Sick, possibly FIV+ Feral Kitten

[Kat0121]

 
Thanks for all the nice comments.

@Kat0121  I tried her with some treats that contain L-Lysine but she didn't like them. Not many of the other cats did either. I thought I'd ask my vet if it's worth trying the liquid form which I can mix into her food. Do you use it with your cats? What kind works best for you?

@Rhondalee  I hadn't thought of probiotics.  

  I'll ask the vet if they would help.

@Mani  She does drink a lot, I guess it could be because she gets a dry mouth from having her tongue out. She tend to dribble, she's missing her bottom teeth. I'm going to ask the vet to check her mouth when she gets spayed.

Lots of great suggestions, thank you.

I use this kind of L-Lysine. I got it from Amazon and mix it into their food. It's like small granules. I have also mixed it into a small amount of plain greek yogurt and they licked it off a spoon. 


I give them probiotics also. This one which is a powder that I mix into their food as well. Bought from Amaon as well

 

[catwoman707]

I had thought the same thing, be sure she is given a thorough oral exam when she goes in.

Doing a great job. 

 

[Columbine]

Agreeing with all of the above. I remember the dribbling well from my FIV+ cats....though actually Cali used to spend a lot of time with his tongue out. There was nothing wrong in his case - he just had an extra long tongue that was a little big for his mouth!

I hope the next vet visit goes well. She certainly has the best care in the world from you

 

[Kat0121]

 

[Columbine]

How's Happy doing? We haven't had an update in a while.

 

[Norachan]

She's doing fine, thanks.

Happy18.jpg

• Norachan
• Aug 21, 2015

In her tree. pretending to be a koala. (She her funny little tail? It's got the Japanese bob-tail twist to it.)

Happy19.jpg

• Norachan
• Aug 21, 2015

In her hammock.

 

[misterwhiskers]

Happy looks great!! My gosh, she is nimbler than I could have thought possible!!

 

[shadowsrescue]

I love hearing about Happy updates.  She looks for content and happy!!! 

 

[rhondalee]

Happy could become the next cat star. She's cuter than grumpy cat. You should start putting her picture on everything. Maybe she'll make you rich! I'd buy happy merchandise! The proceeds could help pay for all your vet bills and cat food.

 

[Columbine]

:heart3::heart3::heart3: She looks soooo happy and content. She really is a stunning little girl....it makes me want to sneak over there and steal her away for snuggles! :dash::rub:

I'm so glad her ears cleaned up At least that's one less thing she'll have to cope with.

You really do have a cat heaven out there. I'm so jealous! I'd love to have a feline wonderland like that. You cats DEFINITELY hit the jackpot when they found you :9:

 

[misterwhiskers]

Happy could become the next cat star. She's cuter than grumpy cat. You should start putting her picture on everything. Maybe she'll make you rich! I'd buy happy merchandise! The proceeds could help pay for all your vet bills and cat food.

I kinda like this idea!!!

 

[jmarkitell]

I commend you for taking Happy in and taking such great care of her. I'm in a fairly rural area and FiLK and FIV are pretty rare, for which I thank my lucky stars, but I usually take any local strays or ferals in for testing, when I can catch them! It really make my day when I  hear of someone taking in starving and infirm cats and kittens and taking care of them...its a refreshing break from all of the bad news that you see all day on TV and the papers. Keep up the great work!!

Jim

 

[ondine]

If we all post a picture on our Facebook accounts, do you think she'll start traveling around the Internet?

 

[Norachan]

Just a quick Happy update.

She's booked in to be spayed on Monday, but for the past few days she hasn't eaten much and yesterday I noticed blood around her mouth.

We took her to the vet this morning, just to make sure there was nothing seriously wrong with her. The good news is that she's put on half a kilo in weight. The bad news is that her teeth were in an awful state.

She's got very badly inflamed gums. The vet says the best thing to do is remove her teeth. Her bottom fangs are already gone. The top ones can stay but all of her back teeth will have to be removed. Poor Happy.

She had a long lasting antibiotic injection and she's got two weeks worth of painkillers and cold medicine. We've started her on her meds today. The vet will spay her and remove her teeth on Monday.

Has anyone had any experience of caring for a toothless cat? There are plenty of soft "senior cat"  foods available for her. I just wondered if they are the best thing to feed her or whether I should try blending her regular food into a paste.

She behaved so well at the vets, didn't protest at all when he weighed her, injected her, cleaned her eyes and ears and took a look inside her mouth. She's such a good girl.

 

[shadowsrescue]

Oh poor poor Happy.  At least the vet can do it all at once.  I hope all goes well Monday and her recovery will be easy. 

 

[ondine]

Sweet girl has been through so much. I will be praying for her on Monday. No experience with toothless cats but I am not sure they need paste - just a good soft food. I would think a pate, maybe watered down a bit, would do the trick.

 

[catapault]

Here I go repeating myself - Magic Bullet does a fabulous job pureeing pate cat food with a spoonful of water. It comes out with a texture like the Gerber baby chicken food. I do a day's worth in the morning and just pour the extra (for later meals) into jars. Refrigerate, and reheat in the microwave at mealtimes.

 

[shadowsrescue]

 
Here I go repeating myself - Magic Bullet does a fabulous job pureeing pate cat food with a spoonful of water. It comes out with a texture like the Gerber baby chicken food. I do a day's worth in the morning and just pour the extra (for later meals) into jars. Refrigerate, and reheat in the microwave at mealtimes.

That's what I used to puree Sadie's food when I was syringe feeding her.  It worked very well and as @Catapault said it makes it like baby food.  Very easy to lap us.

 

[Columbine]

Poor Happy. As others have said, at least she'll just be having the one operation. I'm sure she'll do just fine without her teeth - and be far more comfortable to boot.

From what I've read, eating usually isn't a problem for toothless cats - they generally don't chew a lot anyway, so it makes hardly any difference. If it was me, once she's healed I'd try her with a little of the food she's been eating and see how she goes.

I'm sure you've read it already, but this article has some useful info, and might be reassuring for you. [article="30192"]​[/article]

Give that darling girl a cuddle from me

 

[Kat0121]

Give that darling girl a cuddle from me

and one from me too!!! She's such a brave little girl.