Finding Nemo

Three day old Nemo, “itty bitty kitty,” on his first day with us. 10/8/13

On Tuesday, October 8, 2013, I was doing some volunteer work for Catvando TNR. My husband and I have already fostered a couple of kittens for the organization. This particular afternoon, I was at their office doing some computer work. While there, a woman brought in this tiny kitten. He was so young that he still had the umbilical cord attached. He was initially dubbed “Itty Bitty Kitty.” Given that the little guy still had the umbilical cord attached when he was brought to CatVando, our guesstimate is that he was born about October 5, 2013.

I volunteered to take him home, but only for a few days since I had a trip planned that following Monday. As who know me are probably guessing, that did not work out as I had originally planned. Nemo came with my husband and I on our trip.

Nemo was not even as long as my hand. 10/8/13

Because Nemo was so small, he required feedings at least every two hours, around the clock. That meant that anywhere I went, Nemo went, too. When I wasn’t holding him, I kept him in a small cat carrier, with a heating pad and lots of small towels for him to snuggle in.

In those first days, he came to a business meeting with me, as well as to some of my computer tutoring lessons. My clients and students enjoyed meeting him.

On October 10, 2013, upon the recommendation of our son, Doug, we decided to rename the kit “Nemo.” Nemo, just like the fish in the movie, “Finding Nemo,” was lost from his family. Reviewing the Latin etymology of the word shows that it means “the man” or “no man.” I thought this little guy is “the man” – unless he proves to be a she, then she can still be “the man”!

A short video of Nemo at 3-days old:

See below for more photos from the first few days Nemo spent with our family.

: 10/8/13 – eyes won’t open for another 7-10 days

: 10/8/13 – resting after a feeding.

: 10/8/13 – Nemo makes the tiniest little noises while sleeping. Even though they are quiet, my own four cats hear him, along with our younger dog. This guy is going to get a lot of “mothering” from the other critters.

: 10/9/13 – 4 days old

: 10/9/13 – 4 days old

: 10/9/13 – 4 days old

: 10/9/13

: 10/9/13 – Art watched Nemo while I took notes in a business meeting

: 10/9/13 – Nemo, with Art, VP of HAYS Cleaning

: 10/10/13 – 5 days old. Nemo with our dog, Kelly. 6am feeding – Every time Nemo cries, Kelly is right there.

: 10/10/13 – Kelly cleans Nemo’s face

: 10/10/13, Nemo with, Mary M., one of my students

: 10/10/13 – Mary is one of my computer students. Since I couldn’t leave Nemo for more than two hours, I brought him with today to Mary’s computer lesson. Mary is a fellow cat lover and she enjoyed meeting little Nemo.