Who on here has a special needs cat?

I have 3 cats, all rescues. My one cat Monty had a problem with crystals and needed P-U surgery and then revisional surgery. So far he's doing ok but I can't get him to eat his special Hill's food. The other two cats haven't had any major issues, thank goodness.

On the other hand, my sister recently rescued a neighborhood stray, a gorgeous tuxedo boy who turned out to be FIV+. The vet also found he had a heart murmur so he can't even have neutering surgery. He needs more testing which will be expensive. Does anyone know if you can buy pet insurance if your pet has medical issues? It's a shame that people want to give the medical care that will save or prolong their pets lives but can't afford to. Maybe there should also be a Pet Health Reform Bill going to Congress?

Originally Posted by LDG

...and Ming Loy is also a CH kitty. The cats are quite used to her falling on them now though.

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Mine usually steer clear of Limpy-- he falls HARD!

also, FishTreatsMom... heart murmur should almost never stop the decision to go forward with altering-- unless the murmur is really severe but then there are other health problems that will go along with that. I have had several rescues (male and female) with murmurs who have been altered and are all fine.

My boys aren't really special needs..

But I once fostered a special needs kitty. She was found outside in the snow with a bloody stump as a back leg. She was rescued and fostered and was found out to be very pregnant. She had six kittens on a friday and was brought into the shelter the next day. I proceeded to take the bunch home and fostered them until her kittens were 8 weeks.

She was a very shy little girl who was quite misunderstood by her previous foster home (who assumed she was just a feral). But after some good TLC, she became a wonderful cat and got adopted!

- Milly and her 6 kits. Ace, Blackjack, Paulie, Pearl, Hope and Aurora

I have a three legged kitten - one of her back legs had to be amputated when she was much smaller.

Stumpy has half a tail, no teeth, and has had an auto-immune disease for the last 12 years. He's king of the house in spite of all of his problems.

Muddy has FLUTD and will be on a special diet and medication for the rest of his life.

Eightball has a cognitive disorder, probably due to a stroke. He's always been on the goofy side, and has just gotten a little worse over the last year or so.

All of my cats were born feral, but I don't consider that a handicap in the least. They just have a bit more personality than most cats.

Originally Posted by Momofmany

All of my cats were born feral, but I don't consider that a handicap in the least. They just have a bit more personality than most cats.

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I only do when dealing with other humans who have no idea ...

Tedi has had a heart murmur for almost two years and CRF for a year and a half. He just turned 16! He is on medication for his murmur and CRF and I give him fluids three times a week.

There are two here. Trace Tumblebrutus is missing all of his right rear leg, and Peanut Butterum is deaf. But, they both are well past their special needs and interact with the whole gang.

I agree with Katie _ all of mine are FeLv+, but they're not special needs, just special.

My big blue Himmy , Mr. Blue Snuggles was totally blind for about two years before he passed on. He got along well, as long as we didn't move the furniture , lol!!

Trouble has allergies and Sweetness is deaf. All mine were born feral except Sweetness, she was about to be euthanized along with her 4 kittens, we found all the kittens homes and we kept Sweetness. She truly lives up to her name. Sweetness also is a polydactyl and we have to take her to get her nails trimmed often (by the vet) because her nails grow into her paw pad

Cleo and Maggie both have CRF. Cleo gets medication, fluids and special diet. Maggie doesn't need treatment beyond a special diet. Maggie is also 'not quite right in the head.' I think she's probably a bit brain damaged due to chemical exposure from the fire retardant treated drape sheets that I used when she was a baby. She also exhibits many of the symptoms of Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome: Rolling skin on her back, tail lashing, frenetic licking at the base of her tail, dilated pupils and dashing through the house like her tail is on fire. She also likes to chew on electrical wires, and has tripped the circuit breakers several times (now all cords and wires are covered...a real decorating fashion statement!) Life is never dull with my goofy little Maggie around!!!

Torrie, I cannot express in words how much I love this baby girl of mine. Tears come to my eyes at even the thought of losing her. I would do anything and spend whatever to keep her. Unless she was suffering, i would never want her to suffer for a second. Torrie came to me with her littermates when i was fostering. She is a tortie with what looks like a lightening bolt under her eye and over the bridge of her nose. From day one she sneezed, coughed and blew boogers all over. The whole time i fostered her the docs had her on meds..none worked. they adopted her out, I really wanted to keep her but i had so many kitties.. about 4 months later while i was brining back a group of kittens..there she was in a cage across the room. She saw me and started meowing and pacing..I saw her and knew she had to come home. I would never let her go again. Of course she had the sneezing, coughing and blowing boogers all over. We went though rounds and rounds of meds, shots, tests. which all med her nervous and sometimes worse. They came back with feline herpes..she has some bad bouts and i swear she has asthma. No vet will give me an answer to that, I just get a funny look. My hubby has asthma and when he goes though a spell(weather change) so does she. The key is to love her as much as i possibly can, and keep herhappy and unstressed as possible. Although i have to go around the house every few days and clean uo booger marks on my walls..I don't care I love my torrie no matter what!!

Hey Torrie cat, you've certainly just stolen my heart!

Torrie is absolutely gorgeous!

Thankyou so much fot the compliments on My Torrie..Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

Kasey, my rescue tortie, has a problem with her left, rear leg and is pretty crippled up. She can run but can't jump or climb and when she goes down the stairs, both back legs "hop" together instead of walking down like the other cats.

The vet has examined her and says it is an old injury but there isn't much that can be done.

It happened before I brought her home in May 2008. Could have been a kick from some jerk where she lived for 8 to 10 years, hit by a vehicle, fight with some other animal, too many nights outside in our cold winters.....etc. I don't know.

She is a happy, indoor cat now, that still plays and loves to chase a string to the limit of her abilities.

I am very careful how I pick her up and set her down because I am concerned she is "fragile" from her injuries (which I know cats don't easily show), she has gotten used to being held and likes it, now. I have placed boxes as stages for her to get up on things she is allowed on, to compensate for the inability to jump.

She gets Dr. Maggies Joint Formula pills (glucosamine) twice a day, the big thing for her is they are wrapped in a bit of cheese.

She has improoved in the past year but I know will have issues the rest of her life.

Tolly has a seizure disorder and feline herpes. He's been on phenobarbital for almost 8 years. He also takes l-lysine to control the herpes. He also is prone to Feline Odonoclastic Resorptive Lesions, (FORL) a very painful dental disorder.He gets check ups twice a year, blood work annually (though I will probably boost that to twice a year this coming year) and I brush his teeth every night.

Mazy has FLUTD (struvite crystals) and has to eat prescription diet. She also has chronic ear infection problems. She takes antibiotics as needed for the occasional UTI or ear infection. Since she will not allow me to brush her, she used to have hairball trouble, so I have worked out a regular hairball remedy regimen for her. She gets check ups twice a year, a urinalysis once a year, and I brush her teeth every night.

Jennie licks herself bald down low on her abdomen. Usually the fur is just very short, with pink skin showing through. Occasionally she licks it to soreness, and then I use Animax ointment (prescribed by the vet) for a few days. I at first tried to redirect her when I saw her doing it, but she just started doing it when I wasn't home instead. She also licks other things, cupboard doors and table legs, mainly. I made her stop of course.

She has had some trouble with constipation, but following advice in this forum I switched her from a dry/canned 80/20 ration to a canned/dry 80/20 ratio, with the canned being grain free, and she is doing much better.

Jennie, like the others, gets check ups twice a year, and I brush her teeth every night.

Most of my skills, other than pilling (which, I have never met a cat yet that I cannot pill) were learned caring for Ootay, (rb 5/09) She had CRF, which was managed with sub q fluids four times a week for three years. She also had megacolon, arthritis, hyperthyroid, high blood pressure, heart murmur and stroke.

Through caring for my dear Ootay I learned many things including how to give sub q fluids (which is a very convenient skill to have as I am able to do it at home for other cats, when they needed it for a short time due to other illness, plus have done it for my mother's cats). I learned to give sub q shots also, special massage techniques, and even how to give a feline enema. (one should never do an enema on a cat unless you have been specially trained by your vet, and given the special enemas for felines)

I arranged my life around Ootay's care for the last three years of her life, and I would have done it forever. I couldn't be away from home for more than five or six hours at a time, ever, because she could not go any longer than that without food. Every time I left my house I worried she would have a stroke when I was not there to care for her, so I usually tried to get home for a minute or two every two or three hours.

Even without Ootay I still arrange my life around my cats, but it's not quite as limiting. I know I am not unique in this, of course, clearly most everyone here is as dedicated as I am. I haven't been away from home over night in over 8 years, since Tolly's seizures started. It doesn't matter. HE matters. THEY matter. You know.