To all:

Thank you for your help and support in getting our website and newsletter started because, left to my own devices, I might never get out of the kitten nursery long enough to do anything else.

All my life I have been first and foremost a care giver – both by inclination and by profession. Over the years, I have worked in many different occupations, but several of them involved healthcare. For example, I’ve worked in support positions at the Norristown State Hospital and in the Ear, Nose and Throat Department at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital. I have also worked as a Veterinary Assistant.  My most personally painful but also in some ways most gratifying role as a care giver was the year I devoted to being the 24/7 primary caretaker for my father after he was paralyzed as the result of an accident, with his resulting condition identical to that of Christopher Reeves.  That year I learned more than I ever thought I could about caring, about patience, and about myself.   It also taught me a great deal about the physical and psychological health benefits of home health care over institutional care.  In this regard as well as in other ways, Three Little Kittens is closely linked to the memory of my father. 

My desire to help those in need of care always included the animal world because I believe animals deserve to be on this earth as much as people do. For as long as I can remember, animals have fascinated me. When I was three years old, I would crouch down and watch ants, endlessly amazed by their busy work (okay, so they’re actually insects…but so what?). As a teenager I worked to save baby seals, and after that came Save the Whales and numerous other animal causes.

I have owned many cats through the years. Right now I have nine living inside, and seven living outside. All but one of my current indoor cats is from one of the many litters of my outside colony. Amazingly, two of these litters were actually delivered to my doorstep by the matriarch cat, who must have been tired of kittens but still wanted to make sure they would be cared for.

So how did all this start?

Many years ago, I was one of several in my neighborhood in Asbury Park who started feeding the original outside feral cat colony, which used to be much larger than it is now. I found it impossible to turn these cats away when they came to the door seeking food, especially with young kittens trailing behind them. I felt that by feeding them cat food, I at least kept them from rummaging through rancid garbage and gave them a chance to stay healthy.

With an ever-growing colony of feral cats, I realized I had to do more than feed them. Since I had my indoor cats spay/neutered and given shots, why not do the same for the outside ones? With the financial support of my neighbors, I trapped them one by one in a carrier and took each to the SPCA’s low-cost clinic where they were given shots and spayed/neutered. I then brought each one home for convalescence in a kennel set up in my basement, and eventually released them back into my yard.

With help from my partner, Brendan, I created a small door that gave them access to the garage. We removed all fertilizers, chemicals, etc, and provided pallets with old carpeting, old outside furniture, and several blankets and sleeping bags for the cats’ use during cold weather. The following spring, we added a canvas gazebo, which keeps the cats, their food, and me dry in rainy times. The picnic table also has a "cat condo" scratching post on it where my one male (Elliot) loves to sleep.

After caring for several very young kitten litters I realized I not only loved what I was doing, but was also very good at it. Any kitten delivered to my care has either remained with me, or been successfully adopted out. Many of the people who adopted kittens from me have stayed in touch and keep me up-to-date on their lives with the kitten I fostered, even sending kitty photos from time to time!

So here I am now, determined to take what I have been doing all these years out of love, and make it my life’s work. I believe that feral kittens fostered at a young age make some of the best and most loving pets. And that by doing what I do, I help the kittens, their prospective owners and the community as well, because I am reducing the feral cat population.

Through my work with feral cats, I have learned much and met some truly exceptional people who are now helping me to make Three Little Kittens a success. I would like to thank everyone who has helped bring us to where we are today, and to all of you who will join us as we grow.

Please see the How You Can Help section of our website to learn more about our members, our partners and the many ways that you can become part of Three Little Kittens’ mission.

Many thanks and all my love,

This section of the Newsletter will provide information about particular cat care issues in short articles written by us or by guest authors.

Feline Aids (FIV) – What Dee Dee and Tiffany learned from Emerson and Katie

In the spring of 2003, Dee Dee's feral colony matriarch (Poe) had her last litter and, when they were barely two weeks old, Poe delivered these four kittens to Dee Dee's backdoor.  One of them, a spry tiger male, was adopted by Tiffany Miller (see the profile of Tiffany later in this newsletter) and is now known as Emerson.  Another of them, a female, who is white with tiger markings and very fluffy, was adopted by Dee Dee, named Kate (after Katherine Hepburn) and is now called Katie.

Both Emerson and Katie were kitten false positives for Feline Aids (FIV). (By false positives, we mean that while they tested positive as kittens, they were later found to actually be FIV negative.)  Emerson tested negative by eight months of age.  Katie still tested positive at ten months, but at one year of age was able to have a more definitive test for FIV and, gratefully, finally had negative test results as well.  This was an important learning experience for both Dee Dee and Tiffany. They were aware of FIV, but had luckily had only had FIV negative test results for their kittens until this time.  With Katie and Emerson's initial test results, their learning curves went way up as a matter of necessity.  They now know that FIV is NOT a death sentence, and that many FIV positive cats live happy normal lives (with an average lifespan of 10 years). They also learned a lot about the reliability of various FIV tests.

The most common (and the least expensive) test used to detect FIV is the Combo Test, which is also used to detect Feline Leukemia.  This test can be administered to kittens at eight weeks of age.  The problem with its use for FIV testing at this age is that, since it tests for FIV antibodies instead of the disease itself, it will almost always yield a positive finding for any kitten that has been fed by a mother cat who either is FIV positive herself or who has been exposed to FIV.  Having the FIV antibodies present, however, does not mean that the kitten will actually get Feline Aids; the FIV antibodies may, and often do, disappear with time.  Repeat testing with the Combo Test when a kitten that originally tested FIV positive will often yield FIV negative results, as it did in Emerson's case.  But, sometimes, as in the case of Katie, even that isn't sufficient.  In these cases, veterinarians recommend that the Western Blot test be given when the cat reaches its first birthday.  The Western Blot tests for FIV itself and can definitively validate or refute earlier test results from the Combo test.       

Because FIV is communicable to other cats, Katie needed to be kept isolated from the rest of Dee Dee's cat household during her first year of life, until her negative test result came in. Her socialization to the household was, therefore, incomplete.  She was comfortable with the humans, but didn't even know the other cats.  Dee Dee and Tiffany are currently making the effort to socialize Katie, one cat at a time. Understandably, a few have passed on making friends with her and there are also a few that she simply hisses at.  But progress is being made.  Luckily, patience is one of Dee Dee's and Tiffany’s strong points.

Katie

Key Lessons Learned:

• An FIV positive test result on a Combo Test for a kitten is not definitive; only the Western Blot test actually tests for the disease.  Retesting when the kitten is older is essential to detect kitten false positives for FIV.  The Cornell Feline Health Center recommends retesting 60 days after an initial FIV positive result.

• According to The Cornell Feline Health Center, FIV's primary mode of transmission is bite wounds. Casual non aggressive contact does not appear to be an efficient route of spreading FIV.   Additionally, sexual contact is not a major means of spreading FIV. 

• In a household with other cats, isolation of a kitten who has tested FIV positive is a necessary course of action.  If the kitten later tests negative, socialization to the other cats in the household will take special effort, but is definitely possible.

• In a household with no other cats, an FIV positive cat can lead a positive, healthy life, with no special restrictions

In this section of the Newsletter, we will periodically profile the important people and organizations that work with Three Little Kittens, to provide our readers with more information on who we are and about services that are complementary to those that we offer.

Tiffany Miller

Tiffany Miller is an important member of Three Little Kittens.  She came into Dee Dee Williams' life in late summer of 2003. Dee Dee's now spayed feral colony matriarch, Poe, had her last litter in May of 2003. When the kittens were barely two weeks old, Poe delivered them to Dee Dee's backdoor. There were four of them; a spry tiger male (adopted by Tiffany and now known as Emerson), a second male (with a Maine coon cat appearance, who Dee Dee called Teddy Bear), and two females, predominantly white and very fluffy. The first female was adopted by Tiffany’s sister and goes by the name of Gizmo (yes, like in the movie), the second lives with Dee Dee, and her name is Kate (after Katherine Hepburn), but they call her Katie.

It would appear as if destiny brought Tiffany Miller to Dee Dee's door. They got along famously and quite quickly! Of course, they both acknowledge that they have "kitten head", and nothing starts good friendship like having something in common. On three occasions through the year Tiffany sent Dee Dee notes from Baby Emerson and a Christmas card. With that kind of a heart, why wouldn’t she be the first person Dee Dee called when she needed help setting up Three Little Kittens?

Tiffany's response to Dee Dee's call was excitement; she said she had hoped all along that Dee Dee would decide to do this. And, she has willingly contributed her time and talents to the effort.  She has helped in kitten care, investigated Three Little Kittens' non-profit status, researched grants that are available to help efforts like ours (Tiffany has grant application writing experience!), found posting sites for our kitten adoption flyer, contacted veterinary hospitals, and done whatever else needed to be done.

 A couple of fun things to share about Tiffany: The first time Dee Dee worked on bottle training with her, Tiffany had this to report about the kittens upon Dee Dee's return from running errands, “When I went to feed them, they all behaved badly, dancing on their hind legs and singing “Rookie”.  (But, she did just fine!)  Also, whenever Tiffany is working at Three Little Kittens, she always (and we mean always) leaves something behind when she goes home!

Dee Dee wishes she could pay Tiffany to work with her all the time.  In the meantime Tiffany has been offered a job and accepted it with, naturally, another helping group, Catholic Charities.  AND she says she is still willing to volunteer time to Three Little Kittens.  Dee Dee asks:  "When did I start having angels brought to me?  They’re everywhere in my life these days."

Three Little Kittens owes much thanks to Tiffany Miller, and we hope you all have a chance to meet her or speak with her. Just like Dee Dee, her first concern and focus is on the kittens. Oh yeah, she calls them "Boobalas". We Love you Tiffany.
 

Nancy Barr-Brandon

Three Little Kittens has found an amazing partner in Nancy Barr-Brandon, an extremely dedicated woman who has made a career of trapping, spay/neutering and returning feral cats to their colonies, and who now works in Monmouth County.

Nancy originally got involved in this work years ago when she was living in Seattle, where the number of homeless cats appalled her. She brought her efforts to Monmouth County in 1993. In Asbury Park, she has found a worse situation than in Seattle. Both places have a large population of feral cats.  However, there are no government-sponsored shelters in New Jersey as there are in Washington State, and places such as the Jersey Shore Animal Shelter and the SPCA are hard-pressed for space, leaving more cats on the streets.

In Monmouth County, Nancy focuses her trapping, spay/neutering and return work primarily on housing projects and ghetto areas where the needs are both the greatest and the work the most demanding, both physically and emotionally. In cases where stray cats that she has captured are found to be social and loving, Nancy seeks adoptive homes for them. The Monmouth County SPCA currently limits her to bringing them 2 cats per week for adoption; this is all they can accept due to overcrowding. Additionally, though, because many feral cats do not socialize well and are not suited for adoption as pets, as an alternative, Nancy also sets up feeding stations for feral cat colonies and helps to feed them.

Nancy’s not-for-profit organization is called Cat Assistance Network, Inc. Three Little Kittens has experienced her effectiveness first hand. As soon as Three Little Kittens had more kitten nursery space cleared out, Nancy made sure we had kittens to fill it! And they just keep on coming!  She is tireless and generous, providing us with advice, loaning equipment, and referring kitten rescuers to us.

In the years that Nancy Barr-Brandon has been doing this, she has rescued an estimated 300 cats a year. A special place in heaven will be waiting someday for this lady!

• Something to play music in the nursery - a radio or a CD player.
• A digital camera of our own so we can take pictures of the new kittens we have available for adoption.
• A set of 3 matching decorative crib blankets or quilts for the (newly rose & white painted) nursery.
• A large, multi-platform scratching post for "the kids room".

In this section of our newsletter, Dee Dee will answer your questions about cat and kitten care.  You can e-mail questions to her at kittensthree@optonline.net or call 732-988-3024 with your questions.

Question:  When should I take my kitten to a Veterinarian for the first time and what treatments and tests will the kitten need?

Answer:  Well, there’s really no age too young to have your Vet look at a kitten that has not come from an organization, like an adoption clinic, Three Little Kittens, or the SPCA. If you have adopted from one of these sources, though, they have likely done much of the early work for you and will send you home with that information as well as a recommendation for future needs.

Your Vet will be able to confirm sex, check its general health, and set you up for a schedule of when to do what. Some Vets prefer not to see them before eight weeks; as to do everything at one time is certainly a savings, and some things cannot be done until then, although there are exceptions. So if the kitten is showing no signs of illness, you can wait until then. (Signs of illness would be runny pink eyes, lethargy, scratching at ears or excessive diarrhea). But keep in mind, if you have other cats; be sure to keep the kitten isolated from them until you know for sure that these tests have been done. This is also a good motivation for having your Vet see a new kitten earlier. Treating for worms, or having it tested for disease is important for your household. Protect your other cats.

The following is my best advice about the treatments and tests that your kitten will need. Keep in mind, though, that I am not a veterinarian. I always check with my Vet before moving forward on any advice, and you should too.

• A general rule is a fecal (stool) test for parasites should be done as soon as your Vet says they can take the medication for worms. This could be as early as three or four weeks.

• The "Combo” test for Feline Aids (FIV) and Feline leukemia is done between five and eight weeks of age, depending mostly on the size of the kitten. Small kittens have very small veins, and drawing the blood is impossible until they are a certain size. My Vet recommends that all kittens be retested down the road, to confirm the initial results. (See the Feature Story in this newsletter for more information on “false positives” in FIV testing.) Although rare, it is possible for a kitten to test negative, then later retest as positive. So, might as well check it to be sure, regardless of what the initial results were.

• Their first shots (kitten rabies and distemper) usually begin at eight to ten weeks of age, which is also the average adoption age for young kittens. There will be a series of three shots needed.

• At five to six months, most Vets will spay/neuter your kitten (again, this will depend upon the size of the kitten – with small kittens, you will need to wait longer).  I believe strongly that it is better for you and your kitten to have them spayed or neutered BEFORE they mature sexually. I’ve found that excessive energy or aggressiveness (even if just playful) subsides some after this, which results in a more peaceful home life for you and higher quality of life for your pets, too.

Three Little Kittens Contact Information:

Phone:  732-988-3024

e-mail:  kittensthree@optonline.net