Hi there! I am a veterinary assistant at a nonprofit spay and neuter clinic, but up until yesterday did not own any pets of my own, as I really hadn't been in the financial position to do so responsibly. A few weeks ago, a retired vet who actually started the clinic nine years ago brought some cats to the clinic from an outreach situation involving a woman with over 25 cats living in her trailer. They all had terrible flea infestations, and even with Capstar the night before and Advantage that morning, there were still fleas jumping off of them. Many of them were essentially feral. Some special cases stayed: a kitten with a terrible eye infection and his mother, three kittens with upper respiratory problems, etc.. Among them, was a scared little orange tabby who had lost her leg. How it happened is mostly unknown, but we were told that when she was a kitten, it had gotten infected and "fallen off." When she arrived, it absolutely festering. With daily cleaning and injected antibiotics, it was able to recover. We thought more of it would have to be amputated, however since we do not have the necessary instruments to do so, she was taking to a full service vet who decided that she wanted to wait and see how she did living out of that environment. I primarily cared for the cats, including the scared orange girl. She would hiss and occasionally growl, but never bit or struck at me. Unfortunately, the opportunities I had to interact with her mostly consisted of cleaning her leg and giving her shots of ampicillan, which burns a little.
When the aforementioned retired vet mentioned that she wanted her to be adopted instead of returning to the trailer, I volunteered. I brought her home last night after she was spayed.
At first I let her out in my room, but she took to hiding under the bed. I would have been okay with this, but it is necessary for me to be able to reach her so I can give her oral buprenorphine and check her incision regularly. I was able to get her out from under the bed and we moved her, her food and water dishes, and her litter box to our closet (it's kind of a walk-in deal). After I gave her the first dose of bupe, I sat with her on the couch and gave her scritches (her neck is still a little itchy from being irritated by all the fleas) and love. She relaxed a lot, and while she hasn't purred yet, she wasn't shaking or trying to run away.
She spent the night in the closet, and when I checked on her this morning, she'd drank water, eaten most of her wet and dry food, and used the litter box at least once. She also ate the two treats I left on the bottom step of her litter box. When I went to pick her up, she hissed, but didn't run, and enjoyed the neck scritches while sitting on my chest in bed. I let her down in the living room area, and she immediately started to look for other kitties. I feel terrible, because she's always been surrounded by other cats. Even at the clinic, there were cats in the cages above and beside her. She later hid behind the dryer until I retrieved her, and is now lying the nook of my arm on the couch while I type this. I'm a little confused because she's kneading on my chest, but shaking a little?
She also seems to really enjoy being cuddled and pet by me and my boyfriend, but gets nervous about us she's on the ground, not being held by us. I guess what I'd like to know for now is:
1. How to help her adjust to this brand new environment and us.
2. How to help her adjust to not having cat companion.
Her name is Flossie, and she's about 7 months old.
When the aforementioned retired vet mentioned that she wanted her to be adopted instead of returning to the trailer, I volunteered. I brought her home last night after she was spayed.
At first I let her out in my room, but she took to hiding under the bed. I would have been okay with this, but it is necessary for me to be able to reach her so I can give her oral buprenorphine and check her incision regularly. I was able to get her out from under the bed and we moved her, her food and water dishes, and her litter box to our closet (it's kind of a walk-in deal). After I gave her the first dose of bupe, I sat with her on the couch and gave her scritches (her neck is still a little itchy from being irritated by all the fleas) and love. She relaxed a lot, and while she hasn't purred yet, she wasn't shaking or trying to run away.
She spent the night in the closet, and when I checked on her this morning, she'd drank water, eaten most of her wet and dry food, and used the litter box at least once. She also ate the two treats I left on the bottom step of her litter box. When I went to pick her up, she hissed, but didn't run, and enjoyed the neck scritches while sitting on my chest in bed. I let her down in the living room area, and she immediately started to look for other kitties. I feel terrible, because she's always been surrounded by other cats. Even at the clinic, there were cats in the cages above and beside her. She later hid behind the dryer until I retrieved her, and is now lying the nook of my arm on the couch while I type this. I'm a little confused because she's kneading on my chest, but shaking a little?
She also seems to really enjoy being cuddled and pet by me and my boyfriend, but gets nervous about us she's on the ground, not being held by us. I guess what I'd like to know for now is:
1. How to help her adjust to this brand new environment and us.
2. How to help her adjust to not having cat companion.
Her name is Flossie, and she's about 7 months old.
I might have to wait a bit, since I've already spent a lot of money on my little one, and unfortunately have these pesky things called bills to pay and food to buy for myself, but it will be next on the agenda! I already purchased a cat tree online, with a little ramp for her so she doesn't have to jump too high!
