The Friendly Five were a very sweet batch of kittens that were orphaned at a young age. They had a variety of mysterious medical problems that necessitated many trips to the vet and some bottle feeding. This is unfortunately common in kittens that lose their mothers too early, as they don’t get the immunity benefits conferred by their mother’s milk.
Three of them had interesting spotted patterns on their bellies, so we named them after constellations (Lyra, Libra, and Lynx) and their two tuxedo siblings were named after stars (Miko and Mika).
Several of the kittens (Mika, Lyra, and Lynx) took turns playing the endangered runt of the litter, going to the vet for fluid injections and other medical treatment to boost their weight and overall health. All required various medications as well, though Libra and Miko were more robust than the other three. Despite their problems, they were a very cheerful, anxiety-free bunch.
Fortunately, all five kittens made a full recovery and began to thrive, though they still needed help cleaning themselves, another common problem among kittens that have been orphaned at a young age, so they were a lot of work. Also, because they wanted to be with us all the time, they had the unfortunate habit of launching themselves under our feet, reaching their paws under closing doors, and attempting to jump into the fridge and dishwasher, so we had to move around the house with extreme caution.
Libra and Lyra were adopted as a pair, as they were slightly more bonded with each other than anyone else, and Miko and Mika also went together as the most strongly bonded couple. Lynx went to another foster home that had a single kitten so the two could bond and be adopted out together (VOKRA kittens are always adopted in pairs so they won’t be lonely when their human companions are at work; adult cats that are used to living alone can be adopted as singles, but kittens shouldn’t be on their own). Lynx and her new foster sibling quickly became the best of friends immediately and were successfully adopted as a pair.
This batch brought our total of fostered kittens up to 114 over the past eight years.
For more foster kitten stories and photos, see the Foster Kitten Photo Diary. For kitten articles, see the main Pregnant Cats and Kittens page.
