Shelly posted this comprehensive update on the Tinykittens FB page:
Happy Boxing Day! grin emoticon
Here's the latest on the cats and kittens at TK HQ - it's been a CRAZY holiday week for us!!
- Mistletoe's foot is healing very nicely, and she is barely limping! She came in on Dec 9th with a crushed and infected food, and had emergency surgery at Mountain View Veterinary Hospital to remove a mangled toe and put the rest of her foot back together again. We really appreciate that Dr. F tried hard and was able to save her thumb, since at the time of surgery we were thinking it was very likely this 1 year old feral cat would be returning to the forest after her recovery, and having a thumb would help her climb trees. Luckily, she is making pretty amazing progress with socialization and we are hopeful we will be able to find her a very special home who will continue to work with her.
- Holly Belle is the cat who started us on our ringworm adventure, after she was spotted by farm workers barely able to walk. They were discussing "putting it out of its misery," but luckily the Property Owner had a better idea and called us. We don't know how both of her front paws got so infected, and wounds like hers are very slow to heal. Her right paw is looking much better, but her left is still trying to heal so we are doing daily paw soaks, antibiotics and treatment to help get her better as quickly as possible. Dr. F came out earlier this week and believes our teeny tiny Holly is 8 months old, despite her unusually miniature size. Her age makes her progress being socialized all the more incredible! This newly formerly feral kitten will definitely be ready for a home as soon as her paws are healed (and as soon as her room is cleared of ringworm).
- Joy is coming along nicely, and is being treated for upper respiratory infection accompanied by a slight raspiness in her lungs. We think she is about six months old, and while she is still a bit more shy than Holly and Comet, she loves being petted and will just purr and purr once you have her in your lap.
- Comet is healthy and adorable, just waiting on ringworm clearance before he's ready to go home.
In the Ringworm Romper Room, everyone is still fluorescing from the ringworm, but they are looking better and better each day and I am starting to see healthy growth come in underneath the fluorescing hairs. Because their immune systems were basically shot when they came in, it will likely take an extra week or two for them to be ready for their next round of PCR tests to determine if they are ringworm-free. Despite the ringworm, all four kittens are now thriving, happy and LOVE getting snuggles.
- Dr. F thinks Elf is closer to 8 months old too. Like Holly Belle, Elf is not even 2kg, absolutely tiny for her age. She is still shy if you try to approach her, but purrs up a storm once she's in your lap! She will need a very special family who understands that it will take some time to gain her trust, but that she will love getting snuggles from Day 1.
- Our little #MicroFloof Noelle was in grave condition when she arrived - emaciated, anemic, lethargic and dehydrated. She has really started to rally in the last two weeks after an aggressive deworming & parasite regimen, quality nutrition generously provided by Royal Canin Canada, and LOTS of snuggles. Because she had ringworm covering her entire body, legs, feet and tail, she's gone pretty bald, so I can't wait to see how floofy she actually gets once she's finally cured!
Our Christmas Eve kitty, Mary, had an eventful couple of days after showing up literally on our doorstep on Christmas Eve, bleeding heavily. We suspected a miscarriage in progress and rushed her to the emergency clinic, where she was admitted for the night. In the wee hours of the morning, the vets discovered a single tiny heartbeat. After confirming that she wasn't in immediate danger, we chose not to do an emergency spay so we could give her baby a chance. We have been advised it is VERY unlikely the baby will survive, and we know we may have used up more than our fair share of miracles this year, but we can't help hoping for just one more... So Mary came home yesterday, and a few hours later started having contractions whilst in snuggler Lawana's lap. She expelled three undeveloped fetuses within a matter of minutes. Two of them looked like they had not been viable for some time, and the third was a bit larger but we are still hopeful our little heartbeat is still inside... We won't know for a few more days. Mary has stopped bleeding, at least for now, and is bright, happy and such a little love. We are monitoring very closely, and if she begins to bleed heavily again we will need to take her in for surgery. If by some miracle our little heartbeat is still beating, we are expecting at least 20 more days of pregnancy. Regardless of what happens with our little one, Mary is safe, warm and loved, and will get her Happily Ever After whenever she is healthy and spayed. There's a video of her along with an update at TinyKittens.com/feralcam if you scroll down below the live video feed.
And finally, Cassidy our two-legged #MiracleKitten is very healthy and starting to tolerate his splints for longer periods of time. We still have a long road ahead, but may be travelling to North Carolina in the near future to see Dr. Marcellin-Little in person and see if we can make any improvements to his splints or his physical therapy regimen.
THANK MEW to everyone who has supported us throughout the last few unbelievably eventful months. We've taken on some extremely difficult cases, and your support and encouragement keeps us going. heart emoticon heart emoticon heart emoticon
Here's more about TinyKittens and what we do: TinyKittens.com
Watch the Ringworm Romper Room live: TinyKittens.com/feralcam
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What a wonderful, heartwarming Christmas Eve miracle story!...I like to believe that Mary was led by a very special Angel that blessed evening, which brought her to TKHQ, where she finally found loving refuge with very special "hooman" Angels, in a very special "Manger"!...I especially like to believe that this was a very special spiritual message and gift for Shelly! 
