A Lumpkin Update!

I think you'll all be happy to know that I got a little update on our Lumpkins. Marguerite at the Humane Society spoke with their caretaker, Twila, and gave me the scoop.

Stewart Lumpkin and one of his sisters, I'm not sure which one, were successfully treated for ring worm and were adopted recently.  Twila is as fussy as we are when it comes to finding homes for her kittens, and said they were adopted by some very good people. One adopter came all the way from Oregon to get their kitty!  The last Lumpkin girl was still testing positive for ring worm and had a patch on her toe that wouldn't clear up. Things are better now, and she has a potential adopter coming to meet her this weekend.

The Lumpkins were about six weeks old when they left us in November, which means they're almost six months old now. It's been a long road for them and I'm so happy to know they're all doing better and starting their new lives with their adopting families. I'm so grateful to Twila for seeing them through this!

So, when will we have kittens again? We're not ready, and it's still not safe for us to bring kittens into our home. I know you all are itching for more babies, but we're just not there yet.  Someday I'll tell the whole tale, but the ringworm saga was kind of a nightmare. Though I've missed having kittens around here,  because of what we went through, I haven't been eager to jump back in.

Thanks for your patience through this kitten-less period. I love this faithful community of ours,  and appreciate your devotion!  Thank you for coming by each day, seeing what we're up to over here, leaving comments, and sharing your stories. Thank you IBKC Community, you're the best.

xoxo Laurie

Lumpkin Update!

I was so happy to receive an update on our dear Lumpkins. I sure was thinking about them, so it couldn't have come at a better time!

After I took the kittens back to our shelter, Sandi (foster mom, kind soul,  and ring worm expert) had them for a few days and started them on their treatment program while they waited for space to open up with another rescue, where Twila would house them, and complete their treatment.

Here's the update from Sandi:

I was very impressed with Twila who runs the rescue. She is a very kind person who has a passion for saving cats. I left her the kittens with a bag of food and their medicine. I told her to call me in two weeks and I would deliver more medicine and some more shampoo for them. Their lesions were the worst I have seen. She wasn't worried at all about it. I told her if they get to be too much trouble, I can bring them back to my house, just give me a call. I have total faith in her ability to help them…. I am glad I could do a little part in helping the little ones, if I had more space I would have kept them. But if something happens where they need me, then I will squeeze them in somewhere. The three I have now are pistols

Marguerite from the HS had a chance to chat with Twila, then sent me this update.

I talked to Twila at the cat rescue – she is great! She described their living conditions and it sounds like they are being very well cared for and get lots of attention. She has a big, all-linoleum room and is enjoying caring for them. You can tell she spends a lot of time with them, she knows all their personalities and traits! She said that Wilma had a lot of hair loss, but her hair is now growing in well. Stewart’s tail lesion is mostly healed up, and the hair growing back. He never did get any more lesions, and Frieda has been fine. Wilma’s condition seems to have peaked and is now getting a lot better.


It sounds like the kittens are doing really well now. I'm so happy they have such a good place to finish up their treatment. Hopefully, it won't take too long, but it could be months. Sandi took in a batch of ring worm kittens in June, and just last week, they were completely treated and ready for adoption. But even if it does take awhile for our Lumpkins to be cured, they're in a good place, and their life is a happy one.

I'm so grateful to all who have played a part in their care.  Thank you so much, ladies. You truly are angels.

Oh, What a Week It's Been

When the Lumpkins first moved in, the very tip of Wilma's tail had hair loss. Monica, who fostered the kittens for the first ten days, said they thought it might have been injured, or, perhaps one of her siblings had been nursing on it, which isn't all that uncommon when babies are pulled off mom at a young age. I wouldn't say I was worried about it, but I did keep an eye on it.

On Monday eve, I noticed the hair directly above Frieda's eyes was thinning, which gave me cause for concern, so I emailed the foster department to request an appointment with the doctor.  I brought them in for their appointment Tuesday, and by the then, the thin parts on Frieda were now bald and expanding. 

I left the kittens in vet treatment, and went down to the foster room to wait. Within a few minutes, the vet tech came into the room and said "It's not good, Doc will be here in a moment to talk to you."  

And it wasn't good. 

They have ringworm. Which isn't life-threating, but it's hard on wee kittens, and it's a monster to deal with.  It requires a long quarantine period that can mean anywhere from two to six months of confinement for the kittens during their treatment. It requires being very careful, and keeping things very clean - it's a fungus, and spores can travel. During the quarantine period you treat, test, re-treat and retest until there’s no sign of it. 

At this time, calls were being made, but we didn't have a plan in place for the kittens, so I brought them home and put them back in the basement. I ran to the store to get bleach, gloves, and a few other cleaning supplies. When I returned, I fed them, tucked them into their carrier,  stripped all the linens from the cage, then started a load blankets and towels in the washer. I scrubbed down their cage with bleach water, and wiped down all surrounding surfaces and the floor. Once the cage was dry, I added fresh blankets and returned them to their quarters. 

I wasn’t sure was what going to happen next, but as heart-crushing as it was,  I knew they couldn't remain here with us. I couldn’t risk exposing the girls, and we're not set up here with a space that can comfortably hold them for the length of time they would need to be quarantined. We don't have a room, we have a wire kennel in the corner of a big, open basement. And this kills me, you have no idea how much this kills me, but we had to find them a place outside of our home where they could be treated and recover.  Thankfully, there is a foster mom who has taken such kittens before, and currently has a pair she is treating, so she agreed to take in our Lumpkins.  I’m so, so very grateful she’s willing to do this. I know it’s not an easy task and it requires much work and huge dedication.  

Yesterday afternoon I packed up the Lumpkins and took back them to the shelter. Their new mom will be picking them up today.  

You put your heart at risk when fostering. I know this, and I’ve prepared for this.  Mine is strong enough to weather the usual goodbyes and gold medal ceremonies, but having to hand over these three wee beauties, before they’re done at our finishing school, is breaking my heart right now.  There have been many tears in the past 48 hours. I've cursed even more than I cried. I know this is what they need, this is what is best, and they'll be fine,  but I feel so horrible that I can't see them through this on my own. 

There is still much cleaning to do, and do again. Though the kittens were contained and we were careful, these spores could have wafted anywhere in our house, and we need to be thorough and be rid of this before we bring in any vulnerable kittens again. I'm not sure how long this will take.

 Ringworm is contagious, but the big cats haven't done any mingling with the kittens because the little ones were still in the quarantine stage. No common surfaces were shared, and we're always VERY careful about washing hands after handling kittens, so I'm not worried about Charlene and Wylla.  As for us humans, we can get it too, but we buy hand-sanitizer by the gallon and wash hands religiously. And if we happen to catch it, it's easily treated.

I’ve offered to provide help, or whatever the new foster mom might need for the babies while they’re in her care, and when they are fully treated and ready for adoption, I will help find them homes.  Any updates she shares, I will share with you, but I have no to plans to pressure her for any reports or photos.  Her hands are going to be really full, and I can’t ask any more of her.

 I'm sorry to have to share this news with you, you know how I hate to share sad things here, but of course I had to tell this story.  This week has been intense, but a plan is now now in place.  There are still bright futures ahead for these kittens, it's just going to take a little time and extra work to get them there.

I did take a couple of pictures of the Lumpkins before they left, but honestly, they’re hard to look at. The kittens don’t look good, and I would prefer that these aren’t the images that linger with us. So instead, here they are, ten days ago when they first moved in.

Please think good thoughts for the wee ones, and hope for their sake and their new caregiver's too, their recovery is quick.  

  

Peeps and Speed

Here's your little dose of Lumpkins this morning!  The Lumpkin making all those peeps and meeps in the first part of the video is Wilma. She's the loud one in this batch.  Though the others seem completely happy here, her needs are somehow not being met, and she's letting me know.

In the second part, wee Stewart is the speedy side-winder, and Frieda is the one who's not in the mood for his squirrelly behavior. He's the rowdiest in this set, and keeps his sisters on their toes.  Pesky little brother.




I've got something exciting to share with you today, and I'll be back in a little bit with an announcement. Please stay tuned!