Merry Christmas & update on my fosters & The Parking Lot Colony

Hola mis amigos!!
I haven't posted in agesssss and a good friend texted and said i shouldn't stop :) Thanks Eileen! I actually have tons to update on and that's kinda why I haven't... You know when you procrastinate until there's so much to do you don't know how to start tackling it? This is one of those things. I won't go into major details and verbal diarrhea like I usually do. Quick summary of everything alright peeps? Here we go.

Charlie is a 3 month old tuxedo kitten. He was rescued by a friend who found him while walking his dog. Charlie was tiny then, perhaps 6-7 weeks old and he had been tossed out in a shoe box. Luckily the dog sniffed him out and Charlie was rescued. He was very ill with a virus similar to Coccidia and Parvo but has since recovered after two weeks on two kinds of antibiotics. Charlie is ready for immediate adoption. So far, 5 separate parties have inquired about adopting him. Hopefully one of them will be awesome and Charlie can go to his forever home. Charlie is playful, affectionate, mischievous, and of course Uncle Fat Fat loves him and has been giving him lots of parental love.







Knut/Knutella is a 3-4 week old pure white kitten. Not sure if he's male or female hence the name options.. hahaha.. The little booger is named after Knut the hand-reared polar bear that passed away and also my favorite hazelnut spread Nutella :) I found him the Thursday before christmas in my condo parking lot. I suspect he may be one of The Parking Lot Colony Tortie's kittens since my neighbor MK and I have been unsuccessful at trapping and spaying her. The Tortie was pregnant and then I did not see her around for a week or two. When I found Knut he was under a car parked two spaces down from mine, all alone. He was extremely filthy, dehydrated, covered head to toe in fleas and had an eye infection although his eyes had not even opened yet. I hate fleas. They are such bastards and there were hundreds of them feasting on this little guy's body. *SHUDDER* soooo gross. they were even crawling all over his face and eyes. I itch now just thinking about them. It was touch and go the first couple of days. He refused bottle feeding and syringe feeding and you know how much i HATE hand-rearing. I wasn't sure Knut would make it. His appetite was shitty and he was weak. But the last couple of days he has started drinking more formula and his teeth have come in so I have started him on very soft mushy food as well. His eyes have cleared up and they are bright blue. I am pretty confident now that he will be ok and adoptable in about 2 months. The pictures below were taken the day I found him. He looks much better now!






Below, Knut on Christmas Day. The crud around his eyes is dried up discharge stuck in his fur. I didn't want to injure the little baby's eyes so just left crud there but you can see his blue eyes are clear and healthy :)



The Parking Lot Colony continues to be an epic meow-filled soap drama. The Ginger Tom is still scary, The Tortie is still scared of everyone and everything, Carpark Cat is back and in decent condition but still scared of the Ginger Tom and Mr CrankyPants. There is a new resident in the colony, I'll call her The Calico. Another female. ARGHHHHH!!!!!!! I hope she doesn't breed!!!!! She's a scaredy cat like The Tortie. Why are the females so hard to trap and spay? They are the ones MK and I reallyyyyy want to catch. No more kittens please :( I wonder where Knut's siblings are :((( Mr CrankyPants got the shit kicked out of him again while I was out of town. Much worse this time. Luckily for him his other mummy MK was around and took him to the vet. He had to stay there for a couple of nights and the wound was infected and required draining. After he was discharged from the vet, he stayed with MK for a couple of weeks at her apartment. His whole neck and chest area were raw, totally furless, and there was a huge puncture like a gaping hole in his neck going through to his shoulder. We don't know what happened. All the other cats in the colony are totally unscathed so it doesn't seem likely he fought with any of them. Anyway Cranks is the alpha male and the rest run at the sight of him, not stay and fight! Plus he was neutered after his last fight recently so I thought he'd be staying out of trouble... Below, a photo MK took him immediately after rescue. All that pink and red mess is exposed raw flesh :(

Bye my Miko and be a good girl!

Miko was adopted last Sunday and I am sooooooooo super sad. Lots of people called me about her after seeing her adoption profile on petfinder.my but it was easy to choose the family I wanted her to go to. Her new mummy rescued her first kittens when she was just 14 years old. Miko will now have a cockapoo pooch to run around with and two little girls aged 4 and 6 who adore kittens. When Miko's adopter came over to meet Miko for the first time, she brought her 6 year old and I was really impressed by how gentle the little girl was, cradling Miko like a little precious baby in her arms. Major "Awwwwww" moment. My heart melted. The little girl informed me that she was going to take such good care of Miko and that they were going to be so happy together :) She then insisted on carrying the carrier (with Miko inside) to the car. I heard Miko's new mummy tell her little girl that she had to learn boundaries with Miko, that kitties want to play but not all the time and that sometimes you have to leave them alone because they want space. I know my Miko is in really good hands. I wish them all a long and happy future together.
Miko snoozing on my arm as i lay reading in bed. Our last nap together before she was adopted the next day.

Last closeup of my Munchkin Miko. I'll miss my little kitten. Never ever hand-rearing kittens ever again. I just get so super attached. There's something about bottle-feeding tiny fragile newborns that makes the bond to them sooooooooo strong. I'm happy that she made it but sad for me too. I hope I get to keep one of my own hand-reared ones someday.

Miko - 7 and a half weeks old, and FEMALE. Oops!

Yes I camera-stalk the little tot. I'm soooo happy to finally have hand-rearing success! Miko is healthy, active, and out of the danger zone of the first few weeks. She knows how to eat and drink on her own. My work is done :)



Miko likes to sit on feet :) No, that is not my leg. I am not an insanely hairy chick.












Miko and Tamago finally share a bed.


The cutest little thing! Hand-reared SUCCESS!! WOOHOO!!! WHO ROCKS?? I SO FREAKING DO!! YESSSSSS!!!!!!! *fist pumps in the air*

Tabatha's been adopted and other updates...

Its been an interesting couple of weeks in my animal kingdom. Tabatha was adopted last saturday morning by a nice family while she was in the cattery at SPCA Selangor. She is ready for spaying in a couple of weeks so she will be back for that. We all really miss her. She has a larger than life personality and my apartment feels wayyyyy too peaceful now.

Miko is able to do his business on his own now and has a litter box which he diligently uses. He totters around on shaky little legs and invades Tamago's bed. His teeth have grown in and he can eat canned kitten food or moistened kibble although he still prefers his milk bottle. He doesn't know how to drink water so I've had to force him to drink water through a syringe. I hope he will be ready for adoption to a good home in about 6 weeks.



I didn't mention this before but Noel was adopted a few weeks ago. Yay for him! He was adopted by a nice young lady who has another little kitten.

Spike is adjusting to life without Tony Montana. It's only been about 5 weeks since Tony Montana passed away and he is so deeply missed. It is a great comfort to us that he died peacefully at home of natural causes. Spike's dad and I have been showering him with gifts of toys and treats and plenty of loving. He's never been an only dog before and I think he is quite lonely now. Spike and I will have this whole Friday together though because its a public holiday and Spike and I will be working at the SPCA booth at an event in Bangsar. It'll be a nice outing for me and my pooch.
Tony M loved his car rides. He loved watching the world. I miss him.
One of the few pics of me with both Spike and Tony.. Tony was sniffing something.. oh well..
Me and Spike at my last visit.

Spike and his dad.
Toys can't replace Tony but we hope to distract Spike from his loss.


Tomorrow is the first anniversary of Molly's death. I can't believe its been a year. It still hurts so much. I miss her everyday and I think about how happy she was when we were all still together. One big happy family. Then I think about all she went through and how miserable she was at the end and I feel sick and my heart aches. I feel a tightening in my chest that can only be the pain of loss and guilt. i have to say this, i care, i care a lot about all these animals but i wish i didn't anymore. i don't want to. i can't stand it when things don't work out.

Molly's smile.

Munchkin Miko - Day 15 of Hand-rearing

New foster tyke-Munchkin Miko

Hand-raising and bottle-feeding again. Wish us luck.

and they all fall down..

horrible horrible week in my animal kingdom. my dog tony montana was terribly ill with tick fever. he had to have a blood transfusion, he was that sick. Dr L was not sure of his chances of survival. his dad and i were worried sick. good news is the transfusion helped lots and he has started eating a little and wagging his tail. please pray for his full and quick recovery. the last time i posted, miney had passed away and meanie was on his way out. well, meanie was gone the next day. eenie followed a few days later at his fosterer's home and moe passed away yesterday afternoon. that's the entire litter gone and for no reason that we can figure out. they just faded off one by one. strong one minute, weak the next, then gone. i don't have much to say except that we tried our hardest, did everything in our power to do. i don't know what else we could have done for them. i suppose we could've looked for a nursing mother cat but its not like nursing cats show up on my fucking doorstep during times of need. i just hope i am never asked to hand-rear kittens so fucking young ever again. if their eyes are not open yet, if there are little bits of umbilical cord attached, i am NOT going to be able to save them. they are going to die. fuck fuck fuck shit bloody hell goddammit crap and fuck. that's how i feel right now. i am angry, discouraged, disheartened, disappointed, and sad.

rest in peace eenie, meanie, miney, and moe. i hope you're having a great time together in cat heaven. eyes open, legs not wobbly, teeth grown, enjoying the smelliest, fishiest wet food ever. so sorry i failed all of you. i wish you could've seen the world. i was so looking forward to seeing your eyes and feeding you real food. you would've loved it.

Eenie, Meanie, Miney & Moe - Update

i couldn't handle taking care of all four of the little screamers at once. i'm a lightweight.. i was freaking out. every feeding session was so chaotic. my hands would shake as i handled each tiny fragile body and tried to get formula into them. they were all so fussy in the beginning, squirming constantly in my hands, turning their faces away from the syringe, rejecting the formula, and screaming bloody murder the whole time. i was overwhelmed and so scared that i was not giving each one enough care. as i struggled to feed one kitten, the other hungry three would be crying their hearts out. i only have two hands..

i asked my dear friend NT to help me take on two of them and luckily for me she said yes. NT works with the animal shelter. She loves animals and also has some experience with handrearing so last thursday night i handed over eenie and miney to her. i kept meanie and moe. i thought that we would have a better chance of success with two babies each because we then we could give each one more individual attention. i know that they can just fade away sometimes no matter how hard we try and even when we seem to be doing all the right things. its so disheartening and i always try not to get my hopes up but i do anyway and then i end up disappointed and totally bummed out.

i have some bad news. miney started fading yesterday morning and passed away in the afternoon. we don't know why. he was totally fine the night before. i don't understand how they go from being robust and noisy and energetic for days and then suddenly they go cold and limp and won't swallow their milk. once this happens they rapidly deteriorate and its over. why why why why???? despite all the feedings, making them go potty after every meal, keeping them warm with hot water bottles wrapped in towels, emergency glucose in case of hypoglycemia.. none of the kittens had or have diarrhea. we're very careful with preparing the formula. its not too rich or thick. all water used is pre-boiled. what's the problem? i think we kinda know what we're doing. we've done our research..

i have some more bad news. meanie, my little belter, the super strong noisy one that tortured me started fading away this morning. last night he was just peachy. today his tiny body feels cold and clammy. he is barely moving. his meows are soft and weak. i managed to get him to swallow some formula and water with glucose. it was an excruciatingly slow process today. one tiny mouthful at a time. i was hoping he would perk up but he hasn't. i don't know what else to do now. there's a fresh hot water bottle but meanie still feels cold. i have a horrible feeling that he will not get better and then moe will start to fade as well. my heart hurts. these little guys are so helpless. they haven't even opened their eyes yet.

rest in peace sweet baby miney, the grey tabby with the stump tail..
please please please hang in there meanie, my little noisemaker. go ahead, yell at me like you did yesterday!
please please please let eenie and moe continue to thrive with NT and i. we are trying so hard.


i still haven't taken any photos of them.. below are the photos taken by their rescuers on the day they were found.

Eenie, Meanie, Miney, & Moe

No time to recover from the weekend's loss of Smidge, Smudge, and Bob although I must admit I did spend pretty much all of Monday night crying over them. Yesterday I started my latest adventure in fostering with Eenie, Meanie, Miney, & Moe. These four little felines are tiny. Their eyes aren't open yet and a couple of them still have a little dried-up umbilical cord attached. They seem to be in better shape than Smidge and Smudge were when they came to me, but I'm afraid to be too hopeful and optimistic. I'm trying very hard to be objective and care for them without investing too much of my own heart in them. I don't want to end up a miserable sobbing heap of snot and tears again. I haven't even taken any photos of them although they look ADORABLE all curled up together in a pile of warm kitteny cuteness. I don't want to jinx them by immortalizing them in film.. not taking any chances! no matter how silly i may seem.

I'm using two different brands of KMR for this litter because they don't all like the same one. Picky.. They are slowly getting used to syringe feeding although some seem more comfortable with this than others.. Eenie, Meanie, and Miney are all grey tabbies. They look almost exactly the same except for the tiniest distinguishing features. Eenie a.ka. Big Pink has a big pink patch on his/her front left paw. Meanie a.k.a. Small Pink is INSANELY noisy and fussy and has a tiny pink patch on his/her front left paw. Miney only has about half the length of a normal tail. Moe is the only marmalade tabby of the litter, and because of his coloring, I'm pretty sure he's male. I remember reading somewhere that marmalade kitties are usually male. I've decided to change the spelling of Meenie to Meanie because he/she is so mean to me :)

I'm exhausted from the constant feeding, crying, making them "go" number 1 and number 2. Meanie always cries shortly after falling asleep and this wakes up the entire litter again and again..... and again. I have to keep repeating the process of putting them to bed just to get an hour of peace and quiet... argh. My eyes are burning today from lack of sleep. I feel like sheeeeeeet...

3 deaths in a span of less than 24 hours

I want to wish all our readers and fellow rescuers/fosterers a happy new year! i hope this year is better for all of us. May all our rescues go smoothly, our adoptions permanent and LOVING. Animal volunteer work is a roller coaster ride of emotions. We all ride the waves of pain, joy, heartbreak, sadness, and happiness. I want to be more effective this year and more vocal. Today is only the second day of 2011.. and guess what folks.. i have just lost three foster kittens. This does not bode well for the rest of the year. Oh please give me a sign that things will not carry on this way. Last year was awful. Give me some hope for this new one.

Rest in peace Bob, Smidge, and Smudge..
Smidge - tiny and helpless at a couple of days old, umbilical cord still attached, passed away on new years eve sometime between 10 and 11 pm.
Smudge - Smidge's equally tiny sibling, followed a few hours later.
Bob - about 3 weeks old, with eyes that had recently opened to take in the world, went into hypoglycemic shock yesterday, new years day, at around 1 pm, and none of my attempts to get him to swallow some glucose water worked. The little tyke could not swallow anymore. I was with him till he took his last breath.

Smidge & Smudge were under my care for only half a day before they crossed the rainbow bridge. They were found in a drain outside a car workshop. Honestly, I didn't have much hope they would make it. Little guys were just too far gone.
Bob was found in the store room of a house under some bags by a nice guy that adopted a kitten from me in 2009. I only had Bob for three days. He was doing amazingly well the night before he passed on. His death is a huge shock to me. I finally start fostering again and this is what happens. I hate hand-rearing.. I know that the very young ones are fragile, but losing 3 out of 3 is just fucking horrible. I don't know how to tell the rescuer that they have all died.