A blog by author Rebekkah Niles
Your headquarters for the Broken Powers world, coding, writing, the publishing world, tea, geekery, and the occasional cute fuzzy.
I posted part one of the kittens' journey. Edit: The babies have now gone to their new families--They all now have homes!
If you want to adopt a baby herd-baby, check out your local shelter. It's full of animals looking for loving homes, and they'll always know you as the human who rescued them. Or inquire at your local Second Chance, SPCA, or other animal rescue and adoption organization.
Here are the kittens:
One of our kittens had a stubby tail. I'm happy to say it's healed over nicely! Because of his tiny size, we couldn't get it operated on yet, but it seems to have healed on its own. He's just as active and spry as all his siblings--actually, he's one of the most playful kittens. He'll be a good companion, loves snuggling and playing both.
We also still have a tortiseshell kitten who needs a home. Her twin has been adopted, but this little sweetie is still up for grabs! Like her brother, she's a snuggler. EDIT: She's also been adopted! Yay!
To be honest, I can't tell the difference between her and
her twin from the pictures.
The one with white paws is definitely not her.
I'm pretty sure this is her. She's more shy than her sister...
though don't worry, she loves people!
Probably her sister Kiki. Probably.
I made a kitten ad.
Then there's the rest of the family:
Nymph has white paws and a white chin. Sorry, guys,
she's taken!
Mama lets us get pretty close these days. She's doing well, too.
The kittens are eating solid food, too... but they'll still grab a snack
when they can convince mama to let them.
Nymph being cute.
Oh, and also a video of the babies being adorable.
Certified kitten cuddlers: It's a "tough" job, but someone has to do it.
My roommate's bed has started mewing.
She rescued a feral cat who had just given birth at a shelter with a high kill rate, bringing the mama cat and her kittens to a nice quiet apartment (at least, compared to a shelter). So we've been hosting 5 newborn kittens and a feral cat who hisses every time we get too close.
At closing in on 3 weeks old, all their eyes are open (they started on day 10 and were mostly open by day 12). Two of them don't seem to mind being cuddled, especially now that their eyes are open.
Sparrow: Both eyes did finally open, but I'll always
remember her as the smaller-than-a-tulip pirate.
At first, one of the babies I dubbed "KISS" due to her hardcore mew-screams every time she was lifted up. Now that her eyes are open, she's more calm about it, especially if her feet aren't fully supported, but still vocal. I expect she'll always be talkative. Her twin--we spent a few minutes comparing them and couldn't find any visible differences yet--is another tortiseshell whom I called Sparrow after she spent a full day with one eye open and the other still closed. She looked a bit pirate-like, and we weren't sure which were boys or girls yet, so I went with the gender-neutral "Sparrow" from "Jack Sparrow."
Another baby has a stumpy, problematic tail. The vet thinks it may be congenital, but no matter if it was pre-rescue injury or completely natural, first order of business as soon as that sweetheart is big enough for treatment is to remove the tip of the tail, since it might otherwise become a source for infection, and also probably hurts a bit. He's such a sweet kitten and one of the more active ones, so we can't wait to get him cared for, but he's too small for most care and also can't really be separated from his mother for that long yet. But soon.
They're all cute and crawly and are now mostly able to walk. Their eyes may all be fully open, but they can't quite focus yet; still, I've caught them beginning to bat at one another as they start to figure out playing. They've outgrown their cage, so my roommate is letting them wander around in her room freely now; mama (who still hisses at us if we get too close, but only half-heartedly, and doesn't seem to mind when we take a baby as long as we don't too close to her) has taken them under the bed, but they keep wobble-crawling out to explore.
In another week or two we'll have bouncy babies who are steadier on their feet. They'll start weaning soon, and once they're weaned, mama will be spayed, her ear nicked, and released back to where she came from (this is common in catch-and-release programs for healthy ferals who can't be rehabilitated). We'll continue to cuddle the babies and make them people-friendly, and my roommate will take them to make sure they're healthy, get them their first vaccines, and treat that tail.
Your heart is in my tiny, tiny paws--
and mine is in your hands.
Then it's time to start finding them homes and say good-bye. Right now they still fit in the palm of my hand, tiny and cute; and every day they look a little bigger and stronger and closer to the string-chasing and bug-pouncing adorableness we know kittens for. But I know they need forever homes, and we're at our permanent-pet limit. I think one of the boys has wrapped his tiny paws around someone's heart. Don't worry, loving future-home: I'll make sure he knows people will love him and care for him, that people have nice hands and are good to be around. Just promise me you'll do the same as he grows, and give him the home full of warmth, happiness, and kitty joy.
Kitten cuddling might be a tough job, but I'm up for the challenge. Are you?
Hi!
(Edit:) New pictures for just shy of 3 weeks old:
(You can e-mail my roommate at nyssamehana@att.net if you want to know more about adopting a kitten-baby.)
Everyone needs a tiny dragonslayer in their lives. Here's how to train a kitten to be a dragonslayer:
Our hero, and the star of this video, may seem brave, strong, and noble now, but she comes from very humble beginnings.
Mochi started out as a shelter kitten, one of three litters all born close in date to each other and lumped together as soon as they were weaned for convenience. The shelter is seriously understaffed, yet is the only shelter in their county, and thus has a continual influx of new residents--leading to an unfortunately high kill rate. They often search for foster homes to take in adoptable animals, to help reduce the strain on resources and give a fighting chance at life to as many animals as possible.
Fortunately for Mochi, my roommate agreed to take her in until we can find her a forever home, and so she gave the kitten her first few vaccinations, brought her home, and thoroughly cuddled her. Then she gave the young fuzzball into my tender tutelage, where I have taught her to brave and strong, and to hunt evil dragons (we leave the nice ones alone, of course).
So no matter how you came into life, don't ever doubt your ability to be a hero. And if you happen to want a renowned dragonslayer to guard your castle, well, Mochi is happy to teach every kitten out there just what to do. She knows herself just how scary the real world can be... but that happy endings, and loving homes, are more than just a fairy tale.
*Edit--speaking of which, Mochi does have a forever home, and is happily settling into her new castle right now!
