Kevin and I visited his parents, Jack & Fern, last week at their new home in East New Southwest Upper Jibib, NY, near the Finger Lakes region. It's a lovely rural area. Like many rural areas, there are, unfortunately, plenty of feral cats. Jack & Fern very kindly trapped & spayed the lovely Misty, who now spends her days between a heated garage (nice!) and the great outdoors. Before being kidnapped for spaying, she managed to squeeze out a couple of litters. She rooms with one of her older offspring, the androgynously named Twinkletoes ('Twink' to his/her friends) who I'll guess is several months old. Until recently, Misty and Twink (I consider myself his/her friend even though I don't know Twink's gender bc, really, what is gender but a socio-biological construct?) also bunked with two younger offspring, who I'll guess are about 7-8 weeks old. Bc those two are so young, Jack & Fern very kindly allowed us to take them home with us to socialize and adopt them out to some nice peeps.
And so, without further ado, I introduce the world to Lizzie (grey) and Miles (orange). Here they're sitting in Kevin's lap here at home.
Here they're in camouflage. Can you find them? (This look is most definitely disadvantageous to one's figure.)
If you need help, here's Miles, weighing in at 1.75 lb.,...
...and here's Lizzie, who, at a whopping 2.25 lb., is almost 30% more cat than her brother.
Are they or are they not the cutest things evar? (Hint: they are.) They were soooo scared when we first handled them in their garage. They were and remain a little crusty-eyed and runny-nosed. Miles, named for Miles Davis bc this little guy also seems like a cool cat, was a little worse off.
Lizzie, named for the impulsive Elizabeth Bennett of Pride & Prejudice fame, was a little zesty, hence the towel.
Doesn't she look sad? Her mom and sib Twink have eyes even sadder than these two. Their eyes probably look a little sadder than they actually are bco the redness and crustyness. Stay tuned in future for new and improved pictures.
The vet will check them out next week. She already had a fecal sample analyzed and it turns out, unsurprisingly, that they're loaded with roundworm (the linked site is quite informative). They've received their first dose of strongid and get a second dose 10 days later. They'll probably go on two courses of it to ensure the little buggers' eviction.
We're also giving them eye ointment several times a day. Once she's actually able to see them, I'll guess that Dr. Slade will give them something else for whatever's causing their moist eyes and noses.
We've also been cleaning their noses, ears & eyes, clipping their nails and will start brushing their teeth so they're used to all of this handling and it will be easier for their peeps to take proper care of them.
Perhaps most importantly, we're giving them healthy and frequent doses of lurve. Feisty Miss Lizzie no longer hisses and tries to get away; in fact, although both kittens are friendly to both of us, I think she is quite fond of Kevin and will lay belly up and her head back for him on his lap, purring like a motorboat. I think that Miles is partial to me (or at least I like to think that bc, quite honestly, I'm quite partial to him; I so like an orange cat); he likes to snuggle vertically on my chest and burrow his little head down.
I spoke w/the owner of the shelter where we adopted most of our cats. Once the cats are socialized, roundworm-free and basically ready to enter a shelter, they'll move there in hopes of adoption.
Kevin never did agree that Edison was ready to go to the shelter for adoption (he needs another dose of strongid, he hasn't had his shots yet, he hasn't been neutered yet, he's too small to stand up to the big cats at the shelter, he needs work on his belly rubs, etc. etc.). Edison's still here.
They are so beautiful !!!
Posted by: DonnaMaria | Friday, November 16, 2007 at 11:51 PM