Monday, November 9, 2015

The Collected Works of Poe

Three skinny and lethargic kittens that smelled like urine.
The Poe Collective came into my life on October 24th, 2015.

The Naming of Cats

Finding homes for stray kittens is hard enough, for black kittens, doubly so. To give these tiny, ink black kittens a chance I decided to capitalize on the combination of black cats, Halloween and my love of literature to find some really good names.

Thus, Annabel Lee, Montresor and Edgar Allan were named.

Edgar Allan and Montresor were an adorable bundle of brother cat that enjoys playing, leaping, pouncing and napping together. As such, I worked to find this bonded pair a home together. Annabel Lee was largely disinterested and mostly just wanted to be where the people were.

Annabel Lee, part kitten, part werewolf?
It was as if someone mixed the DNA of Grover, a wookie, a Scottish Terrier and a housecat.

The challenge of fostering kittens is that they come to you in all kinds of sizes, shapes and conditions. In the case of the Poes, they were malnourished and dehydrated. When I first picked them up all I could feel was rib and spine. Although reported at 5 to 6 weeks old, they weighed in at right around a pound each and were still staggering when walking. Their development and size looked more like that of 3-4 week old kittens. Their mother had been spayed several days before the kittens were turned into the foster group and the kibble they had been given was not for tiny kittens. In short, they were skinny, smelly and hungry.

Another fun part of this story is that the kittens were not litter trained. Their momma had been given access to a litter box in another room. The kittens got to go wherever they should squat. That made for an exciting first couple of days and the Poes answered the call of the wild anywhere they heard it's siren song.


The Fattening

The rescue group provided me with canned kitten food and baby cat kibble. I set up a bowl of the kibble for free feeding along with two water stations. Three times daily the kittens were given the canned kitten food with KMR mixed. Kitten Milk Replacement is essentially powdered milk for cats that contains the right amount of fats and proteins that kittens would obtain from normal mother's milk.

When given the wet food / cat milk mix, the Poes would set upon it like wild things. Their faces were so buried in the bowl that they would emerge with faces dotted with gobbets of food, providing a fun snack for postprandial grooming. Yum. Squishy food and kitten fur together.

All three kittens began to rapidly gain weight and started to look like healthy and tumbly kittens in about 6 days.

Exit, two kittens

Edgar Allan and Montresor were adopted as a pair on November 4th, 2015. The brothers went off to live with a pair of sisters. Apparently, the slightly timid but loving Edgar Allan went to the girl just like him, and the ever exploring and exuberant Montresor was paired with a young lady just like him.

Annabel Lee is still running around my home, but has become a close companion to a kitten in need named Lenore.

On their last day with me, Edgar Allan and Montresor went to work with me. In addition to providing my desk with a brief infestation of kittens, they also brought kitten therapy to my coworkers.

4 comments:

  1. All this time I thought Neville was named for Neville Chamberlain as part of the Kitler theme!

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  2. I must rave about Kristen and her care of the 'Poe' brothers that my daughters (and I) adopted. Kristen lovingly handed them over to us just a week ago and we can't believe it's only been a week. These brothers have quickly infiltrated our lives ... And we couldn't be happier! They continue to fatten up and after their skinny beginnings, we love fat bellies! They are loved and bringing us love. Tonight as they 'loved the tough life,' lounging on the kitten high rise purchase just for them with teenage allowance monies .. We again give thanks to Kristen for all she did to give us healthy, happy kittens!

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  3. I am so glad that the kittens fit so well in your lives. I know they will be loved and adored and that makes fostering them worthwhile. Thanks for adopting!

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