Surprise!

This was an out of the blue surprise.

Foster Kittens!

While cleaning Ms. G A's house yesterday, our veterinarian Dr. Bea called.  She takes fabulous care of our animals, and gives me a discount because i work with the shelter, so when she calls and asks if i can take kittens, i never say no.

"These guys have terrible diarrhea," she told me.  "The lady who has them is doing her best, but she's feeding them KMR with A/d, and they are filthy."

KMR is Kitten Milk Replacer, a very good brand of kitten formula, but Science Diet A/d is a supplemental food you are supposed to only give weak or sick animals, and i call it kitten crack because once kittens get a taste of it, they never want to go to regular cat food.  It's a last resort for kittens that are sickly and not gaining weight, and not to be part of the regular diet.  It's probably why they have diarrhea.

They are on formula (the Breeder's Edge Foster Care brand, which is also a good brand) and amoxicillin to make sure they don't have bad bacteria in their guts causing the runs and Proviable, a good bacteria probiotic to get good flora in their guts, and a drop of Reglan as needed if the runs get too bad.

Because they are around 3 weeks old, i won't have to be feeding them through the night, and because this week is only semi-busy (one house Monday, one on Tuesday, the shelter Wednesday but not Ms. G's because she's out of town, one on Thursday and the usual two Friday, but i have help on Friday), there's no reason i shouldn't be able to feed them regularly.

So far, Dansig doesn't mind them a bit (he never does), all the other cats are up in arms and hissy, and Pepe is fascinated and scared of them.

This could be fun!

We are so confused!

Today is:

Adai Caddo Indian Nation Pow Wow -- Robeline, LA, US (a fabulous way to learn about Native American culture in north Louisiana)

Autumn Historic Folklife Festival -- Hannibal, MO, US (Tom Sawyer's hometown celebrates the heritage and traditions of the 1800s; through tomorrow)

Bridge Day -- New River Gorge Bridge, Fayetteville, WV, US (world's biggest extreme sports event)

Buffalo Racing Festival -- Chonburi, Thailand (lots of water buffalo contests, including fancy dress!; through Oct. 26)

Cayenne Festival -- French Guiana (celebration of the capital city)

Day of Hommage for the late King Father -- Cambodia (Norodom Sihanouk)

Deutsch Country Days -- Marthasville, MO, US (authentic recreation of early German life in Missouri; through tomorrow)

Dine with TV Dinners on the Floor Night -- probably started by someone who wanted to see how many websites would be crazy enough to even list this

Feast of the Three Noble Ladies -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (female pharoahs; date approximate)

Fete Nationale de l'Evacuation -- Tunisia (Evacuation Day, celebrates the day all foreign military finally and fully left)

Global Handwashing Day -- International (scrub up! prevent the spread of germs)

Guangzhou Autumn Trade Fair -- Guangzhou, China (through Nov. 15)

Ides of October -- Ancient Roman Calendar; also on this date
     Harvest Festival of Mars
     Ludi Capitolini (games in honor of Jupiter)
     Winter's Day

Lakshmi Puja -- OR, TR, WB, India (Hindu celebration during the Festival of Lights)

Mahakiki -- Hawai'ian New Year Season (a four month season where warfare is forbidden and many ceremonies take place; begins around the time of the first sighting of the Pleiades in the Northern Hemisphere)

Mertz of All Possible Mertzes -- internet generated and on the day "I Love Lucy" premiered; i guess Fred and Ethel were the definition of what a Mertz should be!

Monster Mash Day -- Bogue Falaya Park, Covington, LA, US (annual fundraiser for the St. Tammany Parish Hospital Parenting Center, with a day of fun for everyone)

Nagoya Festival -- Nagoya, Japan (biggest festival in the city; through tomorrow)

National Cake Decorating Day -- again, because every website gives a different date

National Chicken Cacciatore Day

National Grouch Day -- sponsored by Alan Miller, chairman of the board of NAG (National Association of Grouches)

National Latino AIDS Awareness Day -- US

National Mushroom Day

National Roast Pheasant Day

National Tree Planting Day -- Sri Lanka

Newspaper Week -- Japan

Old Farmers Day -- Loranger, LA, US (through tomorrow; learn how farmers used to live)

Poetry Day -- birth anniversary of the Roman poet Virgil

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day -- Canada; NSW, Australia; UK; US

Quincy Preserves Fall Architectural Tour -- Quincy, IL, US

Rectification Day -- Burkina Faso

Rainbow Pickling Day -- Fairy Calendar

Rattlesnake Festival and Gopher Races -- San Antonio, FL, US (wild animal fun; through tomorrow)

Roseland Cottage Fine Arts & Crafts Festival -- Woodstock, CT, US (one of the leading juried shows in New England; through tomorrow)

Saint Mary's County Oyster Festival -- Leonardtown, MD, US (oysters served every style; through tomorrow)

Sewing Lovers' Day -- internet generated, as those who love to sew deserve a day to celebrate

St. Teresa of Avila's Day (Founder of the Reformation of the Discalces[Barefoot] Carmelites; Patron of lace makers/workers, people in need of grace, people in religious orders, people ridiculed for their piety, sick people; Amos, Canada; Berzano di Tortona, Italy; Pozega, Croatia; Spain; against bodily ills, headaches, sickness, the death of parents)

Sweetest Day -- begun by Herbert Birch Kingston, a candy company employee who decided it would be wonderful to distribute candy to the sick, shut-ins and orphans in Cleveland, OH; today is the day to do something for someone that makes him/her say, "Oh, that is so sweet!"

Teacher's Day -- Brazil

The NILE (Northern International Livestock Exposition) -- MetraPark, Billings, MT, US (rodeo, trade show, horse clinics, and livestock sales; through next Saturday)

White Cane Safety Day -- US (celebrating the achievements of the blind/visually impared, and recognizing the white cane as the symbol of their independence)

Wishbones for Pets begins -- US program asking professional pet sitters to gather pet supplies and donations for homeless pets through Thanksgiving, to be distributed during the holiday season

Woolly Worm Festival -- Banner Elk, NC, US (woolly bear caterpillars race up 3-ft pieces of string, winner gets to predict the severity of the upcoming winter; through tomorrow)

World Rural Women's Day/International Day of Rural Women -- UN; related observance
     Mother's Day -- Malawi

World Toy Camera Day -- originally sponsored by a toy camera fanciers association, but the website no longer exists

Yorktown Victory Weekend -- VA, US (with special events today and tomorrow at the American Revolution Museum at Yorktown and the Jamestown Settlement)




Birthdays Today:

Paige Davis, 1969
Sarah Ferguson, 1959
Emeril Lagasse,1959
Tanya Roberts, 1955
Tito Jackson, 1953
Richard Carpenter, 1946
Victor Banerjee, 1946
Jim Palmer, 1945
Penny Marshall, 1942
Linda Lavin, 1937
Lee Iacocca, 1924
Mario Puzo, 1920
Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., 1917
John Kenneth Galbraith, 1908
Marty Mann, 1904
P.G. Wodehouse, 1881
Edith Bolling Galt Wilson, 1872
John L. Sullivan, 1858
Friedrich Nietzsche, 1844
Publius Vergilius Maro / Virgil, 70BCE


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"The Untouchables"(TV), 1959
"I Love Lucy"(TV), 1951
"Abe Lincoln in Illinois"(Play), 1938
To Have and Have Not(Publication date), 1937
"La Mer/The Sea"(Debussy orchestral composition), 1905


Today in History:

Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Vandals, 533
Commissioned by Catherine De Medici, the 1st ballet "Ballet Comique de la Reine," is staged in Paris, 1581
Asser Levy is granted a butcher's license for kosher meat in New Amsterdam, 1660
The Montgolfier brothers' hot air balloon marks the first human ascent, by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, (tethered balloon), 1783
George Washington takes the first formal presidential tour, of New England, 1789
Napoleon Bonaparte is exiled to the Island of St. Helena, 1815
Child labor law takes 12 year olds out of the work force, 1874
Edison Electric Light Company is incorporated, 1878
Koln cathedral is completed, 633 years after it was begun, 1880
The German dirigible "Graf Zeppelin' lands in Lakehurst, NJ, 1928
LaGuardia Airport opens, 1939
Fortran, the first modern computer language, is shared with the coding community for the first time, 1946
The start of the 2500-year celebration of Iran, celebrating the birth of Persia, 1971
The Great Storm of 1987 hits France and England, 1987
Wayne Gretzky becomes the all-time leading points scorer in the NHL, 1989
Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, 1990
The first supersonic land speed record is set by Andy Green in ThrustSSC (United Kingdom), exactly 50 years and 1 day after Chuck Yeager first broke the sound barrier in the Earth's atmosphere, 1997
The Cassini probe launches from Cape Canaveral on its way to Saturn, 1997
NASA's Galileo spacecraft passes within 112 miles of Jupiter's moon Io, 2001
China launches Shenzhou 5, its first manned space mission, 2003
The final breakthrough occurs on the east bore of the Gotthard Base Tunnel in the Swiss Alps, now the world's longest railway tunnel, 2010