Day 19

They were rehomed yesterday and Im still sad I couldnt keep them.

I wasn't worried about the tortie, she is pretty bomb proof and going back to a familiar environment and people, but Aimee can be skitish if stressed and I really didnt know how she would react in a totally new environment with new people. I got a phone call yesterday that Aimee is doing well, eating, drinking, playing and happily sitting on knees purring her head off. It really made me happy to know that :)

day 16

They will only be with me for another two days and on Saturday morning they will be picked up and ferried to their new homes.
Im delighted they have such good places to go to but still can't quite believe I won't get to watch them grow up. They are playing well as always but now they are eating properly too and have lost the boniness and sharp angles they had last week and are growing at a rate of knots. They keep trying to suckle my jumper but Im showing them where their food really is when they do that and they seem to be getting the idea. There really should be the equivelant of a baby dummy for kittens.
Here are some pictures of them, aren't they the cutest kittens you ever saw? :)

Day 11

Picked up the two kittens today and they are so confident its hard to imagine they are the same ones that tried to burrow out of the cage in utter terror a week and a half ago. They have been playing, climbing on us, getting stroked on our laps and have even both had a decent feed and drink of water. Im still slightly concerned about the tabby as she doesnt seem as bright as she should and hasn't used the litter tray yet.
They still seem quite skinny so are feeling the cold a lot but when I just checked they are both on the hot water bottle I put in there 2 hours ago. Ill give them another feed at 10 and refresh it.

Day 10

Great news! The kittens are eating again. The vet wants to keep them in for another day to make sure they are pooing ok and the food situation keeps up but if all goes to plan I should be able to get them back tomorrow.

Day 9

Heard today that the black and white one didn't make it. Seems he had a twisted gut which ment he wasn't able to eat and was in a lot of discomfort. I feel guilty that Im relieved it wasn't something contagious that he might pass on to the other two kittens and my cats and partly Im glad he isn't suffering any more, you could really tell he was just by looking at him. Its still very upsetting even knowing there was nothing I could do for him.

The vets are trying to get the other two to eat and when they are stronger I should be able to look after them again.

Day 8

Its been a stressful few days as the kittens haven't been eating and today all three are back at the vets. It really doesnt look good for the black and white kitten, he vomited this morning and yesterday morning and looks very weak and uncomfortable. The other two are bouncing around and full of beans but haven't eaten anything in a day and a half and possibly longer.

Linda came around on Tuesday and showed me how to hold and syringe feed/hydrate them. Ive been way to tentative, it seems you really need to just get stuck in and give them a good robust stroking and have the hand low when you first touch them. She also gave me a good resource from the cats action trust.

Im trying not to think too much about what might happen and focus on the hope that they will start eating again soon and I can take them back.

More news when I hear from the vet.

Day 6

Had them nearly a week now, I was a little worried they weren't eating enough after the first two days (when they woolfed down almolst half a chicken) their appetite seemed to drop off although Sunday and Monday morning two of them were eating from my hand which I think was huge progress.

Unfortunately the third started looking lethargic and couldn't be persuaded to eat at all so on Linda's advice I took them to the vet.
Those cute bundles of fur that had been playing happily all week turned into hissing spitting whirling claw monsters as soon as I tried to pick them up. Four plasters and a pair of reinforced sailing gloves later I managed to get them all into the basket and drove them down to the open surgery.
The black and white one had a temperature and dior..diarr.. you know the word, so had an antibiotic injection, worming and flea treatment. The other two are fine but will need to be kept an eye on in case they pick up whatever bug this one has.

Ill give them a couple more hours on their own before disturbing them, they have had a busy day and Im not sure how long it will take them to forgive me for letting someone shove a thermometer up their bums.

Day 3

They have relaxed enough now, the explosion was this morning luckily the room can be well ventilated.

They are getting braver sleeping in the cat bed now rather than underneath it and even looking for ways out of the cage. They are showing signs of being interested in playing with the feathers we have been waving around outside the cage which is definately progress.

Day 1

What happens when you get three, roughly seven week old kittens who have never had human contact and a feral kitten noobie?

The setup: I've been given a large cage and furnished it with a cushion and a cat bed with enough spaces to hide in (them not me) there is also enough room for a litter tray and water/food bowls.

Yesterday was the first day I had them so I did try to give them as much time on their own as possible, unfortunately they upset the water bowl so I had to go in there and mop up the water, they were really not happy and tried to crawl up the corner of the cage one on top of the other making a kind of kitty totem. What they failed to comprehend is that they are exposing their underbelly as they climb and you can get a quick belly rub in (them not me).

At first all three were hiding and trying to burrow through the floor of the cage to get away from me, now there are two of them that can look at me and even get bored enough with the view to go to sleep. I remember reading in 'the cat detective' that looking into a cats eyes can be seen by them as a threat so im really just trying to glance at them and then look away into the distance to give them a chance to have a good look at me and see im not going to hurt them.

They are eating fine but no poo yet so there will probably be quite an explosion when they relax enough.