Litter of kittens found..paging experts please!

[Cailleach]

Whilst out and about this afternoon I have found a litter of six kittens in a clump of ivy in the garden of a derelict house.

I estimate them to be about 2 - 2 1/2 weeks old. Their eyes are all open and they look in good shape, other than being totally filthy and riddled with fleas.

Being the soft stupid sod devoted cat lover I am I sat in the garden for three hours at a discreet distance from the nest and waited for the mother to return. Nada. So I packed them into my rucksack, brought them home via the vet (who kindly checked them over), gave them a bath (they were black-bright and stank of urine) and settled them in a box with a hot water bottle / towel.

I have kitten formula from the vet and have fed them about 3-4ml each from a syringe. They all fed well and promptly piddled all over me, which was encouraging, if a bit grim-smelling.

I know to feed them about that much every two hours, to rub their bellies to stimulate their bowels, to keep them warm etc etc. Is there anything else I need to do?

Yours, in anticipation of precious little sleep over the next few weeks,

C
x

How are the kittens doing now? DS loves watching the films of them, he thinks they're adorable . Hope you're getting a bit more rest now they're older.

Hello folks!

Sincere apologies for radio silence but have had the week from hell: have lost my job, amongst other things that have gone wrong, so now am up the proverbial inlet without means of propulsion, financially.

Hey ho.

The kittens, though, are doing very well: in fact, in another week or so their pen won't be capable of holding them any more and then I really will have my work cut out making sure they don't get into trouble as they tear round the house like little furry whirlwinds.

Soft you will be pleased to know that I have more videos for you / your DS here:

and more pics on Imgur here:

Kittehs

Hope you are all well - thanks for stopping by for updates!

x

C

Oh Cailleach. What a stinker at any time - but particularly at this time of year.

Cozie yes I know...awful timing :( We are broke as a joke atm. as well.

Long shot, but if anyone reading this is in the S Yorks area and needs temp staff over Christmas at short notice, let me know.

I have many skills, some of which are unmentionable in a family establishment such as MN ;)

Maybe start a thread over on eg the Credit Crunch board or one of the others as well? Lots of expertise on the site.

Sorry to hear about your job. What an awful time of year to lose it, too. I hope you find another soon. If you're job hunting, Indeed is a good resource as it collates all jobs in one place, a bit like a comparison website.

Thanks for the videos, they're completely adorable. I love the one sat on your mum's knee having a fuss, he's gorgeous and looks so content sat on her warm knee . I'll show DS tomorrow evening. We were only watching the other videos again earlier this evening, so he'll love to see more. How old are they now - they look about 7 or 8 weeks, is that right? They still have that very obvious kitten look. Is it Ivy you're keeping?

Soft thanks for the tips :)

Harvey is the one on my Mum's knee... he adores her. He was very sleepy because the kittens had had three run-around sessions in one morning, hence his zonked-out expression. He is a lap cat if ever there was one!

They are about 8 weeks old now, and yes, it's Ivy that we're keeping.

...and thanks also to Cozie. x

Oh, Cailleach, so sorry about your job. Good luck with finding another one.
Thanks for the update on the kittens - they are gorgeous, and doing so well. They're a credit to you!

They've grown so much!

So sorry about your job, Cailleach - esp just before Christmas - hope you will find something else soon

Thanks so much for kitteh-cam clips though, you have done an amazing job! (Harvey looks as if he's been on a sun bed with goggles on & burnt his nose)

TheOne / Jane thank you, me too.

Harvey lost the fur off his nose due to an overly-enthusiastic cleaning session from one of his siblings. It's just beginning to grow back now but he's been 'nose-bald' for a while!

Cata, yes, you can more or less see them growing by the day.

They are all snuggled up on my knee as we speak. Bless!

x

C

Awww Cailleach they are so gorgeous!
Is Harvey going to live with your mum, as he clearly adores her!

So sorry to hear about your job, what rubbish timing.

Timtam thank you but as my dad is ferociously allergic to cats I'm afraid Harvey will not be going to live with my mum: she would have him in a heart-beat though!

So sorry about your job - Jan is at least a good time to hunt tho. The kittens are severely sweet! Most heinously adorable.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwwww overload of cuteness you have done a fantastic job and each one of them is so confident well done they are beautiful

Hello folks!

Sorry for lack of updates but life has been pretty busy what with kittens and Christmas coming up!

So I have some more photos for you anyway:

Kittens Again!

No videos though this time, but might be able to get some tomorrow: we've had the digital camera fixed at long last.

In other good news, three of the kittens (Angus, Harvey and Minx) have found homes and will be going to their new mums and dads on the 28th December - yay!

Just Fudge to rehome now, which is worrying me a bit as she's the black one and we all know rescues are full of black cats because they aren't as eye-catching as their lighter-coloured counterparts.

Shame as Fudgey is a great little cat - she loves running up your chest, putting her paws on either of your cheeks and then kissing you right on the mouth!

So spread the word if you know of anyone who can give a fab little black cat a home this Christmas. She comes with her own bed, heating pad, and a few days worth of food and cat litter.

Have a great Christmas, Litter Tray-ers!

x

C

...oh and her own litter tray as well... forgot that one!

Warning: Cuteness Overload!

Yup, there's definitely an excess of cuteness in this house atm :)

My cats are FURIOUS about all these little furry strangers scampering all over the house; Minx stole BigFatPatchyCallieachCat's bed today, this did not go down at all well!

Eeeeek - too cute!!!!!!
Thanks for the updates - wish I could've taken two of them x

They are so beautiful. You've done a brilliant job raising them. Re Fudge, is it worth trying to persuade one of the people who are already taking one of the others to take her too? Point out that 2 x kittens = more than 2 x cuteness, and it is lovely for them to have a companion and playmate...

I'm having Minx, & I already have 2 cats - both black - DH had to have his arm twisted to add one more, so taking Fudge as well is a non-starter for me (although I would love to)

I'm adopting Harvey and my mum is having Angus . She only wants one kitten and her last two cats were both black, which is why she went for one of the others. For me, as much as I'd love to adopt two, I already have a cat so think he might be a bit annoyed if I bring two kittens home rather than one! If I didn't already have him, I'd have two for sure. Stop tempting me Gerund .

Ah, fair enough! Nice to know that the kitties are going to MNers/MNers' relatives . I would love to have Fudge, black cats are my favourite and she sounds a total sweetie, but I can't take a permanent cat at the moment - in fact I'm still looking for a home for my two current fosters...!