Diet and care for emaciated stray Queen. Suggestions please (pics)

jennyr · Aug 26, 2016

Alicia88 said:
She is absolutely gorgeous. Those eyes are captivating; it's hard to look away. So, I don't know much about FIV. Will the queen have it if the FIV cat is the father? Will the kittens have it, too?

FIV is usually transmitted through fighting, bites and scratches. In feral colonies it is often the males who are the most affected. It is unlikely to be transmitted through mating and queens, if they have it, do not normally give it to their kittens. There is a vaccination against it, though once a cat is vaccinated it will always test positive, which can be a disadvantage.

savethekitty · Aug 26, 2016

JennyR said:
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savethekitty

Aug 26, 2016

catwoman707 · Aug 26, 2016

I love your fat cat! I have one too

Great black nose!

No worries about FIV in kittens and mom, even if mom did end up being positive which according to odds is not all that likely, the kittens would still not be, throwing a number out there, might be 1 out of 100 kittens, or even less.

jennyr · Aug 27, 2016

She is already looking better - you are obviously doing all the right things. There is a test for the FIV virus, but since cats can carry the virus for years, if not all their lives, without it ever mutating into the disease, there is no point really in testing. Cats who are vaccinated also test positive.

Alicia88 · Aug 27, 2016

JennyR said:
She is already looking better - you are obviously doing all the right things. There is a test for the FIV virus, but since cats can carry the virus for years, if not all their lives, without it ever mutating into the disease, there is no point really in testing. Cats who are vaccinated also test positive.

From what has been said about her, she isn't wild enough to have been feral all her life. She probably had a home and may have been vaccinated. On another note, is it possible Crusty is just testing positive because he was vaccinated at some point in his past?

Norachan · Aug 27, 2016

Alicia88 said:
On another note, is it possible Crusty is just testing positive because he was vaccinated at some point in his past?

Yes, that's possible.

The test for FIV will show if the cat has been exposed to the virus or not, but it won't show what strain of the virus the cat has. The FIV vaccine only protects the cat against one strain.

If the cat is neutered and kept indoors the chances of them becoming infected or passing the virus on to other cats is very slim. It's the deep bites that go into the muscles you need to worry about. Little nips that cats give each other when play-fighting won't spread the virus. Neither will grooming each other or sharing food and water bowls.

@Savethekitty That's a lovely cat family you have there.

savethekitty · Aug 27, 2016

Alicia88 said:
On another note, is it possible Crusty is just testing positive because he was vaccinated at some point in his past?

I highly doubt it, but all is possible.

He had several issues when I started caring for him that could suggest a compromised immune system and maybe the virus being a trigger. We will never know.

All I know is that I am truly torn to the fact that I can't adopt him because of my male cat.

Crusty is big and intimidating. I thought he was not aggressive to other males, but he has fooled me well lol. The past week he has gotten into a few fights and has come back with some scratches and small bites. I have seen him bother and fight with the yellow cat that I also feed daily. They were supposed to be friends, but crusty is so nosey that he irritates any cat. It's like he does not understand the concept of personal space and gets too close even with stern warnings.

My cat and him would tear each other apart and then I would have 2 FIV+ cats.

I am trying to get them used to each other through the door, but so far my cat has not shown any signs of acceptance and starts acting up as soon as he sees him. (screaming, hissing, slapping the door opening hoping to get a claw through, etc)

I am caring for him the best I can though.

By the way. Mommy is doing great and eating like a pitbull.

savethekitty · Aug 27, 2016

I hope mom does not have FeLV because she has been drinking water from my cat's bowl instead of hers and also my cat sometimes eats from her bowl. It is hard for me to control this since I let mom come out and be outside of the cage and when I feed her, she leaves some food in the bowl. Then my cat is quick to go eat whatever he can. Such a vacuum cleaner.

I keep changing his water bowl after she drinks out of his.

When would it be a good time to bring her to the vet for testing/shots at least? I don't know if causing her "vet stress" is good at this point.

catwoman707 · Aug 27, 2016

Savethekitty said:
I hope mom does not have FeLV because she has been drinking water from my cat's bowl instead of hers and also my cat sometimes eats from her bowl. It is hard for me to control this since I let mom come out and be outside of the cage and when I feed her, she leaves some food in the bowl. Then my cat is quick to go eat whatever he can. Such a vacuum cleaner.

I keep changing his water bowl after she drinks out of his.

When would it be a good time to bring her to the vet for testing/shots at least? I don't know if causing her "vet stress" is good at this point.

In my opinion, it is HIGHLY unlikely she is pos for felv. When you first started caring for Crusty, you know he had a few issues displaying a bit of a weakened system.

FELV will show the same way, but 10 fold in a homeless cat.

I can see in her face and fur she is not compromised, felv is weak, which is why it is so rarely found in ferals and strays, the virus can't survive outside the host for long at all, and is easily killed as well.

While googling felv transmission will tell you all sorts of dramatic scary things, the facts are, it is weak, and takes continuous exposure or sharing dishes and mutual grooming on a regular basis to even possibly be spread, and even then, only a very small percentage of cats who do get infected with the virus will actually end up with it.

Most healthy cat's systems will fight it off and be rid of it.

This is why, anytime a cat tests pos for felv, they must be retested 4-6 months later for confirmation, which allows the cat time for it's system to work it through and out of them.

I don't see felv as being any threat here.

savethekitty · Aug 27, 2016

catwoman707 said:
In my opinion, it is HIGHLY unlikely she is pos for felv. When you first started caring for Crusty, you know he had a few issues displaying a bit of a weakened system.

FELV will show the same way, but 10 fold in a homeless cat.

I can see in her face and fur she is not compromised, felv is weak, which is why it is so rarely found in ferals and strays, the virus can't survive outside the host for long at all, and is easily killed as well.

While googling felv transmission will tell you all sorts of dramatic scary things, the facts are, it is weak, and takes continuous exposure or sharing dishes and mutual grooming on a regular basis to even possibly be spread, and even then, only a very small percentage of cats who do get infected with the virus will actually end up with it.

Most healthy cat's systems will fight it off and be rid of it.

This is why, anytime a cat tests pos for felv, they must be retested 4-6 months later for confirmation, which allows the cat time for it's system to work it through and out of them.

I don't see felv as being any threat here.

Thank you for easing my mind!!! You are so right, googling FeLV will scare you to death with all these websites saying it is super contagious, especially with the bowl sharing.

Off to decide between Special Kitty vs Friskies canned food now. Have to place a large order and need to stretch the buck!

Thanks again!

catwoman707 · Aug 27, 2016

Savethekitty said:
Thank you for easing my mind!!! You are so right, googling FeLV will scare you to death with all these websites saying it is super contagious, especially with the bowl sharing.

Off to decide between Special Kitty vs Friskies canned food now. Have to place a large order and need to stretch the buck!

Thanks again!

Between the 2, friskies in my opinion.

mazie · Aug 28, 2016

I would order Friskies as well. If I am not mistaken, Special Kitty is a generic brand of Walmart?? I know my ferals do not like the Special Kitty dry food, so there you go.

savethekitty · Aug 28, 2016

SO.... today they all decided to start peeing large pools of pee, one I think vomited since there were white cheese like crumbs in a corner and they also learned to climb the litter box and are now playing and sleeping inside.

It's like today they transformed into mini hyper devils.

The litter box is cleaned as soon as I see she used it, but at night I put the litter box in the cage and let it be until the morning. i wonder if mom will take the kittens out of the litter box when she wants to use it.

Is it ok for the kittens to sleep in the litter box? Since it will have bacteria from mom's feces I worry a little. Should i prevent this?

there are 2 who are eating a little. Should I allow them to eat the dry food at this stage or just Fancy Feast? One was at it with the dry food and I switched the bowl to fancy feast instead.

I foresee a lot of work ahead

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savethekitty
Aug 28, 2016

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savethekitty
Aug 28, 2016

Alicia88 · Aug 28, 2016

Savethekitty said:
20160828_231922.jpg

savethekitty

Aug 28, 2016

Oh my gosh, look at those bright blue eyes!!!

If they want to chew on the dry food, I don't think there would be any harm in it. And I don't think them being in the litter box will hurt them. They're getting all their antibodies from mom at this point so they're pretty well protected.

jennyr · Aug 29, 2016

Oh, the realities of kittens! But it is worth all the hard work. Most kittens like to lie in litter, I would not worry too much. You could always make another box for mum if it turns out to be a problem. :et them eat what they want - offer them both wet and dry, so they get used to eating both. MAny owners complain that their cats will only eat one or the other since that was what they had as kittens.

Norachan · Aug 29, 2016

Oh, look at those little faces!

Kittens often end up sleeping in the litter box. I think the smell must be comforting to them.

Apologies if you've already mentioned this, but what kind of litter are you using? It's best to avoid the clay clumping litter as this can cause problems if the kittens try to eat it.

savethekitty · Aug 29, 2016

JennyR said:
Oh, the realities of kittens! But it is worth all the hard work. Most kittens like to lie in litter, I would not worry too much. You could always make another box for mum if it turns out to be a problem. :et them eat what they want - offer them both wet and dry, so they get used to eating both. MAny owners complain that their cats will only eat one or the other since that was what they had as kittens.

Yes, I am leaving a little bit of wet and dry food for them to eat. Should I put just water inside or the KMR. They are a mess with so many bowls inside.

I see no pee today. I wonder what happens there, don't they pee that much? Yesterday it was like knocking over a glass of water. One went behind my desk and I saw the river flow (he was meowing loudly while he peed or he got scared and peed himself lol)

JennyR said:
Oh, the realities of kittens! But it is worth all the hard work. Most kittens like to lie in litter, I would not worry too much. You could always make another box for mum if it turns out to be a problem. :et them eat what they want - offer them both wet and dry, so they get used to eating both. MAny owners complain that their cats will only eat one or the other since that was what they had as kittens.

Norachan said:
Oh, look at those little faces!

Kittens often end up sleeping in the litter box. I think the smell must be comforting to them.

Apologies if you've already mentioned this, but what kind of litter are you using? It's best to avoid the clay clumping litter as this can cause problems if the kittens try to eat it.

Oh no... I have Dr Elsey's clay litter in that box. I only leave the box inside when it is time to put mom inside for the night. I let the mom out all day and her litter box is near the cage, but outside.

When she is in the cage at night, the kittens sleep with her and leave the litter box alone, but if there is any risk I will be buying different litter for them since they will start pooping pretty soon. Suggestions appreciated.

P.S: Would you happen to know what could be the reason for my male cat to start meowing before he has to poop? I have noticed these past 2 days that he goes in his litter box and meows a little (short meows). Then he poops just fine. I wonder if he is in pain or is this normal.?

talkingpeanut · Aug 29, 2016

Savethekitty said:
Yes, I am leaving a little bit of wet and dry food for them to eat. Should I put just water inside or the KMR. They are a mess with so many bowls inside.
I see no pee today. I wonder what happens there, don't they pee that much? Yesterday it was like knocking over a glass of water. One went behind my desk and I saw the river flow (he was meowing loudly while he peed or he got scared and peed himself lol)

Oh no... I have Dr Elsey's clay litter in that box. I only leave the box inside when it is time to put mom inside for the night. I let the mom out all day and her litter box is near the cage, but outside.

When she is in the cage at night, the kittens sleep with her and leave the litter box alone, but if there is any risk I will be buying different litter for them since they will start pooping pretty soon. Suggestions appreciated.

P.S: Would you happen to know what could be the reason for my male cat to start meowing before he has to poop? I have noticed these past 2 days that he goes in his litter box and meows a little (short meows). Then he poops just fine. I wonder if he is in pain or is this normal.?

Kittens tend to eat the litter when they're learning. You should switch out anything they are around with non-clumping. Clumping is obviously very dangerous for tiny digestive tracts.

Your male sounds like he's in some pain, especially if it's a new behavior. I think a vet visit would be wise.

Alicia88 · Aug 29, 2016

Savethekitty said:
Yes, I am leaving a little bit of wet and dry food for them to eat. Should I put just water inside or the KMR. They are a mess with so many bowls inside.

I see no pee today. I wonder what happens there, don't they pee that much? Yesterday it was like knocking over a glass of water. One went behind my desk and I saw the river flow (he was meowing loudly while he peed or he got scared and peed himself lol)

Oh no... I have Dr Elsey's clay litter in that box. I only leave the box inside when it is time to put mom inside for the night. I let the mom out all day and her litter box is near the cage, but outside.

When she is in the cage at night, the kittens sleep with her and leave the litter box alone, but if there is any risk I will be buying different litter for them since they will start pooping pretty soon. Suggestions appreciated.

P.S: Would you happen to know what could be the reason for my male cat to start meowing before he has to poop? I have noticed these past 2 days that he goes in his litter box and meows a little (short meows). Then he poops just fine. I wonder if he is in pain or is this normal.?

I don't know much about non clumping litter. I use Fresh Step for my boys because it's great at not being smelly. I'm not sure if they have any non clumping litter - I haven't ever looked for it.

jennyr · Aug 29, 2016

Usually any place that sells clumping will also have non-clumping. I use a crystal litter for kittens that is good on odor control and less likely to be eaten, for some reason. It is also a bit uncomfortable for them to lie in, so helps to break that habit.

Diet and care for emaciated stray Queen. Suggestions please (pics)

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