Lilac, lily and Leo

Arriving today were 2 sisters and a brother. The Calico in front is Lilac; the Black kitten is Lily and their brother we have named Leo. They have been added to our growing list of kittens found in yards this Spring. These 3 were spread out though, and not all found next to each other which leads us to believe their mother must have been in the process of finding a new place to keep them safe.

All of the kittens are under weight, ranging from 2.4 to 2.7 ounces. A newborn kitten should be between 3 and 4 ounces. Getting them warm and some food into their bellies were the priorities. But first the umbilical cords had to be cut as they were too long. After that each kitten was given a B-12 sub-que injection to stimulate their appetite. It must have done the trick because all 3 of the siblings sucked down the formula like they had done this before.

After the kittens were contentedly curled up together in their crate, our Founder, Sharon Maag, had a conversation with the Executive Director of the St. Charles County Pet Adoption Center, which is where the kittens came from. Both women expressed their concerns about the unusually high number of underweight kittens they are seeing compared to past years. In addition, what has been done to help these tiniest of babies before does not seem to be working as well now. Sadly, this has resulted in too many of them not surviving.

IMPORTANT REQUEST! We are asking those who follow us, that are a part of a rescue that cares for kittens, if you too have seen an increase in underweight babies. If so, we'd really like to hear from you. Don't know if it will work, but maybe if we all put our heads together, we can get to the bottom of what is causing this unfortunate pattern.