I believe mothers do the best job of nursing their kittens. Sometimes that doesn't work out and the kits need to come into foster care in order to survive. They usually need cleaned up and I've never fostered a feral who didn't have conjunctivitis. These three photos tell the stories of three very different circumstances. All ended up at the same crossroad and were brought inside.
When they come into foster care, the party begins. Forget about sleep. Forget about those day trips. It's every two hours around the clock. Like all babies, they need fed, they need washed. They need their bellies massaged. Even though they come with an impressive instinct to use the litter box, they still need to learn where and what it is. They will need their bums washed before they are ready for the litter box. They also will need help getting into it.
We do our best with the bottle but it is not just like Mom. That requires an adjustment period as well.
There are very few things that I find more gratifying and fun than fostering kittens and watching them grow.
Watching this... .
become this...
...is very cool.
This little guy's first week inside was touch and go. He refused the bottle and lost weight. It was a struggle to get formula into him. On day five, he began to suck on his own and everything turned around. He made it!
I found caring for these little beings rather mystifying at first and had to puzzle out some issues.
A FEW THINGS TO BEAR IN MIND WHILE YOU MAKE AN APPOINTMENT WITH YOUR VET:
To see what became of these kittens- Mercury, Jackson, Splash, Shadow and Umberto, link on over the the Daily Mews!