It's been an eventful couple of weeks around the homestead and I'm just hanging on for dear life and hoping that everything will fall into place...good and bad.
Spring break is upon us boys and girls, and with it, tons of overtime at work, allergies, the inherent need to enjoy the amazing weather, and my crazy upcoming travel schedule. Even more apparent, are the raging hormones of nature.
A few weeks ago, Bushka Kitty officially went into heat and I've never been so nervous. She would lay on the floor and just cry and cry and twitch and I would lay with her and cuddle her, hoping it would make her feel better. It was the saddest thing and all she wanted to do was be outside, which made me really nervous. I felt terrible keeping her cooped up so I let her out for a couple of hours during the day and when she came back, a male companion followed. After that, she mellowed out and I'm assuming that she was knocked up. The whole process lasted about 5 days and she came back even more cuddly and sweet than before. Then, last Wednesday, she went out and never came back.
She had been snuggled up at the end of the bed, and when I returned from a trip to the restroom, she was gone and I didn't really think twice about it until I tried to find her before bed. At some point, we realized she probably figured out how to get outside and hoped that she'd come meow outside of the window at some point during the night. I knew that there was a good chance, given where we live, that she would end up as a nice meal for a fox or coyote or mountain lion or any other creature that we've seen roaming the neighborhood at night, but it doesn't make it any easier. What does make it easier, is when you find a day old orphaned baby kitten that needs constant attention and a home and you just can't say no. Let me introduce you all to Jasper:
She had been snuggled up at the end of the bed, and when I returned from a trip to the restroom, she was gone and I didn't really think twice about it until I tried to find her before bed. At some point, we realized she probably figured out how to get outside and hoped that she'd come meow outside of the window at some point during the night. I knew that there was a good chance, given where we live, that she would end up as a nice meal for a fox or coyote or mountain lion or any other creature that we've seen roaming the neighborhood at night, but it doesn't make it any easier. What does make it easier, is when you find a day old orphaned baby kitten that needs constant attention and a home and you just can't say no. Let me introduce you all to Jasper:
He has to be bottle fed, burped, and helped to go potty every 2 hours. Talk about a distraction. The first night, he wouldn't take to a bottle and just cried and cried all night long. Luckily I had the day off afterwords and was able to still go for a short hike and take a nap, so all was not lost. Brian finally got him to eat in the morning and he's been eating non-stop ever since. My amazing boss is letting me bring him with me to the office so I can keep and eye on him and make sure he eats consistently. Needless to say, I haven't been getting much sleep, my body hurts, and I feel like I'm dying a slow and painful death. Apparently, he's only got about a 40% chance at this point, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but I really hope he gets big and thrives and is our kitty for decades to come. He's so strong and stubborn and such a fighter, so I have high hopes. I was nervous about even telling anybody until I felt like he was in stable condition, and he's been having issues pooing so I figured I'd hold out until he went. Luckily, he went this morning, and it's such a relief. It feels good to know that I'm doing everything I can to get him up and running and give him a good shot at a wonderful life. We're going on a big trip in a month and by then he should be weaned and using a litter box...that's the goal at least. I'll keep you all posted :)