From GD: Okβ¦question of the day (see, you do need a FAQ section). One of my kitties is 15-ish (guess work involved as she was a rescue). She has dropped from 12 lbs to 9 lbs. I have taken her to the vet and had every blood test known to vet-kind performed. All her blood levels are normal, kidneys are kickβn butt, liver is fine. He even did an βold ladyβ panel to insure that age contributing factors were not present. All is well. She begs for Temptations cat treats. I will give her a PILE of them (sometimes she eats them all, sometimes she doesnβt). I have to be careful cuz the others want some, too and I canβt get them fat! Well, I have tried every brand of kitty foodβ¦wet: slices, chunks, in gravy, pureeβ¦etc. I will put her in a room and close the door (sometimes I sit in there with her) to insure the others donβt bully her away to steal it. Nothing. ABSOLUTELY snubs it all. What do I do to entice her to EAT??? She is an unbelievably sweet cat and very very submissive. Such a precious girl. Any advice would be welcome!!
We are going through this EXACT same thing with Miz Poo, all the tests are perfectly normal. She’s never been a big eater, and it’s hard to convince her to eat anything. If you haven’t tried chicken baby food, I recommend it (though at $1 a tiny little jar, it can get expensive), and I HIGHLY recommend Liqui-Tinic (we get it at Amazon, but you may be able to find it elsewhere; we got our very first bottle from a vet, back when Spanky was still with us, and I swear to you that it gave us more time with him.) Fred gives Miz Poo about 1 cc of Liqui-Tinic a day (we call it her “Go juice”), and I swear it’s what’s keeping her going some days.
You could also try Nutri-Cal (also available at Amazon, but I’ve seen it – or some version of it – in Petsmart and Petco) just to get some calories into her. We’ll give some to Miz Poo occasionally, but not very often because she doesn’t seem to like the consistency (or I suppose it could be the flavor) and so we try not to stress her out too much.
Also, Kar said: Did the vet discuss steroids with you? My mom did this with her old lady cat to build an appetite. She wonβt be able to compete in the olympics but it gave her some energy and appetite.
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Incredible Nurse Cat From Poland Looks After Other Animals At Animal Shelter
isn’t this so sweet!
I love it!
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The baby toes are killing me. They are so sweet. Roseanne’s are so long they’re almost like little fingers and I just want to smooch each one individually.
and
Is it me, or do these little dudes have seriously large feets?! Maybe it’s the camera angle? And when did the ears pop up?! Still edible though.
You know, until yesterday I was all “No, they’re normal-sized toes!” But then I took another look at them, and y’all are right. Those little kittens have got some big feet! Roseanne has super-long toes. I guess it’s only fitting, since she’s half monkey.
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Question, if a kitten is hissing {{*snort*}} and you pet him/her or pick him/her up at that time, what do they do?
I usually get one more hiss, and then they settle down and look slightly embarrassed.
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Have you thought of putting up a FAQ question page about fostering? What works best for you, litter, food, how to help the mom or kittens, etc…
I’ve thought of it, but thinking’s as far as it’s gotten! I do need to get something up and running, though, and soon.
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Good band name: The Skeptical Kittens.
First single: Not Judging You (Yes I am)
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Forgive the odd question, but today as I got my daily kitten fill on my phone, your website gave me a pop up ad. I kitten you not (get it? kitten you, hehe), an ad popped up…something about litter I think. Is this a new thing or am I just that special?
I told Sara this, and am telling y’all – there are no ads on this site, and ESPECIALLY not pop-ups (I hate those things), so if you suddenly see ads, please let me know! (Sara said that the ad only showed the one day, and now are gone. I’m not sure what was going on, but I did a site scan (I use Wordfence) and found nothing. Hopefully it won’t happen again.)
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Robyn, for some reason I can never get your videos to load on my phone. Even clicking the you tube link gets me an error message that the video could not be played. Oh well, I will have to wait until after work for baby kitten video therapy!
Does anybody have any suggestions on how to fix this? Is there something I can do?
(By the way, I upload videos the night before, so you could always check the YouTube channel in the evening. It’d be like getting a sneak peek!)
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On a nursing mom, do all their nipples work? I watched the video and at one point the little dude at the top abandons his post and leaves behind a perfectly adequate looking spot at the milk bar, only to slap the crap out of a brother to shove HIM out of the way. What’s up with that? are there good spots and bad spots? Taps that aren’t working that particular day?
Connie knew the answer to this! All the nipples do work, but some kittens have strong preferences for a certain nipple or a certain place in the pile. catβs also donβt generally have a build up of milk behind a nipple, so once the kittens pick the nipples that are being used those are the ones they tend to stick with even if they donβt have a nipple preference.
I was patting Mina last night (my nursing mother) and I thought she had a tick on her.. turned out it was simply one of her nipples near her arm pit that wasnβt being used. (good thing I didnβt just pull on it with out looking)
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Okay, so of the 7, who is the most talkative? To me it looks like Shecky. And who is the most adventurous? I think it’s a toss up between Shecky and Roseanne.
Before yesterday, I would have said that Shecky and Roseanne are tied for most talkative and most adventurous. But suddenly Louis has discovered his voice, and he ain’t afraid to use it. And you can see who the most adventurous two are in today’s video (down toward the bottom of the post).
“HI LADY I AM TINY BUT I GOTS BIG LUNGS AND I GOT LOTS AND LOTS TO SAY! HI! HI LADY! HI!”
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“Do not eat me bunny.” at 37 seconds
So CUTE!
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Is Belushi kinda small or are his brudders butts just that big?
What – who – :sputter: HOW DARE YOU.
Okay, okay. They gots big butts and I cannot lie!
(You other readers can’t deny!)
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Louis, trying to decide whether to start yelling at me again, or take a nap.
Gilda, getting ready to drop off.
Louis thought that a snuggle would be okay. I didn’t get a picture of it, but after he was done sniffing me, he licked me. And it was like being kissed by angels.
Rickles looks like a bunny here, doesn’t he?
Skelton, examining the sunspot.
Louis’ little smile, there in the middle of the kitten pile, is cracking me up.
Shecky stands guard over the sleeping Skelton.
Louis looks like he’s doing a little hula dance. And that spotted belly is killing me dead.
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Video! Two weeks old, and a couple of the little monkeys have figured out that there’s a world outside the crate. And they want to explore it!
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Oh, my sweet Dennybug. Doesn’t he have the most beautiful eyes?
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Previously
2014: Throwback Thursday: Mister Boogers.
2013: “I can haz a snuggle?”
2012: “SEE ya.”
2011: No entry.
2010: No entry.
2009: Yβall love her and you want to see her grow up and you donβt believe I could ever give her up, but yβall say that about AN AWFUL LOT OF THE KITTENS I FOSTER.
2008: Kara birthing babies.
2007: The Litter Robot report
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
There you are, Dennis!!! Missed seeing your beautiful face!
You have some really great pictures today, Robyn! “Kissed by angels”, I feel that way even when they are 15! π
Robyn, remember the baby pictures I emailed you Sunday? Well, one of the babies has both of his eyes open this morning!! 5 DAYS OLD!!!??? Have you ever heard of this?? He seems to “see” but not be focused. The other two have both closed still. Is he a child prodigy??? π
It’s on the early side of normal, that’s for sure. He must have decided there’s a lot to see in this big world, and he wanted to get started! π
I googled it. 7 – 10 days. They said that it takes them till they are 10 weeks old to be able to see as well as an adult.
The shocking part is that both eyes completely popped open instantly!
I had one open their eyes really early, like day two.. freaked me right out.. but they were fine, the eyes were fine.. *shrug*
A Louis snuggle picture (so.f***ing.jealous Lady!!). Followed by that utterly crazy cute picture of Rickles looking cuter than the cutest bunny. Pink toes. Louis smiling. Gilda nodding off. And then Dennis.
My day is made.
The picture of “Louisβ little smile, there in the middle of the kitten pile” made me think he takes after his mama with that foot in the air!
He certainly does! π
Favorite pic of the day: “Rickles looks like a bunny…”
So cute and the perfect start to my Friday!
I love this stage when their eyes are open but their little ears haven’t sproinged yet. π
Meatball heads!
Fuzzy golf balls!
For the kitty that won’t eat much, have you tried Pepcid? It’s not uncommon for older cats to have upset stomachs, for many reasons, and something like Pepcid or Zantac often helps. Our 22 year old now gets it twice a day, and if the morning dose is delayed, she isn’t willing to eat her food!
We also have to let her eat small amounts at a time, so I am constantly putting a spoonful out. She has never in her life finished a full or even half can in one sitting! It is a hassle but she is worth it (and we have the time to do that).
Sometimes, if she is really off food, I make plain chicken broth and she adores that. It has a nice amount of fat, too. However it isn’t good for long term, so if yours will accept a supplement, that is preferable.
pepcid or zantac is a great suggestion. it is otc and very safe for cats..
I wouldn’t ask the vet for steroids, but I would ask after an appetite stimulant..
I am dead. D.E.A.D. That picture of Gilda asleep… and then Rickles’ bunny head… My face and heart have exploded from the cute.
My name is Leanne and I am a kitten-a-holic. If I had the means I would fly down and pick up Skelton the minute he was ready to go to his forever home. They are all sweet but that little monkey has my heart in a vise-grip.
I go away for a day and their ears start migrating north.
I think I am falling in love with Louis now: what a character!
And that picture of Dennis should be the one he pawtographs and mails to his devoted fans.
Let me say I concur with all that has been said about Liqui-Tinic. After reading about it here, I began giving it to my 19 year old tortie, who was beginning to decline, and I’m convinced it contributed to her making it to almost 21. I will always be grateful to Robyn and Fred (who posted about it on Facebook) for that suggestion!
OMG. They are beyond cute. the little feets, the little teefs. So sweet!!!
Also, I also am a fan of liquid-tinic… I firmly believe that’s the stuff that got us through an illness with Ben and gave us a few more months with him.
“standing guard” – more like…look, I keeled him π
“Louis looks like heβs doing a little hula dance.”
HE DOES!! I laughed and laughed at this picture and caption.
I was thinking that looked like he was doing the hula before I got to the caption
see and on the very first Louis picture where he’s yelling at you – I was totally thinking, color him green and call him Yoda. π
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoda
First time commenter, long time kitten stalker. π The photo of Rickles today is the best thing I’ve ever seen.
I have two picky, picky eaters. I have good luck with Weruva Mack and Jack, TikiCat Sardine, Solid Gold Tuna, Weruva BFF Red, Green, and Orange labeled wet cat foods. I empty the can of food into a tall container, add about 1/2 a can of water, and then puree it with an immersion blender into “cat food milkshake” that they can just lick up.
That photo of RIckles, in addition to being cute as anything, is photographically stunning, Robyn. This needs to be punted to CO.
If you are referring to the I AM TINY BUT I GOTS BIG LUNGS picture, I agree. There was a small crowd of coworkers in my cubicle today admiring Robyn’s Flickr page with me and that picture was the clear favorite!
EDIT: and oh dear I scrolled back and realized I got Rickles and Louis confused — oh well, both pictures are excellent π
You so have to start taking more “lying down/from the top of the head down” pictures, a la sleeping “Tummy Tickles” Rickles above. It takes cute to a whole new level. I myself have died from cute numerous times today. I don’t know how you do it.
I think even the Uncles/Misters will pass out from the cute when they finally meet.
I don’t mean to rude but what square footage is your home? I am moving into my Mothers home because we just lost my Father and she has Alzheimer’s and needs care 24/7. Dad has a 12 year old female kitty and we have brought my two (7 yr and newly adopted 5 yr old) boys from our home. I have never heard so much ruckus going on in my life!!! I did the “proper” indroduction process. This home is 2,000 square feet. Do you your kitties fight and squabble a lot or is home large enough for all kitties to have their own space? Am I asking too much from my kitties? Oh, and like Jackson Galaxy suggests I do site swap a lot.