Three temporary tinies 🩷🩵🤍
🦜Cheeky rescue cockatoo, Bobby, is always up to something. I just caught him raiding the pigeon seed. At least he’s quiet for once🤣
#pbfdawareness #cockatoolove #funnybirds #beakandfeatherdisease #animalrescue #littlemiraclesanimalrescue
🐹Rosie🐹
Rosie is a permanent elderly (approx 7 yrs) resident here at Little Miracles Animal Rescue. She has been urgently admitted to the Rabbit Doctor today for an ultrasound and blood work, as she is displaying multiple concerning symptoms, including blood in her urine, pale gums and eye tissue, bloating of her abdomen and pain when palpitating the area.
The vet examining her was concerned that she has multiple issues going on, one that relates to her abdomen and one relating to her back teeth, which have overgrown inwards, making it harder for her to eat properly.
You may remember in November last year, poor Rosie had to be rushed into emergency surgery after she developed an extraordinarily large bladder stone that needed immediate removal. Since then, she has been on a strict diet of Oxbow Guinea pig pellets, oaten hay, cucumber and cos lettuce, as recommended by the vet, to prevent the likelihood of stones reoccurring.
The estimate of her stay today is $1000-1500, but we will know more once they have started performing tests.
She has her bestie Audrey with her for company and comfort. I’ll update when I hear more. Please keep this sweet lady in your thoughts.
Good morning from Smeags, miracle cat, with the most deformities I’ve ever heard of in an animal. She has deformed arms (radial hypoplasia), a completely missing hip, two luxating patella’s, a huge overbite, one miniature eyeball and congenital cataracts, naked ears, half a tail in the shape of a lightening bolt and only 2kg. She was born at only 53g with barely any fur and a bum hole that wasn’t big enough to poop. She also contracted parvo at a vet visit as a kitten and survived after two weeks of extreme intensive care in a clinic. She is one of a kind and my most precious little sweetheart 💜
Update on the blind babies
You would hardly recognise that these are the same three cherubs that came in only a few days ago. Even I am flabbergasted at how incredibly well they’re doing. All three gained 100-200g in two days of being in care. This is such a massive weight gain, I had to double check it.
In saying this, we have had our set backs. Shortly after I wrote the first post about them, I looked at the instructions on the antibiotics the vet had prescribed for them and was horrified to discover they had prescribed a 100x overdose, which the lady who was caring for them had given for two days before they came here.
The extent of the damage to their little organs isn’t yet known, but they have been suffering from extreme diarrhoea as a side effect. They’re currently receiving multiple treatments to try to ease their gastrointestinal tract, but the dose was so ridiculously huge, it’s going to take a few days to get it under control.
Regardless, they’re enjoying the heck out of their new lives! They’re drinking perfectly, playing, grooming and we’re seeing some pretty great healing and general improvement in the appearance of their eyes. They will definitely have no vision in the most severely damaged eyes, but they look far less red, swollen and sore. In fact, they don’t seem to bother them at all.
Little Miracles Adoptions
Every single person who has ever adopted one of my hand-raised orphan bottle babies over the years cannot believe the incredible personalities they have. They’re quirky, intelligent and insanely snuggly. I believe they absorb the intense love I have for each and every one of them as they grow and they then embody it for the rest of their lives.
It’s a hard job raising orphans from birth; the sleepless nights, the worry, the mess, the troubleshooting when they come in to care already sick or premature, the exhaustion and complete and utter devotion to helping them thrive. Every year, for the last decade, I’ve spent most of the year raising babies, as well as taking in injured, sick and dying adults of most species. The toll can be seen in my many wrinkles and my complete lack of a life outside of rescue. But the reward is ten fold. Seeing each of them grow into beautiful, happy, loving angels who go on to find incredible forever homes, where they are adored and doted on for their lifetimes, is just the most humbling and wonderful experience.
This is also why I’m so strict with adoptions. I don’t adopt to just anyone who applies. Each home is chosen for the individual. Only those that are perfect for them are selected and if no such home can be found at the time of them being ready for adoption, they stay in care until the perfect family for that individual comes along. This does mean that many are still in care, who could have been adopted a while ago, but I refuse to settle for a home that is not willing or likely to love the animal for their entire lifetime, keep them safe and spoilt and always do right by them, including paying for any unforeseen vet bills that may arise at any time in their life and make sure the animal is always a priority in their family, no matter what circumstances change.
Adoption is for life. Animals are not a present, a whim, a cute when little, but boring when older. They are family or they’re
😽🍼Baby update🍼😽
These four munchkins are now 2.5 weeks old and are chonky, healthy and happy. They’re already practising walking, wrestling, grooming, maintaining their own body temperature and beginning to toilet on their own-super early and strong development. All four are gaining weight like there’s no tomorrow, guzzling their feeds and getting floofy and cheeky. It’s nice to see them reaping the rewards of my exhaustion from round the clock feeds and care.
Whilst I wasn’t planning on taking in neonates, other than special needs and emergency critical cases this season, due to the number of older kittens and cats in care still looking for their forever homes, these four were orphaned at only 3 days old and we couldn’t find a single other carer to take them on and they were with the finder for hours who had to ability or supplies to feed them. I couldn’t let them slowly die without anyone to care for them and the clinic they were taken to didn’t have a vet on to euthanise them when no carer could be found for them. So here we are.
If you’d like to donate toward their formular, tears, syringes and other necessary supplies, here are the details:
S L Campbell
633-000
128986510
PayPal: [email protected]
If you’re interested in adopting any of them once they’re fully vet worked in roughly 8 weeks, please get in contact 🙂
Morning squirmy wormies 🐛
SPARKY
This little sweetheart came into care as an emergency case around two weeks ago and I genuinely thought he wouldn’t make it. He had the second worst flea infestation I’ve ever seen (the worst baby didn’t make it). He was so anaemic, his gums were pure white, as you can see here. He clearly hadn’t eaten for a very long time. He was so emaciated, he weighed the equivalent of a 3 week old baby, at roughly 8 weeks old. His fur felt like gravel, there were so many fleas and flea poop. His breathing was shallow as his body began to shut down and he cried the cry of a baby who knew they were dying. He was so weak, he could no longer eat or drink.
He was brought to me by the same beautiful lady who brought me the 4 kittens with their ear tips cut off and cigarette burns in their left ears. This baby was saved when she happened to walk past an older neighbour who called her over asking her to help get him out from under her chook house. She said ‘hey cat lady, can you help me get a kitten that’s crying, stuck under the chook house. It’s been there a long time and is on its last legs. I don’t want it dead under there’. This same lady has reportedly flung many a dying or dead kitten over her neighbours fence, and was tearing apart the floor of the chook house to get to him.
The moment I felt how skinny and weak he was, I knew his chances weren’t great. My heart sank when I saw the colour of his bloodless gums. However, when he made it through the first night of critical care, a glimmer of hope began to appear and each day grew into a glow. This sweet baby was trusting and loving from the moment I placed him on a heat pad and offered him some nice warm kitten milk. He returned the love and care he was given with beautiful chesty purrs.
He is named Sparky, as he is not only spikey in appearance, with long fur sticking up in every direction, as if he has been electrocuted, but he was a little twinkle of light that was so close to being extinguishe
Bramble update
Bramble saw the vet today and she was shocked that he was still alive in his condition. The examination revealed that his heart and lungs sound ok, even though his breathing is very laboured. His temp was low, but he’s on a heat pad at home to keep him warm. He was severely dehydrated, so he received extra fluids subcutaneously. He was also wormed, as we believe he has a severe worm burden on board. I also requested some neocort (antibiotic, anti inflammatory and anaesthetic) cream for his poor little bum.
Unfortunately, he is too sick and dehydrated to take bloods atm to check organ function and other health indicators. The vet concluded that he didn’t have a great chance, and I was given the option to euthanise or to try to turn things around for him. We all know what the answer is there.
Thankfully, the vet offered the regular consult price instead of the emergency one due to him being a rescue, as well as her being under the pump with another emergency at the time.
While we were waiting for her to come back to our room, I filmed this little moment.
Thankyou to everyone who has donated to little Bramble’s care. He will likely need many visits over the next few weeks and he is just one of the multiple emergency kittens who came into care overnight.
I got a workmate to film one of Nox’s feeds for me the other day so you could all see. He’s still being tube fed, as his tiny nose is still too injured to allow proper nasal breathing as he drinks.
Tube feeding is an important skill to learn when it comes to the care of neonates and critical cases. It is the difference between life and death. If a baby is too weak, injured or has a deformity, it is necessary to deliver the milk straight into their tummy via a special feeding tube of the appropriate guage. Trying to feed with a syringe or bottle and teat will cause aspiration of the milk and lead to pneumonia and death.
Tube feeding is also extremely dangerous if performed incorrectly, as the milk can be released into the lungs and kill the baby. Once you know how to do it correctly though, it’s pretty straight forward.
Noxie practicing wobbly walking and some surprise eyeballs beginning to appear!
Nox update II
Baby Nox is still with us ! He’s such a little fighter! His poor nose is still damaged, making it difficult for him to breathe through his very narrow nostrils and while the splits in his gums are healing, he is still being tube fed to avoid introducing any bacteria or potential aspiration.
He has now stopped crying all the time and sleeps well between feeds, which indicates the pain and swelling has subsided enough for him to rest. This means we can now spend time bonding like in this video, which is very important for the mental and physical well-being of any baby animal.
Normally, mum would spend lots of time cleaning her babies, which is comforting to them, enables bonding and increased blood flow and mobility as they’re developing. Another sibling may provide enough stimulation for their development, but unfortunately, Nox is far to delicate for company at this stage.
I was so pleased to see him begin playing and enjoying being touched. This indicates his pain levels are minimal and his brain isn’t too damaged from the head trauma. The extent of the permanent damage is still to be seen, but this video is a real glimpse of hope ❤️
Baby Nox update
Tiny 2 day old Nox is miraculously still with us. He is still suffering from head trauma and displaying mild neurological symptoms, but he is stable and is digesting his milk feeds nicely. He is still being fed via stomach tube, as his face is too sore for self feeding.
The first night was really hard. He cried the entire night and I stayed up with him, comforting him and keeping a watchful eye on him, incase he declined and needed to be rushed to emergency. Work yesterday was a struggle.
Last night he slept a lot better, although he did still wake up crying many times. This video is one of the times. He was crying and calmed once I started gently patting him.
This poor boy breaks my heart. I cannot believe that he has survived such a horrific injury to this point, however, I’m still very concerned he may not make it. It’s hour by hour at the moment, but he’s getting everything he needs to support him while his body fights to overcome the trauma to his little head and face.
🐈⬛🚑NOX🏥🤕
(Video from initial rescue, those are clearly not my gnarly hands)
This darling boy was only born in the last 24 hours and yet, he is fighting for his life, after receiving an injury to his head that has left him in a critical condition.
A plumber called another rescue for urgent help today after finding Nox and his three siblings underneath a pile of rubble at a worksite. They were clearing the site when the mother cat shot out from underneath the pile and they could hear kittens crying. They found the four newborns buried underneath dirt and rubble. The other three were unharmed and immediately latched to a surrogate mother back at the rescue (until their own mum can be trapped), but little Nox was just writhing around with blood coming from his nose.
The little one was rushed to me this afternoon after he refused to drink and kept crying. After assessing him, it’s clear he is suffering head trauma, as he not only has blood coming from his nose, he is also displaying signs of neurological damage (abnormal head and body movement, small tremors).
While a kitten in this condition would be ‘easier’ to euthanise, given the level of care he requires, we’re committed to giving him a chance. The majority of animals who come into care here with head trauma recover with intensive supportive care and time for the swelling around the brain to heal. Being a newborn, this little guy is really up against it, but I’m sure he’ll have a whole army of wonderful people out there rooting for him.
He’s currently stable and warm and is bring tube-fed colostrum, as he’s not able to drink on his own at this time. It will be a long sleepless night, but I’m hoping we can pull the little angel through this horrific time so that he may enjoy tall the years of love ahead of him.
I’ll add an update tomorrow.
If you’d like to support little Nox and his ongoing care, here are the details:
S L Campbell
633-000
128986510
PayPal: stefflou
Smeags likes to come out for supervised outside leaf-hunting, sun bathing and upside-down rolls on the concrete when it’s not too hot and not too cold. Tonight is that perfect Goldilocks temperature 🐱☀️
Santa, a Christmas miracle ❤️😻
I don’t even know what to say other than I feel so sick. These four angels all came into care last night after being rescued from a front yard in West Melbourne.
This morning I’ve been checking them over in better light and discovered they have all had the tops of their ears cut off, which have since healed and scarred. This has been done by a human. The cuts are perfectly straight.
Further investigation is underway.
This is a disturbingly common occurrence unfortunately, with many reports of cruelty to puppies and kittens being reported every year, where ears and tails have been cut off, fur coated in oil, glue, acid… the list of common acts of torture goes on. Thankfully these for only suffered a minor attack and were spared their lives.
If you’d like to donate to their ongoing care, here are the details.
S L Campbell
128986510
633-000
Or PayPal:
[email protected]
NEONATES
One of the morning feeds. We all made it through the night and are doing well. 2 hourly feeds for newborns are exhausting.
Raising neonates of any species (particularly newborns) is more than just feeding and toileting. It’s set of incricate skills and knowledge that you gain through years of experience, under the guidance of someone who has been doing it a very long time. Raising babies this young should never be attempted by someone with little experience. It is almost guaranteed that the babies won’t survive and not only this, but they will suffer. It’s the tiny things that make the biggest difference.
Everything must be the right temperature, the right amount, the right time, the right angle, the right amount of pressure on a syringe. You need to be able to troubleshoot often; when a bub has too runny poop, too hard poop, GI infections, umbilical infections, eye infections, isn’t drinking, requires tube feeding, requires more frequent feeds, requires electrolytes or probiotics, requires treatment by a vet. There are a million little details that you won’t notice, until it’s too late.
The most common mistake people make is not knowing exactly how to get the baby to latch and drink freely and they get milk into their lungs (aspiration). If this doesn’t kill them right away, they develop pneumonia and the outlook is grim.
Please do not attempt to raise neonates without significant successful experience. Always contact local rescues to locate an experienced neonatal carer.
To those in rescue who have experience with older kittens, this is not the same. Meaning well isn’t the same as doing well. Not for the babies.
Please excuse the naughty nosey babies amd the dirt on the bed from the dogs coming in from morning wees and putting dirty feeties on the bed.
