Am I a sucker???

So my son and I ran to the petstore today to get bunny treats...
AND, seen that there were two shelters outside, set up with animals, so of course we had to look. Well I instantly fell in love with a calico kitten.
She was only 70, and it included the first shots, plus her spay was already done..So how could you pass that up??

The only one I have left to fix is Garfield, the other 2 are done,..So I figured if all she needed AROUND NOW was another set of shots, then I wanted to get her...

I know theres still more vet bills, then just those two things, So i dont want anyone getting on me for that..But even our petstores dont sell them fixed, so that was a great plus..

Well we got her home, took her straight to my room to keep her away from the others until checked out...AND she bit me, and bit hard...All together in an hour I got bit 3 times...I dont think I have ever been bit for no reason,..Nail trimming actually being a reason I find appropriate. Then I got a closer look into her ears , and YUK.Im almost certain its mites, ..No fleas detected YET..Her poor tummy still has stitches, and it looks quite full...So do I worry about worms more or infection from surgery?? maybe I am being paranoid the more this almost seems I might have lost my mind by even getting her..

But we've named her Bella..
Behind her ears, right where the ear meets the head on top, theres no fur..ON BOTH SIDES EQUALLY..IF her ears stand up its fine, but when there down, shes bald along that crease..No irritation or redness, etc..But i have so many worries, and because they were about to close of course dumbly I just got her....But now I have to make sure I do the right things of course, vets wont be open till monday so I just wanted some input, being that its not an emergency. I just hope I didnt do the wrong thing, even for the cats I have now..But they are seperated..
I just figured everyone talks about helping the shelters, and these last few months I did the free kitten kinda thing, I thought it would be a more positive experience..
Anyways, Garfield has now bitten me twice..HE shouldnt smell her on the hands atleast because I washed them well. So is he mad too???

Any inputs on ears? what to do with them? or the patches of missing hair, which are tiny, not like big rings..or about her poor tummy? I know to check to see if it has pus or warm,
oh by the way she is only 9 wks

ohhh and when we got in she spit up a nickel size of foam...its worrying me...but could it just be nervousness??

Did the shelter provide you with a copy of her medical records?? What did she receive?? Often there is a name of a vet who provided the service for the animal and I would contact them regarding whether they had checked for earmites or not. Definately keep your new girl away from your cats until she has been given a thorough exam by your own vet. I would also contact the shelter once you find out if she indeed has earmites so that they can follow up.

As far as her biting you goes....I would simply leave her be for now...she is obviously stressed and potentially in pain. So I'd let her rest and I'd mention it to your vet when you take her in.

Katie

Going into a new home can be very stressful for a young kitten.

I agree that she should be seperated from all other kitties for at least two weeks, possibly longer if the vet finds out that she is ill.

The areas where her hair is missing can be anything from stress to normal variants to fungal infections. It is impossible to tell without seeing her. She should see a vet to determine if she has a fungal infection (which is very contagious) called ringworm which may need medications.

She may have ear mites, it is extremely common in young kittens and cats. Fortunately, it is not a serious problem, more like a nuisance. She should be examined by a vet who can prescribe medications as needed. This is also contagious to other kitties but it can only be spread by close contact. If she is in a seperate room than your kitties should be fine.

Big bellies can also be a variety of conditions. She should have a stool sample brought to the vet to rule out a parasitic infection which can cause a big belly.

The most important things to do now is give her space, free dry kitten food, canned food, and water. Make sure she is eating, drinking, using her litter pan.

You have done a great job in rescuing this girl! Congratulations.

She is now up and walking, eating and using the litter,...So hopefully it aint as bad as I thought.
I have never seen a kitten in this bad of shape though from any stray I took in, to any free kitten in the paper.
It blows my mind to think that they sold her like this. Yes, I know that it costs money to care for them, but I think they should have cleared this all up, or atleast WARNED me that she was sick.

Its my fault to for not asking enough or looking at her enough , but with the setting on the sidewalk, and 100 people trying to hold her, and the store closing, I just wanted to get her and leave. I thought that all shelters did checks and would check with my landlord, so I really didnt plan on bringing her tonight, until she told me to go get her...
So they didnt check anything..
And the worst of it all, I must have put down the paperwork, to get her out of the cage..
So being that no one has called will they now deny her??
There was 2 different shelters up there and I dont remember which..They made me sign an acknowledgement that any issues I have I call them and not the store, that the store isnt responsible. But would it be ok to call the store and ask which shelters were there last night??

What have I done!!!!!!!!
I know that she got the little combo of shots, last week, and the next they said was due after this week. Her spay is supposedly all done, with removable stitches..
And when asked if they did flea treatments, they said no , only when they bring a cat in with fleas, do they treat the others..
THat it is an all cement place, so they rarely have an issue..Still checking and no fleas yet, but everything else seems wrong

Yes it is ok for you to call the store and find out which shelters were there. The language in your contract was probably so you do not hold the store liable for your transaction with the shelter.

Very likely the store has contact information. If you explain you lost your paperwork they may give you info on both shelters or they may call the shelters & tell them the person who adopted the calico kitten should be contacted.

One important reason to get in touch with the shelter is to find out what medications have already been given to your kitten. Since she still has stitches it is possible she was only recently treated for all her conditions. So if she already was given Revolution and you take her to the vet and they treat her again, it could be toxic.

Poor little girl. But you are only doing what so many of us would do, and it sounds like anything she might have is easily treatable. She does look a sweetie, I can quite understand your actions! The shelter, when you find it, will have copies of her papers, so you can get them quite easily, I am sure. Or they even have found the ones you left and have taken them back. good luck and don't feel bad!

Well her nose is all messed up as well as eyes...Should I just do what the one post says to do about eyes???

UNTIL MONDAY???
or is it an ER visit?

IT sounds as if she is weezing when in certain positions, but I am almost certain it is her nose..As she breathes the bubbles come out of her nose..
I can do the warm cotton balls, etc..I just moved so my regular vet is an hour away, and closed on weekends anyways..But havent come across an emergency to even contact one and see if they were a good place yet..

IF she is eating drinking and up walking is that ok??
I will try the shelter in the morning, but due to the fact of it being sunday , im almost certain im gonna get nowhere, and I have to work monday morning too..New job and shouldnt miss.
Is it ok for her to sleep on the cat bed in my bed??
I wanna keep her near, but dont know how contagious it is to me?? I could wash my sheets if necessary and everything else before the other cats come in, which wont be for 2 wks or so looking how things are going
There was a 6 wk old kitten laying almost lethargic, that I looked at first. He got adopted almost as I approached the cage. I almost wonder what they have done, or if maybe we will end up at the same vet..Shoulda got their number!! HA..Made things easier. This is such a small town I have a feeling when we go to a vet they might not be suprised

It is not uncommon for cats to get upper respiratory after being vetted, or at an adoption show or in the new home, as all of these things are stressful and a stressed cat is likely to get sick.

Having said that, upper respiratory can be very serious for kittens because kittens go down fast when they are ill, and with URI they normally cannot smell and then they do not eat or drink. Dehydration is a dire emergency.

You need to call the store and get hold of the shelter because there is a possibility they will get your kitten cared for and get it to the vet. Most shelters have reduced rates with their vets and normally they want to be contacted right away if a newly adopted cat gets sick.

If you take the kitten to the vet yourself and you call the shelter later they will just ask why you did not contact them right away and they will not reimburse you. You may even have a contractual obligation to contact them.

If you cannot reach the shelter and cannot get to the vet on a Sunday, here are things you should do: Put the kitten in the bathroom and get it steam from the shower to clear its passages. Make sure your kitten is eating and drinking. If you do not see it eating or drinking, pinch its skin to check for dehydration. If the fold does not go back down you have a dire emergency and need to go to the vet immediately for subcutaneous fluids.

If the kitten is eating and drinking but very little, consider getting KMR and a kitten bottle from the pet store and pushing fluids that way.

Also, upper respiratory is very contagious to other cats, so as the other people said, you should isolate your kitten (as in the bathroom) or somewhere it will not leave germs for the other cats.

Wherever the kitten is, if your cats will be there afterwards, you would need to use a bleach based product and really wash everywhere considering how many places a cat rubs with its mouth.

I would not put the kitten in your room or any place your other cats primarily use because that will shut your cats out and cause them stress and resentment of the new kitten.

If you choose not to do the bathroom next best would be a small guest room. You could stay there with your kitten and your cats would still have your room.

I don't have a whole lot of information to give you, except don't give up on the baby! (Not that you would anyway!) I adopted Marlee from a very over-crowded shelter. She was spayed before I brought her home, probably at around 7 weeks old. I know spaying can be done that young, but she was very very sick afterwards. My vet told me it was probably b/c she was sick and dehydrated, and since they went ahead with the spay it just made her worse. For the first two weeks or more we had lots of vet visits and calls, and lots of syringe feeding medicine/replacement and water. But you'd never know now how sick she was! She is a big, healthy kitty! It was such a change that I actually had family members who thought it was a different cat when they saw her after she was healthy and a bit bigger! Good luck with this precious little girl, she is so beautiful!

Thanks you all!! I called the store and they said the shelters would be up there again..SO I quickly packed bella and my son up and off we went..

But sounds like they could care less. I went to get the paperwork, and ATLEAST get them to state that maybe she was started on something before I took her...But they said they would have to mail the paperwork. And do what I can do for her..Ever so nicely..

I thought they werent allowed to sell sick cats??
I thought that you had a 24-48 hour thing for them to be responsible...Maybe thats only at petstores..And at this point a petstore purchase seems smarter..Every cat I saw inside the store today"different then yesterday" All looked sick.

If they said give her back , I wouldnt..But they could have atleast like someone said offered the vets they work with..I just moved here and my regular vet is an hour away, which for scheduled monday thru friday would be fine..But I told them that, and that I would appreciate any help they could do. And she said there is some emergency vets, get a phonebook and look them up since your new to the area

hmmm im srry about the ordeal....dont realy know what i could say to help i was going to say "shoot em" but you cant do that. I wish you best of luck with your new calico.... get her to the vet