u/Several_Value_2073

Reposting from my u/MalanimalsCatColl profile because either that account is f’ed up, Reddit is f’ed up, or I’m lousy at social media.

Not much news to share and that’s a good thing! Micro continues to thrive. She’s just over one whole pound now! Still pretty tiny for her age - just over 8 weeks now! She gets to free roam with the bigger foster kittens and it’s quite the ruckus! She eats regular kitten food, purrs with her whole body, and - still - yells at me constantly! 😂 I feel like she’s going to grow up to be a scrappy little thing; like a little girl who grows up with only older brothers. 🤭 I’ll try to post more often, but you know, life and stuff.

Here’s just a quick video for you all!

There have been lots of questions about the trembling seen when Micro was a bitty baby. Some just weren’t familiar, some were concerned, and a couple of lovely participants insisted that Micro had a neurological condition and would be special needs and should not continue to exist. For the first 2 groups - thank you for the questions and concerns! We love when people are curious and compassionate about all living beings, but especially those who need a little extra help to get going! For the third group - get bent.

The trembling seen in neonatal kittens is normal and is due to muscles that haven’t strengthened yet and a nervous system that is continuing to mature. As you can see, Micro’s trembling has completely resolved by 6 weeks old! Yay Micro!

6 week old foster kitten.

Hi guys! Sorry it’s been a minute - I finally got to take a week off and go on vacation. Micro came with me! Because she was still needing to be bottle fed (her pre-molars hadn’t come in yet) it was easiest, and best for Micro, to join me at my family reunion! It was really good for her. She got to meet a lot of new people and even some young(ish) kids! At first she was very wary, but after about 24 hours, she decided that people seemed to be generally ok! She got lots of naps, cuddles and even new toys!

Once we got home, Micro’s pre-molars had fully erupted (that’s the actual term for when teeth come in) so she is starting to learn how to eat real (soft) food! Lots of kittens need time to learn to like the taste of kitten food, but Micro actually really seems to like it! Kittens are similar to human infants in that, while they are weaning, they still want to have a bottle, even if they don’t actually need it. It’s a source of comfort and familiarity for them. She definitely still yells at me to bring her a bottle, which I do give her a few times a day, but she will often eat some kitten food once she’s done with her bottle. So cute! 🤗

Micro is 6 weeks old now and is starting to interact with her foster siblings, though I do have to supervise carefully because the bigger kittens are much rougher than is safe for Micro. I’m still hoping to find her a similar-sized friend. 🤞🏻 Thanks to everyone who checked in on us - we love you all!

Please read comments!

Look at this big girl go!

I can’t believe I missed Micro’s birthday! She turned 1 month old on July 22! She’s growing fast and, somehow, gets cuter every day!

She has a foster sister named Millie right now. Check out and follow my profile u/MalanimalsCatColl for updates on Micro, Millie and all the happenings at Malanimals Cat Collective!

Micro would not stop yelling at me, even though she had just eaten. She did not want to be held, so I put her down on a towel to see if she wanted to explore. I quickly decided it wasn’t safe down there for her, so I picked her up, fed her a little more, and she finally settled in for a nap.

Note: My cockapoo, Vinnie, absolutely LOVES kittens - he would love to carry them around in his mouth, but we can’t let him because he just doesn’t know his own strength (probably), so he licks them instead. I did dry Micro off as soon as I picked her up so she wasn’t cold. One of my other fosters wanted to play, too!

Micro hasn’t eaten in several…minutes, and she would like you to know her thoughts on that! 💕

Not much of an update…because Micro is doing great! Awake more, curious, eating, peeing, pooping - all the normal kitten stuff! 😍 She’s back up to her pre-illness weight and yells constantly for food and attention! 😂

This sub only allows 3 posts in 24 hours, so if I ever go over that, I’ll post an update to my profile. You may find other helpful info there as well (THANK YOU to everyone who has donated to Malanimals Cat Coalition - words cannot come close to conveying our gratitude!).

I will likely return to posting only once a day or every couple of days since Micro has recovered. That’s actually a good thing - it means nothing crazy is happening! Thank you to everyone who has been supportive and encouraging. I can’t tell you how much it helped me get through the scary times! Micro and I love you all! 💕

Micro is hanging in there. Ive been offering feedings every 1-2 hours, depending on how the previous feeding goes. I did end up tube feeding her once as it had been a while since she really suckled well. Not much of an update, but currently I’m neither more worried nor less worried about her than I was this morning.

This morning Micro absolutely refused to suckle from the bottle. This prompted us to start more aggressive interventions. We gave Karo syrup orally and subcutaneous fluids. After that, Micro had a satisfactory bottle feeding. Which was certainly a relief. We can do tube feedings if we need to, but definitely prefer if she suckles on her own. Hopefully, that will be all she needs to turn the corner, but rest assured I will be focusing all my energy entirely on her and obsessing over every squeak and wiggle until she starts to gain weight again. 🤞🏻 She’s now snuggled into her makeshift incubator to warm up and rest. I’ll feed her frequently for a couple of hours to make sure she’s still vigorous. Thanks again for all your support - emotional and otherwise.

Hey everyone! Micro is experiencing a little setback and we’re still trying to figure out what, exactly, is going on. A few days ago she had a really big poop after being constipated (a common occurrence) and, since then, hasn’t pooped, has started losing weight, and hasn’t been eating as well as she has been. I am very concerned about her as weight loss in any amount is an early sign of…something. The usual suspects would be coccidia or worms. She isn’t having diarrhea that I would expect with coccidia and she isn’t eating voraciously like I would expect with worms. We’ve started her on an antibiotic and probiotics and she got a dose of an anti parasitic. She’s still active and bright-eyed and doesn’t appear to be uncomfortable. I’ve been in frequent contact with our medical resource and am following all of her recommendations. These babies can bounce back really quickly, or…they can crash really quickly. Please know I/we are doing everything we possibly can to get Micro back on the right track to thriving again. Your support and encouragement means the world to us and we thank you for being invested in Micro’s progress and sending your love. I will update as frequently as I can.

Hi guys! Sorry it’s been a couple days since my last Micro update! I know some of you were worried! 💕 I’m not sure if this is allowed, but I’ve gotten several DM’s asking about Malanimals so I made a short video. Picture of Micro in comments for tax!

If you have respectful comments, suggestions or questions, please post them or DM me! We are a licensed organization and we are doing the best we can with what we have so please be kind!

Back to our regularly scheduled Micro content tomorrow!