Farewell, Little One

It has been tough to keep up the kitten blog, with everything that has been going on. Those of you who follow our Facebook page already know that all the kittens were struck by a mysterious, fast-moving virus, and that we lost our sweet little London.

London was the first kitten to get sick. It started with vomiting, and at first we thought it was just passing tummy trouble or worms, but then she came down with a high fever. She was taken to the vet's, but sadly, she did not make it. London died on August 22, 2017. We never got to say goodbye.

Goodbye, dear London.

Then things happened quickly ... Bettina came down with the same virus and had to be rushed to the emergency vet in the middle of the night. She had a high fever and was unable to eat. At one point, we were told that they did not expect her to live--but Bettina kept fighting.

Next, London's brother Paris started running a high fever, and he, too, was off to the vet. Dash, Bettina's brother, seemed to be the only one holding the sickness off--but then he stopped eating and started vomiting. Off to the vet for Dash, too. He still had plenty of fight in him, though. It took four people to hold him down to get his temperature.

Right now, Bettina and Paris are back home, and Dash is at another rescue house. The good news is that they all seem to be recovered and are eating, putting on weight, and seem stronger and more active every day. They tested negative for feline leukemia, FIV, and panleukopenia. We are hopeful that they will grow up to be beautiful, healthy cats and find the loving forever homes they deserve. After all, they've already beaten the odds once.

Beautiful Bettina

Sweet Paris

Hello, London--Bonjour, Paris!

We had a hard time naming the new foster kittens, but now we've got some names that seem to fit them.

Meet London, with her fabulous foggy grey coat ...

London

... and feast your eyes on floofy, glamorous Paris!

Paris

They're growing, coming out of their shells, and becoming cuter and sweeter every day.

Yesterday, London had an adventure. When resident foster failure cat Clark Gable came into the kitten room to pay a visit, London dashed out into the hallway, ran up the stairs, politely greeted Ian and Molly and Duncan, got scared when Molly hissed at her, ran under the couch, behind the TV, knocked over various books and pictures, then ran down the hallway, climbed a cat tree, and was finally burritoed in a blanket and brought back downstairs, where she enjoyed a well-deserved lap nap and lots of petting.

London and Paris - almost ready for their forever homes!

Meet the Fosters!

Two new kittens are on board for the summer! These adorable orphans were rescued by CARE Southcoast after their mother sadly died. They are about 8 weeks old and will be available for adoption after they are fixed and have all their shots. In the meantime, they need lots of love and socialization. At first they wanted nothing to do with humans, but now they purr when you hold them and are starting to venture out to play! 

Right now we are calling this little grey kitten Spitfire. She likes to act fierce, but she's really quite a cuddler once she gets started. She has short hair, a cute white bib and paws,  and a tiny little white spot on her nose. 

Her sister has classic Maine coon cat tabby markings, with a distinctive tabby M on her forehead. We suspect FLOOF is coming, but right now she's medium haired, with incredibly soft, dark fur. We are calling her Selkie. 

Follow our Facebook page for updates on these two adorable babies. 

Parents' Weekend

Jasper, Sunstone, Sandstone, and Galena

Remember at summer camp, when it was parents' weekend, and you got to show off all your swimming trophies and arts and crafts projects?

Stunning Mama Opal

It was sort of like that at Miri's House this past weekend, only the visitors were future kitty parents, and the kittens didn't really have any prizes to show.

Beautiful Onyx

Although if they gave prizes for cuteness, they would win them all! Here's a small taste of the complete cuteness overload of Opal and her five-week-old kittens.

Sleepy siblings: Galena, Sunstone, Jasper

Playful Galena

Sweet Jasper

Happy Birthday, Sweet Six Kits!

Mama Opal's six kittens are one week old today, and they're busy growing up and growing strong.  They really are an adorable bunch, each with unique coloring. And just in time for their birthday, we received some wonderful surprise packages from Amazon.

From Suzanne Fortier: a case of canned cat food, a bag of kitten food, AND a soft cat bed! Thank you, Suzanne!

And from Cheryl Hablanian, a kitten-sized scale, which we used immediately to check everyone's weight. Thank you, Cheryl!

Now that the kittens are starting to toddle around, open their eyes, and develop their own personalities, we think it's about time they had names of their own. In keeping with Opal's lovely and old-fashioned name, we're giving the kittens gemstone and mineral names.

So here  are their names and vital statistics:

Jasper--dark orange--8.1 oz.

Mama keeping a careful eye on Jasper, who's fleeing the scale

Sandstone--light orange/buff--8.4 oz.

Curious Sandstone--eyes open and ready to explore!

Sunstone--light orange/buff and white--7.6 oz

What a cute little Creamsicle!

Onyx--black with white markings--8.5oz

Look at those eyes!

Mica--grey and white--7.8 oz

Those little pink feet!

Galena--dilute calico--6.9 oz

So sweet and so petite!

Mama was a little worried that we took the kittens out of their under-the-bed drawer to weigh them, but once we had everyone back safe and sound, she took a play break.

Thanks again to everyone who has helped us care for this beautiful little family.