In over my head!! Just couldn't walk away!

[mummyof12]

I was at somebody's house and saw they had kittens outside (kittens of barn cats) and one of them had it's eyes stuck shut and couldn't go anywhere and was half the size of the other kittens. Well since there was nothing that this lady could do for them (finances and other reasons I can't get into but this was in no way her fault they weren't her cats she feeds the moms and all of the other neighborhood cats she is just trying to do a good thing for them) I told her I would come and get them and take the little one to the vet.

Okay so since I have 14 of my own kitties I put the 3 story cage in the garage with a heater and they are set up out there. I started the little one on terramycin for her eyes right away and by day 2 was relieved that she could see and her eyeballs were healthy. We went to the vet (took 2 of them since another was sneezing too) no surprise URIs and eye infection went home with clavamox drops. Well those 2 kittens are doing well and a couple others started sneezing but didn't get too sick to need antibiotics. Oh and btw there are 7 total. There are still a couple sneezing and we are in week 3. I want to get them well so I can start treating their ear mites and worm them so they can get adopted. In the mean time 3 of my cats inside are sneezing despite a strict quarantine on the fosters (ie changing clothes washing hands really well and showering etc). I want to order vaccines so I can protect the rest of my cats and hopefully it will help break the cycle with the fosters. I was also thinking they will be more adoptable with having been vaccinated for distemper anyway and I can give the new adopters info for free rabies. I am in the medical field and have vaccinated my cats in the past so this is no big deal for me but I am trying to decide which one to buy the 3 way or 4 way and where the cheapest place is to get them from. I will admit that my 14 kitties haven't had the distemper vaccine in about 3 years. (no point since they wouldn't be exposed to any other kitties plus I am not a fan of over vaccinating) but I feel guilty as now I have made a few of them sick by bringing in the unexpected fosters.

I am also praying that I can get them adopted out and I would love some hints on how to be successful. I don't want them to get too big (6 are 13 weeks and 1 is about 8 weeks we think) so they will be harder to adopt out. I don't have an endless supply of funds but I want to make sure they are healthy before adopting them out. I would like to get them feline leukemia tested but I may only be able to afford to do one out of each litter (I think they are from 3 separate litters) I may not be able to afford to do it at all but I am hoping too. I would love to have them spayed and neutered before they go but that isn't going to happen I just can't afford it. All of the rescues and shelters are full around here so that's not an option so I am going to try to do the best I can myself I would hate to see them pts. My thought is to vaccinate, worm and get rid of the ear mites and then adopt them out for $20-$30 each to insure a good home and then offer a refund if they bring back proof of spay or neuter??? I want to insure to the best of my ability that they will go to good homes. I am expecting to have to put them on craigslist (which scares me) but nobody I know wants a kitten (or 2 LOL). I absolutely can't keep any of them as I already had my hands full before they came. I am currently working 2 jobs and 65+ hours a week to try to catch up on bills as my son started college the car has had $1500 in repairs in the last 6 months and my washer died last month too. I would have been alright if all that didn't happen but enough of that. I am just hoping to get some advice as to how to accomplish my goals as economically as possible and get them rehomed soon.

Any advice is appreciated,
Thanks,
The Crazy (okay stupid) Cat Lady
Barbara

 

[strange_wings]

The two unrelated to cat suggestions first - You should try formating your post a little better.

You have good spelling, punctuation, and grammar - but that large wall of text will scare many people away because they don't want to take the time to read that much.

If you haven't repaired the washer yet - ask around, maybe someone has an old one they'll give you or sell to you very cheaply. Second hand stores and salvation army type places may have some.

The URIs typically infect cats whether they're vaccinated or not. CVR is the only one that really stops a "cold" type virus. Distemper is more of a kitten disease, and if your kittens have this you'd probably have lost a few of them by now.

The multivacs have their own issues, but with so many kittens... If they have rabies in them, just remember kittens have to be at least 14 wks old for that.

I've done the same to test for FeLv with a litter I have. Kittens don't fight or breed, so their only route of infection is from the mother or grooming each other.

Talk to your vet! There are ways to save some money if your vet is willing to work with you. Ivermectin is the active ingredient in Acarexx, a pesticide used to treat earmites in animals. Many vets will have this around and can mix it up in the proper concentration and dosage per ear. Verses the $13-15 per packet of Acarexx.
Liquid wormers may be cheaper for kitten use. Again, ask about it. Flea treatments like Advantage can be bought in large dog size and carefully redosed down to kitten dose size (again, your vet can help), but you need to be able to weigh all of your kittens.

As for advertising the kittens. You can put information up at vet clinics and various pet related stores, and petfinder. But they all need to be healthy first.

 

[mummyof12]

Thanks I actually bought a new washer so that is taken care of. (just trying to recover from all of the expenses all at once and get a little ahead of the game)

I will talk to the vet and see what she will prescribe for the ear mites. I was thinking of getting a package of advantage multi and taking care of everything all at once. I advantaged all of the kittens before I brought them home with the exception of the sick one and I haven't seen any fleas

I know it's a long post I just wanted to include everything in it I will try to be more brief next time.

Thanks for the reply,
Barbara

 

[sarahp]

Long posts aren't a problem, the more information the better - just a couple of breaks for paragraphs to make it easier to read. No big deal though!

Good on you for taking these poor little guys, it's nice to know there's people as crazy as me out there....

I think vaccinating, worming and treating for ear mites is a great idea. Are there any nearby cat rescue groups that you can align yourself with? I always end up with feral kittens, and have recently aligned myself with a local rescue group, so when I get kittens, they look after the kittens medical costs, and use their resources to adopt them out, and I keep them at my house, show them to adopters, and approve adopters. It makes the financial side much easier to deal with, ensures the kittens get everything they need, and makes sure they find good homes. If you contact rescue groups and make it clear that you will keep on fostering them, you just need help with their medical needs, and somewhere to advertise them, they're much more likely to help you.

Before that, I would charge whatever my out of pocket costs were for adoption fees. If any of the kittens looked smaller, or sicker, I would get just that one FeLV tested, otherwise I would just get the FVRCP vacc., spay/neuter them (low cost), have them flea treated and dewormed and make sure their general health was ok. I initially charged a $50 deposit to "hold" the kitten once the adopted had decided which one they wanted, and used that to help with the vet costs, got the kitten spayed and vaccinated, then handed over the kitten, and took the remaining adoption fee.

I made the mistake with one litter I had of taking 2 kittens into the vet because the whole litter had ear mites, and I didn't want to take one on it's own - the vet charged me to look at both of them even though I had said just to look at one

But they gave me ear drops which I put in all the kittens ears twice a day for a few weeks I think. So just take a test case kitten for any vet trips and tell them all the kittens have the same problems

If you decide to adopt the kitten out yourself, charge a higher fee, and I have an adoption contract I use for kittens I adopt out - I'm happy to send it to you for you to use if you would like.

 

[strange_wings]

You don't have to make it brief, just hit enter and make some paragraphs.

People have admitted on here before that they skip long posts like that, which is why I mentioned it. You can always go back and edit posts if needed, too.

I hope your vet works with you. With the economy how it is, a lot of people are skipping vet care or getting rid of their pets in one form or another. Vets know this, and maybe you'll be looked on a bit more kindly for stepping up and taking care of these babies.

My vet usually prefers a separate treatment for earmite since cats must be retreated 21 days later.

Good luck with all of the little ones. You definitely have your hands full with so many at once!

 

[StefanZ]

Originally Posted by sarahp

If you decide to adopt the kitten out yourself, charge a higher fee,

You have very sound plans. Proceed so!

Good you want to adopt out as many you can. You are a helper and rescuer, you dont want to risk to be a hoarder...

If you feel uneasy about charging a higher fee, let the extra go to some good cause in the name of the cat. Say Red Cross or something,
This way the cat gets automatically a higher value. Both in fee payed, but also magically sort of.

If you can cooperate with a good rescue group would be great, as mentioned. Recommend also this lady who helped the moms, to get help from this group.
Spaying the moms if not nothing else.
As we all know, giving the hungry cats food is great, but it becomes really good first when you combine it with adoption and or spaying.

Its like with helping hungry humans: giving the hungry food is good, but it becomes great first when you also help them get an occupation or a job, which does it possible for them to make a living on their own......


Somebody mentioned second hand shops with Salvation Army. Many people are reluctant to buy used things. Me too. But. I dont know how SA in USA organizes their second shops. I did however worked a period with a big second shop of our SA here in Sweden. They sold really good stuff. The prices are also good!
They tried to take in only good things. Clean, no smelly, electrical devices working.
If something was after all faulty or unfresh, it went away. Visibly used clothes and things but in good condition are sent to Lithauen to the needing there. What is sold in the own shop are new, or practically new, and if visibly used - very good brands. Always fresh /reconditioned.
Electrical things are tested and working. If testing not possible - sold verry cheaply.

Thus, buying in a good second hand shop, SA or other reliable group, is an excellent way to to buy cheaply and yet very good.

Tx for helping these our small brethrens!

Good luck!