Making Progress

Queso, Bandit, Turtle, and Calypso are now officially three weeks old! 

I can’t even begin to describe how good it feels to know they’ve made it this far already. 

Though I have a while to go before the kitties are completely stable and independent, it’s comforting to know that they’ve gone from tiny, malnourished, hypothermic babies weighing a mere three to four ounces to their now chubby, active, and curious selves (who now weigh in at about 13 to 15 ounces). They’re almost one whole pound! 

This week has been filled with some pretty important milestones for the kittens, and I couldn’t be more proud of them. 

Earlier this week, they started to walk, moving from their belly-dragging crawls to a wobbly, zig-zagged saunter that is faster than you’d expect for such little legs.

Queso is always up to something…this was right when he was planning his next great escape!

Queso and Turtle are particularly explorative and curious. I’ve begun to let them wander a bit, but have to keep a pretty close eye on them so they don’t quickly disappear under the couch or behind the bookshelf, never to be found.

Bandit and Calypso are a bit more reserved but very observant, and they come running (well…more like a fast waddle) when they see I’m in the vicinity. They know if I’m around, it’s food time.  

I’ve transitioned them from their blanket-lined box to a corner of the living room, a small carpeted cubby under our stairs that provides the perfect amount of room for them to roam a bit without access to the entire house. They seem to enjoy the added space and that way I don’t have to worry about them clambering out of the box when I’m not looking. 

Callie in particular LOVES the new space heater I bought. At first they were all somewhat scared by it, but once she found out it blows warm air, she plopped her round, fuzzy butt right in front of it and wouldn’t budge. 

I’ve also started to introduce the kittens to a litter box, but they seem a bit wary of it…I think the feel of clay pebbles under their feet is a weird sensation. It’s supposed to take a couple weeks for most to get the hang of it, so I’ll keep trying. I might eventually have to get a few litter boxes, but I hope not—I’m not sure where I’d keep all of them! 

Tuesday was the kittens’ first visit to the vet. You’re supposed to wait until they’re six to eight weeks old, since they don’t have the proper antibodies built up yet to withstand many trips anywhere, but this was a bit of an emergency situation. 

Despite overall seeming relatively healthy (gaining weight, eating well, sleeping a lot), the kittens had a week of never-ending diarrhea (I know, pretty gross…) and it was looking very abnormal earlier this week. When I called the vet, they said it could mean any number of things, but they wouldn’t know for sure until they could get a fecal sample.

Callie loves the baby bottle…look at that little belly!

Turtle loves to roll around on her back…

…and bite her siblings until they play with her…

Bandit loves to cuddle but still has a certain affinity for “grooming” his littermates…

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get one by their appointment on Tuesday (I swear animals know when you’re about to take them to the vet and purposefully refuse to poop or eat or whatever it is you need them to do…), but I finally submitted one yesterday and should hear back about the results within the next couple days.

Ongoing diarrhea in kittens this young can be extremely serious. While it could simply be some GI parasites or worms passed from the mother cat to her litter, it can also be any number of viral or bacterial infections, or even leukemia or other potentially life-threatening diseases. Fortunately, my vet seems to think the kittens are doing very well. We won’t know for sure until the test results come back, but outwardly they appear to be just fine. They’ve received several doses of dewormer now, which has seemed to help significantly in stopping the diarrhea and resulting in a more normal poop schedule (…who knew I would ever be writing to the public about kitten bowel movements…), and I feel confident they’re doing OK.

I recently started feeding them a slurry (a mixture of kitten replacement milk formula and canned kitten wet food), and boy, do these guys drink that up! I’m hoping by the end of their fourth week, they’ll be eating the wet food on its own and gradually transitioning over to kibbles.

Their tiny teeth are poking through, so they’ve decided my fingers are the perfect chew toys, and my hands are beginning to look like I had an unfortunate encounter with a mean rose bush. I can’t wait until they start to express interest in the numerous toys I’ve bought them…it’s around the fourth and fifth weeks that they should begin jumping and pouncing and playing with one another. 

I can’t wait to share more with you all as they continue growing and exploring!