The patient....

ipw533

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I'm working with a difficult patient and have been for the last few days, but I'm finally making progress.

This was a feral kitten I captured a few months ago who has lived in my home since then but has generally avoided human contact. Clarence would roughhouse with the other cats but ran away when we approached him. Then he disappeared for a few days. We thought he was just hiding but became concerned; we found him in the bedroom closet.

He had a bad eye infection and a wound to the side of his head; the wound was on the left and it was his left eye that was matted shut by pus and blood. He was also showing some signs of a respiratory infection--nasal discharge mostly, no soggy breathing--and he was dehydrated. He was so debilitated that he barely resisted when we handled him.

The first issue that needed to be addressed was his dehydration. He was not drinking on his own. In a clinical setting a dehydrated cat would be given 100 to 200ml of fluids by means of a suspended bag, tubing and a needle--I had no such equipment.

A cat has fairly loose skin--this allows you to scruff them but also permits greater flexibility in treating them. If you pull on the skin at the back of the neck and it quickly bounces back you're dealing with a healthy cat--if it slowly returns to form the cat is likely to be dehydrated.

A cat also has an extremely vigorous immune system capable of fighting off some serious infections--I've seen enough cats recovering from nasty bite abcesses to appreciate that. But a dehydrated cat is a weakened cat, so addressing that was paramount. And all I had was a 1cc syringe. So every three hours for the last few days I'd give him subcutaneous injections, 10ml at a time, while applying antibiotics. Before doing any of this I made sure his claws were trimmed.

Animax was applied to the wound on his head. The eye still needs to be regularly cleaned as there is still a blood and pus discharge, but it's abating. The eye itself appears to be undamaged, leading me to think the infection was in the surrounding tissue.

Clarence's appetite has returned, and he's been getting canned food with lysine mixed in. This morning it looked like he was finally drinking on his own. I intend to complete the course of antibiotics (including liquid Clavamox) for the next few days; I'll watch him to see if he still needs fluids.

While we've been doing all of this we're also working to socialize Clarence. He needs little restraint and usually just curls up and purrs when being held. I'm really interested in seeing how he reacts to us once his medical treatment is done....
 
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ipw533

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Clarence has responded well to his treatment. He is no longer dehydrated or lethargic but is still getting the Clavamox--got to use that all up. He no longer needs the eye medications and has an almost completely healed scab on his head. He is eating and drinking on his own and has produced both a good amount of urine and solid stools; he's feeling well enough that he needs to be scruffed while being treated to keep him from escaping.

He's still a little wobbly on his legs, but that's from inactivity--he's been moved to a bigger cage where he can move around a bit more. He still doesn't care much for human contact and tries to avoid us but purrs and generally doesn't try to fight when we hold him. In a few more days his medical treatment will be finished--then the hard part begins....
 

krz

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The fact that you are able to hold him is a good start in my opinion. My first feral rescue wouldn't let me even touch her for the first year.

Glad he is on the road to recovery.
 

StefanZ

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Originally Posted by ipw533

In a few more days his medical treatment will be finished--then the hard part begins....
Im not sure about it. As long he recognizes you DID helped him through his being severy sick - it can be the big opener, the WINDOW for easy socializing opening again.


It may be he will be reluctant because you forceheld him. But the opposite is fully possible - and quite common.


Nice work done!

Good luck!
 

nurseangel

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Bless you for what you are doing for this kitten!

Take heart; my Daisy was a semi-feral stray and we weren't even able to give her pain medicine after her spay. We couldn't touch her. She would start growling when anyone walked into the living room and actually attacked me a couple of times without being provoked . Now she's cuddle-bear, especially with DH. (She still bites on occasion, but she's a sweet cat.) So being able to pet your kitten is a great start. I'm sure he'll warm up eventually, especially once he's feeling better.
 
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