Day 26/37/44 Lemmy Comes to Visit

Last night one of my pug friends, Lemmy, came to visit.  I was really excited to have a buddy to play with for awhile as I miss having a foster dog.  Mom says soon enough the kittens will want to play.  I want to play with them very much, but they're still to little.

Lemmy's Mom got to see the kittens while Lemmy and I played.  Mom said that's the reason they came to visit but I'm sure it was really to see me.

The kittens are getting a lot bigger and are moving around quicker.  Not fast, but quicker than they were.  They are also starting to play with one another.

The kittens are getting cuter every day too!

This is Seamus.  

Today she learned how to climb up Mom's leg.  She said it wasn't as much fun for her as it was for Seamus.

Kenna.

Kenna has the strangest coat.  It's like she always has bed head.  Mom was concerned perhaps she wasn't getting as much attention from Fiona as the others, but Fiona grooms her and takes very good care of her. Kenna just has bad hair.

Kiefer.

He has the bluest eyes of all the kittens but undoubtably they'll turn a green color when he's a bit older.  He'll still be just as handsome.

And Kieran.

Kieran has learned that the cat bed is a great place to hang out.  He had a snooze in it all by himself for about an hour.

Day 23/34/41 On The Move

It sure is quiet around the house without Sierra.  Thankfully Valentine has come out of his shell and he's started to play with me so I've got a new buddy. Mostly we like to hang out on the blanket together while Mom is working.


This works out well unless Valetine decides to bite my tail!  Maybe that is OK in the cat world, but in the dog world that's not acceptable. This is not the way friends should treat one another.











Mom has been taking more videos of the kittens since they are starting to move around a fair bit.

They've been moving around the house too.  Earlier in the week Fiona moved them into the bedroom closet.  Mom isn't sure why since we all go into the bedroom on a regular basis so she's not moving them to a 'safer' or 'quieter' spot.  Mom doesn't want them in the bedroom closet so after a couple of days she moved them into the closet in the spare room.  She made it exactly like in the bedroom closet and Fiona was happy in there for a day...then she moved them back to the bedroom closet.  Mom says that's where they can stay until they start really moving around and/or start eating solid food and therefore need to learn how to use the litter box.

Mom still took some cute photos of the kittens though.

Kiefer is looking particularily handsome in this photo.

Day 18/29/36/73 Sierra's Been Adopted!

That's right....Sierra's been adopted!  Mom's good friend/my best buddy Gord's daughter adopted Sierra. So she'll still be part of the family. I'll get to see her lots and Mom said that there are already plans for Sierra to come stay with us while her Mom is out of town for a few days. AND, if Mom and Sierra's Mom go out of town together then we'll both get to stay with my best buddy Gord. Oh, just wait, Mom says that hasn't been discussed with my best buddy Gord yet.  Anyway, we're all really happy for Sierra.  

As you might recall, LT was going to adopt Sierra a while ago but Sierra wasn't very nice to her cats. Nicky came to observe Sierra and give some tips on how to change Sierra's association with cats. Mom has been working with Sierra and Sierra got to the point where she liked Valentine and Fiona. She even tried to get Valentine to play with her.  I'm glad that Sierra has decided cats are OK. I've always liked cats and Valentine is becoming my favourite because he's starting to play with me. Last night we had a good game of chase around the coffee table. Valentine was chasing me. I know it's not right to chase cats.

I really like the foster kittens as well. I got to visit with them last night. I sat very patiently and Kieran came up to me. Then I got quite flustered and didn't know what to do.

Day 16/27/34/71 I Get to Meet the Kittens!

I finally got to see the kittens that Mom has been talking about!

Mom said I did a very good job of not getting too close. In all honesty, I don't know what the fuss is about. They're pretty small and didn't do anything. I was more interested in checking out the rest of the room.









Everyday I get to go in and see the kittens again.  Today they were moving around a bit and I'm understanding why they might be so interesting.  I sat down and watched them move around the kennel for about 5 minutes before I got bored.  Mom said my little puggy tail was going a mile a minute.

Mom says the kittens get cuter every day. Especially now that their eyes are open.  They seem more aware of their surroundings and although Mom isn't sure how much they can see they can definitely hear.

They still sleep a lot though.  They're only awake for about 5 or 10 minutes before they all have to have a snooze again.

Day 12/23/31/67 Eyes are Opening

Mom has been trying to determine the sex of the kittens.  She said it's harder than it sounds because they're so little and they are 'built' differently than dogs.  I bet if she sniffed their butts she could figure it out.  That's what I do and it works pretty good for me!

She's been back and forth a couple of times but has figured out that the tabbies are female and the black ones are male. Their names, from top to bottom, are Kenna, Kiefer, Seamus and Kieran.  Mom says she knows Seamus is a boy's name but she has been calling this one Seamus since right after she was born.  Maybe we'll change it to Shea.









Monday afternoon Mom said that she noticed a couple of the kittens were starting to open their eyes.

This little kitten, Kenna, only had her right eye open.  She managed to get the other one open yesterday.

Seamus had both eyes open on Monday. 













Mom thought she saw Kieran's eyes open this morning but didn't have a chance to get a good look before she had to leave for work.

The kittens are doing lots of moving around.  They are crawling around more quickly and frequently get turned over on their backs.  This leads them to get confused and crawling in the wrong direction.  Then the crying starts and they are quite upset until they can make their way back to the rest of the group.

There's still lots of sleeping going on though.

Day 9/20/28/64 Kiefer Leaves the Kennel

Mom had to go into the office on Friday and Saturday so she didn't get to check on the kittens during the day.  When she came home she swears they looked bigger than when she left in the morning.  Last night Kiefer (the kittens have names, but Mom isn't sure of their sex so they're temporary names at this time) made his way out of the kennel.  He got turned around in the kennel and started to crawl, although he was trying really hard to walk, out of the kennel.  He'd made it out and over to the wall before his wailing was enough to draw Fiona away from her dinner.  Mom said it was very cool to watch Fiona pick him up and put him back into the kennel...sometimes she is easily amused.

Of course Mom didn't have the camera with her so she didn't get this all on video.  She did have the camera a bit later and caught this video of Seamus having a fit and then fighting with another kitten. Seamus is a very dramatic kitten, and can never seem to find a nipple on his own so he likes to steal someone else's.

The kittens still sleep most of the time.  Fiona's been leaving the room for a couple of hours at a time and whenever she goes back in the kittens are still content all huddled together.

They sure are cute though!  Their eyes should start opening in the next few days so that will be very exciting.











Mom says maybe in another week or so I can go and see these kittens that she keeps talking about.  I've seen and heard the videos and they don't seem all that interesting.  Mom says that will change once I find out that they will play with me.  On the other hand, Sierra goes nuts when she hears the crying on the video.  Mom's not sure what exactly this means, but given her behaviour with other cats she's not going anywhere near the kittens!

Day 6/17/25/61 Moving Around

The weather has turned spring-like in Calgary and we're taking full advantage of it.  Sierra and I sat out on the deck today for about an hour.  Now this might not seem like a long time for most dogs, but neither of us are really outside dogs.  We like to go outside, do our business and then come back inside.  I do like to spend sunny afternoons on the patio, but it's not quite that warm yet.  Mom said she enjoyed the quiet time in the house and being able to walk from one room to another without needing an escort, or four.  Valentine still followed her around.  Hey, we just want to make sure that Mom isn't lonely!

Mom says the Fiona's kittens are all doing really well.  Yesterday morning Mom went in to check on them and when she went into the room there were no kittens in the kennel!  Mom looked around, but didn't see any kittens.  Then she noticed that Fiona had made a den using the duvet that was on the bed.

Fiona did a very impressive job.  That's a queen size duvet and it was folded on the bed the night before.  All four kittens are in there and Fiona has a little tunnel dug all the way to the wall.  It was a bit more enclosed but Mom was worried it might collapse when Fiona wasn't in there so she opened it up just a bit.







Fiona was also showing some interest in the top of the kennel so Mom put it back onto the bottom.  When Mom went into the room this morning to check on everyone the kittens were back in the kennel.  Mom figures that Fiona might have found it too hot in the duvet.  It was probably great when the kittens were in there as it preserved the heat she'd given off, but it would have been really warm when Fiona was in there too.  This room is already super warm and doesn't need any extra insulation.

They did look pretty cute all snuggled in the duvet together though.

Fiona has been enjoying her time away from the kittens.  Valentine is sure happy when she comes out and he has someone to play with.  Especially if it's night time.  For about the first hour after sunset he is a crazy man.  Running all over the house, playing in the tub...Mom isn't sure what all he's doing and is sometimes afraid to look.  Nothing ever seems out of place so it's all good.

Sierra thinks there aren't enough pictures being taken of her and people might forget how beautiful she is. She wants to remind everyone that she's still looking for her forever home.  She's been adjusting well to having Valentine around and has even gone up and sniffed him a couple of times.

Day 4/15/23/59 Kitten Update

Mom has been spending a lot of time going into the spare bedroom.  I still don't understand what newborn kittens are, but Mom says they're not old enough for me to visit them yet.  Val snuck into the room when Mom was letting Fiona in and he got to see the kittens.  He said he didn't like them and hissed at them and faster than a speeding bullet he got removed from the room.  Fiona didn't seem to mind him in the room at all, but Mom says he won't be going back any time soon.

The first couple of days Fiona didn't really want to stay in the room with the kittens and asked to be let out quite frequently.  Fiona has settled into her role as Mom is spending most of her time in the room with the kittens. She comes out a few times a day now to check out what's going on around the house and to have something to eat.  Mom says there is food and water and a litter box in the spare room but I guess the food outside is better.  I'm not allowed to eat it so I can't really say. Sierra's not allowed to eat it either, but she doesn't listen as well as I do and she says it's pretty good.

Here is a pic of the kittens yesterday.  Mom says they don't do much other than eat and sleep.  She says every once in awhile they'll 'fight' over a good spot and push one another out of the way.  Already they seem to have their own personality traits.

Fiona being a very attentive Mom.  Mom cleaned out the kennel today and put in a fresh towel.  This means she got to pick up the kittens.  Fiona seemed OK with this as Mom only moved them about a foot but she did get the stink eye a few times after that.

The kittens today.

Day 1/12/20/56 The Kittens Have Arrived!

We usually go to bed pretty early around here but last night we were up late because Mom was watching a new TV show.  Around midnight Fiona started acting differently.  She is always very, very quiet and she started to meow constantly.  Not a meow like she was in pain, just a regular meow.  But since she's only ever meowed about 5 times before, 5 times in a minute was a big change.  Mom thought Fiona was getting ready to have her babies.  Fiona (and Valentine) kept going into the spare bedroom and going into a kennel that Mom has in there (Mom's note: YAY!).  Mom definitely knew something was up and started to get ready.  It was late so I was pretty much settled in bed.  Sierra has been sleeping in the kennel; sometimes with the door open, sometimes closed.  Depends on whether she keeps coming out to bug the cats.  Mom decided it was a closed door night.  Soon Valentine was getting a bit too interested in checking out Fiona's butt.  I'm a world class butt sniffer so this seems normal to me, but Mom said it wasn't an appropriate time.  Anyway, we all got kicked out of the spare bedroom.  I could tell you what we all did for the next few hours (most of it was Valentine and I standing guard outside the bedroom door with Valentine trying to knock it down at regular intervals) but I hear it was much more interesting on the other side of the door.  Because of this I'm going to let Mom write the remainder of the blog today.

Fiona was most definitely getting ready to have her kittens.  I could see her belly starting to contract.  However, any time I would attempt to leave the room she wanted to go with me.  So much for cats wanting to go to a quiet place where no one is around to have kittens.  As a matter of fact, she would have been more than happy to have the kittens beside me on the bed.  I really preferred that this wasn't her chosen spot.  She kept moving from the kennel to the blankets in the closet.  She kept going under the blanket in the closet and seemed unsettled.  I checked on her and there was a kitten!  So very cool as this is the first time I've seen a cat have kittens.  I'm glad Fiona wanted me around so that I could take it all and snap some pictures.  Fiona did a good job of cleaning off the kitten and while her breathing seemed laboured, she was crying.

I was surprised at how big this kitten was...but not having seen newborn kittens before I didn't have anything to compare her too.  I did notice that a few things looked strange; her rear legs, paws, and left ear.








Fiona moved a bit and out popped a second kitten and then immediately a third.  Poor kitten #1 was left on it's own a bit away.  I figured Fiona would bring her over, as she was still crying, once she finished having the other two.  Unfortunately that didn't happen.  I called McKnight Vet to see what I should do as I wasn't sure how long I should wait to see if Fiona would take care of her before I intervened.  I moved her closer to Fiona but she still wasn't suckling.  Her breathing still seemed off, laboured but shallower at times and she had mostly stopped crying.  I called McKnight again.  They suggested wrapping her in blankets warmed in the dryer and some gentle rubbing to stimulate her and help loosen any liquid she still might have in her lungs.  I checked her mouth and pallet both of which looked good.  Her color was good but she was still very 'off' compared to the other two kittens.  The other kittens were crawling around and not once had this poor little girl attempted anything close to moving on her own.  After she was wrapped in blankets for about 20 mins I tried to get her to suckle.  No luck.  During this time I obviously had to leave the room a few times.  Every time I would leave the room Fiona would leave the kittens and want to come with me.  She'd be at the door, banging away with her kittens being left alone.  Another call to McKnight and we were going to give it a bit more time to see if she would come around and suckle or else I'd take her to the Vet.  One of the reasons for waiting was the fear if Fiona was left alone she wouldn't care for her kittens.   After another half hour the kitten had made no change.  Since McKnight is at the other end of the city from me it was decided I should go to Fish Creek.  I called them, told them the situation and they said I should bring everyone in so that they could see if, once they helped the kittens breathing, they could get her to suckle.  Off we went.  As soon as they looked at the kitten they could see the deformities on her rear legs and front paws.  After a bit of investigate it was determined that it was highly unlikely she would be able to use her back legs.  She'd end up only being able to drag her rear legs around.  Her breathing had improved, but she wasn't suckling.  And she still hadn't made any attempt to move herself or crawl.  The Vet didn't think she would likely live and if she did, her quality of life would be extremely poor.  The hard decision to euthanize her was made.  I cried like I'd had her for years.

Nearing the end of the visit Fiona seemed to be getting stressed.  Who could blame her?  While she'd pretty much given up on the sick kitten hours before, she wasn't very impressed with having her other two kittens taken out of the kennel.  She was starting to pant and become agitated.  We came home and I got Fiona and the kittens settle back onto the spare bedroom.  I called my Mom and had another little cry.  When I was done I could hear Fiona banging on the door.  Time to go convince to stay with her kittens.  I opened the door and she went back to her kittens, but there, right inside the door was a newborn kitten!!  Fiona wasn't coming to take care of it and my heart sunk...again.  I scooped it up and put it by her.  She immediately started to clean it and it was crying and squirming, just like the two healthy kittens.  Whew, this one was going to be OK!  Soon after that she had another kitten.  I guess this was the reason for the panting at the Vet's office. I wasn't expecting 3 kittens in a matter of 20 mins, a three hour break and then 2 more.  At this point I really hoped she was done as I'd had enough excitement for one night.  Thankfully that was it for kittens....five in total, 4 that are healthy and doing great!

Here's the tired Momma and her little babies.  They're all dark and therefore hard to make out but there are two that are tabby and two that are almost entirely solid black.













Fiona seems to be staying put with the kittens now.  She does like it when I go and check on her and give her some ear rubs.  She starts to purr loudly right away and I have to tell her not the leave the kittens when I leave as I don't think she wants me to go.  The kittens are already very spunky.  They howl like you wouldn't believe when they can't find a nipple...and there's one that can be right beside one and can't find it.  I've seen them fight with one another, pushing each other out of the way.  There's going to be some fun times ahead in my house...right after I get a good night's sleep!