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The Ice Cream Crew at 9 weeks

My current litter of foster kittens are now 9 weeks old.  I've posted new individual photos of them in their album.

Maggie Moo, Baskin Robbins, and Haagen Dazs are considerably bigger than the rest and are close to 2 pounds.  Dairy Queen and Blue Bell are a little smaller and now weigh about 23 ounces.  Blue Bunny is 20 ounces and my little Good Humor Man is not quite 13 ounces.  
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Avatar universal
Oh I do love them all...not just mine but all of the ones at the shelter too....and the dogs.


The 3 black ones are actually from a different litter than the ice cream crew.  I had those three as fosters first and then took them back to the shelter a few weeks ago when I had to be out of town for a few days.  When I got back, I took home the ice cream crew litter of 7 because they were in more need.  But then Jess and Jo Jo started losing weight again at the shelter and all 3 of that litter got a mild case of URI so I brought them back home. I hope they keep some of the silver gray flecking on their backs too. They had more of it when they were younger.  Jo Jo is almost solid black now but Toby and Jess still have quite a bit of the lighter flecking color.

Most of them will be ready to be adopted in another week or two, so they will go back to get spay/neuter, microchip, and their first rabies shot then be available for adoption.  The smaller ones (Good Humor Man, Jess, and Blue Bunny) will stay with me probably until early July when they should be big enough and I'll probably take home a 2 or three more. 10 are manageable from the time they are weaned until they hit the feline version of the terrible twos (which all of them are in right now) and then that many really become a handful again....LOL.
Helpful - 0
587315 tn?1333552783
OMG.....your foster babies are beautiful!!!  The black kitties in the ice cream crew have the most unique coloring.....LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!  I bet they'll keep some of the white coloring and be nice and fluffy!!  

How do you keep yourself from falling in love with them all?????

Bless you for volunteering to help these kitties!!  I just started doing volunteer work for a dog rescue about a month ago.  Thought I'd be safe, since  I'm more of a cat person.....but.....N O T!!!!! LOL
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Avatar universal
I am just fascinated by how this crew has figured out that when they work together as a team, they can do things that they can't individually.  

I had Toby, Baskin Robbins, Blue Bunny, and Good Humor Man out in the living room tonight.  I have a very large adult Bengal who tolerates the kittens but doesn't really like it when they get in her space.  She was lying on the back of the couch when all 4 of the kittens jumped up there are one time.  Usually Zany (the Bengal) will just meow and take a swat at them when one of them tries to mess with her.  Tonight when she was surrounded by 4 of them, she jumped down and gave up her perch...LOL.  I'm also finding that they are rearranging things in there room that are too big or two heavy for just one of them to move, so they are teaming up to do that as well.  

They are also exploring more.  Usually when I take some of them out, they will stay in whatever room I am in.  But lately they have been exploring on their own.  Good Humor Man decided to check out the space behind our entertainment center tonight.  He is probably the only one small enough to get back there.  He looked so funny when he came out because his whiskers were just dripping with dust bunnies.  I just turned to my husband and said I guess it's time to clean behind the furniture....LOL
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740516 tn?1360942486
:-(
You 're right, better think about the ones that made it,as the cute ones you have home just now and many others already rehomed...
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Avatar universal
Had a very sad experience this week.  One of the other foster kittens (not one of mine) developed a horrible eye infection that resulted in his eye swelling so much that he couldn't eat out of a bowl because his eye was swollen past his mouth.  The foster parent took him back to the shelter on Tuesday and I took him to the vet from there.  His only chance to survive was surgery to remove the eye.  Unfortunately, he died during surgery.  I just hate it every time we lose an animal.  My only consolation is that for every one we lose, there are probably a dozen that I have been able to help survive in one way or another.  
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740516 tn?1360942486
That's the place I'd love to be,those are persons ( like you) I would love to met.Thank you for your actions.
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Avatar universal
It is bittersweet to give them back for adoption after I have had them for a while.  But that is my job as a foster.  I don't always get feedback from adopting owners of my foster so it is quite special to me on those occasions when I do.  And there are so many that there are always other ones waiting for me to take home.  

Most evenings I will take a few of the kittens out into the living room for a while for some exposure to other people (well actually just my husband) and my adult cats.  Tonight I had Baskin Robbins, GHM, and Blue Bunny out.  We had a thunderstorm and Baskin hid under the couch.  Didn't phase GHM or Blue Bunny at all.  

The shelter will provide most of what fosters need for their charges.  Food, litter and boxes, milk replacer for unweaned ones, and meds for sick ones.  But since I have adult cats of my own and usually have foster kittens all the time, I already have litter and boxes and carriers that I keep at home.  I do use milk replacer and meds when I need them from the shelter.  I use their kitten dry food and the prescription canned for any picky eaters or those having trouble gaining weight.  But the ten I have now will eat anything, and since their are so many kittens at the shelter and with other fosters, I am buying most of the food for mine so there will be that much more available at the shelter and for other fosters who might not be able to afford to buy the food for their foster kittens and cats.
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242912 tn?1660619837
COMMUNITY LEADER
Oh Yay!  No, I don't think you posted about Sky, but maybe I missed it, anyway, that's Great news!  Now she has her very own family.  That's wonderful the family will stay in touch with you like that.  They are "delighted"...of course they are :)  This is so exciting, Nancy!  You're a stronger person than I.  My chest tightened up just *thinking* about little GHM or Jess (love them all, though) leaving, but I guess that means you've done a good job and they're ready to go out in the world.  

Now I'm thinking since you're a volunteer, YOU pay for all this food?  
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Avatar universal
Yes, GHM and Jess are the runts of their respective litters but both of them are growing like weeds right now.  Jess is shorter lengthwise than the others so even though she is smaller she a round little butterball with an appetite to match.  I'm going through 4-5 cans of cat food (and I mean the regular sized cans not the little fancy feast type cans), plus about 2-3 bowls full of dry food per day.  Toby, Maggie Moo, and Baskin Robbins are already over 2 pounds.  6 or 7 of them should be ready to go back to the shelter for adoption around mid June.  GHM, Jess, and Blue Bunny are the smallest so I will still keep them (and probably end up with some new ones) when the larger ones goes back.

I don't remember if I posted this before, but the family who adopted Sky, one of my former foster kittens, contacted me the other day to say they are just delighted with him....in their words, they fell in love with him at first sight and it has only gotten worse since....LOL.
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242912 tn?1660619837
COMMUNITY LEADER
Thanks for sharing, Nancy.  I LOVE hearing about them.  This is so great...they're all learning from each other how to be good social kittens.  Aww...little GHM.  He's coming along really well.  They all are.  Seems fitting that GHM and Jess hook up.  They both look to be the smallest.  
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Avatar universal
I try to spend a couple of periods a day with the kittens when I'm not feeding or changing litter, or cleaning, just to sit and observe their behavioral and social development.  I think they have figured out that is is "showtime" and they perform for me.  My little Good Humor Man has taken to pouncing on his litter mates that are twice his size, and then whining for me to rescue him....even when he is on top....LOL.  Can't complain too much though because he has also taken over my job of cleaning my messy eater Jess.  Baskin Robbins, who was a bit timid and standoffish when I first brought them home has become one of the boys and is usually right in the middle of things.  Blue Bell has been going through a growth spurt and she is suddenly almost as big as Haagen, Maggie, Toby,  and Baskin and she is feeling her oats.  DQ is still the nutball taking flying leaps from everywhere and summersalting her way to the ground.  
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740516 tn?1360942486
Loreena is scared to death of one black umbrella,even loving the tread that there is on for you to carry it
My cousin used to joke about my black"witches"playing with the broom...
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242912 tn?1660619837
COMMUNITY LEADER
Interesting how both yours and Apples kids love the broom.  Jade HATES the broom and gives it a wide berth if she comes across one.  We think she must of been shooed away with one by her first people because I mean, she is scared to death of it.  She will sit right next to the air compressor though and not even flinch and that thing is Loud!

Nancy, I saw your new adorable pics and I'll be back tomorrow to comment.  It looks like so much fun having all those kittens.  Lots of work, but lots of love, fun and Supervision, lol...
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Avatar universal
Seems I always have one or two in every litter that I have to break of the leg climbing thing...LOL.  And this crew just loves climbing all over me while I'm sitting on the floor cleaning out their litter boxes.

I got the new photos from this morning posted in my Ice Cream Crew album here.
Helpful - 0
740516 tn?1360942486
hahaha,thanks for posting this,it reminds myself when my kittens were four and this age...
Still miss the boys climbing my legs...They all loved brooms and soo
The young girls are now almost 7mo but they still love "help me" in the cleaning,so does Loreena when she see me pick a broom or any other interesting thing.
Hug!
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
It sure would be easier to clean up their room if they didn't try to supervise me....LOL.  Everything is a toy to them, the broom, the vacume, the poop scooper etc.  I'm trying to sweep with 2 climbing on the broom and 2 more trying to climb my legs.  How does that nursery rhyme go...the was an old woman who lived in a shoe....she had so many children she didn't know what to do.......I ams SOOOOOO there......LOL.,

Since I more or less turned the whole room over to them (they figured out how to climb out of their pen, but not back in) they have almost doubled their food intake.  Part of that is their increase in exercise and part of it probably just the age they are at.  The 7 in the ice cream crew are now 10 weeks old and the 3 from another litter (Jess, Jo Jo, and Toby) are now 11 weeks old.  Toby is already over 2 pounds and Maggie Moo and Baskin Robbins are close.  I took some new photos while I was cleaning their room today but I'm too pooped from being "supervised" by them to upload then right now...LOL.  Will try to get to that later today.
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Avatar universal
Thanks both of you.  Jade, I didn't mention in my journal some work I do from home.  I keep an album of adoptable pets that people take to off-site events, write some articles and other brouchure or website content for the shelter, and help with planning for fundraising.  Those are examples of some types of things you could help with for your local shelter without even needing to leave home.

I'm off to the shelter now.  Will stop by PetSmart on the way to visit with Sky (he still hasn't been adopted), then help with the new intakes at the shelter, then a planning meeting for a large project we are working on (a doggy park on the land directly behind the shelter.
Helpful - 0
242912 tn?1660619837
COMMUNITY LEADER
I just saw them and they all are looking just wonderful and I love the names you decided on.  I read your journals, too, and wow, you are Very dedicated to the shelter and it looks like some days, that's all you do is help in one way or another.  Volunteering at a shelter is something I've wanted to do for a long time, but my physical health won't allow it so it's especially exciting to live it through the experiences you write about.
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541150 tn?1306033843
hehehe they are gorgeous!!!
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