Dear Diary,
My foster mom is totally besotted with my kittens. She has weighed them again, and is delighted with their steady gain. You'd think SHE was the one who was feeding them!
They are 2 weeks old today!
Tulley, my "runt" is doing very well. Of course, I am extremely proud of them all!
Top: (L) Flynn, 13.25 oz., Meg, 12.25 oz.Bottom: (L) Tulley ,11.25 oz., and Molli, 12 oz.
Dear Diary,My foster Mom and Dad made a brand new nursery for my babies yesterday. My foster Mom noticed that my kittens, especially Meg, were becoming more active and really growing. She felt that it was time for more spacious living quarters. We have a soft bed, and great little exercise area.
I think it's really upscale and quite posh.
Lynda writes to Juno:
Dear Juno,
Your kittens will soon begin to stand up on their four little paws and try to walk.
Meg is doing really well - we notice that she is upright much of the time.
Your kittens are also beginning to hear, because they react to my voice. Each day, their vision is improving, and they try to focus on our faces as we admire them.
We are glad that you like the new nursery. Your kittens will remain safe there for several weeks.
Dear Diary,What's with my kittens? They all want to feed at the same time! One takes a notion to be hungry, then they all get hungry.Sometimes I wish they would take turns!
Lynda writes to Juno:
I can hear you purring! You are such a happy mom.
Top: MegBottom, from L: Flynn, ?, Tully, ?Dear Diary,
I am so excited!!!! All my babies have opened their eyes! OK - so it will be a while before they can really see, but look so much cuter! Of course, my foster mom is even more excited than I am!
First were my boys Flynn, and Tulley, on March 25th, at 8 days of age. Meg's eyes opened on March 26th , and today it was Molli's turn, at 10 days.
My kittens not only are cuter, they are becoming more lively. Molli has the loudest cry.
Soon they will be able to hear.
Lynda writes to Juno:
Your days will get a whole lot busier when all your kittens can see!
The average age for this kitten milestone is 7 to 14 days. Their true eye colours will take a few months to fully develop.
What a nice surprise! The SPCA folks will be delighted, too.
Love,
Lynda, your foster Mom
Dear Diary,
My babies are a week old already! Where does the time go? Soon they will no longer be “newborns”! Why, in another week or so, they will be opening their little eyes. I can hardly wait!O.K. I know that I am biased, and I know that they might appear homely to some, but I think they are the sweetest kittens ever.
My kittens were weighed today. Tulley is the smallest; he weighs 7.75 ounces. Next is Molli at 8 oz., then Meg 8.25 oz. Flynn is the big boy, weighing in at 8.75 oz. They are really doing well, and have doubled their birth weight easily.There is something bothering me, though. I overheard my foster mom talking on the phone to someone from the SPCA. They were discussing “adoption”. There’s another new word to add to the list. My name was mentioned, and I also heard something about my kittens being “ready to go” at around 8 weeks. "Go"?...... Where?I don’t know what all of this means. I hope we are not being sent out into the snow banks again! I’ll try not to worry and just concentrate on being a good mother.
I love my kittens so much!
Lynda writes to Juno:
Dear Juno,
Adoption means that your kittens will have a new home. They will have matured enough to be "on their own", at about 8 - 10 weeks of age. You, too, will be "adopted" by someone who will care for you.
The SPCA folks will make sure that only responsible humans will be permitted to adopt you and your kittens.
There are a number of reasons I am unable to adopt you. My "grand cats" come to visit, and you may not accept them. When your foster dad retires, he and I hope to travel a bit. The time is not right!
Your present home is a "foster" home - a temporary, but loving, and safe environment.
There is no shelter in Antigonish for unwanted cats and dogs, so the SPCA must depend on kind volunteers to provide foster care. Many foster homes are needed, especially in the spring and summer months, when the numbers of abandoned and unwanted animals increase. Without foster homes, these animals, mostly cats and kittens, will have to be euthanized. Another new word!
That word, Juno, is NOT a word which we will discuss at this time.
Love,
Your foster mom, Lynda
PS I love your kittens, too!
Dear Diary,I have been receiving visitors, so I am feeling very special. Everyone thinks my kittens are sweet.
My babies have been growing, and have been named by my foster family. The two boys are Flynn and Tulley. The two girls are Meg and Molly. The smallest kittens have names ending with "y's".
I now weigh 7 pounds.I am very busy, keeping my kittens clean and fed. People predict that I will "have my paws full" in a few weeks time. I think I will catch forty winks while I have the chance.
Dear Diary,I have such exciting news! I am a new mother!
I have four baby kittens!Last night I awoke with some sharp pains. I didn’t know what to do, and wished that my foster Mom would be with me. I was scared! After a couple of hours I needed to push, and out of my bottom came a funny looking sack, with a stringy thing attached, and I could see a little creature inside. I quickly broke the sack gently with my teeth, and there was a kitten! There was also a lot of watery stuff, which I immediately cleaned up. I cleaned the kitten with my tongue. Then the pains started again. This time I was not quite as scared. A second kitten-in-a-sack came out. I went right to work. Bye - bye sack!
This procedure went on for most of the night: pain, push, clean, and I was really tired by early morning. I had a total of 4 kittens!!! Can you believe that? Little me — a mother of four!My babies are very dark, with cute little markings on their dear little faces. Two have a bit of brown on their backs. They remind me of a certain male tabby from the old neighbourhood. We had a brief fling about two months ago, and I haven’t seen him since. The scoundrel!
My foster dad found me and my kittens at 6:20 this morning. Was he excited! I purred the loudest purr I could muster, I was so proud of myself. Within minutes, my foster mom appeared and she totally freaked out. “Oh, Juno", she kept saying. “Your babies are beautiful.” I know they are!
I have to go now. My babies are crawling all over the fur on my belly. They are looking for milk!
Dear Diary, This is hard to put into words, but I feel really different this evening .
I am very happy, and feel like loving my people all the time. I am not grouchy any more! Y- e- a! But I can’t lie still for any more than 10 or 15 minutes.
I tried out the cardboard box this evening. It feels very cozy and safe.I might sleep here tonight.
Dear Diary,I don’t know what is happing to my tummy. It is huge!
I am starting to feel very heavy and uncomfortable. I am sorry to say that I also feel grumpy and don’t want to be picked up a lot.
Also, I have weird feelings inside my tummy - like it’s something inside moving around. The people at my house keep looking at my belly, and talk about “lots of movement”.My foster mom weighed me again and seemed excited that I gained 3 pounds in the past 10 days.
This is odd - I am not eating much more food! Now I am really worried that I will be a fat cat.Good night. Time for bed!
Dear Diary,I have been in my foster home for two weeks now. What a great place!I am sleeping a lot and my belly seems to be growing bigger. I hope I am not getting fat!I love looking out the window at all the birds when I am not sleeping. I like to sleep on a dining room chair, and near my foster mom's computer.
I get lots of exercise, too. I love playing with little furry toy mice. I chew off their tails, then tackle their heads - just like the real ones I used to eat. I also like to chase a paper butterfly on a string. My foster mom plays with me a lot, even though she is a big person.She found a big cardboard box which she placed in my sleeping area. There is a soft towel to curl up on. I am not sure if I am expected to sleep in it every night. My favourite sleeping spot is on a shelf in my little room, so that's where I'll be going tonight.My foster mom used to be a nurse. She weighed me yesterday, and I weigh 7 pounds.Time for another nap ........
Dear Diary:
This is a very happy day for me. I have a foster home! I am also hearing a lot of new words.A few days ago, a nice lady from the SPCA responded to a call from a person who told her I was a “stray”. “STRAY” indeed! A stray is a cat who wanders away and gets lost! I am way too smart for that. Would I leave a family who is good to me? Lets face it - I was ABANDONED, in the middle of a cold winter. I am not very old - what were my “owners” thinking? People think that cats are disposable. Just toss them away when you don’t want them anymore. Don’t they know what it feels like to be cold and wet, not to mention hungry?
Attempts to find my owner had failed. So the SCPC told the lady who found me to take me to the vet clinic to see if I was a healthy cat. They looked me over, and tested me for Feline Leukemia, a contagious and fatal disease. I was negative!!! The vet also said I was “pregnant” - whatever that means. I heard him say “about halfway along”. I must be going somewhere! I hoped that it would be warm, because I have been very cold. I was afraid, because I don’t know what will happen after I get a get a “litter”. I needed a place to live.
There is no animal shelter in Antigonish, so the SPCA volunteers searched for someone who will provide me with a home until I can be adopted. They called it a“foster” home . Many foster homes are needed, especially in the spring, and it is very difficult for the SPCA volunteers to find enough good people will share their homes with needy animals.The SPCA volunteer remembered the name of a lady had expressed an interest in helping by caring for abandoned kittens in the spring. It is not spring, and I am not a kitten, but my foster mom took me anyway, because she wanted to help. I had to go for another car ride to another strange place. My foster Mom spoke to me gently to make me feel at home. She named me Juno, because I am young and pregnant. She said it had something to do with a movie.
My foster family will keep me until I have my “litter”, whatever that is. I hope it doesn’t hurt.
I heard the SPCA lady tell my human mom that I was very “‘adoptable” because I am so gentle. So many new words! My foster Mom is feeding me kitten cat food, because it has extra nutrients. I have a nice little bathroom, which my mom calls a “litter” box. There is that “litter” word again! I am so confused. Anyway, she cleans my bathroom every morning and she also gives me fresh water every day.
The SPCA provides me with the food and litter - aren’t they kind people? They need “donations” to help pay for my food, so donations seem like very good things.
I hear my foster mom tell people that I am a nice, quiet cat. I’m not really all that quiet. I purr loudly when she talks to me, and I meow once in awhile. I love to cuddle on her lap, and I like putting my nose in the crook of her arm. I am so glad that I am not outdoors in this awful winter weather.
Well, diary, I think I will take a nap. I am feeling very tired, for some reason..........
