Hypoglycemia in Kittens

"Captain" kneaded my heart into silly putty. Now I miss him and foolishly regret not keeping him. Funny how attached you get when an animal has siezures in your hands. OK, it's not funny at all, it was a very scary and costly experience.

I found him one evening lying on the floor (as if he'd fallen) when I picked him up I knew something was wrong. He was lifeless and cold. Were it not for the tiny mew he let out I would have thought him dead. I felt he needed treatment immediately and rather than take him for a half hour drive to the shelter vet, I chose to take him to a nearby emergency clinic. he siezed a couple of times on the way. He had so little life in him that even his siezures seemed half hearted.

I got him in, they looked very worried. They rushed him back to the doctor and once he was stabilized, I was told that his blood sugar had become fatally low and he would have died had treatment been delayed. We discussed how this could have happened and the vet was implying that maybe with all the kittens in the house, this one didn't get enough to eat. Once they had brought him around, he ate very hungrily. I'm sure the vet thought that he had missed a few meals but I knew better, I had seen him at breakfast. They believed he needed to be hospitalized for the night. The bill was already 350.00 and the hospital stay would have brought it to over 700.00. "This isn't even my cat! He's a foster kitten, I can't spend that kind of money on him!" They had brought him out during his revival and while he was sleepy, he seemed OK. He meowed and purred, bless his heart. They suggested they keep him until closing and in the meantime I went out to buy a heating pad and baby food.

Against their advice, I took him home. I put him in my bed and stayed up most of the night with him. He got too hot for the heating pad and eventually ended up under my neck. His brother and sister joined us in the morning and all assumed their positions under my neck to knead and suckle my blanket (I have learned to get them on the blanket and off my skin, kitten hickies are only cute for a little while). He showed no signs of brain damage but was the "wussiest" of all the kittens, crying immediately when tackled. Maybe he was always like that, he had only become affectionate a few days before this incident so I didn't know him very well. I did a little research and bought a bottle of Karo syrup to rub on his gums should this ever happen again. I also made certain that he ate at every meal and even started buying the rediculously expensive Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys because he liked them.

When we did a follow up another vet said that the whole thing was just a fluke and would probably never happen again. This would not mean he is at risk for feline diabetes or anything. I explained this to the shelter when I surrendered him and his brother and sister. Anybody adopting him would certainly have enquired as to why his arm and neck had been shaved. It must not have been of much concern to whover adopted him because he was gone before the weekend was over.

Thursday, I took my teenagers (Sacha and Smokey) in for their final round of shots. I took them to the low cost vaccination clinic (just under 50 bucks each... I shudder at the thought of "high cost") I like the vet there. I refer to him as "Dr. No Nonsense". I asked him about Captain's incident. What I found out was that while it may have been a fluke, there are non diabetic animals that have delicate blood sugar levels. He said that certain small dog breeds are notorious for it. and that they usually have a strong taste for human food and maybe even a sweet tooth. (These guys were eating muffins in their dressing room) Captain definitely had more of an interest in what I was eating than any of the other kittens ever showed.

He said that there was no need for concern or high vet bills because all that's needed is the Karo syrup. If it's caught right away, the animal will come right around and you can give it some food and it will be fine. BUT if not caught or a person doesn't know what to do, the siezures start and brain damage or death can result.

So it's been a week since I said "Goodbye" to Captain and I'll admit I've regretted it ever since. No, I shouldn't have adopted him but I do miss him even more than I thought I would. But hey, that's what happens! You fall in love! Get over it, the job is to take care of them not to adopt them all and become the crazy cat lady of the neighborhood!

BUT what if this happens to Captain again? If I was his owner I would certainly want to know that a simple bottle of Karo syrup could save money, brain cells and even his life. I know all adoptions are confidential. Animal services is a law enforcement agency and can't give any information on adoptors but I wrote to my two contacts to see if they had any way of contacting his owners if they could please pass on the information. It's no big deal, no reason to not keep the cat, it may never happen again but just buy a bottle of Karo syrup and keep it around.

I'm sure I looked like an idiot for writing the letter but I couldn't rest until I did.

Teenage Boyz

My sister and I and Michael went to see our cousin in Palm Springs right after I took my little ones to the shelter. I was kind of glad to have a distraction so I might not notice the lack of kitten mews or feel the full sting of missing Captain. Now I will get some time with my newest real members of the family, Sacha and Smokey.
We arrived home last night. Now with Michael at school, I am experiencing my kitteens. They don't have any little kittens to play with. Normally at this hour they would be upstairs in the cat play room impressing the little ones with how big and manly they are. Now they seem a bit bored. They are in my face constantly. I feel like the wife of a striking writer; I'm always saying, "Don't you have anything else to do?"

Smokey: Hiya Mom! Watcha doin'?"
Sacha: "She's doing the dishes, Stupid! Hey Mom, can I help you?"
Me: "Boys, please get off the counter."
Sacha: "Awe Mom, you look like you could use a hand, Here's my paw. See I put it in the water, see?" (splash)
Me: "Sacha!"
Smokey: "Here, I wash cup." (thunk)
Me: "Smokey!"
Sacha: "This bottle cap looks like it could use a good scrub". (splash)
Smokey: "You wanna wash this dish again?"(SPLASH)
Me: "No!"
Sacha: "There's that word again. "No". She says it a lot. I think it's your name."
Smokey: "No it your name! She yell at you! See her eyebrows look mad!"
Sacha: "No way, my name's 'Num num' YOUR name is 'No'"
Smokey: "My name is 'Iloveyou'. I know cuz she smiles when she says it."
Sacha: "You're name is 'No!'"
Smokey: "YOU'RE name is 'No!'"

Sacha: "Hey she's going in that room again, let's get in before she closes the door!
(SLAM)
Sacha: "Damn! Foiled again."
Smokey: "She always forget to wait for us."
Sacha: "That's cuz she's getting old. It's hard for her to remember stuff. That's why she needs our help. Remember last night when we were helping her type?"
Smokey: "Ya. I make lot of letters."
Sacha: "Well I'm the one who turned the computer off for her!"
Smokey: "Ya, you is real smart."
Sacha: "Damn right I am. I even had to unplug stuff. She really needs us!"
Smokey: "How can we help her? We out here."
Sacha: "We'll just knock on the door and she'll let us in. It works for Ryan and that's how she lets the dog out."(Bang bang bang)Smokey: "She not coming."
Sacha: "That's weird."
(Bang bang bang bang)
Smokey: "Oh no! Maybe Mommy unconscious! We have to rescue her! I scratch the door down!"
(Scratch scratch scratch!)
Sacha: "That's no good you big pussy! You gotta put some muscle in it! Like this!"
(BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG)
Smokey: "Oh no! Mommy dead! Mommy dead! Waaaa! I miss Mommy!"
Sacha: "There's just one thing left to do; we've got to dig a trench under this door. It's the only way we can save her."
Smokey: "Don't worry Mommy! We coming!"
Sacha: "Hey this carpet comes up real easy!"
Smokey: "And taste good too. Nom nom nom nom."
Me: (Approaching the door) "God $@!*&!!!"

In the distance, my grown cats, Tabitha and Ryan, observe:

Tabitha: "What are you doing?"
Ryan: "I'm watching all their cuteness wear off."
Tabitha: "Awesome! Hey while they're busy, let's go eat all the kibble."
Ryan: "Ah, you're beautiful AND smart."

Last Litter Syndrome

Ain't he sweet? Look at those itty bitty hands. I wonder what kind of chip the aliens implanted and why didn't they choose the kitten named "Chip" for this procedure.

While first litter syndrome resulted in me adopting, the urge is on me again now that I'm facing last litter syndrome. I'm pretty sure this is the end of feline babies until the weather warms and I'm getting way attached to my last three. These kittens never purred the first week I had them, now they are so loving. They have such great little "hands" they are always kneading and it looks really cute because they are all wearing little white gloves. Captain sort of kneads the air and touches my face when I pick him up, it's very endearing. This is the kitten who started dying for no reason and I took him to the emergency clinic (to the tune of $350.00)His name was Cookie but he did that magic sex change like Lucy did and my son said the name "Cookie" was just too queer so we changed it.
I noticed that some stitches were poking out of him Tuesday while waiting for our time to go on camera. I knew he'd been shaved on his neck but this was the first time I'd seen or felt the stitches. I figured there must have been some life saving device plunged into his corotid artery or something but thought it strange that nobody mentioned bringing him back to get them removed. I guess they don't use the dissolving CAT GUT stitches any more. This will have to come out before he goes up for adoption. Bad enough he has the obvious shaving which will make people think twice about him...
So I called the office and asked about coming in and they put a vet on the phone. "There's no reason for that kitten to have stitches, there is nothing in his record to indicate that sutchers were ever used." "Dang, maybe it's just something stuck on him but it looks like stitches , er, um, sutchers to me."
I remember years ago getting a call from the veteinary office where I used to get my Dog, Cortez, groomed. I got that grave phone call saying "We've found a tumor, the doctor will need to speak with you when you pick up your dog." My heart as pouding on the drive over. When I got there, the tumor had turned out to be a piece of candy cane with a couple of Thomas the Tan Engine stickers that the fur had grown around. I hadn't noticed it before since it was near his dick and I always figured he could clean that part himself. I thought maybe I'd take Captain in and they'd say "Look, it's your dental floss mixed with jam" or something.
The vet said to bring Captain in so he could take a look. I took him into the place and Danielle Spencer was on duty. She's an old friend, you might remember her as "Dee" from the 1970s show "What's Happening". The kids from that show were guests on the Variety Hour so we got to know each other then. (Geri Reischl and Earnest Thomas are still friends and working on a project together) I saw her years later when she was just starting veterinary school. It's so cool that she is practicing near where I live. She's really nice and still looks like she's fourteen (She must have gotten Florence's secret map to the fountain of youth).
We hugged and went bla bla bla for a while and then the vet I had spoken to on the phone came out. He looks at Captain and says "Hey those ARE stitches. Why does he have stitches?" "Don't look at me, I have my sewing machine out but I haven't used it on the kitties, REALLY, I haven't." He removed the sutchers still shaking his head. I talked to him about Captain's little near death experience and he assured me that there is no indication that he will have any more blood sugar issues again. Basically, it was a fluke. (Lucky me). Maybe we can explain his shaved arm and neck as being some kitten fashion statement now that the stitches are out... but why were they there?
We arrived at the only LOGICAL conclusion: Captain must have been abducted by aliens.

I told Danielle that I'm really tempted to adopt Captain. I was hoping she'd say something smart and practical like.. "No, Susan don't." Instead she said "It's always good to have another cat, it's nice the way they interact with each other.""I already have four!"She just smiled a great big smile.I was tempted to do my best Shirley Hemphill impression and say, "Thank you, Dee." but I refrained.

Kitten and Crow

As much as I love kittens I'm going to give the crow credit here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JiJzqXxgxo&mode=related&search

Going Postal

From This

To This

I foolishly ignored a friend's advice and got a scratching post covered in carpet rather than rope. I ended up with a post that was shredded to bits in no time.

Scratching on carpeting teaches cats that it's OK to... scratch on carpeting. Who knew? Yeah it's pretty obvious but you see so many posts covered in carpet that I just assumed that it was a good thing. It's not! I have carpeting in my house that looks like the carpeting on the post. Those long fibers from scratched up carpet can be swallowed and choked on and they just look bad. (If your little darlings have transferred their scratching to the carpeting on your floor you know what fun that is to vacuum) So if you have one of these or find somebody who's throwing one away, you can restore it into a better post that won't teach your cats to trash your house.

Get some rope and a glue gun. Take off the old carpet, leaving some on the top as a cushion and wrap the rope around it. It takes a while as you must wait for the glue to cool and harden with each row. Note: hot glue on fingers - not good. That is one nasty burn because it seals the pain in. Weee. Take care and soon you'll have a GOOD AS NEW post that your friends will oooh and ahhh over and wish they were as clever as you.

Bye Bye Lucy and Fred

If you know anybody who's looking for a couple of really SWEET cats... They said they would try to adopt them out on the "Best Buddy System" which is where you can adopt two for the price of one because they are best buddies (Truthfully, Louie played more with Chip from the other litter)

Lucy (Louie) A906944 Freddie A906945

West Valley Animal Shelter

Lucy's Nice Surprise

No Voucher for ME?

My first litter came from the EAST Valley Animal shelter. I ended up adopting two of them, the other two I surrendered for adoption. I heard that I didn't need to have the shelter ship the cats off to be spayed / neutered. I could get a voucher so I could choose a vet near my home. Both of the shelters I foster for are at least a 30 minute drive and that's without traffic which is NEVER the case in Los Angeles. Long story short, the shelter had been busy that day and when they took my kittens back to be micro chipped for adoption, they didn't actually install the microchips. They assigned two but didn't implant them. I found this out in a phone message once I got home. I was in no hurry to drive back out there, and since all subsequent litters have come from the WEST Valley shelter, I've never had the need to even be in the area. As luck, or rather, my stupid brain, would have it, I lost the adoption papers AND my vouchers which were worth $70.00 each towards my kittens' neutering.

I finally got fed up with myself and decided I needed to get my kitteens fixed before leaving for Colorado later in the week so I put them in the carrier and drove them out. Long story short, they got chipped BUT they wouldn't give me new vouchers because surprise, I don't qualify as I don't live in the city! Funny I was perfectly qualified to take care of these kittens but I'm not entitled to free spaying and neutering if I adopt? That is the policy for foster parents. That is the ONE perk we get.

This felt like such a slap in the face. I explained that I had already been given vouchers and the guy said "That must have been a mistake". I got angry and said "With all that we foster parents spend on these kittens you can't pony up a voucher?"
"I don't make the rules Ma'am."

The lady at the other counter was surprised and said "Oh TRY to find those vouchers in your house!" I said "That's not the point. The point is that if I don't qualify for the benefits of other foster parents in the city, this shelter should never have contacted me to ask me to foster, OR I should have been told by somebody." When I got my training and they did a background check, they saw that I didn't live in L.A. nobody told me that I needed to go sign up with the county shelters!

I spent 380.00 on emergency vet care for Cookie when he had his hypoglycemic event and almost died. Without that care he would have died. I know this was not required I know I won't be reimbursed. I CHOSE to do it. I CHOOSE to feed them decent food which I pay for, I CHOOSE to sometimes cook for them. I've chosen to go on TV to promote the foster care program. I don't ask for recognition for any of this but to be denied the smallest form of gratitude the program has to offer really knocked the wind out of me. I'd be thinking of throwing in the towel were it not for returning home and having my five little foster babies purring and mewing at me.

It's for THEM that I'm doing this. F bureaucracy!

A week or so later, I contacted the head of the foster program who told me that this had indeed been a mistake. That really was my main concern but I got my vouchers too which is great! She was super nice and it was great just talking with her on the phone. My cats weren't quite as enthusiastic.

Good Outcomes

I think my little Brian has a new home. I put his bow on him and made him smell good. No sooner had we parked at the shelter when a lady who had parked next to us asked to see what I had in the carrier. We got inside, she held him, he purred. I told her about him and before I could say "I think he'd like to be an only child". she said "I have no other pets or children." She wanted to see the other cats available but asked the people at the desk to not put Brian away. They told me that even if she didn't take him, he'd go very fast. Instead of leaving the shelter upset, I was very happy. I have since looked his ID up and it's not appearing. That tells me he's been adopted. I hope he's adjusting well and is very happy. My passenger seat is covered in little white hairs; kittens shed a lot when they're nervous. I hate to clean them up, they're like little momentos. So weird to think I'll never see my little emo kitty again but I'm very glad I got to know him.

I Like Boys!

First off, Brian is still with me. Life got in the way of me taking him to the shelter on Saturday. I decided to wait until this weekend to take him in so that he can have a full Saturday and Sunday when the most pet shoppers come to the shelter. Getting him in late on Sunday and having him possibly wait all week for the right new parent to come on the weekend, seems pointless although I realize he could be there for weeks. I'm hoping he gets picked within 24 hours like 3 out of 4 of mine have.


I got some ribbon that's about the color of his "points" so I can sew him a bow to make him all the more appealing. It's packaging! I want my kittens to get out of the shelters ASAP!


This will be the first time I've surrendered a kitten that I got very attached to. I will miss my grumpy, crybaby, Brian, terribly. The girls that have been adopted seemed quite confident and ready to go get a new home and a new life. Brian is still very much my baby. But he's a boy; they seem much more like babies than the girls do. My neighbor summed it up in a way that completely makes sense to me. She said, "Females are designed to become mothers, but the males are free to remain babies forever." This seems true of other species as well. It might explain why I'm definitely more partial towards the male kittens. It's human nature, we want to be needed and the boys just seem to need us more. I've been saying that I always seem to like the male kittens best until my third litter where the girl, Lucy, is my little darling.


After taking Cookie to the ER for a near death experience with hypoglycemia and finding out tht she was a he, I've learned not to take the shelter's paperwork too seriously. I usually match the collar with the papers to see which kittens are male and female and then I take the markings or some other physical feature as my means for identifying them by the names I or my son give them. I don't generally greet them by looking at their butts, so I never did my own examinations. With this new discovery about Captain I decided to take another look at my other charges starting with my darling little girl, Lucy.


The tiniest of the litter, so dainty...


Look at that sweet little mouth,


with her tiny squeak of a meow,


So lady like,


those darling little paws,


pretty little eyes...


those adorable little testicles...



WHAT?

Yes indeed! Lucy has nuts! Rather appropriate for the holidays don't you think?

Well let's take a look at Fred, Oh dear, he's a girl. Their brother Ricky, who passed away, I know was a boy because I had to clean his bottom so many times as he was always sickly.

Now we need some name changes and here's where my psyche just can't cut it. My brain functions much like that of a ninety year old. Like a squeaky, slow tricycle on a circular train track, it slowly goes round and round and it's very difficult to get it to change course. I can accept that Lucy is a boy I just can't stop calling him Lucy. Fred will become Frederique, and I can still call her Freddy. But Lucy? My sister suggested "Lucifer" but black cats have enough trouble getting adopted, let's not really put the evil on Lucy. I've decided to call him Louie, after my friend, Louie who passed away in March. I MAY be able to get this to stick in my head. There again, my favorite is a boy.

So there you have it; even though I'm surrounded by rumours of Brady lesbianism and I'm knee deep in pussy; I still prefer boys.

Kittens Ate My Blog

Hello. I'm having a less than rewarding experience with blogger templates and such so bear with me as the type and images may go funky from time to time. I did something perfectly wonderful in Pimp my Profile (really, it's great!) but it won't translate to HTML here.

Enough whining. This is my attempt to get that litterbox smell out of my MYSPACE. I am a foster mother for kittens, I volunteer for the shelters. I found my regular blog was being consumed by stories about my foster kittens. Knowing that not everybody is a crazy cat lady like me, I decided to separate the kitten talk from my regular blog where I scrawl the ramblings of a mildly insane person.
I would hope that this may become a place where information can be shared. I am not a cat expert. I don't even play one on TV (but I'd like to). I'm just a person who is gaining a lot of experience in raising kittens and would like to share what I've learned. Most of all I'd like to learn from others.

So Hello, I must go now and get a kitten back to the pound. He is ready to go, I've taken care of hium since he was four weeks old, both of his sisters were bigger and have already been adopted. I will miss this little guy probably more than I realize right now. But that's how it goes. I knew this job was dangerous when I took it.

-Fluff