Tummies Full, Bottoms Dry

May 1, 2009 : 8:23 PM
The newest bobtail kittens (Sponge Bob group) are now eating more food, though continuing to drink from their bottle. They still can’t see much of a distance–they were lined up silently, in front of their cage door this morning at feeding time, and only began crying when I spoke to them. We noticed one of them finally trying to climb the slanted ramp to the loft area in their cage, for the first time. They are the friendliest little ones, when we take them out, immediately walking onto our laps and wanting to be held. Still getting used to better table manners, they had gotten a bit dirty, so we had to give them their first baths! They took the whole sudsing, rinsing, and towel drying in front of the heater very well, had a bottle afterward, and settled into a soft blanket for a nap. Photo Op!

Went out to teach the family caring for the somewhat feral mother cat and kittens, about orphan kitten care, in case we need to separate the kittens from their mother. None of the kittens showed any interest in the bottle (why would they, with their tummies full of the real thing?!), but I could at least demonstrate technique, and show how to take care of toileting needs. The special Esbilac bottle that we use is amazing, and we have had so much more success with orphans, after learning about it from our vet. It allows the kittens to control the amount of milk intake better, due to the slanted position of the nipple (two nipples, one for puppies). The nipple seems a bit big for the little ones, but after adjusting, they generally do very well with it. We’ve seen our vets bottle feed one or two day old kittens, though I don’t think our skill is up to that quite yet!

I twisted my ankle the week before last, and it has steadily gotten worse. I didn’t imagine it could become such a problem, but now it’s impaired my ability to run up and down the stairs, and even lean into cages. I found myself taking the elevator at work, and the train station, just to save walking up any other stairs. It’s very frustrating not to be able to get around quickly, due to something as silly as a twisted ankle! We’re looking forward to three days of national holidays this next week (Golden Week), and have visitors coming to work out at the shelter, so lots to do to prepare. I’m hoping that if I give my foot a bit of a rest this weekend, I’ll be back to getting around better by then.

Profiled in a recent Tokyo magazine…