I have to take this matter into my own hands. . . please advise

OMG AGAIN!  I went to see Ms. Cockshutt at dinner time and there was yet ANOTHER MONSTER tape worm in her litter pan!!!!  That poor poor kitty!  Will there be more????

KateFriday said:

OMG AGAIN!  I went to see Ms. Cockshutt at dinner time and there was yet ANOTHER MONSTER tape worm in her litter pan!!!!  That poor poor kitty!  Will there be more????

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Could be a different type of intestinal parasite (roundworm?). Maybe have another stool sample done to make sure you are treating her for each particular parasite. Once dewormed with the tape medication - you would not see a large worm in her poop in the litter box. It is important to deworm a cat twice and two weeks apart for complete eradication. Profender is a topical dewormer and if that was used then a one time application is usually sufficient. Orals need to be done two weeks or so apart for them to be effective. If Ms. Cockshutt was only dewormed once then the worms would be back within two and a half weeks.
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/four-common-worms-in-cats

Hmm. I am surprised the vet is waiting to spay her then as he already mentioned spay/abort. She was trapped over two weeks and now she would be that much farther along. Should have been done asap then and not wait this long as the kittens would be growing and it is probably much too late now. I am in no way frustrated with you, hun, but the vets should be on board with wanting to save more kittens being born into this world without homes. Seems their attitude is a bit lax. But my words may be moot as she may not even be pregnant. :cross: Keep us posted.

Hi Feralvr.  She is enrolled in the "Foster to Surrender" program with the SPCA and they are at full capacity taking in 200-300 cats per month, so it doesn't surprise me that they are behind schedule.  Ms. Cockshutt has been given two de-wormers by the SPCA to date, round worm and tape worm.  I may be mistaken about what I saw in her litter box the second time, but I know for sure that she passed a tape worm the first time.  The bloating on her tummy has come down.  Her nipples are not appearing as they should, provided she would be pregnant.  She appears to be the same as she was in late August, with less bloat.  I am certain I would know by now just by her appearance if she is pregnant and at this point, I am ruling it out, although I am  not a vet.  I will be putting in a call to them when they open today to see if I can find out anything on the next step.  btw she has also been deflea'd, delouse'd and demite'd   Her elimination is all normal and food/water intake is normal.  She is now letting me rub her belly.  I'll keep yas posted on what information I get from the SPCA today.  Thanks so much!

KateFriday said:

Hi Feralvr.    The bloating on her tummy has come down.  Her nipples are not appearing as they should, provided she would be pregnant.  She appears to be the same as she was in late August, with less bloat.  

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I was thinking the same thing that her bloated appearance was probably due to having worms and not being pregnant. And, you would probably know by now if she were because she would be getting bigger and her nipples would be changing too. This is all great news and then her spay is not a rush because she is safely indoors with you. :heart2: Great job and it sounds like the SPCA has covered all the bases in getting her healthy. Your doing a great job with this lucky girl.

Hi!  I called the SPCA and was told that the day I brought her in was a Saturday and the vet is not on site on Saturday's and after some discussion on the phone was told that there should be positive signs of pregnancy by now and due to there  not being any signs, she's most likely not pregnant.  They will be de-worming her again in 2 weeks time.  And having the vet see her for spaying is still up in the air.  I will only be able to remove the screen and introduce her to Ms. Tabi a week after the second de-worming.  Given the fact that the screen door has been in place for a week now, I will do the "sock rub" a week after de-worming as scent will change due to this process I imagine, so we will introduce them 2 weeks after the second round of de-worming.  Joe and I will have towels on hand to throw over them if things get out of hand.  

Ms. Cockshutt is very content.  We never hear a peep out of her, the only time she meows is when I say "hi" when I go into her room.  Tabi on the other hand is the big talker and she can be long winded at times when she wants something lol  And Joe and I are learning the different sounds of her meows for different things.  You would not believe how long the "meow" is when she wants to go out to the barn.  I didn't think such a little bodied being could have such an enormous set of lungs! hahahahahahaha

Aw, good to hear that Ms. Cockshutt is so content and happy. I am sure that her and Ms. Tabi will become fast friends ! You are doing a great, great job.

Hi All!  Hi Feralvr and thanks for your kind words.

Well, so far, so good.  Ms. Cockshutt has been given the second dose of her tapeworm medication and will be cleared to meet and greet Ms.Tabi on Sunday.  About 4 days ago, Tabi couldn't contain herself after listening at Ms. Cockshutt's door while I was in there having my time with her, when I came out, I was a little too slow at closing the screen door and Tabi bound inside the room and slapped Ms.Cockshutt on the head whereupon, Ms.Cockshutt sought refuge in her outdoor shelter, that I placed inside her room when I trapped her.  I had a towel handy and opened it up and it didn't take much movement to poof Ms. Tabi out of the room.  There was a spot of blood on a blanket and after further inspection to both cats, it would appear that Tabi's slap to Ms.Cockshutt's head is the source where the blood came from, but it was superficial.  Tabi has been on a homoeopath remedy for worms and parasites due to her trips into the barn.  She doesn't usually eat the mice she kills, but a week ago there was one with the face missing. . . but her having fun time in the barn, it can't hurt to deworm her once/twice a year.  And this is all natural ingredients, so it's all good.  

This Sunday we will be opening the screen door.  I will be in the room with Ms.Cockshutt with the towel on hand and Ms.Cockshutt does have her outdoor shelter in that room still and that's where it shall remain for quite some time to come.  The entire room is really hers, it's her turf that Tabi will be invading, and Ms.Cockshutt will eventually venture out and invade Tabi's space.  Well, say a prayer for us come Sunday and keep your paws crossed!

P.S. Ms. Cockshutt is not pregnant.  I'm not a vet but there's no belly fulla kittens there.  The poor girl was just all bloated up bad due to worms and parasites.  She is feeling much better now and seems very happy, she is always purring when I am with her.  I am dying to take the screen door down and have some normalcy back in the house. . . I want Ms.Cockshutt to own this house just like Tabi does.  They are both such darling cats and I have heard that if cats don't get along, they can cohabitate and just not socialize with each other.  We'll see what happens, but neither one of them will leave me, no way, no way in hades!!

Hi katefriday,
You are doing an amazing thing by helping her (and her unborn kitties). I as well took in a feral 3 months ago after feeding him outside for several months...
Surprisingly, the trapping process went smoothly. ( although I felt like a horrible person doing that to him, I knew it was for the best) I bought a havahart humane trap, placed a sheet over it and put it out very early the morning he was to be trapped and taken to be neutered. That morning i placed his food in it and within a few minutes I heard it go off. He did jump around and he did get a small scratch that the doctors said was minor. When he was in the trap, we moved him to the car where he seemed fairly calm (or in shock) and took him to the vet for neutering, vaccinations, microchipping etc. he has been with us ever since and we will never let him out, and love him so. I agree with you about outdoor cats and tnr. He won't let my husband or myself pet him yet, but we are making progress everyday. We also have a 15 year old sweet Maltese dog, her name is Malibu. They have not gotten to close to each other yet and everyone is fine.
I purchased my trap on amazon, but I do Believe there are some shelters etc that will let you borrow one as well.
Good luck!!! And thanks for taking care of this sweet girl

Hi Stacyb, thank you for sharing your story with me.  It has given me much hope for our future with Ms.Cockshutt and Tabi living under one roof.   And I must say thank you to you too, as you have done such a wonderful  thing yourself to rescue a cat, where most people turn a blind eye.  I don't believe in feral cats, never have, never will.  These cats are mankind's creation and they were never intended to roam wild and fend for themselves.  When there's a dog on the loose, it's always a big deal and there's much attention brought forward to rescue the poor dog, I wish we lived in a world where the same could be said for cats.  No one deserves to live on the streets or in the wild.  Yes, we have humans living on the streets as well, but the ones who do not want to be there find a home.  It is my belief that the vast majority of humans who live in the streets are there by choice.  Cats and Dogs do not have the luxury of making the choice, we created them, the choice is ours to make and I say neither cat nor dog belong in the wild.

heh, ok, sorry about the rant. . . it just gets my dander up!

The SPCA called yesterday, but I got the message too late.  I will be giving them a call this morning to see what's up and keep ya's posted.

First of, don't be sorry about the rant...I completely agree with everything you said! Secondly, do let us know what happened with the call

KateFriday said:

I don't believe in feral cats, never have, never will.  These cats are mankind's creation and they were never intended to roam wild and fend for themselves.  When there's a dog on the loose, it's always a big deal and there's much attention brought forward to rescue the poor dog, I wish we lived in a world where the same could be said for cats.  No one deserves to live on the streets or in the wild.  Yes, we have humans living on the streets as well, but the ones who do not want to be there find a home.  It is my belief that the vast majority of humans who live in the streets are there by choice.  Cats and Dogs do not have the luxury of making the choice, we created them, the choice is ours to make and I say neither cat nor dog belong in the wild.

heh, ok, sorry about the rant. . . it just gets my dander up!

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I could not agree with you more.

Hi all. . . I will be dropping Ms.Cockshutt off to the SPCA on Dec. 22 and picking her up again on Dec 23.  They are going to spay her if indeed she isn't spayed already.  I am still going to introduce Ms.Cockshutt and Tabi this coming Sunday, with water bottles and towels on hand, and I will sleep in the guest room across from where Ms.Cockshutt is staying if I see that she is keeping to her room at first.  If there's a upset in the middle of the night between them, I am just a few feet away from the bed to her room.  After her surgery, I will confine her to her room until she is well healed before I reintroduce her to Tabi.  I just don't want her incision to get messed  up if she does get into a scrap with Tabi.  I really can't stand this anxiety, it's killing me.  It would be much worse if she had of been pregnant as introduction day would be that much further.

Again, Thanks everyone!

. . on second thought, I will postpone introducing Ms.Cockshutt to Ms.Tabi until she is completely healed from surgery.  If I do so this Sunday and take her in for surgery and they discover fresh wounds, I will be in a heap of trouble because Ms.Cockshutt does not belong to me, she is a ward of the SPCA at the moment, and they can sue me for negligence.  So, I guess I wait to remove the screen until just after the new year or so.

My neighbors cat is almost a stray. Its starves like one. Anyways he would never sit next to me or let me pick him up and never played. But a few weeks passed and he even comes inside. Maybe just keep food from her and put it indoors so she will willingly walk in.

Hi desigirlmonica, I think you may have responded to the wrong thread hun.

Actually I had the right one I guess my information is just unwelcomed sorry or totally off subject! Im deleting my account anyways . This site isnt for me

desigirlmonica said:

Actually I had the right one I guess my information is just unwelcomed sorry or totally off subject! Im deleting my account anyways . This site isnt for me

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Well I never intended you to feel your comments were unwelcomed. . . just if you read through the thread you will see the progress that I've made thus far with Ms. Cockshutt and will realize that your comment is irrelevant in the timing of things because I already have her in the house and contained in a room and now going to the spca to be spayed . . . so logic would dictate that befriending her and leaving food outside for her was already accomplished as well as trapping her and rescuing her.   Now it's a matter of introducing her to my house cat after her spay surgery is healed.  

Im totally sorry I didnt see the update. Im new to the site and forums in general.

desigirlmonica said:

Im totally sorry I didnt see the update. Im new to the site and forums in general.

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No need to be sorry, I'm very new here and at first didn't realize there was more than one page to a thread if need be.  It's a little confusing at first.  Please don't leave, us newbie's gawda stick together eh lol