Kitty Update

OK. Kitten has been to the vet now, with the following results:

First off, it probably is a girl kitty. It's hard to tell at this age, but the vet thinks so, anyway.

Secondly, speaking of "this age," the vet also cleared up something that was puzzling me: namely that I thought this kitty had to be at least four months old, but she sure doesn't look that old. Was she stunted by poor nutrition?, I wondered. Is she just a very tiny cat? Was I somehow mistaken? But it's right there in my blog, on July 7th: "Mickey's mother appears to have another kitten." So what's the solution to this mystery? Well, given how quickly cats can reproduce, she's probably had two batches of kittens in the last few months. I have no idea what happened to the one I saw in July, but this is definitely not the same kitten. The mistaken identity is perhaps understandable, though, since they're both gray cats who look exactly like their mother.

Fortunately, according to the vet, humane cat traps are available from the local animal shelter, and I can bring Momma cat in for spaying immediately whenever I catch her. This is excellent to know, because, honestly, this has just got to stop. I'm going to call the shelter tomorrow and see about picking up a trap. (I'd do it this afternoon, but they're closed on Mondays.)

Anyway, as for this kitten, she's got a very bad respiratory infection, poor thing. Also worms. So the vet gave her a de-wormer, and she now has antibiotics and eye ointment and another appointment for next week. Here's hoping she gets well soon, because I don't mind nursing her back to health for a week or three, but she is not staying in my house for six months like the last one.