My new foster is a feral kitten - I need support please!

Primula

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I forgot to add that I gave Boo his Advantage yesterday. I checked him to day, and found no fleas at all, and no flea dirt either. Yay!

I'm waiting a few day, and then will give him some worming medicine. I have some left, it's called Strantel Cats. I got it OTC for Sparrow, it's pyrantel and praziquantel. 1 pill per 4Kg, I have 1/2 pill left. Boo is almost 2 Kg, so I checked the label, and 1/2 pill is for cats between 1 and 2 Kg, so we're good! Sparrow didn't have any adverse effects, but I'm not sure I should give that to Boo. Do you gals/guys think it's OK?

I would also like to wash his eyes, the fur below is getting a bit stained. I have baby saline solution, can I use that with a washcloth to wipe his eyes?
I would wipe his eyes with a warm wash cloth only. I am terrified of using anything near my cats' eyes without a vet's say so.
 
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Lyzzie

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That's good advice @Primula, I will only use a cloth.

I went and saw Mimi  at the clinic this morning, and she's beautiful! She is really well acquainted with the staff there, and rub herself against their feet while they clean her cage.

I was able to pet and hold her. Poor thing was shaking, but she settled after a while, and purred. Giving her lots of FD chicken treats really helped too! She was licking my hand


There is nothing wrong with her eyes, it's the window's reflection...

I also took some pics of two 1.5 months old ferals, rescued about a week ago. The staff at the clinic is socializing them, and they now can touch them, and pick them up. Laura, the person in the pics, got bitten their first day here!





The little blue one kept hissing at me, you can see it in the last pic. But he's so cute, I didn't mind!
 

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"There is nothing wrong with her eyes, it's the window's reflection..."

My wife sent me a photo of my cat Taz when I was at work and it scared the heck out of me. His eyes looked cloudy and yellow. It was a reflection. The first couple months of Taz's life were not good, he was neglected. I am very protective of him and I guess you could say I am overprotective.

Nice to read your new addition is doing well 
 
 
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Lyzzie

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"There is nothing wrong with her eyes, it's the window's reflection..."

My wife sent me a photo of my cat Taz when I was at work and it scared the heck out of me. His eyes looked cloudy and yellow. It was a reflection. The first couple months of Taz's life were not good, he was neglected. I am very protective of him and I guess you could say I am overprotective.

Nice to read your new addition is doing well 
 
I could see it myself, and I stopped breathing for a second. Then realized it was the window... I won't lie, I was scared for a second!

I'm happy for Taz, seems like he found a loving home with you and your wife.

On the kitty front, Boo's neuter is next Monday! I don't have all the details yet, but I think he'll spend the night at the clinic. John and I had the same reaction : "Oh no!". We'll see.

About Mimi, I'm hoping we could get her when we take Boo for his surgery, it should be at the same clinic. Yesterday, I kept thinking about the name "Tesla" every time I thought about her. I talked about it to my mom, and she likes it, so Milka (Mimi) is now Tesla! John thought it was a great name too, so everybody's happy!
 
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Lyzzie

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Boo update!

Boo's neuter is delayed, since he is only 4 months, the rescue thought it could wait a little.

Boo is now fully integrated with us. He's been here for 3 weeks now, and he's not hiding anymore. He even started playing with our feet, which we don't encourage, but I rather he played with them than hide from them. He also tries to engage Sparrow in play, that is really funny to watch, I have a video, I'll post it later.

Boo's sister, Tesla, is coming here tomorrow!!! Finally, she's ready to get out of the clinic. Poor thing, she spent 3 weeks there. I hope all will go well between her and Boo. I wonder if they will recognize each other? With Tesla, we're doing the process all over again, she will be in the bathroom at first. I already know she likes FD chicken treats, so that will be our tool. And tuna, of course. That's our secret weapon
I hope she will take to us quickly, she already had human contacts at the clinic.

I will update tomorrow, as soon as I can. I'm so excited
 
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Lyzzie

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Tesla is here! I think that's not gonna be her name BTW, I'm thinking Tessa. She's a sweety. She's on my lap right now, purring away. I showed her the food and water, she ate a little bit of wet. I showed her the litterbox upstairs, and then kept her with me. The bathroom is cold, and seeing her face, I didn't think it was the right move to put her in there. She met Boo, they smell each other, and then Boo hissed, and continued to smell her. Same with Sparrow. All is well for now, she just fell asleep... I'll post pics later!
 
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Tessa's first day went great! She stayed upstairs with us humans, and got a little more comfy. She ate 200 gr of wet food, and drank. She also used the litterboxes.

She is very assertive with the boys, she hisses and growls when hissed at or growled at. Poor Boo won't approach her, he gets hissed at every time. Other than that, no aggression, no fights. She spent the night in the bathroom, and ate some dry and used the litterbox again.

This morning I served everyone their wet, and let Tessa have hers in the bathroom, door closed. I don't need Boo to go and steal her wet food! That cat is a little piggy


I find her on the skinny side, I can feel all her bones when I pet her. It's not something you can see, because she's fluffy, like her brother.

I'm going to weight her again, last week she was 1.670 Kg. I need to get some weight on her!

She is a cuddle bug, like Boo. She really likes humans, they did a great job socializing her at the vet. I was able to trim her front claws, they were like razor blades!

I'll update with pics and video later. For now, all is going great!
 
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Lyzzie

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Tessa is such a sweetheart! She spent her second night upstairs with us, on her futon type thingy. No problems whatsoever during the night.

Sparrow is still growling some, but he does that with every foster, I think it's a warning "Leave me alone, and we'll get along fine", which is what happens every time.

Boo is way more curious about Tessa. He tries to engage her in play, but she's not having it for now. The hissing stopped between us, only some growling now, mostly on Tessa's part. No fight, no aggression except for the growling. So, things are going great!

I really have to give some well deserved kudos to Laura, the vet tech at the clinic. She did a wonderful job taming and socializing Tessa. When the kittens came in, they couldn't be approached at all, let alone touched. Tessa didn't gave us any trouble, she actually had the instinct to get on my lap when she was frightened by Boo the first day.

I called the clinic yesterday to get Tessa's medical history. She spent a month at the vet. She had a right pelvic fracture I think, I didn't understand that part well enough. She had Stronghold Kitten the first day, and was on anti-biotics and anti-inflammatory med for a week. Nothing after that. I comb her every day (she loves it) and didn't find any fleas or flea dirt, so I'm holding off on the Advantage for now. I gave her 1/2 Strantel, that's a pyrantel and praziquantel OTC cat wormer. Boo is getting his dose today. Sparrow was dosed last month.

I weighted Tessa this morning, she's at 1.875 Kg. That's a 200 gr gain since last week. That girl can eat, let me tell you! She prefers wet food, but eat her dry too. Her stool are fine, she pees normally for a kitten, and she drinks some.

I'm a little concerned about Boo, yesterday we found a loose bloody stool in the box, we are sure it's Boo's. Not a lot of blood, but we are keeping an eye on him. None of his habits have changed, so I'm inclined to think it's either the stress, or one of the canned food that didn't agree with him. The past few days, they had some Friskies beef pate, among other brands (MAC and Feringa). I'm thinking too much beef, but I don't really know. We are doing some tests with the food, to see if that's it. His stool were normal this morning. If I find more, I'll call the rescue, and the vet.
 
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Lyzzie

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Well, being the worry wart that I am, I called ML, my rescue referee. She thinks the blood is probably due to worms, and since Boo was due to be given worming med, I went and got some Strantel. I weighted him, he's at 2.908 Kg. He got 1 whole pill. He's such a piggy, he wanted to eat it! He tried, but he could get it down, and was making kind of a mess, so I gave it to him. I'm thinking next time he probably will eat it without my help. That's my dream! A cat that eats his meds without making a fuss!
 
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Lyzzie

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Update time! A lot happened this past week, I'm going to try and keep things organized...

We didn't find any more bloody stools from Boo, so we think it was worms. He's doing great, and is now completely comfortable in the house.

Tessa is Boo's new best friend! I don't know if they recognized each other, but they play, eat, and sleep together a lot. Tessa is even cleaning Boo from time to time, it's the cutest thing I've ever seen! She's only been with us a week tomorrow, the progress she made is excellent, she's almost as comfortable as Boo, and navigate the house perfectly. Neither of them are afraid of feet now!

I work part time as a dishwasher at a restaurant, and we often talk with the staff's restaurant next door, because we share an alley. I was talking with one of the waitresses last Friday, and she was telling me about her cat. She's a 5 month old black female, not identified, not vaccinated, not sterilized, that was "dumped" on her by her parents. She didn't want a cat, and feels her place is too small, plus because of work and social life, she's never home. Apparently, the kitty is quite shy, and possibly have separation anxiety, she meows as soon as her owner is out of her field of vision.

I asked her if she would at least buy some toys for the cat to play with while alone, but she said she doesn't want the cat to make too much noise because of the neighbors.

I was so tired that day, I didn't say anything, but that night I thought about that poor cat.

Saturday, I went and talk with the waitress again, and told her point blank that if she wanted to get rid of her cat, we would take her in. She said yes, and was very happy for the kitty. I know she realizes she can't take care of her properly.

I don't know what to think about her story, but in any case, I'm waiting for our new addition right now! Her name is Nala, but that's possibly going to change, we'll see. I'm taking her to the vet tomorrow, to be checked out, tested, treated for worms and fleas if needed, and scheduling her vaccines, spay and identification. She's a permanent addition to our home, we are keeping her!

I will post pics as soon as I can.

I've ordered some Feliway, and we will catify this month, making a kitty highway. It should help Sparrow relax, poor guy just keep on getting kittens in his territory.

We also feel that Boo and Tessa are ready to move to their furever home, so that will be the case next week! I'm going to miss them a lot, but I will be able to see them often ;)
 

Primula

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Saturday, I went and talk with the waitress again, and told her point blank that if she wanted to get rid of her cat, we would take her in. She said yes, and was very happy for the kitty. I know she realizes she can't take care of her properly.
Did you think of having the waitress sign a short simple release for the cat? Some people are funny & I know of people who have been burned in this situation. The owner changes her mind, says there should be an exchange of money, etc., etc.
 
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Lyzzie

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Did you think of having the waitress sign a short simple release for the cat? Some people are funny & I know of people who have been burned in this situation. The owner changes her mind, says there should be an exchange of money, etc., etc.
No I didn't think about that. I thought that since the cat is not identified, she can't claim to be the owner. But that is something that I will do if there is a next time. I'll research and see how I can phrase it for it to be legal and binding. Thanks!

So Nala is here, and we changed her name to Shadow. She's a cuddle bug! She follows us everywhere. She growls and hisses at the other three, but they all ate their wet food next to each other. I already trimmed her claws, just in case, and she will be spending the night in the bathroom. We got a vet appointment tomorrow, I really hope she's in good health, and ready for her spay soon.

I think she looks a bit like a mouse, I found her head to be triangular, and her nose to be pointy. She's gorgeous! I can't wait for tomorrow, and try my hand at taking pics of my first black kitty!
 

Primula

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No I didn't think about that. I thought that since the cat is not identified, she can't claim to be the owner. But that is something that I will do if there is a next time. I'll research and see how I can phrase it for it to be legal and binding. Thanks!

So Nala is here, and we changed her name to Shadow. She's a cuddle bug! She follows us everywhere. She growls and hisses at the other three, but they all ate their wet food next to each other. I already trimmed her claws, just in case, and she will be spending the night in the bathroom. We got a vet appointment tomorrow, I really hope she's in good health, and ready for her spay soon.

I think she looks a bit like a mouse, I found her head to be triangular, and her nose to be pointy. She's gorgeous! I can't wait for tomorrow, and try my hand at taking pics of my first black kitty!
You're a wonderful person for doing this. Post a photo of Shadow if you can.
 
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Lyzzie

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Thank you @Primula, that means a lot


I wouldn't do it if I hadn't found TCS. Maybe down the road, a long time from now, I would have adopted a second cat. Maybe. But the fostering, trying to explain to people cat ways, the importance of neuter/spay, feral care awareness, these I wouldn't do if not for the wonderful people right here. You gals/guys are amazing, and an inspiration to me. So, thank you everyone


Shadow's first night went great. She slept with us on the bed, no fighting. This morning was a bit dicey, not enough litter boxes! I've ordered one, among other things, it should be getting here soon. The waitress told me she would give me hers, but forgot it yesterday. She brought the cat, the dry food, and the food and water bowls, which are plastic. We've set them up for now, to help Shadow adjust, but I'm throwing them out after. I can't believe it, Shadow didn't have any toys, or a scratching post! I'm really happy I crossed her path.

I'm also looking for a second carrier, one that opens on top would be great.

The sun is rising, I should have enough light to take pics soon!
 
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Lyzzie

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We just got back from the vet, and Shadow is in perfect health! She's estimated to be around 4 1/2 months old. She still got her baby teeth, and weight 1.800 Kg.

She also got her primo-vaccines done, plus FeLV. We are going back next month for the second round, and we will determine a spay date then.

She doesn't have ear mites, and I have to go back tomorrow to pick up some Stronghold kitten for her. I will give her some Strantel in two weeks.

She was very vocal on the way to the clinic and back, but she is now really calm, and even accepted to play with a shoelace at the same time Tessa was.

I got my orders today, so the Feliway is on, I'm curious to see what effects it's going to have on Sparrow particularly.
 
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