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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2015 6:17:43 GMT
He lies like that ALL the time Loves his tummy tickled too and just purrs loudly for more. Typical loving boy....I've never had a male cat who wasn't anything other than extremely friendly The girls tend to be more 'feisty' and diva-ish
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Post by dutchkitties on Jul 30, 2015 8:18:04 GMT
How gorgeous they are. Must laugh when you mentioned ALL his weight. Glad Nigel's leg is ok. A friend of mine has an 11 weeks old tortie kitten.You can already see the difference. They are growing so fast. So you have two gingers now. Do you put Neil in a crate too, just to be sure?
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Post by Deleted on Jul 30, 2015 16:11:59 GMT
Yes, Neil could probably fit into the 4ft crate
Vet visit went very well. Receptionist & nurse cooed over them whilst we sat in the waiting room then vet examined them, weighed them both, took Suzi's temperature as she has mild diarrhoea and then rubbed some Frontline into them to zap the fleas Apparently this can be used on kittens as young as 24hrs old nowadays!!! Vet also reckoned them to be around 6 weeks, 6.5 at most. I've also been instructed to start them on the Panacur which LInda gave me (I took the bottle in to show them) and I was given two syringes with the amount marked in black. I'll gve them their first dose tomorrow morning then it's every morning for three days then repeated in two weeks until they are 12 weeks old.
*didn't finish post as we had to nip out to doctors appointment for Neil*
Vaccinations will be done when they are 8 weeks old if we are happy with how they're developing and neutering a few weeks after that. My wee man has already got one teeny tiny testicle (awwww) Neil says that's why he cannot climb as good as his sister - he's unbalanced!!!
I've also been given some Hills Science to gradually wean them onto as a diet of just chicken isn't balanced.
Very happy - my babies are fit and well.....and the frontline is working well as I've picked off 12 fleas (dead or dying) this afternoon Once Neil goes to work Friday night I'll put crate into bedroom and give the living room a seriously good spray before I go to bed and leave it overnight...then hoover in the morning. Then Saturday night kittens and I will sleep in living room so I can spray the rest of the flat
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2015 9:12:28 GMT
Yaaayyyyy no fleas today Neither baby has got any on them, despite my VERY thorough check of every inch, and it's noticeable just how little they are scratching now They were both tearing around the living room & kitchen once I got up and opened the crate door and after about twenty minutes wee Suzi came up to my feet and yelled for her breakfast Today's was chicken with a small amount of Hills Science crushed up, mixed with hot water & mushed into a paste and mixed in. They don't want to know about eating it dry so the vet told me to moisten it first and give tiny amounts and gradually build up from there. They ate some of it so that's a start Now both fast asleep on sofa. Today is their first worming dose too which I'll give them around lunchtime once they've woken up and Neil can hold them so I can syringe it down their throat. Bottoms are lovely and clean today so fingers crossed I don't get ANY nasty wriggly surprises in their litter tray later I won;t be showing Neil if there is.....he was horrified when vet nurse told him the fleas on cat were only 5% of the population actually IN the house.....and when I mentioned tapeworms he nearly fainted
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Post by lotsofcats on Jul 31, 2015 9:32:26 GMT
Glad that the vet visit went well. To get the kitties birthday count back 6 weeks from yesterday and that's the date to use! I did that with my Bramble as she was a feral kitten and when the vet said she was 12 weeks old I counted back to Christmas Day! I forgot I took Kali's kittens to the vets for flea treatment when they were 7 weeks old and they rubbed in the Frontline. I don't know why but I get into a right muddle with the Panacur dispenser - the one with the bottom bit you twist first to get the correct dosage.
Great that the fleas have gone and hopefully no worms present.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2015 20:16:00 GMT
No worms so far in their wee litter tray pressies for me Going back 6 weeks we estimate their birthday to be June 18th The difference in them in just one week is amazing - so much better on their feet and more playful and full of energy....but thankfully sleeping for England when they DO settle They also make a definite beeline for their litter trays now whereas last week they seemed to know what they were for but if there wasn't one handy they'd just find their own spot. They also seem more adept at burying it now. Nigel will purr loudly and lick you when you lie on the floor next to him and talk to him and Suzi purrs and rolls over for a tummy tickle or tilts her head so you can rub her cheeks And, as I typed this, Nigel was in the crate and Suzi was stalking him....and did the little bum wiggle to adjust her position....first time I've seen them do that They're absolute darlings I had the pair of them tearing back and forth across the landing this afternoon and Lily, lying on our bed, was calmly watching them. I've rubbed their sleeping blanket onto the sisal corner post the two Big Cats use to transfer a bit of scent and hopefully this will lead to an easier acceptance. For now I'm not pushing any meetings between the kittens and the older cats - they're all aware of the others via scent and sight so we'll let them meet when it happens and not force anything
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Post by Deleted on Jul 31, 2015 20:20:17 GMT
I don't know why but I get into a right muddle with the Panacur dispenser - the one with the bottom bit you twist first to get the correct dosage. The panacur I'm using is in a glass bottle and I use a plastic syringe to squirt it down their neck. I told the vet I hadn't looked after kittens this young before and she was really helpful and marked out the correct dosage with some black marker pen. It didn't seem much to look at but when it actually came to putting into kittens' mouths it became LOADS!!! I did it in two slow squirts and gave them time to swallow the first lot before emptying the rest of the syringe and then wiping their messy faces with a tissue
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Post by Deleted on Aug 4, 2015 11:19:39 GMT
Suzi went to use the tray on Sunday night and presented me with a 'lovely' wriggly roundworm Better out than in tho, eh? Fleas are 99% zapped too as I've done the living room one day (kittens slept in kitchen) and last night I gave the bedroom, bathroom, landing & stairs a good spray so now the whole flat has been done. I've picked the odd flea off the kittens but each time they seemed to be in their last dying throes Had a bit of good (or bad depending how you see it) news last night. Linda phoned and asked how they were coming on and said she might have a possible home for them both A lady was interested in two as she lost her 19yo (!!!) three months ago and now felt ready for a new feline in her life. She has a fortnight's holiday booked from next week (or is it this week?) so we would still have Nigel & Suzi for another two weeks at least which would bring them up to around 9 weeks of age and even more full of beans than they already are. The lady heard about Linda from her hairdresser and went along to her shop for a chat and to ask if she had any suitable cats to adopt. Linda asked if it were ok for the lady to come and meet my two so I *reluctantly* said yes and so Linda has passed my phone number on to her and she'll give me a call to arrange a time. Part of me feels VERY tearful and doesn't want to part with them and feels that NOBODY could possibly love and care for them as well as I do....will they be vaccinated and neutered and allowed to BE cats in their new home.....all the things I imagine fosterers go through with every cat they care for Yet the common sense side of me says they'll be going to a good home (woman lives in house backing on to dunes at Low Hauxley!), will be staying together, woman had her previous cat as a kitten too and look how long he lived And....being boringly realistic....Neil and I are both in low paid jobs so cannot really afford to have four cats ~ food, flea & worm treatments every quarter, neutering, vaccination and insurance ~ and, the main thing I'm trying to focus on.....Chilli, being quite a shy cat, is definitely happiest in a home with just us and Lily and it's my duty as her guardian to put HER welfare above everything else So the common sense side of my brain is pleased that my babies are going to *hopefully...tho' how could anyone resist them?* going to good Forever Homes and I've been blessed to have had them and helped them pick up from their bad start....but the selfish side of me wants to keep them forever and to hell with anyone else!!!! Urghhhh I don't think I'm cut out to be a fosterer!!!!
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Post by dutchkitties on Aug 4, 2015 13:41:31 GMT
How do you solve that dilemma? If it's better for Chilly and your purse, you have to rehome them. Life would be easier if we didn't have feelings. What does Neil think? Is he sensible or sensitive?
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Post by lotsofcats on Aug 4, 2015 15:04:04 GMT
So the common sense side of my brain is pleased that my babies are going to *hopefully...tho' how could anyone resist them?* going to good Forever Homes and I've been blessed to have had them and helped them pick up from their bad start....but the selfish side of me wants to keep them forever and to hell with anyone else!!!! Urghhhh I don't think I'm cut out to be a fosterer!!!! I know how you feel - this is what it was like when I had 3 cats and along came little stray Kali, pregnant at about 6 months old....when she had her kittens I couldn't part with her or 2 of the kittens even though I knew I couldn't really afford to keep another 3 cats. I never have any spare money at all. I spend a fortune on cat food, litter, cat insurance and vet visits. How I am going to manage when I retire I do not know. Then along came Toffee not long after and we let him adopt us too!! I am a sucker for kittens and if I had Suzi and Nigel I know I wouldn't part with them but that doesn't mean I shouldn't! If you had any doubts would you have said the woman could come and see them?
Like you I wouldn't want to part with any foster kittens. You are an excellent fosterer - you couldn't give more.
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Post by tonib on Aug 4, 2015 23:53:20 GMT
There is a good side to this, if the woman likes the kittens & they take to her then that shows what a good job you've done with them @gillykat. The heartache in letting them go to their forever home is one of the reasons that I couldn't foster but then I also miss the joy/pride of helping them get their new home However the practical side, finance & your other 2 cats, is a serious consideration in keeping the 2 kittens. As you say heart versus head
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Post by Deleted on Aug 5, 2015 9:19:29 GMT
Neil is on the practical side too....but admitted last night that he WILL miss them like crazy I definitely will because I spend so much time with them But I think it'll be worth it to send them off on their way to a good home where they'll make their new Mummy happy and Lily & Chilli can have their home back once more I really miss seeing Chilli as she only tends to come home in the evenings or middle of the night.....whether that's because of the kittens or just that the weather is so nice and balmy and she'd rather be out exploring the overgrown jungles around us. She woke me last night at midnight by jumping on the bed and we had a lovely cuddle before I got her some food and she then went back out. She's such a sweet sensitive girl but I've come to realise she is definitely NOT good with change in her daily routine She gets SO worried and stressed out and it's really not fair on her So ~ now that I've had 24hrs to absorb the news ~ I think that letting Suzi & Nigel go off to their new Forever Home IS the best thing to do....if only for darling Chilli's sake!
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Post by scallywag on Aug 5, 2015 10:37:09 GMT
You are doing a grand job @gillykat and have to agree that the cats will be better off with a MUM who's not worrying all the time cause the other cats are staying away from home longer hours xxxxxx
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2015 8:46:46 GMT
Well...Nigel and Suzi went to their new Mummy last night We had popped into Linda's shop to drop a few things off for her to sell and were having a chat when the lady who was going to adopt them came in. We got chatting and turns out her holiday has been cancelled (it was actually some sort of break at a centre but lack of numbers applying has forced it to cancel) so she was able to take them whenever we were ready. Part of me panicked and thought ''Noooo don't take my babies away!!!!'' but the other *sensible* side said ASAP was better.....better for me to have a clean break and better for Chilli to get back into a routine and start feeling safe again. So we arranged to bring them around to this lady's house at 5.30pm as we were going to drop the 4ft dog crate off at Linda's house (she has more use of it for litters and semi-ferals than we do). Well.....WHAT a gorgeous house!!!!! We both just fell completely in love with it.....huge fireplaces with wood burners, big windows, light airy rooms, on three floors as attic has been turned into a room and, as I said earlier, nice long garden which backs onto the dunes and down to the beach! She's only been there a year or so and it was pretty dilapidated when she took it on but it now looks fantastic! She showed us some photos of her previous home which was a huge pile in Derbyshire as she married some Lord's son!!!! They lived in one wing which looked about the size of your average shopping mall!!!!! The grounds were vast too but they also had other places around the UK which had properties, farms, cottages etc on them. But when the marriage broke down she upped sticks and went back to her native Amble and found this house and now feels SO content. She recently rescued a dog from Romania who had three broken legs and she was now in a Forever Home and she was looking for another, probably next year. For now though she has a shy tabby rescue and a 12yo standard longhair Dachshund called Rosie who just LOVES cats She was fascinated by the kittens and just wanted to lick them and after initial hisses and spits my two both came out of their carrier and started to explore the room. I've given her a sheet with ALL their details written on - weights since I got them, dates they were frontlined & panacur'd, when next worming is due etc ~ everything I could think of in fact. I also gave her all their toys, half a bag of World's Best I had (got a fulkl bag in kitchen which will do for Lily & Chilli in the winter), their food and Panacur & syringes etc. I felt quite emotional letting them go but wow....what a house they are in now....much better than our grotty flat And in a safe area too with a lovely genuine lady who clearly loves animals so Neil and I feel SO happy about her looking after our babies. This morning I have already had Chilli venture in twice and actually walk around the living room so I think she realises kittens are now no longer here. So hopefully this will be the beginning of us having her and Lily back inside properly once more Name of the place lady (arghhhh cannot remember her name!!! ) lived was bugging me so I googled 'stately homes in Derbyshire' and found it - Melbourne Hall! www.melbournehall.com/
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Post by dutchkitties on Aug 7, 2015 11:08:03 GMT
That is sudden, but the longer it takes the more difficult it will be. And what a place! Cannot see the house (404 error) but you described it well. Important: you have Chilly back. Will the lady send you pictures?
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