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- Feb 16, 2008
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Hi guys, I am writing with a few questions that have been on my mind regarding my cats. I first found them when I was living in Savannah, GA for school. Around April of 2006, it came time to finally haul off my broken down chrysler lebaron to the mechanic. When I went to clean out the car, I found 4 newborn kittens in my trunk... they were less then a week old, and as the car was being towed and no mother was to be found, i took them in and began nursing them on formula. After the car was back from the garage about 48 hours, I drove down to the supermarket, and heard a strange sound from the backseat.... where i found another 5 kittens, clearly from different parents (the first litter was mostly calico and brindle; the second where variations of the classic tuxedo).... So at this point, I am now nursing 9 tiny kittens, which as i'm sure many of you know, is a full time job. Amazingly, the feral mothers of both litters began hanging outside my apartment until i let them come in, nurse BOTH litters, and then they would leave, only to return the next day. I provided food and water for the mothers, but for the most part they wanted nothing to do with me. Sadly, one day both mothers tried to nurse at the same time, got in a fight, and I never saw either of them again.
I brought the kittens to the vet 3 times over the next few months, and for the most part they were healthy and strong. As you can imagine, being feral cats, they did have worms, and scattered conjunctivitis infections. The smallest of the runts was an all black male, he had such a terrible eye infection he could not get rid of when he was young, my girlfriend and I steeled ourselves to the very likely chance he would not make it. We made an effort to feed him separately however, and did all we could to treat his infection. After his eyes opened, (long after the others, due to the infection) they were so cloudy i was sure he was blind... however, he would eventually shake the infection, and has grown to be one of the most incredibly happy and loving creatures I have ever known. (we ended up keeping him and a very unique looking brindle female, giving up the other 7 kittens to friends and family)
The four of us have now moved up to Boston, and are all adjusting well to the cold (the cats have a great park view to keep them busy birdwatching). The only problems i have had with my kitties is their recurring worm infections, the constantly re-appearing eye infection, and the skittishness of my female. We have tried a number of worm meds, and while they seem to go away for awhile (and yes we scoured the litter box while treating, even replaced the whole thing) they always seem to come back. Can anyone recommend a really good worm treatment? I feel horrible that they keep coming back and bothering the little ones. My boy also frequently has crusty buildup in the corner of his right eye (the one where the infection was the worst) which is also extremely watery a lot of the time. We had him on conjunctivitis meds, but went through 2 tubes with no permanent change to the problem... any advice here would be very appreciated as well, like i said he is just the sweetest soul, and if there is anything i can do to remove all discomfort from his life i want to.... and i especially don't want to risk his long term health by trying other treatments on him. The final issue i wanted to bring up here is the skittish behavior of my girl. Her mother was by far the more standoffish of the 2 mothers (they are each from different mothers) and I see a lot of that nature come through in her, particularly around strangers or anytime there is a surprising noise. she is extremely affectionate as well, and just loves me to death. I enjoy letting her sleep in my lap, but as we do live in a city, I end up getting clawed in a delicate region as she panics from car horns, shouting outside, subway trains, people moving too quickly... really most anything can send her scrambling for safety (you would think she hadn't been coddled and protected since birth!) I feel for her, and can tell that her tension is always very high (she does a strange sort of backing-up in the corner move, with her tail up and twitching wildly, when she is excited or nervous) I was reading a little about some air-based pheromones for nerves on petmeds.com and was wondering if anyone had any experience with this. I would love to be able to help her relax a little bit, although if the boy relaxed anymore it would probably be hard to tell if he was still alive so I'm hesitant to plug in a pheromone dispersal medication.
Anyway, thanks for reading my little saga, and thanks in advance for any advice in paying back some of the happiness these two have already given me!
I brought the kittens to the vet 3 times over the next few months, and for the most part they were healthy and strong. As you can imagine, being feral cats, they did have worms, and scattered conjunctivitis infections. The smallest of the runts was an all black male, he had such a terrible eye infection he could not get rid of when he was young, my girlfriend and I steeled ourselves to the very likely chance he would not make it. We made an effort to feed him separately however, and did all we could to treat his infection. After his eyes opened, (long after the others, due to the infection) they were so cloudy i was sure he was blind... however, he would eventually shake the infection, and has grown to be one of the most incredibly happy and loving creatures I have ever known. (we ended up keeping him and a very unique looking brindle female, giving up the other 7 kittens to friends and family)
The four of us have now moved up to Boston, and are all adjusting well to the cold (the cats have a great park view to keep them busy birdwatching). The only problems i have had with my kitties is their recurring worm infections, the constantly re-appearing eye infection, and the skittishness of my female. We have tried a number of worm meds, and while they seem to go away for awhile (and yes we scoured the litter box while treating, even replaced the whole thing) they always seem to come back. Can anyone recommend a really good worm treatment? I feel horrible that they keep coming back and bothering the little ones. My boy also frequently has crusty buildup in the corner of his right eye (the one where the infection was the worst) which is also extremely watery a lot of the time. We had him on conjunctivitis meds, but went through 2 tubes with no permanent change to the problem... any advice here would be very appreciated as well, like i said he is just the sweetest soul, and if there is anything i can do to remove all discomfort from his life i want to.... and i especially don't want to risk his long term health by trying other treatments on him. The final issue i wanted to bring up here is the skittish behavior of my girl. Her mother was by far the more standoffish of the 2 mothers (they are each from different mothers) and I see a lot of that nature come through in her, particularly around strangers or anytime there is a surprising noise. she is extremely affectionate as well, and just loves me to death. I enjoy letting her sleep in my lap, but as we do live in a city, I end up getting clawed in a delicate region as she panics from car horns, shouting outside, subway trains, people moving too quickly... really most anything can send her scrambling for safety (you would think she hadn't been coddled and protected since birth!) I feel for her, and can tell that her tension is always very high (she does a strange sort of backing-up in the corner move, with her tail up and twitching wildly, when she is excited or nervous) I was reading a little about some air-based pheromones for nerves on petmeds.com and was wondering if anyone had any experience with this. I would love to be able to help her relax a little bit, although if the boy relaxed anymore it would probably be hard to tell if he was still alive so I'm hesitant to plug in a pheromone dispersal medication.
Anyway, thanks for reading my little saga, and thanks in advance for any advice in paying back some of the happiness these two have already given me!