Kela

Kela was found at 2 days old. Her mother abandoned the entire litter and only little Kela survived the 1st day. Misty brought her home so we could care for her, thinking maybe Temba had sent her to us as a gift. There were many weird coincidences like he/she, black/white, etc. When looking for a name in Nepali (to honor Temba), we noticed the "yemba" meant "opposite" and "kharmu" meant "white". The name that was picked, "Kela" means "upward". Apparently, it was not meant to be. She got one nice day as part of a loving family - Misty was even off yesterday so she got a lot of time with the little one. And then she was gone.

R.I.P. little Temba

My special, beautiful little Temba. He never fit the simple category of "cat". He wagged his tail like a dog, chirped like a bird, and had a child's smile. He died in my arms last night, as comfortable as I could make him. He loved to be held in my arms, upside down like a baby, swaddled in his blanket with his little purple cow in his paws. He could hear my heartbeat and feel my breathing. His own breathing had grown labored, but he calmed down when he held him like this. We both fell asleep around 1am and, at 1:30am, we both awoke to say our goodbyes. He passed away on his own and I hope he's okay now...cause his momma isn't. Good night, sweet sweet Temba. The sky is appropriately dark and sad today.


This came out a bit more grainy than the original video I made - blame youtube.

Two steps forward and one step back...

Temba took a little step back this weekend. He had been walking and was able to squat to use the litter box on Thursday. Friday came and he couldn't stand up at all. He also seemed a little listless and didn't want to eat at all. Misty is taking him to work tomorrow to get him weighed and see how we're doing. We're hoping he's not hungry b/c we were just giving him too much before so he's still full. But it's been a few days like this so I'm concerned to say the least.

Temba was sitting up and trying to stand in his box this morning. He wasn't standing as nice & straight as before, much more wobbly. He also squealed a bit this AM when I was cleaning him after his feeding. As long as he's trying and comfortable (he likes sleeping in the crux of my arm wrapped in a blanket right now), we're gonna keep trying. I keep telling myself that his earlier rapid "recovery" was unusual and maybe now it will be the slow path upward that we'd expected. Slow is fine by me as long as it IS upward.

Temba can walk!

Don't these two just look adorable (note: we are VERY close by to catch Temba should he start to wobble).
Temba can walk! Only a few steps at a time and he keeps his head pretty low & cocked to one side (probably related to the ruptured eardrum), but he can do it! And, I put him in the litter box last night...he squatted & peed!! Think of all those good muscles that have to be working right in order for that to happen. Our little Kitten Physical Therapy must have worked. I'm SO SO HAPPY today!!!
Oh, and he's eating about 1.5 cans of kitten food with 9Tbsp of Clinicare a day too, which is very good. In fact, he's starting to try to lick/nibble at just wet food w/o Clinicare.

Sleepy Temba

Awww...look at my cutie! He's been wagging his tail in his sleep now too. And, when I went to get him up this morning, he was sitting up ALL BY HIMSELF, turning his head this way and that way to figure out what was going on. YAY!

Temba's "Get Well Soon" pictures

This is Temba's night-box. You may be able to see how the paper ream crate that we use to cart him around in fits in this bigger box, with room for pads on the side (in case he rolls). You can also see his box has been decorated; the pictures are from our neighbor's awesome kids. Temba thinks they look quite fetching here!

Also, I got a surprise yesterday - his feeding tube came out early. He did lose a little weight since the last time he was weighed, but I think it is b/c he was filling up on water when we flushed the feeding tube. He seems hungry enough now.

Temba sits up

Yes, he is a bit wobbly, but he is sitting up all by himself here (Misty's hands are there to catch him when he tires out). Go Temba! Go Temba!

Temba Weekend Update

I'll have to wait until Monday to post a new picture (stupid slow dial-up...shouldn't complain; at least I have something now). Temba has been trying to hold his head up & I have a photo of it. Sitting up is still a bit of a challenge, but he can hold his head up for about 30 seconds when I call his name (this is also good b/c it means he can HEAR me calling his name). YAY!

His feeding tube is coming out on Tuesday. We've only been flushing the tube with water anyway, so the vets said we could take it out. Maybe not filling up on that water will increase his appetite - he's not quite eating as much on his own as they'd like, but he is eating a fair amount & has gained 1 whole pound since he was in the ER over a week ago (2.4lbs now!).

My Little Firecracker

Temba is getting more than half his food sans feeding tube now. Great for him, but more work for us (have to mix food + formula, then dribble it into his mouth - takes like 30mins where before you just shove it in the feeding tube in about 2). I love that this is what I can complain about now. :-]

He is definately opening his one eye more and the "bad" eye is starting to creep open a little too. It turns out that it looks white b/c he's been keeping his inner eyelid shut (they have 2 eyelids), so there is a slight chance that that eye will be okay. Oh, and he got really peeved at the vet (who was checking strength & all so he was moving his little paws around) and actually HISSED!! Woohoo - there's my little firecracker!

Temba Hugs

Temba loves his little cow and his new blankie (he now has TWO blankies so there is always a clean one - thanks so much Helen!). Temba is also getting love all over the place; he's got a packed room of people in his corner that he and Misty & I all appreciate.

Happy feeding times...and more!

Temba is opening his eyes more (please note that, while we are excited about him opening his eyes, they really stay open for at most 1 minute a few times a day...still good though!). I'm pretty sure last night he looked at Misty and then searched for me too, finally locking eye-to-eyes. It's hard to tell b/c that eye is very dilated, but it is good that he is showing interest in the environment. Misty thinks the other eye is shot (still white and he doesn't open it much, although there doesn't appear to be any damage to it physically). He's stretching a lot more too. All good stuff!

Temba is starting to want to eat on his own. We mixed some kitty pate-style wet food with formula and put some up to his mouth with our finger. The first few times, we had to place it inside his mouth for him, but then he started licking away. He puts his tongue out, reaching for more. He's good for about 1/8 of a teaspoon on his own right now. We tried a bottle at the last two feedings, but he can't suck (likes it fine when we drip it in there though). And, he latched onto my finger when I was feeding him - didn't bite down or suck, but definately put some pressure on there. Seems his swallow reflex is working pretty well now. YAY!!

Temba's New Blankie

A wonderful woman & new friend, Helen, made this soft yellow blankie for Temba so he could stay warm and cozy. It also allows us to swaddle him & keep him on our chests (I think he likes feeling our chests move up & down).

He has stopped convulsing, which means we can pick him up and move his feet a little more (another tip from Helen to stave off muscle atrophy). He opens his good eye about 1-2 times a day and shows purpose in moving his feet - resisting our attempts to move them and stretching them on his own. He did throw up twice Saturday night, but it was only the Clinicare formula. We think maybe it had gotten too old (doesn't last all that long once open), so we got him a new bottle and he seems fine. He has an upper respiratory infection (of course, right?), but he is already on antibiotics so he should be okay.

We allowed Tasha close enough to sniff him & she licked him all over, looking at us as if to ask what had happened. We're still keeping Shelby at bay, even though I'm sure it was just a reflex to something little man did. Boulder is also sniffing at him & looking concerned. I spent most of the weekend on the couch with Temba in my arms. Day by day.
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NON-TEMBA NEWS:
While sitting on the couch with Temba on Sunday, I noticed something tiny fall from the ceiling. Huh, must have been a bit of fuzzy paint (we have that weird ceiling finish that looks like someone did a very messy job of icing a cake). Then, another piece. Now, I'm waiting for me. Drip, drip, drip. Yep, the ceiling is leaking...only there is no waterbed, sink, or tub above our living room. We call maintenance who is kind enough to come over to solve the problem - the A/C. He fixes it within a few minutes and we're told that the ceiling will dry up & be fine (even though it moves when you push it now).

An amusing anecdote from all that is that our maintenance man brought his kids with him (hey, he still came on a weekend so I'll give him that). Nice enough kids, but very wired - both having different conversations with us at the same time. At one point, the little girl (maybe 11?) asks if Misty is my sister. I say "nope" and leave it at that. But, she persists, "who is she then?" My philosophy on the gay thing is to not bring it up necessarily, but also not to ever lie to hide it. So, I told her that Misty was my wife. Her eyes got a little bigger and she said, "that's weird isn't it? to be 2 girls and married?" I told her, "well, it's a little different, but it does happen." She got a very pensive look, said "yeah, that's true" and then went back to chasing Tasha around.