Orphaned kittens

I got a call on Friday that 5 kittens had just been brought into the shelter without a mama, and would I consider fostering them. The cat foster coordinator estimated that the kittens were between 2 and 3 weeks old.

So off I went to the Humane society to pick them up.

The litter consists of two orange tabby boys, a completely black boy, a tuxedo boy, and a little tortie girl. They slept the entire way home, and most of the evening, which worried me. I tried feeding them, but they were not interested in the bottle AT ALL. I woke them up a couple of times, with little success.

Naming them is the next step. My older daughter wants to name the all black one, although he already has the nickname of "basement cat". I thought he might do well as Count Bassie, which lead me to think of the tuxedo kitten as Louis Armstrong. Louie has stuck. The little girl might become Ella (as in Ella Fitzgerald), but we are stumped on the orange tabbies.

Saturday was spent trying to get food into them. After a few attempts, I had managed to get 30 mls into the kittens collectively. I called Jennifer at the Shelter, and she told me if they kept refusing to eat, then I should bring them in Sunday morning. But that evening and this morning, they seem to be getting the hang of things - sort of. They are *very* loud, and clearly miss their mama. They have absconded with the new fuzzy blanket my husband bought me; they love to burrow, knead and suckle on it. Clearly, it is a comfort for them.

So the next week looks to be busy and tiring.