Recently found a very sick cat (kitten?)

[missatoms]

Recently I found a very sick kitten or cat outside my door - I'm not sure how old he is because he is VERY frail and looks malnourished. He's missing one eye and the whole area is very pussy. He also appears to have a severe upper respiratory infection because he has a ton of snot and can barely breathe through his nose. One of my kittens almost lost his eye due to a corneal ulcer (the vet saved him, luckily) so I imagine that's what could have caused his missing eye since he also has the URI.

He happens to be very friendly so I'm unsure if he belonged to someone previously and they threw him out near my house.. he will let me pet him and he purrs, albeit very quietly. He seems to be happy to have adopted me.

I've searched for fleas and although he has a few eggs laying around his fur, he isn't infested. For now I'm keeping him isolated and away from my other cats and kittens, but since I don't get paid until Tuesday, I'm unable to take him to the vet immediately. His stool appears normal and he eats and drinks regularly as well.

Between now and Tuesday, what can I do for him to make him more comfortable? It pains me to see him labor with breathing so much. I know that he needs some serious antibiotics but besides this infection (and most likely a case of worms) he seems to be dealing ok. Is it likely he will be euthanized? I'd hate to have that happen.. Advice?

 

[hissy]

Is there anyway you can take him to the vet tomorrow and pay the vet when you get paid? Mine is really good about post dated checks. You might call them and explain the situation and tell them he is really ill and you are concerned for him. It is worth a try at any rate. It is also good you are keeping him isolated from your other cats.

 

[princess purr]

I have found that most vets will really help you when you are involved in rescueing a cat. Give your vet a call and see if you can pay later. This kitty needs a vet ASAP they can go down hill really really fast. There are always the good old credit cards too. We try to keep on credit card clean for cat emergancies.

 

[pamela]

I agree with Hissy and Princess Purr- pls try to get her in to see the vet ASAP. Like they said, many vets are very understanding and willing to with you regarding payments.

Some cat rescuers have told me that one of the reasons some kittens lose their eye(s) is because the eye gets infected then it spreads until it ruptures and that's one reason why some eyes are missing. It sounds like he has infection in his body along with a cold and he can die from this quickly.

PLS get him in ASAP to see a vet or emergency clinic. Maybe SPCA or Humane Society can help with this- get him treated at a very reasonable price? (Tell them that u own him so they won't take him and put him to sleep)

 

[slave2_ragdolls]

What ever happened to this cat? Did you take him in?

 

[momofmany]

I brought in my Morrison under the same circumstance. He was so clogged his eyes and nose were mucused shut and he was breathing by wheezing thru his mouth. Brought him in the house that night (put a vaporizor in the room with him) then to the vet the next day. Prognosis was URI, completely dehydrated and malnourished, and they kept him for a few days on IV fluids. Kept him isolated from the other cats for about a month until I was sure that all signs were gone. During this time, his brother Hendrix showed up with the same symptoms - went thru the same and got him healthy. (Morrison and Hendrix were from a 4-kitten litter by our feral barn cat)

Morrison adjusted wonderfully to all cats in our house and Hendrix, although very shy, was adopted by one of our loner cats, Pinky (age 3). Pinky and his litter mate brother Ruby happen to share the same mother with Morrison and Hendrix (our feral barn cat). Pinky and Ruby are 18 and 16 pounds respectively (or as the vet says, "over healthy"). All other male cats from that mom-cat are at least 14 pounds. Morrison and Hendrix, at 10 months old, weighed in at a meager 4 pounds. We knew something was wrong.

Ok, here's the gloomy part: Hendrix and Morrison both came down with full FLV in the last 2 weeks and I've had to put both of them down. Ruby is testing positive and we are waiting on further tests. Pinky has tested negative (hurrah).

My very hard lesson in all of this: be overly cautious when you take in any stray or feral cat. We were lulled in a false sense of security when our mom-cat gave us 5 years of healthy cats and we didn't think to test them for the bad diseases. When you take the kitten to the vet, ask for a FLV ELISA test. Even if negative, repeat in 30 days an keep the kitten isolated in the meantime.

And poor mom-cat had another litter of kittens about 14 weeks ago. She wasn't looking very good and she disappeared when they were about 8 weeks old. Morrison/Hendrix's surviving brothers are both looking deathly ill and the latest kittens are also looking sick. They are all feral and I can't get close enough to examine them. There are new Tomcats in the neighborhood, and we now realize that the new Tom's brought the virus with them.

GET HIM TESTED!!!

 

[missatoms]

Hi everyone

Well, I took Archie (which I named him due to his red hair

) to the vet, and they did a full work up on him. Turns out that he looks worse than he is. He does have a URI but the vet said it isn't terribly serious and gave me some antibiotics for him which he *HATES* taking - mostly because I have to wrap him up in a towel and he gets scared.

Also, he does not have FeLV/FIV, which I was more than relieved to find out. Momofmany, I will heed your advice and keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn't mix with the others even after his URI has cleared up.

A bonus was that the vet is very good friends with the local feline opthalmologist, so instead of referring me to his services, he's going to give me a call so that Archie can be looked at free of cost for his missing eye. According to my vet they will still have to do some kind of surgery to remove any remaining bits that could be stuck in the eye socket to prevent further infection. Once his infection clears up we're going to get him his vaccinations and after that neuter, THEN eye surgery. At least I think that's the order.

I'm so relieved to find out he's marginally healthy despite looking so bad. Right now he's sleeping away. It's as if he knows he's going to be alright!

He really is such a sweet kitty. It takes half an hour of coaxing to get him to come sit on my lap (he'll sit next to me and let me scratch him prior to that), but he purrs so quietly to show he's happy.. and gives me the love 'eye'! Poor baby!

I couldn't be happier

I'll post pictures of him soon.

 

[sicycat]

Bless you for taking in this wonderful creature

 

[ghostuser]

Yeay... another kitty gets a good home...
Sounds like he picked the right doorstep!

 

[missatoms]

Well, Archie (who my boyfriend has renamed Jack - according to him since a stereotypical pirate has a patch over his eye, and Archie has one eye, and the pirate in Pirates of the Caribbean is named Jack, that is his name).. continuing on, he is doing wonderful!

I was worried about him running away and any behavioral problems that could have been caused by the stress brought on from holding him down, but he seems to understand that he is getting better. Today when I gave him his medicine he just drank it and didn't try to scratch me or escape. After I finished the eye drops I unwrapped him and he let me pet him! I was so happy!!

Later on in the evening when I gave him his medicine for the second time he behaved wonderfully again.

He used to be somewhat uncomfortable with me petting him.. he acted like it hurt. But now it seems to be very pleasurable for him. I don't have to pet him as lightly and he doesn't squirm when I pick him up anymore. Sometimes when he wants some lovin' he'll follow me around. It's *too* cute to have him look at me with that one eye. It's way more expressive than two eyes on my other cats! Not to mention he appears to be gaining weight rapidly! I suppose the URI was affecting his sense of smell, thus leading to less food consumption. Now that it's cleared up for the most part there is no stopping him. He's also sleeping a LOT better and is actually a bit playful! A big difference from the previous lethargy he experienced.

I'm so happy. He has improved tenfold from a week ago when I took him to the vet. An animals love is truly priceless!

 

[ghostuser]

Yeay...

Glad to hear that he's getting better....
I liked archie though...