Worried about Simon, long one!

We adopted a cat from our local shelter 2 weeks ago, she became seriously ill in just a few days. I took her to the vet, who said it was hopeless and that I should either have her put down, or return her to the Humane Society. I called the Humane Society as an alternative and they insisted on paying for treatment for her. When they got her they immediately said "Oh, this is an upper resparatory infection." Having point blank asked the vet if it was with him saying it wasn't I disagreed but held my tongue thinking these are cat experts. After they took her to the vet(not my vet) they called back and said that it was an infection from her spaying. I said OK. Called the next morning and was told she was dead and that it was FIP, to get my other cat tested, and to go over my entire house with bleach. Well, Simon went to the vet that same day got a clean bill of health and my vet whom I trust alot said that it wasn't FIP and that he didn't know why they were saying it was.

When Lucy got sick she stopped eating, wasn't drinking, had severe diarrhea, and was vomiting bile. She didn't have any fluid retention, or seizures of any kind. Please keep in mind she went from a healthy cat, to a cat that wasn't feeling hot(when I made the vet appointment for first thing the next morning) to a cat that was on deaths door all in a matter of 3 days. I don't want anyone to think I had a kitty throwing up for days before I took her to the vet.

Now after all this happened I was told that her sister who was adopted out the same day died within hours of our Lucy. I was also told when we adopted her that she was negative on all the kitty bad stuff including FIP.

Now for the question...Simon has some mild diarrhea. He's eating and drinking fine, isn't dehydrated, his gums have good color, and his energy level is the normal kitten maniac. I put a call into the vet yesterday who doesn't seem concerned and told me to keep an eye on it. Diarrhea may be a strong term..it's not any more frequent than usual just quite soft. I'm obviously worried about Simon getting whatever Lucy had. My vet told me that was highly unlikely...he thinks Lucy had some sort of internal non contagious thing.

Any thoughts here folks? I'm worried about Simon but at the same time I think I'm being paranoid..as I said he's the picture of feline health other than soft stool(we are in the process of changing foods BTW I would put him back on his old diet, but he eats the new food much better...switched from an all natural cat food to hill's science diet)

Thanks, and sorry I was so long winded. Heidi

Oh dear, I think you are being paranoid, and I would be too.

Did the soft stool start just after you switched food?

How long after you got the new cat did she start showing signs of illness? Because if it was only a day or two, I would bet that she was showing earlier signs, especially compared to her normal healthy behaviour, and you just didn't know because you were dealing with her stress over the move. So I would think that Simon, if he were not feeling well, would have some warning, at least more than you got with Lucy.

I would monitor him closely, and follow your vets advice, but not panic yet.

That's really sad. Since Lucy's sister also died, I was wondering if it's too late to ask the shelter to arrange to have a necropsy(sp?) (I think that's the right word) performed on these cats to determine the exact cause of their deaths? I agree that you should just monitor Simon for signs of illness.

No, it's too late to get any tests done. I doubt the shelter would have done it anyway. I'm not down on shelters in general, but I'm really POed at the local one. They've adopted a "so what" attitude that really infuriates me. I'm not just saying that because of what happened to me. They've in the past two months: Put down 30 cats all at once instead of finding trying to find them foster homes to avoid fines by the state, had a cat come in that became ill(fairly standard I assume) and management decided to put EVERY cat they had down.(This was stopped by the volunteers...they found foster homes for everyone), according to my vet he's seen more cats than he can count come down seriously ill soon after being placed in the past 3 or 4 months, and we're not talking you're normal kitty cold here. They've changed management companies in the past 6 months or so. The employees are trying to get control AWAY from these new people but have to go through the right channels. GRRRRRR

Whew! Sorry about the rant but they REALLY piss me off.

Anyway, yes, the soft stool started after the new food. Should I switch him back to the old stuff he doesn't like very much or just ride it out?

There is no reason to switch food back, if the new food is better for him, or you want him to have that food. Its very tough on their systems to change foods, that's why we do it gradually, and eventually they should adjust. No point in giving up on progress you have already made.

And I would be angry about the conditions at your shelter too! I don't really get into the issues of management at the shelter here, I know there would be something to make me angry, and I don't want to know, if there I nothing I can do about it. I just keep giving them donations when I can and hope it helps. And I tell everyone I know to adopt pets from the shelter.

Loose stools are often caused by changing foods too abruptly. Don't switch your boy back, but if you haven't been mixed the 2 together to start, you might try that now. Start with about 25% of the new mix to the old for a week, go another week at 50/50, then the third week at 75% new. You do this for any change, even within same brands (e.g. science diet kitty to adult maintenance, lite or senior.

For the shelter, please remember that they, like any animal rescue group, works on limited funds. They cannot test all animals nor can they make all of them healthy before adoption. I'm certainly not defending what they are doing, just want to offer a different perspective. And unfortunately, there are good shelters and bad shelters out there. I think the people that work at them really do care about animals, but they are often hardened by the day-to-day realities of running them.

Oh I have no problem with the people that work at the shelter on a day to day basis, volunteers and paid employees both. I have a problem with the current management. They are a recent addition and unbelievably are trying to stay in the black.(This is from a volunteer that is a friend of the family.) The people that are in day to day contact with the animals were wonderful.