Duchess and the Kittens - Week Two

Below is the weekly update on Duchess and her kittens from foster mom, Jackie. As you will read, baby kittens develop very quickly. These little guys are already finding their legs and attempting to escape the nest, at 2 and 1/2weeks of age.

Week Two
We chose names for the kittens this past week: Toulouse, Marie, Berlioz, Spooky, Mittens and Lily. I refer to little Berlioz as Bear because the first time I held him in my hand he looked to me like a little teddy bear. Most of the names of the kittens came from “Aristocats” the Disney cartoon and somehow they suit each kitten perfectly. All of their eyes are now open and bright. Spooky was the last to open his eyes and one seemed to not open as fully as the other. I wondered if he was going to have problems with the one eye, but, it soon because as clear and as blue as all his brothers and sisters.

All seems to be going fine with the Aristocats Family. Duchess is nursing and bathing the babies and we are all excited to watch and see the changes happening right before our very eyes. Lily, our adventurer, was found on the edge of the laundry basket climbing her way to freedom. She was quickly scooped up and placed back in the nest with her siblings. I didn’t expect to see them getting up on wobbly legs for yet another week or so. Here they are all trying to get mobile and Duchess just lounges and takes it all in. Kittens are pretty dependent on their mothers for the first few weeks so she too can recover from their delivery and not have to chase them all over kingdom come. Can you imagine a litter of 6 kittens running helter skelter and Duchess not healed from their delivery? She would be exhausted trying to wrangle them all into bed and for feeding time. Nature allows kittens to develop quickly in such a short amount of time.

Each day starts the same in our house. We get up, get ready for the day, and then start to feed our extended fur-family. In our house we have three resident cats, Oliver a foster cat, Duchess and her litter of 6, a dog, and three fish all to get fed for the day, don’t forget the two young girls ages 4 and 2. We manage by feeding the animals that have the run of the house first. While the animals are all busy eating in the kitchen I sneak off to feed Duchess. I open the door quietly as to try and let the kittens sleep. Duchess climbs the bars of her kennel and greets me at the door. I set the food down outside the kennel and she begins to eat as I do our daily cleaning. We remove the food and water from the kennel and sweep the litter Duchess has managed to kick all over the place. Litter even has found its way into the nest with the kittens. After we sweep we lift each kitten, checking their eyes and noses for any signs of a cold and place them onto another towel as we change their bedding for the day.

I had a bit of a scare this week when I went to check on the kittens. Toulouse was lying in the nest and appeared to be sleeping. I picked him up last and he was limp in my hands. I thought I had a kitten emergency until he yawned and looked at me as if to say “what’s the big deal interrupting my sleep?” It is not uncommon for a foster family to lose a kitten. They appear healthy and one day you look into the nest and they are not alive. We have been lucky so far that all the kittens are healthy and thriving in our care.

Duchess now has freedom during the day to roam the room she is staying in and she loves to join us on the bed for story time. She greets us by brushing up against your leg and a twirl back to do it a second time. If you take the time to pet her, and scratch behind the ears, she flops down for a belly rub too. The only thing that disturbs Duchess from her love session is the cries of her babies. She is quick to check on their well-being and settles into the nest to calm anyone who is in close vicinity. We spend many a night watching in fascination the wonder of parenting in the cat world.

Stay tuned for updates on Duchess and her kittens.

Jackie Kruger
Foster Mom

Abandoned Bunnies Need Care

It looks like cats aren't the only critters dumped outside to fend for themselves when they are no longer wanted as pets.

PFA has learned of a family of tame rabbits (a mother and 7 young bunnies) who were abandoned near the Conexus Arts Centre. The rabbits will be rounded up within the next few days and taken to the Regina Humane Society.

In the interim, PFA is looking for people who might be interested in fostering or adopting a young rabbit. If so, please contact us at saskpeopleforanimals@gmail.com as soon as possible.


-Alanna

More Oliver Twist!

Our poor little Oliver Twist, who was skin and bones when first rescued, continues to thrive in his wonderful foster home, where he gets plenty of TLC.

Here are some pics chronicling Oliver's journey from starving stray, to dental surgery for a badly infected broken tooth (check out his cute little fang) to chilling out in his foster home, enjoying the R&R he earned after surving out on the street.

He is one lucky little rescued cat! Now all he needs is a forever home of his own.

-Alanna

More Outside Kitties: Lily and Sonny

This pretty little cat with the frostbitten ear is Lily, one of many tame cats living outside and surviving due to the kindness and generousity of a cat-loving citizen who provides food and shelter for her and her offspring, Sonny.

Lily was recently spayed and assessed for placement in foster care. However, we made the difficult decision to release her back outside because she is quite timid and we simply don't have the foster space available to work with a timid cat who may take months to become ready for adoption.

For now, Lily and Sonny are being well cared for, and their human friend Stefanie is working hard to socialize them and get them used to people. It is our hope to have these two safely settled in a foster home before winter.

-Alanna

More Duchess and Family

Here are some new pics of our reigning Queen, Duchess ,and her kittens: Lily, Toulouse, Berlioz, Marie, Spooky and Mittens!

They will be 2 weeks old tomorrow.

-Alanna

Petite and Pretty Princess

This gorgeous girl is Laurel, a recent feral team rescue who was found pregnant and starving when picked up at one of our feeding stations.

She is a beautiful and sweet girl who is very happy to cuddle with her foster mom and relax in a cozy pet bed instead of struggling to find a safe spot outdoors. Laurel is very thin and delicate, with tiny paws and long limbs. She is a graceful and elegant little cat.

We will be listing Laurel for adoption shortly.

-Alanna

Duchess and Babies - A Family Within a Family

PFA rescued a sweet mama cat, Duchess, and her 6 babies on Monday, July 19th and whisked them off to a safe, sound and loving foster home with Jackie and her family.

Jackie graciously agreed to keep us on to date on the little families progress as well as to share the rewards of fostering a little cat family. Her thoughts on week 1 are below. Note the busyness involved in caring for a healthy litter of babies!

We got the Email on Sunday that the feral team would be delivering a mama and her kittens for us to foster. Being as this is our first time fostering a litter and a mama we needed to do some research. We knew the mama would care for the kittens, but who was going to care for the mama? The answer was me! We pulled the extra large dog kennel out from storage and searched for a basket that we could convert to a nest for the babies and mama. The information we found online about nesting was to use a cardboard, but how big of a cardboard box? It didn't say anywhere the dimensions it should be. Worrying already about the size of box we would put the mama and her babies in. Luckily I found a small laundry basket. Take foster cat Oliver and test it to see if he can lay down inside it. Great! Nest found. Line it with a change pad cover and old towels. One thing off our list of many things to do to get ready.

Next on our list, bathroom details. The mama is not going to want to be far from her new kittens to use the bathroom so we stationed her litter pan in the close vicinity of her nest. Check out the size of the kennel and place the last items inside, the food and water dishes. Now I was told that mommas can eat as much as our 4 cats combined in one day so we needed to be prepared with good quality food for the mama. Veterinarians suggest feeding the momma a kitten chow for the higher calorie content and protein value. We stocked up on our favorite canned food from Metro Pet Market and waited to see the kind of food the momma would arrive with and then we would better know what we would need. Nothing like trying to change a cats food in the middle of her arrival at a new place. Talk about stress none of us need least of all a momma cat nursing.

Monday night arrives and so does the momma and her 6 kittens. Or oldest daughter who is five wants to name the momma kitty after her favorite Disney cartoon Aristicats and soon we are referring to momma kitty as Duchess and it suits her too. We watch and snap pictures as Feral Team Member Leanne unpacks her precious cargo. One kitten soon becomes six little babies curled up in our basket and in jumps Duchess to settle down with her brood. They made it safe and sound.

So what happens next? Duchess cares for her kittens and we take care of the needs of the nursing momma. With the arrival of the family we had set up a bowl of kibble, a bowl of soft cat food and a water bowl. We soon see for ourselves how much a momma cat can pack back. As she eats Duchess growls low to let us know we are not going to get near her food. This will probably stop sometime along the way as it did with our other foster cats as she quickly learns that she is going to have a regular meal and fresh water at all times. We plan to keep her kibble full and serve soft cat food three times a day.

The morning after the little family's arrival we soon find that the water dish we supplied Duchess with is not going to do the job and quickly change it to a much larger bowl for her water. As a mom myself I guess I forgot home much we eat and drink nursing our own babies. Duchess will not have to worry about water again. As Duchess happily gobbled down her soft cat food I take a glance into the nest to see how the kittens are doing. Because we don't know their sexes we referred to them as kittens 1 through 6. Everyone looks healthy and seems to be doing fine. Duchess is eating still so I take advantage of her preoccupation with food and check out each kitten so we may know their sex. How do you check for the sex of a kitten you ask? The things you can find out on the Internet these days. Online we read that the primary way to tell a female kitten from a male kitten is by comparing the distance between the anal opening and the genital opening. The shape of the vaginal opening is a vertical slit, unlike the small circular opening of the penis. Gently lifting the tail of each kitten I find we have three boys and three girls. Now the job is ours to name six kittens.

With kittens as young as ten days old we want to keep their handling to a bare minimum as to not upset Duchess. I decide that we will handle them daily to see they are healthy and check for any signs of colds as kittens can catch a cold and become ill very quickly. Another thing we will keep an eye on is the temperature of the room they are in as we do not want the babies to get a chill. A chill can mean illness and death for a newborn kitten. Duchess is doing a great job of caring for her brood so we will try to be as observant as possible.

Some interesting kitten facts: "A newborn kitten is born blind. Its eyes do not open until it is 10 to 12 days old. All of the kittens except two have their eyes open already. Kittens' ear canals, also, are not fully developed at birth but they still have some ability to hear sounds. Mother Nature has provided them all with a "rooting reflex," which enables them to find the source of their food. Finding the "milk source" is accomplished with help from mom, who encourages her young kittens to feed a few minutes after birth by licking and nuzzling them and guiding them toward her nipples." (info found at www.petplace.com) .

Another item on the daily list of care for Duchess is to make sure her nest towels are clean. We decide that we will change them daily and launder them as necessary. Duchess, I read online, will keep the area clean. Mother cats also take care of the elimination needs of their babies by frequently cleaning and licking their genital areas. Kittens do not know how to use a litter-box at birth and are as defenseless as a newborn baby. They will learn by mimicking their mom all about the litter box later down the road so in the meantime it is Duchess' job to groom them and she takes care of each kitten as they finish nursing. She is a super mom our Duchess!

Who can resist a litter of kittens. I find myself checking in on the momma and her litter frequently. Duchess comes to the gate of her kennel to be stroked and petted so we allow her this time outside her cage for some good old fashioned loving. Duchess is an all black cat with patches of missing fur. Most likely old wounds healed. For a cat from the streets of Regina Duchess is friendly and very affectionate as shown by her head butts and rubbing up against us to get petted.

Tonight we had a scare. Duchess was being friendly and hanging out in her safe room. When I decided to exit the room I did not return her to the kennel and she caught a glimpse of Oliver our other resident Foster cat, who happens to be male, and she bolted out the door after him. Running past three female cats, she was down the hall, through the kitchen and into the living room so fast she had Oliver cornered on the couch by the time I could grab a blanket and throw it over her. I had read that mama cats are protective of their kittens but this was lightning paws of fury directed at Ollie. Back in her room and into the cage Duchess went. She crawled right into her basket with her kittens and settled in with them making sure they were all okay. This is our first experience as a foster family with a mama and a litter of kittens so we didn't know what to expect with the interactions with our other house cats. Oliver is a little rattled by the experience and is leery of going near her bedroom door.

More to follow in the lives of Duchess.... will we find cute names for all six kittens.... stay tuned.

-Alanna

Duchess's Kittens

PFA has a brand new little cat family in foster care tonight.

Duchess is a tame mama cat who has been living as a stray for months in the Eastview area. She is thin, scarred and missing fur but still managed to give birth to a litter of 6 healthy babies despite the challenges of surviving outside.

Now she and her babies are secure and cozy with their foster family. The kittens are just 10 days old! We look forward to regular updates from foster mom Jackie as these little ones progress.

-Alanna

Taylor, the Terrific Tabby

This handsome tabby cat is Taylor, a young male picked up at a feral colony on Saturday. A PFA volunteer took action to help her neighbourhood strays after a nearby neighbour got a trap from the humane society and threatened to "take care of" the cats herself without waiting for the shelter to pick them up!

Taylor is very handsome, even with the scabs and scars of fending for himself on the street. He is sweet, friendly and mellow despite his rough start and he will be listed for adoption shortly.

As always, we shake our heads and wonder how so many adorable and loving cats end up stray.

-Alanna

Straight From the Cat's Mouth - Please Spay/Neuter!

Animal rescue groups the world over struggle with the same basic challenge - the need to educate people in the importance of spaying/neutering pets to prevent overpopulation.

This cute, funny video certainly helps get the message across!
http://www.moderncat.net/2008/04/16/spreading-the-word-help-video-from-alliance-for-humane-action/

After an incredibly hectic week-end in which PFA took in several emergency rescues that we are now struggling to find room for, we can't emphasize the importance of spay/neuters enough!

-Alanna

Somehow I Get By

This pretty orange female as been living stray in a North-West Regina neighbourhood for months, suffering frostbite to her ears, ear mites and hunger.

Fortunately, she made her way into the yard of a kind and animal-loving family who set up a shelter for her and make sure she is fed and has a safe, secure spot to stay. Every night, she turns up on their doorstep for her evening meal. Gradually, they have won her trust and now the evening visits include serious lap time and cuddling.

They were able to get the cat's tattoo number, and the owners were contacted but didn't want her back, saying that she'd run away a long time ago and they couldn't care less about her (no wonder the poor thing ran away!)

For now, her rescuers are providing very good care to her as an outdoor cat, and she is on the wait-list for foster care so she doesn't have to spend another winter outside. Her needs are definitely being met, but she is a sweet and snuggly cat who would love to have a real home again, so we will do our best to make that happen! For now, she is known as "Outdoor Kitty".

-Alanna

Update - Roscoe and Clementine

Roscoe and Clementine, who were recently returned to their former foster home after over two years with an adoptive owner who decided they "weren't working out", are doing great. They started out a bit shy and scared but it didn't last long!

Here they are enjoying the cool cat run at their foster home and hanging out with their cat buddies. It's nice to see them so happy after a stressful time.

PFA volunteers do their very best to find loving permanent homes for our rescued cats, and it is very sad for us when adoptions fail.

We remind people to remember that cats (and dogs) can live well into their teens and even early twenties, so adopting a pet is a big commitment. If you are considering a pet adoption, please be sure that you really want the animal and are prepared to care for it in the long term.

-Alanna

Fun in the Sun with PFA

What says summer better than BBQ,and serious patio time. PFA is combining everyone's favourite summer activity with a fundraiser to help animals in need. Ok, in need and also in heat - with the cancellation of the RHS low-cost spay and neuter program this year, there are more cats than ever in need of sterilization!

We are hosting a deck party at Brewsters (South Albert) on Saturday, July 24th from 1-5. The menu features burgers, smokies or a veggie sandwich and unlimited salads and sides. Tickets are only $20, of which $10.05 goes to directly PFA and thus directly onto our sky-high vet bills that have resulted from our diligent Trap/Neuter/Release efforts.

Please consider spend a relaxing afternoon in the sun with good food, good friends and a good cause! For more info or tickets, contact saskpeopleforanimls@gmail.com.

-Alanna

PFA Success Stories

It's been a challenging week for PFA with two failed adoptions and cats coming back to us after lengthy stays in adoptive homes, and the struggle to find enough foster homes to house all the needy cats on our radar screen.

However, there are lots of successes to celebrate as well! Here are just a few that warm our hearts:

1. Little Sammie - this tiny kitten was rescued all alone trying to fend for herself on the mean streets of North Central. Lucky for her, her rescuer - one of our dedicated feral team feeders, decided to foster her and quickly fell in love and adopted Sammie (black and white kitten).
2. Muggins - Muggins is an adorable fluff-ball who was rescued with his mama, Molly, and littermates last summer from an abandoned warehouse. Poor Molly was bearing many wounds from defending her litter, but she kept them safe and all the kittens found loving homes. Muggins turned out to be a real little character, according to his new family. "He's a feisty little trouble-maker but that's definitely part of his charm. He has one huge personality. He's certainly spoiled rotten by our other two cats. Whenever he wants a bath, he'll walk right up to either of them and just stick his head right in their faces. He's got it pretty good around here. When he's having what we call "Being-good-o'clock" (One of the few times during the day he's not running around wreaking havoc), he couldn't possibly be more affectionate. still has a purr that could wake the whole household. Super affectionate, cuddly, such a sweetheart. It's funny, he's become a big packrat too. It's hilarious -- we got them a kitty house/tower thing, and in the house on the bottom, whatever he thinks is "his stuff" he pulls into the house. Such a wide variety of things too... Underpants, books, paper bags. He's taken quite a liking to bread products as well. God help us if we leave a loaf of bread or a bag of muffins on the counter... cuz they will officially be his stuff. Ha ha. And he's smart! If his water bowl is getting low, he scratches at it and makes lots of noise, and if we're not on it immediately... he's off to the kitchen sink scratching in there, and believe it or not... batting at the lever that turns the water on! Sounds like little Muggins/Alan did pretty awesome with his forever home! (fluffy black)
   
3. Sinatra - this gorgeous girl was adopted in the fall of 2008 by a wonderful cat-loving and cat-rescuing couple! Jenn and Scott have not only rescued and adopted a number of strays in their neighbourhood, they also have their own feral colony and they foster kittens and cats for PFA! Sinatra is a PFA rescue that they adopted for their own, and she is thriving in her loving forever home. (solid white).
   

We are very grateful that there are so many loving families out there who adopt rescued cats and give them loving homes.

-Alanna

Put Out to Pasture

There comes a time when we all anticipate (and mostly look forward to) the end of our working lives. We dream of R & R, a leisurely existence after years of providing service.

Not everyone will realize that dream, though. Take Blaise, a beautiful dilute tortoiseshell cat. At the age of 14, Blaise is more than ready to live the pampered life after years of faithful service as a warehouse cat.

Sadly, the warehouse she lives in is being shut down and demolished at the end of the month, leaving Blaise homeless. None of her long-term co-workers are willing or able to care for her in her retirement years.

Blaise is a healthy spayed female who is friendly, affectionate and fun. She loves people (other animals, not so much). It's a shame that she faces homelessness and possible euthanization after serving as a faithful office mate for so many years.

If you or anyone you know would like to foster or adopt Blaise, please let us know at saskpeopleforanimals@gmail.com.

-Alanna

Right Back Where They Started

These two cute and cuddly little black cats are Roscoe and Clementine, siblings who were first rescued by PFA as babies in the spring of 2008. They were adopted, but recently returned to us by their owner more than two years after the initial adoption, terrified and in an obvious state of neglect.

We are heartbroken at the sad outcome for these two wonderful little cats, but also happy to have them in a transitional foster home where they know they are loved.

PFA invests a lot of time, resources and love to get good homes and outcomes for our rescued cats. It is never easy to take in a stray or rescued kittens/cats, care for them as though they were your own pet, and then hand them over to strangers to live happily ever after (hopefully). It is devastating for foster care providers when an adoption fails, despite our best efforts to screen and match up adopters with suitable cats.

However, we are resilient, much like the cats and kittens we care for. Roscoe and Clementine have quickly come around in the safety and security of their temporary foster home. They definitely need some TLC (and vet care for poor Roscoe, who was returned with an untreated urinary tract infection).

Roscoe and Clementine will be re-listed for adoption shortly, once Roscoe's infection has been treated. In the meantime, we are seeking a loving longer-term foster or adoptive home that will take them as a pair and provide the love and care they need and deserve.

If you are interested in fostering or adopting these two cuties, please contact us at saskpeopleforanimals@gmail.com

-Alanna

Happy Endings

Kit Kat was found by PFA supporters last summer during a very nasty thunderstorm. These kind folks took him inside, but they couldn't keep him. So, he went to PFA and then quickly on to his forever home. As you can see, he made himself very comfortable right away.

Kit is a very laid back guy and always ready for a comfy snooze.

Sandy

Pretty and Petite Kysha the Kitten

This is little Kysha, an adorable 4-month old kitten found in the North Central area several weeks ago with some of her fur pulled out, starving and scared.

Kysha was placed into foster care and quickly charmed her caregivers with her sweet and playful ways. She is a loving, confident and outgoing cat who adores her people and animal companions alike and gives no signs of being affected by her rough start in life.

We don't get very many tuxedo kittens, so we are hoping that Kysha is quickly scooped up by a loving forever family who will cherish her and keep her safe.

Don't you just love her little white paws?

-Alanna

Nabbing Feral Kittens

This adorable kitten is one of several nabbed late last night by the PFA feral team. With all the kittens currently listed for adoption, you might think that kittens are easy to come by, but that isn't the case.

While our volunteers do come across the occasional tame kitten actively seeking help, such as Lil One last year, most of the time it involves a lengthy process of scouting out the locations, assessing age and if they can safely be taken from the mother cats, setting traps, and lots and lots of waiting.

By the time the team was done last night, they'd been out for 4 hours. It took over 3 hours to nab the first 2, but luckily they were hungry and 2 more went in the trap quickly after that.

Our volunteers are busy people with jobs, families and pets of their own. They make time to rescue feral kittens so that they can be socialized and adopted into good homes with owners who will ensure they are sterilized, so that ultimately there are less starving strays on the street (and fewer cats for our TNR projects come next spring). We are very grateful for their efforts.

We have many adorable kittens currently up for adoption. Please visit our website at www.people4animals.ca to check them out.

-Alanna