Update

Lula is still doing great...as are her other 6 siblings!! My mom is here this weekend and we are having a good time crafting and petting many animals!!

Re-Introducing LULA (The kitten formerly known as Tiny)

We can't keep calling her Tiny when we want her to get big!! My friend Rhonda found this name, Lula. It means princess warrior which is just what she is. I am in L-O-V-E, love!!

And now for the update!

Where I left off Lula still had her IV in, but was remarkably better. Since Tuesday she has gotten her IV taken out and although she is still spending the day at the vet, it is just so someone can feed her every 2 hours (yes, I wake myself up EVERY 2 hours at night to feed her!) She is starting to play with some toys, she is still using the litter box and she is turning out to be quite the snuggler. She sat under my chin for an hour tonight while I watched Lost. She just purred and looked lovingly into my eyes.

I just need to officially adopt her from Operation Kindness, return the other crazyfaces and we can get on with our love affair. I am a little nervous that they won't let me adopt her. Not that I have any good reason to think that they won't, I just can't stand the thought of losing her and I want to make sure I get to keep her. I am going to email them tomorrow.

Here is a picture and again, thanks to all of you who have been keeping up with Lula, our princess warrior!!

This picture is funny because my big cat, Princess, barely fits in this cat bed and Lula is just a speck! So cute!

Introducing "Tiny"

A LOT has happened since my last post. Let me start with after I got them back from Operation Kindness...

The vet there told me they had two illnesses. Coccidia (an intestinal parasite that causes runny poo) and an Upper Respiratory Infection (just like a common cold for cats). They gave me medicine and sent me on my way. When I got home I noticed that one little baby just wasn't looking right. She was so small and she wouldn't eat. Earlier when I told them they weren't eating well, they told me that they ate during the day and shouldn't be too worried. So I kissed them all night-night, put out a bunch of food and went to bed.

THEN....

When I woke up at the crack-of-dawn Monday morning I walked into the bathroom and immediately noticed that my little baby was laying on it's back halfway out of the crate. She looked really unnatural. When I picked her up she was limp and cold. Then she took a short, shallow breathe. I immediately started crying and jumped into the car. Morning breathe and PJs still on I raced to the Emergency Vet. They took her quickly to the back and started working on her. I waited, shaking in the lobby. No one else was there. They asked me her name and as I hadn't named her yet, so I just said....Tiny....

About 30 minutes later the vet came to see me. She told me that Tiny's blood sugar was a 10 (should be in the 100's) and she was basically severely hypoglycemic and starving to death. They had to put an IV into her jugular because her arms and legs were to small. The vet told me they had been injecting her with glucose but she hadn't woken up and she was worried she wouldn't. And furthermore, if she did wake up there was a good chance of brain damage. She told me to go home, take a shower (hint, hint:) and eat some breakfast. I was to return at 8am and she would call me if anything changed.

I did just that after calling my team and letting them know I wasn't going to be coming into school.

When I returned at 8am, the vet came out smiling telling me she was awake and responsive and doing well, but I needed to take her to my vet immediately. When I got to my vet they put her back on the glucose drip and prayed her blood sugar would come up. But, she was awake and alert...good news!!!

She stayed at my vet all day and by the end of the day her blood sugar was up to 117! They said the whole office cheered when she read the results. Tiny, I've learned, has a way of stealing your heart. My vet told me that although she was doing better, she needed to continue on the IV, so that meant another night at the ER. Gulp! I dropped her off at the ER and prayed she made it till morning.

*side-note: by this point in the day I has cried about 15 times at the thought of losing Tiny and decided that this was going to be MY cat*

Good news again in the morning from the ER but, back to my vet for the day. She spent the day today at my vet WITHOUT an glucose drip!! She ate well every 2 hours and was purring, talking and wanting to be as close to you as possible. All good things. Yahoo! So, right now, I have Tiny set up in my bedroom right next to my bed on the floor. I have to feed her every 2 hours and monitor throughout the night. My AWESOME vet wants her back tomorrow to maybe take out the jugular IV if Tiny is ready to be in charge of her own blood sugar level! I am really hopeful because so far tonight Tiny has eaten several times and even pooped IN THE LITTER BOX. This is a big deal because it means she was strong enough to leave her warm little bed, find the box, scoop herself a little hole, poo and get out and go back to bed. Big. Deal.

Thank you for all your kind comments and those of you who have been calling, texting and praying for us. I think we are gonna be ok!! I just need some sleep.

OH, by the way, the other little bumpkins who didn't become severely hypoglycemic and almost die , are doing so GREAT. Eating, playing and using the litter box so well.

Adventures in Fostering

I think I should just rename this blog to Adventures in Fostering since that is seeming to be what my life is like now! I owe you an update...

On Saturday I took my 4 little bumpkins back to be adopted and picked up a new batch of bumpkins. This time they asked me to take 10 6-week old babies with no mom.

I got them yesterday and they informed me that 3 little ones from the litter were in "critical condition" and not expected to make it. So, they asked me to keep a close watch and call if there was any signs of illness. I got them home and let them adjust. I put their food down and hoped they would eat. Some of them did, but most just sat there. I started getting nervous right away. I had to go babysit and when I came back, they looked worse, but were eating and definitely using the litter box...whew! However it was diarrhea and that isn't good for little babies. I kissed them goodnight and hoped for the best.

Around 6am I woke up and went in to feed them. Not good. No one wanted to eat, their eyes were goopy and they were all just sitting there, not acting like usual kittens. I immediately called a vet tech and they said to bring them in to see the vet (who just happens to be in today).

I am waiting to hear back about what the verdict is. I don't know if they will make it....sometimes this is pretty hard to handle!! I will keep you posted.

You know you want one.

Here are some pics of the cute little critters.

Scooter chillin by himself on his throne in the bathtub.

Peanut; the poser.
Sweet Pea stretching out on the chaise with daddy.

Mona looking guilty of something.

Everyone taking a nap