Toesies Tuesday!

Awwwww...the kittens are doing great, gaining weight, eyes open and tiny still, as this photo shows!

Simply Sunday Morning

Teri,

Just a Nani pilling update...Gone are pill pockets and hiding in food. My guy at work, Rob, told me and demonstrated in my office getting on top of Nani as he does his cat he has to give shot to, and holding her legs down so she can't scratch me up. I'm done in less than 5 seconds now. Somebody stop me!!!

Alisha

Baby Frootbat Report ^^

Well, we are sure all have been waiting for new pix and kitten news, and finally it's Friday, a day off and time for a photo shoot!

The babies are doing well. Wednesday, I was a little worried about Dandelion, the largest orange boykitten. He had a couple of days where he didn't gain grams like he had been, and he began to sound little snuffly. He was still nursing but I had a hard time falling to sleep worrying about him.


So, on Thursday I loaded mom and babies up in a travel tent and took them in to work with me. Everyone got examined and Coco was running a slight fever, so we drew some blood for a CBC, to check for infection. The results were fine, thank goodness. All the babies checked out ok too and by then the Dandi wasn't snuffly, but his lip under his nose was a little inflammed (like ours gets when our noses run). So my vet said, lets put mom on antibiotics and some with get into the milk and to start using an antibiotic eye ointment on the newly opening eyes of the kittens to help with any bacterial infection that might be going on.



I am pleased to say today that everyone is doing fine, and after the little bit of weight loss, Dandi isn't the biggest kitten now...it's Clover, the brown tabby and white boy! And little Daisy is the first one with her eyes completely open...and Dandi, will be the last...his are still tightly closed.



So, without further ado...here's the latest video! Enjoy!!
(and remember to click on the photos to biggify them!)

Thankful Thursday

Here is new website that has some great info about nutrition and cat foods, everything all in one place. Check it out...
Cat Food Reviews

Wordless Wednesday

Mancat Monday

Ok, no Momma Cat Monday today, gotta give the boys a chance...and this one knows his feminine side, he likes flowers, especially if they coordinate and show off his purrty furs. This is Taddy Porter, who now lives in Pennsylvania, and has a Jack Russell Terrier for a buddy!

Ps: these flowers are plastic, too MOL!

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Sometimes I go onto another kitties blog and see a photo that makes me say, "Why, my cats do that, too!" and today I am going to post some photos of my cats doing stuff your cats do, MOL







Ps: Kittens doing very well, everyone gained 15 grams in the past 24 hrs, even tiny Daisy (yes, I picked the name Daisy in honor of little Daisy who went to the Rainbow Bridge on Saturday). This little Daisy will live for the little Daisy who couldn't, I just have to feel that way and hope!


My petsitters were over on Saturday and we tossed around names for the boys, and I should have written the final decisions down, because this morning I can't remember! But I think I will pick again, and name the little orange (red mackerel tabby) boy Buttercup, because that flower is so small. Then the big orange (ditto) boy is Dandelion, cuz he's king of the jungle and growing like a weed, MOL and the brown mackerel tabby and white boy is Clover, cuz he's sweet and has two colors, like a clover blossom.

Saturday Morning Kitten Report--Good Mews!

Good mews to report...the kittens are continuing to gain weight, in fact the three boys have gained 15 grams each day for the past 2 days and are right on target! The little brown tabby girl still worries me a bit, but she is eagerly nursing and active...but sooo small. She has only gained 24 grams since she was born (should have gained 40 grams). The first day she lost weight, but each day since then she has gained 9, 6 and 12 grams...so she is gaining more each day and that's a positive sign.

I am still not letting the other cats in the bedroom with us, as I tried it last night and every little sound and activity, like one of the cats jumping on top of the tent to snuggle in the sleeping bag there, disturbed wary mom and she just doesn't need that right now. All the other cats are confused as to why they can't sleep with me...but I napped with them yesterday in the warm sun and told them soon all would be back to the usual routine, I was sure.

Here's a new photo of the kittens I took today. I usually take photos once a week, as it takes about that long to see much visual change in them...but I know you are all awaiting updates, and if you look at the photo similar to this one, taken on the day they were born, just four days ago, you can see a small change already.

Caturday Saturday

Teri just had to share this cute story she recently got from a Furrydance kitty who just celebrated his birthday. Every year, Teri sends out birthday E-Cards to all the kitties that were born at Furrydance, and that's a lot of cards and kitties to wish Happy Birthday to, but she remembers each and every baby that was born here!

"Dearest Teri and the cats at Furry Dance (at least those of you who know me and are still there):

Many thanks for my birthday card! I am fine, living my life in Davidson...the house is barely big enough for me, but I try not to complain. The people try hard to please me and that has to count for something.

You all might remember Percy. He is well also. He and I have stampede contests in the long hallway upstairs, making first time guests jump out of their chairs and look out the windows to see if a sudden thunderstorm has come up.

I am attaining Master-status as a Garage Sneak. I hide in a variety of places in the mud room, and have caught on to all the tricks to fake me out. Most effective is hiding inside the mud room litter box and waiting until the door is open just enough to fit my body. I am working on my black belt in this worthy sport by practicing the art of jumping up on the highest shelf in the mud room (near the ceiling) and waiting quietly for someone to go out the door. Hardly anyone thought of looking *up* to find me... Of course the downside of this is that sometimes I have to wait so long for someone to go out, that I fall asleep. Then I am caught unawares when the door opens. I hate it when that happens... Plus, after that first successful time, when I surprised the pants off them, the people are starting to remember to look up to find me before they open the door. If they see me asleep they open the door to go out, knowing I can't get it together that fast. I am sure they know I don't like that.

I feel that I am in good voice. I spend time everyday out on the screened porch, on top of the cat tree, airing out the pipes. After all, I might need to really complain about something and I want to know I can command an audience quickly. I am sure you know what I mean. Of course, the actual need to lodge a bona fide official complaint has not come up yet, but you never know.

I am still a young boy and feel compelled to point out that your birthday card pegged me as a 2005 baby but the actual truth of the matter is that I was a 2007 baby. I'm in my prime...

The people have attempted to provide entertainment for me and Percy, because they think we are bored. So a few weeks ago we had the String-O-Rama battery operated contraption in here. Are you familiar with that one? It drags a string up and down and hangs on a door knob. Well, Percy and I used to take turns breaking it. The people would fix it, and we would break it again, etc... I have not seen it around lately so I think we finally killed it. Just as well, we were getting tired of it.

Next we were given a round scratching disc made of corrugated cardboard. It was placed in a round plastic circle with a motion sensor ball that would blink lights and go around and around the cardboard when we scratched. I think the ball was supposed to attract us to play with it. But after an incredibly short time, Percy and I figured out how to scratch without making the ball move at all.

Next we came upon a furry mouse with very small ears. It had catnip in it. As we were sniffing it, it suddenly moved across the room! Looking up we saw the people holding a remote control box with an antenna sticking up from it...the box was making the mouse move forward and backwards and go in circles. It was obvious that the people were attempting to put on a show for us, and we didn't want to be rude. So we sat down and watched the mouse move around, trying to be polite you know. Very soon after that, the mouse and the box went away. Thank God.

Last week, in a stroke of genius, the people brought in a toy with a long handle, attached to a long string, attached to several strips of leather tied together at the end. We can't get enough of this!! It is a good thing that I am in such a fine voice, as I have to ask for it quite frequently throughout the day. Every day. And of course I never remember the last place I hid it, so the people have to look upstairs and downstairs, room by room, to locate it. The whole thing is very well done. Took long enough.

Well, thanks again for thinking of me. You can see that I am struggling along, deprived and put-upon at times, but making the best of it. Hope you are too. Let me know if you are ever in the area. We'll have lunch! Ta ta."

Mr. Brinks

Bebbeh Update!

All's well in the Furrydance nursery and Teri can breath a sigh of relief that the babies are doing well after 72 hours--a very critical time. As you followers know, two of the kittens were very, very small and Teri was anxious that they might not survive. In fact, she didn't tell the families waiting for them that they had even been born until 12 hours had passed.

The two babies that were so small (born at 52 and 58 grams, under 2 ounces) lost weight 2 grams that first day, while their larger littermates only gained 4 grams (ideally they should gain 10-15 grams a day). Coco, while familiar with motherhood as this is her 4th litter, is always a bit anxious for the first couple of days. Teri knows just as the kittens all attach to nurse, Coco jumps up and they all fall off the nipple. Then Coco gets nervous when they squeak and won't lay down and relax for long.

While they are all confined to a nice tent, have a pet safe heating pad heating pad under part of their kitten bed (so they can move off it if they get too warm), when Teri had to go off to work, she was anxious til she got home at night, hoping especially with the tiny ones, that Coco wouldn't lay on them and smother them.

So, now Teri has 3 days off and can check on the babies frequently and she's even rented some movies so she can hang out in the bedroom and watch movies and babies at the same time! And today, with good news to report, all the babies are gaining weight again and while the tiny ones are still 10 grams behind, the two bigger kitties have gained the 30 grams they should have in 3 days. Teri thinks by the end of the weekend, they will all be up to gaining the hoped for 10 grams a day.

We still haven't narrowed down the 'Flower' nicknames for all the kittens, but so far Teri likes Daisy for the brown tabby girl, Sunflower and Buttercup for the two red tabby boys and are working on a cute one for the brown tabby and white boy~~maybe Clover or Poppy? All four kittens are promised already, one couple wanting 2 and two kittens will go to homes that have Furrydance cats already.

They will stay here at Furrydance until they are 16 weeks of age, all finished with their vaccinations and are spayed and neutered. Teri lets them stay with mom til they leave home, letting the moms wean them when they are ready and so all our catblogosphere friends have many weeks of kitten news and photos to look foward too...as well as the usual Mancat Mondays and Frootbat Fridays unless a cute kitten photo boots them out of the way, MOL!

And here's a short video of mama Coco and her kittens...so sweet!

Mews Flash! Coco had her babies!

The kitten stork arrived today! Coco said she was ready! So on day 63, not day 64, she became the proud mother of 4 little bebbehs!



Her labor began about 4:20am today, Tuesday April 14th. She had a very easy delivery, with only about having the first three kittens about 15 minutes apart and then needed a rest and the last one arrived after 30 minutes.

They all were nursing within an hour, and safe and secure in the kittening tent...so I had to go off to work. That was hard, but Coco is an experienced mom and I only worried a little, but was eager to get back home tonight to check on everyone!


The babies are a bit small, but are nursing vigorously. Kittens usually weigh between 90-100 grams (about 3 ounces) at birth, but since they were a day early, they are smaller; the tiniest one is 55 grams (she is brown tabby); the next one is 59 grams (he is a red tabby); the next kitten weighed in at 79 grams (a brown tabby and white boy) and the big one of the bunch is another red tabby boy, tipping the scales at 82 grams.


They should gain 10-15 grams each day, and I weigh them twice a day, which helps spot one that may not be eating as well, long before it is in any danger. I have never had to hand feed them, but will feel better when I see these little ones gaining nicely each day.

My petsitter's kids always pick out nicknames for the kittens, and they told me today they are thinking of Flowers, since it's springtime! So without further ado...here are the first photos of the new arrivals!

MommaCat Monday

No, Coco hasn't had her babies yet.

But here's a photo of her I took on Sunday,
with her round belly and her milk starting
to come in.

And below, some past photos of the kittening tent, and then, at about 4 weeks when they are starting to use the litterbox, they make the transition into my master bathroom, bigger and easy to clean up--baby kittens are messy! The step in their food as they are learning to eat, the have lapses in finding the litterboxes til they learn, and yes, they get underfoot!





During this time, from 3 days of age to 21 days of age, I take them out of the tent at least three times a day, I bring the kitten bed up onto my bed and kiss and nuzzle each one. At first, they sometimes hiss at me, til they become familiar with my "scent". Sometimes, they will even hiss if I have just brushed my teeth...that's how important sense of smell is to a cat, it tries to protect them from intruders in their territory.


During those days 3-21, I also do what is called Early Neurological Stimulation, which has been shown to help them in learning situations or when introduced to strangers, to be more active and more exploratory than kittens not stimulated like this and much more willing to greet and play with strangers.

Here is a link to more info on this technique:
Early Neurological Stimulation

Happy Peepster!

Click here for a cute story from Dr Khuly...

Caturday Saturday

As if I needed to say this...the cat in this photo is a Diva!

Her name is Nanjizal Bay, but she's known to all her adoring fans as Nani. I had bought her to be a mommycat, but before I bred her, I had her examined by a cardiologist and she diagnosed with HCM at 2 years of age So I spayed her and she lived with another family for 11 years, never getting her meds or followup ultrasounds.

She was returned to me, because she was fighting with the new wife's cats (note: they got divorced later...) and I had her here with me for 2 years when a friend of a couple who have a cat from me, wanted to adopt Nani, with all her medical problems (at one point being very close to congestive heart failure) because they wanted her to be loved and pampered for however long she had left. Everyone I tell this story to say this wonderful family are Nani's guardian angels!

Nani needs 3 different meds daily (Plavix, Lasix and Enalapril) and while for me, being a tech, she is easy to pill...they are having some difficulty. But they have had her just over a year now and she just passed her physical exam and lab work with flying colors so they are even more determined to get her to take her meds.

I wanted to share this email I got this morning with everyone (they approved me sharing) to let you know what a day in the life of Nani is like...

So, M and I spent some time thinking thru how to get Nani to take these pills since I told M that Nani was going to die since mommy was a wimp and couldn't get the job done. We bought the pill pockets and that big syringe looking thing. M didn't want to try the pill pockets. She said they were too expensive and it would take 2 or 3 to hide the meds. She wanted to use the syringe down the throat. She hasn't met the wrath of Nani. Well, M was right. Nani ate the pill pocket but spit out one pill. So it takes 2 pill pockets per day. We get 45 in a package. At $11 per package.

M loaded her syringe this morning. M is so ready! She gave me a time this morning to 'get on board'. Who talks like that at 8 years old? M is Nani's primary care giver and gets no love. She's down stairs now, giving her 10 kernels of food so she doesn't throw up. And in 20 mins, she'll get 10 more. And then she gets her full dish. Kills me! Honestly, I'm glad we have a solution. its M that is killing me. She is determined to rise to the occassion and have Nani live to 30.

Frootbat Friday

Thankful Thursday

Ok...we missed ManCat Monday, Toesies Tuesday, Wordless Wednesday...Teri's been busy but we made her shuffle thru her photos for some thankful ones today!


We are expecting babies in a week...when they arrive and are safe and sound, then we will be really thankful!

Easy Like Sunday Morning

This handsome cat is Furrydance Furlinghetti. He lives close by with another Furrydance kitty, Lola. He is a wild man, Lola is a proper princess.

Furli does skateboard tricks--running and banking off the walls. Lola is quiet, Furli is loud. It's nice to have one of each, mol!

He has 2 little dots right on his nose right where the nares are :) and two black patches on his front legs, right in the same spot
and a goatee, just like the beatnik poet, Ferlinghetti!

Caturday Saturday

Teri is off doing something with friends (she mentioned crabcakes! Yum), so she is having a nice Saturday.

This photo is of MajikMoon Disco NoFurNo having a nice Saturday himself! Disco is going to move out of the Furrydance house, and become the companion of a girl Teri works with. He's had some issues with "Inappropriate Urination" and while his "rehab" has been successful, Teri thinks he would like to be King of the Litterbox and so...he will be an only cat in his new home...but will have to deal with a D.O.G...

Of course, Teri will take him back if he is not happy with Tabitha...she is committed to "A Happy Home for Every Cat!" and while she will miss Disco's presence...she wants him to be happy! So she will let him come back here if his new home isn't right for him.

Disco was Teri's first Sphynx and he is such a cool cat. Silly, very affectionate, pushy, and snuggly. She thinks he misses Mike a lot, and the home he is going into has a couple of guys in it, so she is hoping it will be the purrfect home for him.

Frootbat Friday