So, I got this email..

     We have a 13 year old cat that has been with us for a month or so and started drinking all of her water and peeing a lot.  We sent her to {redacted name of vet} and she is diabetic and has a UTI so I need a wonderful foster home for her :-)  Know anyone that may be interested.....?  :-)  She is going to be starting on 1 unit twice a day and as you probably know he recommends feeding her a high protein wet food such as fancy feast classics.  Let me know...

well duh.

So I went and got her after work.

She is interesting.  I introduced myself to her and she started purring.  I asked her if I could pick her up and I got the distinct impression she was against that.  I decided to leave her be while I got up to date in her information and checked on supplies (as well as a few kitties* in particular)  but shortly after I shut the cage door the shelter worker came in and picked her right up and stuffed her in a carrier... and stuffed is the correct term because she was totally unhappy at being held.

Her official name is "Bandit".. yeah, that doesn't work for me, and she doesn't much seem to like it, so I'm calling her Esmay. 

The shelter didn't have enough food nor enough testing supplies so I brought her home and cleaned up the room from Fluffy and left her in her carrier while I did it. When I did open the carrier she SHOT right out and started patrolling the room, walked around with purpose. She then went behind the couch and sat there. My husband had come in and we were having a conversation and I was about to leave and go get supplies at Walmart when she decided to come out and check out the room again. Gave it another quick once around and back behind the couch.

Went to Walmart, picked up a meter, strips and some Fancy Feast Classics as recommended by said vet as the new recommended foods.. I laughed and laughed because I've been using those for diabetics for ten years. I picked up my preferred Turkey and Giblets - even found a coupon on the shelf.

When I got home she was sitting on the couch, and was very happy to see me. She let me love on her, and gave me head butts. She is a very sweet kitty.. I feel so bad for her (more on her story in a minute) I was able to draw a little blood and was able to test her, and low and behold her blood sugar level was 53! I am guessing she was never diabetic and said vet (mentioned in yesterdays post) simply decided she was diabetic and that caused her urinary issues - it is very common. Diabetic cats often spill glucose into the urine and it feeds the bacteria causing a UTI. I got the vet paperwork including a blood panel they did on her, and I didn't see a fructosamine - which gives an average blood sugar level for the past few weeks. I know full well that a cat who is ill can have elevated blood sugar levels (I got very high blood sugar readings off Ollie once when he was feeling miserable) and I don't doubt the stress on her over the past few months (more on that in a bit) along with the species inappropriate food (dry) that often causes feline urine PH to dip too low ( hers was 6.5 instead of the 7.5 - 7.0 range it should be) and become alkaline instead of acidic which caused the urinary issues which caused her more stress, which made her throw more glucose and thus her reading at the vet of blood sugar levels in the 350s.

She was diagnosed at the vet on the 18th. She has been on antibiotics since then as well as a change in diet to a high protein low plant based diet and thus the better blood sugar levels. Might she actually be diabetic and giving her the right food put her into remission - absolutely. But reading over her history, I'm thinking that isn't the case. But I do not presume to assume that I am right in this and I will be watching her very carefully over the next few days.

Poor Esmay was surrendered to the shelter at the beginning of 2013 because her owner is ill. Just like poor Pumpkin, she was separated from her owner due to an illness. She is very fortunate to have ended up in a shelter with a high adoption rate and the willingness to treat a 13 yr old cat for diabetes - a diagnosis that makes all too many people run for the hills. There are soooo many cats out there right now that are diabetic that desperately need homes and finding a person who is willing to take on the challenge of testing and injecting a cat twice a day every day is hard.

So a thirteen year old kitty surrendered to the shelter. She was adopted out as a companion for another kitty. The new owner had her about a week before returning her because they did not get along. How sad is that.. a thirteen year old kitty given a week :( She got sick with upper respiratory issues and was on medication before being adopted.. so she lost her home, went to a strange place with lots of other animals, and noises and smells and weird people coming in and out, and she got sick and was medicated, then more people and then put in a carrier and brought to another house where there was another kitty and they didn't get along so another carrier and back to the shelter.. you get the point. Thirteen.. according to the charts that is about 70 years old..

not to mention her poor ear with a hematoma on it..








*Lucy was not at the shelter but had been moved to a satellite adoption center and I was told she is doing very well. Fluffy is still at the shelter and is on the adoption floor. Sadly she is in a cage instead of one of the adoption rooms, but considering her limp I am not surprised. I'm going to do a write up for her in hopes to generate a little more interest in her. I do love her dearly. I was telling my husband about my seeing her and he asked if I wanted to adopt her.. of course I do, but we are so not the right fit for her. We are a two level house with hard wood floors and rambunctious kitties.. I could not give her what she needs

Update: I tested her this morning and her blood sugar level was 59. I was a little concerned that maybe the meter wasn't working properly. I went upstairs to find a bottle of test solution (which gives a standard BG reading) while looking for it I also came across another meter I had so I decided to test that one and the new one with the solution. While they did not give the exact same reading - which is pretty standard - it was close enough that I am no longer concerned about Esmay being diabetic. I was able to trim most of her back claws. I found a wetish discharge in her hematoma ear which was pretty gross. I combed her because her short hair felt a bit matted and she is apparently having grooming issues due to being overweight as she had some dandruff and excess fur which felt a bit like matted fur, but there were no mats. She is REALLY sweet, but very much a tortie (even with her white locket) she does NOT want to be on your lap, she does NOT want you to decide where she is going to be thank you very much. I could do pretty much what ever I wanted to her as long as I didn't hold her down nor move her around. I so do love a kitty with an attitude. :)

This looks to be the last Fluffy update

I wasn't able to see her on Wednesday as the shelter isn't open past the time I get out of work.  I checked in with her Thursday and she seemed to be doing better.  She was eating if someone paid attention to her and her stools had firmed up a bit.  I asked what the plan was for her.  Their intention was to put her up for adoption so I left her there.

I stopped by on Friday to take some more photos and visit with her and Lucy.

Lucy was happy to see me but dismissed me pretty easily.  She is definitely waiting for her family to show up and she'll know 'em when she sees 'em!  Purrs Lucy.. and I hope you get in that home right quick.

I then went and saw Fluffy.  When I walked in she curled her tail around her face and tried to pretend I wasn't there.

You can see some of the food they have been trying to get her to eat.  She'll eat a few bites if you give it to her, then she stops eating after a few bites.  I totally get the need to leave the food near her, but she so won't eat it.. :)

When Fluffy realized I was there to pay some attention to her, her whole demeanor changed.  She was the most active she has been since being at the shelter.

She was very happy to see me.  The shelter learned she likes Temptations so I gave her some and she ate them for me. She asked for belly rubs and let me kiss her.  She wasn't up for adoption on Friday, but she had gained a few ounces, so I was much less fearful for her and I found it a little easier to let her go in my heart.

no.. don't let me go, bring me home, let me curl up on your lap

Hopefully she will make it to the floor soon.  While I was there two women came in to the shelter and before I had left they had taken another Himmy home (more on that later) and a beautiful chocolate seal point boy went home between the time I saw him Thursday and the time I went back in on Friday.

Fluffy is Ectrodactyl.  It is other wise known as Lobster Claw Syndrome.  I am assuming it is genetic, and I am assuming it is the result of over breeding.  She is missing the claws on her intact front paw.  I can only assume that they were removed by a vet at one point, but I can not say it wasn't also genetic.  I would so love to get an x-ray of her paws and see exactly what is going on with her, but it is totally unnecessary and in the end it absolutely will not matter.  What is is what is.   As a result she knows she isn't fully capable of catching prey and will only go after the slowest of 'prey'. It is so cute to watch her play.

Best wishes Fluffy!  May you live in the lap of luxury, in a one floor home with lots and lots of plush carpet.

Darn tootin!

another trip to the shelter

Lucy is doing very well.  I was able to peek in her mouth and her jaw is healing up very nicely.  She let me pat her and love on her, but she clearly gave me the message that I am NOT her people and she's busy waiting for them so thank you for stopping by.. (it was actually kind of cute)  She is currently up for adoption - and is one of only a dozen cats available so I'm sure she will be going home soon. I can't believe they are so empty.  Hurts when I see shelters putting down litters of kittens and I'm sitting up here with a room just waiting for kittens.

Fluffy is still in limbo.  She ate a little for a staff member who gave her some attention.  She ate a little for me when I was giving her attention.  But she has lost some more weight, down to 6lbs 12 oz.  :(   One of the woman is going to check on what is going on with her tomorrow and let me know.  If she needs to be there for one reason or another, I'm fine with that, but if she doesn't need to be there, I'd rather her be at my house while things get figured out.

Lucy and the Dental

So yesterday Miss Lucy went back to the shelter for her dental.

Tuesday was interesting.  I immediately went and fed her when I got home from work to give her the option to eat something.  I went out grocery shopping and when I got home I spent some time with her.  Once again she chose not to eat.  Sadly she was back down under 8lbs.  I warned her that she was about to lose all food for the night, and she scoffed at me, daring me to do it, so I did.  She gave me the back of disdain and I gave her a kiss and went to bed.

In the morning she was oh so happy to see me, and did a little dance about where the food bowls had been and I had to laugh - not to mention I felt a little bad that I couldn't feed her.  So I plopped her in the carrier and off we went.

I was very fortunate to be able to observe the dental.  I was told she would be done at around 1pm so I went off to work and showed back up at the right time.  I had visions of taking all kinds of pictures to share with you but when the time came I just felt uncomfortable asking, so I just observed.

The tech did a bulk of the cleaning which is pretty standard. She was very efficient and did a wonderful job. She let me get a good look at Lucy's teeth and the tartar she had built up.. maybe not as good as I would have liked but I didn't want to be intrusive nor did I want to make it so Lucy was under sedation any longer than necessary. It was pretty bad.  The tartar completely covered the back upper teeth.  It was so bad it was causing some gum erosion and there was an excess of puss.  She used what looked like a pair of pliers and pulled chunks of it off.

One piece from one side,
and I don't have small hands

She made note of every time Lucy "chattered" when she touched a tooth.  Lucy didn't chatter, but she did move her lower jaw like she was chattering to a bird.  It is a pretty standard reaction to a cat during a dental when something hurts.

The vet came over and took another look at the teeth, paying attention to the ones the tech noted, and he proceeded to take her two rear upper molars - one on each side.  I watched the vet pull them out.  Some parts seemed to go very easily, some seemed to be a lot of work, so I asked if they were coming out easily, and he said they were very easy to pull out that the infection had worked up into the root to loosen them.

He said he didn't think she ever had any care to her teeth, and that the infection had to be brewing for months at the least.  He believed Lucy had been seriously hurting for quite some time.  The removal of the teeth left two huge gaping holes that he didn't want to suture up because he didn't want to sew up the infection and cause abscesses.  I left Lucy at the shelter to rehab there.  She will most likely be having bloody drainage for a few days, and a darn good chance her diarrhea will come back.  While it won't be as comfortable there as it would be here, she will have more eyes on her more often than she would here.  I told them if she freaks out or they feel she will do better out of the shelter she is welcome back.

I do have to say it is so interesting watching surgery.  The cats go under sedation so quickly, and the staff always work so efficiently.  They aren't delicate in it, so it can be a little disconcerting to watch them manipulate the cat, but you can tell they care and are very proficient in their job. I am beyond thankful that the staff at the clinic allowed me in to watch and get a better idea of what Lucy was suffering with.

So makes me want to pin all of my cats down and give them a good scrub to their teeth.

I wish you well Miss Lucy. You really are incredibly sweet and anyone would be lucky to have you.

So once again I'm foster free.  Spring is only 20 days away.. when cats start going into heat and mating will begin..  *sigh*  as much as I love what I do, I so wish I was out of business.

a bit of progress

Last night I posted on FB that I was hesitant to go down and see Miss Lucy.  Before I open that door every possibility is possible (Schrodinger is in full force) and I could imagine that she ate every bit of food and was begging for more.

Finally I put on my big girl pants and went down and sadly most of the food still seemed to be there.  Maybe an ounce was gone.. maybe.  I turned and saw that some of the dry was gone - which is something.. junk calories are better than no calories at all.

Then I saw this

first firm stool since I got her!  YEA!!  Nice to know I was right about the Clav.. and just when I was starting to doubt that might have been it..   Sadly she did vomit, but it was 90% hair, so I'm not going to worry about right yet.

Lucy, like most girl kitties and quite a few boy kitties, has developed a thing for my husband..

Probably because he doesn't medicate, he doesn't groom, he doesn't poke nor prod.. I can't blame them.  He helps me water her but patting her and distracting her.  Last night I was able to get it all in her the first try with no leakage.. all in all a good night.

Now if she'd just eat, and eat heartily..

24 hrs clav free

Well so far no change.  her stool is still pretty liquid, she still has quite a bit of gas when she 'starts out', and she still isn't eating all that well.  I did weigh her when she showed up and got 7lbs 8oz.  I'm now getting a reading of 7lbs 12.5 oz which I can't complain about.  She gets fluids once a day.  I should do it twice a day but she doesn't much like it and she leaks every time I do so it takes quite a bit of time to get them in her.  My heart aches for her.

I did try to force feed her some yogurt, she acted like I was trying to poison her.  I tried to slip some into the food she wasn't eating and she didn't eat it.  *sigh* she is a difficult one that is for sure.  I suppose I could force her, but the stress isn't going to help the situation in the least, and I fear that it would do more harm than any good I could with anything I could give her.

She is not a lap cat, but she is a "next to a lap" cat.  She likes being patted and I'm fairly certain she will come to like having her belly rubbed.  She starts to turn to expose her belly when I reach for it, but as soon as I have my hand on it she remembers what is going on and stands up.  She is a really sweet cat.

Besides bad teeth, low weight, matted fur, and the dehydration she is dealing with, she also seems to shake on her hind end when she stands to eat - which is probably why she doesn't eat much at any one time. Since she is so sweet I am not sure if she is painful or just weak.  I will mention it when she goes back and see what the vet wants to do about it.  Part of me is hoping that the procedure will be done somewhere I can observe, because I would LOVE to get a good photo of her teeth to show you what lack of dental care can look like in a kitty as well as I would love an opportunity to get all of those mats off her belly.

She really could use some purrs to help her get through this.  What I would love is for her to put on a pound or more, but what I will settle for is firm stool..

Lucy vs clavamox

So when Lucy came to me, I was given fluids to give and clavamox to dose her with to give her a head start with the dental, which I have seen done often.  I also know that clavamox can lead to diarrhea in some cats.

And wouldn't you know it, Lucy is one of those cats. :(  I didn't worry about it much at first, but come Sunday she had it all over her pantaloons and I couldn't much deal with that, so I went into the shelter to see what else could be done for her.  I know there is an alternative antibiotic to give, but I couldn't remember what it was, and I'm not really sanctioned through the shelter to tell them what medications to dispense anyway, so even if I did remember that it was antirobe (aka clindamycin - I looked it up after I got home) I'm not sure I would have gotten it. I was given some suggestions on what to give her, but none of them were really going to work since she is not eating very well at this point.  I left with not many options, but I got a call a bit later to take her off the clavamox, so hopefully by now her stomach has settled some and her stool firms up.

While I was at the shelter I checked on the kittens.  Owen and Shortcake were there, Clyve, Victor and Anubis were at the local home show.  I can't tell you how badly I wanted to go up there, as I was told they brought harnesses for them - and oh what cute pictures those would have made to share - but it was snowing and the roads were kind of bad and even if I had left immediately there is a chance I would have missed them anyway.  *sigh*  I emailed the woman who brought them, hopefully she has a few pictures to share.  As of noon on Sunday, only Clyve had been adopted.

When I went exploring the shelter, I saw they brought up some more kittens from the south.  One little black and white kitten apparently made everything around her great.. (it was the description on her cage card) How cute is that??

A little brother and sister pair were underneath her.  Squiggy and Zorro.  Squig had a few things to say about being in a cage..

Do you have a tin cup to spare?

and then there was this..

Poor little 2 yr old girl is pregnant.. and apparently a little uncomfortable about it (notice the leg)  I so wanted to open up the cage and rub her belly, but I was covered in "other kitty cooties" and I didn't want to pass anything to her or from her.  I can't tell you how badly I wanted to snatch her up and bring her home, but I'm not sure Lucy would appreciate it (or maybe she wouldn't appreciate Lucy) and there are other foster homes who can handle a simple pregnant cat - where as there only only a few comfortable giving fluids and pilling a cat with bad teeth.

There will be more kittens in my future - of that I have no doubt.

Goodbye... Hello

I got word on Thursday that I could bring the kittens back any time.  I almost brought them back Thursday night to prevent having to get up early on Friday, but I just couldn't do it. I needed one more night with them, and they were perfect.  They were cute and cuddly, but not nearly as cuddly as they had been.  It felt like they were ready to move on even if I wasn't ready to let them go.

It is silly, because several members of The Crew are super snuggly, so it isn't like I am snuggle deficient or anything..  I guess when it comes to kitties, you can never have enough snuggles..

It was made a little harder on me because the shelter has a few events this weekend that they wanted to bring a kitten or two to.  They kept asking me to pick one or two.. how hard is that.. to prevent them from the opportunity to go home with their siblings.. I wanted them to take them all!!  Keep them together.. *sigh*  but knowing that no one is going to adopt all five of them, I ended up picking Anubis and Clyve - so they are going to the museum and then to the home show while Shortcake, Victor and Owen will stay at the shelter to be adopted.  Anubis and Clyve will join them on Sunday afternoon.  None of them can go home this weekend since they aren't neutered.  They will be adopted and then neutered on Monday and then go home.

On Thursday I was also told that they had another kitty who needed some help.  10 year old owner surrender who has bad teeth, but she wasn't eating at the shelter so she needs a week to de-stress and get on the Connie Plan of Weight Gain.. She is on antibiotics and fluids twice a day - well the fluids are until she she starts eating well.  Her name is Lucy.  I have no idea what I was expecting, but I was a little surprised when I saw this

Is this going to be a black and white year?? :) She is really sweet, quite talkative, and she hasn't met a door she hasn't wanted to walk through.  I brought her to work for a short time and she walked around and around and tried to get through ALL of the doors many times.  One is glass that goes out into the hall and at one point a mother and child walked by.  Lucy took one look at the child and quickly turned and walked away.  The child took one look at Lucy and she almost couldn't be pulled away from the window, it was really cute.

She was also quite matted.  I took her back to the shelter instead of heading home to get the mats shaved off.  They took off some, but not all, and she so doesn't want me to comb them out, so I'll have to make note for the vet who does her dental.

Speaking of her dental, oh my goodness. Her poor teeth.. well I think she has teeth under all that tartar... there is so much of it that it looks like she is wearing a retainer

She ate one treat out of three while at work.  She ate a quarter of a can of fancy feast (some fishy smelling food) she turned down the raw and the dry food offered.

She is fluffy, she is sweet, but she is bone-y and has many small mats all over her belly.. and for some reason I keep calling her LucyLu..