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Post by happycat on Jun 9, 2015 17:59:26 GMT
These are my "foster" kittens Sylvie (black) and Herman. I took them in because my vet posted asking if anyone could take foster some kittens whose mother had been killed. The idiots who owned the mother let her outside in a yard with pit bulls. I've raised many babies that were too young to be away from their mother so my heart got the best of me and I decided to take these. When I got them, Sylvie seemed a little sickly, but she started to rally. Hermie was doing better than Sylvie. They were both doing pretty well until last Thursday. When I got up to feed them, Hermie was spinning in circles. I took him to the vet and they diagnosed him with "idiopathic vestibular disorder" which is a balance/neuro condition that has no known cause and no known treatment. He's since stopped spinning, but he's still holding his head constantly to one side which makes it next to impossible for him to eat from a plate which I was trying to get them to grow into. In the meantime, Sylvie has developed chronic diarrhea and she just goes whenever, wherever. The day before Hermie got sick, they had both gotten very adept at telling me when they needed to go potty. If they were on my bed, they would cry and I would take them to the box and they would use it. So they have both regressed significantly. I'm having to feed them both special food via syringe---Hermie so he doesn't get food up and his nose and Sylvie because she's so weak. I took them to the vet for the 3rd time yesterday and he said they had a virus and Sylvie was "weakening." I've spent a fortune on them and I'm afraid I'm going to lose them both. And by the way, in my case, "foster" is just another word for "take them in and keep them forever."  |
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Post by TwinFan on Jun 9, 2015 18:41:15 GMT
Your cat is named Sylvie? Well mine is named Silvy! Same pronunciation, different spelling.  Small world, I guess. |
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Post by happycat on Jun 9, 2015 19:28:44 GMT
You should post a picture! She's just one of my MANY cats. I've been taking in strays and rescues for 20 years... it adds up. This one is Happy, hence "happycat." I picked her up outside a restaurant. She was outside, pregnant, begging for food and nowhere near a residential area. I brought her home. She was too young to be pregnant and one of the 1% of cats who had trouble having kittens, had to have an emergency c-section and all the kittens died. $600 and I didn't even get a kitten out of it! But she is a sweet, wonderful cat. I was with a colleague who said if he ever got hungry he was just going to come stand outside my house and look pitiful. LOL  |
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Post by TwinFan on Jun 16, 2015 18:24:18 GMT
Just got around to uploading a picture of her but here's our Silvy. She's 8 and a half now, DSH with tortoiseshell coat. Such a character.  |
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Post by nate71 on Jun 17, 2015 4:54:03 GMT
Oooh, I soo keep my fingers crossed for little Sylvie and Hermie. I love cats. Sadly I'm allergic to them. We've a little dwarfhamster named Yosie here. :-) When it comes to animals I'm like you. We already raised a Jay, a little chicken, mice and foster rabbits. And as you say "foster" is just another name for giving them a forever home. Our vet always says, when I take a pet home, it'll never leave this home. :-) Please keep us updated on Sylvie and Hermie. Thinking of these cuties here and sending good healing vibes over to them.
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Post by happycat on Jun 19, 2015 1:08:45 GMT
TwinFan, your Silvy and my Happy could be sisters!!
Nate, my Sylvie and Herman have improved dramatically. It was touch and go for a while. I've taken them to the vet 4 times since I got them. They've been on different medicines and special food. They're both doing so much better now! Right now they're roughhousing with each other and full of energy. Hermie's head is still tilted just a little bit, but that's all. I'm transitioning them to "baby cat" kibble and they're eating well. They're still both tiny little squirts. I took Sylvie's picture next to a Beanie Baby last night and she's about the same size, maybe a little smaller. I'm happy though. I thought I might lose them both for a few days there. I think they're out of the woods!
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Post by nate71 on Jun 19, 2015 5:35:30 GMT
Oooh, I'm so happy to hear that the two are doing better. I know what you've gone through. I still know how it was when one of our gerbils had head-tilt and we'd to be at the vet mostly every day. It was such a hard time. It's always so hard to see them suffer. Just enjoy watching them play and explore everything now and grow. :-) Sending good vibes over to you and them.
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Post by rocknation on Jun 19, 2015 19:43:04 GMT
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Post by happycat on Jun 19, 2015 21:51:52 GMT
I've been following Tiger Tim's story on Facebook. I hope that wenchbag who threw him away for a stupid couch gets put in an old folk's home one day and no one comes to visit her.
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Post by Kathleen on Jun 20, 2015 0:12:35 GMT
So glad to hear that your "babies" - ahem foster cats  are doing better. Sadly I do the same thing and it takes a toll - but I'm a sucker and keep "adopting" cats that need help. |
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Post by nate71 on Jul 2, 2015 12:47:43 GMT
How're Sylvie and Hermann doing?? Thinking of them here. It's soo hot here in Germany at the moment. I'm really scared that it's too hot for our little Yosie.
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Post by happycat on Jul 11, 2015 20:04:25 GMT
I took Sylvie and Hermie to the vet yesterday, hoping they weighed enough to get a flea treatment (2 pounds) but pretty certain that Sylvie did not. Neither did. Sylvie is 1.5 pounds and Hermie is 1.8 pounds. Because they've both been so sick, we're careful to not risk getting them sick by treating them with anything that could be more harmful than fleas. I STILL don't know why I have fleas. I have hardwood and tile in my house and I treat my cats monthly. I even had an exterminator spray my house about a month ago. My BFF has a lot of cats too, also treats her cats monthly, and she has fleas too. They're like a plague this year. On the bright side, the vet said the babies are doing exceptionally well given how sick they both were. Hermie's head tilt has "improved dramatically." Now he just looks like he's asking you a question all the time.
In other news, my brother was helping a man with his Bush Hog yesterday and heard something crying in a ditch. You guessed it--he brought home a kitten. It's a solid black female. From a distance, I can't tell her apart from Sylvie. Up close, I can tell them apart because she's a little bit bigger and has longer hair. The man called my brother "The kitten whisperer." LOL The poor kitten must've been stuck in that ditch for hours because it was so dehydrated. She drank and drank and drank water when I showed her where it was. Just what I need, another cat.
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Post by nate71 on Jul 14, 2015 16:27:55 GMT
Awww, I'm just happy your brother found the little one. I know how it is. My husband always says, injured animals always seem to find me. :-) We raised a jay ones and also a chick. :-) Our Yosie is a little ill at the moment. She's a wound in her pouch and needs antibiotics. :-( I so feel with her. She's trying to eat but it hurts her so much.
I so keep my fingers crossed for Sylvie, Hermann and your new baby. But I know you'll raise them to be wonderful cats. :-)
Tomorrow we'll get another heat wave here in Germany. I hate that. Today it's raining cats and dogs and tomorrow it's getting hot again. Not such a nice weather for little hamsters. I only hope the infection won't get worse again. :-(
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Small world, I guess.
are doing better. Sadly I do the same thing and it takes a toll - but I'm a sucker and keep "adopting" cats that need help.