Wow!

Wesley has suddenly hit a huge growth spurt!

I weighed him in this morning, because when I picked him up for his 11am feeding, I noticed that he is seeming a little 'fuller' than he was a few days ago....
So, to my very happy surprise... He's almost gained a full ounce! He's at 4.0 oz now!! :):) (that's up 0.9 oz since Thursday)

He's eating like a champ. He's bathrooming like a champ. He looks like he's getting stronger and thicker all around. And he all of sudden has these huge feet...! If he does grow up to be a full kitty, I think he's gonna be a BIG kitty.
I really, REALLY hope this keeps up, because he's doing great.

I put together a little clip for today. Plus a couple cute pictures I got of L.H., too. Hope you enjoy them. Have a nice Sunday :)

I had this awesome opportunity to get some really cute pictures of L.H. yawning when I was in there... but when I loaded them on the computer, they were completely out of focus! Grah, sorry. I must need glasses or something :P

Such a cutie pie :)

Improvements :)

I can't even begin to express my complete appreciation for all the comments that are still coming in from around the globe wishing us blessings and support. I am so very thankful for each and every one of you ~ whether you are from the cat community, are friends or family, or popping in from all other parts of the web... I have wept at a great many of the comments, and have written down and remembered advice from those who gave it. It has really helped me through this. So, again... Thank you all... thank you, thank you, thank you. ♥♥♥

I have been super behind in responding to everyone individually, just because between the feedings, trips to the vet, etc, I try to get either some sleep in, or get the house chores done (and updating these posts to keep everyone in the loop). But, I promise, I will try to get around to it soon. I have been still reading up my usual blogs that I follow when I can... though as I checked out everyone's sites as they commented on here recently ~ I realized I'm going to have to add a bunch more! There's so many wonderful sites out there that I'm only learning about now! :)

It's funny. I've really become grateful for anyone who has children out there. Mothers... wow. We have no children ourselves, so we aren't familiar with babies who need around the clock care. But I can definitely see this being a mini-training session for if we ever did. ;)
With that being said, I also have to thank Doug for sticking by me through all of this... He's been completely wonderful in every step of this. He's an absolutely amazing person to support me and the kitties with all his heart.

Okay... Sorry for all the mushy. I just can't express it enough!

So, what's been happening since yesterday...
To start, as I mentioned, I decided to take Wesley to the vet to check up on his illness (severe runs, barely eating, whining a lot). I didn't take Rosie or Litterhead with me (as Lisa from Space Paws asked), because it was his suggestion to only bring Wesley. Although, he said, once he examined Wesley, that there really wasn't much he could determine because he's so young. I couldn't get a stool sample out of Wes (go figure) either, which I will have to still bring in with me today if I can get one. But, the doctor still gave me Neosol drops (Bromide) to give him twice a day for a week, to help with his diarrhea. Well, let me just say... that HELPED. After two doses, his symptoms seemed to clear up! And! He's eating a full 2ml or more at each feeding... AND! He gained 0.2 oz since his last weigh in! So I'm over the moon about that, as you can probably imagine :)
I'm still waiting for a full bowel movement to take into the doctor to confirm that parasites are not found though.. but in the meantime, I'm glad that he's eating well again.

Now, with all that good news being said, he also mentioned to me to still stay a little prepared and realistic. Because Wes is still dangerously underweight, anything can still happen within the next few weeks. I know he was just saying it so that I'm not too upset if something else does arise... And, I'm trying... But I'm still going to keep up a ton of hope for him. I want to stay positive, even if I do prepare for the worst.

We also sent off Oscar to burial while I was there. It was really hard to say goodbye, and I had a bit of a breakdown once I got home, but I managed. He was going with two other puppy dogs who were euthanized that afternoon... so, it gave me a little peace knowing he wasn't all alone. I'm always going to remember that little guy, and he's always going to be in my heart.

Last thing... Litterhead.
I just want to touch on the fact that this kitten is HUGE. Like, gigantic, monsterous, enormous! Maybe it's just because I'm so used to seeing Wesley's teeny tiny body... but, wow. I'm happy that s/he's growing so well.

Got a couple pictures from today. Wes's pictures are always a bit the same, but... he's cute anyway! And well, Litterhead... will you just look at that belleh?!?! hee.. :)

(trying to roll over)

Wesley - Day 5

Just a quick post today to report on what's going on.

This morning, Wesley's diarrhea increased, and it appeared he was suffering from it. His crying went on for much longer than usual.. and stroking his belly was the only thing to soothe him - so I concluded that it's possible that it could be more of a virus than just having trouble digesting the formula.

He was originally sucking the eyedropper quite well, and would take in a full 2ml every two hours. His appetite has decreased to about 1ml (and absolutely refuses any more), and it's like he's suddenly forgotten how to suck, so I have to spend a lot more time doing it drop by drop on his tongue, hoping he'll swallow.

Since I haven't heard anything from the shelter, still (and I tried again today with no answer)... I've decided to take him in to the vet anyway. I really don't want to lose another one. Which is making me feel a little better, to get a professional opinion.

I'm also taking Oscar with me..... they'll do a little procedure for his remains... which, sigh, has been a bit tough for me to think about right now. It's going to be hard to say goodbye....

I have to leave in an hour, and need a stool sample, so I better start getting organized. Here's a couple pictures of Wesley this morning, as he roamed his box.

An Update...

It has brought many tears to my eyes reading all the love, support, and advice I have from all of you. Thank you so very much for everything. Reading all of your kind words really means a lot to me... I really, really appreciate it.

Things have been a bit rough since yesterday morning, but I'm continuing to truck on and stay strong for this litter, and for Rosie. Tired as I may be. (Thank goodness for having time off)

We have dubbed the runt as Wesley (Crusher), since we have been on a Star Trek marathon as he sleeps on my chest... and he is currently my main focus. He's still a huge concern because of yesterday.

After lots of reading, research, and comments from you all, I decided it best to keep Wesley under close supervision, and bottlefeed him KMR myself. His symptoms yesterday morning were almost seizure-like, where I thought I had lost him three times (before we lost Oscar). I rubbed his body and kept him warm... and mainly, got food into him. I've determined that he has a really hard time nursing, and probably had no, or very little, food in his belly. This could have been the issue with Oscar, too... but didn't know until it was too late.

Ever since Wesley has been under my constant watch, he's been doing better. He's warm, & he's eating 2ml of formula every two hours (including overnight) - with a bit of difficulty, but he gets there eventually... the eyedropper works much better than the bottle nipple. I would have checked his weight by now, but my kitchen scale needs a battery - I hope to have one tonight though, so I can start monitoring it. He's smaller than his sibling, for sure, but I hope he'll start gaining weight with these regular feedings.

As for his sibling, I still don't know the gender, because I have completely left this baby under Rosie's watch, with as minimal contact with it as possible. I don't want to interfere at all, because it seems to be doing fine with the nursing, etc, with Rosie. Once in a while I can hear it complain from the office, but eventually I'll go check, and it's found its way back to Rosie's belly. Maybe once I get the battery for the scale, I'll borrow the kitten quickly to check its weight and gender.

I haven't heard from Pet Save yet (to my surprise)... so I'm probably going to call my own vet today on advice. Though, I think things are (knock on wood) okay for now, minus Wesley not doing well with Rosie.
I honestly don't mind the late night feedings and constant monitoring... but it is tough to do anything when I'm restricted to watching him all the time. He's most comfortable sleeping on my chest right now, near my heart. He does well with the homemade incubator overnight, but seems to prefer being close to me during the day ...But, am I spoiling him? Should I keep him in the box all the time? I tried him with Rosie for 2 hours this morning with no success. Every time I went back in there he made his way away from her on the floor. Even sticking him next to her nipple... nothing.

Anyway, I think that's it for now. The little guy is curled up here fast asleep right now... so I can't post any pictures  - the camera is at the other end of the coffee table, and I don't want to disturb him by getting up, but once I go upstairs for his next feeding in 20 minutes or so, I'll try to upload them after that. I have one of him sleeping on Rosie's foot when I stuck him in there with her this morning that I thought was cute. Maybe I'll try to get a few more before then.

Again, thank you all so much. I'll keep you informed soon.

PS: Yoko has been giving me distance during all of this... it's almost like she knows. But she's been happy and pleasant with me, and still sleeps on my head when I get my couple hours in at night. She's such a good kitty.

~~~~~~~~~~~~6:30pm
Just a couple pictures of Wesley, to keep things positive....

On Rosie's foot this morning.

Waiting for a feeding... as usual.

Weighed them in this evening. "3rd" baby MAY be female... super hard to tell in the short time I had. But the weight difference was alarming... Wesley in at 3.1 ounces, and "3rd" at a whopping  5.0 ounces! The difference between the two is amazing. It is my goal to get weight on this guy... and to my disappointment, he had the runs earlier, too... but then ate 3ml for his 6:00 feeding. Any tips on getting more weight on him, or helping with diarrhea, would be appreciated. Talked to another two vet techs today, and they believe it's probably due to formula, and to not be alarmed.

A very dark day.....

It pains me to write.....because the emotion and sadness that's going on with me right now is...overbearing. But, I feel as though I should let everyone know.
At 4:30am this morning, I woke to a screaming and convulsing kitten. I'm not going to type the situation all out, because....it's too hard. ...but it was Oscar, my little guy.

After sitting with him and trying anything I could, while scurrying the internet trying to find a solution and having no luck getting an answer on something I could do..... I called the emergency line for our local vet office (a pet 911)... a technician returned my page about 5 minutes later... and while I was mid sentence.....my poor little Oscar quietly left this world while being cradled in my hand......

I'm completely destroyed right now.... it's too hard to even think about....

My thought is that while everything has looked okay, I don't think Rosie is paying attention to their needs enough.... and I think they're much more undernourished than I thought.

Runt isn't doing very well either.... and I'm waiting to hear back from Pet Save to inform me on what steps need to be taken next. Litterhead still seems to be latching on the nipple okay, and is quite round looking..... but Runt continues to struggle.... and we continue finding him alone in the middle of the floor when we go in to check on things......

I need advice......and lots of hope....right now. I can't believe all this has happened in such a short time..... I wish I knew what had happened.....

I'll try to update as I can.......sorry to have such bad news......... I feel...terrible.

Rosie and the Sunshine Kittens

Another beautiful day out there! And the Sunshine kittens are doing spectacular this morning!

First, I want to say thanks to all of you readers for cheering on Rosie. Welcome to all the newcomers as well! It's great to have visitors :) Rosie is doing great now, and although she still doesn't seem to be the most affectionate mama in the world, it definitely looks as though she's got a better handle on things than she once did.

As for the kittens, I'm starting to be able to tell them apart now. I've been calling them "Sunshine" kittens because ever since I was told about getting Rosie, the sun has been shining down every single day. The weather here is just gorgeous! (which is so unusual for Northern Ontario in March)

I know my little guy the best, and for now we're referencing him(or maybe her, the sex is still a bit hard to tell) as "Oscar". S/he was the little squirt that I took care of, before we thought there were any more to come. I sort of bonded with him. He was born on the day of, and even got to watch with us, the Oscars on Sunday night, where I held him close to me while he snuggled and nursed into the palm of my hand. Oscar is an unofficial name, until we can determine the sex, of course. Doug has suggested "Sandra" (Bullock) or I suggested "Meryl" (Streep) if we find out it's a girl after all.

For the other two, Litterhead and Runt, for obvious reasons. Litterhead was born in the litterbox, and still today has two little spots of litter stuck on his/her head (I wish mama Rosie would lick it off, but, as I said, she's a little lax on the mother side of things it seems... that, or that's how she tells them apart, too :P). And well, Runt, because s/he's the smallest. These are definitely not permanent names, just how I'm distinguishing for now until I fully determine the sexes (so don't worry...lol!). ;)

I've been taking a lot of movies over pictures because it's difficult to get too close to Rosie with the camera. But, I have cuuuute ones! I have one from yesterday, and one from today. Here's the pictures I got from this morning...

Left to Right: Litterhead, Oscar, Runt

Poor little Runt, always last to find a nipple.

Pretty Rosie

Aww, look at that sibling love! (closeup below)

♥ Hugz ♥

Here's the video from yesterday...

And here's the one from today (bunch of clips lumped together)...

Long Night, Sunny Morning

I'm starting to understand what being a mama is like ;)

So, I've been up every second hour with the wee one ~ Feedings, poopings, etc. S/he's such a good little eater, and looks terrific this morning. Me, on the other hand, well I'm just gonna grab me some extra strong coffee...that's all I'll say ;)

Just as I was starting to fall back asleep after my 7:00am wake-up... at 8:00am, Doug poked me in the ribs. I thought he was just getting up, but when I opened my eyes, he was just sitting there looking at me... waiting for me to listen.

It was the littlun crying, really loud... I thought it was just lost in a cold spot in the box and couldn't find stuffed mommy-cat in there again. But, as I stood up out of bed, I realized.... that's not the first littlun! That's coming from Rosie's room!

So, I slowly crept into the room, and there was another baby with Rosie! All wet and covered in litter (my guess was that she had it in the litter box)... Rosie didn't seem to be paying attention to this one either, but I'm going to leave her be with it for now and hope instinct kicks in the second time around. It's nice and sunny and warm in the room now, so I'm not concerned about the babe being on the hard floor (where Rosie likes to be, it seems) as much as I did with the first. I checked in again 15 minutes later, and it looked like the baby had latched on to her. I'm hoping that she'll take to this one more. I'll go back in to check on things closer to 9:00... and if things are going well, and baby is nursing, I may see if she'll accept Baby 1.

Here's a little vid I captured of my cutie waking up. The bubbling in the background is the coffeemaker....
Speaking of which.... I better go have some of that ;)
Enjoy! And more to come as I know!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~11:30am
Just a quick update... There are a final THREE babies!!!
Mama Rosie and her three (yep, even Number 1) gray babies are all happy and warm and nursing. Rosie looks so much more relaxed now. :) Keeping an eye on things every 45mins-1hr, and so far so good.