- Joined
- May 29, 2022
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Hello all,
Unfortunately, I am back once again with another health concern. I rescued two cats from my parking lot at my college off-campus house about three weeks ago who I had been feeding for about a year. They both came everyday to eat consistently and one of them lived permanently outside my house in the outdoor cat shelter I built for him. The other one would show up several times a day, hang around for most of the daylight, and disappear at night. I had come to realize this was because he was getting beat up by other feral cats in the area when they came to eat the food I was leaving for my cats at night. One cat, Keeta, is about a 3 year old male, large spotted tabby who was already neutered when I met him. He was clearly owned at some point because he was neutered, very affectionate and very reliant on me for survival. The other one, Lavender, is small, about 10 years old, and a grey tortoiseshell male (very rare, I know!). He was intact when I found him, and to me he was never socialized, or if he was, it was a very long time ago. He was very skittish, but would approach me for food, let me get very close outside and pet him while he was eating, but never necessarily enjoyed my affection.. it just seemed like he tolerated it. I was planning on only taking Keeta home with me when I left school for the summer, and trapping Lavender to be vetted, fixed, and released. However, once I brought Lavender to the vet this changed. I found out he was a senior cat with absolutely no teeth left, was blind in one eye, FIV positive and had bladder stones. It became clear to me that he was showing up to my house with wounds on him not because of normal cat fights, but probably more likely that he was getting beat up because he had no teeth and no defenses. The vet told me herself that she didn't think he would survive another winter outside in his condition, but his organ functions and blood-work came back looking fantastic, so he definitely had some good years left in him. My best bet at this point was to try to socialize him, if it was even possible. But there have been some issues.
These past three weeks have been an insanely stressful three weeks. The rent on my house ended almost immediately after graduation, so I moved into an empty room in my boyfriends house temporarily for a few weeks with the two cats after I trapped them to get discounted vet care from a cat rescue I had been talking to, and to let them relax a little after coming inside for the first time. I didn't want to move them to my home (7 hour car ride away) directly after trapping them. Keeta adjusted fantastically indoors, and Lavender did not do as badly as I thought he would. He was walking around, eating and drinking on the first night - granted it was only a 3 min car ride down to the road to my boyfriends from where I trapped him so there wasn't much travel time. He would sleep on my bed sometimes, let me pet him and even leaned into my touch sometimes too. He went to the vet once a few days after I got him for the initial vaccinations and exam, then again a few days later because of his bladder problems. He was put on a prescription diet for his stones and 100 mg gabapentin 2x a day for stress management and pain because stress exacerbates risks of blockages. He then went back to the vet again and was neutered last week on Wednesday, and seemed to be doing alright, though each time I took him to the vet he trusted me less and came out less often. He also stopped eating in front of me but when I left the room would eat. That slowly went away over time but he was still not back to 'normal' before we had to make the drive back home because my summer veterinary job is starting soon. I gave both cats gabapentin for the trip (Lavender got 175 mg because he had built a tolerance to the gabapentin since he'd been taking it everyday). Keeta was loud during the trip, but Lavender was completely silent. It was a stressful ride with lots of traffic and they were in the carriers for almost eight hours. I did the best I could to minimize stress by spraying feliway spray, covering their carriers, and playing calming cat music in the car, but Lavender hasn't really bounced back yet and it's making me nervous especially because of his health issues.
It should be known that I have four cats and a dog in the house that I brought Keeta and Lavender to, but in my boyfriends house there was a dog (also a German Shepherd) as well and they didn't seem to be very affected by her presence. Also, before I arrived my mom cleaned everything in my room with vinegar and water to try to get rid of any scents that my other cats may have left as much as she could but they are very vocal cats and they meow all the time so their presence isn't exactly 'subtle'. Upon arrival, I put both cats in my bathroom with a litterbox and water. Keeta came right out, while Lavender stayed crouched in his carrier under his blanket for an hour and a half. He eventually came out, went under my bed and pooped in the cat bed I had put there for him. I gave him tuna with his gabapentin which he did not eat for a while, but he did eventually. I then fed him another can of food and he ate most of that as well. He was walking around last night during the few times I woke up, but as of this morning has stayed glued underneath my bed the entire day. I put a bowl of water under there for him too and a litter box right next to the bed so its easy for him to use it if he isn't comfortable walking around yet. This morning when I fed them breakfast, he wouldn't touch the canned food that he normally loves. I tried to give him tuna, and I think he took a few bites of that but he won't eat in front of me either so I have to walk away (sometimes leave the room) in order for him to eat, and Keeta is a big food-stealer so I don't know if he was the one that ate it. I also can't remove Keeta from the room, because Lavender gets even more skittish and nervous when Keeta isn't there. I couldn't give him his gabapentin today either because he won't eat, so that's definitely not helping his stress levels. When should I worry and what should I do? Tuna and cheese are his favorites, but he seems like he's rejecting any type of food right now.
P.S. I have also just purchased a feliway diffuser too so I don't keep having to manually drench my room with the classic spray.
Unfortunately, I am back once again with another health concern. I rescued two cats from my parking lot at my college off-campus house about three weeks ago who I had been feeding for about a year. They both came everyday to eat consistently and one of them lived permanently outside my house in the outdoor cat shelter I built for him. The other one would show up several times a day, hang around for most of the daylight, and disappear at night. I had come to realize this was because he was getting beat up by other feral cats in the area when they came to eat the food I was leaving for my cats at night. One cat, Keeta, is about a 3 year old male, large spotted tabby who was already neutered when I met him. He was clearly owned at some point because he was neutered, very affectionate and very reliant on me for survival. The other one, Lavender, is small, about 10 years old, and a grey tortoiseshell male (very rare, I know!). He was intact when I found him, and to me he was never socialized, or if he was, it was a very long time ago. He was very skittish, but would approach me for food, let me get very close outside and pet him while he was eating, but never necessarily enjoyed my affection.. it just seemed like he tolerated it. I was planning on only taking Keeta home with me when I left school for the summer, and trapping Lavender to be vetted, fixed, and released. However, once I brought Lavender to the vet this changed. I found out he was a senior cat with absolutely no teeth left, was blind in one eye, FIV positive and had bladder stones. It became clear to me that he was showing up to my house with wounds on him not because of normal cat fights, but probably more likely that he was getting beat up because he had no teeth and no defenses. The vet told me herself that she didn't think he would survive another winter outside in his condition, but his organ functions and blood-work came back looking fantastic, so he definitely had some good years left in him. My best bet at this point was to try to socialize him, if it was even possible. But there have been some issues.
These past three weeks have been an insanely stressful three weeks. The rent on my house ended almost immediately after graduation, so I moved into an empty room in my boyfriends house temporarily for a few weeks with the two cats after I trapped them to get discounted vet care from a cat rescue I had been talking to, and to let them relax a little after coming inside for the first time. I didn't want to move them to my home (7 hour car ride away) directly after trapping them. Keeta adjusted fantastically indoors, and Lavender did not do as badly as I thought he would. He was walking around, eating and drinking on the first night - granted it was only a 3 min car ride down to the road to my boyfriends from where I trapped him so there wasn't much travel time. He would sleep on my bed sometimes, let me pet him and even leaned into my touch sometimes too. He went to the vet once a few days after I got him for the initial vaccinations and exam, then again a few days later because of his bladder problems. He was put on a prescription diet for his stones and 100 mg gabapentin 2x a day for stress management and pain because stress exacerbates risks of blockages. He then went back to the vet again and was neutered last week on Wednesday, and seemed to be doing alright, though each time I took him to the vet he trusted me less and came out less often. He also stopped eating in front of me but when I left the room would eat. That slowly went away over time but he was still not back to 'normal' before we had to make the drive back home because my summer veterinary job is starting soon. I gave both cats gabapentin for the trip (Lavender got 175 mg because he had built a tolerance to the gabapentin since he'd been taking it everyday). Keeta was loud during the trip, but Lavender was completely silent. It was a stressful ride with lots of traffic and they were in the carriers for almost eight hours. I did the best I could to minimize stress by spraying feliway spray, covering their carriers, and playing calming cat music in the car, but Lavender hasn't really bounced back yet and it's making me nervous especially because of his health issues.
It should be known that I have four cats and a dog in the house that I brought Keeta and Lavender to, but in my boyfriends house there was a dog (also a German Shepherd) as well and they didn't seem to be very affected by her presence. Also, before I arrived my mom cleaned everything in my room with vinegar and water to try to get rid of any scents that my other cats may have left as much as she could but they are very vocal cats and they meow all the time so their presence isn't exactly 'subtle'. Upon arrival, I put both cats in my bathroom with a litterbox and water. Keeta came right out, while Lavender stayed crouched in his carrier under his blanket for an hour and a half. He eventually came out, went under my bed and pooped in the cat bed I had put there for him. I gave him tuna with his gabapentin which he did not eat for a while, but he did eventually. I then fed him another can of food and he ate most of that as well. He was walking around last night during the few times I woke up, but as of this morning has stayed glued underneath my bed the entire day. I put a bowl of water under there for him too and a litter box right next to the bed so its easy for him to use it if he isn't comfortable walking around yet. This morning when I fed them breakfast, he wouldn't touch the canned food that he normally loves. I tried to give him tuna, and I think he took a few bites of that but he won't eat in front of me either so I have to walk away (sometimes leave the room) in order for him to eat, and Keeta is a big food-stealer so I don't know if he was the one that ate it. I also can't remove Keeta from the room, because Lavender gets even more skittish and nervous when Keeta isn't there. I couldn't give him his gabapentin today either because he won't eat, so that's definitely not helping his stress levels. When should I worry and what should I do? Tuna and cheese are his favorites, but he seems like he's rejecting any type of food right now.
P.S. I have also just purchased a feliway diffuser too so I don't keep having to manually drench my room with the classic spray.
