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June 2013 Moms
RileighsMom1224
member
New Kittens, should they stay or go
RileighsMom1224
member
About a month ago our long time cat was hit by a car, after a rough night the veterinarian was unable to save him. I was devastated, we had had Monty for a long time. We got him when my husband and I got our first apartment together. To help me get over the loss of him my daughter and I went to our local shelter and ended up getting two new kittens. They are brother and sister, and the shelter was running a special, buy one get one.
They were supposed to be healthy, have all their shots and dewormed. Last week one of the kittens got really sick. He had diarrhea and with out giving too many disgusting details he was very sick. I took him to the vet and $200 later we found out he was infested with worms.
We bought over the counter stuff for the sister kitten and she also passed some worms, but now she is not using the litter box. I am frustrated and I don?t want to spend anymore money on these kittens and am thinking about giving them back to the shelter.
I have a 4 year old and being pregnant I am not supposed to be around cat poop much less consistently bathing sick, poopy cats and scrubbing my carpets.
What would you do? I am thinking of having my husband drop them off back at the shelter tonight. I like the kittens but the cost of getting them healthy is getting expensive and since they are still small they should find new homes quickly.
Riley 12/24/08
This discussion has been closed.
Re: New Kittens, should they stay or go
I'm not new. I just hate The Bump.
I also suggest you thoroughly check to make sure they truly have received all of their vaccines. I cannot tell you how often people bring in puppies or kittens under the belief that they have been fully vaccinated. That may be the case at that time, however kittens and puppies need multiple vaccines every 3-4 weeks until between the age of 12 and 16 weeks. Also, depending on what kind of worms the other kitten has, the over the counter meds might not work and they may not be a good option. I would call the vet and see what kind of worms the kitten had as well as find out if the dewormer you administered was the right one. GL
We adopted a very sick cat once. She was in a shelter then in a disgusting foster home. She had a severe respiratory infection and ringworm, which is extremely contagious and extremely hard to get rid of. She couldn't breathe, had lost patches of hair all over and was scabby and bloody everywhere, and sneezed blood and snot all over everything. She also had litter box issues and had to be completely retrained. We had her at the vet three times and it cost hundreds in care and treatments. My dog and I both got ringworm...more expenses and treatments. I had to give her three medications a day plus a cream and a bath every other day. We had to throw out the rug, futon cover, and anything else soft that she had come in contact with in the room she was confined to. It took a good four or more months before she was healthy and another two months before she started to look like a normal cat.
She still has residual litter issues and can't purr due to the scar tissue from how bad the infection was. She snores, too. But she's an absolute love, and I'm so glad we put in the time and effort to save her. It was frustrating, sure, but also very rewarding, and I wasn't willin to give up on my commitment to her.
The kitten poop shouldn't be an issue for you. Toxoplasmosis is mostly seen in adult outdoor cats who have come into contact with and/or eaten wild animals. I would definitely suggest confining them to a particular room if they're sick and havin litter issues.
Good luck with your decision.
This. It should pass soon, within a week or so tops. If not, ask if a family member can care for them until they are?
ETA: Thanks for the title....now I have that song stuck in my head! (this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqH21LEmfbQ)
This. They may be stressed too, which would make their stomach issues worse, but at this point you've committed to them.
Make a pregnancy ticker
I definitely agree with this. Especially if they've been indoors - the chances of their poop being harmful to you (apart from the general harm of having to deal with lots of cat poop) - is super slim.
I'm definitely on the adopt a pet for life bandwagon. DH adopted a sick cat from the shelter (it took months for him to kick this upper respiratory infection) - and we just dealt with all the snot all over the house. It's worth it in the end.
I hope your kittens get better soon!
DS born 6/2013
This. We adopted a 'healthy' 14 week old puppy a couple years ago. He had kennel cough and was at the vet once a month for a year straight for UTIs (a physical problem he later grew out of). He also has severe separation anxiety, which has cost us a sh*t ton of money for stuff he's destroyed. Oh, and he was just at the vet last night, he has early orthopedic disease (he's only 5) and will likely need to be on meds for the rest of his life.
But, we love him and would never give him up. I think that when you adopt an animal, you're committing to it AND it's health problems.
Me:27, DH:28 - DX: MFI, varicocele repair Nov 2011
Post-Op SA: Count- 15 million, Motility- 75%, Morphology- 3%
IVF with ICSI - Stimming 10/4/12 - 10/13/12, Lupron Trigger
ER 10/18/12, 12 eggs retrieved, 8 mature, 5 fertilized
5 day transfer 10/23/12, 3 frosties
Beta #1 11/5/12: 453, Beta #2 11/7/12: 1,013, DD born 7/19/13
I am glad that you are willing to try. Unfortunately some people wouldn't and it can mean life or death for these little guys sometimes. Just as an FYI - you can do a fecal test 2/3 times and be negative even if they have worms. They have to be actively shedding eggs to determine if they really have worms and unfortunately most shelters do not test at all. They simply deworm once or twice and assume the problem is fixed unless the cat is showing signs.