Friday, August 29, 2008

I bad, I know.. foster update


Its been over a week, I'm sorry.

So mom didn't eat Thursday night or all morning Friday, so I packed her up and brought her to the shelter. They couldn't take her, so I got them to give her more fluids, put ointment in her eyes (so hard to do when you can't hold down a cat) and trim her nails. the shelter had a hard time too, so I felt better about things.

Brought her home, and left her alone with new food.. and she didn't eat it, but she did eat the day old stuff. Put more new stuff down, didn't eat the new stuff, ate the stuff that I had put down previously. Went on like that for a few days, finally gave her science diet - which most cats turn their noses up at, and she ate it. she is still a few pounds behind the eight ball, but I can see the end of the tunnel for her.

Kit, she's a riot. and like her mom very confusing. Almost immediately after my last post I started finding tufts of black fur all over the bedding. No spots on the kitten seemed bald, no sores, nothing. Next day, it look like the kit had exploded, black fur everywhere. Less the next day, but every day for a week there have been tufts of fur. Starting Wednesday I found a bald patch on her back - well not so much bald, but like my molting rabbit, much shorter fur in an area that I'm assuming her fur came off of. To watch her now, she almost looks like a sway back horse, because she's so puffy, except on her back.

I got her to finally nurse off the bottle. Warmed the cockles of my heart to get her to do it. and she LOVED it. but by Monday she wouldn't nurse off mom any more, and mom was starting to get mastitus from the backed up milk. So I stopped feeding the kitten and left her with her mother. Very heart wrenching day to see her not nurse most of the day, but when she finally started, I felt better - and I'm sure mom did too.

I have a web cam set up so I can watch them..
http://www.connieskittycam.linksys-cam.com

which caught these photos..


Shelter is also asking me to take yet another diabetic foster. I know I've found two homes for diabetic kitties, but I can't imagine how deep this well is. I just don't see another home out there. This isn't something that most people who love their own kitties are willing to take on. I don't know why they think they are going to find someone in the community to take it on.. but we can hope.

Celebracats


Ok, you've all seen the news stories on particular cats who went through some sort of tragidy, and made it on the news. I'm pretty sure I've blogged about it, and I know I've said it as much as makes me want to pitch kitties off roofs to find them homes. I'll do the jail time if it will bring some attention to all the homeless cats. (cause it isn't like there is much jail time for doing such a thing anyway)

so I just read
a follow up on the 44lb cat.

and the first comment sickened me. junipurr a worker at the shelter said:
Regardless, the cat's fame brought a very miniscule amount of cat adoptions to our shelter. This particular article is one of the only ones that stressed the urgency of homes for shelter cats, not only for our shelter, but for all shelters. This is so incredibly unfortunate. As this article mentioned, out of the hundreds of applications for Prince Chunk, not one person even considered adopting another one of our pudgy or fit kitties. How absurd! Instead of focusing on this unhealthily overweight famous feline, the media should be promoting adoptions of the hundreds of other homeless cats.

seriously? these people only wanted the 44lb cat? wouldn't look at another? arrgh.

So my new plan *feel free to steal this idea and pass it around, implement if you want* is that when ever you have celebra-cats, you do a lottery. Adopt a cat from the shelter, and you can put your name in to adopt the one that made it on the news. Sounds like a win win situation doesn't it? :)

yea, I see the flaws in it.. no, I'm not going to mention them cause my bitterness will show through.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

perplexing


So we took mom into the shelter. They took one look at her and said zithromax. I said there are a lot more symptoms than the stuffy and the sneezie.. so I listed them all out, they took her temp (103.3) and she ended up going to the vet. They kept her all day and over night. I called the vet to see if all her symptoms made it down there with her, and they said she was eating. I was floored, and said that the rest of the symptoms really didn't matter then.

Wednesday I went and got her from the shelter, and the paperwork hadn't come back, so I waited to hear what they recommended. I took some zithromax cause I was sure that was going to be involved. Finally got the recommendation of zithromax, and eye ointment with HC which I didn't have.

Now she hadn't eaten from the time I got her home (noon) till the time I got home (6pm) I was beside myself. Why would she eat at the vet. The only thing I could think of was that it was because she was locked up. so I force fed her 20ccs of food, gave her the medications (regular eye ointment) and covered the cage. well over night she ate all but 1/4 of the can of food. I figured I was out of the woods. Set her up with new food, set up the web cam so I could watch her, and off I went to work with her locked up.

didn't eat.

Ok so she had a little dry food.. but not enough to sustain her.. so off to the shelter we went. Not much can be done for her at the end of the day save for fluids, so I went with the intention of getting her fluids, and getting some KMR to supplement the kit - who is eating, but who always seems hungry. I figure mom isn't producing a great deal of milk, and supplementing the kit would be a good idea.

got several different cans of cat food - a variety of flavors. Offered them all to mom - she had a sniff, but didn't eat.

Supplemented the kit. Bottle feeding is NOT my forte, but I decided to give it another try. she didn't nurse, she chewed, but I got her belly full. I stimulated her to go pee, and she decided to have a BM. Kitten poop all over everything, bright orangie mustard bright poop.. I even have a little kitten poop on me - aren't you jealous :)

I had almost forgotten how freakingly cute one week old kittens are when you feed them. my last set was still kinda hissy at this stage (it happens) so I didn't get to see them discover their feet, and have them lick me and chew on me.. I'm so in love.. over the moon.. she slays me.. dead, right on the floor (how many other silly sayings can I throw in here?)

So I put kit and mom in the crate again, put the food options in there, and closed them all up for the night

*crosses fingers all the food is gone in the AM*

Monday, August 18, 2008

Sick mom


well the mommy kitty didn't eat last night. I gave her new food options, and left her for the day. Didn't eat all day. Force fed her a little bit ago, and have come to the realization she is beyond what help I can give her. She is going to have to go to the shelter for a vet run. Her eyes are running, her third eyelids are showing, she's blowing snot bubbles and I'm pretty sure she has a fever.

Kit seems to be doing ok though *knocks on wood* Still strong and nursing at this point..

Saturday, August 16, 2008

Getting along no longer necessary


This is a very sad post. Sorry.

Last night I woke up in the middle of the night Thursday night and just knew something was wrong. I went down to check on the kittens, and found the kitten I had introduced you to was having a very hard time breathing. I sat up with her most of the night, and tried to get her to eat, and tried to help her to breathe. After a couple of hours, I had to go back to bed. at four am I crawled back up to bed leaving the kit with her mom hoping that things would be ok. In the morning she was still breathing hard, and was turning blue. I rubbed her to get her going, and brought her to the shelter to get help. She went to a vet, and was diagnosed with pneumonia. I tried, but several hours later things were worse. She was cold, and breathing even slower. I tried to get mom involved, but she really wasn't interested in helping out. At 4:30 (after lots of involvement in between that I'm not posting about)I found her dead. completely devastating.

I could go on ranting about the horridness of the pet over population, and how this never should have happened in the first place, how the shelter is full, how there are too many cats and not enough homes, and how it is irresponsible for these cats to be allowed to stay in cages etc.. but I just don't have the heart. I'm broken. It takes a lot to rescue cats and know you can't save them all and still do it. and when you lose one so quickly, and there being nothing you can do.. ok, when I lose one so quickly and there is nothing I can do, I'm at a loss.

My last set of fosters went up for adoption today too. The tabby got adopted to an older woman who wanted a really spunky kitten to get along with her yr old cat and her GSD. She also adopted another yr old cat from the shelter at the same time. Hopefully things will go well.

My favorite of the tigers got adopted to another older woman who I think is a perfect fit. She said she was going to call her Mellow :)

Luna (aka Elle) couldn't be adopted today. I took her out of the cage when I got there, and found she had a HUGE hernia where her spay occurred. Something happened. It happened with the last set of mine that went to the same pet hospital. I wrote an email to the manager to let her know. I want to take it up with the vet, but I'm assuming it is not my place to do so. Makes me very unhappy though. later in the afternoon when I decided to go home, I took Luna out of the cage again to say good bye, and found that she had a HUGE bruise under the hernia. *sigh* I feel so bad leaving her there, but I don't think bringing her here would have been in her best interest either.

all too many times when I am dealing with rescue, I feel like I'm banging my head against the wall. I see them moving mountains in other areas, but when I advocate for something I'm put off. Just makes it hard.

I do have that second mother and her kit. they seem to be doing ok. Mom's third eyelid won't fully go down, but it hasn't since she gave birth.. she also seems to be blowing snot bubbles too, so I'll be keeping a good eye on her.. Got to love my web cam :)


Thursday, August 14, 2008

New fosters


Well, I packed up the kittens yesterday and brought them into the shelter. :( I hate saying goodbye. I know it is necessary for me to go on enjoying kittens, but I still don't like it. I know how much turmoil they are going to face before they find their new furever homes.. *sigh* Just part of their little lives..


So now I have two moms and two new borns. Last Thursday I stopped in for some food and left with this






Mom and her just born baby girl with the most unique coloring. Wednesday when I dropped off the kittens, I was asked to either pick them back up or take another foster as they didn't have any cages. Well I ended up taking another mom with her just born kitten. Mom is white with orange - but a bright almost koolaid colored orange, and her daughter is a tortie. This mom is /was kinda out of it, and after I set them up in the kitten room (mom one in the cage mom two in a large dog carrier) she proceeded to lose her kitten in some towels. Fortunately the kitten knows what it is doing, so I think they have a shot.

I did some very brief intros last night, a little hissing, but a NO stopped it. I did some more brief intros again this morning.. it went pretty well, but after a few minutes there was some more hissing, so I said NO and separated them out.. But they did break bread together.. although each had her own plate... but eating near each other is a great sign. I'm sure once mom number two has a few more days to get over her labor and she stops bleeding we might have a real good shot of getting these two to get along. It will be good for both of them, as they both really miss having full time attention. and it will be good for their kits because they'll have someone to play with and learn from

*fingers crossed that this works out*

Speaking of fosters, *sigh* they brought fleas into the house. I hate fleas. I've picked three of them off me so far. I've seen one on two of the cats, so I think we got things at the begining stages. I think Mom One brought them into the house. Mom two is infested, but she was treated, so hers will be dying off soon.
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