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I left the house with Moxie (now Biscuit) and Poppi (now Poptart/Poppy) shortly after 5 am Wednesday morning, and Thursday morning at a bit after 10 am, the new fosters arrived.
Say hello to…
Beatrice, who was living under a Chili’s (restaurant) sign with…
Her orange tabby son Nigel.
And her torbie daughter Hazel.
Nigel and Hazel are 5 weeks old, and I think Beatrice is about 2 years old. Beatrice is going for her spay surgery next Wednesday, and wish us luck getting her into the carrier. Neither of us has been able to touch her, and she wants nothing to do with the humans.
BUT WAIT! THAT’S NOT ALL!
We have perpetual bed-head kitten Benji.
His sister Matilda (who looks like she’d like to cut me here, but was actually purring up a storm).
And (in the front, photobombed by Matilda) their brother Monty.
I’m not sure where these three came from, I assume they were found without a mother, and were bottle raised by another foster mom until I could take them. They are 6 weeks old.
ALSO.
This is a terrible picture of her, but this is Margarita. She was found alone under someone’s deck, no mother in sight.
Margarita is 4 weeks old, and a hot mess. Her eyes were full of puss, and one was glued shut. I didn’t get any good pictures of her the first day, because that was not my priority.
STILL NOT DONE YET.
I was driving to Michelle’s to pick up all the above fosters, when she called and said that someone at a Co-op in a rural town had found two kittens in a truck of straw. No mama was around, no other kittens were around, and I could say no but was there any chance I could take them? I hung up, called Fred, and when he didn’t answer (he was in a meeting), I took that as permission to say yes. Ha! I told Michelle I’d take them if someone could bring them to me (the Co-op where they were was about 45 minutes from where I live.) They said they would, and I headed home with Beatrice, etc.
The kittens, who’d been in an enclosure with Beatrice, were coated in food and poop. Obviously they’d had a GOOD time. So I gave each kitten a bath, dried them off, and put them in the foster room in the red crate, on a heated mat. I used warm compresses to get Margarita’s glued-shut eye open, and then cleaned her eyes and put ointment in them. I put her (on a heated pad) in a carrier by herself across the room from the others.
About 10 minutes after I was done with that, the people showed up with two kittens, one of whom was YELLING his little head off. They were two little brown tabbies…
Clark.
And Sebastian.
They’d assumed, since the two were found together, that they were siblings and Sebastian was the runt. I don’t think they’re siblings – I think they were probably part of a co-mothering situation, and when the mothers moved their kittens, these two were left behind. Clark is 3 weeks old, and Sebastian is 1 week old (I aged him as 5 days on Thursday.)
Clark was in good shape – pretty well fed and very clean. He was very vocal for the first day, I’m sure because up until that morning he’d been living the life in a pile of straw and he was very confused. Sebastian weighed just under 3 ounces (I’ve since started weighing in grams to get a better idea of how he’s doing) and was skin and bones. Neither kitten had a single flea on him, which I think is so interesting – every kitten found outside in Alabama has fleas on them!
Clark went into the crate with the other kittens, and Sebastian went into the carrier with Margarita, and the two of them snuggled right up.
As the weekend progressed, Margarita started looking much better, and at this point I’m not worried that we’re going to lose her. She joined the other kittens in the crate/running around the foster room, and Sebastian is temporarily living in a crate in the dining room since I’m bottle feeding him around the clock.
Beatrice has been very good with the kittens and will let them nurse from her, but she basically is allowing the kittens to nurse on her when they find her, and Sebastian is too little for that (and also needs more one on one attention.) Clark “discovered” her, glued himself to her side, and now will seek her out when he’s hungry.
I am bottle feeding Sebastian around the clock, and weighing the kittens in the foster room twice a day to see who needs to be supplemented. Benji did for a day, but now he’s doing okay. At the moment I’m typing this, I’m supplementing Margarita (she’s really too young to eat canned food on her own yet) and also Clark. I’m sure that’ll change from day to day.
Oh, and I nearly forgot: they’re going to be known as the Britty Bunch – Monty, Matilda, and Benji came to me pre-named, and Fred thought they sounded slightly British. He pushed to go with British names for the whole bunch, because he REALLY wanted to call them the Britty Bunch. He thinks that’s HILARIOUS, and occasionally I let him have his way, so there you go.
Beatrice’s favorite hangout. The kittens go under there with her. Whatever works! (She’s spending more time out in the room now, though.)
Benji LOVES to flop on his side and be petted.
Monty (left) and Matilda in my lap.
Handful o’ Sebastian.
A boy and his bottle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“More fosters, you say?” says Alice. “Oh, joy.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Posted on social media (Facebook/Twitter/Instagram/Tumblr/ Bluesky) yesterday.
The new fosters are here! Say hello to Benji and his perpetual bedhead. I’m trying to get a video together, should be up in the next few hours.
YouTube link
Sorry about the rambling in this video – I am working on very little sleep right now, so am not sure how much sense I’m making. I got these guys just about 24 hours ago, and this is how they break down:
Beatrice, Nigel (orange tabby boy) & Hazel (torbie & white girl) were living under a Chili’s restaurant sign when trapped. The kittens are 5 weeks old (DOB March 27th) I think Beatrice is about 2 years old. She is not loving me; I hope she comes around. I WANNA BE FRIENDS, Beatrice!
Monty (black boy), Matilda (black girl, pink collar) & Benji (floofy brown tabby boy) are siblings. I’m not sure what their backstory is, but I think we can assume they were found without a mama. They are 6 weeks old (DOB March 21st)
Margarita (black girl, much smaller than the others) was found under a deck all alone. She’s horribly underweight and has goopy eyes, but she’s already doing better. She’s 4 weeks old (DOB April 3rd)
Clark (brown tabby) and Sebastian (classic brown tabby) were found together on a truck at a Co-op in a rural area. The people who found them assumed – since they were together – that they were littermates, but Clark is about 2 weeks older than Sebastian. I don’t think Sebastian is a runt, I think they’re from different litters – it’s entirely possible that there was a co-mothering situation going on, the mamas decided to move the kittens, and these guys got left behind. But of course, Clark’s not talkin’, so who knows? Clark is 3 weeks old (DOB April 10th) and Sebastian is 6 days old (DOB April 26th.) Sebastian is tiny (only 98 grams, which is a birth weight, not a 6 day old kitten weight), but he latches onto the bottle like nobody’s business and is already putting on weight, so I’m not terribly worried about him (more than the baseline worry that I always have about bottle babies!)
Except for Clark & Sebastian, the others were together for at least a couple of days before they came to me. Beatrice is letting the kittens who are not hers nurse from her, but I am keeping Sebastian downstairs and bottle feeding him so that he doesn’t have to compete with much bigger kittens.
We’re calling them The Britty Bunch because Fred made the suggestion (they’re all vaguely British names, he says) and was so pleased with himself that I went along with it. If you dislike the litter name, I recommend you take it up with him. 🙃
Good night innernets. (Hazel, Nigel and Matilda)
Beatrice might not be a fan of me (though she’s not hissing as much) but she’s been great with the kittens. She had never seen Clark before Thursday morning, and he suddenly “discovered” her under the bed and has been pretty much glued to her side ever since. Since he’s not old enough to eat on his own and had no interest in the bottle, I am VERY grateful for her milk bar service.
When Clark isn’t glued to mama Beatrice’s side (ie, milk bar), he likes to follow Monty around. There’s a little bit of hero worship there, I think.
Nigel and Hazel regard the world (and me) from the safety and warmth of the crate (they especially like the warming pad.)
Benji’s belly is NOT a trap (unless by “trap” you mean so adorable it will trap you into rubbing it forEVER.)
Good night innernets. (Sebastian, from his heated crate with his stuffed puppy. I look forward to adding him in with the others in a few weeks!)
Benji gives Clark the ol’ (very gentle) slapperoo.
Matilda is such a sweetheart. All these kittens are super friendly; not a scaredy cat in the bunch.
Benji posing in the pink Adirondack, while Beatrice watches from a distance.
YouTube link
Dispatch from the foster room, where there’s a whole lotta tusslin’ going on.
Monty’s started climbing onto the couch, and he’s not sorry. (I’m sure one day soon I’ll walk in to find all the bigger kittens hanging out on the couch.)
Good night innernets. (Sebastian)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Previously
2024: No entry.
2023: I think this might be the best picture I’ve ever taken. I am dead from the cute.
2022: Kudzu giving me the teenage attitude.
2021: Canasta in her onesie.
2020: And then they donned their Floof Suits.
2019: So so so sleepy. (Albert and Willie)
2018: No entry.
2017: Praline has a think.
2016: Throwback Thursday: Newt and Maxi.
2015: I think it’s safe to say that the kittens have found their crazy.
2014: Livia Monday.
2013: No entry.
2012: About Rupert.
2011: Crooked Acres, after the tornadoes.
2010: “Rowr?”
2009: The Seven.
2008: Killing me with the cute.
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
Yay for Bitty Britty babies! Sebastian is giving off vibes of a previous foster but I can’t place the name. What fun any way!
Do you need anything for the kittens from Amazon please let me know
Do you accept donations? I live in NY and think what you do is utterly fantastic. You also seem to have a lot of experience and know what you are doing – you seem very calm and collected. I have had kitties for many years and support a group out of Hudson, NY called ‘Animal Kind’. You can look them up, they have a website. They do adoptions, and routinely do animal rescues. My last 3 kitty boys were adopted from them over the years. My MaxMan who recently died at 13 – I had him for all 13 years was the most beautiful, personality packed Ginger Boy. I frequently joked that I just paid the rent, it was actually MaxMan’s house. My newer adopted kitties are Asheboy and Smudgie, a bonded pair that were fostered by Animal Kind. Asheboy is a dark grey shorthair with a beautiful white patch on his belly and under his front legs. Smudgie appears to be part Maine Coon, longish fur that is white and dark grey. and was so named because of a grey fur smudge on his nose. He has the longest white whiskers and of the 2 is a serious acrobat. I have seen him do contortions never before experienced in the feline population. My life is responding to various crashes followed by galloping cats rushing away from the scene of the crime. It is Smudgie that is most responsible for the biggest crashes and messes. Luckily, I have items that may hit the floor multiple times, but they don’t break. They are about 2 years old now and VERY entertaining. If you have any needs that I can supply via Chewy or Amazon, please let me know. I feel I must give something back for all the cuteness your little ones put out there. Thanks for supplying the ‘awws’ and the LOLs!!!
Mary & Cheryl — check out Robyn’s Amazon wish list on the sidebar. (6th box down on the right hand side) I notice she has some kitten milk replacer right at the top of the list!
What a bunch of beautiful little kittehs in this group!
Itty Britty Kitty Committee!
Robyn, have you considered investing in an incubator? I would be willing to contribute towards one for you. For the short time I fostered, I came this close to getting one. Do you have your eye on one already?
Let your groupies know so we can start a fund to get it for you. Your very little ones will thank us by living long, happy kitty lives!