Lizzie
07-06-2006, 11:46 PM
There are times when I love having lots of cats, such as Saturday mornings when I look down the bed and grin as I see 7 or so furry faces looking back at me as they cuddle in. But right now I'm going mad.
Kitten 1 had a gummy eye and Kitten 2 was sneezing so we started cold treatment on Saturday - Amoxy, Teramycin. Since 3 had been with them, I left him there and treated him as well. They continued to eat well, play fight, etc. and I thought they'd be well by the beginning of next week. I took Kitten 2 to the emergency vet last night because he suddenly got worse - nothing they could do, I just have to keep up the supportive care which now includes force feeding. I came home tonight after talking to my vet and set up another room to separate Kittens 1 & 3 from 2 and found 1 had also got worse so only the big brother is on his own and he's crying furiously. 1 and 2, after meds and force feeding are now in the bathroom on a bed together as I run the hot water. I can't afford to buy a humidifier after all the vet bills.
While rushing around getting the force feeding together, I found that one of the adult cats had sprayed on the stove top, right across the heat coil and up over the back of the stove. I knew there were spraying problems but I kept cleaning up and telling myself it was just my FIV+ guys all settling in together. I lost one stove to a previous cat spraying on it and I'm not about to go broke losing another, so now I'm looking at which ones are the likely sprayers to be isolated downstairs. I'd so hoped to have a home where all the cats could mix together at last, but these sprayers always end that dream.
The four big FIV+ boys, I call them the Black & Tux Boyz, have started harassing the semi-feral females and there was a major fight tonight. I feel like sitting them down and saying "Look, you can go back to the shelter, they will take you, but I really don't think you want that. I saw Dallas there a few weeks ago, and he's miserable. So, shape up, keep your pee for the litter box, or move out!"
It looks like no heavenly laze in bed this weekend but cleaning, moving furniture, putting up plastic, separating cats and nursing the babies. Sigh!
Kitten 1 had a gummy eye and Kitten 2 was sneezing so we started cold treatment on Saturday - Amoxy, Teramycin. Since 3 had been with them, I left him there and treated him as well. They continued to eat well, play fight, etc. and I thought they'd be well by the beginning of next week. I took Kitten 2 to the emergency vet last night because he suddenly got worse - nothing they could do, I just have to keep up the supportive care which now includes force feeding. I came home tonight after talking to my vet and set up another room to separate Kittens 1 & 3 from 2 and found 1 had also got worse so only the big brother is on his own and he's crying furiously. 1 and 2, after meds and force feeding are now in the bathroom on a bed together as I run the hot water. I can't afford to buy a humidifier after all the vet bills.
While rushing around getting the force feeding together, I found that one of the adult cats had sprayed on the stove top, right across the heat coil and up over the back of the stove. I knew there were spraying problems but I kept cleaning up and telling myself it was just my FIV+ guys all settling in together. I lost one stove to a previous cat spraying on it and I'm not about to go broke losing another, so now I'm looking at which ones are the likely sprayers to be isolated downstairs. I'd so hoped to have a home where all the cats could mix together at last, but these sprayers always end that dream.
The four big FIV+ boys, I call them the Black & Tux Boyz, have started harassing the semi-feral females and there was a major fight tonight. I feel like sitting them down and saying "Look, you can go back to the shelter, they will take you, but I really don't think you want that. I saw Dallas there a few weeks ago, and he's miserable. So, shape up, keep your pee for the litter box, or move out!"
It looks like no heavenly laze in bed this weekend but cleaning, moving furniture, putting up plastic, separating cats and nursing the babies. Sigh!