June through December 1998 - foster animals

November 11, 1998 - November 23, 1998
#16087 mama - calico, stray, adult (mama), F, shorthair.
#unknown five unnamed boys - orange and orange and white tabbies, kittens, born approx. October 29, shorthair.

A very skinny mama cat and her five boys, this was a very hard set of fosters for us. We had one kitten die after just one day. They had coccidia, round worms, tapeworms and a few fleas but also some mysterious disease that is just terrible. They stop eating and get dehydrated and can't seem to digest anything even if force fed. They get diarhea all of a sudden and it appears to be hardly digested food. Within a few days of symptoms starting, the kittens die.
Mama never had much energy and seemed really down and out but sweet. We learned to give her 'sub-q' liquids but she stopped eating on her own and was not doing well. When the last kitten caught the mystery disease and the shelter said they have the same disease at the shelter and they haven't yet figured out what it is or how to treat it we decided to bring back mama and the last kitten. The vet was going to look at them and decide, but they ended up euthanizing. I didn't get a chance or have the heart to name any of these.
Update: The 'autopsy' found that these animals had distemper. Thank god our cats are vaccinated against it and the vaccine works very well!

November 11, 1998 - Forever!
#15241 Jadzia - brown tabby w/white and a little tortie, stray, adult (mama), F, shorthair.

Jadzia came back with us to get a little more quality time. She really hated it at the shelter, wouldn't let anyone near her and was VERY upset. They can't offer her for adoption like this so we are going to try to find a home for her. Or maybe with more time she'll get more confident and be able to handle the stress.
Jadzy was spayed on the 15th of Dec. She is out full time with our cats now and does really well with them. Especially Mimosa whom Jadzy really loves. Unfortunately she still goes crazy when we try to pick her up.

Update 3/10/99: We still have Jadzia. I want to adopt her, she is so loving and playful. But we really don't want all of our cats to be so close in age, and she is now very adoptable. I don't think I'm going to be able to let her go though. I've already taken her to my regular vet and made her a collar and added her to my webpage about my own cats at Jadzia.

6/5/99 We finally adopted our little 'kitten' Jadzia. I hope she is happy with us because she's stuck with us. (well she shouldn't have been so friendly if she didn't want this to happen)

September 23, 1998 - November 9, 1998
#15241 Jadzia - brown tabby w/white and a little tortie, stray, adult (mama), F, shorthair.
#15264 Lucy Bear - brown mackerel tabby, kitten, born early September 98, F, shorthair.
#15245 Gabrielle - brown mackerel tabby w/ white toes, kitten, born early September 98, F, shorthair.
#15244 Ailsa - brown classic tabby, kitten, born early September 98, F, shorthair.

September 23, 1998 - October 25, 1998
#unknown ToriJasmine - tortie w/ white socks, kitten, born early September 98, F, shorthair.
#unknown Piccolo - brown classic tabby w/ white socks, kitten, born early September 98, F, shorthair.
#unknown Gilbert - orange classic tabby, kitten, born early September 98, M, shorthair.
#unknown Bernardo - orange mackerel tabby, kitten, born early September 98, M, shorthair.

At first we thought there were only 6 kittens, (you try counting 7 active kittens!) since they told us 6 when we picked them up.

Mama Jadzia is very skittish and HATES taking medicine especially if we have to pick her up. Luckily she only needs ear and eye meds and not a pill! She is slowly becoming more friendly. Once we brought 4 of the larger, healthier kittens back early she really blossomed. She seems very young, loves to play almost as much as the babies and really loves Mark to give her love. NOTE: see further Jadzia develpments above.

The babies are adorable. Gilbert is a big ham and makes faces for the camera and is always looking at the camera. The boys just want to play, but all the girls except Piccolo (the squeaker!) will pile on me for snuggling. It took a while to get to know this many kittens, let alone name them all.
Little Bear is so adorable, she looks a lot different than all the others, longer softer fur and a flatter face. She never managed to outgrow her stubby kitten shaped tail unlike her siblings. She looks like an ewok. She is great at snuggling (lazy for a kitten too) and purrs if she is anywhere near me. She can fit out between the baby gate and the door and thinks it is a really fun game! The problem is she is so cute to have out I hate to put her away. She will toddle around after me around the house.
Gabby is the runt and she gets really hyper when playing. She's very enthusiastic about everything. She runs around like an overwound toy.
ToriJas is a friendly little cutie and has an adorable stomach, it's such a surprise to see the bright white and orange when she turns over because the rest of her is so dark. She is a lovely little kitten with a really nice personality.
Ailsa is a small dynamo, she's a dervish when it's time for canned food.

August 3, 1998 - September 22, 1998
#14163 Silk - White w/dark grey, stray, adult (mama), F, shorthair.
#none Kaleidoscope - White and Calico spotted, kitten, born approx. 7/26/98, F, shorthair.
#none SweetHeart - White w/grey patches, kitten, born approx. 7/26/98, F, shorthair.
#none Appaloosa - White w/grey patches/spots, kitten, born approx. 7/26/98, M, shorthair.
#none Meko - grey mackerel tabby, kitten, born approx. 7/26/98, F, shorthair.
#14323 'Peanut boy' - grey classic tabby, kitten, born approx. 7/30/98 died 8/14/98, M, shorthair.
#14324 'Peanut girl' - grey classic tabby, kitten, born approx. 7/30/98 died 8/11/98, F, shorthair.

This foster family includes double foster kittens. The 2 classic tabbies came into the shelter as orphans and since this was the only nursing mama around they gave them to her. Luckily she accepted them and was able to keep up with all these hungry furbabies! But the little ones had trouble. They both died after a week with very little growth even with nursing and suppliments. Silk's real kittens are pudgy and healthy with only mild URI's.

Mama Silk is skittish, but loves attention. She isn't quite sure what to make of us. Silk doesn't seem to know how to meow, she just makes a raspy noise at us. Her babies are adorable. Three of them have spots. Mama is very photogenic. She loves my husband but is warming up to me too.

Meko is a momma's girl and has a great personality, friendly and adventurous. Looie is the quickest learner, first in the litter box, eating regular food and water. Sweetheart is named both for a heart marking and for her cuddly personality. Kali seems to be rather clumsy and with her spots looks like a little clown.

Update: Kittens found new homes quickly, but Silk was at the shelter for weeks and hadn't found a new home yet. On 11/10 she was at the Mounds satellite center in Middleton, a great development because she gets to get out of her cage and meet lots of volunteers and because they keep them there without euthanasia. We visited and she seemed much happier there.
Silk was adopted in mid-December and is now called 'Silke'. Her new owners came back and brought home another cat, a tabby kitten from Mounds not long after so she has a friend too.

June 6, 1998 - July 31, 1998 (Coralee to 8/12/98)
#13144 Coralee - Brown Tabby with white, stray, adult (mama), F, shorthair.
#14320 Annika - Grey with white, kitten, born 6/5/98, F, shorthair.
#14321 Chyna - Tuxedo (black/white), kitten, born 6/5/98, F, shorthair.

Coralee, whom we call Corky and/or Cookie, is a chirping lovebug. Poor mama had diarrhea, ear mites or an ear infection, trouble with her eyes...she was taking Panacur, eye ointment (4X a day) and ear drops! I'm surprised she still liked us.
As newborns we generally called the group Corky and the Juice Pigs (anyone watch Mad TV?). They were adorable, healthy and smart. As newborns they seem so fragile. I don't understand why mama cats seem to always lay right on top of them when they go back in the carrier. Talk about some squealing little 'pigs'! Corky loved to use her kittens as pillows, laying her head on them at every opportunity!
The girls were so easy to care for. They took to kitten food and the litter box right away. They loved to come out and play hide and seek under the bedroom furnature. Annika was scared of a lot of things and had the very appropriate nickname 'Squeaker', though when she was really scared she'd actually go quiet for a change. Chyna loved to watch things and loved to play. She was such an adorable little tuxedo cat.
NOTE: Annika and Chyna were not happy at the shelter. Apparently they had been 'roaring' whatever that means, now Annika is capable of making noise, but Chyna?? Also they figured out how to open their cage and got loose a couple of times (I suspect Chyna had a paw in that)! When I picked up my new fosters and visited on 8/3/98 they were very quiet, shy and scared...poor darlings. They had them marked for no children. Coralee is stayed with us until her bald spots healed some. When I took her in on the 12th the kittens were adopted out already. Corky was spayed and is still waiting for a home at the shelter.