Choppers

"The best laid plans of mice and men oft' go awry ..." poet Robert Burns must have had a cat, because the amount of chaos 5 tiny kittens blew into my summer plans has been... overwhelming.

The sweet disasters were scheduled to be fixed early-mid May and adopted out by the end of May.  But the vet's office flooded right after they were dropped off for surgery, leading to the first delay.  Our surgery coordinator worked miracles and got them all scheduled over the next few weeks, though it took a lot of coordination to get them transported to/from surgery in Auburn and Sacramento-both 30-45minute drives on work days... but they were still going to be ready late May-early June.  Despite some upset tummies after their surgeries, 4 of the 5 were adopted by 2 wonderful families (Leche, now Violet, to one happy home and the other 3 went together to a very excited family) on my last day of the school year.  Avalanche, the last sweet disaster was scheduled to head to Petsmart that weekend, but he ended up with an abcess at his surgery site and got held back to recover.
However, one of my rescue besties and data partner, Sarah, wanted to take one last opportunity to foster bottle babies before she was scheduled to head back into the office full time and we agreed to share custody, with me taking over on the 2 days she already had to work in the office.  We had agreed to take bottle babies starting my first week of vacation.  The rescue let us take in a foster even though I did still have avalanche, since bottle babies are very confined to a small space and easy to keep separated from other pets.  

Sarah has done respite bottle babies before, but she is not typically an active foster and doesn't trust her lack of experience. She let the rescue know that she was open to healthy bottle babies.  I usually take a litter of bottle babies in the summer, and I usually only take them if they're already at 3-4 hours between bottles, knowing that I don't have the stamina to wake up every 2 hours for multiple weeks (hats off to bottle baby fosters that can do litter after litter of the tiny babies!).  But, I was willing to take younger kittens in this partnership, as I'd only have them 2 nights a week, giving me 5 other days to recover and to do all the summer projects on my to-do list.  

We picked up a healthy, fat gray tabby that latched onto his bottle easily on a Sunday.  The PLAN was for Sarah to keep him, transferring him to me Monday night until I returned him to her on Wednesday after her work hours.  But when we picked him up, intake casually told us she'd seen a flea.  While I'm pretty comfortable dealing with flea issues, Sarah panicked at the idea of bringing fleas into her home, so we agreed that I'd keep them the first few days until we could ensure that there was no ongoing flea problem.  While negotiating these details in the car on the way home, a helicopter flew overhead and we agreed to name him Black Hawk.   

Also part of The PLAN was to get at least one other baby, as singleton kittens are not well socialized and often develop behavioral issues.  The next day, we received a picture and a request to take "4 more healthy babies" with the same estimated DOB.  YES! We already had possible helicopter names for them.  These kittens were being transported to us from a trapper about an hour away, so I planned on picking them up that evening.  Per the trapper, they were all latching easily and doing well.  I was scheduled to pick them up about 10 minutes after they were dropped off, giving intake time to do all their intake paperwork and meds.  The PLAN was to take them home, put them in a separate small bin for the 2 week quarantine period, then merge them in with Black Hawk.  But the described 4 healthy kittens were actually 3 sick kittens- the 4th one had passed during transport. They were covered in urine and poop and we suspected at least one of them was nursing on the others, which is very dangerous for all kittens involved. The small black one, in particular, was in bad condition- the urine on him burning his feet and belly very badly- urine scald, and very swollen.  

WARNING:  the following pictures are a little graphic- you may want to scroll quickly if you don't want to see

At first, they did latch well and the main problem was constant leaking plumbing issues for them.  Usually kittens need to be stimulated to go potty, but they were peeing/pooping all over themselves frequently between feedings.  Too much baby soap or dawn dishsoap can dry them out, so I was using as little as possible to remove the poop and trying to use just warm water as much as possible.  Bathing their little butts was scary, especially the little black kitten with the raw and swollen booty- he cried in pain and I cried in solidarity, but we did it anyway.  But Griffon became very inconsistent in eating and expelling waste... and though his resistance to being bathed made me cry, it really freaked me out when he stopped resisting so much and became more passive.  One morning during his 1:00 am feeding, he was barely responsive- unable to latch for more than a few weak pulls before falling off the bottle. He was also cold to the touch, despite the plush blanket and heating pad in his kennel. I tried calling my mentor, but she didn't pick up.  I started frantically researching our fading kitten syndrome protocol.... and did dextrose, sub q fluids, and tube fed him, then did more research, second guessed myself, and called an emergency vet for advice.  They suggested that I stop doing dextrose every 3 minutes since I was able to tube feed him, and then monitor him carefully. If he continued to be lethargic or got even worse, then he probably needed emergency care.  I set up a heating pad and laid on the floor with him, watching him breath for the next 2 hours until it was time to feed him again.  This time, when I pet his head, he responded by sitting upright and crying, and he was able to drink a few grams of formula- about the minimum of his expected range.  Over the next 24 hours, I monitored his intake very carefully, supplementing his bottle with tube feeding as needed, until he started to consistently drink formula on his own.  After surviving that day, I felt very bonded to him... he's my favorite.  I love his fighting spirit and promised him I'd fight with him as long as he's willing to fight. Though the smallest and least developed, he was the first to open his humoungous bat eyes, and he seemed to focus quite quickly for a tiny baby.... spending lots of time staring directly into my soul!

The splotchy colored kitten, Apache, started as the high flyer of the crew. He was initially listed as a boy, but he had tortie coloring so we questioned if that was accurate. But he was so small and so swollen, it was impossible to tell. Despite that, he was the best bottler, a consistent peer and pooper, and gained weight regularly.  As he grew and recovered, we agreed she is a girl, and also that she has the classic tortie attitude.  Apache is ON THE GO and an escape artist.  She wants to be wherever she's not supposed to be and is faster than should be possible for her age and size.  But towards the end of her first week with us, her bottom started leaking constantly... but a fairly typical type of kitten problem that we were able to treat fairly easily.  Around the same time, Griffon's bottom also started leaking... but his was a grainy, crumbly consistency that I've never seen before.  Our poor mentor was getting ready for vacation and we were texting her for advice for our ever changing list of issues multiple times a day! 

Little Bird, our tux, has been the most consistent.  Started off a little slower than Apache, but has had very few actual issues. He's quite the explorer, but with a confident calm demeanor in contrast to the frantic frailing of Apache.  I think he was the first to start purring and he was the first to start responding to his name.  Almost every time it was time to feed him, he was on his back, feet waving about in the air or fast asleep, belly up.  About 2 weeks after we got them, I was heading to Disneyland.  The PLAN was for Sarah to keep them, but to get respite foster for the 2 days she worked in office... but after all the chaos of the first 2 weeks, we sought out a foster that could keep them for the whole work week.  Meg volunteered and was willing to send us lots of pictures and updates while she had them. Her daughter also fell in love with Little Bird and they asked to be able to get them again at some point, with the idea that they might foster fail them.  We've arranged for the babies to spend most of next week with them, and I'm already missing them in anticipation.  As he grows, his head keeps expanding ... like bat man or yoda.  He's so sweet. 

Due to concerns with nursing, we kept the 3 mini choppers separated in their bin.   With the extra concerns for Griffon, we also borrowed an incubator from one of our regular bottle baby fosters who takes a break during the summer time. I designed some cardboard separators to keep them from suckling.  Griffon and Apache almost always burrowed under the blankets, popping up if we opened the incubator like Huns popping out of the snow (Apache would then immediately launch herself out of the incubator if not blocked repeatedly)... but Little Bird liked to keep watch and beg for attention if he wasn't actively sleeping.  They continued to pee/poop on themselves even when we prevented them from suckling.  We debated with our mentor if they had done damage before they were separated that was making it hard for them to get things under control- or maybe they were just.... stimulating themselves on their blankets.  Whatever the reason, their puppy pad and bedding needed to be changed frequently.  

With medications, incubator, regular feedings- 3 of the kittens began to grow at an appropriate to excessive rate... while we continued to fight for Griffon to maintain his weight or make slight gains.  Our mentor went on vacation so we began working with another mentor, as well as looping in our respite foster when I was out of town.  I don't think I've ever texted so many people for one litter of kittens before.  Griffon would have a good day, then a "at least he didn't lose anything day", but seemed to be generally holding on.  He was doing well enough that Sarah felt she could take over a few nights, giving me the chance for some much needed rest both just before and just after my Disneyland trip.  But having them the majority of the month completely derailed all of my personal plans.  Black Hawk was fat and happy, Apache and Little Bird both generally healthy and gaining well... they were gaining enough weight to increase the time between feedings... but Griffon stubbornly refused to make enough gains to  go more than 2.5-3 hours between bottles.  We started to alternate between feeding just Griffon and feeding all of them, so he was eating every 2-2.5hr and they were eating every 4-5hr.... but the other 3 were really upset with this skipped feeding nonsense and protested quite vehemently.  Finally, they were all gaining well... then the first 10 day antibiotic treatment ended.  Everyone seemed great, the quarantine period was over, everyone was dewormed, we were finally able to introduce Black Hawk in with the others and get rid of all the barriers so they could snuggle. 

But 2 days after ending antibiotics, Griffon started to fade again, significantly decreasing the amount he would take or refusing his bottle entirely.  Our obsessive habit of weighing how many ml of formula they drink and their weights at every feeding helped us catch the trend very quickly and we didn't wait to reach back out to our poor mentors.  We put him back on a higher dose of antibiotics (as well as buffing him up with more fluids and tube feeding).  He bounced right back and is doing well- about halfway though his new treatment and we're hoping he's getting strong enough to fight off whatever he's battling so that he can maintain it when his treatment ends next week.  He finally hit the 300g club, which is usually when they can start going 4+ hours between meals during the night time.  

The first day we got all the babies, Griffon was the runt at 139g... but he was not too far behind the others: Black Hawk 155, Little Bird 159, and Apache 164.  Kittens are supposed to gain approximately 10g a day, and for the most part, with some minor glitches, the other 3 have made those gains.  Right now, their weight chart is with them at Sarah's house (I'll get them back tomorrow), but Black Hawk is a CHONK at over 500g, with Little Bird and Apache both nearing 400g.  We're quite proud of Griffons 300g status, but he's significantly smaller than his littermates.  I also think  he's quite adorable and looking at him makes me melt.... but several people who didn't spend sleepless nights coaxing him back to life have mentioned that he "looks funny" because of his tiny body and excessively large eyes. While I was in Disneyland, I also got a picture of his bottom... since we were monitoring and treating his urine scald (which went from red, swollen, and raw to black, dry, and flakey).  Meg was sharing how much progress he made and how much better it looked.  We happened to be taking a recovery break, riding around the park on the train when the picture came in, giving me the time to immediately text our mentor in a panic. 

WARNING:  BUTT PICTURE INCOMING!

I have looked at a lot of kitten butts.  Every 3 weeks we host clinic, and part of my role is to gender check kittens.  I've never seen a butt that looks like this...  The mentor asked me a lot of questions I couldn't answer, so I looped both my foster partners in... at one point, the mentor asked the respite foster what her concerns were and I had to say "it's ME... I saw it and freaked out because it looks like the Scream movie mask... it's so WEIRD... I'm the one with the mental issues!"  At the end of a flurry of text messages, they calmed me down as it doesn't seem to be anything dangerous... but when I got back from Disneyland and got the babies back, I realized it is problematic.  Part of my job as a bottle baby foster is to stimulate the kittens before/after feeding them, to imitate the momma cat licking them to get them to go potty... we use toilet paper... but I can't reach his actual butt because it's so deep in that little crevice!! And sometimes, when he does pee, it collects in that little crevice and he really DOES NOT like my attempts to clean it up to make sure he doesn't get scalded again!!  Luckily... the past few days, he's been going potty in the litter box on his own and is not needing as much help... but now both of my foster partners also see the Scream Mask when we look at that bottom, lol.  

Still, all the extra effort in keeping that boy alive has really made me feel bonded to him.  His tendency to stare into my eyes with his humongous eyes adds to it.  The similarity I see with Toothless, the dragon from How to Train Your Dragon (which I was able to see, with yet another foster bestie coming over to feed my kittens while I was at the movies... which I appreciated SO MUCH because I thought the movie was PERFECTION and I can't stop thinking about it)... also makes me feel very connected to him.  I kept thinking about Griffon, and Toothless... and got it into my head that I needed to DO something about it. 
I taught myself crochet starting in February and have been pretty obsessed with it for the past 5 months.  I found a free tutorial to make dragon wings.... then used one of my existing kitten costumes to get an idea of shape and size, and then used what I learned from making the wings and other items to design the tail. I'm very pleased with my first attempt to basically make my own crochet pattern.  

My summer time plan is usually to do the projects I don't have time to do during the year.  My craft room has been used as a storage area for all the things we've pulled out of my parent's house to save or sell, but haven't done anything with and my wonderful husband installed an outlet in my bathroom linen closet so I could move my headset chargers in there to make it easier to charge them without them getting tangled and mixed up in the dark cubby we're currently using.... plus my blogs for Cheese & Ginger and these choppers are long overdue (in my own timeline... it's not like anyone is actually holding me to a deadline).  But  3 weeks of feeding kittens every 2-2.5hrs with a Disneyland trip thrown in there is a recipe for exhaustion with very little time to do a project.  By the time you're done with a feeding, it's almost time to start the next one!  (My foster partner did come work from my house on most of her work from home days, so she could take care of kittens and I could do some small projects or catch up on a bit of sleep to help me get through the interrupted nights... but I definitely wasn't as productive even when I did do some work)
Having them the majority of the time with very little sleep was NOT The PLAN.
But rescuing kittens is definitely The PLAN.  Staying flexible and collaborative with what my foster partner and I can do comfortably is part of the PLAN.  Adjusting to what needs to be done instead of what we expected is the core of The PLAN.  So right now, these kittens are still alive.  And even if Griffon has something inside too intense to get off antibiotics or if things get complicated and he doesn't make it out of the fosterhood (there are many viruses going through the rescue community right now; SPAY and NEUTER your pets!!! It's SCARY and HEARTBREAKING... some of your rescuers are NOT OK).... I know from the bottom of my heart that he is well loved and is being given his absolute best chance in life in our care... and that is definitely The PLAN. 

Update 8/16/25 The day after I started their blog... cautiously hopeful that Griffon would recover and my summer plans could get back on track, Apache fell off my knee.  We were mid-feeding, and I don't remember who was on the bottle at the time while Apache perched on my knee, not-so-patiently waiting her turn, when she just toppled off my knee without making any attempt to catch herself, landing on her head.  Kittens fall quite frequently, as they're really uncoordinated at that age, but usually there is some sort of survival instinct to land on their feet or at least throw out the paws to hit first, but she fell more like a stuffed plushie cat or a cartoon cat hit with a tranquilizer.  Still, I was sitting on the ground at the time so the fall was less than 6" or so; I wasn't too worried.  She favored her leg, but let us poke and prod it and she had full range of motion.  She was subdued, but still mobile and alert.  I told Sarah to monitor the leg since she was picking them up to take over their care. 
The next morning however, Sarah notified me that she was "not right".  Apache was very unsteady on her feet, though she could walk a bit.  But mostly, she was lethargic and limp.  She could eat for short periods of time, but couldn't hold her head up for long.  We were advised to keep her upright and continue to monitor.  She could eat and use her litterbox, but didn't do much else besides lay limply, mostly immobile.  We carried her around or laid her down on elevated piles of cushions for days.  She seemed to have trouble closing her eyes and spent most of those days with a blank glossy stare.  Nimbus became really protective of her.  I sent the big boys, Black Hawk and Little Bird, off to Meg's so I could focus on the two littles.  Griffon continued to recover and did his best to entice Apache into play, but she was barely responsive for most of the week.  

With no visible signs of recovery, we continued to reach out to our mentors with update pictures, videos, and worries until our mentor came over to check her out in person.  After an in person exam, she suspected hydrocephalus and reached out the neurologist at UCDavis, who agreed it was possible.  They asked if we could take her in on Friday, but the UCD Emergency Room was crazy that day so they asked us to wait until Monday.  Stressful, but we had finally started to see some signs of improvement so we resigned ourselves to wait. However, on our way out the door to lunch reservations on Sunday, we were notified that Dr. V could see her immediately if we could get her in... so we switched up our plans, AGAIN, and headed to UCD for a consult. 
Dr. V was pleased with Apache's activity level and coordination, which were near normal by the time we made it in for the exam.  But she probed the skull with her experienced hands and found two soft spots where the skull didn't finish forming.  She asked us to wait a little longer for the radiologist so they could do an ultrasound, which confirmed hydrocephalus, or water on the brain.  The holes in her skull, while making her a little more fragile, are also reducing the pressure from fluid accumulation and helping her seem "normal".  If they close, it's likely that she'll show more neurologcal issues, which may or may not be treatable.  Dr. V gave us some contacts for other fosters experienced with hydro kittens and told us there were people who made kitten helmets to protect their fragile heads.  

*gets on soapbox* Dr. V also let us know that they'd be very interesting in having Apache in their hydrocephalus study, but the funding got pulled when the government administration changed.  They're re-submitting for grants, but they're very uncertain if there is a future in research opportunities in their field.  Without the grant money, we'd have to fund the diagnostics (MRI... approximately $4,000) and experimental treatments (no estimate for that right now... we won't get one unless we get an MRI and it suggests she is a good candidate for the treatment).  She didn't say anything specific, but it was pretty clear that the new policies are significantly impeding life saving research, and I feel so frustrated.  I attended a kitten symposium at UCD last year and got to hear about several of the studies they had finished and was able to join and participate in 2 studies they were currently completing.  Research specific to kitten population is fairly new and extremely limited, but UCD is really invested in this fragile population, working with local rescues like IBR.  They want to help us save lives, but rely on government grants for funding... and our government doesn't value science!  I wish I had a solution.. something more than being ready to do some major fundraising if Apache needs a $4000 MRI! 

Apache purred through her exam and continued to improve, returning to her zoomies and escape artist tendencies.  I reached out to the other local foster with a hydro kitten, got the website to the guy who designed a helmet for an internet hyrdo cat, ordered the supplies, then spent a few days building a kitten helmet (a lot of waiting for the adhesive to dry).  It isn't quite suitable, as it was designed for a kitten with a hole more central in the head, versus on the sides near the ears... but it does give some extra padding and protection that I think saved her approximately 20 minutes after I put it on her.  Apache was climbing up my shirt to get to the bottle when she flung herself backwards and topped, head first, into the bowl I put on the scale to weigh them.  My heart stopped beating for several seconds, but she popped up, shook it off, and returned to her normal activities.  She wears her helmet without complaint, even if it gets knocked askew while wrestling with her brothers.  

With Griffon continuing to thrive after finishing his second round of antibiotics, Apache was solidly the most medically needy kitten.  But developmentally, I was also struggling with Black Hawk.  By far the biggest, nearly doubling the weight of the two littles, this lovable chunk was just a Big. Fat. Baby.  He was Sarah's favorite and she wanted to enable him to continue to be a bottle baby with no independent skills while I was pushing him to learn how to cat properly.  Griffon discovered kibble and started weaning himself off the bottle, then showed Little Bird and Apache how to supplement kibble between bottle feedings.... but Black Hawk had no concept of what to do with any food stuff that wasn't delivered by the bottle nipple.  He'd drink from the bottle for 40minutes if I let him, mostly just nursing the bottle at the end without actually drinking. I had to resort to physically opening his mouth, placing a bit of food on his tongue, and manually teaching him to eat.  He could walk behind a cabinet and get lost and cry to be rescued.  He usually failed to cover up his litter box business, either running off before trying, or trying and completely failing to actually cover anything,  and relied on Griffon to go in behind him to do it.
As they were weaning, I was constantly alternating between putting them in the litter box and manually stimulating them to go potty, so I was pretty aware of their potty habits.  But when I wasn't home, someone kept having accidents outside of the litterbox and I was pretty positive I knew who it was quick to scold him, even without evidence.  Sarah defended him vehemently, insisting her Big Fat Baby was perfect and wouldn't do it.  One day I realized... I have a kitten cam in there.  So I scanned through until I found the culprit.  

If you don't remember, Black hawk is actually the belly up gray tabby.  More important information is that I didn't watch this video right away.  I got home, let the kittens out, cleaned up the mess, fed/played with, and KISSED those kittens ALL OVER.  I kissed Little Bird, the black and white kitten, ON HIS KITTEN HEAD.  More than once.  Probably more than a dozen times.  After watching this video, I brushed my teeth and gave Little Bird a bath.  We were both a bit disgruntled.  Slowly, and with deliberate instruction, Black Hawk learned all the basic tricks of a cat, though he still gives orange cat vibes in a gray suit disguise.  All the kids were finally growing steadily, though BH and LB were well ahead in weight and past the minimum weight to be neutered.  Though we usually like to try to send the entire litter in at one time, we decided to send the big boys in for surgery a few weeks ago.  And that was when Little Bird decided it was his turn to be the problem child.  He's cryptorchid.... one of his little nuggets failed to fall, so he couldn't be neutered!!  When this happens, we either have to wait for everything to drop (he's not a big fan of me feeling for his jewels, and I'm not really sure if I will know what I'm feeling) or wait until he's big enough that they can go in and do the surgery anyway (usually around 5lbs).  

Despite all the issues, all 4 choppers are healthy and happy to be alive.  Griffon got fixed yesterday and is doing well in his recovery.  My husband's co-worker was looking for a black kitten and they decided Griffon sounded like the perfect addition.  Once we verify that he's recovered from surgery, he'll go to his new home, where his name will be... *drum roll please*  Gryphon!!

Little Bird will go back to Meg's kids until he's big enough to get fixed and adopted.  Black Hawk has a home visit tomorrow, but if that doesn't work out, I'll have to send him to Petsmart... all by himself.  He's never been alone, independnet, a single day in his little baby life.  Apache will go to one of my foster besties, where we'll continue to monitor the holes in her skull and consult with UCD.  

If all goes to plan, by this time next week, I'll be deep cleaning my kennel and kitten room.  For once, I wouldn't mind things NOT going to plan.