Duchess and Kittens, Week 3

There is never a dull moment when fostering a little cat family! Here is another update from Jackie.

My Fascination with Kittens
I arrived home from work to join the world of cats for a short while. I like this time when nobody else is around and I can be with Duchess and the kittens all by myself. With Duchess no longer caged up in the kennel she is free to roam the room and she is very protective of her doorway. When you enter the Domain of Duchess you need to be fast. I have now had the experience twice of Duchess catching the scent of the other cats outside her bedroom door. The first time Oliver was cornered on the couch and the most recent time it was our kitty Princess that was the target. Momma cats are very protective of their litter because in the wild unattended babies would surely mean death for them. Princess tucked tail and ran as fast as she could. It was minutes later we located her on the dining room table. A quick pet on the head and she was fine.

With the kittens growing and starting to use their wobbly legs it won’t be long before they are chasing the tail of one of the cats or dog in the house. The decision to keep them located in a bedroom seems a safe bet for everyone involved. We also have had to make a new nest for the wee little kitties as they were getting cramped in their laundry basket. I told my husband we would never have a use for the rolling cupboard shelving and now it is a nest for Duchess and her babies. The box we converted is roughly 24x39x10" tall and has ample room for the kittens to try out there new legs.

At 3 weeks old they are moving quickly through the milestones I have read online about. An interesting cat fact I found was that they are born unable to retract their claws. I noticed right away the little balls of fluff razor sharp claws. At about 27 days old kittens can retract their claws at will. Kittens will learn most of the things they need to know from interactions with their mother and their siblings. Something as simple as raking litter will be learned by watching Duchess in the litter box.

At 6 to 8 weeks the kittens will start to wean from Duchess and at that time she will go to the vet to get spayed. The kittens will start to eat solid food as their tiny teeth start to come in. These first teeth will be only temporary and are replaced with permanent teeth.

Young kittens grow quickly. By the age of 6 months they have reached puberty and can reproduce litters of their own if pet owners do not take precautions to prevent them. If you chose to adopt one of Duchess’ kittens you will sign a contract with P.F.A. agreeing to have them spayed or neutered at the appropriate age. Usually 6 months is the age recommended by vets.


Jackie

Foster Mom

P.S. After I wrote the blog I sat to watch our little family nurse. It is a mosh pit of kittens fighting for their favourite nipple. They will paw at their siblings and dive head first to get what nipple they have. The tiniest of the litter is our Mittens and I find myself helping her to find a spot to eat at night. After the feeding frenzy is over the kittens’ one by one break latch, lick their lips and curl up on the back of whoever is the closest. It is at this time that Duchess is the most content and purring. I wonder how I am going to be able to let them go, they are all so cute!

A Little Ray of Sunshine!

Meet our little Sunshine boy, a tiny 8 week old kitten rescued two weeks ago, starving and all alone in a North Central neighbourhood. He was thin and bedraggled, with his little hipbones protruding but his sunny personality still shone through.

Despite his tiny size, Sunshine is one huge, wonderful personality. He is super playful, super loving, and super energetic - the older kittens in his foster home can't keep up to him, nor can they keep him from stealing the toys! They just look on mournfully while this little baby steals the show with his goofy antics.

Sunshine loves to sleep with his foster mom at night and enjoys being held and cuddled. He has a loud purr that makes you wonder how such a tiny creature can produce all that noise, and he runs to greet people at the door so that he can share his love right away.

This is one sweet and special little guy, and we'll be seeking a special home for him.

-Alanna

Jasmine at Home

The only thing better than finding a wonderful PFA rescue cat a wonderful forever home is finding two rescue cats for the same home!

Last year, our sweet boy Rocky was fortunate to be adopted by a loving family after he was rescued by PFA out on his own in the brutal winter cold.

This summer, when his family decided Rocky needed a playmate, they returned to PFA and adopted the beautiful Jasmine, mama to the Sedley Seven kittens, and just barely past kitten-hood herself! After a few tense days, Jasmine settled in and made fast friends with Rocky.

Here are some pics of the two of them enjoying their wonderful home, and each other! We are so glad that these two little cats landed such a great home.

-Alanna

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