Update to the Update on Yale's Health

Yale went to the vet today, and got fully checked out.  We took X-rays, and it's nearly certain there is nothing broken.  It can be a little hard to tell, with kittens this small, but the vet feels confident, and so do we.

Ivy, Yale, and the rest on the way to the vet.

Instead, the vet supposes that Yale probably has feline calicivirus.  If you look that up online, you should know, it's probably not as scary as it sounds.  A great lot of cats have it and are just fine.  Typically they'll get sick for a while, fight it off, and then just live with the virus, and no real symptoms -- and no further chance of contagion.  That's what we expect for Yale.  And we don't have to worry about Yale infecting any of the rest of the Faculty, because they're all vaccinated against it already.  Most cats get vaccinated against it as a matter of course.

Yale's also beautiful on the inside - and now we have proof!

Of course, while the vet's diagnosis is almost certainly correct, it's also worth remembering that we didn't perform and real test for calicivirus; it's a presumptive diagnosis.  Whenever you have a kitten that has a fever and a limp, this is what you assume is going on.  Because it's likely, and common.  We'll be 'treating' it by giving her some powerful painkillers to help her get by, and some antibiotics to help prevent any secondary infections.  

Yale says she'll be fine!  


Then we just wait for her own immune system to fight it off.  Which is almost certainly how it'll go.  No worries!

Ivy and Cornell are ready to go home.

Quick Update on Yale's Health

Thanks to everyone who wrote in to let us know Yale has been limping.  We will eventually respond to you all personally, but it may take a little time.  

We checked her out ourselves, and we're convinced nothing is broken; she probably just twisted it a bit when she was climbing and playing.  

We're going to take a watch-and-wait approach for the moment.  There's really not much a vet can do in this situation anyhow.  But if she doesn't seem better in short order, we'll take her in regardless.

EDIT: It's Monday night, and Yale is still limpy.  If she doesn't seem better in the morning, we will take her in to a vet. 

Here's a quick photo to pay the cat tax:

 

 

Eyes Open Photoshoot!

First, some quick mews:  the shelter at On Angel's Wings in Crystal Lake is FULL OF KITTENS.  So full that there's no room for ours.  So, while they have officially graduated, and are available for adoption right now, they will be staying at the Academy for another week.  If you want to adopt one of the older kittens, please apply now.  There's an event next Sunday, Aug 28th at the PetSmart in Crystal Lake, where all our kittens will be making an appearance, whether the shelter has room or not.

Toffee is the only one who has already been adopted.  Shortcake, Cobbler, Custard, Nutmeg, Fennel, Tamarind, Clove, and Poppy are all available! 

Now on to the main event!  We took some photos today of Ivy's kittens, to celebrate the fact they all have their eyes open!

 

 

 

 

Ivy's Kittens Named!

All of Ivy's kittens are doing really well.  They all seem healthy and happy! 

That's all the news for this post.  Here's some extra photos from today's photoshoot!

Ivy's League has Arrived!

I think by now, most of you know that Ivy delivered three healthy babies late Saturday night.

Our regular art contributor, "Bindi Luckycat" has already contributed a drawing for the occasion:

DJ plans to name the three kittens after Ivy League schools, or mascots, or something related.  But we're not completely sure of the sexes yet - it's difficult to tell when they're this young.  Our best guess so far is that #1 and #3, the lighter-colored ones, are girls.  #2, the darker one, is a boy.  Probably.

 We've been pretty busy since then, and I have a million videos and photos to edit and publish.  In the meantime, we have published the entire three-hour labor and delivery video from the livestream, unedited.  If you decide to watch this, just be aware that the first kitten doesn't appear until right around 1 hour in.  You can, of course, skip ahead to that point.

We plan to publish a lot more photos and some great 4K video, some of which you can see me filming in the archive footage above.  It may take a few days.  We're likely to publish the videos to the Patreon supporters a day or two early.

Thank you to everyone for your support, advice, commentary... and just being a part of this experience of bringing three wonderful new kittens into the world.  It's been great having all of you along for the ride, whether on the livestream chat, twitter, or email.  Thank you all!

A bonus from Bindi Luckycat.