Penny & The Fosters

One last cuddle with Franklin before I dropped him off with his new foster ...

👀 the goober being nosy 🤣

Our last night with Franklin was a cuddle fest .... For him and Fletcher. Don't worry, Fletcher won't miss his adorable little buddy, he truly pretended Franklin was not there the entire time, though he obviously didn't object to any of the cuddles 😅

But I will sure miss the little guy. He has been perfect. He will go to another foster home to grow big and strong 😻

Fletcher + Franklin 🩷

Franklin will be going to a new foster on Monday. He has been such a joy. Easy bottle baby 🍼.

Otis's brother is here for the night (?) and got a little bubble bath, blow dry, and lots of cuddles. He is also a super suckler so I am keeping them separate. They can be around each other during supervised feeding time.

Babygirl aka Lil Debbie is all grown up!! She had an amazing foster mom the last several weeks and she is ready for her forever home 😻😻

Sometimes I can't help myself when I find an ugly cute hat on the internet 🤠

This look gives me endless joy and some laughs 🤣

Happy National Dog Day to all 4 dogs currently in our house 🐕 Penny - Ethel - Fletcher - and Otis.

Franklin got a long, sudsy flea bath. The water immediately turned red/brown. I've been experiencing fleas that just will not die with revolution or capstar. It's crazy. I'm confident I got them all after the bath.

He is drinking well from the 🍼 so hopefully no anemia issues pop up.

Franklin the half pound fluff nugget was found by and is staying with me until a foster can be found. I'm obsessed.

I've really been enjoying being a temporary guardian before permanent foster placement can be found. I love helping them get set up for success 🩷

Such a rough kitten season 💔 it's been so brutal. I don't even know where to start. I'm tired. Many of us are. "How do you do it?" I've been asked many times this week. If it's not me, then who else would do it? I'm sure a lot of my fellow fosters and rescue workers feel the same sometimes.

Failure to thrive is such a b****, excuse my language. Panleuk is bad. Calicivirus is bad. But you can throw the entire kitchen sink at kittens failing to thrive and when it doesn't work you are left questioning everything because you just don't know.

These 2 kittens have a much bigger story than I have the energy to tell, but they were loved and cared for by so many people in their short lives 🌈

New shirt for Fletch ... It's a 3 pack 🤣🤣 can't wait for him to wear each color

Otis does not stop moving when I am interacting with him. This was the only non blurry photo of the dozen I took today.

Otis is up to 360grams, or .79lb
He is getting 15ml every 4 hours
His eyes are still closed 👁️ 🧚🏻‍♀️

** In case you are just now following along, Otis was bit in the face by his mother, causing a laceration to the upper flew, or lip. He also has a puncture wound above his right eye that was sewn back together. **

Sleep 💤 Eat 🍼 Repeat 🔁

Otis is up to 350 grams. He is a chunky potato 🥔

Otis had a little setback today, as you can see. His sutures came undone. Due to his size, it's not safe to attempt to anesthetize again so soon, so we loaded up on antibiotics and will leave it for now. He is not in pain and it really doesn't seem to bother him.

Thankfully he was already being tube fed, so it doesn't change much of his meal habits for right now. He is handling the tube very well and is getting the perfect amount of formula for his size, so keeping up with antibiotics and probiotics should keep him going in the right direction.

Otis had a great first night and I think he got more rest than he has had in his whole life so far 🩷

The best little houseguests are always the unexpected ones..... Right?!?! 😆

Backstory: litter of 8 newly born puppies. Mama said no thank you and then unfortunately she really meant it and attacked the puppies; this little guy getting the worst of it. We got him all stitched up and his face is still hurting so I am tube feeding until he heals up a bit.

Thankful for my incubator and for the confidence continues to give me by sharing her experiences with all tiny but mighty creatures. 🍼 And thank you to my rescue friends for always thinking of me when they know an animal is needing extra special care 🩷

JJ has a friend named Jacob!! Hopefully they will go to foster in the next couple of days. She desperately needed someone else to bite instead of me 🤣🤣 she is doing great and will get better kitten socialization skills with her new buddy.

JJ took a long nap after her TV appearance. She is such a goober. I need her to consistently eat on her own for another couple of days and then I will feel comfortable sending her to foster. She needs friends.

2nd kitten in a row that doesn't understand the importance of eating 🤣🤷🏻‍♀️

Guess who came for a visit today??? Mr. Benton!! We did his ear cytology and sent in a sample from his chin too which is all scabby. Hoping for some answers. 🤞

He is doing great with his amazing foster family 🩷 so thankful for their loving care with him

Penny had a blast at the farm this weekend and she even posed for some photos ... 2/4 with eyes open 😅

Little baby girl is weaned and ready for some friends to play with! I haven't posted a ton about her but she has been very special to me the last 18 days. I'm very proud of the effort and skill I put into growing this little spitfire.

She came to the shelter with 1 sibling who died in my hands from flea anemia. Their other siblings had passed wherever they originated from. I was determined not to let her suffer the same fate and got to work. I removed over 150 fleas the first day and then kept her hydrated.

She didn't make it easy. She refused to latch to a miracle ni**le and refused to allow me to syringe feed her. I resorted to tube feeding. Once she started gnawing on the tube, I introduced her to formula in a dish which she quickly learned to lap up and then we moved to gruel. Now she eats a couple of Tiki kitten mousse packets a day. She still hasn't hit one pound but she will.

I found another foster who has 2 same age kittens that she will be able to socialize with which she desperately needs at this stage in her life. I am so excited for her and know she will be in good hands 😻😻

Fletcher got a new do and a cute bandana 🤠 Thanks

Benton Update - nothing new medically but he has gone to stay with a new foster who is able to give him more socialization than I was able to provide him. I'm so happy that he is already comfortable and super playful with his new foster family.

Friday evening errands with Fletcher. Had to make a stop at for his favorite treats and then we went to fill the food bin at the colony 😀

What's a Sunday scary? ❤️

Fletcher keeping an "eye" on babygirl 🤣😆

Babygirl is doing well though she still refuses to latch and is super fussy with a syringe 🙄 I have a feeling she is going to go from syringe/tube straight to wet food 🥴

But she finally gained about 20g. We were at a flat 300 for many days.

Super spunky still and she feels like her body is accepting the nutrients - nice round belly. 🩷

Babygirl is a mixed bag 🩷 finally got 2 big poops out of her after 2 days. She was more active today, however she still won't latch, fights me on the last couple of mL at each feeding, and is dehydrated.

Gave her some subcutaneous fluids and B12 a little bit ago to hopefully help give her a boost. 🤞🏻🩷

Baby girl is enjoying some cuddles today. She has not figured out how to latch so we are syringe feeding. She has started to purr and groom herself, though she is still fairly low energy.

Hopefully in the next couple of days she will go from surviving to thriving 😻

Super sad to report that Mason has passed away. He was adopted and returned a little over a week ago as he was very ill. It was determined that he had FIP and unfortunately he passed away this morning.

He was an amazing little bottle baby and I so enjoyed fostering him for the couple of weeks that he was with me. He was well loved by many people in his short life 💔👑

I wish I could tell you how many fleas this baby had (well over 100). Her sister, who came in with her, physically looked healthy, but was eaten alive by fleas and unfortunately died in my hands very soon after arrival.

Baby girl here has had 2 flea baths, has received revolution, and is in my incubator for a few nights until we get her foster home ready. She is the sole survivor of a litter of 6. Flea anemia is no joke and it is critical to rid kittens of fleas as quickly as possible.