Smitty, Sad Eyes (Sugarbutt), Barrett (Bear), and Little Cal (Callie)

(L-R: Callie, Bear, Sugarbutt, Smitty)

We got Smitty, Sad Eyes, Barrett and Little Cal when they were almost 12 weeks old, on September 11, 2005.. They'd been staying with another foster mother for about a week when she needed to go out of town, and so they came to stay with us until they were ready to be adopted.

All four of them were dealing with coccydia and giardia, so there was a lot of diarrhea going on. One of them - Sad Eyes - had what I thought was a prolapsed rectum. I discussed him with the shelter owner, and she said that someone had recently told her to try a damp cloth with sugar on it, held against the area. It sounded odd to me, so I gave it a try. I don't know if it helped, or the fact that I bathed him twice a day (to keep him clean), or what exactly helped, but something did, and matters improved.

And Sad Eyes got the nickname "Sugarbutt." Eventually I took him to the vet for a scooting problem, and discovered that even though things had improved, what he actually had wasn't a prolapsed rectum, but rather infected anal glands. The vet took him off to squeeze the anal glands, and when I got home with Sugarbutt, there were poop issues that ended up resulting in him being confined to a cage for a few days.

Poor Sugarbutt.

Eventually things improved a lot, and Sugarbutt's butt became almost completely normal. After he had improved and the kittens were through with their giardia and coccydia medication, we let them out into the house to play with our cats and roam the house during the day.

As you might imagine, four kittens racing through a house until they collapse into an exhausted heap can be quite a handful. Always fun, though. When there's always a warm, purring, friendly kitten nearby, life can't be too bad.

All four of them went to be neutered (and, in Callie's case, spayed) on October 13th, and three of them (Sugarbutt, Callie, and Smitty) went up for adoption at the pet store on October 18th. Bear was limping and seemed unlike himself, so we kept him for a few more days.

Barrett, AKA Bear. A friendly little monkey, Barrett throws himself at life claws first without worrying about silly things like consequences. He loves to sit on my lap while I watch TV and has gotten attached to me to the point where even if he's dead asleep, if I get up and move to another room, he wakes up, follows me, and flops down to go back to sleep.

Smitty. The friendliest of the four, Smitty will see you from across the room and rush over to climb up on you and be petted. He's got the loudest purr in six counties. If you flip him over onto his back and rub his belly, he'll purr so loud it's amazing he doesn't damage his purrbox. He's a snugglebug who also loves to roughhouse with his siblings.

Sad Eyes, AKA Sugarbutt. There's nothing in this world Sugarbutt likes more than a good belly rub and a kiss on top of his little head. He has gas issues, but hopefully that'll resolve as he gets older. He's very, very playful and tends to want to keep playing even when his siblings are tired and just want to sleep. He's a little ball of energy, and has gorgeous markings.

Little Cal, AKA Callie. Though she has a perpetual smile on her face, she's a little reserved and standoffish, but once she's decided you can be trusted, she loves with all her heart. She likes to lay on you and sleep, and for you to pet her when she wants to be petted. Don't overstep your bounds, though. She's almost as playful as Sugarbutt, and can kick her brothers' butts with one paw tied behind her back. She loves to snuggle with other cats.

You can see all the pictures I took of this bunch of foster kittens (200+ pictures) here.

Update: After a couple of days of being the only kitten in the house, Barrett wormed his way into our hearts, and we decided to adopt him. A few hours after I'd filled out the paperwork to adopt Barrett (who was promptly renamed Tom Cullen), the shelter manager called to tell me that the man who had adopted Sad Eyes had brought him back. Sad Eyes was dripping blood from his behind, and was being seen by the vet. She wanted to know if I could keep Sad Eyes for a little while. I said yes, of course, and went that evening to pick him up and bring him home. (The vet said she thought he had coccydia, and prescribed 2 weeks of medication for him)

When the two weeks was up, I emailed the shelter manager to let her know that Sad Eyes was ready to go up for adoption. She told me that adoptions had slowed down a bit, so it might be a little while before there was room at the pet store.

Long story short, we adopted Sad Eyes, and officially changed his name to Sugarbutt. He's an awfully sweet little monkey.

Smitty and Little Cal were both adopted within a few days of being placed in the pet store.