Only one day old, a litter of 8 kittens is found beside the body of their mom, writes kittencatpost.
Finding that their mom is deceased, the litter is immediately rushed to experienced foster mom, Melinda Blain, based in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Though they were on the small size for their age, this is normal for a large litter. The most challenging aspect was their sinuses were gunked up with dust, with the worst-off refusing to eat. This being the case Melinda had to resort to tube feeding to keep them going.
Melinda quickly named them the botanical babies, Zinnia-tortie girl, Flora-calico girl, Briar-white/cream girl, Rowan-orange boy, Meadow-buff girl, Indigo-black girl, Lilac-gray girl, and Blossom-orange/white girl.
It quickly became clear that the entire litter was suffering from upper respiratory infections, which may have been what took their mom’s life so soon after birth.
The tube-fed babies, Blossom, Zinnia, and Lilac were in the worst shape, with Briar, Indigo, Flora, and Rowan the healthiest. One kitten, Meadow, had unfortunately passed away soon after arrival.
The smallest kitten of all, Zinnia was also one of the sickest, needing to be tube fed right from the outset.
“Smallest of the babies, Miss Zinnia, is officially up over the 100-gram range now, when she was only 82 grams on intake. Good job beauty queen Zin Zin,” said Melinda.
Melinda placed some of the litter on oxygen treatment, along with which they began receiving antibiotics and regular nebulizer treatments and increased humidity levels in their incubators.
“Despite being frustrated and stressed, these babies are going to get the best possible care from me,” said Melinda.
Melinda knew the next couple of weeks were going to be rough, but she knew she had a group of tiny fighters.
Melinda was now on eyeball watch.
Unfortunately, as her eyes opened, around this time, Zinnia began to struggle with a fever, and along with that her appetite, not making any weight gains and continued to be tube-fed.
“My other guys who have been improving started feeling much worse before they started feeling better, so I’m crossing my fingers for this sweet girl, but she’s currently in very critical condition,’ Melinda said.
One day Zinnia decided she had had enough, sick and tired of tube feeding, she bounded right back and began eating on her own. This was the best news possible for Melinda, who thought she was about to lose the cute girl.
“She’s eating smaller meals than I would like, but it’s a HUGE improvement from the lethargic baby who refused to even move or acknowledge anything. She has been fever-free for about 24 hours now and she says that runts should never be discounted.”
As the rest of her siblings improved, so did Zinnia, and the size of her meals increased as she began to pack on the grams. As her health continued to improve, a quirky personality emerged with it.
“She’s turning into the perfect little weirdo and I love seeing her little kitten flails and socially awkward attempts at playing,” said Melinda.
All due to Melinda’s unwavering, love, care, and attention, Zinnia made such amazing progress that she soon had her very own forever home lined up along with her sister Indigo.
“They still have a bit of time left in foster care, but their new dad is already head over heels and can’t wait to bring them home.”
