Extremely Ill Foster Cats

I'm a new member of the site and my husband and I recently started fostering cats for a local rescue organization.   The deal was supposed to be that we provide food, litter, and daily care while the foster organization took care of the medical bills.  

At the end of February we took in two littermates approximately 3-4mos old who had been suffering from exposure and malnourishment.  Because they were sick when we got them I was making special food for them every day.   We made sure they got their medicine and have taken excellent care of them, including continuing to provide a special food puree daily because they refuse to eat dry food.   They are still underweight and look bony.   

I contacted the rescue the first week we got them and said I thought they needed to be seen by a vet due to the low weight and ongoing lack of appetite.  They came to us with loose stools and that never really resolved.   The rescue org told me to just keep feeding soft foods and gave me medicine for the loose stools, which turned out to be an antibiotic meant for a specific gastrointestinal infection, and only in that case would it cure loose stools.   I was frustrated because while I know the rescue is trying to save money, given the condition of the cats I felt that they were just throwing general medication that they had on hand at the problem rather than getting the cats treated properly for their health issues.

The rescue never did seem to get that the cats were severely underweight and had scheduled them for spay and neuter surgery this week.  It wasn't until I took them in on Saturday to meet a potential adoptive family that the head of the organization saw them and said they were underweight and shouldn't have surgery.   I didn't agree with scheduling this week because I thought the cats should be 100% healthy before they underwent any kind of procedure. 

The rescue said we needed to do their booster vaccinations on 3/11/16, and we did, but in the back of my mind I wondered if it was a good idea. 

On Sunday March 13 both cats became lethargic and basically slept all day.  They were hard to wake up and refused to eat or drink.  We ended up syringe feeding them liquids and a small amount of food on Sunday night, and again on Monday morning.   This time I decided I wasn't going to let the rescue org hem and haw over whether or not to go to the vet, so I scheduled an appointment for them myself with our regular vet (who happens to be an approved vet for the rescue).  I felt that rescue cats or not, they were primarily my responsibility and I wasn't going to watch them suffer.  Foster animals in my home are not second class animals. If I am primarily responsible for their care then I will take them to the vet.

The upshot of this is that the cats are extremely ill with a systemic viral infection. Their initial condition had probably never resolved and the continuing low weight weakened their immune systems.    Their bloodwork showed all kinds of problems with nutrition (anemia, increased liver enzymes, etc) and they were both running fevers of 104 degrees.    I ended up paying $500 for all the lab fees, medications, etc., and my husband and I are having to administer subcutaneous fluids with an IV once a day, as well as giving them antibiotics meant to protect against secondary bacterial infections.   The vet says if we don't see any improvement on this treatment (which is basically palliative care, not much to be done for viral infections) then we are likely looking at hospitalization.   If this turns out to be a certain kind of infection (one that is difficult to diagnose up front) they could die.

We have a big house, we love cats, and we don't mind having several fosters at a time.  However, I absolutely mind that the rescue organization seems to be stingy with medical care for the cats.   If I wanted to pay for medical care, I would have adopted the cats myself.  Honestly I feel like essentially forcing me to take action for these animals due to inaction on their part blurs the line of foster cat vs. personal pet and I'm having a hard time with that.   I now feel responsible for these kittens and I obviously don't trust the rescue to act in their best interest in terms of their health.

I don't think that the rescue organization is bad or is not willing to care for cats.  I get that it is a business that has a bottom line to think about.   My husband and I should have clarified the emergency health care treatment with the rescue organization before we took in sick cats.    However, I am now wondering if I should continue fostering at all, or should just cut down the fostering to 1 or 2 cats (we currently have four and have agreed to a fifth who is pregnant) at a time to minimize the financial risk. 

If anyone has advice to share about fostering ill cats and dealing with cat rescue organizations as a foster family I would greatly appreciate it.  

The organization should do what they say.  I have never fostered but I know they are supposed to handle the medical bills and surgeries.  The thing about organizations like these is that they get busy.. It is almost like the CPS agencies.   They have so many children to care for and they just become a file number sometimes.   I think you just need to turn up the "bitch mode" and be more assertive with your foster kitties' needs and I think they will help you..  

I second that   Turn up the heat. Those cats need vet care. I would ask=what's the worst thing that could happen?!? That they learn that you won't take no?

I would be furious if I was you. Good Luck!

I think I'm mostly upset because basically "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".  If they had been seeing the vet every couple of weeks for monitoring, I'm pretty sure we could have avoided letting them get to a critical point.  I'm not the kind of person who runs to the vet with every little thing, but there is a point where professional advice is needed. 

I just wanted to do something good and help animals in need.   I can be assertive when absolutely necessary, but unfortunately confronting people, even occasionally is not something I enjoy and it makes me extremely anxious and upset.   Since I have anxiety issues that is going to be a no go for me.  My volunteer activities need to be as close to stress free as possible. I'm not going to turn away the pregnant cat we already promised to take, but I will assume there will be costs associated with taking care of a pregnant animal and we need to be prepared.   After that I guess we will have to stop fostering.

My heart is with these sick kittens and I don't know how much longer we will have them (my guess is months) and if I will be able to let them go after investing so much in them.  Ending up with more cats was not the goal of this. 

I would be livid if I were you.  I can understand you anxieties.  Can your husband do it?  Hell, give me the number.  It is like I said.. they take care of the most critical patients first and these little guys probably weren't as bad off as another.  Save the vet bill.  The LEAST they can do i reimburse you.  

It is one thing to help because  you have a loving heart but its another to be taken advantage of.. be it knowingly or not.. that is what they are doing.  

This is why I could never foster.  I rescued 5 orpaned sick kitties..not even through an agency just from neighborhood and 3 of them are mine now.  I love them all and would keep them all if I could. 

Be strong.  You are doing wonderful things.

Sorry for the typos I am typing in a hurry since I am at work.

I foster for a rescue as well and the rescue is responsible for all vet bills. Period. 

I would be beyond furious if they refused to treat sick cats. I would let them know that I was resigning from fostering and tell them why.

That just boils my blood to hear about that and I'm upset on your behalf. That's unacceptable. I don't care how short they are on funds, if they don't want to treat sick animals, they shouldn't run a rescue. 

lisac said:

 
I think I'm mostly upset because basically "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure".  If they had been seeing the vet every couple of weeks for monitoring, I'm pretty sure we could have avoided letting them get to a critical point.  I'm not the kind of person who runs to the vet with every little thing, but there is a point where professional advice is needed. 

I just wanted to do something good and help animals in need.   I can be assertive when absolutely necessary, but unfortunately confronting people, even occasionally is not something I enjoy and it makes me extremely anxious and upset.   Since I have anxiety issues that is going to be a no go for me.  My volunteer activities need to be as close to stress free as possible. I'm not going to turn away the pregnant cat we already promised to take, but I will assume there will be costs associated with taking care of a pregnant animal and we need to be prepared.   After that I guess we will have to stop fostering.

My heart is with these sick kittens and I don't know how much longer we will have them (my guess is months) and if I will be able to let them go after investing so much in them.  Ending up with more cats was not the goal of this. 

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It sounds like its time to give them a call and calmly explain that they are not eating and getting sicker and you fear they wont make it. Make sure to tell them that they said they would pay for vet services. You have to step up to the plate. They have no one else. I promise you its scary to not know what they will do but you will feel so much better afterwards. If you choose to not stand up to them then how much more will they dump on your shoulders? I agree with another-thats why I dont get involved with rescue. Always so much bickering and BS that just turns me off.

STAY STRUNG! We got your back!! The first time standing up to a bully I thought I would puke...then I felt empowered and I try to do the very best at not allowing people to do this to me. I am not perfect but I had to start somewhere...now that I have stood up a few times to people its getting easier...the hardest people for me to stand up against are my family members...I admit I am a coward there..I dont waste my breathe..but this is so much different..you got this!

foxxycat said:

 
It sounds like its time to give them a call and calmly explain that they are not eating and getting sicker and you fear they wont make it. Make sure to tell them that they said they would pay for vet services. You have to step up to the plate. They have no one else. I promise you its scary to not know what they will do but you will feel so much better afterwards. If you choose to not stand up to them then how much more will they dump on your shoulders? I agree with another-thats why I dont get involved with rescue. Always so much bickering and BS that just turns me off.

STAY STRUNG! We got your back!! The first time standing up to a bully I thought I would puke...then I felt empowered and I try to do the very best at not allowing people to do this to me. I am not perfect but I had to start somewhere...now that I have stood up a few times to people its getting easier...the hardest people for me to stand up against are my family members...I admit I am a coward there..I dont waste my breathe..but this is so much different..you got this!

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Well, letting them go without treatment was never an option.  Like I said, when I felt their health was in serious jeopardy I took steps to make sure they were and are looked after.   Although I'm not happy about paying the vet bill I categorically will not let any animal in my care go without needed medical treatment.  However, I'm kind of freaking out over the fact that I am about to have 5 cats in addition to my own cats that I could be financially responsible for.   I am not made of money. 

Obviously I will have to talk to the head of the rescue about the situation.  I guess my issue is that when I told her I was taking them in, then told her how sick they were (so it was a justified visit, not frivolous), she didn't immediately offer to take the vet bill and reimburse me.    As I said, the vet we normally use for our own pets is an approved vet for the rescue. 

As the cats' primary caregiver I feel I should be the one who determines if they need to go to the vet or not, and if I don't like the cheaper vet (which I categorically don't), I'll take them to the better, slightly more expensive rescue vet.   The vet's office we use has always taken good care of our pets and I feel the foster cats deserve good care as well.

I didnt think at all you would not treat them. I am just trying to help you find a way to word things so there is no static and have the outcome you need. Hopefully they dont blow you off. Tell them you are out of money and what do they want you to do? Thats all...good Luck with the babies.

Crazy4Strays said:

 
I foster for a rescue as well and the rescue is responsible for all vet bills. Period. 

I would be beyond furious if they refused to treat sick cats. I would let them know that I was resigning from fostering and tell them why.

That just boils my blood to hear about that and I'm upset on your behalf. That's unacceptable. I don't care how short they are on funds, if they don't want to treat sick animals, they shouldn't run a rescue. 

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I agree and the kicker is they knew these cats were sick when they accepted them into the rescue!  My guess is that they thought it was a short term thing and that the cats would get better immediately.  I'm sure from a business standpoint they look to take in healthier animals so that they are watching the bottom line.   If that's their deal, that's on them.  But I don't think I should be put into a situation where I have to put my foot down and pay out of pocket for cats that legally belong to the rescue.

I would definitely think twice about  taking on more pets from them until you at least speak to them about this and the vet care.  For sure, 5 more cats will need to see a Vet  at some point.  I think you are doing a wonderful service to these animals.    

Wanted to update and thank people for their support.  The fluid treatments have been a miracle and the cats are improving every day.   My husband and I decided that we would continue the subcutaneous fluid treatment (which involves wrapping the cat and needle pokes - things I never thought I would be doing!) until the cats had wet, cold noses like all our other healthy cats.   The little girl kitty woke me up this AM and I found that her nose was cold and wet!  WOO!  Little boy kitty still has a ways to go but the improvement has been dramatic and I hope we will continue on a positive trend.   They are eating and drinking independently, playing, and generally seem to be getting healthier.   I'm so happy and excited.

I finally spoke with the rescue coordinator on Wednesday morning and she unbelievably bitched me out for not calling her for permission to take the cats to the vet and said we needed to be feeding them Hills Science a/d and feeding them by hand.  Then she said that a lot of the cats that came from a large shelter surrender in Town A were having symptoms of the same illness.   Except that these cats were a transport from Town B, came in by themselves, were not presenting with any of the Town A symptoms, and were in fact far sicker than any of the cats from the Town A group (we fostered three of them).   She never said a word about getting the bill from me or reimbursing me for the vet visit. 

She also apparently forgot that I've been feeding these kittens a high calorie puree of dry kitten food, wet kitten food, kitten milk replacement, and Nutri-Cal paste.  This is way healthier and more calorie dense than Hills Science a/d and when I told the vet what I was feeding them, she said we were doing exactly the right thing.   And of course any puree can be watered down for hand syringe feeding.   That's what we fed them on Sunday and during the day Monday when they were dying and we were waiting for the vet's appointment.

My husband says he thinks she doesn't write anything down and tries to keep all this stuff straight in her head, but she is so busy that she essentially guesses the wrong information and likes to play veterinarian. 

Needless to say, we will be are planning to keep these cats and make sure they get proper treatment.   I do not trust the rescue to take care of them and it could possibly be several months of TLC before they are 100% healthy.    Little girl kitty also has a heart murmur that needs to be monitored. 

Due to the fact the rescue failed to provide care for these animals in a health emergency they are technically in violation of state animal welfare laws.   My husband and I, as custodians of the animals, would also have been in violation of the law if we failed to provide them care.  Since we still have foster cats that are fine and need to be adopted we are planning a silent takeover of the two kittens.   We plan to continue paying the vet fees and making sure the healthier cat is spayed or neutered ASAP.   Both cats will need to have extensive pre-surgical bloodwork and possibly antibiotics post-surgery, none of which the rescue usually pays for.   If push comes to shove and the rescue tries to force us to bring them to adoption day or whatever, we will politely ask to adopt the cats.  If they refuse and try to pursue legal action, we will counter sue and state that by not providing medical care they failed in their duty to care for the animals and thus abandoned them.

We had already agreed to take a cat that is being transported this Saturday, and there is no other home for this cat, who is (unfortunately) pregnant.   We've accepted psychologically that we are taking in another medically fragile cat and we may end up paying out of pocket for medical care for a cat that we just can't keep.  This is the reason that we are trying to keep friendly with the rescue agency because we're going to be entangled with them until we get mama and kittens all adopted. 

I told my husband I want to get "no good deed goes unpunished" on my forehead.   I've dealt with this rescue for years as an adopter and I guess I just shouldn't have taken a peek under the hood.   Unfortunately, as rescues go, they are one of the best in the area. 

Here's a picture of sleepy little boy kitty before he got sick:

I would document their neglect and report them if possible. (Once you feel that you can, given the situation) They really shouldn't be running a rescue.

Here's little girl kitty standing in our "kitty window":


I've had neighbors stop me in the alley and say how much they love watching the cats in this window every day.  We also attract little kids.  It's really cute.

So glad things are working out. I can't imagine how angry you must have been at that "person" for bitching you out!! How dare she be rude! After you have everything settled down I would blast them on Facebook. Take pictures of the illnesses and document. Then get records from when you had to get vet help. This will shush any bullcrap from the other side. Even if they do run their mouth You have proof. And now that you have reached the first hurdle of trying to stay on top of their whatever then next time you will find it easier to speak up. Its very scary in the beginning. That anxious and stomach pain and chest tightness then you realize slowly that they can't hurt you..then you may begin to feel anger boiling inside when you think about their silliness and finally you put your foot down firmly but politely and call them to action for their crap. Most of these people are used to using expressions like "you are judging me" or "You don't know what I have to do" or any other what I call "manipulation bullcrap"

Good job!!