Sick, possibly FIV+ Feral Kitten

ondine · Jun 28, 2015

Computer problems have meant I was offline for a few days, so I am just seeing this. What a wonderful story - Happy is so lucky to have found you. She is so distinctive looking! She's going to be a stunner when she recovers.

The FIV is sad but, as Columbine said, it is manageable. You are her god-send!

Norachan · Jun 28, 2015

Thank you everyone.

Happy had a bit of a rough day yesterday, sneezing a lot and not much appetite. This morning she looks much brighter and was out of her cat cave meowing for her breakfast when I went to check on her.

She's put on a tiny bit of weight, up to 4 lbs from 3 lbs 12 oz when I first found her.

@misterwhiskers she might have the pointed gene. There is a big Siamese looking tom that gets fed by staff at a restaurant near where I found her. He might be her Dad. She has pale yellow eyes, dilute torbie ears and tail and a cream body. I wonder if that makes her a torbie point?

I'll post some pictures of her in Describing Cats when she's all fat and fluffy and ask our advisers what they think.

snugglecat · Jun 28, 2015

Love the name Happy and I bet she is so happy you found her. I think she is going to be beautiful when she recovers from all this.

Kat0121 · Jun 30, 2015

catwoman707 said:
I adore her face! She has so much depth to it, not exactly sure why I see this but I do. Lots of depth.

She's going to be a beauty once she recovers and grows new fur, eyes will be bright, peace on her face.

She's a beautiful and very lucky little girl! I know what you mean about seeing a lot of depth in her face. There's a lot of wisdom in those eyes. My DH would call her an old soul.

She's so lucky that you found her. You were definitely in the right place at the right time.

Norachan · Jun 30, 2015

Here are a few more pictures of her.

She eats a lot.

Happy7.jpg

Norachan
Jun 30, 2015

And she sleeps a lot, but I guess that is what she needs.

Happy6.jpg

Norachan
Jun 30, 2015

I've noticed that she has lost her two bottom fangs, which is why she often has her tongue out.

Happy8.jpg

Norachan
Jun 30, 2015

We're going back to the vet tomorrow to see if he has anything stronger to treat her cold. She's still sneezing, but she's taking a lot more interest in her surroundings now. She loves watching the other cats coming and going. I'm hoping that she'll be strong enough to come out and have a walk around within the next week.

mani · Jun 30, 2015

I did wonder about the tongue.

I just love the shot of her all safe and warm and sleeping...

micknsnicks2mom · Jun 30, 2015

awww......Happy is becoming truly happy now! her eyes are looking much better already, not as crusty.

catwoman707 · Jun 30, 2015

I just love her, not sure what it is, maybe I can see in her face like I was saying before, well I think I see quite a bit of pain in her past.

She is looking good, content, safe.

Oh one more thing, is it just the pic or does she have some discoloring around the edges of her ear? Pink, bumps, dried ear edges at all?

It might just be her coloring too, but I've had exposure to ear cancer cats so I am always super curious if I spot something possibly different looking.

It's the pic where she is at her dish.

Columbine · Jul 1, 2015

Beautiful little girl [emoji]128571[/emoji] :heart3: She's already looking better. Get well and strong soon Happy :vibes:

shadowsrescue · Jul 1, 2015

She is looking so much better. Hopefully all goes well at the vet. Keep us posted.

Norachan · Jul 1, 2015

catwoman707 said:
I just love her, not sure what it is, maybe I can see in her face like I was saying before, well I think I see quite a bit of pain in her past.

She is looking good, content, safe.

Oh one more thing, is it just the pic or does she have some discoloring around the edges of her ear? Pink, bumps, dried ear edges at all?

It might just be her coloring too, but I've had exposure to ear cancer cats so I am always super curious if I spot something possibly different looking.

It's the pic where she is at her dish.

Yes, she has got something odd about her ears. It looks like dried dirt stuck to the edges. As I found her in a car park I thought it might be grease or something, but she's also got a tiny bit of the edge of her ear missing. I thought she must have been in a fight.

Well spotted! I'll ask the vet to take a closer look at them.

Kat0121 · Jul 1, 2015

Mani said:
I did wonder about the tongue.

I just love the shot of her all safe and warm and sleeping...

I love that picture too. All snuggled up in the box. She's smiling.

catwoman707 · Jul 1, 2015

Norachan said:
Although her ears were MUCH more advanced, so most were removed.

I once had a reading done on her, and this was when I decided to believe in some animal communicators, as I simply gave the person a photo of Destiny, cropped that did not show her ears, her name, and that she was still living.

The reading was shocking. It was so spot on for her personality, like a fragile child, only needing to feel wanted and loved, a place to belong. It described this burning endless pain, never ending pain, like many needles, burning pain.

I KNOW it was her ears, the communicator was crying so much when she told me about Destiny, she said she couldn't understand why there was so much continuous pain and suffering in her past.

I then told her.

So it is extremely painful as it progresses, but I can also imagine it is not painless now too.

If I were you, I would do some digging, and find help, a rescue group or a shelter, who will help you help her and do this soon, free or at a greatly reduced cost, since she is a rescued kitty.

There really is help out there, they just don't make it easy to find!

bfguru · Jul 2, 2015

Is the missing part straight across? Could she be a spayed feral?

mani · Jul 2, 2015

BFGuru said:
Is the missing part straight across? Could she be a spayed feral?

@BFGuru there isn't any missing part on Happy's ear.. catwoman707 is concerned that Norachan's stray may have ear cancer as there are some signs that may be the case.

Norachan · Jul 2, 2015

BFGuru said:
Is the missing part straight across? Could she be a spayed feral?

It doesn't look like an ear tip. There is a tiny little nick out of the edge, as if she's been in a fight. Unfortunately TNR is still very rare in this part of the world, I think it's more likely that she's been scratched by another cat.

She will be spayed though, just as soon as she's got over her cold and put a bit of weight on.

mani · Jul 2, 2015

Originally Posted by Norachan

There is a tiny little nick out of the edge, as if she's been in a fight.

Whoops.. missed that bit..

Norachan · Jul 2, 2015

Mani said:
Whoops.. missed that bit..

It's really hard to spot.

Well, we took Happy back to the vet today but we didn't actually get to see the vet as someone had brought in an emergency case and he was busy dealing with that. However, we'd called to say we were coming in and he'd already mixed up a 10 day course of cold medicine for her so I've started her on that. The vet tech weighed her and cleaned her ears with a bit pet shampoo. Most of the black grime came off, so I guess she had been sleeping under cars for a while. The vet tech thinks the scratch on her ear isn't serious, but she will be coming back to see the vet again in a few weeks and it's down on her records that I'm concerned about it.

Good news is she's put on a bit more weight.

Bad news is that the poor little thing's exhausted today. She spent nearly the whole day asleep. I managed to get her to eat a bit of cooked chicken and a hand full of cat treats, but she hasn't touched the rest of her food. I guess it's understandable that she'll have her ups and downs.

shadowsrescue · Jul 2, 2015

Hopefully the ear issues is just ground in dirt. So happy to hear she has gained a bit of weight.

I was thinking about you last night as I was making bone broth. We have a whole chicken every 10-14 days and I am now in the habit of making bone broth after the meal. I am enjoying the broth myself, but will always have some on reserve in the freezer if I would need it for a sick animal.

I hope the new medication will help Happy to feel better soon. Rest is the best medicine.

mani · Jul 2, 2015

Yes, rest is such a healer. It doesn't bear thinking about, what she's been through.

She doesn't have to see the vet again for a while so that's good.

Sick, possibly FIV+ Feral Kitten

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