We brought home our new kitty today!

Did I miss something? Was there an outbreak of giardia at the shelter? Or some other reason you're so worried that she might have it?

Oh, I don't know. All I know is she is up to date on shots, and had a flea treatment when she was impounded in May. I'm sure the vet will give us lots of goodies tomorrow to kill things, and that the free initial vet exam won't be free at all... And I know how horrible giardia is, cos Genever had it, plus reading about Bear in the Health Forum... but I just can't keep her locked away! I'm also going to call the vet early in the morning to see if i can get in before 3:15 tomorrow. I made it late because I was thinking I was getting the other cat who had to be spayed and I'd pick her up tomorrow. Not no more!! We gots our kitty!!!

By the way, Genever was sleeping on the ikea chair, and Dorothy jumped on the foot rest thingy for it, they're only about a foot apart right now. Genever just looked up, then went back to sleep! Last night that happened and she growled and hissed. They're both sleeping now, about 2 feet away from each other!

Originally Posted by GoldyCat

Did I miss something? Was there an outbreak of giardia at the shelter? Or some other reason you're so worried that she might have it?

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Well Genever had giardia from the shelter when we got her 2 years ago. And sometimes when I've visited the shelter to browse the kitties, the cat colony rooms are pretty stinky if someone just went. So I am just assuming that all the shelter kitties in the cat colonies potentially have it.

Well, you gotta do what ya gotta do! Glad it seems to be working out.

I can understand why you're nervous about giardia. I bet she'll be fine, though. The stinky poop could've been stress or from a different food. Also, depending on what she's been eating, that can make the poop stink. Yes, stress can cause loose stools, too.

I'm guessing you've got a Feliway diffuser going?

I am praying for no Giardia for your new baby. If she has it, I will cry FOR you! It has been a sheer nightmare here with Bear. It is much worse with another cat in the house to become infected. Mostly, yet, it is the litter boxes. Bear was out in the house and my other cats did get it...but we (humans) never did. At least that is good news. My fingers are crossed for you! And so sorry Bear's story is scaring you.

The shelter where I volunteer had an outbreak of giardia about a year and a half ago. It took several weeks to figure out what it was, and by then had spread to all the cats. Then it took another month or so to clear it up. During that time they closed down the cat room, didn't allow any visitors, didn't take in any new cats, and didn't allow any adoptions. I would hope that if there was any suspicion of giardia at your shelter that they would not be adopting the kitties out.

Stinky poop does not automatically mean giardia. There are many things that can make it stinky, not the least of which is the low quality food that is all most shelters can afford.

Sending healthy for your new kitty and calming for you.

For what it's worth, we've had fosters with both coccidia and giardia. Both cleared up pretty quickly, no drama. Some of the cats (especially kittens) even liked the medicine!

Congratulations to Genever for her new sisfur! Hopefully there will be no hissing soon. Erica, kudos to choosing a new baby!

I like the name Jillian....you could always call her Jilly!

So glad to hear Genever is accepting Dorothy so quickly. Truly meant to be.

Can hardly wait until AFTER the vet visit so you can relax and start enjoying being a two cat family.

Aw I'm so happy to hear the latest on the intro! Hope it keeps up!

(Keeping up the no nasties vibes! !!)

Originally Posted by mrblanche

For what it's worth, we've had fosters with both coccidia and giardia. Both cleared up pretty quickly, no drama. Some of the cats (especially kittens) even liked the medicine!

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Thank you for some positive thinking. I am driving my BF up the wall with all my worrying and negative thoughts.

I got an earlier appointment for Dorothy at the vet this morning. The office girls and vet all loved her. She checked out ok. The vet agreed that there is definitely a possibility for giardia or coccidia, and that if the test is positive, we'll just treat both cats to be safe. She also didn't seem too worried about getting it cleared up if need be, and said even if Genever did use Dorothy's litterbox, she wouldn't necessarily get giardia (if D has it). So. I need to stop worrying so much!!

I mentioned the drinking lots of water, and MEOWING almost all night long. That made her think she might be older than 5, though her teeth looked good. So I agreed to get a blood panel done, just to see if there's any issues.

Meowing all night long. Yeah, that wasn't fun. Earplugs tonight, I think. I thought maybe she was lonely, because we had Genever in our bedroom last night and Dot roamed the house. But then I went to sleep on the couch to be with her, and she still meowed a lot. Sigh. I hope the neighbors in their camper in their driveway right up near our house can't hear her.. (incentive to get their house remodel finished sooner so they can move back in?? )

In the meantime, still not too much hissing from Genever. There's never been physical interactions yet except G-cat, while sitting on a chair, swatting at Dot's tail as she walked by once. So she's definitely tolerating her more. Poor Dot just looks at G-cat when she hisses, and walks away. With how laid-back Genever is, I really thought it would be the other way around. Oh well, I'm sure they will continue to work things out.

Don't read too much into the hissing. Genever is just communicating with Dorothy, telling her how things are. If she was going to object violently she would have done it by now.

it's all good. Let us know how the blood work comes out.

Oh I know, like I said in the beginning, G-cat is all talk. No physical attacks. In fact, I don't even think I'll bother to separate them when I go to the grocery store in a bit. (they've been sharing litterboxes anyway. I tried to keep that separate, but I failed. oh well. )

I posted some stuff in the Health Forum... http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=226741

Positive on the Giardia, and also Hyperthyroid. Boo to that. But we'll handle it. I really really really hope she quiets down at night once the HT gets controlled. I'm so tired!