31 July 2013

Update on Stormborn

kitten on skateboard, age when kittens start to play, newborn kitten
Kitten Come and Rock the Sure Shot

I almost promise you this won't turn into a kitten blog...almost. It's just - she wasn't planned, and then she fell out of the sky, and now my week has been revolving around her. First, thanks for all the cheers and support for Stormborn! Dragon Kitty had her first trip to the vet yesterday so here is how that went:

First, nothing sends a building full of animal lovers running fast than a newborn kitten. I'm still used to flocks of doctors and nurses in NICU being a very BAD thing so I had a moment of panic ::hyperventilate::  EVERYONE wanted to see...just because she was cute. Guess the Sex became the game: five out of five vets say girl.

The startling news is that she weighs only 8 ounces but is otherwise measuring at about four weeks old. Her teeth are significantly through, her canines are coming in, she walks with more control, and all those other older-on-the-spectrum things that they looked for. Their guess is that she wasn't fed much (if at all) until she was found on the 19th. Now her belly and body is having to adjust to receiving food on a regular basis.

I'm supposed to start her on solids (I never thought I'd have to shove wet food down a cat's throat but she hates it). She has some medicine and eye drops for conjunctivitis and after a few doses girl can SEE! Her eyes are still blue but already changing which is another sign of advanced age. I don't want to say she's successfully litter trained lest I jinx things, but.................

When she drinks from her bottle her ears flap and she looks like a bat.

Tristan is a gentle giant with her (but really wants her to play catch) and he keeps crawling into her carrier. So now it would seem I run a human kennel.

[caption id="attachment_1002" align="aligncenter" width="300"]toddler in cat carrier, kid in a cat box, other uses for pet carriers Kid Kennel Grand Opening[/caption]

4 comments :

  1. Great update! And T is a goof-and-a-half :D

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  2. I wonder what he'll think of next ;) Thanks, Erin!!!

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  3. Hi Stephanie!
    I foster kittens for my local animal shelter and have done the "bottle baby" newborn age only once. When we started giving solids, we mixed the kitten milk with wet food (super runny at first) and gave it It through a syringe. Our kittens took it better that way, because they could kind of "suck" on the syringe and we could slowly push a bit of it I to their mouths. Anyway, that's ,y unsolicited tip for you...good luck with this cutie kitten!
    ~meaghan

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  4. NO - thank YOU!!!! That is great advice! I tried doing the soak in goat milk/formula thing (that's where Lily was when I got her) and that went over better. She ate like 8 teeny kibbles. But I could take the leftovers and mash/mix with her next bottle! It's like she's SO not ready to part with that sucking thing...don't blame her. No mum.

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