Kitten Update

The kittens are growing and getting cuter by the day! The mama cat is very comfortable with us now and doesn't mind us reaching under the shed to grab the kittens. If we are holding the kittens, she will still come up to us to be petted, which I take as a good sign. They have their eyes open and are just starting to get curious about us. When the mama comes out to eat or to visit, they will crawl to the opening and look around. We were finally able to get all of them out at the same time! (Usually we can only reach a few and the others stay too far back)

There are five kittens total and they are a Manx mix, which is a breed of cat that is born without a tail. We were able to figure out who the dad cat is, because he is a striped Manx that hangs around our neighbor's house. See any resemblance?

 There are three striped kittens: one without a tail, one with a nubby half tail, and one with a full tail. The one with the full tail and white paws is my favorite, he is just so darn cute!! There is also a white kitten with light grey stripes on its legs and ears and no tail. He is James' favorite. Whenever we go out there, he always asks if he can hold the white one in his lap. Last, there is an all black kitten with a full tail.

 The mama cat came over while we had all the kittens out and decided to sit on them. I think it was her way of making sure they were safe :)

The kittens have a really bad flea problem. These huge, fat fleas are all over them, especially on their bellies and their legs. We've read that fleas can kill kittens by causing them to be anemic, so we are trying to figure out the best way to help them. Yesterday we gave all but one of them a quick bath with Dawn and a brushing with the flea comb, but today the fleas were back just as bad. Anthony talked to a woman he knows at the humane society and she said she would get us some topical flea treatments for them. Until she gets it to us, we started dusting them with brewer's yeast. Supposedly it is an irritant for the fleas and after they lick it off, it makes their blood unappetizing. I guess we will have to see!