This site wasn't intended to become blogs about cats, but it seems this time of year I have no recourse. It is a big topic around here.
Last week I had high hopes for the three little ones I rescued, even though I knew they had been chilled for over 24 hours and never fed. The last entry about them was April 18. Since then, they have all died. Up until their last day they appeared healthy and then quickly they developed respiratory problems and died within 6 hours of the onset of symptoms. The last one to pass away was Big Rick. He died Thursday evening the 21.
Last week I had high hopes for the three little ones I rescued, even though I knew they had been chilled for over 24 hours and never fed. The last entry about them was April 18. Since then, they have all died. Up until their last day they appeared healthy and then quickly they developed respiratory problems and died within 6 hours of the onset of symptoms. The last one to pass away was Big Rick. He died Thursday evening the 21.
The kittens' passing was made even more difficult because on that day I found one of our feral cats, who is on the sweet and timid side. He had been missing for 4 days. He is very beat up. Two legs look like they could possibly be broken. He is not able to stand on them. His jaw may be broken. He is eating, which is good but he is having trouble swallowing. He is severely dehydrated and I have to force water down him. Today I will be giving him Lactated ringers sub-Q. I have been giving him penicillin shots twice a day for 36 hours. The reason why, is I wanted to scare away pneumonia and he has an infection somewhere on his body that smells really bad and I haven't found it yet. The odor has diminished substantially so I hope the infection is going away.
I called the Vet. He is sending out an oral antibiotic which he said was stronger and a broader spectrum than the penicillin. I hope I can get the pills down him. I am tired of giving shots and he is tired of getting them. I am going to have to give him lactated ringers sub-q twice a day till he starts drinking on his own. The plus is he's eating, consuming two large cans of cat food a day. I get him the gravy coated kind. Hopefully it will give him more liquid in his system.
Wish I had a healthy picture of of him. He's a silly cat, Non de-script brown and gray striped tabby, very gangly and lanky. He does have an outstanding feature. He is cross-eyed. He looks like a cat in a cartoon. Another anomaly is he cannot mew like a regular cat. He sounds like he has laryngitis. He cannot talk above a whisper.
Last night after taking care of "Cross-eyes" (BTw he answers to his name) I went into the barn. It was 9 o'clock. On the floor was a tiny kitten. She wasn't there at 4 in the afternoon. The cat in the cover shot "Priscilla", I think is the mom. She was growling at everyone at breakfast. The kitten was thoroughly chilled. I warmed her up and fed her sugar water (she had not been with mom, she still had her sac on her.) When I googled on raising the other kittens it said, kittens who become deeply chilled, their digestive systems shut down. The sugar water was to help warm their insides and jump start things again.
So far it has worked. She started eating with gusto when I fed her two hours later. She urinates and defecates well. She is very active (the other kittens weren't). When she feels my touch she goes crazy trying to climb into my hands. She is eating every two hours. No, I don't know if she's a she. I'm keeping vigilant for any changes in her health.
Thank you for looking in on our cats. Our cats protect my garden from moles and other rodents. We haven't had a rabbit in years. No self respecting mouse comes near the barn.
Catch my other blogs at:
About projects I create, including cooking, quilting, costume making, ect.
New entry called "the Wedding Quilt""
This is a garden blog, but it occasionally has recipes on it.
Three new entries about wild flowers on the farm.
One new entry about New baby chicks.
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