The Latest and Greatest

On June 8th, late in the evening, our daughter received a panicked call from her best friend pleading for help. She informed my daughter that her family had found a tiny, abandoned kitten in the drain culvert next to their house. She wasn't sure what to do with the kitten, so she called us to see if we could help. We weren't sure if we were ready for another kitten, having recently lost our cat Popcorn, but we told her to at least come over and get some food so that the poor, little guy would have something to eat. She responded with "Ok, I'll bring him with me." We knew then that we were doomed!

Doomed, I say, doomed! Weighing in at a mere fifteen ounces (that's not even a pound!), he captured our hearts! However, we were expecting him to be weaned.  After he refused moistened dry food, we tried a syringe and milk.  Success!!

An emergency run to the pet store the next morning yielded a can of kitten formula and a kitten-sized baby bottle.  (He hasn't refused a drop since, and, less than two weeks later, he has gained over a pound.  The little piglet!)  After a visit to the veterinarian office and several tests and medications, he has been given a clean bill of health.

Khione took to him immediately and adopted him as her surrogate baby, teaching him all the necessary tricks and how to wrap us around his little paw - no nursing allowed (she gave him funny looks and batted at him every time he tried); however, when he is hungry, she comes and fetches us to feed her baby.  NOW.  The rest of the cats have been slower to warm up to the little butterball, but they're adapting.

After much debate and consideration, we have decided upon a name:  our magical little kitten, who seems to have survived despite the odds against him, has been named Merlin.  We're still agreeing on a middle name.  He his now eating wet kitten food (yes, they have wet food and formula specifically for kittens. We did not know that prior to his arrival), and he is now lapping up his formula from a plate greedily and refusing the bottle.  Such a big, handsome boy! 

Our little daredevil has become quite active and playful and has nearly figured out how to climb the baby gate.  Soon he will be escaping his comfort zone and wreaking havoc on the rest of the house, much to the chagrin of the rest of the cats.  Our little boy feels quite at home.  More pictures to come soon!