Happy Foster Kitten Friday! It sure has been a lamb kind of week and not just because these three little ones look like baby lambs, either. So what exactly is a lamb week? Read on to find out...
L=Laundry
Oh my, the laundry. While these babies aren't nearly as messy as they will be when they get a bit older and start on gruel they are still plenty messy. Their faces, bottoms, and should I mention the pee? On my clothes, on their bedding and blankets (thankfully I made a bunch of blankets when I did the no-sew pet blanket tutorial), the warming disk covers (another thankful moment since I made a bunch of those when I did that sewing tutorial). So much laundry. So many blankets.
A=Alarms
As the babies need to eat every two hours both day and night there is only one way to make sure it happens.
Alarms.
Instead of setting an entire 24 hours' worth of alarms I finally realized it made much more sense to use the timer. Hmm...am I waiting for bread to rise or am I raising kittens?! With me shutting it off when it’s time to feed and starting it again when they’ve finished I've touched my phone more in the last week than I have in the entire last year.
M=Mothering
Newborn orphaned kitties should be with their kitty cat mama for a reason. Mama feeds them, cleans them, licks them so they go potty (and then eats it), and keeps them in line. With no mama around, it's the foster parent's job to make it happen (minus the licking/eating part). I have them corralled in a plastic bin right in the bedroom. It's quiet there during the day and gives me easy access at night for feedings.
Did you know bottle babies aren't fed on their backs like human babies? On the tummy it is. I have a couple who like to be helpers...
and one who goes all spread eagle on me.
Then there is bathroom time. Baby kitties can't go on their own so they have to be stimulated by the foster parent every single time they are fed. No matter how hard you try - whether you use a tissue or wipe or soft cloth - you will inevitably wind up with a handful of pee. And many times you'll wind up with some poo somewhere. Which leads me to the next letter...
B=Butts
These poor little guys have had a bottom problem this week. As in something that should be coming out from there isn't. We've tried several things, including some warm water butt baths, but they needed to have even more of an intervention yesterday at Simply Cats. (Remember, Simply Cats is a no-kill feline shelter here in Boise and the only shelter I work with.) Did you know there was such a thing as a kitty enema? Well, my three little fellas could tell you all about it. And I could tell you how it's done because I came home with the equipment to give additional ones to them, if needed. Let's hope their systems take care of themselves and plumber Deb doesn't have to be called.
S=Strikingly Similar
Do you remember the song from Sesame Street, One of These Things?
One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?
Well, the song definitely does not apply to these babes. They ALL look like the others and with their umbilical cords now gone they have become impossible to identify. Seriously, these are three separate pictures of three different kittens. Yowza.
So what can we expect next week? Look at this little one's eyes.
I think we might just "see" something new!
