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Old October 7th, 2004, 09:17 PM
dsmith dsmith is offline
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rescued cat help

I had rescued a 6-month-old kitten who had gotten her head flattened (I don't know how). I found her out in the garage just hollaring and it was my son's favorite little kitten so I had to go and at least be with her while she died. Well, she didn't die. So, blood just everywhere, I checked her over and didn't find anything broken except blood coming profusely from her nose and mouth. I cleaned her up and wrapped her in the towel and put her in a box in the laundry room. She was purring so I knew she wasn't suffering. I was just going to make her comfortable. Well, she ended up living. That was last week and this week she is walking around, although with a crooked neck like she really stretched her neck muscles or something. She is eating fine and drinking fine and going to the bathroom fine! Yay! But, she has come down with a cold, discharge in eyes, sneezing. We really cannot afford to go to the vet as my husband is going to college and we have two little ones to take care of. Is there any advice on a cold. I've kept her in our laundry room with a blanket so that she is comfortable and make sure everything is clean for her. Also, I have an albino siberian husky and was wondering if she could catch this cold from the kitten? Thanks for any advice on this matter!
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Old October 7th, 2004, 09:36 PM
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Iggette Iggette is offline
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Very nice of you to save this kitty but I am very concerned for its health .......you say the kittys head was flattened and bleeding from its nose I am not a vet but Im guessing this cat was severly injured and may still be!! there could be injuries that are not obvious.....dont let the purring fool you a cat can be in alot of pain and purr for the simple fact that you are there with it.....whatever happened must have been tramatic and you saved it and brought it to a safe place.

Is there anyway possible way you can call the local vet or even better take the cat in to show them and explain your situation ask advice on what they would do, maybe pay a little each month.....credit card maybe?
Do you plan to keep the kitten?
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Old October 7th, 2004, 09:43 PM
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Either that call your nearest animal rescue and give them the kitten, they will know what to do. If you cannot afford a vet, you cannot afford to keep it, that is the plain truth.
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Old October 7th, 2004, 09:58 PM
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Let us know if you plan to keep the kitten........but like Badger said money is an issue right now with you not only for the present vet bill but also for the upcomming vet bill when you need to get it , it's shots and fixed ( you don't need a pregnant cat either $$$) that alone will be close to 200 dollars....so I think Badger may be right, call the rescue, and when you find a place that will take the kitten let the kids know that they did the best thing for the kitten and they should be proud
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Old October 7th, 2004, 10:30 PM
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Sneaky2006 Sneaky2006 is offline
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How can a kitten have it's head flattened and be ok?????? I don't get it.
You should look at it this way... if the same thing happened to your son, wouldn't you take him to the doctor?
Even money being the main issue, you don't worry about that, you worry about it later.
You definitely need to get it to the vet and if you can't/won't, let someone have it that will. That's just not fair.
If her head was flattened... is it not anymore? Please clarify that.
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Old October 7th, 2004, 11:16 PM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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PLEASE, if you would go to a doctor if your head, or your son's head, was crushed and you were bleeding profusely, WHY won't you take your cat??

Purring is NOT always a sign of happiness or health. In fact many cats purr when they are dying or in shock. Cats are very stoic and hide pain very well, but that doesn't mean they have none.

If you can't afford a vet, please surrender this poor cat to a rescue so she can get the care she deserves.

This cat does not have a cold, she has an upper respiratory infection from this incredible stress, shock and pain and needs antibiotics at the very least.

You are denying a sick injured animal medical care and that is against the law and you can be charged with cruelty, which this is.
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Old October 8th, 2004, 07:35 AM
dsmith dsmith is offline
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Lighten up

Lighten up people. The cat is not in any pain. It plays with my kids and plays with toys and it is very, very comfortable. It is a farm cat and we have had two litters of them just this year! If I took these cats to the vet every single time there was a little bump on them-I would be in the poor house! They are great at taking care of my mice and yes, I do feed them well as they eat scraps and regular cat food and it isn't that expensive to keep a cat! Good grief! Would you take a sick mouse to the vet if you seen it in your house??? Or a sick bird that is outside to the vet?? You need to draw the line somewhere. These are outside cats that are really a joy to have. No, some of them don't make it through the winter and some of them might get run over outside, but I shouldn't be put in jail because of that! I have a beautiful siberian husky that my family just loves and we take her to the vet and take care of her and feed her the best food because she is an inside dog and needs special dog food. I know you might think this sounds awful, but I came from a family of farmers and I have lived out on the farm all of my life! People dump animals of ALL sorts at our house and I have no control over that and I shouldn't be put in jail because I don't take those animals to the vet! Like I said, you have to draw the line somewhere. The kitten is going to live and I've had cats with respiratory infections before that HAVE lived. I just wanted to share my story of a surviving kitten and I'm sorry that some of you have taken it so offensively and negatively.
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Old October 8th, 2004, 08:02 AM
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chico2 chico2 is offline
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Well,we all look at things differently,but one thing that does not differ,an animal sick or wounded needs a vet.
The fact is,as Lucky mentioned,purring can mean a lot of things,even pain..
Your story of a rescued kitten would have been heartwarming had you not used the wording"flattened head"bloody nose and mouth.I felt good when you said you wrapped him in a blanket,thinking you brought him to a vet,but then you just put him in a box We are all animal-lovers here and the idea of a kitten with a flattened head,made me a little sick
Animals,unlike us,deal with pain and injury in a different way,they just adapt to whatever they are dealt.
This kitten could have a cracked skull or other severe injuries and still purr.
I am glad you look after your dog exemplary,but does a defenceless little kitten not deserve the same care??
And yes,you are responsible for ALL animals in your care,including farm-cats,no animal should suffer needless pain....as for wounded birds or mice,I would not take them to the vet,but would certainly end their suffering one way or the other.
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Old October 8th, 2004, 09:25 AM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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Quote:
And yes,you are responsible for ALL animals in your care,including farm-cats,no animal should suffer needless pain....
Very well said Chico. And barn cats and farm dogs should be spayed and neutered as well to prevent further suffering and stop adding to the awful overpopulation.
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Old October 8th, 2004, 10:44 AM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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Quote:
But to say that all stray cats that are at a farm are the resposiblity of that farm owner is just... well... nuts.
Quote:
gotten her head flattened (I don't know how)... So, blood just everywhere, I checked her over and didn't find anything broken except blood coming profusely from her nose and mouth.
I"m sorry you feel it's "nuts" to get medical care for an animal in this condition, no matter where it came from.
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Old October 8th, 2004, 12:45 PM
dsmith dsmith is offline
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Followup

Well, as I am typing this, my adorable little kitten who had the terrible accident to its head is sitting here on my lap. After it is doing some more running around and doing some more typical kitten things and gets fattened up more, I will probably put her back outside to play with its other many, many kitten friends! She's probably going to miss all this spoiling she is getting inside!! (Had two previous cats in the house that liked to pee all over due to original owners having a dog who peed all over and couldn't get the scent out so opted for no more cats inside unless we replace all the carpeting in this old farmhouse! Ha!) And...just called vet and he said since I do not have the money to keep it for a week at the vet to go ahead and take care of it as I am and just keep its eyes and nose clean and make sure it is clean because it seems to be doing just fine with no other symptoms and is even defecating fine (which is a number one indicator there is something internally wrong).
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Old October 8th, 2004, 01:13 PM
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Well,next time please do not say the cats"head is flattened"and blood all over,I had this horrific picture in my head.
The argument about"barn-cats"is an old and lengthy one on this Forum,we hold different views,to me every cats life is precious(sp?)even if I had 200 and if one was severely wounded,he would be taken to a vet.
I think you would do well,to keep this kitten inside for a while,at least until he is 100%,respiratory infections can carry from cat to cat.....but I guess it does not matter,they are only barncats,right?
Anyway,good luck to the little one!
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  #13  
Old October 8th, 2004, 01:30 PM
dsmith dsmith is offline
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well...

Well, if you would have seen all the blood, you would have used the term "flattened" too. I'm just glad it is doing better and feeling better and is able to go on living and enjoying life a little longer! Ha!
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Old October 8th, 2004, 05:52 PM
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Sneaky2006 Sneaky2006 is offline
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How can you say flattened one time, and a bump the next??
If it was indeed a bump, fine. But a bump doesn't make a cat bleed from the nose and mouth. I still don't believe after what you said that she's fine now.

If you say they are YOUR cats, even though they are outside, that means you're responsible for them. If you or anyone else don't want to be responsible for their 'farm cats' then you need to take them somewhere that someone will care for them properly.
And don't even compare it to birds or mice. Not the same.
  #15  
Old October 8th, 2004, 06:02 PM
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Writing4Fun Writing4Fun is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dsmith
Would you take a sick mouse to the vet if you seen it in your house??? Or a sick bird that is outside to the vet??
If I saw a mouse or bird in my yard that was in obvious pain and dying, I would find a way to put it out of its misery, probably letting my local Animal Control do it because I don't have the heart. I know barn cats are treated differently than house cats. I'm not criticizing you for that. I do have a question for you, though. If it were a disease affecting one of these cats instead of an accident, would you let it continue to live in the barn, possibly infecting all the cats and any livestock you have in there as well? Just curious here.
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Old October 8th, 2004, 06:24 PM
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Believe it or not, there are many people who trap, spay/neuter, and then release feral cats. Our county has a low-cost spay/neuter program just for this. If these cats are on your property, you're feeding them, and allowing them to reproduce, they are your cats and you're responsible for them. When a cat is dumped, you could have caught it and turned it in to a shelter so that it would be cared for properly and have a chance to find a caring home.
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Old October 10th, 2004, 09:43 PM
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cutiecherise cutiecherise is offline
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Arrow wow, confrontation

I see so many confronting views on this forum topic, and everyone has explained their views and that's all very reasonable.

Cats and dogs are (mostly ;P) intelligent, larger mammals, and so are we, so we tend to sympathize with them more than with birds, or mice.
Also, cats and dogs are domesticated companion animals, and might not feel the same way about being comforted in their last moments of life as some others...
So yeah, it's not really the same...

There are laws in some areas that can see you fined for putting an animal out of it's misery.
(for example, i found a pidgeon suffering from heavy nerve/brain damage that was likely poisoned, and after suffering from heavy seizures and convulsions for two hours, i tried to suffocate it. I didn't have the balls. I was told later that if i had managed to kill it, i would have likely faced a hefty fine.)


If i thought that a pet of mine was dying, i would try to make it comfortable without distressing it further. If it lived, (on MY income?) I would take care of it as best i could, and if it needed medical attention that i could not afford, i would be forced to hand it over to an animal shelter,
And if there was nothing that the animal shelter could do for this animal, perhaps the best thing for it is euthanization.
I admit, i might not have the heart to let my baby Tragic go to an animal shelter, i would probably borrow money from a family friend if the case were treatable)

This kitten with the crushed head seems to have healed at least somewhat after this injury, and sounds like hes doing ok. i would imagine that it would have a shortened life expectancy, or could die suddenly for (seemingly) no reason. A lot of animals can pull off miracles of survival where any person suffering the same injury would certainly die, but that doesn't mean they're as good as new.
I commend your efforts at making it as comfortable as possible. (and Kudos to the kitten for pulling through)

As for the NUMBER of cats you've got on your farm, adressed to everyone who may be feeling the pain of high numbers or dump cats on their farm property,
either do not support their living on your property, or
Deal.

I've lived on a farm which was bought with somewhere near 80 (Yes, EIGHTY) resident cats.
(the previous owner believed that unspayed females made the best mousers, which is, by the way, a complete load of bull)
And my family was forced to deal with them, by any means possible.
We could NOT afford to feed them, or neuter/spay them all, or even to treat the injured/sick animals.
Many of them were completely or somewhat feral, all of them undoubtedly had fleas, and NONE of them appreciated the two neutered male cats that my family had brought with us. (Gus and Theo)
I am not sure how the population was ever brought under control,
But i know a rifle was used in at least one situation, and many of them were drowned, and some euthanized.
And i know someone out there is going to go freaky about that, but what the heck would YOU have done in that situation?
There was no nearby animal shelter to 'pop' over to, certainly none that had the capacity to handle all of those cats! (The only one that i can recall in the area at that time was a small one in Trail, that had less than 50 cat kennels available, and many of them already occupied)

We ended up with two cats living on our farm.


The point of that story? Cats happen. Deal with it.

If it's worse for an animal to die by drowning than it is for that animal to die slowly over a long period of time due to starvation, illness and excruciatingly painful injury, all the while bearing litter after litter of flea-ravaged kittens that will all suffer the same fate, and never knowing any affection or comfort,
well, in that case,
my bad.


I understand not taking that kitten to the vet,
but i can not sympathize with leaving breeding cats on your property and calling them your own, hoping people will understand that you just can't afford to have them spayed/neutered.

If everyone in the entire world were fighting for the same cause, there would be no cat overpopuation problem anywhere EVER, and no one would ever have to deal with strays or dumps,
just lost and founds.

Unfortunately, a lot of people don't realize what they're forcing their companion animals and responsible people to endure by not taking care of business.
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