Purrchance To Dream

This morning, Isis and Inkie went back to the vet for a check-up and to have their ladygardenectomy stitches removed.  Miss Inkie had already helped matters along by having removed a few of her own sutures, and her scar was more swollen than Little Isis's because of pulling. 
Petey came along for the ride (well, that's what I told him, anyway...) and he got his second check-up and second round of kitten shots - so now he's ready for his hoo-ha-ectomy later this winter.
While Petey has gained almost two pounds since his last doctor's visit, Little Isis has managed to only gain less-than-a-quarter of a pound.  But she got a clean bill of health, and the vet said she's proportionate for her size and for me to quit worrying about her.
Who, me, worry???
Bessie thinks that Inkie might need a sibling, after seeing how well Pete and Isis are getting along and keeping each other company, so she's going to see two different litters of kittens today... I politely refrained from seeing the kittens (no see = no temptation), because Six Is Enough!
Ciao For Now,
Not The Mama

Little Isis is doing well.  Her tummy looks good, and all she wants to do is sleep.  Pete is NOT helping in that department... He thinks a sleeping Isis is a to-be-pounced-on Isis.
Last night, Isis crawled up into my arms and slept (protected from Pete's rambunctiousness) for a couple hours while I watched TV.
Bessie says that Inkie is mostly sleeping, too - and of course, she doesn't have a Pete to worry about!
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery for Isis and Inkie!
Hope all is well at your home,
Love,
Not The Mama

Inkie is back home with Bessie, and Isis is sleeping on the couch next to me as I type this.  Both are doing well.  When Isis arrived home, the first thing she did was go use her litter box - she's picky about where she 'goes' and I imagine she's been holding it for a while!
She didn't look like she was up for a picture to be taken, so I'm re-posting everyone's favorite pic of Inkie here. 
Other than walking a little funny and growling at Pete - you should have seen the "what did I do?" look on his face - she is her normal self.
Thanks for the comments and prayers and thoughts for my little girls. 
Hugs,
Not The Mama

Today is the day, finally, that Isis and Inkie are at the vet's for their ladygardenectomies.  I had a generous donation (which I've been saving) for Isis' surgery, and Bessie and I have been saving up for Inkie's... poor Little Isis has been so tiny and underweight, and has had some health problems (that I haven't gone into here - they aren't life-threatening, we just kept 'em private) -- so during last week's trip to the vet, the doc finally said that she had gained enough weight to have her surgery.
Keep these two little black sweeties in your thoughts today, please.  And I'll up-date here when I hear back.  The vet is going to keep Isis overnight for observation, so I can't pick her up 'til tomorrow afternoon.  Good thing I have Pete to chew on my toes to keep me company 'til then!
love,
Not The Mama
Update @1:30pm: Thanks for all your well-wishes.  I just talked to the vet's office and they are doing fine.  They've had their surgeries, and are now sleeping off the pain medication.

This morning, Bessie and Inkie picked up me and Isis, and off to the V-E-T we went.  It was time for Inkie and Isis to have their annual check-ups and second set of shots.  Neither one was happy about it, but Isis took it in stride --- until it was time for the claw trimming.  I didn't feel so un-coordinated as I watched a vet AND TWO vet techs have to hold the squirming kid in order to get all the claws done.  Now I know why I can never do it by myself!!!
But it was a quick in-and-out, and now she's in the window, cleaning off the V-E-T office smells from her shiny furs.
Now, I need to get Chloe out of my suitcase, so I can unpack...
Ciao for now,
Not The Mama

Bessie reports: Inkie is doing fine! She hid for the first day, but now she's out exploring and running about. She still isn't sure what to make of Bits (Bessie's poodle) but Bits obviously wants to be friends. Inkie is more interested in Moe, Bessie's Zebra Finch.
Inkie likes to nap with Bessie in the afternoons, but still sleeps by herself at night.
She demands affection and when Bits gets a treat, she wants one too, so Bessie thinks they'll all get along great!

(The picture here, by the way, was photo-enchanced with the "watercolor" effect).

Today's a mixture of joy and sadness for me. Little Inkie is going home with Bessie. While Bess takes her supplies over to her home, Inkie is up here in the shop, rolling in the nip. You can see in the photo above the catnip flakes on Jazper's rolly-toy, and in the photos below of the nip on Inkie!



And what does Jazper have to say about all this? Not much. The sunbeams are putting in a guest appearance, and he's soaking up some rays...


Bessie is going to see how Inkie adapts to a harness and a leash, and hopefully she'll be putting in guest appearances at The Wren's Nest (and here, online, too!).

Please join me in wishing Inkie the best, as she goes to her new Forever Home.

Inkie is doing so much better! She's done with her ampicillin, and her ear mites seem a hundred times less bothersome (but I'm still seen in her eyes as the "medicine man" and she doesn't really like me). She's been out on the salesfloor a couple times. At first, she just went and hid. Then she explored a bit, and napped. She does sleep a lot, hopefully getting to 100% full-strength kitty. One thing, she didn't seem to ever want to play at all. At least not with me. But Bessie spent some time with her in the shop the other day - and she started by doing some good ear scritches and they worked their way into some good play time.
I must admit, I got tears in my eyes to see them together - and to see Inkie really play for the first time! Here's a 13 picture story of their afternoon together:















You'll notice that by the end, Bessie was tired out and Inkie was still rarin' to go! But then she took a three-hour nap before dinner!

And we have an announcement: Bessie has decided to let Inkie adopt her! Yes, our little Inkie is going to have a great Forever Home!
I checked with Jim & Drew, who rescued the little starving fur ball, and they gave the thumbs up to Bessie & Inkie ending up together! It's bittersweet for me, but I've worked very hard NOT to get too attached to this little scruff-muffin. I know in my heart that her & Bessie being together is perfect, so I won't be too sad!
I'll keep y'all updated on when Inkie will be leaving The Wren's Nest. I'm sorry to say she won't be joining the Cat Blogosphere, but we can all be glad she's getting a great Forever Home!
cheers,
Not The Mama
♥

She's doing much better. Her voice is loud and clear now, and she has put some meat on her bones -- in just one week, she's gained weight and she's not so frighteningly thin.

Saturday afternoon, Jim & Drew, two of my friends from Chicago, brought in a shivering spot of black fur into the shop -- a little kitten that was outside the Minnow, where they'd had lunch.
The kitten looked like she was about 6 weeks old, and she had lots of eye-goopies in the corners of her eyes. She was really dehydrated (not to mention rail-thin) but a few hours after she'd eaten some wet food and had some water, she was already doing better. I agreed to foster the poor little kitty, and Jim & Drew went to the store and bought her a kitten-care-package worth of supplies. She's a friendly, personable little bit of skin and bones, and after she got a first good meal and some water, she found her voice.
We've been calling her "Inkie" -- short for InkSpot. Because she's all black.
On Sunday, Bessie comes into the shop & feeds Jazper, and she took care of Inkie, too.


This morning, she still had bad eye-goopies, and I didn't want her to be around Jazper if she had Feline Leukemia or FEV. So, Bessie & I took her to the vet.

The good news from the vet: she'll be fine, with some food, antibiotics and TLC. The Leukemia & FEV tests came back negative.
The bad news = even though she looks like a 6 week old kitten, she's actually SIX MONTHS old! She is severely mal-nourished...
And has worms, and a bad case of ear mites, and an upper respiratory infection.

So, the worms are being taken care of (1 pill does the trick, apparently). Ears were cleaned out but there's a once-a-day drop for the mites. And a twice-a-day oral penicillin for the respiratory infection.
Because of the respiratory infection, her third eye-lid is inflamed and dries out, so sometimes it looks like she's cross-eyed. But the vet says that when the inflammation goes down (he put drops in her eyes in the check-up room), then the third eye-lid should go back to normal.
She has to stay quarantined away from Jazper for at least a week, until the respiratory infection is better.
The biggest thing is getting food into her -- which with her appetite, NOT a problem!
The vet said to not over-do it with the food, just the normal feeding routine. He said that the Fancy Feast that Drew & Jim bought is good (high calorie) and an additional vitamin mixed in with the wet food is also good.
She'll probably be on the small side her whole life, since she was mal-nourished in the first six months of her life, and the vet recommends she be spayed when she's fully healthy, because her little body shouldn't be put through the stress of having kittens.
Bessie's already quite taken with Inkie, but even if she decides not to adopt her, I don't think we'll have a problem finding a Forever Home for this personable young lady.

Right now, we'd just appreciate you all sending her purrayers and good thoughts!

♥