(RIP)
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Tate is enough of a kitten that his purrsonality, like his body, is still under construction. He and his siblings, Bing, Treasure, Tristan, and Tarot were found (with two other siblings who died) at a truck stop. Maybe their mom was moving them and got interupted by well-meaning humans, or perhaps something happened to her.
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Tarot and Treasure were rescued first and dropped off at the Eastern Iowa Veterinary Specialty Center, where they became bottle babies. They were cared for by Jody and Tim who are veterinary technicians when they aren’t feeding bottle babies. Then came Bing and Tate. And finally, Tristan arrived. |
Live, Let Live, & Learn—If you happen to find young kittens (or other baby animals) without their mom, please think things through before you act. Bottle babies have very special needs (food, temperature, excretory, etc.) and require expert care. It’s easy to shift into “helping mode.” But momcats do kittencare best! Unless you are sure mom isn’t coming back, be prepared to quietly observe for awhile. Human intervention is not always what’s best for the animal! To paraphrase Antoine de Sainte-Éxupery—you become responsible for those you rescue. |
In the meantime, Lily was about to wean her five six-week-old kittens so she could be spayed. We talked her dad into postponing the spay in hopes that Lily would accept the bottle babies and take care of them.
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At first Lily just stared at Tarot and Treasure, wondering who they were and why they were all in a cage together. The kittens mewed and mewed. Lily stared at them. We put them all in a small pet taxi, so they’d have to be touching one another, and within about five minutes, Lily’s milk bar was open for business. By the time Tate, Bing, and Tristan arrived a number of days later, Lily welcomed them and knew exactly what to do. |
DOB: 7/07/06—Male.
Tate likes: having a mom again.
He dislikes: not much!
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Confidence— |
Adaptable
to change— |
| Plays well
with others— |
Activity
level— |
| General Temperament—cheery, and tries hard! |
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Tate was a tiny kitten. He was only about a third the size of his brother Bing. Being the smallest, he had a hard time competing for everything with the rest of his litter. But Tate always showed such spirit! And he worked very hard at staying alive. Yesterday, Tate was decidedly different. He seemed very tired. He had even less energy today. Tate was 26 days old when he died late this morning. |
—not
much
—somewhat
—quite
a bit
—very
much!