Pip and Squeak - almost 4 weeks old!

These kittens sure are growing up fast! Pip and Squeak are now almost 4 weeks old and are weighing in at around 500grams (Aprox 17.5 ounces, or just over 1 pound). They are completely weaned off of the bottle, and are getting fed gruel about 7-8 times a day. They've started to show a little interest in babycat kibble, so I don't think it will be long before these two are eating on their own!

The only downside to this step of their development is that they are going to the bathroom on their own, which means they are pooping on EVERYTHING (including each other!) Most days they are getting at least three baths, and the amount of dirty laundry is staggering! They have little litterboxes available in both their playpen and their crate, but they haven't quite got the hang of using them yet.

Bathing kittens requires some extra-special care; you have to make sure that their little heads never go under the water, and they have to be COMPLETELY dried off afterwards so they don't get sick. Even at this young age they've already decided that they do NOT like the water.

After their baths they both get wrapped up like tiny kitten burritos and get cuddled until they warm up and dry off.

After bath time comes play time, and then nap time. Then they wake up, eat more, poop more, and the whole process starts over again.

Pip and Squeak - First time with gruel!

The little ones have their teeth coming in! Their canines are starting to poke through their gums and that means its time to start transitioning away from the bottle. They've both been getting a bit fussy about the bottle, probably due to teething, so the timing is perfect.

At our noon meal today I mixed up a plate of super simple gruel to do a trial run: I used chicken babyfood and mixed in enough formula to make a nice runny paste. The kittens could not get enough of it!

Squeak couldn't quite get the hang of slurping the gruel off the plate, but he was super interested in it and kept whining when he couldn't figure out how to eat it.

I went ahead and made a batch of actual gruel for them and finished their meal by syringing it into their mouths.

Since they're weaning, the gruel is a little different: I used 1 jar of chicken baby food, 2 cans of kitten fancy feast wet food, 45 grams of liquid formula, 2 scoops of rice baby food (I used the KMR formula scoop), and water. The gruel needs to be very thin at this point so the kittens can swallow it without having to chew, so I used the fancy feast can to measure out the right amount of water (gruel should always have a 2:1 ratio of wet food to water).

We'll probably still start with the bottle of formula at meal times for the next few days, but as the kitten get more of a taste for the gruel they'll start to refuse the bottle on their own.

The National Kitten Coalition - Support the Fur Babies!

Orphaned kittens can't regulate their own temperature so an external heat source is a MUST! SnuggleSafe disks are so popular with shelters, rescues and fosters that they rarely have enough on hand. The National Kitten Coalition is raising funds now through June 1 to purchase 500 SnuggleSafes directly from the manufacturer (wholesale prices!). We will distribute 10 to each shelter or rescue we visit to present one of our life-saving, full-day workshops. $20 buys one SnuggleSafe and keeps one litter of neonatal kittens warm. $200 funds the project for an entire shelter or rescue!
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Babycat Play Time

Kittens grow up so fast! Pip and Squeak have gone from sleeping all the time to playing and wrestling with each other in the space of a week. Their little teeth are starting to come in (incisors in kittens show up around 2 weeks old) and they're chewing and gnawing on everything.

Once all of their incisors and canines have come in (around 4 weeks old) it will be time to start transitioning them away from formula and the bottle.

Pip and Squeak Update - Growing like weeds!

The little ones are growing so fast! When they were brought to the shelter they weighed in at 84 and 94 grams; as of this morning both babies have passed the 200g mark!

Both of the kitties' ears are starting to open up, and I would swear I can feel teeth starting to form under Pip's gums! In the next few weeks here they will probably be ready to start transitioning to gruel, after which point they will go to a new foster home.

It will be sad to see them go, but this will leave us free to take more bottle babies (which can be much harder to find fosters for). At least we've got a few more weeks until that point!

Have a heart and lend a hand!

Our supplies wishlist is officially up and running!

Foster Kitten Amazon Wishlist


Fostering kittens is hard work, and the cost of supplies can add up very quickly! If you'd like to help out our local foster community please consider a donation of food or supplies. All donations made through my wishlist will be taken to the Williamson County Regional Animal Shelter. With your help we can continue to rescue these tiny kittens!

The shelter can always use supplies for its older residents too! You can send new or gently used pet supplies directly to WCRAS, or make a donation from their website.

If you live in the area stop by and visit the Shelter!
  
Location:
1855 S.E. Innerloop
Georgetown, TX 78626
(512) 943-3322
Driving Directions
Hours
Mon - Fri 12PM-6PM
Sat & Sun 11AM-5PM

A Close Call for Squeak

We almost lost Squeak last night. He aspirated/inhaled a bunch of formula and couldn’t breathe. I managed to get his lungs clear and his breathing is back to normal, but it was a close call.

We headed up to the shelter this morning to get him looked over and give him some preventative antibiotics. His heartbeat was strong and breathing sounded good. The antibiotics should help keep him from getting pneumonia or a respiratory infection.

There’s still a chance that his body could react poorly, but it looks like he may pull through.

Situations like this are why it is SO important to make sure that you are bottle-feeding correctly; if a kitten aspirates (breathes in) the formula, even just a small amount, it can be fatal. If the liquid in their lungs in not cleared immediately their breathing could stop. This is not the kind of care/advice that I feel comfortable sharing online since I am NOT a trained professional; talk to a vet about what to do if your pet/foster stops breathing.

The after-care is just as important as the immediate emergency response. Any amount of liquid in the lungs can cause pneumonia or a nasty respiratory infection. Get the animal stable and then get them to a vet! Squeak was given an injection of penicillin, but the antibiotic used may vary depending on the age, weight, and size of your animal.

About three years ago we lost our little foster kitten Evelyn to this exact nightmare scenario; she aspirated her formula and stopped breathing. We managed to get her breathing again and she survived the night, but the stress to her body was too much and the next day she went into shock and died.

Sometimes even knowing the right actions to take can't prevent something bad from happening. The hardest part about fostering bottle babies is that some of them aren't going to make it. I'll be completely honest and say that it makes you question whether or not you want to keep doing it. A lot of rescue people and fosters won't take bottle babies because it's very scary and very intense. Always remember to take as much care of yourself as you do of you animals; without you they wouldn't have the chance to live.