Monday, October 16, 2006

Who's My Mama


As an ancillary part of dog training I often help with rescue efforts -- mostly to rehome unwanted dogs and cats, sometimes to help someone find a new dog or cat for their home. I'm often riddled with phone calls and emails asking me to take in an unwanted animal and most of the time I state that regrettably I cannot do that. I do have a petfinder site that has been very successful in finding homes for these animals, and because the results are usually so positive, I keep at it.

The other day my oldest daughter's best friend's father caught me in a vulnerable moment and I agreed to take an orphaned kitten off his hands with the caveat that he provide some kitten formula and a bottle.

Anna Heather, aka AH, has been here nearly a week. She has thrived with regular round the clock bottle feedings and the gentle rubbing of her privates to stimulate her peeing and pooping needs, and she has grown from a scrawny 6 oz. to a whopping 9.1 oz as of this morning. She frolics around the house and seeks out any warm or potentially warm body as if to say, "are you my mama?"





Unfortunately, cats that are orphaned so young who don't benefit from the ministrations of a decent mother and the shared experiences of littermates often develop behavioral problems later on. We're hoping to offset that as much as possible by having her experience different people and animals who are gentle so she can minimize the emotional trauma of being wrenched away from her mother so young.

Tomorrow I estimate she'll be about 4 1/2 - 5 weeks old. We may crack open a can of kitten mush and see how she does. Unfortunately, I'm unwilling to wash her off with my tongue so frequent water based baths and quick drying efforts will hopeful make her look a little less scraggly over time!

We'll keep updates on how she does.

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