seems to bee

poor mama.

think she may have tried to eat a bee or something stingy that got into her room somehow. the side of her face is suddenly swollen this afternoon. if the swelling doesn't go down by tonight, she's off to the vet again.

she's still happy and purring and feeding baby though. probably mostly uncomfortable. poor thing.

here's more photos of baby, just because.

he's starting to tentatively walk around and is learning to play, which is fun to watch.

and he just keeps getting cuter...

video...

music: "tumble down" by janine stoll from her cd melancholia

www.janinestoll.com

tink and baby had a trip to the vet the other day. they both got a good bill of health, despite the fact that mom isn't producing a lot of milk. might be why she lost the other two babies. i'm giving baby some formula to supplement what he might not be getting from mom. he's not really into bottle feeding though. heh.

the vet confirmed my suspicion that the baby is a boy. still haven't named him. waiting till he shows some real personality.

more to come...

the hardest part...

noticed this morning that smaller kitten wasn't doing very well. she was weak, and was away from mom every time i checked on them. despite my best efforts with a heating pad, electrolytes and formula in a bottle...smaller kitten passed away this afternoon, wrapped in a blanket in my arms.

this is the part of fostering that really sucks.

but...at least she had a chance. not sure why she died, but it wasn't by a needle in the shelter. it was mother nature who decided she wasn't made for this world, and as sad as i am right now...i can at least be thankful for that.

with my eyes wide open...

bigger kitten

just when you thought they couldn't get any cuter.

p.s. check out marnie mains song "eyes wide open" and her other amazing tunes:

http://www.marniemains.com/

so much for a "weekly" update

tink

i know i said i would update weekly, but i couldn't resist taking more photos today.

they're all just too sweet not to capture on camera.

i took some video today as well, and i'll upload it here once i get my technical issues sorted.

smaller kitten

you can't tell in this photo, but his/her head is a little bit bald.

kinda looks like yoda.

smaller kitten

still wobbly...

bigger kitten

those little eyes will be open for the first time very soon.

the cuteness continues...

tink and her funky babes

this sweet mom and her three kittens were marked for euthanasia at hamilton animal control. the kittens were born in the shelter on june 7th, 2010. i brought them home on june 9th. the smallest kitten was already showing signs of being unhealthy, and 12 or so hours after bringing them home, i found him/her dead in their kitty bed. the other two are doing well so far. tink is a wonderful mom.

they'll be here until the babies are old enough to go to new homes, and i'll have mom spayed and find her a home too.

the babies are a very unusual colour. i'm curious to see what their coats look like as they get bigger.

i'll try to post photos or video here once a week or so.

it's always fun to watch kittens as they grow.

if you have some extra room and some extra time...please consider fostering for your local animal shelter. it's very rewarding for you, and the animal you are helping.

and please, please, please (!) have your pets spayed or neutered. thousands of animals just like this kitty family are put to sleep every year because of lack of space in shelters and lack of adoptive homes. these kittens would have been put to sleep at the tender age of five days old and their mother would be dead because her irresponsible owner: 1. let her outside 2. didn't come looking for her when she went missing and 3. didn't have her spayed.

euthanasia in overcrowded shelters is a sad reality. but we created it, and we have to take the steps to change it.

special thanks to danny michel for the blog title idea. please check out the song 'feather fur and fin', and the rest of his amazing music here: http://www.dannymichel.com/

here's a super cute kitten picture to tide you over until next time...