Okay, so. Lemme ‘splain.
No, there is too much. Lemme sum up.
About eight weeks ago, kitten season exploded around here (though I’m told it’s a nationwide thing this year; thanks climate change!). Every single foster home in the area was full, and the shelter needed backup.
Guess who’s the backup?
I know. I KNOW. I’m not even supposed to be here today. But, there was a situation, I could handle it, so I handled it. One pregnant mom, about to give birth to six kittens (confirmed via the vet) any moment. I had the space to put her up for a bit. She could stay in my studio and raise her kittens for the next couple months. No big deal.
Then I went to the dentist. I was wearing my kitten rescue organization shirt. Kittens were discussed. The dentist mentioned their brother had a farm about ten miles away and had a couple litters of kittens born in his barn. I gave advice for socialization and my contact information to help get them into the shelter and into forever homes when they were old enough for adoption, and getting the moms fixed so no more kittens would be born in the barn.
Phone calls were made. Information was shared. It was not “a couple litters.”
It was five litters. To five different mothers. Two of which were “his” and lived up at the house (outdoors, very nice, semi-feral but approachable and sweet). The other cats had been dumped on the property one by one over a year ago, and quickly established a colony that grew beyond his control before he could get them trapped and fixed. (He is a good man who feeds and shelters them, and he had the best intentions, but like most people was unaware that female cats can have kittens every 62 days starting at four months/16 weeks old. That’s four litters a year. If you, reading this right now, are also unaware that the kitten you just got from a friend or a “free kitten” box needs fixing before they are four months old, get on that now. Little boy cats can become daddy cats around then too, though six months is more common for them. Either way, spay and neuter, ideally at 8 weeks/2lbs. Don’t argue with me on the timeline here./soapbox)
Welp.
Guess who found our first TNR (trap-neuter-return) project for our local animal assistance organization?
Information went to and fro, funding was obtained, accounts were set up, and now four out of five females are fixed. We’re hoping to catch the big daddy tom next week, but he is wary. We’re fortunate that we have a couple of excellent, experienced TNR volunteers and I have no doubt they will get him sorted before the month is out.
But what about the kittens?
Well, there were over 30 to begin with. I rescued 11 myself (they went to shelter volunteers for socialization/prep for adoption as they were literally born in a barn and needed to learn to use a litter box and that petting and warm beds are nice things), some were given away before we got there (theoretically to people who will spay/neuter them before the inevitable occurs), some (unfortunately) likely became part of the local wildlife food chain (as is a danger when cats and kittens live outside), and two more were taken in by Yours Truly.
You heard me.
I SAID I KNOW!
Look, I’m one of the only people in my entire county who knows what to do with special needs kittens, and two of the kittens there were severely malnourished, and one of them has a spinal deformity rendering her back legs atrophied and her unable to walk. They were approximately five weeks old and wouldn’t have made it another night in their condition.
So, I scooped them up, put them in my emergency carrier, stopped by the shelter for one of our shiny, newly funded incubators (for which I will be eternally grateful; those things are a godsend), and brought them home.
Remember when I said I had the mom cat in the studio? She had just given birth to her six kittens two days prior to this, and her newborn babies weighed more than these five week old girl kittens. (Two little black sisters; fortunately they are spoken for once they make adoption weight, which should be in another week or two.) So, I popped these little babies in the incubator, made up some KMR, and set to work. They learned to eat from a syringe first, then a bottle, then onto wet food, then finally some dry kitten kibble in addition. Both put on amazing weight and though they are still very small for their current age (about 11-12 weeks) and will likely be small all their lives, they’re both doing amazing. Physical therapy exercises four times a day taught little Pico how to use her back legs, and she can now run, jump, climb, and use the litter box like a champ. You really have to look close to see she moves a little differently, or that her spine is a bit wonky. It will keep changing as she grows, so we won’t know the extent of her spine issue until she’s about a year old, but she’s made such progress these last few weeks I can hardly believe it. And the best part? Her new mom is an occupational therapist! Pico will be getting the best home with someone who understands her mobility issues and who knows how to help her get stronger. I couldn’t have picked a better home for her.
Then there was the Midnight Kitten Rescue, in which I had a single newborn kitten in my (then vacated by the little black kittens) borrowed incubator for twelve hours (with feedings every 90 minutes as he was severely underweight) until he could go to another foster who could syringe feed him every two hours as I was already overextended in my kitten fostering ability.
So what’s the point of all this?
Well, the last eight weeks for me have been eat, sleep (kinda? ish?), kittens, TNR/kitten rescue, repeat. I am in strung out shape. I am beyond exhausted, and at that point you don’t remember what sleep even is. I only know what day it is because I keep track of my kittens’ weights and have logs going back eight weeks. Also, there was the Day of the Booms recently, which my kittens didn’t even care about (my household cats on the other hand were highly put out) so I know it’s after the 4th of July.
What I’m trying to say is that for the last eight weeks, the Saturday Write-In is all the writing I’ve managed to get to, and some weeks I haven’t even managed that. Everything is at a standstill for at least the rest of the month, until I get all of these kittens out of my house and into forever homes.
There’s been no quilting (craft room has been converted into kitten room for the little black kittens), no writing, very little Dungeonmastering (which, by the way, a guest spot at my table is still up for grabs over on Skyla’s Patreon), and even less sleep. I haven’t had more than four hours of sleep in a row for the last eight weeks. I don’t even know how I’m still here at this point. Spite, probably.
It’s been six weeks of kitten fostering for me now and everyone (knock all the wood) is happy and healthy. The studio kittens are now weaned and mom is getting her own home soon.
All this is in addition to some personal goings-on (involving household repairs, health issues, and car trouble), so I’m really just here to tell you about a Bookfunnel promotion I may have forgotten I agreed to participate in until I got the reminder email that I just opened today.
See above about sleep deprivation and not knowing the date beyond a number.
It’s pretty much the same as last month’s Kobo Plus sale, only it’s extended through the middle of August. There’s some amazing books there including mine (What? I’m amazing too!), so if you’d clicky the linky and take a peek I would very much appreciate it, thank you! Sci-fi and fantasy books, some of which are free, and you don’t have to be a Kobo subscriber to get them!
Now, it’s nearly 2AM and I have to go feed kittens. They’re 7 weeks old today, and on wet food which needs to be given every six hours around the clock. That means getting up in the middle of the night.
I am so bloody tired.
In short, adopt don’t shop, and spay and neuter your pets, please. Oh, and maybe buy my books? Kittens are expensive.
Until Next Time,
Dina