An Interesting Day

Tuesday was one of the more eventful days I’ve had recently. Carisa’s mom and I were planning to go to the Japanese Tea Garden when the weather cleared up. As we headed downstairs and started loading up the car, Laurie (Carisa’s mom) noticed my front driver’s side tire was flat. No big deal, I can change a flat… I thought. We got the hubcap off, we jacked up the car, but when we tried the lug nuts – they were stuck. I leaned into the wrench, but there was nothing doing. We tried liquid wrench, but it didn’t loosen the stupid things. I called Michael, who looked up what to do when the lug nuts won’t budge, but the only suggestions were the things we already tried. Well, they also suggested you call a professional.

(See, I really did work on the car. Apparently I tried to remove the nuts with my teeth!)

In the end, we had to call AAA to send out a guy to remove the stupid nuts. It turns out they were put on with one of those shop tools and no human being could remove them. I thought these things were supposed to be set up so you could remove them in an emergency – what gives? We got the donut on the car, cancelled our trip, and made plans to get new tires.

It turned out to be a good thing I got a flat tire before the move. The tires were worn to exactly the point when you should replace them (the tread measure 3/32 inches in most places), so I just got 4 new all-weather tires. I was originally going to have snow tires installed on the car, but the sales person at Sears told me that, while he would sell them to me, it would be a mistake. Because the weather here is too warm for them, they would get ruined in a hurry. Plus, even though we are planning to drive through the Rocky Mountains in the snow, the salesperson said he thought they wouldn’t even get us all the way to Colorado. I learned that snow tires are made of a softer rubber that just wears out in normal conditions. The better bet is to get chains and install them if there are chain checkpoints along the road. These are good things to know if I am going to experience snow again.

While I was on the way to get the new tires, I got a phone call.

These little ragamuffins lost their mother and needed someone to love them! I told Toni that I would take any kittens that could live in a carrier, so she immediately thought of me when they came in. Since I was in a fibery mood from going to Stitches, I’ve given them fiber themed names: Lanolin, Flax, Cashmere and Angora. I am not sure which are girls and which are boys, so I thought unisex names were best.

The babies are 5 days old (well, I guess today they are 6 days old, technically) and they still have umbilical cords. They came to me on Wednesday, just before my knit night crew came over.

These little guys were popular! I had to feed and potty them once while everyone was here (they are at the feeding every 4 hours stage), so the girls took turns holding the little guys while I was taking care of each of them in turn. I can’t tell the black ones apart yet, but after I fed 1 of them, he/she purred the sweet little clicking purr that you only get from kittens this small. I let Naomi hold him for awhile after that, and as she pet him he kept rewarding her the same way! Before I fed him, he tried to nurse on any part of her hand that he could reach.

I am sure that this means I am easy a sucker a good mom, but it was just love at first sight! Most people with an upcoming move in 3 weeks wouldn’t be taking kittens, but I tell you, having them back in my life makes it all feel right again. Kittens make me smile. They take my stress away. They make me feel like I am needed. I really love that.

I actually had some time between feedings to work on a scarf that my aunt commissioned me to make for a friend of hers. It’s turning out just lovely. I am using one strand of Persian, a yarn that Joann’s discontinued (!) and one of Stork sock weight yarn in baby blue. The Persian is what really makes the scarf – it’s 100% nylon and THE softest yarn I’ve ever touched. When I was at Stitches, Carisa discovered that Crystal Palace makes a yarn called Whisper that is almost identical to the Joann’s yarn, so I feel a bit relieved that this won’t be the last thing I ever make that is this soft. You know, I need to read the washing instructions on this stuff. If I can wash it reasonably easily, I can totally see making kitten blankets with it. I have sick little fantasies of lining up tiny little kittens on the softest bedding that ever existed. They would forget all about that momma they lost and fall in love with me, the provider of all things wonderful. Sigh.

For the next few days I am going to be up at ungodly hours feeding the babies. They can’t eat much at one time – their tummies are so tiny! They are due for their next feeding sometime between 2:00 and 3:00 this morning. Who knows, it may work out with the hormone induced insomnia. It feels good to be a kitten mom again.

Another Round – Contest!

Hi everyone. It’s me again, Sprout. I wanted to tell you that it seems  I will leave this house uneaten after all. As a matter of fact, none of the other cats have been eaten – how curious? I figured I would put an update here because my captor has criminally neglected her blog this week. There is a good reason though, I swear. These tiny Kitten McNuggets arrived a few days ago and she has to bottle feed them all the time. I think if she eats anything it will be these tender morsels. The lady is also knitting a ton of Christmas presents. There had better be one for me in that pile. I’ve been trying to be nice to her. I let her pet me sometimes, and I come visit her in bed when she is lounging. I leave her yarn alone like a good girl.

I’ve asked Carrot to put a personal ad for me on the Internet. We’re going to look for a picture that makes me look unbearably cute, and then we’re going to describe me in a way that makes me seem like a catch. I’m no small thing anymore – I am about 4 or 5 months old. I like to get to know a place before I am comfortable running things. I take excellent care of my fur, and I am softer than your finest cashmere. I like other cats well enough, so hopefully I have a friend or two at my new place.

As for those babies -

There are four of these guys, 1 girl and 3 boys.

This little girl is Esme. Her name comes from a comment left on a previous post asking for kitten names.

This is the little black boy with soulful eyes and a quiet manner.

This is one of the tabby boys.

And here is the other tabby boy. His face is wider than his brother’s, which makes them easy to tell apart.

So, I was thinking – we should have another baby naming contest. This time, the lady will knit you a kitten-themed dishcloth and mail it to you if she picks your submission. You’ll have to be patient for it though because she has a lot of knitting to complete before Christmas and the prize will have to wait until maybe closer to the new year. The comments from this blog go to a gmail account. If you win, the lady can contact you and ask for your address, so be sure to put your email address in the appropriate box! Only the lady who writes this blog and I can see any personal info like that. We’ll announce the choices on Wednesday, so have your submission in the comments by the end of the day on Tuesday. You can submit a name for each kitten, or for just 1 or 2 of them. A dishcloth will be sent out for each name chosen, so if she picks 2 of your suggestions, you get 2 dishcloths. Good luck!

I’ll try to get her to post more between now and then as well. You’re welcome.

Crisis in Crochet

I was working on my cat afghan, inspired by the idea of getting down to just 6 WIPs. Except for substituting the color of the cats in this afghan (the original pattern calls for blue cats), I left the pattern unmodified. For the first time in my life I checked gauge for an afghan (usually I don’t worry because, well, it’s a blanket -it’ll fit). What could possibly go wrong?

When I got here , I noticed that I was running low on the burgundy yarn. No, big deal, I’d get some more from my stash. I went to the box where I was storing this WIP and reached in.

“That’s odd,” I thought. There was no more of this yarn. I dumped the box out. Still no more. Oh, crap. Luckily, I had the original invoice from when I bought the yarn, so I knew where to look if I needed to buy more. I had a ball band with the dye lot. I looked on Ravelry to see if someone had it in their stash. Only one person did, but I didn’t notice if the dye lot was the same. Still, I had 2 possible sources.

Later that night as I worked, worry crept up on me. I could swear I had enough yarn. I thought I was going to have at least one skein too many early on in the process. As I watched the skein I was crocheting from disappear, the worry began to eat at me. I put the afghan down to search some more.

Nope, not in my notions basket.

Not in the dining room.

Not in the office.

I sat in front of the computer and thought, “I’d better place the order for this yarn so I don’t run out of ambition. What if this yarn is discontinued? What if the dye lot is hideously different?” In the end I decided I should wait till morning. I mean really, is there that much demand for a mass-produced acrylic yarn?

It grew later – 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 in the morning. I couldn’t fall asleep. I panicked more and more.

Then I had an idea. I grabbed the flashlight and tiptoed into the bedroom. I grabbed the handle on the yarn trunk by the door. It’s kind of sticky, and I didn’t want to wake Michael, so I yanked it quickly and hard. Michael sat up. “I thought someone was breaking into the bedroom,” he said. “Go back to sleep,” said I. “OK.”

As quietly as one can with plastic bags, I began removing other WIPs and pre-assembled project kits from the trunk. One by one (holy cow, do I really think I can make all of these?) they came to rest outside the trunk. When I got to the back, my hand felt something soft and familiar. All right! A skein of this brand of yarn – not necessarily the right color (I am making Blaine’s baby blanket out of the same type of yarn). I grabbed several skeins and tossed them into the hall. I quietly put away the rest of the projects. Then I went into the hall to see if I was in luck…

Whew! I had plenty of the burgundy yarn left. Crisis averted. I brought it into the living room and put it where I could find it again. Finally, I could sleep. Soon, I’ll be sleeping with the new afghan.

Speaking of accomplishing things, I spun the white roving for our plying lesson in spinning class. I’ll show you the finished products when I spin it all. That’s a story for next time, though.

I acquired 2 more kittens today. They are just about the same size, maybe a little bigger than Wisteria was when I got her. They are both on the bottle, about every 8 hours. I think they are 2 1/2 to 3 weeks old.

The black and white one is named Ling Ling. The lady who named Wisteria named this fellow as well. The calico girl is unnamed, however. Does anyone have a suggestion? Please leave it in the comments. There are just a few criteria:

1. The name should be uncommon, but not too weird. Patches is out (although I love that name for a calico, all the calicos in the shelter are named Patches).
2. The name has to be family friendly.
3. The name should be suitable for a girl kitten (or at least gender neutral).

I’ll let you know whose suggestion we went with in a few days. It’s not a contest, and there is no prize except bragging rights. But naming kittens is fun, I swear.

New skills

It seems that many of us in my household are learning new skills lately. I’ll start with the most exciting: Kai! Mostly, Kai has been fearful of me. He hides behind the toilet when I visit him. He hisses when I reach into his carrier.

I was thinking of moving him to another foster home because he just wasn’t making progress with me. But lo, and behold – Kai loves me now! He started this morning just as surly as normal, but when I scratched his ears, he started to purr almost imperceptibly. I put him in my lap so he could help me with my blog post, and now he’s purring like crazy. He’s also sucking on my t-shirt, but I’m not complaining. The more I rub his ears, the louder he purrs! Congrats little buddy!

Lani is developing her super model skills. She posed for me this morning and I got this lovely shot of her:

I’m still worried about the FIP thing because her belly is still a little fatter and firmer than I like. I’ve seen lots of kittens in my time. They all tend to be a little fat for awhile, and then they get skinny. The fat is usually soft, though, and hers is not. Kai’s is much better, so I think that Lani will get better, too. I would be so relieved to learn she just had an infection. I like her too much to have her put down.

Poor Wisteria is learning about all sorts of new things these days. She has had diarrhea for awhile now. Diarrhea is VERY common amongst bottle-feeders. I have no idea if it’s the formula or the way we feed them, but it is almost guaranteed. The only bottle feeders that survive it are older and bigger. Almost every time I visit Wisteria she is covered in poop, which means she gets a bath. I also have to put cream on her poor, sore bottom. She hates me touching her “there”.

Her life is just completely miserable right now because she is also experiencing the weaning process. Wisteria loves her bottle. I thought at first she just didn’t like the food I was offering her. I tried several types.

She would eat them all from my finger or a spoon,

but just as quickly as she started eating from the bowl she would stop.

I tried feeding her formula from a saucer, but she didn’t want that. I then had the idea to see if it was the vessel and not the food she was objecting to. I made a mush of formula and wet food, cut a bigger hole in one of her bottles’ nipples, and tried to feed that to her. I was finally successful. She’s been consuming food that way since yesterday. I moved her to a bigger box and added a litter box and food bowl to her space. She still hasn’t really touched the food, but it’s available if she wakes up hungry. She only uses the litter box about half the time as well, but I think she might just be fastidious enough to get the hang of it when the diarrhea goes away.

I, too, have been expanding my skill set. I finally started to spin yarn in class. My first yarn from the wheel was not nearly as good as my first yarn from the spindle. Every time I read about spinning, it is always advised that you start on a drop spindle. I don’t know why – it is a very different skill. I was excellent at drafting on the spindle, but my hands were in a different place and had to do something different for the wheel, so it didn’t translate. It took me longer to get the right rhythm.

On Monday I worked on my homework. We were given two different (natural) colored pieces roving to spin. Next week we are going to ply it. In any case, that went incredibly well. I was able to spin while – get this – talking on the phone and watching TV.

Get a load of the singles I made – I am impressed with it myself. (Oh yeah, did I mention I am re-learning Calculus, too?)

I only have 2 bobbins, so I think I am going to spin some of my own roving before making the second singles for class. I have a week and incredible enthusiasm, so I figure that it’s doable. I separated about 175g of roving in 4 colors for my own project. You know, I really need to invest in a niddy noddy (a tool for winding yarn off of a bobbin into a skein) soon…

Serra likes my spinning, too. She just had to take her turn after I left.

And finally, today is Buttercup and Wesley’s birthday. They turn 7 today! Hold cow – I am the mother of 7-year olds. How did that happen?

Comings and goings

Cupcake was the healthiest kitten I’ve ever had. When the others caught a URI, she was unfazed. The other kittens caught ringworm, and she never even got a smidgen of hair-loss. She was healthy, fun-loving and affectionate. So it comes as a surprise that, as of a few days ago, she is dead.

The shelter I volunteer for is the city shelter. They have had a partnership with another privately funded shelter in the city for many years now. This partnership allows the city shelter to transfer its overflow so it doesn’t have to euthanize for space. Cupcake was sent to the other shelter because Biscotti had eye boogers, marking him as a possible URI case. Since the others who were with him were exposed, they had to be moved to the private shelter as well. The city shelter really can’t afford to treat sick kittens, so this has worked out in general.

I have a much harder time tracking my kittens when they go over to the other shelter. I used to volunteer there, which would have made it easy, but I no longer go for reasons I would not like to discuss here (although the following story does illustrate one of my reasons). I have my friends look out for my babies in my place. I am glad I have these people because I would never have known otherwise. Apparently, Cupcake’s belly started to fill with fluid and she developed a fever. It came on pretty quickly, so the other shelter ran some tests. You see, they expected she had FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitus). I know that the other shelter has a few misunderstandings about FIP. They think that if one kitten in a litter gets it, all will get it (we’ve almost never had more than one kitten in a litter develop FIP at the city shelter). If the kittens are genetically related, the other shelter will kill them all. I had to get the city shelter to make the private (and might I add, very wealthy) shelter promise to return the other kittens in the litter or at least wait and see if they, too, develop FIP before killing them. They gave us a line about genetically related kittens being nearly guaranteed to catch it. We had to prove that the 3 kittens in that group were not genetically related and we told them our postition on the matter. The other shelter was ready to just make a few assumptions and kill them all, but my friend and I saved Biscotti’s and Milkshake’s lives that day. Why so quick with the killing, I wonder?

Back at home, I had more kittens to deal with. Wisteria learned that the bottle is her friend, and now she asks for it a little more often. She’s still pretty quiet, though. She was constipated for about 4 days. I gave her 0.1mL of vegetable oil, and a few hours later she passed a really hard (like dried pasta) poop. I gave her one more dose that night, and she passed a few more. It’s a good thing, because constipation can be just as deadly to a kitten as diarrhea. I figured she needed more bulk in her diet (she just sprouted teeth, too), so I’ve started adding a tiny bit of wet food to her bottle. I also gave her some KMR 2nd step (it’s like rice cereal for kittens) via a syringe. It seems to help her bowels keep moving. Most kittens are like a poop vending machine – put in a little milk, tickle their tummies, and out pops a turd. Wisteria is more difficult than that. Some kittens just are, I guess.

I had some overnight guests this weekend. These little boys were about 24 hours old when I got them. You can see in the picture of the brown kitten that he still has his umbilical cord attached. A mother cat left a few kittens in some construction machinery, so one of the construction workers brought them home so he and his wife could raise them. It didn’t take long before they realized that these kittens were way too much work for them to handle (they cried for food every 2 & 1/2 hours, which is more than any other kittens who lived with me needed), so they contacted our rescue group. After the way the Stars turned out, I decided I didn’t want to take kittens that small again. It just takes a lot of resources and the chances of their survival are slim – I’m thinking less than 5%. Fortunately, there was a cat at the shelter who was due to give birth any day now. I cared for them in hopes that they could be added to the litter, but I had to pass these kittens to another foster parent because we had a few unexpected things come up this weekend.

Lani and Kai are still here as well. Lani is getting friendlier by the day, and Kai has learned to at least tolerate us – it’s progress. They are growing like weeds. This is a welcome change from the last kittens. Some of them really held out there.

I started my spinning class this weekend. I am enthralled, to put it mildly. I got to take an Ashford Wheel kind of like this one home. I’ll include a picture tomorrow. I had to cover the thing up because as soon as I got it home, Serra figured she should make friends with it. It isn’t mine, so I have to be extra careful that she doesn’t hurt it. My homework assignment is to practice treadling. We didn’t get to spin this week because the teacher thought that learning to use the treadle and draft yarn was a lot to do all at once. She is ok if we try to spin this week, but she didn’t show us how, exactly.

I learned a lot yesterday. The teacher showed us new tools and the rawest of materials for spinning. She had a fleece that she divided up for us to take home and wash. It’s kind of easy, but I think I felted the grey one a little. I’m not sure how – they were all in at the same time. I should have gotten a picture of them before I washed, but maybe I can get a shot next week at class (I forgot my camera this time- crud).

We all were given a few pieces of skirted (washed) fleece to practice carding and making rolags (pronounced roll-logs). The bright pink stuff at the bottom is something she gave us to blend with the white stuff so we could practice blending. I’ll get some pictures of the process when the fleece I washed at home dries.

I was pretty proficient at carding. I made rolags like they were going out of style – the teacher decided that I needed more fleece to take home so that I wouldn’t get bored before our next class. I truly love this whole process. I think I was born in the wrong era. Oh, well.

I daresay I am a natural with this fiber making jazz. I showed the teacher the ball of yarn I made recently with the drop spindle, and she was genuinely impressed. I like that I have found a hobby that I have some natural talent for. Now I just need to buy a stinking house so I have room for a wheel. Sigh.

A good trade

I went in to the shelter yesterday and offered Blaze to one of the other foster parents. She is going to take it home and try it on. So, she may have gotten a nice gift.

I also got something nice.

This is Wisteria. She barely looks like a kitten at all – more like a burrowing animal. Her fur is so unusual and soft! It was love at first sight! I officially have a crush on a second kitten this year (I sure do move on fast, don’t I?).

Wisteria is pure cute. She is the quietest kitten I have ever had. I mean, I haven’t heard a peep out of her except when she is dreaming (and she’s an active dreamer – you should see her twitch). She sleeps more than I remember other kittens sleeping. She even sleeps through the night. I know it’s sacrilegious to say this, but I wish she would make a little more noise. It’s just that it makes me worry that something is wrong when she isn’t asking to be fed.

Wisteria isn’t so good with the bottle either. I waited 8 hours after her first feeding at the shelter to even try since she wasn’t calling for food – she was just sleeping. She rejected the bottle, and I’m talking full-on temper tantrum. She turned her head away, pushed my hands out of the way – she wasn’t having any of it. Finally, I got her to take milk from a syringe. I tried again today with the same result. I tried offering her a bowl of KMR mixed with a tiny bit of wet food. I know Nebby seemed small when I got him. He, too, rejected the bottle. But he was just a little bigger than Wisteria. His teeth were out just a little more than hers. She’ll be ready for weaning very soon, but I don’t think she’s really ready now. Just as I suspected, when I offered her the plate of mush, she dropped her face in it and made no attempt to eat. It was a conundrum. In a last ditch effort, I tried the bottle again. I squeezed it gently to get the milk on her tongue (she keeps her mouth open when I have the bottle in it, so I can easily see what is going in). All of a sudden, she started to suckle. She didn’t get much, but I’ll take it. I have a feeling it’ll be like this for the next few feedings at least.

For now, I’m going to aim for her to just maintain her weight and stay hydrated. I’m sure that it can’t be easy for her to lose her mother and have to learn to drink from a bottle all in one day. All I can do is wait. Just like with the sweater. I’m starting to detect a theme.

Nebula

Every year I fall madly in love with one or two foster kittens or mother cats. I can’t help it – it’s in the nature of my job. I have to care enough to keep them alive despite crying, vomiting, diarrhea and other nasty things that happen to kittens. I can’t watch a human being puke without retching a little bit myself, but if a kitten barfs I just pet him until it all comes out. As you might imagine, my feelings for the kittens necessarily turn into love.

On Tuesday I met my first major kitten crush of the year - Nebula! Isn’t he handsome? He is just learning to eat kitten food and use the litter box. He’s catching on fast, but he’s not there yet. He is really soft and almost felted. We think he’s going to be the long-haired matting sort.

Little Nebby is living with the Constellation Kittens. If you were keeping count, Nebula makes 8. He is right in between the Star Kittens and the Constellations in every way. Thankfully, Lyra and Orion really step up to the plate and keep him company. In the morning one of them is always snuggling with the little fellow. Argo was a little afraid of Nebula at first, but when he discovered that Nebby gets milk in his wet food, Argo decided to make friends (because friends share, right?). Leo doesn’t really notice the newcomer.

Nebula has proven incredibly easy to wean. He wasn’t really interested in the bottle when I first took him in. I offered him a mixture of KMR and wet food fed through a syringe, and he gobbled it like his first meal. At the next feeding we syringe fed him and lowered the syringe to the food to get his focus downward, A few more of those sessions and he started looking downward right away. Lucky for Argo, Nebula eats best when he has a partner. I don’t think it will be long before Nebula starts eating with the big kittens. He still gets a little confused, though: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swDrv3r1EW4

Orion is the smallest Constellation, so Nebula views him as a playmate. He actually tried to jump on Orion from behind! His reflexes just weren’t quite there yet.

I still can’t get enough of pictures of cats with their tongues out.

The Stars are still hanging in there. They are putting on a great deal of weight – they grew nearly 20% their first day. All of the umbilical cords fell off as of yesterday. They have gotten colicky lately. They can scream for hours and nothing I can do will console them. It just serves to remind me why I never wanted a baby of my own in the first place. I got a tip from searching the internet about putting Gripe Water in their bottles. I am not sure if that is what did it, but I haven’t heard as much screaming since I started adding it in.

This is not the most in-focus picture, but this is how I generally saw the kittens before today. This would be why I am now dubbing them the “screamin’ demons.” I still love them, but man are they loud!