Tuesday, July 31, 2007

gumble gumble grumble


Something I have always feared happening with fosters finally happened last night.

Kittens LOVE to play in litter boxes. the only thing they love to do more than play in litter boxes is to watch what others are doing in litter boxes, including their mothers. well the mom's tushie is very high up in the air when going #2, and since my current moms have diarrhea, they are very uncomfortable going, and are perched on the side of the litter box.

Went down this morning, and found Tommy had apparently gotten a little too close to the action, because his right front side is dabbled with grossness. that boy needs a bath. I didn't have time this morning, so I'll be doing that this evening... along with a million other things on my to-do list.

You know, any other time, this would actually be funny.

The end is near...


I made an appointment for Thursday at 5pm. I don't know if I can do it. she gets so bright eyed, and so interested. So what if she is wobbly and has times when she is so tired she is in that 'whatever' stage..

there is some construction going on at work, so I have wednesday thru friday off... which is probably a very good thing on several levels. I doubt I'll be at home with her the whole time.. cause she gets annoyed when I hover.

I can't talk much more about it. I refuse to greive until she is gone, and I get so close to tears even thinking about it.

I'm hoping against hope..

Thursday, July 26, 2007

ok, well maybe SOMETHING is wrong..


Geeze.. *shakes head*

I spoke to the manager at the shelter who I seem to work best with. The cat (or cats I'm not sure exactly who went and who was left behind) went to crazy psycho's (to be known as CPV) practice. as previously stated I was told (now granted this was third hand) that they were in good health, nothing wrong, try the low ash food. When manager called this morning I said they were given a clean bill of health, and they were still having major issues, and I didn't hide my frustration. so she suggested I call the vet I like, and see what he suggests. He suggested doing a stool and go from there.

Got a call back from manager. She said crazy psycho vet called to check up on said cats, and that maybe they should be on medication for three weeks.. arrgh. Ok fine. but I'm still gonna bring said stool to said vet and talk to him. cause CPV suggests that they only eat dry and no wet.. hun? what?? hasn't he ever read that the optimal diet for cats is protein, NOT carbs??? apparently not.. but there is no telling CPV anything that might even remotely be different from his opinion - even if you have clinical evidence. (cause JAVMA has published many an article on it) I'm a little surprised he didn't tell me to find a semi moist diet for them - like tender vittles - which has been his recent "cure" for loose stools.. yea.. cause all the chemicals and the carbs in that are a PERFECT diet for cats.. arrrrgh.

and honestly, keeping these kittens for another 3 weeks is freakingly dangerous. Both Cinnamon and Tilly are campagining hard for "cutest kitten" award. Cinnamon on her adorable actions, Tilly on pure looks. That kitten POSES!! Honestly.I need to get my camera back down there.. hopefully I can capture all that cuteness with out breaking my camera.

grumble grumble grumble.

Since CPV is the main vet for the shelter (provides services and medications, etc, at cost or at a very good cost) and they don't want to risk that by upsetting him (he doesn't have the title CPV from me for no reason) I have to follow the proticol and hope it works. I actually hope it doesn't work, but then I have to deal with three weeks of loose stool, cats and kittens not gaining - if not losing weight, etc.

from my limited experience from fostering for several years (not to be discounted - those who have their hands on things learn a lot) I have a feeling the medication will EVENTUALLY fix the problem - since I have a feeling they have an intestinal parasite that is fixed by this particular medication.

it will have nothing to do with the low quality food..

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

they say that nothing is wrong (fosters)


so I have been dealing with diarrhea with some of my fosters for a while now. We got a diganosis of coccidia, so we gave them all marquis paste which kills it in one dose. I also gave them nemex which kills round worms. Things weren't getting better, so I gave them a second dose of marquis paste. did another fecal - it was negative. was given metro (and I gave albon to the few kittens) and still no major improvements. - well five of the kittens are fine.. fat, happy, firm stool. two of the girls are still very small. and the mom's are still very VERY thin.

so I got them to go to a vet. Fecals were negative, physical exam unremarkable, everything seems fine, and in good condition - except the fact that the mom's are remarkably skinny, and have very loose stool. Not to mention the vomiting going on..

sigh

I hate not getting support for fosters.. I wonder if I can get my vet (who does work for the shelter) to look at them.

SHE SLEPT ON THE BED!!


My darling Em hasn't been up on the bed on her own for a while. The past couple of days my DH hasn't been putting her timed feeder down, so by the time I get home she's quite hungry. There has been twice she's gotten up on the bed on her own looking for treats.

This morning I put her on the bed to test her blood sugars, and she decided that it was a nice comfy place to lay, so she went to sleep.

I ran to get the camera and took pictures - yes I am silly! I love her so much..

Jack is in the preverbial dog house. I have been putting Em's pills in pill pockets to help her out. Well I put her 'treats' in a small bowl with the testing supplies and I had turned my back for half a moment, and Jack LUNGED forward, and stole a 'treat'. he was just barely tasting it when I grabbed his mouth and tried to get it out. Unfortunately I ended up pushing it further in, and he got to 'keep' his plundered treasure.. (it was 2.5 mg of prednisolone - not a good idea, but not a big deal) but he was on my bad side all day. He kept trying to suck up to me to get me to forgive him.

I must remember if he gets treats all the time he starts thinking that he can't live with out them, that he MUST HAVE THEM NOW! that is not a very enticing attitude in a cat - especially one that has no problem SCREAMING at you to hand them over.. So treats are out for a few weeks for the rest of the crew. Not that they need them by any stretch of the imagination.. they are all quite cubby lately.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

how does she do it??


I sweat this cat has more determination than I do - and that is saying a lot! Last night I was certain the end was here. she was having a very hard time walking, her coordination was off, and she was quite lethargic. I talked to her quitely, told her that it seemed the time was here, and that was ok, that it is ok to not want to fight any more, and we would do what we had to.

this morning she's up, she's interested in things, she gave my DH hell for not feeding her (I wanted to do it a little later in the AM)and when I went to put food down she walked as fast as her frail little body would let her.

When I found out what was going on, the vet said we had probably until June. At the time I asked Em if she could make it till Christmas - I think she's doing her best to do it.

Her eye has stopped producing goop.. which is one good thing. Both her nasal passages are blocking up and she is breathing through her mouth a great deal of the time causing her to drool. Her BGs have been pretty consistant lately which is good..

I have to listen to her. I can't imagine the guilt if I forced her before she was ready.. so one day at a time.. Today was not her day.

Wednesday, July 18, 2007

kittens


the kittens have entered the *we will NEVER sit still again* phaze. They are like kitties on speed. the only time they aren't moving is when they are eating (or using the litter box) but even that isn't assured, as they jockey for position.

I'm slightly concerned about Cinnamon (the orange girl) she has been sitting still. Her weight has been consistant around 56 grams. I told her if she didn't put on weight she was going to see the dr, so it was 57 last night and she ate for me. we'll see where she is when we get home.

dehydrated and constipated


her issue the other day was that she was consptiated. Forced some A/D with some pumpkin in her, and once things started moving along she was right as rain again - well as right for her anyway.

she is becoming more and more dehydrated too. I try to give her fluids to stay on top of it, but I always seem to be behind the 8ball on that one. I don't want to do too much, because when I do it throws off her balance and makes it hard to walk. so the last time I put half on one side, the other on the other..

When I locked her in the bathroom, she figured she'd never get out ever again, because she now locks herself in the bathroom, not leaving through the door but waiting to be let out by one of us. I don't mind her being in the bathroom all day, she's got everything she needs in there, and no one is going to bother her., but I feel bad thinking she wants to explore the house.. *shrug* I don't want to leave her outside the bathroom - because if she thinks she can't get out, she might not want to go in where all her food is.

She was getting ratty again. With the forcing of the pumpkin and her general over all condition, it was time for a bath. I wanted to make it as easy on her as possible. She didn't mind being held and put under the water last time, but it was very hard to get all the soap out.. So this time I filled up a large bucket and dunked her in it (water up to her neck) picked her out, soaped her down, then put her back in for a quick rinse.

she was mad. Growling, and fighting me.. it was kinda cute. I tried to towel dry her, but she was so mad she wasn't having any of it. She wandered off and tried to lick herself dry. which she could only slightly do. I ended up taking a hair dryer to her, and helping her out a bit.

I do love this cat..

Monday, July 16, 2007

The roller coster of Em


Now let me start off by saying she is still very stubborn, still very interested in life, and absolutely not ready to go..

but I fear I am not going to be able to let her make that decision.

As she stopped letting me pill her, I've been more and more concerned about her mouth. Her canines are looking almost translucent, which is very odd to me. I've been trying to get a better look in her mouth, and she does not want me to. well I forced her over the weekend, and the tip of her tongue has issues. I'm not sure what they are, but I saw blood. and recently she's been less likely to eat. She still loves the pill pockets I bought to try to help sneak her pills into her, and the temptations, but a plate of food is just not her thing.

I left her locked in the bathroom with four different plates of food.. regular canned, dry, a plate of yogurt, and a bowl of A/D mixed with water. Hopefully SOMETHING will be gone when I get home... if not I will be forced to attempt to force feed her. when giving her clavamox this morning, I grabbed a little of the a/d mixture with it, and squirted that into her mouth, which she took surprisingly well... so maybe forcing won't be a big deal. If it is, and if she won't eat on her own, I can't let her starve, no matter how much she wants to hang around - which I think will shatter my soul way more than her dying. I will be sad but ok if she tells me that it is time, but I don't know if I can make her go before she is ready.

I've also noticed that stability is becoming more and more of an issue as well. this morning while eating the pill pocket, she dropped it out of her mouth, and it rolled under her, she tried to get it, but almost ended up doing a somersault. Fortunately I was there to catch her. It scares me that she's still willing to walk downstairs.. but she does.

and to top it all off, she actually started to play the other day. DH took off his sneakers near her, and she batted after the shoe lace till the other cats joined in..

Friday, July 6, 2007

Jack, Muffin, Eli


Just a couple of photos of some of the kids.
Eli

Jack

Muffin

Kitten Picts



Tilly


Oscar - you can't see it real well in this photo, but he's getting a very light gray smokey under coat.


Nina, Buddy, Cinnamon, Tommy, Ginger, and Tilly in the front. Can you tell that Tommy is Male?


Tilly, Nina, Buddy, Cin, and Tommy


Miss Molly (front) and Miss Martha. I was cleaning the room and the kittens were locked up and they were THRILLED. They begged me for attention, they snuggled with each other. Almost felt bad letting the kittens out of the cage. I so hope they find a great home together!

A couple quick picts of Em


Em had a very bad night last night, and I was certain her time was at hand. I even took the day off today to spend with her. I had planned the call and hoped the dr could get me in on Sat.

That morning she was very exhausted, tired, her eye was quite goopy, she was run down. She totally enjoyed her morning treats.. but because of last night - I found her drooling and she didn't want me any where near her mouth - I made the call. While I was talking, she got up, and came over and sat at my feet and looked up pleading as if to say "please mommy, not yet"

she wouldn't stop. So I called the vet back and canceled it.





Em helping out with the assembly of our new table.

Tuesday, July 3, 2007

The unbearable cuteness of Tilly


This kitten is dangerous. VERY dangerous. She's almost irresistible. with the big fluffy coat, the huge "submit to my will" eyes, and the daintiest of meows.. that and she's so much smaller than everyone else (still not on solid foods)

I walked into the kitten room the other day and she was sitting in the metal water bowl I put down a few days ago when it was really hot and wanted to make sure they didn't run out of water. Well it had dried out... and she was sitting in it just as happy as could be, giving me the eyes, being obnoxiously cute. She's also quite the lady.. sitting right proper.

I brought her out to meet Tweedle, who is dying to play with the kittens.. Tweedle was all excited, but it just freaked Tilly out. she hissed, she rolled on her back, splayed her ears back.. (which in and of itself was stunningly adorable) I so can't adopt another kitten right now.. and if she doesn't fit in, she doesn't fit in. but I'm mentally trying to fit a square peg into a round hole if you know what I mean :)

Oscar finally figured out the whole eating process. He still wants food from me, but thankfully I don't need to any more. Just Tilly and Cinnamon seem to not have it down. They both are on the small side, but are getting nourishment from Mom (and maybe eating when I'm not around??)

the kittens all love each other too. Quite often find them all piled into a too small basket I have down there. Talk about your kitten piles!

I started Miss Molly on Metro the other day as her stools got soft again. She is obnoxiously skinny, and will nibble on dry food, but doesn't eat much more than that. This morning her tongue looked on the pale side, so I went into the shelter for some A/D and nutrical. Will force her to eat some, maybe give her an appetite stimulant and lock her in the cage with food and see what happens. Obviously if anything else shows up, she'll be making an emergency trip to the vets, and if she doesn't show improvement before Thursday I'll bring her in to see a vet. Miss Martha is starting to fill out nicely.. she needs some more combing as she has a few more mats. I feel bad, because by taking out the mats I'm leaving bald spots. Fortunately they aren't visable to look at her.

I did a post on Craigslist.org to try to find them homes before they go back to the shelter. I'm hoping they can go somewhere together. I got an email asking about them, but haven't heard back yet. I so hope this works out..

Em the demanding


Oh she's been spoiled, and she KNOWS it. What have I created?? :)

I can't complain.. she's still here, and that means the world to me. I found some photos of her from years past, and she looks like a totally different cat.. and it made me cry all over again. I was on the floor going through my scrapbook supplies to make a sympathy card for my friend who just lost her cat when I found them. I looked up from the photos to see Em sitting next to me, looking at me as if asking "Whatcha doin?" She's so sweet.

She's demanding treats all the time. She's demanding that I not clean her eye, and NOT pill her (this is new) Fortunately Im fast and good, and we get the pill down her before she has a serious chance to object. I'm sure she's objecting just because she can. She does that to me sometimes with the blood testing too.

the basement is finished, and we got a small pub table and chairs to put down there. DH brought it down Sunday night and Em supervised the construction (I have photos still in the cam at home) and ever since then she's been hanging out around them. I guess she approves :)

I just want to grab her and hug her and cover her with kisses all the time, but I annoy her right quick when I do that. Sometimes she puts up with me for my sake, I can tell. Sometimes she likes it..

She's stopped getting up on the bed. I'm not sure why. I think it is because the bed is so squishy that she has balance issues.. I miss waking up with her hogging my pillows.. but I suppose this is a good transition time for me. its also time for her to train my other kitties to take over some of 'her duties" like hogging my pillows (Jack's new job) or pinning me down while I'm trying to wake up (Muffin's new job)

I still have my moments when I feel selfish for keeping her around, but then she sits there and says "HEY! SERVE ME!" and I know that she's here and so wants to be here..

*must remember to get more treats for her highness ;)*
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