We actually have one of these, but it has collapsed through washing, wear and tear and no longer is able to function as a hanging mobile toy either. The kittens still use it as a 'scratching log' but it no longer works as a training tool for younger kittens to learn how to strop and bat at elevated prey on their own. We need to throw away our current one as it is beyond repair, nor can we disinfect it properly anymore. Any design, colour, brand will do.
Currently we are diffusing essential oils as an alternative remedy using a tealight candle-lit ceramic burner. Which works well. However, in our recent research into home care for cat flu', we found out that humidity aids recovery. The various strains of cat flu' are one of the biggest illnesses we have to rehabilitate in sick kittens, next to gastro-intestinal problems like diarrhoea. For now we give steam inhalation to kittens that are having more serious symptoms of cat flu', which is a 10 minute exposure to hot water and essential oils placed outside a carrier, covered with a towel. But we can't provide a better humidity level for all kittens having cat flu', round the clock. This device can be placed near specific pens housing cat flu' kittens, or in the foster lounge if we have an outbreak (like now). The aromatherapy diffusing element is optional, but the humidifier needs to be portable and small. Any brand will do and it can be found at any electrical appliance store.
The free-roaming foster kittens - certified healthy and old enough to roam without getting stuck in places - share food and water with our own 4 cats. Sometimes this causes a bit of a skirmish. Having two bowls would be good. We also like the idea of this elevated stand because elevation of cat food bowls causes less regurgitation of food - less cat puke to clean up around the house. The kitten pens have elevated bowls too (hooked to the pen grilles) but the free-roaming cats don't. This would be a great addition to our feeding station to prevent skirmishes and food aggression, as well as for better health. Stainless steel too, less bacteria! If you wish to purchase this from The Water Dish for us, contact Maxine at enquiries@thewaterdish.com.sg / 9685 3929
We have been guessing weights of kittens when we need to medicate them, unless we have already weighed them at the vet. Why we need to know the weight of kittens is because veterinary medicine dosages is prescribed as mg per kg body weight. For example, bromhexine for cats is 1mg/1kg b.w. and we usually estimate the doses based on how heavy the kittens feel. A weighing scale will help us be more accurate in dosing kittens their medications. Shown here are two models, it doesn't matter which type, as long as we can weigh both a 300gm kitten and a 3.5kg kitten with it, for instance. It also does not need to be digital.
A lot of the supplements we give are in powder form, such as colostrum, vitamin C. Because these are human supplements we need to downscale the doses for kittens, and that sometimes means having to give 1/8th of a teaspoon worth of lysine powder, for example. We are running out of spoons that can give us an accurate callibration of doses and sometimes do guesswork on how much to give (kind of like cooking by intuition and not by recipe). 1/8th teaspoons are especially hard to find - a stirrer is usually about that volume but the handle is too long to place inside the supplement bottles. A couple of these teaspoons would help us in preparing our therapeutic diets for the foster kittens.
We found that the foster kittens all love Vitakraft Cat Sticks, and our cats' Angel Salmon Sashimi treats. We use treats to encourage the kitties to interact with human visitors when they hand the treats out. This reinforces the mentality in kitties that visitors are a good thing, instead of having them hide in corners and cower away from people (and thus become difficult to get adopted). Vitakraft cat sticks are loved, really really loved, by all the foster kittens we have fed it too. Our cats don't like it that much but the kittens somehow do! They are inexpensive, and though the ingredients aren't completely wholesome, help teething kittens as well. Angel Salmon treats are healthier but they are more expensive. Either treats will do, and any quantity. If you wish to purchase this from The Water Dish for us, contact Maxine at enquiries@thewaterdish.com.sg / 9685 3929
This. We use to garnish older kittens' canned food with supplements meals, making a whole lot of difference. (We only use it on older kittens because it is harder for younger kittens to digest fish based food). It helps make the meal more appetising to them so they will consume more and thus imbibe more of their supplements. It is the best garnish we have used so far in terms of taste-tests on the kitties and cost-effectiveness. You can buy bonito flakes from any Japanese supermarket such as Isetan's, or like we do, from the one at the basement of Parkway Parade. Small packs are also available at places like Daiso.
Revolution Pink and Blue
We need to always have Revolution handy in case of any mite or flea risk or presence in our foster home - this way all the kittens can be protected. We need both Revolution Pink and Blue because at this current moment we have 4 kittens that are above 2.5kg in body weight and will need Blue, not Pink. A mixture of both Revolution Pink and Blue in our cache will be handy in case of emergencies. The lowest price to purchase Revolution is from our corporate sponsor The Water Dish - contact Maxine at enquiries@thewaterdish.com.sg / 9685 3929 to find out how much if you wish to buy through them.
Premium food for the holidays
We are currently feeding Solid Gold Indigo Moon and Addiction Brushtail, both choices the most value-for-money grain-free premium foods. But the foster kittens go wild when we feed even better food than this! We would like to give the foster kittens a treat this holiday season with food that is even more premium than our current offering, both dry and canned foods. For dry foods, better foods include Taste of the Wild, Wellness CORE, Acana, Orijen. For canned foods, Wellness CORE, Addiction's 5.5oz range. You can contact Maxine at enquiries@thewaterdish.com.sg / 9685 3929 if you wish to buy any of these premium foods for us through The Water Dish.
Unromatic essentials
- Huggies or Kodomo baby wipes
- Non-sterile gauze (small)
- Alcohol swabs
- Paper towels
- Dishwashing liquid refill packs - Ligent or UIC brand
- Jeypine hospital grade disinfectant 5L size
- Generic bleach
- Chlorhexadine hand soap - PLEDGED!
- Hospital blue sheets / pee pads - PLEDGED!
- Printer ink - Canon MP145
If you are pledging to give any of these items on our wishlist, do drop Elaine an SMS at 90880675 or a tweet @luvkuching, as some of these items - we need only one of, so we will cross it off our wishlist once a pledge to give the item is made.
Any questions about the items on our wishlist? Email Elaine at elaine@lovekuchingproject.org or tweet us @luvkuching.
Thank you in advance for making it a great holiday at Love Kuching!
Sponsor a foster kitten's vaccination through our Sponsor-A-LoveKuching-Cat Scheme
Give food at charity rates through our corporate sponsor The Water Dish
