Know what you are feeding your bottle babies!

The morning started off with foster kittens being returned to the shelter because of horrible diarrhea. Now these aren't just any kittens, when they went out they were a mere five or six days old. What that means is they need constant attention, warmth, and of course hourly feedings. We have a great network of volunteers that are trained to get the animals weight up until we can alter them and put them up for adoption, but in those rare instances when something goes wrong they are brought back to the shelter to be looked after until they can get healthy again.

Well, after our experts did some research on the issue because a ten day old kitten that isn't eating and having running of the bowles is a pretty serious thing. It turns out that the KMR (kitten milk replacement) manufactured by PetAg has had a few issues. Apparently there have been several complaints that it has been killing animals. There was a few articles found that basically said that the powdered supplement was actually spoiled. The manufacturers excuse was that every can leaves the factory in good shape but suspects that some delivery trucks stayed out in the summer heat too long and the cans went bad. Not sure who's fault it is but there should certainly be a warning on the can, especially when the expiration date isn't until next year. In any case, if you have bottle babies, make sure you smell the powdered formula first, it should smell almost sweet, and not like chemicals. If if you do find a bad one, make sure you let the manufacturer know.

Well, then, my tirade is over and on with the day because the little kittens are now eating more and their poop is pretty normal. After cleaning it was more cleaning. I forget that the two days that I am in kennels are pretty slow as far as showings go so I try to focus on hanging out with the animals, deep cleaning, and trying to keep myself busy. I was able to almost catch up on the laundry when I got a call for a showing. It was unfortunate because they wanted to look at a dog that has to go home with another dog because of his separation anxiety. Aside from that everything seemed pretty good with the household. Hopefully they find what they are looking for because they seemed like a good family that just wants the right dog.

After more cleaning, scrubbing crates, and washing dishes it was time to take the dogs out for their afternoon break. As I was doing this a woman approached me and asked what kind of dog I had on leash. I explained he was a shepherd mix. Next time I cam down to the yards I asked her if she had any more questions and she then explained that her dog had just passed yesterday and she needed to be around them today. It's tough to come up with the right words to console people but I always try. She was an extremely nice woman who wants to get another dog but she just doesn't know what kind or when to do it. I talked to her for a little while and she held herself together well because I would have been balling my eyes out. Hopefully she continues to come back and we can find her a new addition to the family.

Thanks for reading everyone and of course your comments. All of you our there that read this have some attachment to animals and it is because of you that shelter's like the one I work at continue to be successful. And of course I had to add another picture of the puppies to put a smile on your face.