One-Week Birthday

Seven days ago, two tiny kittens were introduced to the big wide world. Almost immediately, they learned how cruel and unfair that world can sometimes be. Today, they celebrated their one-week “birthday” with... Umbilical cord-free tummies Five warm bottles of KMR (so far) Lots of cuddling Being “pooped” by a professional Being "pooped" by an amateur who's learning New names

Last things first – When I picked the names Callie and Cole for the kittens, I forgot to check the Operation Kindness website to make sure those names weren’t already in use. Turns out, the name “Callie” is taken by this little gal. So, since I was already regretting having missed a golden opportunity to make my nephew’s day, I am now renaming these little ones after a pair of fraternal twins from the Star Wars genre:

Re-introducing Luke and Leia. The names kind of fit. Kitten Leia is a little spitfire who isn't afraid to speak her mind, much like the movie Princess Leia. Kitten Luke is a lot stronger than he appears, just like the young Jedi. And like their Star Wars namesakes, they lost their mom shortly after birth.

Luke and Leia started their day by losing their last physical connection to their long lost mother. That might sound sad, but somehow, I don’t think they’re going to miss having to drag around those dried umbilical cords. I know I won’t miss having to move them out of the way during every feeding and cleaning!

Next on the list was making Luke poop! He hadn’t gone in nearly 48 hours, despite my efforts to stimulate him after every feeding. Part of this is probably my fault. The kittens squeal so much during this unpleasant routine that I was afraid I was irritating their little bottoms. I was giving up if I didn’t see poop within about 30 seconds or so, and assuming that they just didn’t need to go. I called the shelter’s vet tech line about the problem yesterday. They told me to bring him in Thursday afternoon if he still hadn’t gone. However, the worry-wart in me just couldn’t let it be. This is my first time to foster bottle babies, and I didn’t want to lose one over something silly like poop. When he still hadn’t gone this morning, I took him across the street to my regular vet to make certain he wasn’t in any immediate danger. Well, it’s probably no surprise that someone who’s been working with animals for years is a much better poop-stimulator than I am! It took a while (I heard crying for over five minutes), but Luke finally pooped. He went again this afternoon, this time with me doing the deed. I’d like to think that maybe I’ve finally gotten the hang of it, but that's what I thought on Monday. So, this time I’ll just do my best and be a little more persistent with it than I have been. Regardless, many thanks to the Valley Ranch Pet Clinic for making me sleep better tonight (not to mention doing it for free!).

One other good thing came out of the vet visit today – I now know that Luke is definitely male.