Found tiny kitty, he's blind...

Hello All,

Last night we were out having dinner and on the way back home we stumbled on a little kitten in the middle of the street.

I picked him up and saw that he had severe infection on both his eyes and could not see. We looked for mama but she wasn't to be found; we waited for her but she didn't come and the other adult cats didn't have any interest in him whatsoever...

We took him with us and the next day took him to a local vet (We're on vacation in a small town) The vet said he was about three weeks to a month old and his right eye was scratched possibly by a claw and his left eye had an infection. She said there was no hope for the right eye but maybe he could see with his left if treated...

Now tomorrow I'm taking him to the city to a major vet to see what they have to say. He had an antibiotic shot today and got some drops in his eyes. I called my vet back at home and he told me to try to keep the eyes open and to give him some diluted yoghurt with kitten food till he goes to the vet tomorrow. He'll stay at the vet till the end of his treatment... We have two other cats and I'll have to get Frontline for them since we found out he has fleas

My father is a doctor and went ballistic saying the kitty might be carrying all sorts of viruses asking me to keep a distance. Aside from his eyes he seems very healthy, very agile. He's just crying all the time for his mama.

Our other cats haven't come into contact with him, he's spending the night in the bathroom...

He's so scared and nervous

I wish I could keep him but I have a crazy little Pug at home plus we're getting another dog in september. Can blind cats live with dogs?

He's so little and helpless. Full of spirit though, we've named him Zatoichi

Thanks for reading,

If you have any advice or thoughts please share,
and
please send positive happy thoughts to little Zatoichi.

Little Zatoichi will be in my prayers.

awh, well heres sending lots of warm {{{{{vibes}}}}} of hope and promise for the precious kitty. I am sure your kindness will find a way, you are so special for saving a little life

I think you saved this kittens life! I hope besides the eyes, that all is healthy with him, and that the vision in the one eye can be saved.

Thank you all for your kind thoughts!

I really do hope I saved his life... Yet, I know any of you would have done the same.

I believe that at least some people care enough about these things to take some action, even if it means the total desprution of their lives for a while and becoming very much affected by it emotionally.

I'll post a picture of Zatoichi when I get the chance.

It wouldn't take a special person to help him considering the state he was in but it would have to be an especially indifferent, cold hearted person to not do anything about it.

THANK YOU FOR RESCUING THIS KITTY! I am sure you saved his life, and because of his handicap the bond you will form with him is something that you will cherish.

My husband HATED cats, but when kittens turned up and the shelter was full - well - suffice it to say that we now have six cats (all rescues), and we trap for the community, and we fund a local shelter, and we have two websites up dedicated to Stray Pet Advocacy and Rescue, and we're a resource people turn to for help - we're the "crazy cat people," lol!

We rescued a kitty that was so badly infected her eyes were glued shut. Turns out it was a herpes virus. There were many other problems with her, and it took months to nurse her back to health. We don't know if it was the virus that destroyed her ability to hear or if she was born deaf, but she is also deaf.

We also fought for MONTHS to save her eyes. But with everything she had going on, that required medication 11 times a day. One eye recovered, and we pressed on. But it was so stressful on all of us - especially Flowerbelle - that we finally gave in and had the second eye removed. Her energy levels went up 1000% and she's never missed that eye.

After being in the hospital for several weeks:



Home a few weeks:



Recent pic:



I skipped the real frankenstein-stages - she had several surgeries (having the second eyelid sewn shut to keep in medication).

She was so sick the poor little thing lived in our bed the first few weeks. But it was all worth it. She started purring - and basically didn't stop for over a year! She purred while eating, she purred while playing - the only time she didn't purr was while sleeping. Or being medicated. But she's our little miracle kitty, and it was all worth it!

Even if you are not able to save even one of your kitty's eyes, I'm sure he'll do fine with the dog(s). The most important thing to remember with blind kitties is to make sure everything's where you want it and don't move it. If you have rocking chairs, maybe purchase little pillows to put under the rockers when you don't have guests.

However, because he may not be willing to "go vertical," you'll have to provide safe spaces for him. With any luck, he won't grow to be large. Get a few boxes - maybe make sure there's one in each room. Cut a hole small enough for kitty to get into the box, but make it too small for your pug to get nothing but a paw in. Make sure the box(es) are large enough that kitty can escape the pug's leg - which may be waving around in there.

This way your kitty will have safe places to escape, as he may not be able to jump up onto a table bookcase or something after tormenting your pug, lol!

Blind cats do just fine - there are even those that feel so comfortable in their environments and trust the "lay of the land" not to change so much that they'll go "up" if shown where. His hearing and smelling are good enough to help him know where your pug (and soon to be new dog) are.

I don't know if it works between breeds - I've certainly read about those wonderful stories (a dog nursing a baby rabbit, etc.) - but our cats all know when a new kitty is sick or injured or handicapped, and they take it in stride. You never know - this kitty may bring out the "Ambassador" in your pug!

You can read about cross-breed introductions here:

http://www.thecatsite.com/Behavior/5...s-to-Dogs.html

Are you new to cats? If so, I posted a long intro to cats for a dog person. I'll go hunt that down and post a link for you.

THANK YOU FOR RESCUING THIS KITTY AND SAVING ITS LIFE!!!!!

((((((((((((((hugs)))))))))))))))) to you and hubby! (and scritches to your pug and new kitty),

Laurie

I thought I saw that - you have two other cats. I won't bother looking up the other thread.

Please let us know what you decide to do and how it goes!

Laurie

Ahhh how wonderful of you to take him in, I can't imagne how happy he must be sweet baby, How all turns out well for him, and BTY Welcome to TCS

Originally Posted by thespring

It wouldn't take a special person to help him considering the state he was in but it would have to be an especially indifferent, cold hearted person to not do anything about it.

Click to expand...

You would be amazed. We rescued Flowerbelle AT THE VET. Hubby happened to be there when some people came in with her. They'd rescued her from a liquor store parking lot. The vet said that to leave her there they would have to take financial responsibility for her. They decided not to, and left with her. THEY WERE GOING TO PUT HER BACK IN THE PARKING LOT.

Hubby (being as social as he is) asked what had been going on, and the receptionist told him. He chased those people down in the parking lot and gave them a piece of his mind. And took the cat.

I can't resist - one more pick of the sleeping princess. This was when she first came home and lived in our bed:



Now I've thrown down the gauntlet - you HAVE to post pics!

what hearwarming happy ending. Your little white kitty is precious and so lucky.

I can't wait to see pics of Zatoichi too. I bet they are just as sweet. Both of you have a wonderful kind nature.

Wow, both kittens must have had an angel looking out for them as you are both ( LDG and Zatoichi's new mummy ) wonderful people. The time and the expense would have put a lot of people off. Hope that all goes well for Zatoichi and that he is soon well on the road to recovery.

Good luck Zaitochi! Its great that you have found this little one and are doing all you can to help him.

BTW Are you guys Beat Takeshi fans?

Boyfriend is big fan and hence came up with the name and I think it suits our little boy perfectly.

He is now at the ICU at the vet. I called today to ask about him they say his eyes are better but they are just too damaged, he will not see, it's viral. He's been dewormed and de-flead.

He's eating well, very well infact

He is also very aggressive... Also the vet said he was probably older than a month just underdeveloped. His condition is obviously a major reason for his aggression but since he can't see he panics and just attacks...
With lots of love we hope to at least remedy that a little.

Once he leaves the vet we will take him in but I just don't know if staying with us is the best thing for him. He needs a stable quiet life and our household might be too much for him.

We'll just see what happens when he gets back, it's too early to say anything now.

I'll keep you all updated,

In the meantime please continue to keep Zatoichi in your thoughts

Oh is he the guy that did Battle Royale? I just watched that this weekend and LOVED IT!!

anywho, as far as your father who is a doctor saying that the cat can have all sorts of viruses, did he mean that you can catch or that your other cats can catch? About the only things the kitten can give you is rabies or ringoworm and you would probably know if he had those. Maybe lice too but I don't think it is the same type of lice that people get so I don't thnk it would live long on a person.

but good luck with him anyways. Are you going to keep him then?

My father meant anything we could catch from the kitten but he was just being a concerned father He isn't here with us so hasn't seen Zatoichi yet.

He just asked me to handle him carefully, knowing me he suspected I might smother the kitty with kisses and such. I didn't and washed my hands carefully after every contact.

I would rather find him a more suitable home but I'm definitely keeping him till I do. No matter how long it takes.

Originally Posted by thespring

...I would rather find him a more suitable home but I'm definitely keeping him till I do. No matter how long it takes.

Click to expand...

You're probably right about this - he would make a quicker adjustment in a "calmer" home. My guess is that if you're not able to find an appropriate guardian for Zatoichi within a few weeks, he'll end up as part of your gang. It was our intent to just foster Flowerbelle as well.

I'm so sorry to hear the problem is viral and that it's too far gone. Same went for Flowerbelle, but one of her eyes was saved. L-Lysine helps to fight the virus, and there is at least one manufacturer for a cat product. It's called Enisyl-F. It's a paste manufactured by Vetoquinol. If you or your vet wants more info, I'd be happy to provide it.

In Flowerbelle's case, the vet informed us that the virus will in all likelihood continue to eat away at the tissue in her sinuses. It may or may not affect her life span, but in all likelihood she will have no turbinates left by the time she passes. This process makes her more susceptible to colds. She had quite a few the first two years of her life, but this past year she hasn't been sick at all.

Thank you again for rescuing this little one that needs so much! Please keep us posted.

Thank you for the info. I'll be seeing the vet on friday and I'll definitely ask him about the Enisyl-F. You know that's what they might already be using. When I called to check up on the baby, the assistant said they were using a very powerful deep penetrating paste. I'll ask if it's the same thing.

Poor Flowerbelle...
Their little bodies go through so much sometimes...
Flowerbelle is definitely a fighter from what I gather and hopefully our little boy is too
I still hear him screaming sometimes as the vet was trying get something that had stuck to his eye out It was a "I'm in more pain than you can imagine and I'm afraid you're going to kill me" scream.

Anyway, the important thing is that he's doing better at the ICU and that he will be fine.

Originally Posted by thespring

Thank you for the info. I'll be seeing the vet on friday and I'll definitely ask him about the Enisyl-F. You know that's what they might already be using. When I called to check up on the baby, the assistant said they were using a very powerful deep penetrating paste. I'll ask if it's the same thing.

Poor Flowerbelle...
Their little bodies go through so much sometimes...
Flowerbelle is definitely a fighter from what I gather and hopefully our little boy is too

I still hear him screaming sometimes as the vet was trying get something that had stuck to his eye out

It was a "I'm in more pain than you can imagine and I'm afraid you're going to kill me" scream.

Anyway, the important thing is that he's doing better at the ICU and that he will be fine.

Click to expand...

Oh, poor baby, and poor you - it must be just heart rending. I know he's probably terrified, but though he doesn't know it, please hang on to the knowledge that the worst of it is over - he has been found and will be cared for.

I will keep you all in my thoughts.

What a complicated thing; but thank God for you who nurture these little creatures back to health.

I sometimes think cats have their own brand of guardian angels who bring us together with the kitties who need us.

Thanks both of you for caring for them!!!

Definitely keep us updated as to how this poor kitten is doing. Poor little thing...