It’s official: Kittenpalooza 2012 has come to Tabby’s Place. We now have not one, but two nurseries at the sanctuary.
The original (apartment) kitten room is our answer to a one-room schoolhouse, with kittens ranging from 10 weeks to 11 months of age all gathered together. Fortunately, this works remarkably well, as the older kittens (JJ, Sadie and Samantha), will cuddle with and even groom the little guys (Helix, Thorn, Blossom and Brian). You can see in the photo below that Sadie’s finding her inner mama and giving little Blossom a bath. And yes, we realize that at nearly a year old, JJ, Samantha, and Sadie aren’t really kittens any longer, but it’s hard to stop thinking of them that way!
The second nursery is our Intake room, currently hosting the likes of snow-white Wilbur; his hairy marmalade brother Harold and tortie sister Cora; Edamame’s babies, Lentil and Garbanzo; and “country kittens” Billie Rae, Jim Bob, Ellie Mae, Sallie Mae and Clara Mae.
The medical news is concentrated in the first nursery, where Blossom and Thorn’s woes continue to be…well, thorny. (Sorry.) Both remain astonishingly small, looking more like six-week-olds than three-month-olds. And the tummy troubles I mentioned last month have stuck around; Blossom’s braved a siege of enemas again this month, and she’s getting regular anti-constipation medicine as well. Our courageous little girl is quite a trooper for the frequent palpations and irritations, and she’s actually gaining weight slightly better than her brother. While Blossom’s nearly two pounds, Thorn is only 1.4 pounds at three months of age.
We remain concerned about Thorn’s “mental dullness” (our vet Dr. C’s words), as well. However, all our investigation has yielded no abnormal findings other than increased white blood cells.
Blossom and Thorn’s roomie Helix also had an infection this month, and had to be separated from his frail friends so as not to share his ookies. (His foster mom Karina was happy to take him back. :-)) Little Brian had a bit of an eye infection, but has since recovered…and been adopted. The rest of the kitten cavalcade wasn’t far behind – at this point, only Blossom, Thorn, and Helix have yet to find their forever homes.
Finally, a mama from another summer’s litter is finally finding her home. Gorgonzola, mom to last year’s “cheese litter,” is soon to go home to be a well-loved barn cat. Maybe she can offer a few words of encouragement to Mae Belle before she goes, as this kitten mama is still very unsure about people.
Kitten season was slow to arrive this year, but this month, we’ve had babies galore to adore! Thank you, as always, for supporting our little ones in their new, well-loved lives.