adding another - LONG post ADVICE!!!

This forum is for cat lovers seeking everyday advice and suggestions on health-related issues. Remember, however, that advice on a public forum simply can't be a substitute for proper medical attention. Only your vet can say assuredly what is best for your cat.

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Tigger

Knead softly &- carry a big purr

Purred: Wed Aug 1, '12 7:56am PST


	I am posting here cause it gets the most views. I need advice. I have been feeding ferals for a while, & there is a little black kitten that was always friendly. About a week and a half ago, I noticed him with a snotty nose & eyes, I figured he had a URI. He couldn't eat cause he couldn't breathe good or smell the food he was getting so skinny. He would almost have these little asthma attacks of not being able to breathe. He would almost vibrate & I would pet his side to calm him down as he got scared. I was able to wipe his nose & try & help him eat. The one day I was trying to dropper feed him some watered baby food, and it was like he couldn't swallow. Feeling helpless, I set him down & he started sneezing. I went to wipe what I thought was snot, and I when I wiped, I ended up pulling a long blade of grass from his nose! Since then he is able to eat, but I know there is a lingering infection from that grass in his sinus. I give LLYsine, and he has put on some wieght, but still skinny. All he wants is to be petted, and he sits by my back door all the time just waiting for me to come out. The infection seems to be getting better. So I am thinking of bringing him in, and honestly I am concerned about the cost, etc. I love them all, and want to help them all, but am I being too involved? Is it cause I pretty much saved him? I know we all joke about being crazy cat people, but I have 3 already, and I just don't know what to do. When he rolls over for me to pet his tummy purring, and gazes at me with "that look" you all know what I mean about "that look". There is no question. But I needed to take a step back & get some advice. Hubby is concerned about $ which is reasonable considering the amount that is spent on Tig's health. I get it. My son is kind of "really mom? another one?" but he is moving out this fall anyways....And the issue is that I can keep him seperate on the screened porch for a few days, but I have no where to isolate him for a longer time. I cannot use the bathroom - we only have 1 and it is small. The others are all on Revolution, so I know they are safe from worms or fleas, but I worry about anything else. eesh ADVICE? HELP? WHAT DO I DO??? Edited by author Wed Aug 1, '12 9:36am PST

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Jack

1198637

Purred: Wed Aug 1, '12 8:17am PST


	It's so good that you were able to save him! The first thing I would do before you bring him in, if you want to bring him in, is take him to the vet. That way you can make sure he doesn't have anything contagious that he could pass to your other three. Granted, a disease is not the be all end all death sentence for a cat, but it will be good to know what health problems he has going into this. Can you afford to keep four cats? Do the three you have get the care they need? How will you do introductions? These are all things to think about. This is not a decision to make lightly. Take your time with it, but please start out with a vet visit before the kitten makes any sort of contact with your indoor cats.

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Tigger

Knead softly &- carry a big purr

Purred: Wed Aug 1, '12 9:34am PST


	I do have a vet visit scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. My other 3 are treated like royalty. They eat better than we do, have a thousand toys & fluffy beds, more love than they probably want, & visit the vet 2x year, and Tigger has yearly tests for his heart disease. I put $ each month for vet care. A little extra food is not an issue, nor is a vet visit...I just am thinking very hard, and hoping no one thinks I am a loon for taking in another. Edited by author Wed Aug 1, '12 9:35am PST

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Orange Ruffy

The Baboo Kitty- has Spoken!

Purred: Wed Aug 1, '12 10:05am PST


	Bring him in...and if you are concerned about keeping him, and the cost (we can relate) get together with a local rescue. Explain the situation and become a foster mom. We are in the process of trying to trap some that are young and some that are kittens. It's a process, but it can be done. If this little one needs help-help! Please take him/her in and help. the babies that are friendly-they are the easiest and the most adoptable if you can't keep. But having 6 cats in a two room apartment...now me, I'm aspiring to crazy cat lady! You...you're just in training. But seriously, get that baby in and get him/her some help. I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I didn't. hugs and purrs from my guys, Deb, and the KG Cats

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Ramsey

Ramsey - The Bedroom Cat- Burglar

Purred: Wed Aug 1, '12 1:01pm PST


	What a good soul you are for caring about that little baby! Go ahead and bring him in I know it can get expensive but I have to help one in need if I possibly can. The other alternatives offered by other posters are the same ones I would have suggested. Over the course of the past few years my daddy has gone from the guy down the street with the cat, to the cat guy down the street There are 4 of us kitties in the house but we have to share with the two dogs. Don't worry about what others will think. Daddy doesn't. Says he wouldn't have it any other way

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Sammy

Mew?

Purred: Wed Aug 1, '12 7:41pm PST


	If anyone says you are crazy just say thank you and smile! We recently added another kitten to our house full of 3 cats and 2 dogs. Well, one should be 1 1/2 dog (she's a Saint Bernard) But when I heard the little guy's story (he was rescued by a good Samaritan and taken to Chgo ACC while a friend of mine was there from a Boxer Rescue and ended up with the whole litter and Mom) I couldn't say no. So I woke my hubby up and asked if he would mind if I fostered a little one eyed black kitten. He said sure just let me go back to sleep. The next day I drove and picked kitten up and hubby fell in love and named him Sammy. Took him to the vet, he was 1.3 lbs and so scrawny. Well Kevin then said "this isn't a foster is it?" My hubby knows me so well Its been 2 mos now. Sammy has had 2 sets of shots, he's been wormed, he eats like a starvin cat, but everyone else here esp the Saint and another male cat are his best buds. He is here to stay. If the Beagle didn't have cancer I would be bring home another dog but I don't want to put him through too much stress. That was my one worry and now it seems he likes the baby cay esp at litter box time!!! Edited by author Wed Aug 1, '12 7:43pm PST

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Norman- Dreamboat #- 93

I know you have- chicken & I want- it.

Purred: Thu Aug 2, '12 1:32am PST


	I can't help but think how bad you might feel if some day you go out and he is nowhere to be found... I think you should bring him in, after the vet visit of course. Sounds like he needs you. And as far as crazy cat ladies go, well just take a look at the size of my family. We live in the country and many of us used to be strays, ferals, dumped off, left by neighbors, etc....all rescues.

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Batfink

1254481

Purred: Thu Aug 2, '12 3:32pm PST


	You are such a good Soul, we dont really have Feral cats in our area, just lots of pampered culdisac kitties, but i know i would be running about after them all if thier were! I guesse some of us have just been enchanted by cats! Im not sure how it happens, one minute theres a sole kitty in your life,you love them so much, next minute youve got three cats circling your ankles and trying to all get on your lap ( we have three too and yes all of my friends and family reckon im a bit mentally unstable) As for your problem....i see its a difficult one! my thought is that if you have the money to bring this cat in, and your heart tells you that he needs your help...then you shouldnt be worried about what other people are thinking. If you feel youve not got enough space for the new cat why dont you foster him for a while, get him de-flead, castrated etc, and maybe try and find him a loving home? I know they are hard to come by, but if you are actively seeking a new home for him there might be less pressure, but as i said things are very different here, ive never come accross a feral kitty ( although i used to bring so called ''strays'' (they all had collars, and were perfectly fine) home to help every other week when i was around 4 or 5. Cats are not silly, hes aware you are trying to help him, and he knows you care, hes not likely to want ot leave now. Try and weigh out whats best for all the cats in your life...and dont forget about your self too. xxx hope you are well, sorry for rambling probably not helpful x

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Batfink

1254481

Purred: Thu Aug 2, '12 3:37pm PST


	p.s @ Ramsey...... Love that your neighbours call you the cat guy! the local kids have started whispering about the crazy cat lady here too!

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Tigger

Knead softly &- carry a big purr

Purred: Thu Aug 2, '12 6:19pm PST


	Thank you all so much for your advice, really & truly. ok - I admit that I had a momentary freakout, but here is the update: took him in today, and luckily so, because he has pneumonia & the vet said he got in just in time - a few more days, and he would not be here. He was dehydrated, got fluids, dewormed & was so good through it all. He was even purring while I petted him. He is on antibiotics & Nutrical as he is only 2.5lb. About 3 months old. He tested Leuk free too! I was really nervous about that. So we are deciding on a name, cuz yep he is a keeper! I will post more maybe tomorrow in Tigger's diary. I want to take a picture too. He looks so forlorn, all full of dried nose goop with a wet hind end and even his whiskers are dirty. Vet said to wait a few days before he has a bath as he is that sick right now. But I think he will pull through ok. I guess I am inducted in the black cat club now!

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