We haven't had many kittens with us throughout the last year (it was about a year ago when I made my last kitten-related post), but for good reason.
First, last fall we welcomed Spunky into our home. For about three days we wondered why she had received this label-esque name...but when day four rolled around, it all became clear. This little pipsqueak turned out to perfectly fit her moniker.
Around that time, my aunt decided she was ready - after the death of her previous and much loved cat, Jazzy - to adopt again. She fell in love with Spunky by way of the photos and videos I sent, and she decided Spunky should become a member of her family. The tricky part here was that my aunt lives in Arkansas. We ended up holding onto Spunky (now renamed Miley) for longer than we would usually keep a foster to give my mom and aunt time to plan how they would make the trip to Texas to pick her up. Eventually Miley went home with my aunt...where she remains as spunky as ever.
Second, shortly after Miley finally left for her forever home, we welcomed Gojo. I can't remember exactly how Gojo earned her name, but Hallie and I didn't think it fit her all that well so we called her whatever came out of our mouths that referenced the fact that she had the cutest face I have ever photographed in nearly 100 kittens.
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| This photo is UNEDITED. This is just what she looked like (a Disney character) in real life. |
A couple of weeks into her stay with us, Gojo developed some mild GI symptoms. She was still playing normally and eating and drinking (though she, from the beginning with us, had slightly less of an appetite than similarly-aged kittens we've fostered), so I continued to encourage her to eat and drink, dropped off a stool sample (oh, the joys of fostering kittens), and kept an eye on her. I was SHOCKED when the stool sample test results came back and we learned she had feline panleukopenia. This illness is life-threatening, especially in kittens, and it just didn't make sense that Gojo wasn't showing any symptoms other than diarrhea and an only slightly decreased appetite. The next few days were scary: watching her carefully, continuing to encourage her to keep eating and drinking, and hoping and praying that she didn't suddenly take a turn for the worse.
Thankfully, Gojo - eventually renamed Mozzarella - recovered fully. But despite the fact that she had her forever home (with friends of ours, which is my absolute favorite) lined up, she had to stay with us for an extended period of time because the family's other brand new kitten hadn't yet completed the vaccination protocol for panleukopenia. She and her brother - Pumpkin - are happy at home now though!
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| All grown up and gorgeous. |
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| Since we know her forever family, we get to visit. 😍 |
Third, after Mozzarella moved on to her new home, we were "closed" to new fosters for a minimum of 60 days because of the highly contagious element of the illness. We eventually "opened" again, welcoming Taco Tuesday and Margarita. They spent less time with us than I anticipated because they ended up with ringworm (and I didn't have a space in which I could fully isolate them), but we loved having them for the few weeks they were in our home.
Taco Tuesday and Margarita brought us to 90 foster kittens...it's mind-boggling to think about how we're only 10 kittens away from 100!
