Jack and Jimmy, Real Survivors

October 14, 2015October 27, 2015 Bernadette

I'm a really lucky kitten! — I’m a really lucky kitten!

Jack and Jimmy are two very lucky kittens, first to have been rescued and fostered, then to have survived pneumonia with lots of late nights, steam treatments and extra care from Margo. They were the lucky two survivors of their litter as well. It’s the story of far too many kittens born to abandoned mother cats who never should have had kittens, nor would have if a caring owner would have spayed her before things got started. But it’s also the story of individuals who voluntarily reach out to help people and cats, and are willing to do whatever is needed to heal the cats they’ve rescued and keep them healthy.

Jimmy's feeling better. — Jimmy’s feeling better.

Jack and Jimmy were born outside to a very friendly mother cat who had been abandoned without being spayed. A member of the rescue group was helping the woman who found the mother outside her apartment building months ago, and tried to help the woman catch the cat to have her spayed before she became pregnant. That just didn’t happen in time and she gave birth to at least five kittens.

The woman who’d found her brought them in but living in an apartment she was going to put them back out, and gave at least one of them away before that though it needed to be bottle fed. The rescuer told her not to put them out and took the whole family to her home instead. Her plan was to foster the kittens until they were two pounds, then surrender them to the shelter where they’d get their surgeries and vaccines and likely be adopted as healthy, socialized kittens, which she did.

When we surrender cats or kittens through our rescue, we have an automatic reclaim, meaning the rescuer or our group will be called if the cat needs any care the shelter can’t give, or if for some reason the cat becomes unadoptable, and we will reclaim them. Two days after she’d surrendered the kittens she got a call that they had an upper respiratory infection (URI) and went to get them, but noted they had no symptoms and didn’t really seem sick.

Symptoms did slowly develop, and then overtook the kittens quickly. Margo got involved when she went to the rescuer’s house to help catch a feral cat and they found one of the kittens was “crashing”, or succumbing to the infection and near death. They immediately took them all to Dr. Frame at Fix Ur Pet, who does quite a few low-cost spays and neuters and also provides a lot of rescue care. One kitten was euthanized that day, then a second one died two days later. They had done a chest x-ray on the first kitten and found she had pneumonia.

Below is what Jack looked like at his worst.

Trying hard to beathe. — Trying hard to breathe.

“This was totally a case of someone having a friendly cat that they didn’t bother to spay,” Margo said. “This mom was someone’s pet at some point, absolute poster child for irresponsible owner!”

The remaining kittens returned to the rescuer’s home and looked fine, eyes clear, just a little sneeze, but four days later the rescuer called to say “the other black and white one is gong down hill fast….” and she was afraid he was going to be next, and he was…..

Below is what Jimmy looked like when Margo thought she’d lose him too.

Deaths like this are not uncommon with rescued kittens. Mother cats may not have had any supported immunity with vaccines, may not have had a regular or healthy diet for their own bodies let alone developing kittens, and many of these first time mothers are no more than kittens themselves—cats can go into heat and reproduce at four months old, then give birth at about six months old when their own bodies are still developing. Then living outdoors in the elements, even in summer, without adequate shelter from storms or excessive heat, kittens have so many strikes against them for developing at a normal rate and surviving the elements even with the help of their mother.

Imagine those who rescue on a regular basis and how much loss they experience after rescuing kittens and mothers, feeding and caring and socializing and loving them, then watching them grow ill and losing them. It takes a toll.

“This whole group hit me hard, seeing that little one in such bad shape, and then getting to the vet and knowing she wasn’t going to make it…. it was very upsetting,” Margo said.

She took the remaining two kittens, Jack and Jimmy, who were actually in pretty critical condition, and spent some very long nights watching them, keeping them under a steam tent, administering antibiotics and wiping eyes and noses, and giving them fluids and syringe feeding them when they needed it.

After about a week they began to eat and drink on their own now and then but still needed to be fed as well, and after two weeks they were eating on their own and getting back to normal. Now they are happy friendly little kittens, but still being closely watched.

When they are well they will be up for adoption, and there could be no greater reward than seeing these two in loving forever homes. They were friendly to begin with, but after all this care and handling they are just little love bugs, and totally cute. If you would be interested in adopting them, please contact Margo.

And treating a litter of kittens for pneumonia is very expensive, and especially sad that only two survived. Dr. Frame at Fix Ur Pet helps with these rescue emergencies and lots of emergency spays and neuters, and while she offers a low cost, none of it is free, and with a house full of fosters like Margo it adds up fast. If you’d like to make a tax-deductible donation to Fix Ur Cat, which is a non profit 501c3, you can help cover the cost of their care, or help with the next ones who need care…which you’ll hear about soon. Visit http://www.fixurcat.org and make the donation for Jack and Jimmy or to Margo’s account. Dr. Frame’s office will know who you’re talking about.

Thanks to everyone who has helped with pleas for financial assistance with kittens and cats lately. The situations seem to be coming faster, and it’s partly because there are more and more kittens born, but shelters, who would normally take them in and send them to foster, have no more foster homes. As a rescue, we try our best to help our shelters and prevent the deaths of healthy cats in shelters by fostering and taking care of litters of kittens like this one. Thank you.

Amazon Wish Lists

amazon wish list for kittens — The Amazon Wish List for our group’s foster kittens.

Many rescuers pay out of pocket for veterinary care and food but the costs of raising even the average litter of four healthy kittens is more than many people have, and many rescues have greater needs. Pittsburgh CAT has a number of wish lists that include foods for feeding neo-natal kittens like KMR, and other lists that include the best kitten foods, adult cat foods, food and materials for feral cats, and preferred toys and litter.

Pittsburgh CAT Wish List: http://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/2IUQ0FQOL2I51

2015 Foster Cat/Kitten Wish List: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1A1HUNQ7J3DL/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go_v?

Winter Kitten Wish List! http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/3CZ6IYCKS2A7N/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go_v?

Fall Wishlist for Fosters/Ferals! http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/2TD3TQBOEMT1E/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go_v?

Food For Foster Kittens: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/OJQIYGC91289/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go_v?

Our Groups Foster Kittens! http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1D226142CCGZX/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go_v?

Can’t adopt? Foster! Can’t foster? Donate or volunteer.

There are so many ways you can help cats who need homes and care. You may not have room to adopt another cat, but can foster a cat or kitten for a few weeks. If not that, you can volunteer at a shelter or with a rescue, or donate. You do this because you love your cat, and by doing so you help all cats. No matter which of these actions you take, you help to save a life, and make life better for all cats.

Adopt one of the cats I’ve posted here, or from any shelter or rescue near you, or from Petfinder, to open up a space for another cat to be rescued and fostered.
Offer to foster cats or kittens for a shelter or rescue near you.
Volunteer at a shelter or rescue.
Find a group of volunteers who work with homeless cats and help them with their efforts.
Donate to a shelter or rescue near you.

If you can foster kittens or adults cats to help prepare them for a forever home, please run to your nearest shelter and find a cat who needs you! Anyone can help with this effort at any level, even if all you do is donate to a shelter or rescue so they can help to pay for the food or medications needed for their foster, or the spay/neuter/veterinary care during a clinic.

Need to know more? Read Fostering for Your Shelter and Fostering Saves Lives

Browse some rescued cats and kittens—browse here or visit PittsburghCAT!

All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check my Etsy shop to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.

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© 2015 | www.TheCreativeCat.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski

Weekly schedule of features:
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Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters
Tuesday: Rescue Stories
Wednesday: Commissioned Portrait or Featured Artwork
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Friday: Book Review, Health and Welfare, Advocacy
Saturday: Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat, Living Green With Pets, Creating With Cats
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