Little Ginger girl

Another Ellie update.  She continues to slowly improve health-wise.  The verdict is still out whether she has asthma or just a stubborn URI or some other problem, but the only lingering symptom now is intermittent snuffly breathing when she is stressed (like when our kits come near her or there is noise upstairs) and it sounds to me more like nasal congestion than lung problems.  So tonight I started her on her follow-up oral antibiotics as tomorrow will be 2 weeks since her long-action antibiotic injection.  I was worried she wouldn't take it in food, but I mixed it in with a small amount of Whiskers chicken with gravy (one of her favorites vs. a more solid healthier food) and stayed with her to make sure she ate it all.  I probably haven't mentioned before her behavior of vastly preferring to eat while I am present (she will leave food in her bowl if I go to do something else and then immediately resume eating when I return).  Likely a hangover from those desperate days at her abusive people's house before her rescue, when I would bring her a covered bowl of warm food in the evening and stay to make sure she ate it before it froze and give her probably the only human contact and affection she got back then.  Poor little girl.

Rather than go through the trauma of another capture and probably sedation for vet follow up I will take in a stool sample this weekend to re-check for parasites, especially lung worm.  We did do a stool check and blood panel before, but another check would be good I think.  Otherwise I'll just keep up the antibiotics and the Lysine supplements for now.  And yes, fish once or twice a week and try adding some raw meat to her diet, I do wonder if she might have food allergies.

Her socialization is slow.  I'm thinking that I made a mistake in allowing her to choose the basement shelf as her refuge as it allows her to stay isolated from us and the other cats upstairs - a good thing when I thought she was contagious but now working against us.  However, she has been upstairs a few times to explore, and is also starting to move from her shelf and explore the basement beyond simply going to the litter box.  Several times in the past few days I came down to feed her and found her not on her shelf but elsewhere in the basement looking around.  So I am hopeful that she will eventually integrate.  Also when the weather warms up that perhaps she might like to have an open window to sit by to get some fresh air and eventually go outside.

One other oddity:  Ellie seems to have short legs compared to her body.  Does that mean anything to anyone?

and another update - tonight I grabbed an opportunity with her being exploring upstairs after eating to shut the door to the basement and see how she does up in the wider world.  Right now, hiding behind the kibble box in the kitchen but we'll see how this experiment goes!  lots of hidey holes for her upstairs and it's much warmer and food a-plenty.

We are making slow but notable progress:  the last 2 evenings Ellie has visited upstairs and I repeated quietly closing the door to the basement for a while.  Last night she made straight for the food bowls and sat there happily eating leftovers (even though she had eaten most of her own dinner!), drank some water, and sniffed at the kitchen litter box.  I brought her snuggle bed up and put it under a table in the kitchen where I thought she would feel safer than out in the open. After sniffing it suspiciously (this isn't the right place for my bed?!) she went into it and washed herself and slept for nearly an hour.  Then some rather rambunctious romping by Picassa and Mr. Patches spooked her and she ran back to the door so I let her back down, but she walked (rather huffily!) rather than fled down the stairs.  She is still often bad-tempered, very wary of me touching her and inclined to hiss and swat, but she seems to be slowly coming around.  I am thinking of bringing her Felway diffuser up to the kitchen tonight if she comes up.

Her breathing seems normal now but I have her on the follow-up antibiotics to be sure this rotten URI gets completely gone, she still snuffles a bit if she gets agitated.   If all goes well I will check with our vet in a few weeks about having her spayed in the spring.

 YAY!!!!!!  What good news. She is moving right along. I'd say sleeping upstairs in the kitchen is progress indeed! 

Ellie update:  yesterday she ventured OUTSIDE and enjoyed the warm sun on her fur for a while, chased a few leaves, explored our (fenced) yard all under my close watch, and then voluntarily came back inside.   So lovely to see her out and about from her 'captivity' in the basement during the cold and feeling so much better.  Her breathing seems fine now, she's eating well and gaining weight.  Next step is spaying.

Yea Ellie!  So happy she continues to progress.

Great news! 

That is terrific and it shows that she truly trust you and knows you are good for her. YEAH!!!!

:sun: :sun: :sun: Oh that is absolutely wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm so happy for BOTH of you! :heart2: :rub:

That is wonderful news!   She knows where home is now.  What a lucky kitty.

Ellie is still doing well, though still mostly hiding in the basement - it turned cold again so she hasn't been out since her big adventure over the weekend.  Recently I started her on a grain-free food, Red Barn Naturals chicken, which she loves (although our other cats turn their noses up at it). She's cleaning up her food dish, 2 x 5.5 oz. cans a day; she comes out eagerly when I bring her food and can't wait to chow down!  I've noticed a big improvement in her -- residual snuffles have cleared as has her one runny eye, she is more affectionate and now hardly hisses at all, her rough fur seems smoother, and she is finally showing some interest in the other cats.  Of course it could be just the long course of antibiotics has finally cleared the URI completely, but could it also be she has food allergies that have been contributing to her respiratory problems?  I did post previously that she loves raw fish too and have considered transitioning her to more raw food, but this food (although rather expensive) really seems to be good for her.  Any thoughts?

Hi Lrose, Ellie has a big appetite. I personally couldn't do raw. I hate touching raw meat. I hardly buy meat for me. I'll eat if when I go out but I just can't stand touching it. I wish I could but I've been studying how to feed my felines better and have been feeding 90% can and 10% ( for a snack) dry Blue Wilderness. My one baby, Buster Brown, was just diagnosed diabetic. I had a diabetic feline, ,10 yrs ago as a result from a steriod shot. He had received one a month previously. Now Buster Brown is overweight and I've had him on a diet but unsuccessfully. Where did you find the Red Barn Naturals? I could do that. I live in Colorado. I'm from N.J.by the way. Maplewood. Did you order it? The raw is the best I know but since I was a child I had this fetish. Thank you and you're doing a wonderful job with Ellie and your other rescues. I wish everyone was like the people I've come across on this site. Thank you for caring for a sickly ginger cat that would of surely died.

Hi Jodie

I'm not a big meat person either, which is why their "raw" to date has been mainly fish, which as others here have confirmed, does not give enough nutrition for a  regular diet but more like treats once or twice a week (a pity, we love fish here!)  The Red Barn food is available on Chewys.com which deliver free over $49.  Only trouble I find with it is that they mainly have 12 or 24 cans of something in the same flavor, and if the cats turn their noses up at it there is a lot of wasted food unless you have other ferals or strays to feed who it!   Sadly my gang won't eat Blue Buffalo or many other healthy foods, and I have enough backlog of them to donate to my local shelter (nice for them but bad for my budget!)

btw, I was worried afterwards my post might sound like a commercial for a particular food; not so - 4 other cats won't touch it!   But Ellie likes it, and seems to be doing well on it.  She has not had a big appetite before and has only slowly been putting on much needed weight, which is why I was so pleased with this result.

And --- I'm no saint.   We had our hands full with our 3 rescue kittens and their mama, and no way I wanted another cat, but there she was suffering so much there was no way to ignore it. 

Thank you Lrose and even though you had your hands full you still were there for her. That says a lot. I might try Red Barn as mine will eat almost anything. I did give mine fish also until I found out that too much wasn't good for them . I'm just learning and I've been a feline parent for 30 yrs. I was so ignorant. I was always blessed with healthy felines ( I don't count the previous diabetic, the steriod gave him diabetes) Now I've had numerous health issues which was a result of
bad nutrition. Diabetes and urinary issues plus reoccurring stomatitis. Now I'm working on getting their immune system back on track.

This is a wonderful site. I wish I found it yrs ago. Thank you again.

Hi friends

Ellie continues to improve, I've had her on grain-free food for nearly a month now and her health is way better; apart from a slightly runny left eye all her respiratory issues finally seem to be resolved. She is starting to venture outside quite regularly (happily always coming home in short order) and coming upstairs more often, so I am making a vet appointment for her to be spayed next week.  I'm sure the capture and into the carrier will be traumatic, but it's time and past time for this to be done.  It's been a very long haul, and she is still not what I'd call social - but she is getting there slowly. 

That is good news. She's coming around on her terms.

She knows her home. I pray she continues making progress. You will never know the life she had before you found her and how she ended up where she did. Poor baby girl. She'll come around when she's ready.
She's doing great. I was thinking about her. I'm glad you wrote.

Oh what a lovely update!!!! SO nice to hear she's feeling so much better! I'm sure the antibiotics did their job - but the grain free food is likely helping too.

And she's visiting upstairs more often - that's great! Each positive experience will keep reinforcing that it's OK to expand her world. :heart2:

Awwww..........

Great to hear the good news about even more progress!!! 

thanks for the supportive replies. 

I made a vet appointment for Friday, figuring I would be home on the weekend to monitor her after spaying and shots and anything else that needs doing.  It was a tough decision to take her to the (very expensive) vet vs. the (very cheap) spay/neuter clinic, but at the end of the day I felt I just couldn't risk her health by not going with the vet, where I know she will be constantly monitored for any problems and not (quite) so stressed vs. being one cat in a carrier amidst many yowling kitties and dogs.  Not to dump on our local clinic, they do great work, but I just feel Ellie needs extra care because of her medical history and general crankiness. 

And she really is improving.  This morning (a late work start for me) she actually came up to me while I was sorting laundry and rubbed against my leg and ASKED for a gladly given petting and then followed me around for a few minutes before retiring to her safe spot on the shelf.  Her trust issues are huge, but she seems to be gradually getting over them.

On another note, Mama Patience is finally getting really friendly and has started warming up to everyone and almost stopped hissing at her kits when they "invade her space".  My favorite interaction today:  outside playing in the garden and Picassa ran up and dabbed at Patience (in play) - then retreated with an expression like "oh oh, what did I do, I'm in trouble" - and Patience actually gave a little play lunge back.  Wow, Patience playing, and the world has not ended!  That's taken over 6 months, so I'm hopeful for Ellie.

That's great news!  Yes, I agree about taking her to the vet for those reasons too. That's why even though it's 11 miles across town, I take angel to an all feline vet.  They are up on all the latest, are a hospital, & I don't have to worry about dogs being there to stress him out. Going to the vet is stressful enough for cats. I think ALL vets should at least have a separate waiting room for cats.

Maybe even a separate entrance. 

I also make any of those kinds of appointments,( one that is a procedure) on a Friday so I will be home over the weekend to keep an eye on him as well, & not going to work, leaving him alone at home the day after. I did that not to long ago when Angel had his teeth cleaned, in case he needed an extraction, (like 3 yrs ago), & he did.  (Despite brushing his teeth).