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- May 14, 2014
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Good morning, all.
I ended up bringing home a pair of cats from the pound last week. They were not together originally, and I have been keeping them separate so far.
Pan is 4 years old. He was owner surrendered, and the reason given was "unwanted". Of course, very little information is given about the animals that are surrendered, and whoever handled the intake doesn't remember anything about it the next day, so I knew when I took him home that I was getting a wild card.
Once home Thursday eve and put into his quarantine area, Pan ate a bowl of dry food (got same food as the shelter uses, run of the mill Science Diet) and seemed content if a bit confused as I expected. Friday morning he seemed more reserved, and ate only a few bites of kibble. I held him for a bit and tried to comfort him, knowing that change is stressful for a cat and hoping he would adjust if left quietly to himself. Friday eve, he would not eat dry kibble or canned food. He was sneezing and had watery eyes. Kitty colds/feline herpes virus is rampant in the local shelter, but I have always been able to nurse kitties through it with some stinky canned food and time so I made sure he had clean blankets and towels to curl up in and left him for the night. I also thought perhaps he would eat some of the canned food if he was alone.
Saturday morning I was out doing the barn chores when my husband called me in and said "You better check on Pan, he is making weird noises and smells bad."
(My husband loves our animals but was not raised in a home with pets, he leaves much of the decision making, feed, training, nursing, etc to me for now but he is learning. Wouldn't want you to think he's heartless! He's just afraid of messing something up. Like that time I found him trying to feed the cats nuts as treats, or when he tried to help with the feeding and gave them each two days worth of food, or when... You get the picture.)
Pan was cuddled into the blankets as I had left him, food untouched, litter undisturbed. He was gasping for breath from his mouth, so the subsequent drool was all over him. Also disturbing: he either could not or would not stand up. He had urinated all over himself and his bedding and was still laying in the soaked blankets. I grabbed him out of the wet bedding and tried to clean him a bit with some "kitty wipes", stuffed him into a carrier while my husband called our vet (who was open, thankfully), and drove him over to her office.
Pan stayed in the clinic until Tuesday afternoon, receiving intravenous fluids for dehydration, antibiotics, pain medications, fever reducers, and being syringe fed. He would not eat on his own and he was not using the litter box yet, but he was standing/walking on his own and was able to breathe normally though congested. Our vet felt he would be more comfortable at home with me (he doesn't know me well yet, of course, but likes to be pet and seemed cheerful on Tuesday) and that the less noisy/stressful environment might help him to eat/drink on his own. Tuesday afternoon and eve he did drink water on his own and used his litter box, but would not eat on his own even when offered tuna broth, etc. Smearing a bit of it on his lips does not entice him to even lick at his lips. Force feeding was a horrible experience for us all and then after he forgave me and purred while I pet him I set him in a shallow box with some bedding.
Wednesday morning (yesterday) he would not eat, but drank on his own and used the litter box. Wednesday eve was more force feeding trauma, and that eve he again acted unable to get to the litter box and urinated on himself and his bedding instead.
This morning he will not eat. Has not drank on his own since yesterday morning. Has severe congestion and acts very lethargic. Has not used his litter box. I have called the vet and scheduled to bring him in. But I am starting to think this is hopeless. I cannot keep taking him in for fluids every few days. I cannot syringe feed him every morning and evening. I cannot keep disinfecting his area and washing pee-soaked bedding every day.
I have the option to return him to the pound. My family thinks I should, because they might be better able to understand what is wrong with him. (Though I think that's unlikely. Our pound is a high kill shelter, and my reluctance is due to my nagging suspicion that they will just euthanize him as soon as I've turned my back.) The idea that he may have been surrendered because of health problems has been offered.
What should I do? A virus can last from 7 to 20 days, or somewhere in there, but keeping him at the vet is expensive (over $400, ouchie) and keeping him at home is emotionally exhausting. I have been up late into the nights, trying to tempt him with every food I can think of, including human foods like cheese, yogurt, etc. The anxiety this is causing my husband and I is very taxing, and the time I spend medicating, force feeding, cleaning, etc is taking away from other chores and needs. The other kitty is fine, getting over his kitty cold now, in fact, he has stopped sneezing and seemed to have only a little discharge this morning from his nose. He isn't getting the love a new kitty needs, either, because I spend all my time trying to wheedle Pan into not dying.
Thank you for reading this long missive. Should I take Pan back in for IV fluids and continue with force feeding, or should I return him to the "Adoption Center" and risk that they will euthanize him rather than help him?
I ended up bringing home a pair of cats from the pound last week. They were not together originally, and I have been keeping them separate so far.
Pan is 4 years old. He was owner surrendered, and the reason given was "unwanted". Of course, very little information is given about the animals that are surrendered, and whoever handled the intake doesn't remember anything about it the next day, so I knew when I took him home that I was getting a wild card.
Once home Thursday eve and put into his quarantine area, Pan ate a bowl of dry food (got same food as the shelter uses, run of the mill Science Diet) and seemed content if a bit confused as I expected. Friday morning he seemed more reserved, and ate only a few bites of kibble. I held him for a bit and tried to comfort him, knowing that change is stressful for a cat and hoping he would adjust if left quietly to himself. Friday eve, he would not eat dry kibble or canned food. He was sneezing and had watery eyes. Kitty colds/feline herpes virus is rampant in the local shelter, but I have always been able to nurse kitties through it with some stinky canned food and time so I made sure he had clean blankets and towels to curl up in and left him for the night. I also thought perhaps he would eat some of the canned food if he was alone.
Saturday morning I was out doing the barn chores when my husband called me in and said "You better check on Pan, he is making weird noises and smells bad."
(My husband loves our animals but was not raised in a home with pets, he leaves much of the decision making, feed, training, nursing, etc to me for now but he is learning. Wouldn't want you to think he's heartless! He's just afraid of messing something up. Like that time I found him trying to feed the cats nuts as treats, or when he tried to help with the feeding and gave them each two days worth of food, or when... You get the picture.)
Pan was cuddled into the blankets as I had left him, food untouched, litter undisturbed. He was gasping for breath from his mouth, so the subsequent drool was all over him. Also disturbing: he either could not or would not stand up. He had urinated all over himself and his bedding and was still laying in the soaked blankets. I grabbed him out of the wet bedding and tried to clean him a bit with some "kitty wipes", stuffed him into a carrier while my husband called our vet (who was open, thankfully), and drove him over to her office.
Pan stayed in the clinic until Tuesday afternoon, receiving intravenous fluids for dehydration, antibiotics, pain medications, fever reducers, and being syringe fed. He would not eat on his own and he was not using the litter box yet, but he was standing/walking on his own and was able to breathe normally though congested. Our vet felt he would be more comfortable at home with me (he doesn't know me well yet, of course, but likes to be pet and seemed cheerful on Tuesday) and that the less noisy/stressful environment might help him to eat/drink on his own. Tuesday afternoon and eve he did drink water on his own and used his litter box, but would not eat on his own even when offered tuna broth, etc. Smearing a bit of it on his lips does not entice him to even lick at his lips. Force feeding was a horrible experience for us all and then after he forgave me and purred while I pet him I set him in a shallow box with some bedding.
Wednesday morning (yesterday) he would not eat, but drank on his own and used the litter box. Wednesday eve was more force feeding trauma, and that eve he again acted unable to get to the litter box and urinated on himself and his bedding instead.
This morning he will not eat. Has not drank on his own since yesterday morning. Has severe congestion and acts very lethargic. Has not used his litter box. I have called the vet and scheduled to bring him in. But I am starting to think this is hopeless. I cannot keep taking him in for fluids every few days. I cannot syringe feed him every morning and evening. I cannot keep disinfecting his area and washing pee-soaked bedding every day.
I have the option to return him to the pound. My family thinks I should, because they might be better able to understand what is wrong with him. (Though I think that's unlikely. Our pound is a high kill shelter, and my reluctance is due to my nagging suspicion that they will just euthanize him as soon as I've turned my back.) The idea that he may have been surrendered because of health problems has been offered.
What should I do? A virus can last from 7 to 20 days, or somewhere in there, but keeping him at the vet is expensive (over $400, ouchie) and keeping him at home is emotionally exhausting. I have been up late into the nights, trying to tempt him with every food I can think of, including human foods like cheese, yogurt, etc. The anxiety this is causing my husband and I is very taxing, and the time I spend medicating, force feeding, cleaning, etc is taking away from other chores and needs. The other kitty is fine, getting over his kitty cold now, in fact, he has stopped sneezing and seemed to have only a little discharge this morning from his nose. He isn't getting the love a new kitty needs, either, because I spend all my time trying to wheedle Pan into not dying.
Thank you for reading this long missive. Should I take Pan back in for IV fluids and continue with force feeding, or should I return him to the "Adoption Center" and risk that they will euthanize him rather than help him?