craving attention, she came back home with me with medicine and instructions to watch her carefully. Well after only a day or two, it was obvious to me that she needed to go back to see the vet. She was trying to eat, but she was fighting off whatever worms she was dealing with and now she was showing signs of an eye infection and upper respiratory infection. I brought her right in because I was really concerned about her well being.
The shelter vets, who are always incredibly busy doing spay and neuter surgeries, fit her into their schedules to check her out just like they did when the babies were not doing well. The vet and the staff were just as concerned about her as I was and decided she better stay with them again for more fluids and they would continue the medication and force feeding that I was doing at home. At that point it was really a waiting game to see if Silvermist was strong enough to fight off all the problems she was dealing with. And she really needed to eat to get strong enough to survive.
Since I was so worried about her, I came in most every day that week and volunteered in the shelter. That allowed me to help out the shelter when they were short on volunteers and I got to check on Silvermist multiple times throughout the day. After a day or so the staff and I noticed that Silvermist perked up when I sat near her cage and talked to her. Eventually she even started to eat anytime I sat there and petted her. Apparently, she is a social eater and only likes to eat when "mom" is around. So, I spent every day there sitting by her cage for a few minutes as often as I could. It might have been a little weird looking, but if that is what she needed to get well, then that is what she would get. And the staff fully agreed and was wonderful about just walking around me without complaint while I was sitting in the doorway of their busy cat holding room.
Silvermist actually got well enough to come home with me again on Tuesday. I was initially concerned because she had not done well last time she came home and I was afraid that she was too timid to eat with the other cats. But, I am glad to say, she has done fine. For the first time since she came into the shelter and my home over a month ago, she is playing and chasing toys. She comes running when I open the can of cat food just like the other cats and runs away when she sees me with the medicine bottles. It is wonderful. She is still sick and has a way to go before she can be adopted, but she is on the mend finally.
And she has develop quite a few fans at the shelter. The staff and volunteers that got to know her while she was there were thrilled to hear that she is doing well. And the vet that has been watching her was also thrilled. That is what amazes me about the vets and staff at the shelter. They truly care about each and every one of the animals that comes through their doors. Of course, I am thrilled that Silvermist is doing well. She has been in my house for a while and I am quite attatched to her. But everyone at the shelter was just as thrilled as my family to hear that she wants to play and act like a normal kitten.
I have also really enjoyed the time I have spent volunteering in the shelter. I have learned a lot and gained a better understanding of the joys and challenges of shelter life. I really encourage anyone that loves animals to seek out your local shelter or rescue group and sign up to donate some of your time as a volunteer. You will not regret it.
9/27/09
Where are we now?
Sorry to have been away so long. Between caring for my sick foster kitties and volunteering in the shelter, I have not had the time to post. So here is an update on how everything and everyone is doing:
Walk for Animals - This went great! It was a beautiful day and there were tons of people and dogs there to enjoy it. Although having to get up at 6:30 to drive about an hour to get to the event at 8AM for set-up was not my favorite thing since I am so not a morning person, it was worth it. Everything went smoothly and the shelter was able to raise almost $64,000 to help all the wonderful animals in our care.
Jordan and Jack - Have both finished with their socialization and returned to the shelter for their neuter surgeries. The good news is that both of them were adopted the same day that they moved on to the adoption floor and are now happily in their forever homes!
Jewel and Midnight - these are two kittens that I took into foster since the last time I posted. Jewel is a little gray and white cutie and Midnight (as you can probably guess) is all black. They were basically waiting in a cage at the shelter until they could be spayed. Jewel was a little too light and Midnight was just not on the schedule until the end of the week. Since cage space is so tight, I offered to take them home and let them stay with me until their surgery dates. Both have been spayed by this time. Midnight was adopted right away. Jewel also has someone who is interested in adopting her, but after a day in the shelter, she started showing signs of an upper respiratory infection and so she needs medicine before she can go home. I saw her in the isolation room today and offered to take her back home until she is well. So she will stay with me a little longer and then go back to the shelter for adoption.
The Babies - a.k.a Simon, Tink, Sophie and Jaz. They are not really babies anymore. They are actually close to 8 weeks old which is normally the time they would go back to the shelter for adoption. However, Simon and Tink have been fighting pneumonia this whole time and Sophie and Jaz have been recovering from upper respiratory infections so they are not healthy enough or big enough to go up for adoption yet. Thankfully, they all seem to have gotten through the worst of their health problems and just need a little more time to get completely well. And since they were from a larger litter, they also need to gain more weight.
Christopher - He is also a new foster that came home with me to recover from an upper respiratory infection. Since all my other fosters have them, it is safe for him to be with me and I certainly know how to take care of a kitten with this condition. It is just much nicer for him to recover in a home with other kittens rather than stay in the shelter in a cage by himself so he does not give his cold to the other kittens.
And since this post is getting rather long, I will do another post to update you on Silvermist, my other foster that I have not talked about here. And I promise that I will be back soon with photos of all the new arrivals since we finally have a new digital camera. Now, I just have to figure out how to get the photos off the new camera and onto the computer. :)
Walk for Animals - This went great! It was a beautiful day and there were tons of people and dogs there to enjoy it. Although having to get up at 6:30 to drive about an hour to get to the event at 8AM for set-up was not my favorite thing since I am so not a morning person, it was worth it. Everything went smoothly and the shelter was able to raise almost $64,000 to help all the wonderful animals in our care.
Jordan and Jack - Have both finished with their socialization and returned to the shelter for their neuter surgeries. The good news is that both of them were adopted the same day that they moved on to the adoption floor and are now happily in their forever homes!
Jewel and Midnight - these are two kittens that I took into foster since the last time I posted. Jewel is a little gray and white cutie and Midnight (as you can probably guess) is all black. They were basically waiting in a cage at the shelter until they could be spayed. Jewel was a little too light and Midnight was just not on the schedule until the end of the week. Since cage space is so tight, I offered to take them home and let them stay with me until their surgery dates. Both have been spayed by this time. Midnight was adopted right away. Jewel also has someone who is interested in adopting her, but after a day in the shelter, she started showing signs of an upper respiratory infection and so she needs medicine before she can go home. I saw her in the isolation room today and offered to take her back home until she is well. So she will stay with me a little longer and then go back to the shelter for adoption.
The Babies - a.k.a Simon, Tink, Sophie and Jaz. They are not really babies anymore. They are actually close to 8 weeks old which is normally the time they would go back to the shelter for adoption. However, Simon and Tink have been fighting pneumonia this whole time and Sophie and Jaz have been recovering from upper respiratory infections so they are not healthy enough or big enough to go up for adoption yet. Thankfully, they all seem to have gotten through the worst of their health problems and just need a little more time to get completely well. And since they were from a larger litter, they also need to gain more weight.
Christopher - He is also a new foster that came home with me to recover from an upper respiratory infection. Since all my other fosters have them, it is safe for him to be with me and I certainly know how to take care of a kitten with this condition. It is just much nicer for him to recover in a home with other kittens rather than stay in the shelter in a cage by himself so he does not give his cold to the other kittens.
And since this post is getting rather long, I will do another post to update you on Silvermist, my other foster that I have not talked about here. And I promise that I will be back soon with photos of all the new arrivals since we finally have a new digital camera. Now, I just have to figure out how to get the photos off the new camera and onto the computer. :)
9/7/09
Sneezing, Wheezing and Fundraising
I just wanted to give an update on how things are with my fosters. The majority of them have been sick and I have been trying to raise funds for the shelter's charity walk so I have not had much time to post here.
Jordan and Jack are my 9-10 week old former feral fosters. Their socialization has come along pretty well. I think I will be able to bring Jack in this week to be neutered. They will see how he does with them. If he stays social, they will put him up for adoption. If he acts feral with them, he will come back home to stay with me for a little longer. I think he will be fine though. Jordan is a little bit behind his brother in socialization because he has a cold and I have to give him medication. He will not be truly ready for adoption until he gets over the cold and learns that humans do not always approach you to stick medicine in your mouth.
Silvermist is now about 7 weeks old but is not gaining any more weight. I am currently force feeding her with a medicine syringe to get her to put on some weight. She does not appear to have any health issues so we do not know why she is not interested in eating on her own. It will just be a wait and see sort of thing. Hopefully she will put on some weight and begin eating more soon.
The babies are about 5 weeks old now. I started out with 3 of them, went to 4 and am now down to 2. How does that work, you ask? They were a litter of 5 that needed to be syringe fed until they learned to eat solid food. This is a lot of work, so the shelter sent 3 home with me and 2 home with another foster family. After about a week, the other foster family lost one of their two kittens. She just faded away. Since the remaining kitten was now all alone, she came home with me. So then I had Simon, Tink, Sophie and Jaz. Well Simon started getting sick and the medicine was not helping him. On Friday, the vet said that he had pneumonia and had to stay at the shelter because he needs daily injections to try and get over the pneumonia. On Sunday when I checked on the remaining three, Tink was breathing badly like Simon had, so I brought her in. She also had to stay at the shelter for the same treatment. Now I just have Jaz and Sophie and I am really hoping that they do not end up with symptoms soon too. It could just be bad luck or there could have been something wrong with this whole litter when it was born. We just do not know.
On top of all this I am try to raise money for the shelter's charity walk because without donations they can not give babies like this such extensive medical care and would have to think about putting them to sleep for the expense rather than just considering the animals quality of life. I am not doing so great so far with fundraising because my disabilities make it tough to get out of the house all that much to try and find people to ask. I have only raised $70 so far and the walk is on the 13th. But every little bit helps and if I had to pick between succeeding in my fundraising efforts and succeeding in getting all my current fosters healthy and adopted, well then there is no contests. The fosters win every time. :o)
To donate to my fundraising efforts, click here. I will update on the babies conditions as I have time and/or information.
Jordan and Jack are my 9-10 week old former feral fosters. Their socialization has come along pretty well. I think I will be able to bring Jack in this week to be neutered. They will see how he does with them. If he stays social, they will put him up for adoption. If he acts feral with them, he will come back home to stay with me for a little longer. I think he will be fine though. Jordan is a little bit behind his brother in socialization because he has a cold and I have to give him medication. He will not be truly ready for adoption until he gets over the cold and learns that humans do not always approach you to stick medicine in your mouth.
Silvermist is now about 7 weeks old but is not gaining any more weight. I am currently force feeding her with a medicine syringe to get her to put on some weight. She does not appear to have any health issues so we do not know why she is not interested in eating on her own. It will just be a wait and see sort of thing. Hopefully she will put on some weight and begin eating more soon.
The babies are about 5 weeks old now. I started out with 3 of them, went to 4 and am now down to 2. How does that work, you ask? They were a litter of 5 that needed to be syringe fed until they learned to eat solid food. This is a lot of work, so the shelter sent 3 home with me and 2 home with another foster family. After about a week, the other foster family lost one of their two kittens. She just faded away. Since the remaining kitten was now all alone, she came home with me. So then I had Simon, Tink, Sophie and Jaz. Well Simon started getting sick and the medicine was not helping him. On Friday, the vet said that he had pneumonia and had to stay at the shelter because he needs daily injections to try and get over the pneumonia. On Sunday when I checked on the remaining three, Tink was breathing badly like Simon had, so I brought her in. She also had to stay at the shelter for the same treatment. Now I just have Jaz and Sophie and I am really hoping that they do not end up with symptoms soon too. It could just be bad luck or there could have been something wrong with this whole litter when it was born. We just do not know.
On top of all this I am try to raise money for the shelter's charity walk because without donations they can not give babies like this such extensive medical care and would have to think about putting them to sleep for the expense rather than just considering the animals quality of life. I am not doing so great so far with fundraising because my disabilities make it tough to get out of the house all that much to try and find people to ask. I have only raised $70 so far and the walk is on the 13th. But every little bit helps and if I had to pick between succeeding in my fundraising efforts and succeeding in getting all my current fosters healthy and adopted, well then there is no contests. The fosters win every time. :o)
To donate to my fundraising efforts, click here. I will update on the babies conditions as I have time and/or information.
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