Kittens, kittens, kittens...

Now that the initial rush of getting the kittens settled in is over, I can tell the extended story of what happened last night, and what's happening with these little fuzzballs.

First... the white and orange one is a little boy. He weighs 1 pound, 5 oz. The white and black (dark brown?) one is a little girl. She weighs 1 pound, 3 oz. The vet estimated them at 8 weeks old. Neither has been named yet. That's one of the unexpected side projects for the weekend. Since it's easy to tell them apart-- "little guy" and "little girl" are the identifiers right now.

Anyway... the story of last night...

We were nearly home last night, having just pulled off of U.S. Highway 1 to turn on the side street that joins to our street. I look out of the left side window, and see a momma cat walking with kittens-- really small kittens. They're less than a block from a major highway, at night, roaming free. Something's not quite right here.

So we quickly pull over, and manage to scoop them up, figuring at first that maybe a neighbor's cat has had kittens, and we needed to find out who they belong to. Erich notices before he even catches the first one that something's wrong with their eyes. Both of them have very swollen eyes-- the third eyelid is very visible, and they're extremely goofy. I immediately presume it's conjunctivitis, if not something worse. These cats definitely aren't under direct care.

We knock on a door, and a woman answers. They're not hers-- she's allergic. But she says that she's seen them being fed by a woman that lived across the street. We decide to go over there to check, but because the kittens are wriggling, we put them in the far back hatch of my Jeep first to keep them contained. No response at the door. We then try to get Momma Cat, who quickly runs away into the darkness (my brain is still wrestling with this).

At this point, we decide to go home, grab a carrier to contain them, and call a vet to get them checked. We make sure to immediately wash our hands when we get home, since our three guys are INSANELY curious as to what's in the carrier on the table. Because it's after 8, the vets near us are closed, but there's an overnight emergency clinic near T.F. Green Airport that's open. We get an appointment for them within the hour, and head on over there.

They're weighed and have their temps taken (one resists the joy of the thermometer. The other really doesn't). It's quickly obvious under the first examining light we've had that they are flea-ridden. (and at this point, I'm barely breathing because I'm terrified they're going to have something dreadfully wrong and will have to be put down).

The vet comes in and gives each a good check-up. Both have cold-like viral infections, which has made all of the sinus membranes swollen, and caused the secondary eye conjunctivitis. Gums look good. Lungs sound clear. He gave them a shot of antibiotics and a cat version of ibuprofen to help with the swelling and bacteria infection, but said the viral infection will have to run its course- but isn't something to worry about because it's just like a kennel cold. He didn't give them medicine for worms because of the other meds he gave them, but I know that deworming will be on the menu at their next vet visit in a couple weeks.

He sends us home with a ten day treatment of antibiotics for them, seven days of eye ointment, and a packet of Frontline to split between them, and recommends that we buy some soft kitten food or baby food in case they have trouble with kibble. As we head out from the vet, it's now nearly 9:30. We run to the grocery store to get basic emergency supplies-- a small bag of kitten kibble, a few packets of kitten soft food, and a couple cans of baby food (meat, of course), plus some extra cat litter (because we weren't sure on our supply). And I point out that we probably should get them their own cat bed that doesn't smell like the other cats. The grocery store didn't have any good ones, but Kmart was across the parking lot. We just got in and out of there before it closed with a good poofy bed for them.

Then we head home, and prepare the sun room for kittens. It's the only room guaranteed to lock well and give them both the protection from the other cats that they need right now, but also the space to move around in once they're up for it. We get the futon out of there because of the fleas (and the fact that someone's going to be sleeping on it Saturday night). We move any open packing boxes out of there, and set up the tiny cat litter pan that we still had from Gus kittening, plus the little food bowls and the cat bed.

Then we get them each out of the carrier and put them in the catbox (which doesn't impress them). We put the Frontline between each of their shoulder blades, and I try to wipe off their eyes with a tissue (which fails... I'll be soaking a washcloth tonight for them). The food goes over very, very well-- they start scarfing it down, which is good. They're willing to eat. We make sure everything's set, and then let them be for the night, leaving a couple of rattle balls for them to play with if they're in the mood.

This morning, Erich went down to start the meds for them. They were up and romping around with each other like normal kittens. They still look ragged and puffy, but we're hoping that we can give them a washcloth bath tonight after we do a better run at PetCo for supplies tonight (including Frontline for our three other cats) that will help. The vet had said that the meds last night should help with the eyes pretty quickly.

We'll be keeping them isolated for at least a couple weeks at this point-- until the infection is gone. A lot depends on the flea issue, too.

But they're doing fine and already acting like normal kittens. :)

And we're done collecting cats. We now are at a 2.5 cats per human ratio. But this time, we broke our cycle -- we got two. So when they're two (like Gus is now), they'll be aging with a playmate the same age, and won't be pissing off the older cats, who are no longer interested in playing so heavily.

I'm amused, however, that every single one of our cats is a Leo. Completely by chance.

I'm a Capricorn surrounded by 6 Leos in my own house.

I am so doomed.

;)