A Day in the Life of Milo

Be forewarned: I am duplicating pictures already posted on Johnny's blog. We are pretty happy about our new furry bundle of joy which is keeping us very sleep-deprived. Milo's days are pretty routine, and they go a little something like this.......

The vet suggested that instead of a kitten bottle we feed Milo with a syringe. She was correct; he enthusiastically sucks on the syringe making a sloppy mess on his miniscule face. But I kept the kitten bottle because it is too cute! The red object is a scoop for kitten formula which we mix with soft, solid food:



Milo is crying less since the vet informed us to feed him all he will slurp until he spits out the syringe. But sometimes he will wimper upon waking which means he is hungry, or we will wake him every four hours as a dinner bell. We both crouch down, watch him sleep for a minute, then say his name softly making him look at us from inside his new crib, a dog carrier to give him more room:



After feeding him, taking care of what Johnny calls Milo's "excremental needs" (trust me, you don't want to know), and cleaning up his face and "excremental areas" with Cottonelle wipes and warm-water washcloths, we allow him to explore restricted regions of our bedroom. Here is brave litte Milo on our pulled back sheets, and I think it looks like he is walking through the the parted Red Sea:



Milo still walking on water towards my finger - he already knows our scent which causes him to purr:



When Milo is full and sleepy (the two go together), he loves to roll on his back, play with his feet, and get a tummy-rub. He fits snugly in my hands. We have to weigh him on our food scale every day to verify he is gaining weight, and today he weighs 7.8 ounces:



Mama Cats pick up kittens by the scruff of their necks. I think it looks highly uncomfortable, but Milo digs it. He will be whining and yelping while we warm his food, Johnny picks him up by that scruff, and Milo pipes down, calm and serene:



After all that exercise, we place Milo in his bedroom. He wobbles and gropes for the washcloth, for underneath is a heating device you would normally place on an injured shoulder or pulled muscle. For Milo it simulates his Mama's warm tummy, and keeping Milo warm is very important (the washable cover is also very important in case Milo poops all over his bed which he did at 4:00 am in the morning):



All the while, Harley sleeps next to my hero Mother Teresa (and I love that book, mainly for the photographs):



The camera flash wakes him for a second, our pretty blue-gray gato. He is handling his little brother fairly well. He sometimes tries to enter Milo's room, and seems less hostile. We have to keep them apart until both their shots and vaccines are updated, and Milo is bigger. I think they will like each other just fine in time: