Hello from me and PoPo!

[pricelesspopo]

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• pricelesspopo
• Dec 3, 2013

Hello from me and PoPo! This the first cat I have ever owned, so I have lots of questions. I usually do a TON of research before getting an animal, but PoPo needed someone (I'll post her story later on in this post, it's long... I think she has used up three of her nine lives already). Now I love her so much, I couldn't imagine my life without her.

My name is Danielle, I'm 26, and currently in school to become a Veterinary Technician. I have always grown up with dogs, no cats because a lot of people in my family are allergic. I currently have PoPo, a shepherd mix named Shiloh (who LOVES cats), and two chinchillas. This is PoPo and me:

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• pricelesspopo
• Dec 3, 2013

I've been stalking these forums for while before I signed up, ever since I came across PoPo, but there seems to be a lot of conflicting information as to what is best for cats... With chinchillas it was all very clear (this is what chinchillas require, therefore this is the best food. This item is bad, this material is good. These treats are bad. These are good, etc) and all pretty universal, it was way easier. So I have lots of questions. To start:

- what food is best? Right now I am feeding her Blue Buffalo Healthy Growth dry kitten food. I transitioned her from Blue Buffalo Basics wet food.
- what ingredients are necessary and what percentages should I look for if I am not able to find the best food? I live in a somewhat small town.
- are there products on the market that I should be wary of? For chinchillas, some items are sold with pictures of chinchillas on them and they are actually nearly toxic.
- any other general information you want to provide. Consider me the biggest cat newbie ever.

PoPo's story:

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• pricelesspopo
• Dec 3, 2013

My boyfriend and I found PoPo in the middle of the road, on a street I never usually take. She was laying squished down on her belly as car after car straddled their tires over what looked like road kill. My boyfriend and I both thought that's what she was, until just before I went over the top of her, she looked at our car. I freaked, screamed, "It's alive! It's a kitten!" And stopped the car after we had just gotten a little past her, and got out. I stood in front of her, to block her from cars, and she just laid there. I could see she was hurt, she was all bloody. I got a sweat shirt and tried to wrap her up in it, but before I could she waddled away as fast as she could. She crawled up into my car tire (thank god she didn't go into the engine), and we were able to scruff her and pull her out and bundle her up in the towel. She didn't scratch or bite, but she was very scared. After taking a quick look at her, It was about 7 pm on a Sunday, and as I said, small town, so I just took her straight to the emergency vet. Her jaw was broken down the center, and her left front leg didn't work. The vet there asked me three times if I really wanted her, because she would probably have to have her jaw wired and her leg amputated. I told her I would try to take her to my regular vet, so he could discuss those options. As I was leaving, they handed me three two week old kittens that were about to be euthanized, and the four of us left. I took them all to the vet the next day, they guessed PoPo was 6 weeks old, and they ran blood work on PoPo and she came back Feline Leukemia negative, but didn't test the little kittens because they were so small. The vet also set her jaw and felt it would heal well on its own since she was so young, and suggested very soft food for a month. It's perfect now. Her leg he felt may need amputation, but he wanted to wait to see if it was a stretching injury that caused the nerve damage, making her unable to use it. Two weeks later, I couldn't even remember which leg she had hurt.

About the time of PoPo's second round of vaccines, I had been fighting an constant up and down battle with the little kittens, and had already lost two of the three. I couldn't put weight on them, couldn't keep them hydrated despite being up with them to feed them and give them SubQ fluids every two hours, and being in a vet office, whichever was open, every day or every other day. I brought PoPo and the last kitten in and told the vet to run ever test on the last kitten because I had to know what I was up against, I didn't want him to suffer, and it turned out he had Feline Leukemia. Based on the fact that I just could not keep him from getting sick, and he had no fur on his belly, he felt he wouldn't survive very much longer, and I didn't want him to suffer anymore, so I had him euthanized. He then asked that I bring PoPo back to have her retested for feline leukemia, since she and the little kittens had so much contact. I was really worried, but since she seemed so vibrant and healthy, my boyfriend and I decided nothing would change except that we would have no other cats in the house if she came back positive. Today was one month since the last little kitten was euthanized, and her test came back negative.

Also, we got her name from Mr. PoPo, from Dragon Ball Z, from the wide eyed look she gives, haha.

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• pricelesspopo
• Dec 3, 2013

Here's before and afters of PoPo. Unfortunately I don't have any from her first day because I didn't want to stress her out. The first picture is about three days after I got her, right before I gave her the first bath, and the second was taken today:

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• pricelesspopo
• Dec 3, 2013

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• pricelesspopo
• Dec 3, 2013

 

[betsygee]

OMG.  What a story--PoPo is such a lucky little kitten!  I don't have lots of advice on food, I'm still learning myself, but I know other people will have plenty of good information for you.

Welcome!  

 

[mochasprinkle]

This story!! You and your boyfriend have such big and loving hearts and I wish more people were like you.. absolutely heart warming  

Your little one is precious and I think that you'll figure out a lot along the way. My first cat terrified me! She was so tiny and I was constantly afraid I would do something wrong and I'd come home to her limping or something. But she's perfectly fine and a bit heartier and resilient than I ever knew cats could be. 

As for what food, litter, etc. to use... I'd say pay attention to little PoPo! Cats have a way of telling you what they do and don't like and if they have any special needs. Ie: My other cat had been throwing up after eating and it took me a little while to realize why but now he's perfect and hasn't thrown up in about 2 weeks which is a long time for him! You'll get the hang of it. 

Best of luck to you! 

 

[pricelesspopo]

Thank you guys for your responses! We are really happy we found PoPo, we really just love her and she is so fun to watch. We are truly the lucky ones.

She seems to really like the Blue Buffalo food, and her coat is shiny and soft. She doesn't seem to have a preference on litter, I've switched 4 different times (started with dirt, haha, because I wasn't expecting to ever have a cat and it was too late by the time we left the vet on her first day), before settling on Fresh Step Multiple-cat. It's my favorite so far.

I get most of my info from reading and repeatedly watching My Cat From Hell on Netflix, lol. Behaviorally she is pretty good, sometimes she plays with our hands (no claws), or will bite lightly, but we just squeal really loudly and make our hands as un-fun as possible, and give her lots of toys and scratchers, and so she rarely bites.

What I would like to know, is how to help her be more comfortable around my dog, Shiloh. Shiloh really loves cats, she loves to lick them and snuggle with them (my best friend has two cats) and adored the little kittens, but PoPo still seems afraid of her even though Shiloh is always very nice and gentle around her. The only change is that PoPo doesn't puff up (still does the hunched crab-walk, but her fur is flat). She never scratches but will slap her face if Shilih tries to come over and give her love. Will it just take time? They do sleep okay on my bed together, but I feel bad for PoPo if she is afraid.

 

[pricelesspopo]

Also, what treats (if any) are good? Which are not good? I have some Blue Buffalo treats, but she isn't really crazy about them. I'd like to start harness walking her once she is finished with vaccines, and I want to use treats to support that.

 

[cprcheetah]

She is a beautiful little girl.  As far as feeding goes, wet/canned food is better than dry.  You can learn all about proper nutrition here:  http://catinfo.org/   As far as products go, avoid anything with Hartz on the label.  Look for things that are made in the USA not in China. 

 

[pricelesspopo]

Okay, what is wrong with Hartz products if you don't mind me asking?