Boy was confirmed as male, but his slow healing in the back end prevented them from performing his surgery. He was given antibiotics to see if that and the cream will help speed things up. I was also advised to bring him back to our vet and make sure he wasn't deformed in his male parts, which could also be causing the slow healing. I guess if his penis is misformed or too narrow, it could cause "leakage" that would eat away at the tissue around it, causing it to be damaged just as fast as it's healing. I'm going to try a week with cream and antibiotics to see if it makes any noticeable difference. I've already spent way more money on him then I'll ever hope to get back, and if he does have some kind of penis deformity, I can't even imagine what it'll cost to correct (or even if that's an option).
Yesterday MNSNAP came to Brainerd. Autumn Harvest and Boy went in. Autumn's kittens would have gone too, but they didn't meet the 2-pound criteria. Autumn was spayed and given a rabies vaccination, so she's officially ready to go now! She's up and perky, back to her normal self. This morning I found her sleeping in the bathroom sink, all curled up. What an oddball.
Boy was confirmed as male, but his slow healing in the back end prevented them from performing his surgery. He was given antibiotics to see if that and the cream will help speed things up. I was also advised to bring him back to our vet and make sure he wasn't deformed in his male parts, which could also be causing the slow healing. I guess if his penis is misformed or too narrow, it could cause "leakage" that would eat away at the tissue around it, causing it to be damaged just as fast as it's healing. I'm going to try a week with cream and antibiotics to see if it makes any noticeable difference. I've already spent way more money on him then I'll ever hope to get back, and if he does have some kind of penis deformity, I can't even imagine what it'll cost to correct (or even if that's an option). Blue (and the orange kitties) went to the vet today. While his siblings adjusted to food changed (milk to soft foods, soft foods to kibble), Boy had a few issues. He bloated up and his bottom swelled. Through trial and error, I tried three foods before he started to feel better. It turns out that he may have a severe allergy to grains (or maybe something else?). I put him on a high protein grain-free food (Taste of the Wild venison flavor), and he's so much better! He runs and plays and is far more active and happy than he was before. That said, his bottom is still swollen, so to the vet we went! Our vet took a look at him and was amazed. Somehow the swelling has made his genitals disappear! They aren't there at all, to the point that you can't tell if Boy is a boy or a girl. He (we will continure to refer to Boy as a male until proven otherwise) now has a special prescription salve to put on his bottom three times a day to help bring the swelling down, prevent infection, and hopefully speed up the healing process. In the meantime, he will have to stay on his "special diet" for the rest of his life. We're not sure if Boy will ever look normal in the back end. He uses the litter box and pees and poops like any other kitten, but the logistics of how are fuzzy at best. Like I said, he has no genitals at the moment, only one swollen bum. It doesn't slow him down though. He gets more upset that he has to stop playing for a minute when I apply the cream. Boy will not be able to leave until his bottom is healed up. I'm still looking for a home for him, but he won't be able to go just yet. The orange kittens also went to the vet for goopy eyes. They are on a prescription for eye drops twice a day to clear it up and prevent it from spreading. Incidents like this make me happy that the two litters are kept separate! The eye drops make their mouths foam up (instant panic, but a call to the vet cleared that up and the kittens are fine about an hour after the drops). They should be on track to be healthy for their neuter surgeries - provided they weigh enough. This does not look promising right now as they're pretty small. Now that they are starting to eat mom's food, I'm going to increase the food I'm giving them. Perhaps an all-you-can-eat buffet of quality food will bulk them up. I can hope. And in other news, Blue (AKA Chunk) left today for his new home in Little Falls. Yay! Another happy adoption! Here's the last photo snapped of Blue/Chunk and Boy, taken just before we left to bring Blue to his new mom. Blue (AKA Chunk) the grey kitten from the bottle litter has found his forever mom! I think it's a great match and so does Blue. He'll be leaving for his new home on Wednesday. Now it's just little Boy (black and white) left seeking a permanent family. Anyone interested?
Little Whimsy, the runt of the bottle-fed litter, has moved in with her new home. She will be doted upon by her new mom and her new mom's three granddaughters.
Blue/Chunk and Boy are still looking for their forever homes, as are all four of the orange/buff kittens and their mom. Today Lily went to her new forever home (Yay!). I updated photos for the three remaining bottle-fed kittens (Whimsy, Boy, and Chunk/Blue) in the Rescue tab, so I'll post them here too. Wolf has a new home waiting for him now. I'm so excited for him, because I know this lady will give him everything he could ever want and then some. Wolf will be well loved and well cared for. Good thing too, because I had toyed with the idea of keeping him for myself. Alas, I don't need another permanent pet, so with much debate and a few tears, I've made my peace with sending him off to a forever home.
Now, if anyone is insterested in Chunk, Boy, or Whimsy... They'll be ready to go in a week! Or if orange is more your color, the boys and their mom will be ready on November 6th. Chinchillas are within the proper time frame now, so we're on baby watch (though neither is particularly large or showing signs yet). I'm guessing babies will be here closer to Halloween. I'm so excited! Today Lily got to meet her forever family! She will be the center of attention for two little girls, who recently got a kitten... but as we all know, two girls and one kitten just won't do! So Lily will have a companion kitty and two girls to dote on her endlessly. Yay! They're very excited for 10/6 when they get to take Lily home.
Chunk, Boy, Wolf, and Whimsy are all still looking for their forever homes... as are Onion, Parsnip, Mango, Pumpkin, and Autumn. I'm accepting deposits now, so if you're interested, speak up now! All of the 9/6 hamsters left today. Another litter is due 10/8. The chinchillas are due anytime after Saturday. I'm really excited to see what I get out of my new ebony show-bloodline male. I won't keep you waiting... here are the updated photos of Autumn's adorable kittens! You might notice that Onion's left eye looks funny. It was last to open and one morning it was a little goobery, but I'm keeping a close eye on it (no pun intended), to make sure it doesn't turn into an infection (or if it does, that we get antibiotics for him right away). You can really tell Onion and Parsnip apart (Onion has a big fluffy head and Parsnip has a sleeker face... Parsnip is the runt). I still can't tell Mango and Pumpkin apart as easily. I think Mango has a narrower face than Pumpkin, but you have to look at them both together to tell who you're looking at. The chinchillas are succesfully switched. Two nice round mamas-to-be in nursury cages, and three girls introduced to males. I'm expecting both pregnant girls to deliver by Halloween at the latest. One of them was paired with my newest male for his first breeding. I'm excited to get some show-quality ebony bloodlines in my herd (and the possibility of a tan/chocolate chinchilla excites me to no end). The three girls going in with males now will be due next year in January. I'll have to pick up another nursery cage by then. The sable/satin hamster babies are doing well. They'll be ready to go Thursday! Another litter is due soon (satin/silver calico), and I just put the satin male in with my second silver calico female, so more babies in about 2-weeks! I attempted putting Mama Bun with Big Red, but while he was more than willing, she wasn't. We'll try them together again tomorrow.
Wow! Autumn's kittens are growing by leaps and bounds! I had to upgrade their "nest box" so they'd stop climbing out. Can you believe they're three weeks old already? I'm hoping to get updated photos taken and posted tomorrow, depending on my work schedule. I got confirmation, all five of them are set for spay/neuter surgery on November 5th! Yay! Now to just fatten them all up so they meet the 2-pound requirement.
Mama Bun didn't take on my first attempt at breeding her. I think we'll try again. I'm going to see about putting them together tomorrow, again, depending on work schedule. That would put the due date around October 25, and babies ready to go December 6-20 (6-8 weekd old). Just in time for Christmas! Not that bunnies really top the list for a winter holiday, but still. If it doesn't take again, I'll have to sell Mama Bun and find a newer female. I don't know how old she is, so perhaps she's just reached the end of her breeding usefulness. Tomorrow is also the day for cage changes for the chinchillas. The two girls who've been with males will be moved into nursery cages to await their new arrivals, and I'll be putting two new girls (my babes that I held back for breeding) in for the first time. I'll also be giving my oldest female one more chance. She's young, but she's missed two breedings in as many years. If she doesn't produce this time, she'll be retired and I'll find her a good pet home that will love her throughout the rest of her life. I'm so excited! MNSNAP (Minnesota Spay Neuter Assistance Program) offers pediatric spay/neuter surgery! While the bottle-fed litter will be ready to go before there are any openings for surgery, Autumn Harvest and her kittens will be scheduled in just after the kittens are weaned! They will all be spayed and neutered and Autumn will get her rabies vaccine too. I've calculated expenses, and I expect to spend a little over $100 per kitty (Autumn and litter) once it's all broken down, so I'm going to ask a $75 adoption fee for Autumn and each of her kittens. I think this is more than reasonable, as they will have all of their vaccinations (except rabies for the kittens), deworming, flea treatment, neuter and microchip done.
I'm still looking at options for pediatric surgical sterilization for the bottle-litter. I'd like to see them all spayed/neutered before they go, but MNSNAP does not have any openings until the November date, and by then the bottle kittens will be half grown and harder to find homes for. I'm torn. I'll keep looking for an affordable vet that will do surgery on young kittens. |
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