Running Kittens

It seems that Blossom is hyperthyroid which explains why she is thin, and loud. Medication may make her happier.

Blossom

The little ginger, Mango, died in the same way that his big brother Mandarin did: couldn't digest, had a fever, probably a virus and no antibodies from mum's milk. They were such a charming couple that it is hard to say goodbye.

But the other kittens are thriving. The four out the back will do anything to get out to play including leaping from their upper shelf to the ground as soon as their door is open a crack regardless of whose head gets bumped. Tim put one into a condo to eat by herself. As soon as she was done, she yelled and screeched to be put back with her boisterous brothers.

Melody's kittens are full of beans. When let out of the condo they fly in all directions, tails right over their backs just for the joy of running. Their mum is a friendly girl who is sitting on her tummy (/teats). She might just have had it with these kittens. And she hardly looks bigger than them.

Melody

Candace's lot has a special talent in spreading pooey paw prints over everything. When you add poor Candace's sneezy snot it makes for a condo that NEEDs cleaning.

Candace and kittens

 When I arrived, around 10am, Tim was accepting a cat who had been brought, on public transport in a cat carrier in one of those prams that joggers put their toddlers into, from Wollongong. The woman says that she will bring his sister tomorrow. We wondered if she walked from Chatswood station.

 Wollongong boy

 The cat has a microchip but there no names listed on the website. But he seems to have lived on the other side of the Princes Highway from his rescuer. Did they run across the highway and could not find their way back home or were they dumped on the highway?

I went to Narrabean markets this afternoon and there were heaps of volunteers at our stand and not many visitors. So it was decided that I should go to Safe Haven so that Tim could get to Narrabean early to pack up and schlepp back to East Roseville.

big ginger on Wednesday

The big ginger kitten, Mandarin died. And the little ginger kitten, Mango is off his food. So I spent the afternoon trying to coax him into eating/drinking in between avoiding spreading his germs to everybody else. So I fussed and fiddled to make things tidy.

TA DA:

I am tempted to make signs: sheets, blankets, towels, hand towels, cuddles, pillow slips, etc, etc. But I know that nobody else is as driven to create uniform piles of textiles as I am. So I will just promise myself another good tidy up in . . . .  2 weeks/2 months/2 years time.

As the normal dinner time passed Charlie got very restless and may well have ripped the door of his condo. So he came to join the "feed the kitten" party. He was more interested in eating the kitten food. At least he didn't eat the kitten.

Charlie and Mango

Tim eventually got back, we unloaded his car, shared the feeding of the cats and I left at 5:20pm. Tim needs some time off.

Sick ginger

Jack has been adopted, again. He hasn't come back, yet. Let us hope that his new owners follow Tim's advice this time.

The 6 Heinz kittens have gone to foster in Avalon because Tim can't manage 4 hourly feeds as well as everything else that he does. And Bron already has Mini Mama's four. . . . what is another 6 kittens!

Mandarin the bigger ginger kitten was not eating yesterday so Tim took him to Brookvale vet. He is very dehydrated and full of flu. He was put into Shivers' first condo where we can all keep an eye on him. His little brother, Mango was moved next door. After I fed everybody the pitiful grass that I gathered in the park, I gave him another comb through. More flea dirt came off him but no live fleas. And I washed his face as well as I could.

Mango

Milly wasn't interested in the dry, tough grass but happily posed for a photo.

Milly

 Blossom demanded seconds after I had fed everybody so I spent time with her and groomed a pile of hair from her. Her tail is thick but she doesn't like it to be brushed. While I stood there I could hear Bonnie purring and kneading the front of her condo. She sounds like she has asthma but it is probably only the flu. As soon as it can be confirmed that she doesn't haven any kittens inside her still, she will be put on the flu treatment. She is getting very friendly in the meantime.

Charlie

Talking of tails: Charlie's is a beauty. But he has something sticking to his bum. I offered to brush it off but was told NO. Always obey a big cat.

Alarms and excursions

House guests this week have left me feeling muddled. I thought I had taken socks with me to tennis but couldn't find them when I got there, borrowed a pair, went to put on my new (purple) tennis shoes and found the ones I had brought after all. They had fallen between the seat and the car door.

When I got to Safe Haven, I discovered that the camera battery is still being charged, at home. So I pulled out my phone and took lots of photos. Now I can't figure how to get the photos from the phone to the computer. Never mind, they are just photos of new kittens after all. (I may be able to add some later.)

When I arrived the former owner of Blink and Gypsie was visiting. She tried to volunteer when they were still with us but was overcome by tears at the sight of them in condos. Now that they have both been adopted she is willing to try again. In the meantime she adopted a puppy who hasn't lost his milk teeth (so has two sets of teeth like a shark) and neither of his testicles has descended. So the dog will be "top and tailed" soon leaving her free to volunteer with us.

First I fed the boarders grass and Barb's catmint. There was a condo with two names but only one cat apparent. It gave me a fright. I wondered if it was a very flat cat asleep underneath the cat in the bed. But Tim told me that it was next door being groomed.

While "grassing" the boarders, I noticed Charlie trying to get into one of the clean beds in the linen storage area. He was easily enticed back to his condo with a handful of grass. The sliding catch on his door is misaligned. So he has often taken himself off for wanders. Once, he made it to the front door, which was open at the time. But, being a wary cat, he turned about and came back inside.

After telling him what a clever cat he was, Tim asked me to attend to Jimmy's teeth. The vet says that he has plaque and has provided beef flavoured toothpaste and a "toothbrush" that fits onto a person's finger. Said person is to put her/his finger into the mouth of the cat and brush! It might work if you had a vet nurse with bandages at the ready! Tim volunteered me to try it. Jimmy now has clean canines. He wasn't going to open his mouth for me. . . . and I don't blame him. I suggested some nice chicken necks. Tim said that it would be his next owner's problem.

Then I, as instructed, socialized the new kittens. Hard job but somebody has to do it.

There is a pair of ginger boys who have seen the vet and named (by the vet &/or nurse) Mango and Mandarin. Tim took them home last night because the smaller one (Mango) was cold and not interested in food. He was better this afternoon but had a very dirty face. So I wrapped him up in flannel and washed his face. Then I felt a lump at the base of his tail, investigated it and found that it was solid flea dirt.

The vet gave both of them the flea treatment yesterday. I think we should put the treatment in the water of the western suburbs. (These two and the other litter came from Blacktown pound).

Suddenly Jimmy appeared and was interested in what I was doing with that scrap of ginger. The work experience girls where back from lunch by then and perhaps he talked them into letting him stretch his legs. Jimmy behaved well. And jumped, in a spectacular fashion from the back of a guest chair to the top of the adjacent condos. We forgot about him, until suddenly we couldn't find him. We looked high and low until he jumped down from a scratchy pole, calmly. Such a cool cat.

I combed and combed a pile of shit from both of the ginter kittens who are too small to clean themselves properly. Tim tried to put them in with Candace. She was interested and willing but one of her kittens was jealous of the attention she gave to them.

So you have missed photos of piles of flea dirt.

Next I sorted through the other "litter" that came from Bankstown. The quotation marks are because these kittens are probably not from the same mother. Their weights are too widely spread. And their personalities vary more than you would expect from siblings. There is a grey and white boy (big) and five girls: three torties including one fluffy tortie who is a luv bug, a tabby and . . . . I was relying on my photos but I think I missed one or two. Told you I was muddled.

None of this "litter" had flea dirt. But all of them have eye grunge. So they probably have cat flu, the symptoms of which will appear in a day or two. With that in mind, I threw the rest of the grass and catmint at the other cats with gloved hands and took myself off.

(A thousand words for every picture?)