I'm thrilled to announce that Emberlei went to her new home today! She will be joining a big dog and another cat. We'll miss her, but I think she'll be much happier without all the kids around. Death Knight went to his new home this evening too. He'll be a lucky young buck as he's going to a home that will be using him for breeding.
Little Dexter found a surrogate mom kitty on a farm north of town. His new mom is an experienced mom who doesn't seem to mind an extra kitten. Dexter now has five siblings, three of which look just like him (black and white). When I left him there he was playing with his new brothers and sisters. I am relieved to see that he fits in so well.
Today Doe 4 went to her new home too. She's going to enjoy playing with two little (human) boys, who I'm sure will love her very much. I met Dexter a few days ago. His mom is a feral cat who delivered kittens in the neighbor's junk yard, but when she disappeared earlier this week, Dexter became an unexpected foster baby. I left him alone, hoping his mom would come back, but when his health started to deteriorate and it was clear that his mom wasn't coming back, I took him in. He's about 3 weeks old and needs to find a surrogate mom, or an experienced bottle-feeder. In the event that a suitable handler of either type cannot be found, he'll be ready for a new home in about 3 weeks (when he's 6 weeks old and eating hard food). If you know someone in Brainerd with 3-4 week old kittens and a momma cat who wouldn't mind an extra mouth - please let me know! I'm thrilled to announce that Obsidian, the black kitten from the Roadside Litter has been adopted! He'll share his home with three little girls who are sure to adore him. Congratulations on your new home Obsidian!!
Wow! Things are busy this week!
On Sunday I was asked to dog-sit for rescue-beagle Summer until Friday, when her family will be moving her back home to Colorado. Yesterday was Monday which means that all of the black gerbils are six weeks old, separated by gender and officially ready for their new homes! Today I'm expecting a new litter of dwarf hamsters. Tomorrow is Wednesday, which is the earliest possible date for gerbil babies from a female I bought that was already pregnant (mystery litter). Thursday is the official wean date for the Dalmatian dwarf hamster litter, so they'll be ready to leave. Friday is a crazy busy day because Summer (the foster beagle) goes home, and the new foster family (roadside litter) comes home. Friday is also my last day of work before I'm laid off, so I'll be bringing home the store cat too. Saturday I've got out of town plans (mini vacation). And Sunday of course is Easter, which also is the due date of another pair of dwarf hamsters. Check out the new photos of the adorable kittens on the Rescue page! They'll be ready for new homes in May! Let me quickly sum up Rumple's history. Rumple came to me with four siblings that were just coming off of bottle feeding and starting on soft food. While all four litter mates adjusted well, Rumple's back end started to swell. It swelled so badly that there was no genetalia visible - only a swollen butt hole. He went to visit three different vets and switched a number of foods before I realized that Rumple was allergic to grains. After weeks on a grain-free diet and some antibiotics, the swelling went down, but the genetals were still not quite right. One vet was sure Rumple was a girl, another insisted Rumple was a male. So I brought him (we have always referred to Rumple as a male) to my regular vet who gave me a cream to put on the poor kitty's bottom to reduce the last of the swelling. Once everything was close to normal "back there" I brought Rumple back in for a very thorough exam. The results? Rumple does not have a penis, no testicles could be found, but the external genetalia is not right for a female either. Without a penis, he must be a she then, right? So for a month and a half we tried to adjust to calling Rumple she and her and even bought the ID tag in purple (not quite pink, but not blue either). I scheduled a spay surgery for 2/6/13. When I dropped Rumple off we discussed how we still weren't 100% on gender, and that this could be an interesting procedure.
Snap back to today, when Rumple came home from "spay" surgery... and the file listed MALE on the gender! When they opened "her" up, there was no uterus, so they started looking for testicles. They only found one. So Rumple is officially listed as male, having been a cryptorchid (undecended testicle). That said, without a penis, and having been born with just one teste, I firmy believe that despite the joking comments made earlier in the cat's troubled history... Rumplestiltskin is most certainly what I would consider to be a genuine case of hermaphrodism. Leave it to me to bring home a hermaphrodite cat. I do love oddballs, but in all my years, I think this case trumps them all. Welcome home Rumplestiltskin. I love you no matter what genetalia (or lack there-of) you were born with. And for the record, Rumple will continue to be referred to in the male persona. I am currently hoping to keep Rumple permanently, as we've had a long journey together, and quite honestly, my kids absolutely love him and would be crushed to see him go. Happy New Year everyone! Welcome to 2013. Onion went to the vet on 12/26 and after an exam and a flourecin stain, he was deemed healthy, healed, and ready to find a new home! Yay! He and brother Parsnip await their forever home(s) now.
The guinea pig babies are getting big. They're eating well and using a water bottle now too. They'll be ready to go to new homes January 5th (in four days). The chinchilla babies are growing well, and they're so adorable! Their mom takes such good care of them. New hamster babies were born 12/29/12 to one of the calico satin girls. There are only four, but it looks like they're dark, like daddy (panda markings). Pants and Smee were adopted together (YAY! - Congrats Tana and family)!
In other guinea pig news, Butterscotch looks miserable. She must be due soon. Hers will be a surprise litter as she came to us bred (unbeknownst to us). Expect updates and photos when the new babies arrive. I've made a ChipIn for Onion. So far his donation can at the local pet store has earned him $19 and some change. Onion - Today I was met with grim news. Even on his second antibiotic, Onion's eye has worsened. His condition is now very severe. I was given a third antibiotic (to be administered 6x per day for a week, then 4x per day the following week) and told to come back in a week or two. It's highly likely that he will lose the eye. If (or more aptly When) Onion's corneal ulcer ruptures, he will need surgery to remove the eye (or to be put down). This procedure was estimated at $250-$300. If the new antibiotic works, I will know by 12/14. On the other side, if the antibiotic fails, I need to raise $300 to assure he can get his surgery. There is a Paypal link on the Rescue page, and there is a donation container at the local pet store (Pet North in Brainerd).
Rumplestiltskin - A new interesting turn of events with Rumple today. After a thorough physical exam, it was descovered that Rumple does not have testicles or a penis. That said, Rumple doesn't have a properly formed girl part either. That said, my next option is to wait until Rumple is old enough and bring him/her back to have spay surgery. From there the vet staff can confirm if there is a uterus in there. It's possible that Rumple is a female with malformed genitals, or potentially an intersex kitty. There was no comment on trying to fix Rumple's bottom, I think even the vet has given up on that, but they did confirm that Rumplestiltskin remains "not fit for sale" at this point in time. Autumn - Next week Autumn will go in for her FIV/FeLeuk test. If she's negative, she will have a new home for the holidays! I've never had any of my rescues test positive (knock on wood), but I'm still nervous. Autumn was outside before she came to me, so it's possible, and if she's positive I'm not sure I can find her a home. Parsnip - Still here, perfectly healthy and waiting for his forever home. If he's still with me when Onion goes back to the vet, I'll bring him with for a rabies vaccination. Pants and Smee - The baby guinea pigs will be meeting with a couple tomorrow that may adopt both, so they can stay together! Yay! Harry - Still here, healthy and waiting for a forever home. Guinea Pigs - One of the new guinea pigs appears to have been bred when we brought her home. We may have a surprise litter soon! Hamsters - I've added a pair of dwarf hamsters and a pair of gerbils to my breeding lines. We'll see how these new ventures work out. Chinchillas - I have two male chinchillas that I'm trying to find a non-breeding home for. Next litters are due in January and February 2013. I took Onion to the vet on Monday (12/3/12) as his eye condition worsened and it became clear that it wasn't an eye infection. The vet confirmed my suspicion that Onion has a corneal ulcer. I paid $22 for a cream that I've been putting in his bad eye every 2 hours during waking hours. He goes back to the vet tomorrow (12/7/12) to get the second medication (steroids) to help him heal. He's expected to make a full recovery, but it's unknown if his eye problems will be re-occuring.
Rumple (formerly known as Boy) will also be going in tomorrow to re-check his condition. He still looks like a female externally, and his bottom simply will not heal up. Hopefully I can get a better idea of what his options are. In other news, Autumn has a potential home, pending an FIV/FeLeuk test next week! Yay! Papa and Chiko are my newest project. Check the Chinchilla tab for more info on them. I'm helping someone else place them (they are not |
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