Mamacat and Babies

As far as I know, none of this is confidential info, it's just the background on a trio of soon-adoptable cats.

When Beauty and her babies were brought in, Beauty bit someone she felt was threatening her babies -- fairly understandable, under the circumstances, but it led to her going into rabies quarantine. Away from her precious babies, tabby-and-white Benny and black-and-white Belinda. With a little extra care from the KHS staff, Belinda and Benny learned to drink milk replacer from a bowl and eat some wet food. Beauty, no surprise really, showed no signs of rabies -- Friday, she was reunited with her kittens, and the purring was an amazing thing. She probably isn't giving any significant amount of milk anymore, but Benny and Belinda go through the motions anyway, and get what they need from gushifud and KMR.

Monday, there was a bit of a scramble to find room for cats. Beauty and her babies had a double cage, which needed to be dropped to a slightly crowded single so we could save another cat. But... while I was cleaning that room... Beauty sneezed, multiple times.

There's nowhere to put her away from other cats. And if she died, her babies would be killed too, on the assumption that they were already likely to have whatever she does.

They've already been through so much, this poor family. So, against all logic, I brought them home. I also brought a very large rabbit cage, which in fact is no less space than they would have had in a single cage at the shelter, and I've increased it by adding a pair of hammocks that they clearly quite like (Beauty just doesn't want to leave hers!). The cage is in front of our enormous south-facing living room window, so we can draw the curtains back a bit and let them look out the window and get some fresh air, and we're keeping other sides of the cage covered for privacy.

Beauty herself is a sweetheart, she loves to be petted and cuddled, and has done nothing threatening at all to Sean or I while we've handled her babies. Benny is a silly little monkey who climbs all over the cage, including swinging from the top, and really wants out to wreak havoc on the world! Belinda is quieter and snuggly, she's very alert but seems quite happy to just be in contact and watch the world (she seems to enjoy sitting on my shoulder!).

The sad news is, I also tried bringing home 5 kittens whose eyes were barely open and who no longer have a mother. I think it's clear that I've over-extended. They aren't responding very well to being stimulated to potty, or to syringe feeding. They need more intensive time and energy than I have right now. My own cats are actually more upset about them than they are by Beauty's family; I've never heard Cory hiss before, he clearly sees the Sneezies and Benny and Belinda as potential playmates, but he hissed at the little ones. Trick is hissing and growling at everyone and everything, including Sean and I. It sounds brutal and makes me feel like a monster, especially after raising Eva and Cory, but if I have to choose to save Beauty and her babies, who've gone through so much and have come out of it so strong, or 5 little ones who are too young to be aware of anything much yet beyond heat / mom's scent / milk... I'll save Beauty, and pray to Bast the Ultimate Kitty-Mom that the little ones do better next time around. I don't know, maybe someone else can give them the time and energy. But, heart-breaking as it is, I'm at and past the limit of what I can give. And I feel terrible beyond words about it.

I'll try to get some pics of Beauty, Belinda, and Benny today. I should be at placement, but the combination of being up most of the night dealing with cat issues from squabbles to feeding teenies, plus the fact that there will be a vet there today and cats will die, is not a combination that's going to leave me useful. Today gets spent here, sorting out my apartment to accommodate the Sneezies and Beauty's family more smoothly.