Another hair cut...another kitten

The other day I heard some serious meowing coming from one of the old sheds on our property. I looked in and noticed that two of the five new kittens from the feral momma cat had escaped their shelter and were laying on the dirt floor -- their poor little noses were caked with dirty "boogers" (making it difficult for them to breathe) and they were filthy. I took them out and scraped their noses and gave them baths, put them in a nicely lined box with their other siblings and left them all alone for a few days.



One of the five kittens had died. The runt of the litter had a really big eye. I couldn't do anything about it at the time, so I left it alone with the hopes that the dumb-ass momma cat would feed them and take care of her babies. This is her second litter in a four month period and she is a rather sickly cat herself. I sure wish I could trap her and take her to the Humane Society before she has any other babies. Becoming an adoptive mother to her sick kittens is getting really old...



Two days later, I heard some extra serious meowing coming from inside the shed. I looked in and noticed that the momma cat had moved three of her kittens and left the runt with the infected/drained eye to fend for itself. (I assume these kittens are only about two or three weeks old.) The poor little thing was literally skin and bones and it could hardly move.



Sucker that I am, I can't just let a living being starve to death if I can make a difference. I took the little kitten into the house and fed it some specially formulated kitten milk (from the local store). I cleaned it up and started putting some eye medication in both eyes. This has been going on for about three days now and I am happy to report that the cute little thing finally has a full tummy and intestines and that it looks as if it has started to gain some weight. On the flip side, it does not have one eye -- it must have exploded (obviously I am not familiar with the medical terminology).



This baby has the sweetest temperament. She (or he, I haven't been able to tell yet because it is so small) hasn't even hissed at me like the rest of the litter did. She is so inquisitive. She loves to walk around and explore her world, albeit with one eye, and she is a little lopsided because she is still learning to walk and she doesn't have depth of perception. If she survives, I bet she will make the best pet!



My friend stopped by the house today and looked at her. She suggested we call the kitten "Elvis" -- not a bad name considering the dark spot of fur on her little head.

I spent the earlier part of my day grooming another friend's poodle. It took me a really long time today -- I am slow at the best of times, but this poor girl had extremely matted ears and one of the ears must have a bur or something in it because it is giving her a lot of problems. My friend warned me about it, thank goodness, so I knew to be extra careful. (She is the mother of my schnoodle, by the way. The two dogs look a lot a like, but my schnoodle is much smaller.)

Sometimes I wish I could twinkle my little nose like the star in "Bewitched" to get things done around here quickly so I have more time for myself. Taking on these extra animals sure is rewarding in the scheme of things, but it is a hassle in the meantime...