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Old August 12th, 2010, 08:01 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Fishin4Rainbows View Post
Though I do appreciate and even agree with your response, the kitten had no mother when I agreed to take her. She was found as an orphan. I do feel that the person who sold her to me is probably crooked and I shouldn't have paid her a dime, but what is done is done and I don't think this kitten would be getting any of the care she needed had I not taken her home. As you mentioned, I have not introduced the kitten to my adult cat, and do not plan on doing so until I am absolutely sure she is not contagious with anything (even though Irie is brimming with curiosity).

The lady lied to you about how old the kitten is, isn't around now when you want to talk to her, and gave you false papers. Are you really going to believe that the kitten was motherless? It was probably more of a case of wanting to get rid of a litter quickly.

Assuming everything goes well and I am able to nurse the kitten to good health, I can assure you she will never be an outdoor cat. I am just trying to get rid of all the nasties that she has now. On the topic of the worms, which most kittens have, from what I have read de-worming is generally done on more than one occasion due to the fact that the life cycle of roundworms occurs partly outside of the GI tract and therefore are not effected by de-worming treatments until they reach that stage. Consequently, de-worming treatments are given about every two weeks up until a certain age.

It's a wonderful thing to hear that she will be an indoor kitty. The "nasties" as you call them are a normal part of kittenhood. Especially one who has had a questionable start in life. You are correct in that worming is generally done more than once. However, when I read your first post it sounded like you wanted to worm the kitten again immediately. Not wait for a while for any parasites to get to the point where the meds were effective. IF the pill was Drontal that is usually sufficient to clear the worms. You can have another fecal done in a couple of weeks to recheck. Treatments do not, in usual cases, need to be done more than twice IME.

As for the yogurt, I have tried that. She wouldn't touch it. I even put a dab on her nose to get her to taste it and it was a no-go. Can I ask why you think the foods my vet suggests are not appropriate? I must admit I have tried a couple different brands with her. The woman that gave her to me was feeding her dry Purina kitten chow, so I started with that. She ate it at first, but then for some reason refused to eat it after the third day. Then I tried wetting it with chicken broth and even Pedialyte, which she ate a little bit of, but not much. Then I tried mixing it with canned Purina kitten food, which worked out pretty well, but she kept having so much diarrhea I felt like more poop was coming out of her than food was going in. Then the vet suggested the low-residue Iams to help fight the diarrhea. She's been eating that for about a day, but I don't plan on using it much more because it is not specially formulated for kittens' needs. I had just bought 10 cans of Science Diet for kittens, but I will look in to this Wellness brand.

The kitten should not be eating any kind of dry food. No cat should. It simply is not good for them. Mixing dry food with water, broth or Pedialyte is not a good idea unless you are lifting the food within 20 minutes or less. It does not take long for fungus to start to grow on wetted down dry food. It is important that the kitten gets her belly flora back to norm as quickly as possible. If she does not like the yogurt by itself you can mix it in with her canned food. Or you can find Acidophilus at most health food stores. A small amount of that (a pinch) can be added to her canned food as well.
Quite simple cats need meat. They do not need grains. They can't digest them properly and they pass uselessly through the cat's system. As for corn, another popular filler, we can't digest it. I don't know why vets think cats can. The byproducts used in cat food are just that. By products of processing an animal. That would be intestines, feathers, hooves, etc. An excellent site to read is: www.catinfo.org


As for the sanitation of my bathroom, I can assure you I did not put the kitten on a floor still wet with bleach. That is disgusting and irresponsible. I don't know if you are familiar with coccidia, but it is highly contagious and proper sanitation is a must. My vet advised me to use the diluted bleach daily as well as using baby wipes to clean her paws and hind-end.

Just thinking about the kitten.

I agree that the meds seem like a lot, but she was a very sick kitten from the start and I am not giving her anything my vet has not prescribed.

I really am trying my best.

On a good note, she is still extremely active and playful. She has started this toe-biting thing, which I am not too fond of, but I assume it is probably due in part to all of her pent of energy from being isolated. =/ She also has a very good appetite. Actually, I have to make sure not to give her too much food in one sitting. I made that mistake once and she ate so much she threw it all up, so I feed her about 4 small meals each day.

I realize you are trying your best. I appreciate that.
The toe biting thing is indeed part of her kitten energy. It is also something that you should discourage gently with a firm no and replace your toes with a toy. That is all part of normal socialization.
Good luck. She is adorable.
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