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The Saga of the Kittens

Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2017 9:34 pm
by Gwen
We have had a very dramatic few weeks over here, and I thought I would share because it involves kittens, and if you know me even a little you know I have ALL the photos so the thread won't even be useless!

We have moved full time out of the big city into the wilds of New Jersey, and it is the best thing EVER and I'm never going back! The sad part of this is that we decided to say goodbye to our cat Pandora, who we had been keeping comfortable for her final 7 months with daily fluids (she had late stage kidney disease). She had gotten to the point where she was starting to need fluids more than once a day, and we didn't want to wait for a crisis or for her to be significantly miserable, and we didn't want to stress her out with the move.

Here is Pandora, she used to come to the house with us on the weekends, and she loved taking little strolls outside to the river and back. She was so stressed out by the car rides by the end that we had to stop bringing her back and forth.

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With Pandora gone, we were down to a no pet household which is obviously not acceptable. So we adopted a pair of kittens, sisters, and named them Autumn and Amber. They are the sweetest, purringest, most loving of cats, we can't believe how lucky we are to have them in our life!

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However, one night a few weeks ago we went to sleep and everyone was fine, and then my husband woke up a few hours later hearing Amber crying. He found her at the bottom of the stairs, unable to get up. :cry: He took her to the emergency room, and she had somehow managed to break her tibia! So now the poor thing is stuck in a cast - thankfully the fibula was fine, which makes for a sort of internal splint, but she is in a cast for 4 weeks. And then the day she got her cast on, I had to rush her back to the vet that night - she wasn't behaving right, and it turns out she had somehow ingested cat litter - we don't use clumping of course but still bad - and it was sitting in her stomach, plus she was dehydrated. We think the combination of having to fast her with the sedation made her loopy enough to decide to eat some litter?

So far she's managed to slip out of the cast twice, the first time only partially and I don't know how she did it, then this morning she got it caught on the crate we are keeping her in (which she HATES - I let her out when I can supervise her because honestly she's quieter that way) and her leg slipped right out - when I saw how atrophied the leg has gotten it was not surprising, she's got nothing left under there! It's like a pencil!

Had another x-ray today, it is healing but she still needs to be splinted for another two weeks or so. Poor baby!

Re: The Saga of the Kittens

Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2017 9:38 pm
by Gwen
A few broken leg kitten photos. :cry:

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(the splint had slipped, this was pre-cast)

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For a little while there her sister was HORRIFIED by the cast, but they're back to loving each other again. The problem is that the loving often involves tussling, and it's Amber (the broken legged one) who initiates it most often so we have to watch them when they are together! I've found Amber will also happily get her wrestling urges out on a stuffed animal, so that helps.

Re: The Saga of the Kittens

Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2017 10:59 pm
by Gwen
And a few more because BABY CATS:

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Re: The Saga of the Kittens

Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2017 11:07 pm
by Gwen
Hey whatcha eating there, huh?

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They've been growing so FAST. I don't think they could both fit in this basket now!

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I love their markings...

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Re: The Saga of the Kittens

Posted: Sat Sep 16, 2017 11:07 pm
by Gwen
Ok last few...

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Re: The Saga of the Kittens

Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2017 2:39 am
by Kyra's Mom
:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

That one chair you have looks like absolute cat heaven.

Congrats on the acquisition.

Susa

Re: The Saga of the Kittens

Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2017 9:46 am
by Gwen
Ha - yes Susa, on top of being super soft it also gets afternoon sun, *and* is positioned right next to the fireplace! I anticipate it getting even more action this winter.

Re: The Saga of the Kittens

Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2017 1:17 pm
by PaulaO
Thanks for adopting them and taking such good care. Squee for pics of kittehs!

Re: The Saga of the Kittens

Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2017 1:41 pm
by Chisamba
Your photographs, as always are stunning. Lovely to see an update on your family, both human and kitten. Welcome to Joisey.

Re: The Saga of the Kittens

Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2017 7:44 pm
by chantal
Love the pics, and the kitties. Cool.

Re: The Saga of the Kittens

Posted: Sun Sep 17, 2017 11:10 pm
by Backyarder3
Love kitty pics,,,nice !

Re: The Saga of the Kittens

Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2017 1:06 am
by M&M
Those kittens (and child!) are so sweet, they make my teeth hurt! <3 X about a million!

Re: The Saga of the Kittens

Posted: Wed Sep 20, 2017 10:31 pm
by highoctane
OMG SQUEEEEEE!!!! So fantastic!

Healing thoughts to Amber, too!

Re: The Saga of the Kittens

Posted: Mon Sep 25, 2017 4:15 pm
by texsuze
First, very sad to hear of Pandora's passing. You gave much thought to her transition to a new home, her current health condition, etc. Kitties always seem to require strategy!

With your new girls, we, too have a set of "sistahs", with pattern and coloring exactly like yours! One has the 'typical' tabby markings, the other has whorls and swirls. They share many personality traits, yet are distinctly different! Enjoy!

Re: The Saga of the Kittens

Posted: Tue Sep 26, 2017 11:37 am
by LeoApp
I am sorry for your loss of Pandora. Those kitties are so sweet and cuddly! You will be amazed at how quickly that leg heals, especially in such a young cat. Wonderful pics!

Re: The Saga of the Kittens

Posted: Wed Oct 04, 2017 8:00 pm
by Gwen
Just wanted to update that Amber got her final X-ray today and the vet said that her leg has healed so completely she thought she had the wrong X-rays, there’s no sign that it had ever been broken! So she’s free, and SO HAPPY. Limping and atrophied and clearly not sure how to use the leg anymore but doing her best to make up for all the time spent not racing about!