Free Write 6/28/24

 I haven't done a free-write Thursday yet but it isn't because I don't want to do it, I am simply having a difficult time finding Thursday.  Things are a bit undisciplined as to days of the week currently as (looks at notes) Wednesday a plea went out on the Rescue chat (we foster cats/kittens) for someone to take a very small, newborn kitten who was brought by a feral Mama cat -in her mouth- to the person who feeds the ferals.  It's umbilical cord was still attached when it was brought to an animal hospital where another foster for the rescue works.  I, having raised babies as young as 2-3 days, said I would come get it.  It is an hour away so I packed a quick bag with a small warmer,  a bottle of warm KMR (kitten milk replacement) full of hot water and placed in my thermos, a small crate with soft blankets, a heartbeat sound, and was out the door.

Traffic was bad on the farm road.  Trucks and cars and construction, oh my!  Took me more than an hour to get there but I had everything it needed and surely the vet would keep the kitten safe.

When I got there, Sarah went right back and got the kitten.  She told me that they thought it was a boy and she had been calling him Brian after the vet who 'removed the placenta and stitched his umbilical cord'.    My only thought was 'oh no, what'?  

When I looked down into the very small box she handed me, I saw the smallest kitten I have ever seen,  almost unrecognizable as a kitten.  I have had kittens born at my house but they were healthy and full term.  This baby was in trouble.  I handed her the warmer and asked her to put in the microwave for 2 minutes, and immediately removed the baby from the box and slipped him inside my bra over my heart to warm him up and so he could hear my heart - like his Mom would have.  When Sarah returned with the warmer, I placed it under the blankets and put the kitten on top, covering it with a soft a cloth to hold the heat in and brought him to my car.  I took him out, looked him over (yes, a boy) and got the warm bottle to see if he would drink.  He opened his mouth for me and I put a drop on his tongue and he swallowed.  Great signs.  I gave him a few more but then felt like warm and safe in the crate would be best, and seat belting it in, I got home as quickly as I could.

Forty five minutes later, I arrived home and brought Brian in the house, handing him to Lee for a minute so I could get the bottle out of the thermos and make sure it was still warm.  I gave him a bit of milk and then put him on a scale and was not shocked to see he only weighed 1.3 ounces!  Normal birth weight for a kitten is 3.17 ounces or 90 grams, so he weighed 36.85 grams, basically a third of normal birth weight.  Extremely premature and so, I resigned myself to the fact that with these numbers and the circumstances, he probably would not make it.  Having lost two newborn babies a couple months ago, I am all too familiar with how this could go, but am determined to do my best to keep him warm, safe and as comfortable as possible while he is with us.  Tried him with Skye, my nursing mom, but too small to latch on.  But she did stimulate him to poop - output is always a good sign because they have to make room.  Encouraged.

Day 2, he had gained 0.3 of an ounce.  More pee and poop.  A bit more interested in eating.  Round the clock feeding every hour to two depending on intake.  He ate well all night long at every feeding.  He peed on his own!  Good sign that he is getting enough to drink.  He is taking in about half to a 1 cc every 90 minutes to 2 hours, then sleeps. 

Day 3, I tried him with Skye again and she was quite cooperative, licking him and lying down so he could reach her nipples, but he cannot latch on.  Feeding him with an eye dropper now, one drop at a time as he cannot latch to the smallest nipple I have.   Have the heating pad below soft blankets in the crate, and he is beside me or my partner at all times.  Setting the alarm for every 90 minutes to 2 hours around the clock.  He did not eat as well last night as he did on his first night and his weight is down today to 1.45 ounces, or 41.07 grams.  Not the direction I want him to go in, but he is eating at least small amounts.   I recharged the heartbeat and put it in the crate under the blankets so he feels like his Mom is there.  He is surrounded by the smell of Skye.  He is warm and he is loved.  All I can do is keep waking him to stimulate him, feed him, and keep him warm.... and wait.  The universe will unfold as it does and while that is out of my hands, I am hoping that his life continues.   

Comments

  1. Michael FishmanJune 28, 2024 at 1:45 PM

    I don't know much of anything about cats, and especially nothing about kitties this young, so this was interesting to read. And also kind of sad. Hopefully Brian will build on those good things and today will be a better day and his weight will go up. I didn't know this "But she did stimulate him to poop" but it makes sense. Skye sounds like a pretty cool cat.

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